"Sigh... We suddenly have this long break, and I have no idea what to do. The Xianzhou doesn't seem to have much to do for fun, does it?"
Sitting on the sofa, March 7th swung her little feet, a bored expression on her face.
"Speaking of which, Miss Tingyun went out again. Is the Sky-Faring Commission really that busy?"
"The Sky-Faring Commission is ultimately in charge of the star routes. With such a major problem affecting the Xianzhou's internal routes, it's perfectly normal for Miss Tingyun to be called back," Welt said calmly, his eyes never leaving the journal in his hands. Mmm... an invention journal published by the Artisanship Commission.
"Sigh... I'm so jealous of Stelle. She can eat a full meal and then go right back to sleep."
March propped her head up with her elbows, looking completely idle.
Miss Sushang had to return to her duties, too. It was a shame, they had really hit it off...
"Where are Wende and Dan Heng? What did they go off to do?" Welt looked at March, slightly puzzled. Why were they the only two in the massive living room?
"Oh, right. The two of them went out after breakfast. I have no idea where they were going," March shook her head and continued to stare at the ceiling.
Aiya... why was she suddenly feeling so sleepy?
---o---
A short while later, Wende and Dan Heng returned to find March fast asleep in the middle of the hall and Welt sipping tea and reading his journal nearby. The two of them fell into a contemplative silence.
"Hm? You're back."
Welt looked up briefly at the two of them, who were laden with bags big and small, before returning his attention to Master Gongshu's new automaton design.
"Mhm. We went to buy some Xianzhou specialties and a lot of ingredients. Since we'll be waiting here for a long time, we can't just keep troubling the innkeeper," Wende said, unloading the things from his person. He had noticed yesterday that their recent expenses had increased quite a bit, mostly on food and drink. So he now intended to be more frugal and plan for the long haul—buy supplies first, and then, depending on the situation, find a part-time job on the Xianzhou to earn some extra cash.
"I've already spoken with Himeko. She has approved our free activity during this period. You can all go and do whatever you wish," Welt said.
"Things I wish to do..."
Dan Heng lowered his eyes in contemplation.
The things he wished to do...
"Why the sudden smile?" Wende asked, patting Dan Heng on the shoulder.
"No, it's nothing. Things I wish to do, you ask..."
To be able to continue trailblazing with everyone on the Astral Express... that was already his greatest wish.
The past... let it be the past.
"Well then, since you have no particular wishes, how about you come and lend a hand?" Wende said with a smile, seeing Dan Heng's look of peaceful acceptance.
"Mm."
Watching the two of them walk into the kitchen with a large pile of ingredients, Welt put down his journal and shook his head with a sigh.
"It's good to be young..."
"Urgh...! Steamed cake, where's the steamed cake?"
As if a keyword had been triggered, little March shot up from the sofa with a start, looking completely bewildered.
"Hm? What steamed cake?"
Stelle came down from upstairs, yawning. Her golden eyes, still misty with sleep, gazed at little March.
"You're awake... you made me so sleepy I almost dozed off too!" March pulled Stelle onto the sofa and began to chatter in her ear while combing her messy hair, telling her not to play games so late and not to hug her like a stuffed doll, or else she would start sleeping in a separate bed!
"Ah... okay..."
---o---
[Real World]
Having finished the main story, the idle players had finally gone mad. The amount of content in Version 1.0 was massive, but even that couldn't withstand the baptism of hardcore players grinding day and night.
Whether they were Companion Missions or side quests, every task that awarded Stellar Jade had been completed. Every NPC that could be spoken to was forcibly engaged in conversation for half a day. Every object with a glowing interaction point could not escape the players' grasp, and all sorts of easter eggs were unearthed one after another.
For example, in the newly opened kitchen car of the Express, players could find a bottle of Fermented Mung Bean Soda that had mysteriously appeared. If players then went to the Parlor Car, they would find a cup of Himeko's coffee on the table by the sofa.
If anyone dared to press 'F' at that moment, the game's easter egg would trigger immediately. Their game screen would cut straight back to the loading animation, and upon logging back in, they would receive a "Praise of Sublime Morality".
[You know why it sent you back to the main menu? Because the world was destroyed in that instant!]
[Nanook: Here, you can be the Aeon of Destruction!]
[What kind of world-ending weapon is this?]
[If only Himeko's basic attack was just splashing her coffee...]
[How is that any different from throwing a fragmentation grenade in a Pokémon battle?]
[Huh? You mean there wouldn't even be a whole corpse left?]
Besides that, there was also the teleporting toilet on the space station, the "Shining" reference in Belobog, and a huge pile of other miscellaneous memes.
---o---
"No way! How did you guys clear everything when I just finished the main story!"
Watching the chat discuss all sorts of easter eggs, the streamer Dogzi's hair stood on end.
[That's what you get for being late to the party.]
[Don't worry, we won't spoil anything.]
[We've been professionally trained to absolutely never spoil anything!]
[Right, right.]
[Actually, we just want to watch you suffer.]
"Hiss... You bunch of chaos-lovers!"
Dogzi wore an expression of indignation, but he was secretly happy that he could milk this content for his streams until the next version dropped.
This wave... this wave was a win-win!
---o---
"So, you've got another job to do?"
March looked at Stelle's numb expression and the message on her phone with a hint of schadenfreude.
"Can't be helped. After all, Stelle was the one who handled the matter of cleaning up the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus in Changle," Wende shrugged, looking at Stelle sympathetically.
Back then, Stelle was the only one who had been the public face of their operation. The rest of them had been lurking in the shadows, so naturally, this had nothing to do with them now.
"By the way... did the prescription that person named 'Purple Rose' gave to Stelle finally yield some results? Is that alchemist named 'Danshu' reliable at all? Why did she only send you a message now?" little March asked, full of doubt.
"Since it's a follow-up concerning the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, we should look into it. Just think of it as a chance for Stelle to temper herself," Welt said, his gaze shifting to Wende as he spoke, the meaning in his eyes self-evident.
"Alright, alright, I won't get involved this time," Wende immediately raised his hands in surrender.
"However... you must control yourself this time. Don't go randomly eating things other people give you."