Esper X Family – Chapter 606 – The Expeditionary Fleet

“1,500 attribute points? Adding that to my base mental power of 1,000, I’m still 2,500 short of S-rank. That’s a little slow.”

Ye Yao let out a soft sigh.

【Cause and Effect】had been putting in the work.

If not for her fission bodies working around the clock to keep up with Little Mo and the others’ enthusiasm, she probably wouldn’t have reaped this much.

All of it was earned through honest labor!

And to get it, she had to toss away what little dignity she had left. Her image as “Tong Yao” was quickly shifting toward that of “Magical Girl Lullaby”.

At this rate, when people heard “Tong Yao”, they might no longer think of the one who ushered in a new era, but instead picture a cute girl playing the role of a magical girl.

And just like that, her prestige would vanish!

How tragic.

“Well, at least I got attribute points out of it, and Little Mo and the others are happy. It’s not a total loss.”

Ye Yao had never tried to twist her self-perception into that of an innocent little girl’s.

As a reliable but perhaps not entirely mature adult, it was her duty to look after these young-at-heart girls!

And more than that, as their friend, she was determined to protect this pure bond.

Spending time with them left even Ye Yao feeling youthful and healthy.

Perhaps it was some kind of spiritual healing.

All she had to do was wear the label of “Magical Girl”.

She had said before that if she ever played as magical girl again, she would be a dog…

Well, now…

Woof! Woof! Woof!

Ye Yao glanced at the little fat white bird lying on her back, paws in the air, sound asleep. She grabbed it and gave it a few good rubs.

Xing Lan woke with a start.

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“Has Mom finally decided to lay a hand on her own daughter!?”

“No, it’s an owner laying hands on a pet. Or maybe a master playing with a toy.”

“To think you’d even lay a hand on a bird. Master, you’re a pervert.”

“It’s simple. I’ll just squish your body into a nice little cup. Problem solved.”

Ye Yao spoke teasingly but made no other move. She was just kneading the bird for fun.

For the past six months, Xing Lan had maintained this form.

To everyone else, she was just a peculiar little bird that could talk, and very few knew her true nature.

Xing Lan frequently appeared in Little Mo and the others’ Magical Girl TV series. She was incredibly active, fully integrated into the group, and had become something of a mascot figure.

This posed an unprecedented challenge to a certain Cubic Sugar’s status as both mascot and pet.

Fortunately, when it came to sugar content, she still reigned supreme.

“Xing Lan~ Why can’t you go out and fetch me some attribute points instead?

Other people’s birds can bring back money.

But you? You just slack off all day. And you’re supposed to be the embodiment of the world-destroying ability. What a disappointing bird life.”

Ye Yao sighed repeatedly.

Xing Lan: “?”

Pressuring a little bird?

“Should I perform on the streets and earn money for Mom?”

Xing Lan’s tone carried a faint trace of speechlessness.

Ye Yao gave a light snort.

“What would I do with money? Attribute points are what matters. You’re a grown-up little fat bird now. It’s time to learn how to earn attribute points and support the family.”

“Sorry, can’t do that.”

“Tch. Useless bird.”

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With a thought from Ye Yao, Xing Lan began to glow white. Her body reshaped, transforming into a small white kitten.

Ye Yao scooped her up and sighed in satisfaction.

“As expected, the useless kitten feels way better in the hands.

I’ve decided. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, you’re a little fat bird. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, a fat kitten. As for the remaining day, we’ll just randomize.”

“Can’t I be a human?”

The little white cat spoke in human tongue, looking like she was about to hiss.

“Not yet. I haven’t figured out how to explain to everyone that I suddenly have a daughter out of nowhere.”

“Just tell them I’m your pet!”

“Pointing at a little girl and calling her a pet? That’s pretty messed up.”

Ye Yao muttered under her breath.

Back to the main topic.

Ye Yao began thinking about where to find new sources of attribute points.

She felt that there wasn’t much left to squeeze out of Lou Wei and the others, and their residual value was nearly tapped out.

Unless she found new family members.

But the system wouldn’t certify just anyone as family.

And Ye Yao didn’t want to mess up her social life for the sake of a few attribute points by getting close to strangers.

In the end, the only real way to get a large haul of attribute points seemed to be through parallel worlds.

But Ye Yao no longer had any spare fission bodies to pull such stunts.

If she had yet another parallel family to handle, her “one Yao transforms into three cats” wouldn’t be enough.

Plus, she had no idea how to find another parallel world.

Unless Yin Yi could freely travel through worlds, then Ye Yao could simply use the family location sharing to hitch a ride.

“Sigh. At this rate, it seems like【Cause and Effect MAX】might be the most effective option.”

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Ye Yao muttered.

The problem was, that would almost certainly throw her daily life into chaos.

Ye Yao didn’t want to deal with one major crisis after another every few days.

Just thinking about it exhausted her.

“Forget it. Slacking off is what matters most!”

Little did Ye Yao know, however, that deep in the cosmos, a new threat was quietly drawing near.

The universe was vast, so vast that even the most absurd events had a chance of being real.

Some believed humanity was the only intelligent civilization in the cosmos.

Others thought that beyond humanity’s field of observation, other intelligent civilizations lay hidden.

This debate had raged for ages, and until the recent Bluestar Defense Battle, no definitive answer had been reached.

Then, the arrival of the Interstellar Overlord shattered everyone’s assumptions.

Advanced civilizations did exist, ones capable of interstellar travel.

Unfortunately for them, the Overlord’s dream shattered at Bluestar, and it never made it to its next stop.

The invincible Ye Ge would forever be the stern father to all such interstellar civilizations.

Although many understood the principle that “there’s always someone stronger”, they couldn’t help but place absolute confidence in Ye Ge.

Great Emperor Ye Ge would strike down every so-called “strongest” with equal disdain.

And now, a new vanguard was tunneling through a wormhole, seeking the source of a catastrophic crisis that, according to calculations, would bring about the universe’s premature end.

A massive Star-Annihilating Fleet served as the expedition’s backbone.

They came to save the world, and to protect their home.

To keep their homeland from being annihilated by some inexplicable calamity, they had to launch this expedition, to destroy or contain the source of the threat.

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They didn’t know what exactly they were up against.

But they trusted the results of the Evolutionary Divine Machine.

The Divine Machine was the ultimate embodiment of supernatural technology, a device capable of calculating the future and presenting concrete outcomes, enabling any civilization to avoid misfortune and seek good fortune.

According to its calculations, the entire universe was doomed for destruction, and no civilization would be spared.

At first, they thought that this was simply the natural cycle of beginning and end.

But the Divine Machine’s output indicated that the cause was artificial!

That is, powerful forces might be able to influence whether destruction occurred or not!

Thus, without hesitation, the radical faction of the civilization set out.

They were determined to destroy anything that threatened their civilization’s safety.

However, not everyone agreed with this approach.

If interference was possible, then the right people should be the ones to wield that power!

At that point, what wish couldn’t be granted?

On Bluestar.

Tu Sheng slowly closed her eyes.

“Is it coming?”

Author Note

Slowly wriggling~

Text: OFF WORK!!!!