——
[March 7th quietly leaned against the train window, her exhaled breath fogging up the glass as the young girl's slender finger drew a cute smiling face on the condensation.]
["Not bad artwork," Stelle's voice suddenly spoke up behind her without warning.]
["Eh! Hey, don't sneak up on me like that!" March 7th shuddered violently before whipping her head around, just in time to catch the mischievous smile on Stelle's face.]
["Coming to find me before departure... are you nervous about your first Trailblazing mission?" March 7th placed her hands on her hips confidently. "Don't worry, both Dan Heng and I are veterans of [Trailblazing]. Stick with us and you're guaranteed to eat well—well, assuming we can actually find meat on that planet!"]
["But looking at this planet, I can't help thinking—this world is completely covered in ice. Could it have something to do with my past? Once this thought occurred to me, I couldn't shake it off."]
[Stelle joked: "Maybe it's your hometown?"]
["Probably not? The thing that trapped me back then was a rare substance called [Six-Phase Ice], something you wouldn't normally find on ordinary planets." March 7th shook her head before suddenly shivering violently. "Honestly, I hope this isn't my hometown—it looks freezing! A beautiful girl like me has terrible cold resistance!"]
——
"Hmm... Is that young lady really going to that frozen wasteland dressed like that?"
Watching the icy planet on the Celestial Screen, Tartaglia's mind immediately flashed to his cheerful hometown. The life-threatening blizzards of Snezhnaya were something he'd experienced since childhood—someone dressed as lightly as March 7th probably wouldn't even make it across the snow-covered wilderness.
But compared to Snezhnaya's snow, he currently preferred Liyue's scenery even more.
Liyue Harbor was lined with willow trees, currently at their most beautiful seasonal splendor. Along the port area, every willow appeared adorned in jade-green finery. The willows swayed in the wind while the water's surface rippled under the sunlight, the entire world's greenery swaying in unison—this was a sight one could never witness in Snezhnaya.
Back home, Teucer and his other younger siblings had been clamoring for Pom-Pom plushies. Combined with several Harbingers' heated disputes after the Celestial Screen's appearance, he had no choice but to ask The Knave for reassignment to Liyue, tasked with gathering intelligence about the Qixing's response plans regarding the screen.
"Let us not forget that Miss March 7th herself can wield Cryo energy." Within a premium private room at Xinyue Kiosk, Zhongli slowly set down his chopsticks before lifting a cup of premium Chenyu Jade Mist tea for a sip.
"That's true enough."
Tartaglia hadn't expected to encounter Liyue's former Geo Archon so quickly upon arrival. As the nation's former highest authority, a single meal had granted him this private audience with the deity. Seizing the opportunity, he finally asked the question that had been weighing on him:
"Mr. Zhongli, regarding this sudden Celestial Screen in the sky... and those Aeons within it, what are your thoughts?"
The tea's fragrance wafted gently as Zhongli exhaled contentedly, his golden pupils reflected in the clear tea as he gazed at the celadon cup in his hands.
"Well, this matter... Naturally, I'll watch while eating."
"..."
——
[As they spoke, Dan Heng slowly approached from behind March 7th to join their pre-departure discussion. However, Dan Heng noticed March 7th staring intently at him.]
["What is it? Is there something on my face?"]
["No, I was just imagining what kind of interesting things might happen to the three of us... hehe!" March 7th scratched her head, appearing adorably silly.]
["..." Dan Heng sighed helplessly: "This world truly suffers many disasters—first encountering a Stellaron, and now being on your mind."]
[Stelle attempted to steer the conversation back on track, asking Dan Heng: "With such a massive planet, where should we land?"]
[Dan Heng: "Initial surveys indicate one area with relatively normal surface temperatures—though 'normal' here merely means barely survivable for humans."]
["If we must choose a location for Trailblazing investigations, I'd select that relatively warmer region."]
[Stelle nodded in agreement: "Alright, let's head out then."]
["Yay!" March 7th could no longer contain her excitement: "Jarilo-VI Trailblazing team, setting off now!"]
[The trio descended via drop pod onto a preselected snowy plain.]
[Before them stretched a monochrome world of silver-white. The wind howled fiercely, snowflakes dancing through the air like torn cotton wads scattering aimlessly. Originally emerald-green pine needles had been buried under years of accumulated snow, transformed into icy white pendants.]
["Absolutely no signs of life..." Stelle took a deep breath, the freezing air stinging her lungs and making her chest ache faintly.]
["This really is an icy wasteland," March 7th remarked while surveying the endless white landscape.]
[Stelle: "This really is an icy wasteland~"]
["Ugh, stop copying me," March 7th said flatly as Stelle adopted an exaggerated pout.]
["So... with all this whiteness, which way should we go?" March 7th turned to their ever-reliable Dan Heng-sensei.]
["According to positional data, our target isn't far ahead," Dan Heng pointed into the distance.]
——
"Speaking of which, why didn't they just land directly at their destination?" Within the Cunning Hares base, Nekomiya Mana looked puzzled as she turned to Nicole. "Why bother trekking all that way through the cold?"
"How should I know? I'd never agree to walk such a distance in that weather."
"Um... Boss Nicole, I think there's actually a pretty understandable reason for this."
Billy slowly sidled up to Nicole, lowering his voice: "Remember that time, Boss? When we drove through the Hollow rift to retrieve a commission item, but accidentally drop-landed on some rich district villa's roof and put a huge hole in it..."
"Enough Billy! Don't bring up past incidents!" Nicole appeared to recall some extremely unpleasant memories, shaking her head violently enough to make her headlights swing horizontally.
"That day we were like action movie protagonists—pursued by peacekeepers for three straight hours," Anby remarked while munching on a burger, her eyes never leaving the screen as she wore an unusually content expression.
"If we hadn't run, we'd have owed 35,000,000 Denny in damages—would've spent the rest of our lives in New Eridu's prisons."
Though Nicole still felt lingering fear, she couldn't help feeling a tinge of pride at the memory, proudly lifting her chin: "Escaping after three hours meant we avoided paying 35,000,000 Denny in compensation—doesn't that mean our Wily Cats earned 35,000,000 Denny in three hours?!"
Billy's eyes immediately sparkled as he bolted upright from the rickety bed: "That makes perfect sense Boss Nicole—you're a genius!"