By the Ferry Terminal.
March 7th and Stelle were staring at their phone screens, their eyes unwilling to pull away for even a second. Welt and Dan Heng stood nearby, keeping watch over them. It was a scene common across the Luofu these daysparents taking their children out for a stroll while the kids remained glued to their devices.
"Strange. Why hasn't Miss Tingyun arrived yet?" Mr. Yang asked, looking around with a hint of confusion.
"Without the proper personnel, we can't pilot this Starskiff," Dan Heng noted, looking at the large vessel prepared by the Sky-Faring Commission. Though he was of the Xianzhou, he unfortunately didn't possess a license, nor did he know how to pilot a Starskiff.
March 7th and Stelle, however, couldn't have cared less. March 7th was busy watching Little Gui's story stream, while Stelle was replaying Jing Yuan's character short, A Flash, over and over, occasionally pausing to fire off a stray bullet-chat comment.
"Coming, coming! Sorry to keep you all waiting." Tingyun finally rushed over to them. "This little one was delayed by some trivial matters. I hope you can find it in your hearts to be lenientjust please don't tell Lady Yukong."
"No trouble at all. Let's get on the Starskiff first," Mr. Yang urged.
Soon, everyone was aboard, with Tingyun at the helm. Naturally, she took the opportunity to make small talk with the Express crew.
"This little one is named Tingyun, an Amicassador of the Sky-Faring Commission's merchant guild. You all must be the members of the Astral Express, yes?"
"No need for self-introductions! We already know you super well from Honkai: Star Rail!" March 7th greeted her without even looking up.
"Honkai: Star Rail?"
"Oh, you mean that game you're playing." Tingyun chuckled softly. "Heh... This little one has heard of that popular game, though I've been far too busy with official business to experience it for myself."
Mr. Yang: "Mmhmm..."
Dan Heng: "..."
March 7th and Stelle simply remained immersed in the game. Tingyun offered an awkward smile, but internally, Phantylia was grumbling.
This atmosphere is nothing like what I imagined, she thought. Could that game really have leaked some sort of intelligence? No, impossible. If it had, there's no way they'd be traveling with me so casually... Forget it. Overthinking won't help. I need to get to the destination first.
Oh, right. I'll need to slip away early to avoid being caught in the Ambrosial Arbor's growth. That's going to be a real riot.
In Little Gui's stream:
"Family! Even though I really want to see Kafka's interrogation, Fu Xuan is currently 'Preparing for the Interrogation.' We're stuck here in the Exalting Sanctum, waiting for word from the Divination Commission's guide!"
"But hey, I know this place like the back of my hand! This is exactly where I did that 'Golden Spear in the Throat' performance. Does anyone still remember that?"
Guinaifen controlled her character, wandering around the plaza. Suddenly, she saw a crowd gathered nearby.
"There's something going on! Let me go check it out!"
As soon as she ran over, a cutscene triggered. A Cloud Knight soldier lying on a stretcher let out a piercing scream. Golden ginkgo leaves began to cover him as his body started to twist and mutate.
In that moment, a pair of short legs sprinted toward the scene, kicking up a cloud of dust in their wake!
"Everyone, get back!"
A Vidyadhara girl leaped into the air, performing a full 360-degree flip. Her tail, wreathed in lightning, swept across the area. The screaming soldier was instantly knocked unconscious.
The girl pulled a gourd from her wide sleeve and shouted to the people nearby, "Quick, give him this medicine and make him stay put!"
Her movements were fluid and practiced. However, a second later, even more Mara-struck appeared, twisting as they crawled up from the ground.
"I... I said..." The girl gave an awkward laugh. "Make them stay put!"
Thud!
[Battle Start]
Seeing that small figure, March 7th let out a sudden shriek. "Ahhh! It's my daughter Bailu!"
Her scream startled both Dan Heng and Mr. Yang.
"What! Bailu is appearing now?" Stelle immediately leaned in to watch.
Dan Heng rolled his eyes, originally intending to lean against the Starskiff window and rest. He sensed a great battle was coming and wanted to conserve his energy. But then, his gaze caught the screen. He saw the Bailu in the story. She didn't just have Vidyadhara featuresshe had dragon horns and a dragon tail!
"Wait..." Dan Heng's interest was piqued. "Is she... this generation's High Elder of the Vidyadhara?"
He sat up and joined the huddle of spectators.
March 7th looked at him skeptically. "No way, Dan Heng? Are you a Bailu simp? I'm warning you, Bailu is my daughter, you can't"
"You're overthinking it, March," Dan Heng sighed helplessly.
In the game, the Mara-struck soldiers were quickly defeated.
As the battle ended, Bailu stood with her hands on her hips. "You've learned your lesson. Can you stay put now?"
She turned toward the three members of the Express crew in the game. "Many thanks to you uncles and sisters for helping stabilize the patients. That 'Heavy Strike Anesthesia' technique of yours is quite impressive."
"Though, since you all jumped in, these Cloud Knights are even more beat up than before. I'm going to have to work extra hard to set their bones and bandage them up. Ugh, I'm going to be completely overwhelmed now!"
Seeing Bailu's pouting face, March 7th grinned, showing her teeth. "So cute! I want to interact with my daughter Bailu!"
The story proceeded exactly as March wished. Her character asked Bailu, "Where did you come from, kid? Where's your daddy?"
"I don't have a daddy," Bailu replied.
"Then what about your mommy?"
"I don't have a mommy either." Bailu shook her head, her large eyes filled with nothing but sincerity.
The March 7th in the story: "..."
The March 7th outside the story: "..."
"Waaaaah..."
"What have I done? I'm a monster!"
Seeing March 7th spiraling, Stelle patted her shoulder sympathetically. Then, she opened the stream chat.
"Hahaha, I'm sorry, I can't stop laughing."
"Welp, there goes all the karma I spent a week building up!"
"How to Kill a Conversation in Three Sentencesby March 7th."
"Sincerity is the ultimate finishing move."
"Unbeatable logic!"
"March 7th is going to be lying in bed tonight thinking: I'm a terrible person. (Doge emoji)"
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