Derick, Stelle, Castorice, and the others followed Clockie down a few streets. They happened to see two groups of people arguing and shoving each other, looking like they were about to start a fight.
And between these two groups, a blue-haired boy in a uniform was anxiously trying to reason with them.
"Huh? I think I've seen him before," Stelle said with pleasant surprise upon seeing Misha.
"Really? What a coincidence," Derick replied to Stelle.
Hearing their conversation, Castorice, Huohuo, and the others pointed doubtfully at the two groups of brawling men and asked Derick, "Who are you talking about?"
"Of course, it's the boy in the middle!" Derick replied to them.
"A boy? Why can't we see him again?" Castorice started to wonder if there was something wrong with her eyesight, since she couldn't see anything.
Meanwhile, the arguing crowd noticed several people pointing at them and shot them an annoyed look.
"What do we do? They're looking at me. What do we do? Should I use the Clockwork trick?" Clockie saw the men looking their way and said anxiously.
Derick looked at Clockie, thinking that the Clockwork trick was indeed a useful tool, able to manipulate even the emotions of others. Unfortunately, it only worked in Penacony; if it could be used outside, it would be a god-tier ability. At Derick's level, even a momentary shift in emotion could be seized as an opportunity to change the tide of battle.
But for the people in front of him, it wasn't necessary.
"No need. I have something better than the Clockwork trick." Derick stepped forward, quickly weaving between the men and "gently" patting their shoulders.
Feeling Derick's "warmth," all of them sat down on the ground.
"Everyone, fighting is bad. I think we can all talk peacefully, can't we?"
The men nodded repeatedly.
Derick glanced at Stelle and the others and said proudly, "See? Resolving conflicts is pretty simple."
Everyone except Stelle was speechless, including Clockie and Misha. But the result was good; all the men, now silent as cicadas in winter, fled into the distance.
A few seconds later, Clockie finally came to his senses and hopped over to Misha.
"Misha, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Misha shook his head. "I was trying to mediate their conflict, but it wasn't working. I had to trouble you, sir."
After speaking, Misha looked at Derick and thanked him sincerely: "Thank you for your help, sir."
"You're welcome."
"Yeah, you were trying to help out of kindness too," Stelle chimed in.
Watching them interact, Castorice felt a little frustrated.
Why did Derick now have secrets with another girl, secrets she knew nothing about? It was maddening.
The most crucial part was that she had no way of finding out this secret. She couldn't see, and that was that. It was like a math problem from the Intelligentsia Guild—if you can't solve it, you can't solve it, no matter how hard you try.
As they were talking, Stelle glanced at Castorice and the others, noticing they still showed no sign of seeing Misha. Her curiosity grew even stronger.
Derick saw Stelle's expression and said, "Stelle, when you go back, how about you tell the other members of the Astral Express what happened here?"
"Tell the other members of the Astral Express?" Hearing this, Stelle didn't understand why Derick would say that.
"Yeah, go back and tell the others on the Astral Express. You might get an unexpected reward," Derick said with a mysterious smile.
Regardless of what Misha's fate would be now that Derick was involved in Penacony, Derick at least wanted Misha to have some interaction with Pom-Pom. To the other Nameless, Mikhail was just a predecessor. But to Pom-Pom, he was a partner who had traveled with it.
When partners should be reunited, it's best that they are.
"What exactly do you know?" Stelle asked Derick.
"This is something you're better off exploring yourself. You're a Nameless, aren't you? Why are you so eager for ready-made answers instead of exploring the unknown?" Derick naturally wouldn't spell it out.
Stelle rolled her eyes at Derick.
"Fine, fine, I get it. I'll tell Himeko, Uncle Yang, and the others what happened here when I get back."
Misha and Clockie looked at Derick, then at Stelle. Clockie then asked them, "What are you two talking about?"
"Nothing much, just wanted to introduce you, Misha and Clockie, to more friends," Derick said.
Clockie looked hesitant. "More friends? Are you sure they can see us?"
"Maybe not right now, but there will definitely be a way," Derick said.
"Okay, since you can see us, we'll trust you," Clockie said, nodding firmly.
Seeing that they believed him, Stelle quickly contacted Welt Yang and Himeko to tell them what was going on.
"Alright, when they have time in the next few days, Uncle Yang and the others will come see you too."
Stelle said to Misha and Clockie.
Misha and Clockie eagerly agreed.
***
Derick left the Dreampool.
As someone with strong self-control, he didn't want to immerse himself in the world of dreams for too long. His main body was both in reality and the dreamscape, and with the perspectives of his five clones, he couldn't let things get too chaotic.
Returning his consciousness to his main body, Derick stood up from the Dreampool.
Unlike in the game, when you leave the Dreampool, you get completely wet. Castorice, Acheron, and the others had gone in fully clothed, coming out soaked before changing. Derick, on the other hand, had lazily gone into the pool wearing only a pair of shorts. After getting out, he could just change his underwear and throw on his clothes.
After getting dressed, Derick decided to take a walk around the real-world part of the Reverie Hotel.
He wanted to see what the situation in reality was like.
Walking into the hotel lobby, he found it much less crowded than The Golden Hour. Most people, after checking in, were eager to enjoy the wonders of the dreamscape.
Derick had planned to just look around, have a non-alcoholic drink, and then go rest. But as he glanced across the lobby, he spotted three familiar faces.
"Hey, you two are wanted criminals of the Corporation! How can you just show up in Penacony so brazenly? Security for the Reverie Hotel? Get over here and arrest these two!" Scott shouted at Firefly and Silver Wolf.
Firefly and Silver Wolf both looked annoyed. Silver Wolf even took out her game console, seemingly about to do something.
Derick walked over and looked at Scott.
"I invited them. Mr. Scott, do you have a problem with that?" Derick said with a smile.
Before Scott could answer, Derick continued nonchalantly, "By the way, the Corporation's enterprises on the Yaoqing Xianzhou might be a bit short-staffed recently. They might send someone over. If I were to strongly request a certain person be sent, the Corporation would usually do me that favor. Also, Mr. Scott, let me tell you, the Corporation's businesses on the Yaoqing Xianzhou can sometimes become targets for the Denizens of Abundance. The compensation the Corporation has paid out over the years is quite high."
"What are you talking about?! You can't be so despicable!" Hearing Derick's words, Scott's face clearly showed panic.
If Derick had said this to a high-ranking executive like Topaz or Aventurine, he would have been ignored. But for Scott, it was a very real possibility.
"Hmm? How am I being despicable?!" Derick said, smiling at Scott.
"You win!" Looking at Derick's faint smile, Scott couldn't help but remember his past humiliation and the utter shamelessness of Derick and Cipher. At that thought, he fled in disgrace.
"Mr. Derick, thank you so much," Firefly said, looking relieved.
"If you hadn't shown up, I would have had to kill him... oh, I mean, I would have been helpless."
Derick: "..."
Silver Wolf: "..."
"I was just trying to get rid of him, and you were about to attack," Silver Wolf quipped from the side. After her comment, she walked up to Derick, looking up at him to say hello.
"We meet again. Last time we just glanced at each other. This is our first real conversation," Silver Wolf said to Derick.
"Yeah. Last time I fought with Blade, you were watching from afar. I only caught a glimpse of you."
"I'm not good at direct combat. If I didn't stay far away, I probably would have ended up as your prisoner on the spot," Silver Wolf said, hopping onto a chair.
"Then aren't you even more afraid I'll take you prisoner now?"
"The problem is, there's no point in capturing me. At most, you could collect the Corporation's bounty. If you're really short on cash, just tell me, and I'll transfer you the money directly," Silver Wolf said nonchalantly.
"You're that rich?"
Although Silver Wolf had the lowest bounty among the Stellaron Hunters, it was still over five billion.
"I don't have money, but I can get it from the Corporation's financial institutions. Those heartless capitalists... taking a few billion from them is just helping them build good karma."
Silver Wolf's hacking skills were top-notch. For the Corporation to defend against her, they would need to hire Screwllum as their head of cybersecurity. That was impossible.
So, the Corporation's money was basically hers for the taking.
However, Silver Wolf didn't use this ability often.
Though she was carefree in her daily life, she was more or less on the side of good. Taking the Corporation's money might seem like nothing, but the Corporation would never absorb the loss itself. The cost would eventually be passed down to the ordinary people in the market.
Unless it was an emergency, Silver Wolf wouldn't do something like that.
"Forget it. I'll let you know when I'm short on cash." Derick was aware of this and didn't press the matter.
Derick remembered why he was looking for the Stellaron Hunters and said, "I need your help with the matter of Amphoreus."
"I'll tell you right now, Elio's prophecies are completely useless in this regard," Silver Wolf stated, telling Derick to give up on that idea.
Derick was a bit surprised, but also somewhat relieved.
If his own fate could also be observed by Elio, it would be rather hard to accept and quite unsettling.
"If Elio's prophecies are useless, then there's only one Stellaron Hunter who can help us."
As Derick said this, his gaze fell upon Silver Wolf.
"You mean me?"
Silver Wolf said in surprise.
"Yes, you."
Derick nodded affirmatively.
Regarding Amphoreus, the Stellaron Hunters couldn't provide Derick with much combat support. Although Blade was hard to kill, his damage output was too low to be of much use. As for Kafka, Derick couldn't expect her Spirit Whisper to control Lygus, or the soon-to-be-born Lord Ravager, Irontomb.
Only Silver Wolf's hacking skills could truly shine on Amphoreus. After all, her skills were acknowledged even by Screwllum.
Ruan Mei had called on Screwllum, and to be on the safe side, Derick would add Silver Wolf to the mix, to completely turn the Imperial Scepter into a plaything in their hands.
Silver Wolf had more experience with intrusions; she had probably done that kind of work more than Screwllum. Screwllum might want to study the Imperial Scepter, but Derick cared more about the world of Amphoreus itself.
Having Silver Wolf's assistance was absolutely necessary. It was another ace up his sleeve for dealing with the situation on Amphoreus. You can't put all your eggs in one basket.
"Alright. Since you say I'm that important, I'll help you out when the time comes. But I can't be on the front lines of the battlefield," Silver Wolf agreed.
"With this, the debt the Stellaron Hunters owe you is repaid."
Firefly looked at Silver Wolf with an apologetic expression.
This time, it was her who owed Derick a favor, but it was Silver Wolf who ended up repaying it.
Silver Wolf waved her hand, indicating it was no big deal.
What happened to Firefly was part of Elio's plan, a plan they had all agreed to. Therefore, the responsibility for what happened to Firefly should be borne by all the Stellaron Hunters.
"Good."
Derick brought over three non-alcoholic drinks, intending to toast to their happy cooperation.
Just then, Derick overheard a conversation from a nearby table.
"Did you hear? I just came from The Golden Hour. Someone was killed in the dreamscape?"
"How is that possible? Can people actually die in the dreamscape?"
"It's true."
Derick listened, wondering, did 'What Is the Cranium?' strike again? It couldn't be Robin in trouble again, could it?
As he was thinking, he suddenly heard the sound of approaching footsteps.
He turned his head and saw the siblings, Sunday and Robin.
Sunday walked up to the people who were discussing the matter and said with a smile, "Those are just misunderstandings from some travelers who have just arrived in Penacony. Don't pay it any mind."
His words were persuasive, and the others believed him.
Robin, however, walked over to Derick's side.
____
Our community goal challenge is still on!
🎯 With 100 Powerstones, a free bonus chapter gets released to everyone!
🚀 And at 55 SUPPORTERS, a massive 5-chapter update drops for all stories!
🎉 Exclusive Welcome Rate: We've slashed the price for your first month!
👻 Ready to join? Find me, Walnutchan, on that special creator platform (P). You know the one! 😉