[No matter if your world has day or night—first off, good morning, noon, or evening to you. Welcome to the inaugural Interastral Peace Broadcast of Amber Era 2158. Long time no see, we've missed you dearly. I'm your good friend, Jimmy~]
Astral Express, Parlor Car
Adrian sipped his first milk tea of the day, listening to the Interastral News with Welt.
[[Preservation]'s Qlipoth's great hammer descends slowly, its strike resounding across the universe, deafening! The Erudition Society's Astro-Ecology Faction announces: Amber Era 2157 has concluded; 2158 officially begins. Worthy of celebration.]
[In this new era, the Interastral Peace Corporation will continue its unwavering commitment to peaceful coexistence among the galaxies, fostering prosperous trade. The Corporation remains true to its founding spirit, remembering its sole principle: Dedicate all to the [Amber Lord].]
[The mysterious phenomenon of [Stellaron Cores], emerging since 2147, continues to spread pollution. [Stellaron Cores] block the paths between civilizations, causing the realms once united under the [Amber Lord]'s Path to fracture and drift apart.]
[Over the long span of ten Eras, the Interastral Peace Corporation has never abandoned its vision of reconnecting the realms. With the Erudition Society's strong support, we've preliminarily mastered technologies to bypass Stellaron pollution and conducted experiments across 113 star systems, yielding encouraging results.]
Stelle wandered groggily into the Parlor Car, her face twisting in confusion upon catching the Interastral Peace Broadcast's recap.
"Why's the Interastral Peace Broadcast doing a backstory dump?"
"News segments need a minimum runtime—commercial management's like that." Adrian took the coffee Himeko handed him.
[Looking back on 2157, our Corporation reaped bountiful gains. Now, onto the formal broadcast.]
[First, some unfortunate news: Our Market Development Division Head, Oswaldo Schneider, shows no signs of waking—truly regrettable.]
[Worth noting: Yesterday, the Mask of Fools claimed their [Tavern] suffered a bombing by interstellar terrorists and has sought aid from the Mourning Actors and our Corporation, hoping to form a special task force for investigation.]
[At the dawn of Amber Era 2158, the Interastral Peace Corporation proudly announces: Renowned Genius Society scholar Madam Herta has formally pledged a long-term friendly alliance with the Corporation.]
[This marks the third [Erudition] genius to join forces with us—following Member #22, Lyrion, and Member #56, Elias Salas—in jointly [Preserving] the Amber Lord's universe.]
[That's all for this broadcast. Tune in at the scheduled time for the next Interastral Peace Broadcast—we'll see you soon~]
The radio cut off abruptly. This morning's news was light on bombshells—guess they'd have to wait a bit. Amber Era 2158 had just kicked off; a quiet start was par for the course.
Pom-Pom wheeled in the breakfast cart, and the crew settled into a pleasant, relaxed meal.
"Mm... Wasn't there something about the Church too?"
"Not the [Tavern] attack? You think the [Eternity Church] did it?"
"Stereotypes. The Church's only acknowledged strikes are against the [Antimatter Legion] and the [Annihilation Gang]."
...
After a delicious breakfast, Adrian returned to the Party Car. March 7th pressed her cheek lightly against the cool window glass, gazing out at the endless flowing river of stars beyond.
"Our next stop's [Penacony]—heard it's a world as pretty as a dream... Can't wait."
Her eyes chased the drifting light specks, forgetting to blink, letting the starlight pour unbound into her pupils, even tinting her breath with a faint stellar chill.
Fingertips unconsciously pressed against the icy pane, as if yearning to pierce that thin barrier and touch the unreachable brilliance.
"But Pom-Pom said we've got ages till the invitation's event date. What to do to kill time..."
"How about a thrilling pillow fight!" Stelle whipped out a life-sized milk tea pillow from... somewhere.
"Huh? Pillow fights are way more fun right before bed... Wait, where'd that come from?"
March 7th flopped onto the sofa in shock. Did Stelle have a hidden system inventory?
"Gift from the Church deacon—I only just found out... The pillow auto-resizes. Didn't realize it was portable gear."
Stelle retracted the milk tea pillow, inwardly praising [Eternity] without thinking.
Beep beep beep!
"...Eh, phone's buzzing? Group chat?"
March 7th and Stelle both pulled out their devices—it was from Bronya.
[Bronya: [Toasting You a Glass.jpg]]
[Bronya: Express crew—can you all see my messages?]
[Stelle: 111]
[March 7th: Long time no see, Bronya! We've missed you tons!]
[Bronya: Great, I was worried you wouldn't get them... I know you're busy, so I'll keep it short.]
[Bronya: Lately, I've been prepping for Dawnfest. It's Belobog's traditional holiday, but the Rift and lockdown halted regular celebrations for years. Belobog's folks haven't felt that festive vibe in ages.]
[Bronya: If the Astral Express crew has time, I'd love to invite you to join the [Dawnfest] festivities—witness the latest milestones in Belobog's revival plan.]
[Stelle: Sorry, might not make it this time...]
"Hey, you aren't planning to just hole up grinding your screen, are you?" March 7th teased while typing back:
[March 7th: Don't play coy... Relax, we'll definitely come! Holidays, celebrations—that's our jam!]
Not to mention, the Express crew lived for the buzz.
[Bronya: That's wonderful—you coming means the world. Everyone here's been thinking of you all.]
[Bronya: @Dan Heng @Adrian Busy? Haven't seen you chime in.]
[March 7th: Dan Heng's in seclusion—probably powered off all his gadgets ages ago.]
[Stelle: Adrian's nursing milk tea—no time for phone.]
[March 7th: No worries—they'll wanna join Belobog's bash too!]
[Bronya: Thank you, March.]
[Bronya: Then I'll look forward to seeing you all at the Dawnfest celebration.]
[Bronya: [A Bouquet of Roses.jpg]]
...
Meanwhile, on Jarilo-VI
"The snow's melted... And it's still called [Everwinter Hill]? Baffling."
Topaz, senior executive in the Interastral Peace Corporation's [Strategic Investment Division], led the Special Debt Repossession Team.
Young as she was, already one of the [Ten Stonehearts], her cornerstone the [催討黃玉]—Numby.
"Hum-ny... Hum-ny!" A dimension-bound piggy bank with a red bow tied to its back zipped into Topaz's arms—her partner, Numby.
Don't underestimate this little dimensional saver—it could keenly sense [wealth], handling security, collections, or actuarial work with ease.
Sensing the comms device vibrate, likely a call from a fellow Stoneheart. She'd just arrived on Jarilo-VI, and already trouble?
"Good news and bad news... Which first?"
"Aventurine?"
Topaz blinked in mild surprise—this timing?
"You should've caught today's Interastral Broadcast. Good news: Oswaldo's condition's improving. Few more days' rest, and he'll wake."
"That doesn't sound like good news... Whatever, the [bad news]?"
"Just minutes ago, [Diamond] sent us a pic..."
"The culprit who framed Oswaldo... Found."
No sooner said than a virtual screen popped up, projecting Adrian's face and a high-res restored video.