"Sh– shareholder…!"
The strict Discipline Committee member, wearing his badge, let out an involuntary voice crack. His companion quickly covered his mouth and showed a slightly obsequious smile.
"What? Is there a problem?" Stelle crossed her arms, the corner of her mouth lifting into a faint smile whose meaning no one could quite read.
So domineering!
"Hehe, of course not. Since this young lady is a friend of a shareholder, then there's no problem."
The member, who had been full of aggressive momentum earlier, now calmly displayed to the nearby students what it meant to be a fully trained adult in society.
"Ahem, I'll give the members clear instructions. As long as this young lady doesn't break school rules, all activity areas will be completely open to you, guaranteed you'll have fun."
Students only need to worry about credits.
As a member of the Discipline Committee who had long been crushed under real-world pressures, he understood this truth too well.
Money makes you amazing, huh!
Having money means you can trample rules, huh!
Having money, what? The rules were made by him?
…Well then, no problem.
Under the gazes of the many students, the member, shrouded in a faint, sorrowful aura, took his underlings and slipped away through the crowd with impressive speed.
"How was it? Didn't I just now have an awesome and cool aura?"
With the annoying guy gone, Stelle, who had acted serious just moments ago, instantly revealed her true nature.
"Well, yes. That kind of arrogant rich-girl vibe that makes people instinctively feel unfairness and discomfort… that's absolutely your portrait. A perfect daily depiction of you, Miss Shareholder."
The moment March 7th finished, she spread her hands with a helpless expression.
"I don't even know where you learned that."
"Hehe, self-taught talent!"
It's hard to learn good things. Bad things stick easily.
'Wait!' March 7th suddenly realized something.
If Stelle was the domineering big boss, then didn't that mean she and Dan Heng had become her evil accomplices?!
'No way, no way! Why does Stelle get to be the big boss?!'
'I want to be the big boss too!'
Watching March 7th adding dramatic scenes in her mind nonstop, Dan Heng opened his mouth, hesitated, then finally gave up and turned his gaze elsewhere.
"Can you introduce this person to us?" Before Stelle could speak, the pink-haired girl stepped forward on her own.
"I am Rappa a.k.a. The Dazzling Ninja. Thank you, ninjas, for lending your hands just now."
'…Is this some new type of greeting?' Dan Heng pondered silently.
March 7th waved to Rappa with a smile.
"Hi, I'm March 7th, he's Dan Heng. How did you meet her?"
"I understand now, Ninja Ruri. As for my encounter with the Baseball-Bat Ninja, that was a passionate, exhilarating ninjutsu journey. Together we stopped the evil scheme of the Evil Ninja Osaru's wicked ninja."
"What… and what?"
March 7th scratched her head. Her mind desperately tried to process this strange terminology.
Had she already fallen behind the times? Is this the trending way people communicate now?
Unable to figure it out, she turned her pleading gaze toward Stelle.
"…That's right!" Stelle put her hands on her hips proudly.
"Right your big head! That's definitely not what you told us earlier!"
The atmosphere heated instantly.
Dan Heng shook his head slightly.
With things like this, it seemed it would take a while before the place calmed down.
Shifting his attention, he took in the bustling activity venue before him, especially the Slumbernana Monkey plushies everywhere. Dan Heng fell silent for a moment.
He didn't know much about commercial activity, but he did know that a character's sudden explosive popularity could happen overnight.
But maintaining that popularity was far harder than achieving it.
For example, the Godzilla statue not far away, and the club members holding Godzilla plushies.
As long as a real, hugely popular figure kept appearing, its popularity wouldn't fade.
Sometimes, even if the figure itself no longer existed, its heat could be maintained.
See: Akivili for details.
But this "Slumbernana Monkey" rising so suddenly… always felt strange to Dan Heng.
…
After the IPC took over Penacony's operation, instead of dismantling the large investments the Family had made here, they increased investment and maintenance.
Though from different factions, the IPC acknowledged the Family's management talent.
After all, they were the ones who thrived under the IPC's pressure and developed Penacony into the prosperous place it was today.
"Dr Primitive? I didn't expect him to appear in Penacony."
Himeko was surprised at the news.
Dr Primitive, the 63rd seat of the Genius Society.
As the Erudition's representative, every Genius Society member had their own unique academic philosophy.
But the Dr Primitive's philosophy was completely anti-human.
His Atavistic/ regression experiments had devastated the living beings of multiple planets, leaving behind horrific reputations.
He had long ranked near the top of the Interastral Peace Corporation's wanted-list.
In truth, had it been just the Dr Primitive, it might've been manageable.
But many across the universe supported his ideology, believing in his theory of "devolution."
They believed intelligence had already gone astray.
Only by cutting away the withered branches of ignorance could a new, proper evolutionary path be formed.
And to achieve this, they would use any means necessary, perfectly inheriting the Doctor's methods.
They were another major malignant force in the cosmos.
"How did the IPC confirm that the Dr Primitive visited Penacony?" Himeko asked.
"To be precise, it wasn't the IPC who discovered it. Mr. Oti, if you don't mind explaining?" Aventurine gave a light chuckle and looked at Old Oti.
Old Oti sighed helplessly and explained: "About fifty system hours ago, some Family members stationed in Penacony reported strange changes. They had become obsessed with a cartoon figure called Slumbernana Monkey. Their behaviour became extremely unusual, even during serious duties."
"Is it the monkey plushie that suddenly appeared in Penacony?" Himeko asked.
Old Oti nodded slightly and continued: "If it were only that, we wouldn't have escalated the matter. But soon after, Miss Robin noticed that Penacony's memory-matter was changing. Harmony's power remained unaffected, but each use left her abnormally exhausted."
"Only then did we realize something was wrong."
Robin spoke softly: "Originally, I didn't think it was anything serious… until I met Mr. Boothill at Dream's Edge."
"Boothill?" Welt was slightly taken aback. That man who fired the first shot had left a deep impression on him.
Robin nodded slightly and explained, "When I met Mr. Boothill on Dreamflux Reef, those special memories affected him. He became… very eye-catching."
"May I ask what kind of effect?" Welt asked curiously.
Thinking for a moment, recalling that encounter, Robin said, "Mr. Boothill's catchphrase was influenced by those memories and turned into… 'ba na na.'"
"He said bana for everything."
Hearing Robin's account of her encounter with Boothill, Welt fell into thought.
Boothill's cyborg appearance was impossible to hide. His Synesthesia Beacon had been modified, anyone who understood such things would see it.
After all, the Synesthesia Beacon's main function was simply to store most languages of the universe, making communication between civilizations easier.
It's something you can slap on casually. But Boothill's version was a custom product.
"But I didn't feel any sense of danger in Penacony."
"If that's the question, I think the answer is simple." Robin gestured, and the others looked in the direction she pointed.
A massive sculpture. Multicolored lights shone upward on the grand statue that shone brilliantly in dreams.
"After Godzilla displayed overwhelming power in Penacony, many people began following him. They formed clubs, recruited new members, even built statues in the Dreamscape."
"And such people make up the overwhelming majority in Penacony. Even the currently popular 'Slumbernana Association' can't compare to the people who worship Godzilla."
"But many are dual fans, Godzilla and the Slumbernana Monkey."
Oh, right.
Himeko and Welt suddenly understood.
They almost forgot, Penacony's true sky wasn't the fabricated sky overhead, but the thick dream layer itself.
Then it wasn't strange at all.
Without taking action personally, it wasn't easy for Dr. Primitive to influence such a massive group of people.
"But even so, we still can't let down our guard. The abilities of an Aeon's Emanator aren't something ordinary people can resist."
Those beneath an Emanator have no power to resist an Emanator.
Most who came to Penacony were ordinary people. Even with Pathstriders present, they could never stand against an Emanator, especially one with such overwhelming abstract powers.
Himeko frowned slightly. Facing a situation like this, the Astral Express crew clearly couldn't ignore it.
Even if they weren't Penacony shareholders, she wouldn't let something so major go unattended.
Not to mention they were currently Penacony's largest individual shareholder.
As for IPC, they were indeed larger than the Express on the macro scale, corporations need to eat too.
But with so many shareholders, dividing such a large cake carelessly could easily stir up trouble.
Seeing Himeko's thoughtful expression, Aventurine quietly waited for her answer.
Dr. Primitive's involvement was indeed serious, but if the Express hadn't been Penacony's shareholder, this matter would never have been brought to them.
When you receive benefits, you must also bear the responsibility. That is the most basic exchange.
....
" ... "
" ... "
An unexpected answer.
Could it be that Mobius also went to carry out the Ark Project?
But if Mobius carried out the Ark Project, then the returning ship would likely be filled with countless bizarre life-forms.
Both of them were very aware of this. With Mobius's abilities and her scientific fervor, such an outcome wouldn't surprise anyone.
Seeing the curious, probing gazes of the two, Mobius sighed helplessly.
Honestly, in this day and age, telling the truth gets you suspected.
She had only drifted around Earth inside a meteor for who knows how many laps, was that really worth making such a fuss?
"Dr. Mobius, what are you planning next?" Sakura asked.
"Me? Naturally, finding a quiet place to run some experiments."
'And eat instant noodles?'
They didn't linger on this topic.
A brief greeting was enough, just knowing the other person was still alive mattered.
Old friends didn't need long, drawn-out conversations.
Each of them understood the others perfectly. Kevin was also delighted by Mobius's return.
Joy gradually melted the icy coldness that had built inside him over the years. He didn't force Mobius to join his plan to fight Honkai.
Because he knew, when he needed her, Mobius would certainly appear. Just like in the previous civilization: Mei, Vill-V, Mobius.
These three embodiments of civilization's wisdom always helped them overcome crises in the most unexpected ways. This time would be no different.
"Dr. Mobius, about the nutrition formula you mentioned, I'd like to discuss it with you."
Sakura caught up to Mobius, her tone full of anticipation.