"Okay, okay, as the host, let me take you to appreciate the beautiful scenery of Canghai City! I won't let you go until you have fun to your heart's content!"
"You're so full of energy! Have you been holding it in for a long time?" Yufan said.
"Whose fault do you think it is?" Ji Zi glanced at Yu Fan and said in a tone full of resentment, "I really don't know how there could be a couple like you who quarrel so much that they mess up the flow of time in other people's entire world..."
“Cough, cough, cough, cough—!” Yufan couldn’t help but cough uncontrollably out of guilt, his eyes wandering, “So didn’t I take the initiative to invite you out to improve your mood…”
"In the end, you gave up just because I have a good ability to adjust my mentality, right?" Ji Zi said dimly.
Yufan scratched his head awkwardly: "It's not like I'm giving up, but I think... compared to my half-baked preparations, letting you, who know this city better, choose where you want to go should make you have more fun."
"Huh?" Ji Zi's eyes lit up, "You really did your homework?"
"After all, this is not my first time here, so I should be able to remember where there are things to play." Yufan smiled bitterly.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Ji Zi grabbed Yufan's arm and pulled him up from the plastic stool with extremely forceful movements.
The two people who left the spot did not realize that the moment they left the milk tea shop, "Magical Girl Teriri", who was performing idol activities on the street, suddenly and silently turned her gaze towards the backs of the two people as she danced, her azure blue pupils as deep as a well.
——Fifteen minutes ago, Hyperion Cafe.
"What did you say?! Say it again?!"
Guanxing slammed the bar in anger. The violent vibration overturned the cup of hot milk on the bar. The clear roar was comparable to a jet plane: "That guy went on a date with Jizi by himself?!"
Everyone in the coffee shop was silent in the face of Guanxing's rage. Even Dr. Tesla, who had just barged in, instinctively controlled his curiosity when he saw that the other person's face was 90% similar to Theresa's.
Rita's smile was as calm and elegant as ever: "Please be patient, Mr. Stargazer. Losing your temper in front of customers is not something a qualified clerk should do."
Guan Xing glared at Rita fiercely and asked bluntly: "You didn't stop him. What conditions did he agree to?"
"Rita, I don't understand what you're saying. As a clerk in this cafe, it's Rita's job to help the manager look after the store when he's away for something."
"Hmph." Guanxing sneered. Not wanting to argue with Rita, she turned around and rushed to the second floor aggressively.
After a moment, a low roar came from the stairs on the second floor.
"Get up!"
"…What are you doing…Don't pull my quilt…" A voice like a dream sounded vaguely, "I didn't sleep during the day and at night yesterday…Isn't it my turn to rest today?"
"Your precious human has been kidnapped by someone and you're still sleeping! Just sleep till you die!!"
"What did you say?!!!"
With the sound of a quilt being lifted up, the voice that was just dazed suddenly became clear, followed by a sound of hurried footsteps.
"Hey, hey, hey! Let go!" Guanxing, who was being dragged and flying in the air, couldn't help but shout.
"Human! Where's the human?!" A woman with beautiful long silver hair that was disheveled by sleep ran out of the stairs in a thin nightgown. She stuck her head out and glanced around the hall on the first floor. "He's not here... The human is not here... Where did he go?"
“Let go!” Guanxing shook off Yuexia’s hand and couldn’t help but gasp for air, tears welling up in his eyes. “Hiss… It hurts, it hurts…”
"Where have the humans gone?" Yuexia suddenly pressed Guanxing's shoulder, her blood-red pupils filled with anxiety and uneasiness, "Why didn't you stop the humans?!"
"Do you think I don't want to stop him? I just woke up, okay?" Guanxing stared at the moon with his eyes, exuding a low-pressure aura from head to toe. "Go change your clothes! If you have the time to get entangled with me here, you might as well catch up with him earlier!"
"Catch up?" Yuexia was stunned.
"He went to Canghai City with Jizi! That's the world you were born into to hang out!"
"...I see." Yuexia nodded in sudden realization. She released her hands that were pressing on Guanxing's shoulders, went straight into her bedroom and closed the door.
After quickly changing into the vampire queen's formal attire, Yuexia walked out of the bedroom again: "Then let's go!"
"I can't pretend I didn't see that."
At this moment, accompanied by a crisp whistle, a voice with a hint of milk sounded in their ears. Brownie, who had woken up at some point, leaned against the bedroom door casually, looking at the two of them with eyes full of amusement: "Although I don't quite understand, you two are obviously sleeping together, why are you two still so jealous, but, how can such a fun thing be without me?"
"Humph, accepting that guy's philandering doesn't mean tolerating it without limits. Do you want to see him bringing girls he doesn't know to the store every other day?" Guanxing snorted coldly, and his voice sounded sour as if he had drunk a liter of lemonade. "Besides, I'm also curious about what that guy would do with other girls when he's alone with them?"
"If he hadn't done those things to me... I would have made him pay me back ten... no, a hundred times, a thousand times."
By the end of the speech, the clear voice had turned into a sound of gnashing teeth.
"That's right! We need to make the humans compensate us both!"
Under the moon, no matter how big the matter is, I agree.
"Wow, that's a really scary determination." Brownie said in a gloating tone, without any hint of "scared". "But since Miss Stargazing said so, I have a small proposal—"
Then, time goes back to the present.
"——This is your little proposal?!"
Behind the makeshift stage, Kanho, dressed as "Magical Girl Teriri", stared at the delighted figure in the visual communication with his hair standing on end, and growled in frustration:
"Brownie, do you feel happy making fun of me?!"
"How could that be? Don't let my kindness go to waste, Miss Stargazing." Coughing, Brownie in the visual communication forced himself to stay calm and stopped laughing. "I have investigated the basic conditions of this world. Although this miniature Canghai City is very similar to the real world, since there is no threat of collapse, the Destiny of this world is actually a family business that has interests in various fields, and the magical girl Teriri is the most famous idol under Destiny."
"Although I can hack into the surveillance of this city, given the popularity of Magical Girl Teriri in Canghai City, Miss Stargazing, I can guarantee that no matter how you disguise yourself, you will be recognized by your fanatical fans at a glance."
"After all, the Sky City where I live also has the same 'Magical Girl Teriri' as in this world. I know their situation very well. Miss Stargazing, you probably don't want to be discovered when you're following the store manager, right?"
“……” Guanxing gritted his teeth, his face rapidly changing between red and purple.
At this moment, the visual communication suddenly showed another window, which showed a figure under the moon.
She was wearing a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses that covered most of her face. She was squatting at the back of a building, her two white hands grabbing the edge of the wall, and tiny cracks were faintly visible on the wall.
"Ah, they're both heading for the beach! Let's catch up!"
"I think it would be better for you to snatch the phone from the passerby before following him... Can't hear it anymore?"
Sitting on the rooftop of the building, Brownie looked from afar at the passers-by who had secretly called the police under the moon, and sighed.
"Forget it, do it yourself, have enough food and clothing, they go to the beach, Miss stargazing."
"I know! You don't need to remind me!"
Guanxing turned off the visual communication interface, rubbed his stiff facial muscles, and put on a perfect idol-like smile again.
Chapter 4: Encounter on the Beach in Canghai City (k)
At noon, the calm sea was rippling with waves, and the dazzling sunlight seemed to have scattered pieces of gold on the water, making it impossible to open one's eyes.
Perhaps it was because today was a weekday and the weather was sunny and nice, but the artificial beach on the coastline was surprisingly deserted. Apart from groups of tourists, there were only a few elderly people who looked retired lying leisurely on beach chairs basking in the sun, and children who had not yet reached school age gathered around the adults and had fun.
Under the scorching sun, Yufan, wearing a refreshing white short-sleeved shirt and beach pants suit, leaned against the pole of a beach umbrella, leisurely watching the human cubs playing and frolicking.
“Peace is so good~”
Once upon a time, in this world bubble called Canghai City, there was a distressed vampire imprisoned in the boudoir of Xiu Ge waiting for him to save him, and there were also invaders from outside the world that he needed to resist. Even the basic laws of physics such as the flow of time were messed up by the petty temper of the distressed vampire...
Although the process of solving these problems was undoubtedly exciting and fulfilling, and left countless unforgettable memories, it was precisely because of those disastrous situations that Yufan cherished the hard-earned peace and leisure in front of him even more.
Then again, he has been waiting here for fifteen minutes. He just wanted to change into a swimsuit. Is it necessary for Ji Zi to spend so much time?
...Forget it. The weather is quite comfortable anyway. It's a rare moment of solitude, so I should stop thinking about unnecessary things and just wait for Ji Zi to come over.
Just as Yufan was leisurely basking in the sun, an uninvited guest suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Hello, are you the captain of the Hyperion?"
Yufan glanced at the person who came. The iconic red twin ponytails and white tights made it easy for him to recognize the person's identity.
Tesla, the anti-entropy executor.
Of course, this is limited to this world, so we have to put a "before" before her position.
"Is there anything wrong?" Yufan asked, but he had some guesses about the other party's purpose.
Unlike the situation in the intrinsic world, most world bubbles in the quantum sea actually have a meme entity that can be replaced or mapped by him at any time, so in this Canghai City, his identity is the real "Captain Hyperion", and he even maintains normal social relations with many locals in this world bubble.
For example, the Bishop of Destiny, Otto Apokalis, who sent him into the experimental chamber of the Second Key of God and forcibly interfered with and modified the world line countless times.
For example, the various Anti-Entropy members who once appeared before him in a hostile attitude.
Canghai City is an extremely special world bubble. Many situations in this world are subtly different from those in the original world.
For example, since Otto in this world has already obtained most of the Keys of God, including the Key of Void and the Key of Corrosion, his obsession and desire for the power of the Herrscher is not as strong as that in the original world, which is close to the point of insanity.
In the eigenworld located in classical space and time, although the Second God's Key can observe countless parallel worlds, it cannot directly modify the world line.
However, in this world bubble called Canghai City, the Second God's Key can allow Yufan to interfere with the past countless times in the form of consciousness mapping.
For the same reason, after seeing the hope of saving Kallen in the power of the Second God's Key, Otto in this world also has the motivation and determination to fight against the Honkai far beyond that of the original world.
Although Cecilia still died in the battlefield of the Second Honkai, in this world, Cecilia's death was not directly related to Otto. Although Otto in this world is still a cold-blooded person who regards everyone as a tool to revive Kallen, due to the existence of the Second God Key, he has never subjectively thought of plotting against Siegfried's family.
Therefore, after the Second Collapse, the relationship between Otto, Siegfried, and Anti-Entropy in this world was not as tense as that in the Eigenworld.
After Yufan completely reconstructed the rules of the Quantum Sea, Anti-Entropy and Destiny in this world lost their original goals. Most of the Valkyries of Destiny got new jobs and social status in this collapsed and disappeared world. Naturally, Anti-Entropy, with technology as its core competitiveness, also retained a place in Canghai City's business system.
"Although we have met many times before, this is probably the first time we have a conversation like this without being hostile. Let me introduce myself again." Tesla smiled brightly. "Hello, Captain Yufan. I am Tesla, the agent of Lightning Harmony Agency under ME Pan-Entertainment Planning Company and the captain of the idol group of the same name."
"I heard that you have resigned from Tianming. Are you interested in working for our Anti-Entropy... No, ME Pan-Entertainment Planning Company?"
Yufan looked at this man, one of the greatest physicists of the last century, again and again, his mind full of complaints.
Fortunately, he had already encountered many settings that were countless times more outrageous than this one during his travels in different worlds, such as a world where everyone controlled the battles of Hokagemon. So even if this physicist from the last century became an agent and idol in a very outrageous way, Yufan quickly accepted this bizarre setting and asked:
"Why me? I have no experience as an idol."
"Because you are handsome. Do you need any other reason?" Tesla said as a matter of course.
"..." Yufan was speechless for a moment. People often say that sincerity is the greatest killer move, and based on Yufan's understanding of Dr. Lobster, this guy's thinking logic is like a straight highway without any turns. This compliment is indeed sincere to the point that there is no need to question it at all.
Just when Yufan was silent, he suddenly felt someone patting his shoulder.
"Hey, it's been a while since we last met, Yufan boy, how come you have time to play with me today?"
"I don't have work to do, so isn't it normal for me to go to the beach and enjoy the cool breeze?" Yufan moved his shoulders, shook off the rough hand on his shoulder, and rolled his eyes. "But you, Siegfried, you have a daughter to support, and you actually have the leisure to go to the beach to slack off on a weekday. Is your current boss so kind?"
"There's annual leave... Wait, you haven't found a job yet?"
"I'm not an adult yet. Is it strange that I haven't found a job?" Yufan said quietly.
Although Yufan’s actual age may be unclear, there is no doubt that the identity he used in Canghai City is indeed that of an underage boy.
"Uh, I really forgot about that... No, shouldn't you go back to school?"
"Do you think I could have become the captain of Hyperion if I hadn't graduated from the Aerospace Command Academy?" Yufan looked at Siegfried as if he were a fool. "Do you really think that everyone is like you, running away from home without even going to school?"
"It hurts, buddy, can you not be so realistic? Are you a bayonet?" Siegfried covered his chest with his hands, a painful expression as if he couldn't bear to recall the past.
There was a sudden slight vibration from the ground, and Siegfried's battle-hardened fighting instinct made his body tremble subconsciously, and his sharp eyes pointed to the source of the vibration in the blink of an eye.
Several Titan mechas of different models changed from translucent to solid. Tesla turned his gaze towards the Titan mechas, and suddenly a look of disgust appeared in his eyes: "What time is it! Can't that chicken-headed guy check the time?"
"Tsk, forget it. Getting angry with that guy is not good for your health. You guys can talk slowly. I'm going to go prepare for the music festival that's about to start.
"Also, Yufan, I've sent the agency's contact information to your personal account. If you're interested in becoming an idol, just contact me. The contract and everything has been drafted for you. If you think it's ok, just sign it." After saying that, Tesla waved to Yufan and Siegfried and left without looking back.
That swift and decisive attitude made Yufan spread his hands helplessly.
Siegfried nudges Yufan's waist with his elbow mischievously: "Good job, kid. I never realized you have the potential to be an idol. If you really become an idol, I will definitely be the first to support you, and bring my daughter along. I've long been annoyed by the fact that that little dwarf Theresa has been occupying billboards in the city every day. You should work harder. You're obviously not as cute as my daughter. What right does she have? Beat her down as soon as possible. I'm rooting for you."
Hearing this, Yufan couldn't help but tremble, and took a few steps back with a look of horror on his face: "...you...you stay away from me, if you want to die, just find a rooftop and jump off, don't let your blood splash on me."
"?"
"Aren't you going to take care of your daughter?" Yufan took another step back and pouted towards the beach. "She looks like she's about to get into a fight with someone."
"Huh?" Siegfried was stunned and quickly turned his gaze in the direction indicated by the sail.
Beside the tall volleyball net, the boys and girls gathered in groups, glaring at each other in a tense atmosphere.
"This...what's going on?" Siegfried, who had never seen such a scene, widened his eyes and stammered.
“Maybe it’s the human cub’s territorial consciousness that’s at work.” Yufan shrugged.
He was not a stupid father like Siegfried who would abandon his daughter and leave her alone, so when Siegfried saw him coming up to talk to him, he had already divided some of his attention on the children, and thus saw the whole development of the matter.
At first, the children were roughly divided into two groups. The boys gathered together and competed with each other around sports equipment such as football or volleyball, while the girls gathered in another group and kept away from the boys who were sweating in the sun.
But at a certain moment, the silver-haired girl who looked only about six or seven years old, Siegfried's daughter, suddenly and rashly barged into the boys' activity area.
After all, the stadium itself is a public place and anyone may accidentally break in, so for adults... or young boys and girls who are beginning to understand things, such small things are no big deal at all.
But for human cubs with a strong sense of territory, having their territory violated means their dignity is shattered. So after subconsciously equating the girl's behavior with territorial violation, the offended boys immediately stopped the game of competing with each other and turned to exclude the silver-haired girl. The other girls couldn't stand the boys' behavior and immediately surrounded the little silver-haired girl to support her.
Siegfried was not worried about his daughter being bullied. Even though she was still a child, Kiana was a member of the Kaslana clan. If it was a simple competition of strength, even an ordinary adult might not be able to gain any advantage over her.
But as a former Knight of Destiny, Siegfried's social skills and parenting common sense can only be described as appalling.
