Chapter 266: Entering the Game in Person! Throwing the Express Crew and the "Bug" Acheron into the Mix!
Before the red curtain.
Aventurine, about to step onto the stage, and the innocent-looking Kakavasha.
Little Kakavasha looked up and said with a smile, "You still look so nervous…"
"Let's do the palm-to-palm ritual. If Mother Fenge Byos blesses us, you'll feel better."
"The palm-to-palm is a small ritual. We press our palms together and recite the prayer to Mother Fenge Byos, and she will bless us."
"If you don't know how, I can teach you."
Aventurine closed his eyes and opened them again.
He said softly, "It's okay, I know how."
"Of course I do."
After Aventurine said this.
The sound of rain appeared in the background.
It seemed to be the final flashback…
This time, it returned to Kakavasha's childhood.
He and his sister were standing in a wasteland.
Kakavasha was covering his face with his hands, seemingly crying.
And his sister was comforting him on the side.
Rain poured down.
Accompanied by thunder.
"This is where we go our own way, Kakavasha. The Katicans are coming."
"Why? The Katicans have already taken all our money, our food, and killed Mom and Dad… What else do they want?" Kakavasha cried.
"The Katicans are bloodthirsty, cruel, and insatiably greedy. They want everything, only to end up with nothing."
"This is a ruse, an act of revenge. Remember? Today is the Day of Kakava, and also your birthday…"
Her voice was resolute, tinged with heartbreak.
"…As long as you are alive, the blood of the Avgin will never run dry. So run, Kakavasha. Do not be afraid, do not look back. Go to the other side of the mountains. The rain will be with you; the rain will bless you."
"And we will meet again under the aurora of the next Kakava [ the beginning of the Giainthra Triclops's reincarnation ]…"
His sister said.
She pulled Kakavasha's hand.
Pressed their palms together.
Performing the palm-to-palm ritual.
"May the goddess Giainthra Triclops close her eyes for you three times…"
"Keep your blood eternally pulsing…"
"Let your journey be forever peaceful…"
"…And your schemes forever concealed."
"Goodbye, Kakavasha."
...
"…Waaah, I'm crying…"
"This is… the Avgin clan using the IPC's power to trade lives with the Katicans!?"
"Damn Katicans! I want to grab a knife, charge in, and slaughter those barbarians!"
"But the IPC didn't help. To be precise, the Marketing Development Department didn't fulfill their promise! Aventurine was still sold as a slave afterward."
"When the second Katican-Avgin extermination incident occurred, many Avgin, including Kakavasha's sister, were slaughtered by the Katicans. The IPC did not provide the promised help to the Avgin during the incident~."
"Fun fact: The Marketing Development Department and the Strategic Investment Department are sworn enemies."
"Oswaldo Schneider [ Head of the Marketing Development Department ]"
"Oswaldo Schneider. Stop playing dead, come out and speak!"
"Oswaldo Schneider. You deserve to die!"
"This guy has done more than just one or two wicked things. This is probably just a dummy account…"
...
"Interastral Peace Broadcasting News Flash: A spokesperson for the IPC Marketing Development Department has confirmed that a small-scale rebellion has broken out in the unowned star sector of Sigonia. The situation is currently under effective control—"
"The rebels are from a local clan called the Katicans. This clan has long harbored dissatisfaction with the Corporation and has had a serious negative impact on the Marketing Development Department's operations in the area—"
"The clan launched a large-scale attack on the Avgin clan, which is under the Corporation's protection, resulting in 6, 728 deaths, 3, 452 missing, and the injured have been received by the medical relief organization, Trauma Team—"
"The spokesperson expressed deep condolences for this profound humanitarian disaster and delivered an important speech to all interstellar citizens regarding the matter—"
"Finally, he stated: The hammer of Preservation will surely fall for all life, regardless of life or death, race, or ideology, to defend our inherent basic rights…"
Listening to this Interastral Peace broadcast.
Vibrant lives turned into cold numbers in the broadcast…
Everyone at the hotel felt a deep sense of irony!
Especially Boothill!
He was so angry his teeth itched!
He also had a blood feud with Oswaldo Schneider!
That head of the Marketing Development Department, in order to develop the mineral resources of his homeworld, not only drove them away from their home but finally ordered the massacre of the indigenous people of Argon-Apache!
Boothill's siblings all died because of this!
The meaning of becoming a Galaxy Ranger was to find this person and exact revenge!
Seeing the comments all cursing him, Boothill finally felt relieved.
He took out his phone.
And joined the ranks of cyber-bullying Oswaldo…
......
After the news flash ended.
Aventurine also woke up from his memories.
"Kakavasha?"
Aventurine's expression froze.
He was the only one left around him.
The figure representing his past had disappeared.
"…Goodbye."
Then.
He walked to the curtain.
He chose [ Step onto the stage ].
"Alright then—the actor is in place, time for the show to begin."
"This performance is dedicated to you, I hope it leaves you with unforgettable memories…"
"…Kakavasha."
Before pulling back the curtain.
Sunday's question seemed to ring out again suddenly—
"By the way, before you leave, I have a more personal question."
"Do you… really want to destroy this world with your own hands?"
Aventurine smiled dismissively.
"Assuming—just an assumption—that every time I roll the dice, there's a probability of getting this result…"
"Then I would be very happy to take that gamble."
The screen,
Briefly went dark.
Like a moment of calm before the final act.
Then.
Aventurine's voice spread through the broadcast.
"Ladies and Gentlemen—"
"The most amazing and grand performance in Penacony's history is about to begin—"
"The Interastral Peace Corporation cordially invites everyone to the scene—Clock Studios Theme Park!"
As his voice fell.
The Astral Express crew and Acheron also arrived at the scene.
Aventurine's final performance was finally about to begin!
......
Inside the theater.
All the IPC employees stood up!
At this moment.
They were not here as players!
But as the entire Strategic Investment Department acting as Aventurine's support team!
"It's here! It's finally here!"
"Wooo… Entering the game with his own life, seeking survival in death!"
"Ahhhhhhh, go for it, Director Aventurine!"
"All the wandering and displacement was for this moment!"
"I will follow Director Aventurine to the death!"
"He will win!"
"All or nothing!"
On the stage.
Aventurine's voice sounded: "The third murder case is about to happen. Right here, at Clock Studios Theme Park…"
"A truly grand death."
"Everyone will die—and it's all because of you, Miss Stellaron…"
"You will personally embody death here."
"Let me be clearer: I will detonate the Stellaron inside you, creating a small accident here in Penacony…"
Acheron had already reached a cooperation agreement with the Astral Express crew.
At this moment, hands on her hips.
She said coldly: "Bluffing is useless against us. If you could really do it, you would have had plenty of opportunities before."
However.
Aventurine seemed extremely confident at this moment, one could even say he was swelling with pride!
He replied: "Of course I can do it, it's just another gamble."
"I came from the deserts of Sigonia, for sixty copper coins, people branded me, shackled me, put me on the rack, and buried me in the yellow sand…"
"But the sun couldn't kill me, and the quicksand sent me into the embrace of the Intelligentsia Guild and the IPC. Remember, I didn't just win by accident; I have never lost."
"Let me share a proverb with you: Sleep is a rehearsal for death. Why does life sleep? Because we are not yet ready to face death."
"Every night's dream is no different from dying, just like you and me at this moment, harboring the will to die, hiding in the dreamscape. And death… will also come in response to our mutterings."
"Friends, the game has already begun. You cannot refuse—"
"——There is no reason, and there is no room for it."
...
"Aventurine, he's standing up!"
"After being backstabbed all this time, our boy Aventurine is finally flipping the table!"
"Good, good, good, Aventurine is finally going to transform!"
"Taking on the entire Astral Express crew! Plus a bug-tier Acheron, I respect you as a tough guy!"
"Acheron: You stole my spot."
"I can't win, I don't understand at all!"
"I'm directly siding with Aventurine, helping him destroy Penacony together!"
"This speech is too cool! I suggest adding it to the IPC training textbooks, to be memorized in full!"