Van turned his head at the sound, and a brown-haired girl wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses was timidly standing beside him.
Although most of her face was covered, that distinctive tone and the slightly hunched posture made Van instantly recognize her.
The thirteenth-ranked member among the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, Pardofelis.
After seeing Pardofelis, Van then understood why that cat looked familiar.
That was precisely the fat cat named "Canned Food," a companion who was always by Pardofelis's side.
Van suppressed the waves in his heart, casually pushed the door open, and softly said, "Go ahead."
Pardofelis's careful way of avoiding the glass door made Van unable to hold back a chuckle.
At that moment, aside from finding it amusing, Van also felt a bit of heartache.
He couldn't help but recall that during the previous Final Battle, it was she who used her life to open the final portal for the Flame-Chasers.
On this side, Pardofelis slipped quickly out the door like a frightened kitten.
Just stepping out of the glass door, she let out a long sigh of relief, as if having survived a disaster.
But she suddenly stopped her steps and turned her head in confusion to look at Van.
"When opening the door, be careful. Don't get hurt." Van softly finished speaking and then turned to walk toward the counter.
That sentence was both a reminder for now and a remembrance of the past.
Outside the milk tea shop, Pardofelis picked up Canned Food, tilted her head, and looked at Van's back, full of confusion in her eyes.
She always felt that the tone of this stranger was inexplicably familiar, but she just couldn't remember where they had met.
"Strange…" Pardofelis muttered softly, "Canned Food, do you know that person?"
"Meow~"
Canned Food rubbed against her in her arms, narrowed its eyes, but kept staring at Van inside the milk tea shop.
After buying the milk tea, the two of them walked to the ceremony plaza and distributed the milk tea to the waiting crowd.
Kiana's eyes lit up, and after receiving the milk tea from Sirin, she happily said, "Thanks, Sirin!"
"Hmph~ It's only because I lost the bet…" Sirin awkwardly turned her head, but the corners of her mouth quietly rose.
Ivana grinned mischievously and leaned over to Sirin's side, teasing, "Sirin, did something good happen to you? Why can't you stop smiling?"
To this, Sirin responded shyly, "None of your business!"
As time passed, the number of people in the plaza gradually increased.
With the sound of celebratory cannons, the opening ceremony officially began.
The host interacted with the audience below while introducing the special features of the resort.
After finishing all this, the host suddenly raised the volume and shouted, "Now let's welcome the founder of our 'Empty Dream Group', Miss Pardofelis to come up and cut the ribbon!"
With another burst of celebratory cannon fire, Pardofelis stepped confidently out from behind the stage.
She wore a well-fitted white suit, every move exuding calmness, looking completely different from the girl who previously didn't even dare to open the glass door.
"Thank you to all the guests for coming…"
Pardo smiled and greeted the audience, her voice also completely changed from its previous softness, now clear and pleasant.
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony ended, the host announced the beginning of the final highlight, the lucky draw segment of the opening ceremony.
As the drawing began, the host enthusiastically introduced the prizes,
"We have exquisite souvenirs, dining discount coupons, free project tickets, and the grand prize, a full free experience of the resort!"
Upon hearing this, Kiana excitedly rubbed her hands, "I have to win the grand prize!"
Then, she drew a resort mascot keychain.
"Ah~ Why didn't I win that full free prize?!"
Kiana pouted, staring longingly at the stage.
But soon, she regained her spirit, because right after her, Raiden Mei drew the second prize, a restaurant discount coupon.
To Kiana, this seemed like a sign that their luck was turning.
As long as they seized the momentum, with one big push, they would surely win the grand prize.
"Congratulations to A-6525 for winning the third prize, a commemorative badge."
Hearing this, Fu Hua glanced at the number in her hand and pushed up her glasses.
Seeing the matching number in Fu Hua's hand, Kiana instinctively looked toward Van.
"Van, you're our only hope now…"
Seeing Kiana's solemn expression, Van even had the illusion that they were fighting the Finality again.
"Congratulations to C-9527 for winning our grand prize, a full resort experience…"
When the host announced that the full free experience grand prize had been drawn, Kiana instantly deflated like a punctured balloon and shouted, "Ah… what a pity~"
Just then, Pardofelis, who was standing at the edge of the stage, scanned the crowd and suddenly stopped at a certain spot.
She slightly narrowed her eyes and saw the boy surrounded by four beautiful girls, this boy was the one who had helped her open the door earlier.
Thinking of this, a faint, thoughtful smile unknowingly appeared on Pardofelis's lips.
The host suddenly pressed his earpiece and revealed a surprised expression.
"Dear guests, we've just received notice, the resort has decided to temporarily add a mysterious special prize!"
Then, Pardofelis slowly walked to the raffle box and took out a number card from it.
She held it up to the sunlight and looked at it, the smile on her lips deepening, then handed the number card to the host.
The host took the number card and excitedly said, "Congratulations to guest A-6523! You've won our specially prepared mysterious grand prize!"
"The exact prize must be claimed at the resort's service center. But I can assure you, this prize's value definitely won't be inferior to the grand prize!"
Kiana was stunned for a moment, then excitedly said, "A-6523? Isn't that Van's number?!"
She excitedly hugged Van beside her in one swoop, hanging on him entirely, "Van! You won the mysterious grand prize!"
This move immediately attracted the attention of the surrounding audience.
"So lucky…"
"By the way, that silver-haired girl is so cute…"
"Wait, the guy she's hugging… he looks kinda familiar…"
"Damn! Isn't that the guy from this morning hanging out with a bunch of beautiful girls?!"
"What?! A bunch of beautiful girls?"
"Yeah! And they even played that embarrassing punishment game together…"
"???"
"Damn, that guy should just go to hell!"
However, at this moment, Van didn't have the energy to care about other people's stares. His attention was entirely drawn to Pardofelis on the stage.
After the raffle segment was completed, Pardofelis left the stage under the escort of bodyguards.
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