Chapter 13 The Masked Fool - A dark and stormy night. ...
A dark and windy night.
An unknown, handsome man in deep blue—Uncle Cold Legs—was currently hunched over against the wall of the Starry Sky Train, looking like a spider that had just learned to crawl. He had no regard for his image or face, but fortunately, his concealment was quite effective, blending into the background in the inky night.
"*Belloburg swears* Fireworks, are you deliberately trying to trick me? Who can sneak into the Starry Sky Train without anyone noticing? If my friend finds out, she'll really give me a cane, you believe it or not?"
Sambo lowered his voice, "You're pretty good at hiding from missions, even though your disguise skills are perfect—"
"Hehehe—" came the girl's giggles through the earphones, but the laughter sounded gloating no matter how you looked at it. "Who said there's no precedent for sneaking in? Aha succeeded before, didn't he? He even stayed in there for more than a year."
Sambo was shocked. How could someone talk such nonsense?
"You're comparing me to a star god???"
"Oh, just kidding, why are you taking it so seriously?"
Hanabi's words were full of "[You're so easily teased]", a purely malicious provocation.
"Aren't you and Little Gray Fur quite close? You don't even have that much of a relationship? Really? You weren't just silently protecting her from behind, and she doesn't even have any feelings for you? That's so pathetic—"
"Don't try to provoke me." Sambo gritted his teeth. "...I'm only wasting my breath talking to you. It's time to get started."
...That's right, your mushroom soup delivery was put in by Sambo, it wasn't some interstellar peace company at all.
The tavern is putting on a new show. This time, the play is extraordinary, even attracting the attention of that person. Sambo and Hanabi volunteered to participate—Hanabi, of course, for fun and entertainment, while Sambo… he was a little hard to fathom.
Poor old Sambo, the Star Train stopped at Pinocone. He had traveled all the way from Beloborg just to drop off a package. He'd been so exhausted from the long journey that he'd stopped to rest on a sparsely populated little planet. But as soon as he entered the tavern, he ran into the Star Core Hunters—everyone knows how much they care about the Trailblazers; you could call them their family. And those lunatics are no pushovers… If they captured him and told him the whole story, his entire mission would be ruined.
Sambo had only recently arrived on this planet and wasn't very familiar with the geography. The tavern owner was someone he had arranged to meet, but he had to go out and wouldn't be back for another ten minutes. Sambo was forced into the role of a bartender, but little did he know they would be so intimidating. Before they could exchange a single word, a gleaming greatsword was already at his throat.
How can someone be so unlucky? Wasn't Backkom cancelled?
...
In a secluded corner of Pinocchio, Hanabi swung her keychain, swayed her legs, and hummed a tuneless melody.
The street not far away was bustling with people, including corporate slaves carrying briefcases and fashionable beauties. Occasionally, passersby would glance at the strange girl sitting on a trash can in the dark alley, but they would quickly pass by in their hurry.
Hearing a "beep" sound from her earpiece, she knew that Sambo had cut off the communication again. She pursed her lips, "Tch, so easily amused."
A gray kitten rubbed against her ankle, its big, round eyes reflecting the colorful street scene at the alley entrance and her bright red dress, meowing softly.
Hanabi picked up the kitten, blinked, and said, "I love your gray fur~"
"Oh, of course."
As she said this, she turned her gaze to the person directly opposite her, where the alluring, butterfly-shaped patterns on her iris seemed to be burning and blooming—
It appears exceptionally bright in the darkness.
"I love you too, the one reading this right now~" she said. "Whether you have black hair, blonde hair, or gray hair... whatever the color of the rainbow, you're still my dear you~"
"Hanabi-sama put in a lot of effort for this play. I'll be sad if you don't like it~"
*
We're about to leave for Onphalus. Pack your things in your room.
Onfaros is a planet that has never been explored. The journey ahead is unknown, so the train crew has decided to send you and Teacher Danheng to scout ahead first.
"I'll miss you—" March 7th hugged your neck and pretended to cry, "You and Teacher Danheng mustn't get so caught up in the adventure that you forget about our little March—"
"Don't worry, if there are no problems, I'll bring you over, and the three of us will go on a rampage in Onfaros." You patted her on the back.
"Great!" She smiled and joked, "Then when you become the local big shot, we'll all be relying on you. You and Teacher Danheng will be in charge of slaughtering everyone, and I'll be in charge of laughing. After all, I'm just a weak ranged archer."
While you two were playfully frolicking on the bed, Danheng was spreading out his suitcase on the floor next to you, helping you pack. He was already immune to your nonsense, not even flinching, completely ignoring you. Although there wasn't much to pack—most of your things were in that dimensional backpack—as long as you had your phone, you could even cook with it.
“Shampoo, shower gel…” he frowned in thought. “We’re not sure how far Onfaros has developed, so let’s bring as many daily necessities as possible. Also, a thick scarf, summer clothes…”
"Teacher Danheng has become more talkative," March 7th sighed. "He was so quiet at first, but now he's so concerned that he's forgotten we have the protection of [Pioneer]. I shouldn't call you Cold-Faced Little Green Dragon anymore, I should call you Warm-Faced Little Green Dragon."
You ask him, "Have you packed your things yet?" and he starts worrying about your luggage.
Danheng nodded. "I don't have anything to bring."
On March 7th, seemingly joking but actually concerned, he said, "We all know how reliable Teacher Danheng is. Just don't forget to bring yourself a few extra clothes. In case the journey is long and something goes wrong, it will be difficult to change clothes. Unless you get another chance to embark on a new journey."
You: "...How can a single sentence be filled with so many flags..."
"...No way." Seeing that you and Danheng were both staring at her, March 7th also fell silent, then chuckled awkwardly a few times. "It can't be that much of a coincidence, can it? How could it be that only our train crew happens to encounter world-shaking events every time! Hahaha! Haha, ha..."
The room fell silent for a moment, with only the trembling voice she was trying to deceive herself echoing faintly in the air.
Dan Heng opened his mouth, about to speak, when your phone started vibrating wildly:
—It turns out that the message that inexplicably disguised as Silver Wolf was disconnected and then reconnected successfully!?
—Three weeks ago—
[Silver Wolf, how will this simulation game guide you?]
[Warning! Error sending, object does not exist! Warning, error sending, object does not exist!]
[System notification: Reconnection successful.]
--today--
[Hehehe.]
[Fireworks? It's you? I knew it! Didn't you get enough of pretending to be a black swan last time?]
[What's wrong? It's not just Hanabi-sama~]
[...Who else?]
[Sister, please don't order anything soupy or watery next time. It's so easy to spill! I wrapped it in several layers, and it was even harder to handle than the artifacts at the Belleburg Palace.]
[Sangbo? You two are teaming up to fool me? Tell the truth, did you make this game to mess with me? You two really know how to pinpoint user pain points, creating this cute little mascot to lure me in and steal so many of my Star Jade pieces. I'm not finished with you!]
[Hmm, the two of us alone couldn't accomplish something so earth-shattering. You'll see later, these little yellow stones will be useful too~]
[What do you guys need Xingqiong for...? You can't even use her to draw cards!]
[Warning! Error sending, object does not exist! Warning, error sending, object does not exist!]
[I knew that game system was so annoying! And that smiling emoticon that always ends up at the end, it's infuriating! Turns out you two are the game developers!!!]
[Warning! Error sending, object does not exist! Warning, error sending, object does not exist!]
*
Meanwhile, on the other side...
Switching to Ruan Mei's perspective...
[Black Tower] Space Station, the most (not) mysterious office in the entire universe.
“This is an unexpected result.” She stood alone in front of the control panel, quickly scanning through your last simulated universe data, then lowered her eyes in thought, “…I didn’t expect [Pleasure] to join in as well.”
For Aha, the star god of [Joy], amusement is probably His strongest motivation. However, data from previous years shows that His joy isn't based on suffering. Is it because He disapproves of the actions of [Destruction], believing that a place like Onpharos is filled with calamity and suffering, devoid of any joy? Or is it simply because of His ill-fated relationship with [Expansion], making Him particularly interested in the Star Train? Or perhaps it's a combination of both...?
“Onfaros,” Ruan Mei muttered to herself, “Life born from data, a breeding ground for destruction, after so many data wipes and restarts, how can it still hold on to this extent…”
She recalled the lives she had created before. Cat Cake, and even the "parents" created from data, were all carefully nurtured through repeated experiments to be born successfully.
But on the planet Onpharos, these fascinating life forms are born from the element most adept at destruction, the Destruction. Their environment is almost unbearable, yet countless cycles have not broken their resilience. People continue their pursuit of fire, as always, even attempting to raise torches in rebellion against their Creator.
A glint of light flashed in her beautiful eyes. "The definition of life: metabolism, growth, adaptation to the environment, reproduction... Even data, even words, can be considered a special kind of life. I will continue to observe."
She turned and walked out of the empty room, her black hair and long tasseled shawl fluttering in the wind behind her.
"...Hmm, I'm craving some pastries."
A note from the author:
----------------------
Last time, some people guessed it was Sambo. I actually saw that comment, but I didn't dare to say anything for fear of spoilers. [fist bump]
Remembering that a new version is about to be released, I'm posting a chapter from my drafts first. I plan to finish the new storyline first.
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