Not long after the Ambrosial Arbor's eruption, Cloud Knights appeared urgently on all roads leading to its vicinity. They stood ready, methodically evacuating passersby and sealing off the area.
"Unrelated personnel, please evacuate. The area ahead is sealed off. Repeat: unrelated personnel, please evacuate. The area ahead is sealed off!"
At the same time, three figures—two large and one small—scaled a building, silently bypassing the Cloud Knights' blockade, heading toward the Ambrosial Arbor.
March 7th landed steadily. "Be careful. The area's been sealed off by the Cloud Knights. To avoid trouble, we'd better not get caught."
Stelle landed and swayed slightly, barely keeping her balance. "Got it. I'll keep an eye out."
Thud—
The little Stellaron let out an "Ouch!" as she fell to the ground. "That hurts, Sister…"
March 7th, feeling sorry for her, scooped the little Stellaron into her arms and shot Stelle an annoyed glance. "She's so small, and you didn't even watch her."
Stelle grabbed the Stellaron's two little arms. "I get it, March. Let me hold her, okay?"
"No way!" March 7th huffed. "You just said you wanted to toughen the kid up. She's toughened up enough, hasn't she? I'll take care of her."
Stelle protested, "I don't think that's a good idea, March. Carrying her will affect your combat ability. Hand her to me. I want to… uh, care for the kid."
"I don't trust you with her," March retorted. "You could barely stand steady when you landed. What if you drop her?"
"You're so brutal in a fight. The kid will pick up bad habits with you! Give her to me!"
"What do you mean, give her to you? Don't think I don't know you just want to play with her… weapon!"
"March, how dare you slander my good name?! I'm furious!"
The little Stellaron was tugged back and forth between them, her head spinning. Just then, a figure leapt overhead, landing on the building above them. The person was dressed in black. Sensing the situation, the two immediately stopped arguing, instinctively covering each other's mouths and ducking into a blind spot.
The little Stellaron, clueless about what was happening, started to speak. "Sis…"
As soon as she opened her mouth, both Stelle and March clamped her mouth and nose shut, silencing her completely.
The figure in black gazed at the distant Ambrosial Arbor, muttering softly, "Ah… the Ambrosial Arbor has been reborn. Truly magnificent."
"How did Jing Yuan mess this up? Could he really have stepped down as General? Why would someone like him trust the Luofu to someone else, let alone a wet-behind-the-ears girl? What was he thinking…"
"Now that this has happened, he's probably freaking out, huh? Hmph… luckily, Elio foresaw the outcome here. Guess when trouble comes, he can deal with it himself."
"Hm… speaking of which, where's Kafka? If my mara flares up again later, will it cause another mess like last time? Tsk… she's always late."
"Sigh, the Stellaron Hunters are hopeless these days. Kafka's always putting on makeup, taking photos, or online shopping. Silver Wolf's either playing Honkai Gakuen, Houkai Impact or snagging zero-cost deals online. SAM… no, Firefly's just a yandere, eating cakes shaped like that guy… tsk, always something to worry about."
"When's that death Elio promised me coming, anyway? He's not lying to me, is he? So annoying…"
"…"
The black-clad figure rambled on for a while until his phone rang. He answered it, saying, "Hey, Kafka. Yeah, when are you getting here? What? You're not coming? What happened now? Silver Wolf fainted? Tsk… fine, fine, you guys do your thing. I'll figure it out myself."
"The Stellaron Hunters really have no future…"
After muttering for a bit, the figure in black finally moved, heading toward the Ambrosial Arbor.
Below.
"That voice sounds so familiar… feels like a total pushover," March 7th said, letting out a sigh of relief.
"No kidding…" Stelle's lips twitched. From the low, brooding tone and the content of that monologue, the guy's identity was obvious—it was Blade, the uncle who went mara-struck at the sight of Dan Heng back at the Space Station!
Their interaction back then was brief, so she hadn't noticed, but this version of Uncle Blade was something else—rambling on and on, sounding like he saw no future and was ready to die.
Well… she couldn't really blame him, Stelle thought. The team's supposed leader, Kafka, had turned into a failed influencer. The rest of the team was just as absurd, so for Blade, the only relatively normal one, not going insane was already a miracle.
"Oh… I remember now, Stelle. Do you recall the Stellaron Hunter we met when we first crossed paths?" March 7th suddenly recalled. "The one who almost got taken out by Uncle Yang, the guy Boothill was trying to save."
"No mistake about it. Wasn't he captured by the Cloud Knights? How's he here now?" March 7th frowned.
The whole universe probably knew what Blade was up to… Stelle thought, then felt something was off. Looking down, she realized they'd been covering the little Stellaron's mouth and nose the whole time, and the kid had passed out.
"Oh no?! March, what did we do?!" Stelle panicked, propping up the Stellaron's head and blowing air into her mouth. "The kid's done for! Quick, do CPR!"
A few minutes later.
The little Stellaron opened her eyes hazily. "Aba… Aba aba?"
"…Sisters, I think I just had a dream where you smothered me to death," the little Stellaron said, bewildered. "Good thing it wasn't real… but why did I fall asleep just now?"
Stelle & March 7th: "Erm… that's not important."
…
Elsewhere, Dan Heng, who had already parted ways with Huohuo and the others, frowned at the messages on his phone.
They were distress calls from Stelle, March 7th, Himeko, and others, all saying they were locked in a fierce battle at the Ambrosial Arbor on the Luofu and needed backup.
Dan Heng was initially frantic, but as the messages piled up, he started to sense something was off—
For example, this message from March 7th: Dan Heng, we can't hold on much longer! Come help quick!
Dan Heng's small frame was filled with big doubts. This was from March 7th? It felt inexplicably… off.
Though he had his suspicions, Dan Heng didn't dare take chances. Even if there was a one percent chance, he wouldn't stand by and ignore his companions.
With that in mind, his steps quickened unconsciously, hurrying toward the Ambrosial Arbor.
…
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Bailu was just about to go to bed when she saw a message on her phone: Limited-time VIP recharge event! Top up once, get 100x back! Super value deal, instant jade recovery, instant Strale delivery. Visit our offline store for details…
Bailu scoffed. "An ad to scam kids? Interesting."
"…"
"Huh? Why can't I withdraw it?! Where's the offline store? What's this about an Ambrosial Arbor branch?!"