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******
On the company's spacecraft.
At first, Aventurine found the unfolding plot somewhat amusing.
But as he read the detailed descriptions of his childhood experiences in the barrage comments, his expression gradually turned serious.
Indeed,
The person Boothill wanted to take down.
He, too, wanted to.
Back when he was just a young lad in Sigonia, he had the audacity to deceive the company's Marketing Development Department into believing that the barren soil of Sigonia contained untapped resources.
Later, the Marketing Development Department invested a massive amount of funds into mining, only to come up empty-handed.
And that was just a small, insignificant "interest" payment.
Now that he had joined the company and moved to the Strategic Investment Department, which was in opposition to the Marketing Development Department,
There was also a sense of infiltrating from within.
At this moment, Aventurine picked up his phone, ready to contact that person.
"Ding!"
The other party had actually sent a message first!
[Boothill: Buddy, I'll cut to the chase!]
[Let's team up and take down his precious Marketing Development Department!]
They had crossed paths before at The Reverie Hotel.
Boothill had added his contact information.
It seemed that Boothill had also watched the plot somewhere and had sent the message immediately.
Aventurine first encrypted their communication.
Then he replied.
[Aventurine: Of course]
[But this is a big plan, we need to take it step by step]
[That guy is on the same level as the 14 Stones, with your current strength, you'd just be walking to your death]
[However, thanks to the game's plot, his reputation is in the gutter now]
[Perhaps we can try some other collaborations first]
Two seconds later.
Boothill replied.
This time, he used voice-to-text.
[Boothill: Cut the crap, what kind of collaboration are you talking about? If it works, great. If not, we'll each do our own thing.]
[Aventurine: Then I'll be straightforward… I have some accounts here that I need you to help me balance.]
[Boothill: I'm not a damn accountant, why are you asking me to do this? Wait! Damn it! I think I get what you're saying!]
Aventurine smiled slightly.
Everything was understood without words.
But Boothill seemed to be getting annoyed.
He sent an angry reply.
[Boothill: Screw you and your Woobaboo! You want me to balance your company's accounts? Keep dreaming!]
[What do you take me for? I'm a Galaxy Ranger! How could I possibly help you with something like that?]
[Do you believe I'll shoot you dead like in the plot?]
Aventurine shook his head helplessly.
He was about to put down his phone.
Suddenly.
Boothill sent another message.
[It'll cost you extra!]
...
After roughly finalizing the details.
Aventurine let out a slight sigh of relief.
Now, everything was moving in a direction favorable to him.
He walked to the window.
In the reflection of the starry river outside, he saw his own figure.
Aventurine raised a glass of wine.
To the stars, he said, "Thank you, Yu Ling."
"And this game—"
"Honkai: Star Rail."
He downed the wine in one gulp.
At that moment.
His phone chimed with a special notification.
Aventurine had only set one person for this.
—Yu Ling!
So,
This notification meant that Yu Ling had released new content!
Opening the push interface, Aventurine's gaze immediately sharpened!
This time, it was a short video titled ["The Oath of the Stonehearts: The Scales of Balance"].
The words "Stonehearts" instantly caught his eye!
This short video...
Without a doubt,
It must be related to the Ten Stonehearts!
At the same time.
Topaz and Jade, aboard their spacecraft, also received notifications!
Since it concerned their own storyline,
They didn't dare to delay and immediately clicked on the video to watch it seriously!
...
In Little Gui's live stream.
Just after completing the 2.2 storyline...
Guinaifen was searching the web for songs related to Robin.
But it wasn't time for the album release yet.
All she could find were some recorded and cover versions.
This left Guinaifen feeling a bit disappointed.
Just then, she also received the notification about Yu Ling's new short video!
She clicked directly on the link!
"Folks! It's here!"
"Since we just finished the 2.2 storyline, Yu Ling probably won't drop anything too heavy, right? Maybe we can catch a breather?"
The live chat wasn't very active.
Clearly,
Most players across the galaxy had received the notification and chose to watch the video first!
Even Little Gui's live stream was momentarily neglected.
Guinaifen wasn't in a rush though.
She first opened the video's description.
Yu Ling's short videos often had descriptions that hinted at important content!
["The head of the Strategic Investment Department, Diamond, rarely makes public appearances. Instead, the group known as the Ten Stonehearts stands at the forefront."]
["On major issues concerning the team's survival, Diamond allows the ten elites to make decisions independently and equally, through voting."]
["Amber, Agate, Topaz, Sugilite, Aventurine, Pearl, Sapphire, Jade, Obsidian, Opal—"]
["Now, with one Cornerstone shattered, only nine weights remain. The next issue placed on the table can only end in a tipping of the scales..."]
As Guinaifen read, her expression grew increasingly serious!
She thought it would just be a simple recap video...
She thought it would be a light, entertaining piece!
But now it seemed,
Yu Ling had once again dropped something major!
Right in the description, the names of the Ten Stonehearts were revealed!
Could it be that in this short video,
All Ten Stonehearts would make an appearance?
Guinaifen's curiosity had peaked.
She licked her lips,
And clicked play!
A flood of comments instantly appeared!
The viewer count was already in the hundreds of millions!
...
"Huh?"
"The earliest episode!"
"????"
"All hail the Amber King!"
"Great, more company revelations!"
"With this title, is Yu Ling going to expose all the Ten Stonehearts?"
"Yu Ling, you're doing great!"
"Will the legendary Diamond make an appearance?"
"Company fans are ecstatic!"
"This is Aventurine's trial scene!"
"No! Aventurine, my good brother!"
"It's over!!"
"Help!"
...
Guinaifen quickly moved the barrage of comments to the left side.
Otherwise, it would completely block the view!
First.
The company's logo came into view.
A hand clicked on the company's logo.
It instantly transformed into the emblem of Penacony.
In the background,
a cool female voice said, "During this bad debt recovery cycle."
"Penacony has been reintegrated into the company's equity portfolio."
A model of Penacony was placed on one side of a scale.
On the other side was a shattered cornerstone.
—Aventurine Stone!
The weight of the two reached a balance.
The female voice continued:
"However, we have paid a high price—"
"A cornerstone has been completely destroyed."
"For this reason..."
"Diamond has summoned everyone."
"And I will preside over the decision to punish Aventurine."
"Strip him of his position as one of the Ten Stonehearts."
As soon as these words were spoken!
Guinaifen was completely stunned!
The players watching the video were also taken aback!
The real-time barrage on the left side suddenly stopped, leaving a few seconds of blank space!
No one had expected.
Such a straightforward and brutal opening right from the start!
It was like having a bucket of cold water poured over your head without any warning!
...
"Ah!???"
"It's over!"
"Aventurine was just enjoying a drink and singing a tune, celebrating his gambling victory, only to open the video and find the sky falling!"
"Isn't this punishment too severe?!"
"Too much, too much!"
"Let's mourn for Aventurine."
"A fan of Aventurine's heart is gently breaking."
"Don't do this!"
"Aventurine is instantly dumbfounded."
"Ah... what?"