CHAPTER 287 - The One Favored by the World

At this moment, Li Lin couldn't concern himself with anything else; he just wanted to know what had happened to his original world.

"Hmm... it was swallowed by a bunch of filthy, disgusting bugs. That's all."

Zoe pondered for a moment, then stretched out her legs, sitting in mid-air. Her little feet dangled as if the end of a world couldn't stir even a flicker of emotion within her.

"I watched it all unfold. The apocalypse is one of my favorite shows! And the fireworks in the deep cosmos!"

"..."

Li Lin opened his mouth, but his mind went blank, leaving him speechless.

Swallowed by bugs?

Based on Zoe's words, Earth must have been consumed by the Void. But why? Why would something like the Void exist in his world...

Seeing through Li Lin's thoughts, Zoe nonchalantly opened a portal with her left hand, licked her lips, and produced a stack of cream cakes from nowhere, eating them with delight, her face covered in cream.

"Where there's light, there must be darkness. Where there's existence, there must be void. Everything is relative."

She spoke while chewing, her words muffled by the cake, making it hard for Li Lin to understand. It was difficult to believe such philosophical words could come from Zoe.

"Every universe has a corresponding void side. When the time comes and existence disturbs the void, those disgusting little bugs awaken..."

Zoe sucked the cream off her fingers, pausing for a few seconds. "Then, the apocalypse arrives. It's very normal and happens in every universe."

After thinking for a moment, she continued, "In one edge universe I visited, the void birthed a god trying to break the universal barriers to devour everything. They succeeded halfway, sending an ally to a neighboring universe.

"That universe was impressive! Humans had established a galactic empire..."

"..."

Listening to Zoe's chatter, Li Lin remained silent, feeling an indescribable blockage in his heart.

He had once fantasized about defeating the Watchers, developing a device to break through universal barriers, and exploring parallel universes, maybe even returning to his own world.

But now, it seemed like a dream. His Earth had been erased by the Void. No matter how hard he tried, he could never find his world...

"You... witnessed that world's destruction firsthand, didn't you?" Li Lin's voice was hoarse as he fought back tears.

"Are you sad?" Zoe tilted her head, confused. In her world, sadness and grief didn't exist.

Not for her, nor did she think others should feel such "boring" emotions. At least, that was her belief.

Li Lin's sorrow affected Zoe. "Even though your world is gone, you are its hope, its favored one. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here... isn't that worth celebrating?"

"It seems expecting you to understand is my wishful thinking."

Hearing the sadness and hint of desolation in Li Lin's voice, Zoe panicked, not wanting to upset her new friend.

"Uh, we're friends, right? Friends help each other..." Her eyes lit up as she had an idea. "Actually, you don't need to care about your world!"

Feeling Li Lin's negative emotions rise, Zoe quickly explained, "Reality is just an illusion, not very convincing. Do you understand? Sometimes, this illusion sways and shifts, never fitting perfectly..."

As she spoke, Zoe's words became more confused, realizing she didn't understand herself or that what she said shouldn't be revealed to someone like Li Lin. She gave up explaining, pouting and lowering her head.

"Uh... don't mind me, I was joking."

An awkward silence fell between them, the atmosphere heavy.

Zoe didn't like this feeling but didn't know how to comfort Li Lin.

After all, she was a girl who had kept her purest nature and was the only one in millennia to gain the power of the Twilight Star Spirit through a backdoor.

She didn't know how to empathize or comfort others.

In other words, Zoe's "innocence" had turned into "malice" in the eyes of ordinary humans after gaining divine power.

Words can be harsh, but that's just the beginning...

Think of a solution, Zoe!

This is a friend you've made with great difficulty, and he's a boy! You can't let him slip away from you!

Zoe stared at Li Lin, who was lost in thought, pondering for a long time. Finally, her face turned serious as if she had made a firm decision.

She licked her lips and opened a portal, rummaging through it. Soon, her face lit up, and she reached out her hand, presenting a shiny, glass-like ball to Li Lin.

"Don't be sad! How about I give you a gift? It's not part of our friend exchange gifts~~"

Li Lin, slightly recovering from his sorrow, looked at the "glass ball" in Zoe's hand, puzzled. He activated his "Data Mind" to scan it and was instantly horrified, his sadness replaced by fear.

[Beautiful Glass Ball (Star): Created by the Celestial Dragon, Aurelion Sol, stolen by Zoe and turned into a glass ball for a marble game.]

"You...!"

Li Lin quickly activated the "Blink" function, distancing himself from Zoe by over a hundred meters.

"Huh? You can teleport too?" She was stunned for a moment, then realized something was amiss, "Why are you running away, Li Lin?"

She called out, a golden light circle appearing behind her as she stepped into the portal.

In a flash, Zoe appeared behind him, "Don't you like the pretty glass ball?"

Li Lin was exasperated by the mischievous girl and wanted to say, "Could you go find Ezreal and stop bothering me?" But Zoe, newly returned to Runeterra, had never met the blond adventurer, and he feared hurting her feelings, causing her to act rashly...

Just like in the original timeline, where she was attacked by guards for trying to make friends, and in a fit of anger, summoned a meteor that destroyed the village and revealed a world rune nearby.

Moreover, his rocket and satellite were still under her control. If he angered her, what would he do if she summoned a meteor to destroy his future launches?

Taking deep breaths to calm his racing heart, Li Lin spoke in a gentle tone, "Is this yours?"

"Of course..."

Zoe was about to answer when the image of a celestial dragon flashed in her mind, and her smile froze.

"Hehe~~ I mean, I borrowed it... but I'm sure he won't mind!"

That's just your wishful thinking!

Aurelion Sol treasures his creations, and you turned one into a marble for a game? You want to give it to me? Are you trying to bring more disaster to Runeterra?

Li Lin ranted in his mind.

"I'm not sad anymore. You keep the gift."

"Really?!"

Zoe beamed, summoning a portal and tossing the "glass ball" inside, making Li Lin's heart skip a beat.

Casually discarding a star...

Among all the Celestial Aspects, only you could do something like this.

"Hehe, looks like I'm good at comforting people~~"

Li Lin felt helpless at Zoe's self-satisfaction.

He glanced at the time, realizing he had been talking with Zoe for over ten minutes. Since he started conversing with the Twilight Aspect, his AI had automatically cut off communication between his armor and the ground.

They must be worried by now.

Li Lin didn't want to waste more time and looked at the girl, who was humming a tune in her little world, "Zoe..."

"I'm here!" Zoe giggled, floating in front of Li Lin, "So, shall we get the gift now? It's on that eastern island!"

"Uh... let's put the world rune aside for now. How about I make you a custom suit of armor first, and then we exchange gifts?"

I don't want Ryze to come knocking at this point. That old mage has zero tolerance for world runes.

Even if you say I won't be affected by the world rune...

"Yes! Of course! Zoe loves gifts!" She nodded eagerly, "If possible, can you make the armor rainbow-colored?"

"If you like, I can make it color-changing." Li Lin paused intentionally, "But..."

"But? No buts!" Zoe's face fell immediately, "That's no fun."

Li Lin felt a headache coming on, unsure how to respond.

I haven't said anything yet, why are you reacting so strongly?

"Ahem... I just wanted to say, can you release my rocket?"

He pointed to the distant rocket.

"Oh~~ so it's called a rocket? No problem!"

Zoe snapped her fingers, and the surrounding distorted rules returned to normal.

The rocket, which had been stationary in the sky for a long time, resumed its engine functions and continued its journey into space as if nothing had happened.

"A device that flies to the heavens without using any magic!" Zoe's eyes sparkled as she stared at the rocket, "What's it for?"

"The rocket transports and, upon reaching a predetermined location, separates to release an artificial satellite..." Li Lin quickly explained the functions of the rocket and satellite.

Zoe nodded thoughtfully, but Li Lin knew her focus was entirely on the rocket heading into space, not his explanation.

He sighed, "Alright, I need to go back now, so let's part ways here..."

Before he could finish, Zoe snapped back to attention, exclaiming, "I want to go too!"

"...Huh?"

(End of Chapter)

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