"As you can see, what was once the symbol of the people of Punklorde has now become the source of calamity. If you've come for the Stellaron, well, it's right there."
Veyl watched Wende quietly, her golden eyes as placid as a still lake, betraying no hint of emotion.
"I'm guessing we can't get there right now, can we?" Wende said with a smile, reading her expression.
"Heh... It seems those who can become [Nameless] are truly no ordinary people. That's right. All districts of the Neon Metropolis are currently under lockdown. Some are blocked by those cops, some by the gangs, and some... by the monsters that have been corrupted by the Stellaron..."
Veyl shook her head. If not for the existence of [Phantom Light], this old district would have probably fallen by now.
"After the Stellaron erupted, not a single one of those elites survived. Aside from the cartridge storage room, the Legendary Tower was their personal playground, wasn't it? Heh, how ironic that the very [Stellaron] would be the thing to end them."
After a wistful sigh, Veyl slowly closed her eyes.
"The old district is currently under the control of [Phantom Light], but in truth, we've never taken over this city. We're just maintaining basic order. Resource allocation is our strong suit; we leave the rest to those cops. However... most of the cops in the old district are dead, and we're short on manpower. If you want to head to the Legendary Tower, you can look for them. Jack will tell you where to find them."
With that, Veyl's gaze fixed upon the distant tower, her thoughts a mystery.
"Thank you."
After saying this, Wende led his two companions away.
Her figure remained on the rooftop, the golden twilight illuminating her face, making her appear exceptionally holy... but at some point, her golden eyes had turned a dark red. Simultaneously, two drones rose silently from the shadows.
---o---
"Himeko, we got a message from Wende. They learned the Stellaron's location from a local leader. It's inside that Legendary Tower."
March 7th showed the message Wende had sent to Himeko, who was still observing their surroundings.
"Oh? It seems they're making good progress. At least we already know where the Stellaron is. That's quite smooth."
Himeko smiled as she looked at the message on March's phone. To have found the Stellaron's exact location so quickly... it seemed this Trailblazing journey was off to a lucky start.
"Hmph... Why didn't he send me a message?"
Vinegar-Jar-Stelle pouted, staring resentfully at her own phone. She hadn't seen Wende for a whole half-day! How was he? Had those two bad women done anything to him? Had he gone off to flirt with someone else?
Just as Stelle's mind was running wild, her phone vibrated, pulling her back from her fantasies.
Wende (Quit Games):
"How's the Trailblazing trip going? I won't be there tonight, so dinner is in your hands. If you get tired, go find March for a massage. If you have time, have her teach you a bit... Oh, right, remember to eat on time. I hear Punklorde has a lot of junk food, so don't eat random things. And don't drink Himeko's coffee. Remember to add a layer if it gets cold. Did I put new clothes in the backpack I gave you? Also... Don't rummage through the trash cans! DON'T RUMMAGE THROUGH THE TRASH CANS!! If your clothes get dirty, I won't be there to wash them for you..."
"..."
"Eh? What are you looking at? Why are you smiling like that? Let me see, let me see!"
March 7th curiously peeked over at Stelle's screen, but Stelle dodged away in a flash. With a beet-red face, she turned off her phone. Her expression was a complex tapestry of emotions... a trace of sweetness mixed with a hint of sorrow; a touch of fervor intertwined with a tinge of regret...
"Why such a big reaction? Could it be... a message from Wende?"
March gave Stelle a knowing look, watching as her little face gradually heated up like a kettle. She couldn't resist giving it a pinch.
"Mmmph..."
"Alright, alright, we should get moving," Himeko said with a smile, one hand on her hip as she watched the two interact.
"The surroundings are clear. These monsters are strange. They aren't human, but they aren't robots either."
Holding his spear, Cloud-Piercer, Dan Heng returned to the group. The monsters nearby were bizarre, but he had cleaned them all up. However... they didn't seem to be creatures of the Fragmentum.
"Oh? You mean these things? They should be ordinary people who were corrupted by the Fragmentum. This is Punklorde, after all. Aside from the hackers, most people have their own [mechanical prosthetics]. It's quite normal."
Topaz, who had been carefully inspecting a shop, turned and explained to the group.
"But why... do these people corrupted by the Fragmentum grow additional mechanical tissue... Could this also be a form of mimicry by the Fragmentum?"
Dan Heng frowned, deep in thought.
"It's not impossible," Topaz replied, not refuting his point.
"Alright, while our target is the Stellaron, we should probably find some locals to understand the situation first, right? Through this neon-lit street is the new district. The Punklorde Council, the Hacker Alliance, all that stuff is over there."
Topaz guided the group with practiced ease. Numby, at her feet, gave an excited oink and presented a gold coin it had scavenged from a nearby supermarket.
"Eh? Numby, did you take this from here? That's not allowed, you know."
She gently tapped Numby's little tusk, tossed the gold coin back into the supermarket, and comforted the dejected-looking creature before continuing to lead the way.
"No wonder Miss Topaz was standing there for so long. That name is really strange," March 7th commented, shaking her head as she looked at the supermarket's sign before catching up with the others.
"Uh... Tongtong Supermarket? It feels a little weird."
---o---
"WTF! Is this what a cyberpunk planet looks like? Why does it seem so... desolate?"
Sister Guoguo stared at the wide streets and the towering buildings on either side. The neon lights were still flashing, but apart from the half-human, half-machine monsters roaming about, there wasn't even a single wrecked hovercar on the streets.
"Also... what's with these monsters! You can't even deal damage without breaking their shields! Can it get any more ridiculous!"