"We're back! And we brought some tasty food from Changle Tian! Have you two eaten breakfast yet?"
March 7th had just walked through the hotel door carrying Xianzhou breakfast when she froze, stunned by the scene before her.
Two men were asleep in chairs, surrounded by a pile of empty wine bottles and milk tea cups. The entire lobby reeked of alcohol.
"Mmm... March, you're back?"
Wende's eyes fluttered open. He saw Little March standing at the door and, with some effort, sat up from his chair. He stretched his tight and stiff back and greeted her.
"Ugh..."
Dan Heng also sat up, clutching his head, his gaze somewhat vacant.
"You... you two! You were drinking while we were away! Uncle Yang! Look at them! This is outrageous!"
March quickly pulled Welt, who was walking slowly behind her, over to the scene. She pointed at the two exhausted-looking men, hands on her hips, and interrogated them.
"..."
Welt pushed up his glasses with a frown, then proceeded to give the two a stern lecture.
Seeing this, March nodded in satisfaction. She then joined in with Stelle to berate the two of them, acting just like a little mother.
Stelle stood to the side, not knowing what to do, and took the opportunity while March was distracted to sneak in some game time.
"Alright, alright, we know we were wrong. It's just that, with you guys gone, Dan Heng and I were just trying to relieve some of our worries," Wende said, raising his hands in surrender. This Little March... he really had no way of dealing with her...
"Hmph hmph, don't you dare drink again next time!"
March let out two haughty huffs, crossing her arms over her chest in a victorious pose.
"And here I was, wanting to share what we saw on our trip with you. Honestly, you've completely ruined the mood. Here, this is the breakfast I bought for you. Hurry up and eat!"
"March..."
Dan Heng glanced at the breakfast on the table, then at the beaming March 7th.
"Hmm?"
"Thank you."
"Hey, why are you being so polite with me? Did you... have a personality change, Dan Heng?"
"Pretend I didn't say anything."
"Aw, c'mon, let me see that expression again!"
"..."
"Okay, okay, I'll stop teasing you. We're going upstairs to catch up on sleep!"
March made a face at Dan Heng, then dragged the still-gaming Stelle back to their room.
"Hmm..."
Welt silently pushed up his glasses.
And then, the number of drinkers became three...
This time, however, they had cleaned everything up before March came back down.
After lunch, Wende took the three of them for a stroll around Starskiff Haven. Welt had gone back to the Artisanship Commission, supposedly because there was a new breakthrough in his research on the Golden People.
"Woof! Arf arf!"
While March and the others were taking pictures, Wende, who was wandering nearby, suddenly heard a few familiar barks. He looked around and finally spotted a Diting in distress near a large gate.
"Arf arf!"
As soon as the Diting saw Wende, it trotted over to him with quick little steps, its tail wagging.
"Woof!"
Wende knelt down and stroked its little head, but this particular Diting didn't seem to want pets or cuddles. Instead, it looked extremely anxious.
Seeing this, Wende decisively scooped it up into his arms and carried it over to where March was.
He had no choice. It seemed the only person who could understand what a Diting was saying was March 7th.
"March!" Wende called out from a distance.
"Yeah! Coming!"
Hearing Wende's call, Little March, who was still taking pictures of Stelle, immediately hurried over. Her face lit up with delight when she saw the Diting in Wende's hands.
"Wow! It's a little Diting! Is it a gift for me, Wende? I wonder if Pom-Pom will let me keep a pet on the Express? But Diting are artificial, so they probably don't shed..."
Diting: "?"
Wende: "?"
"Uh... actually, it looks like this little one is in some kind of trouble. I came to ask you to translate," Wende said, feeling a bit of second-hand embarrassment for March.
"Oh, so that's what it is... Darn it, why can't I just find a little Diting to keep for myself!" March grumbled, hugging the little Diting.
Diting: "Arf?"
And so, under the guidance of the little Diting, a special mission without Welt began.
---o---
Starskiff Haven. Behind the investigating group, a figure flashed past.
"..."
Dan Heng frowned, seeming to sense a familiar aura.
He glanced at the three in front of him, silently took out his phone to send Wende a message, then turned and quietly slipped away.
A short while later...
"Hmm?"
Wende frowned, sensing that something was wrong. He whipped around to look behind him.
"What is it? Why did you turn around so suddenly? Is there something behind us..."
March looked at Wende in confusion and turned to look behind herself as well.
"Gyaaaaargh!"
An Abomination of Abundance had appeared out of nowhere behind March. Its terrifying face was less than a meter away, a blade glinting with cold light about to strike her!
"Go!"
Wende decisively shot two lightning needles, one into the Abomination's forehead and the other into its throat, while pulling March behind him.
"Aaargh!!"
A huge horde of Abominations of Abundance appeared as if from thin air and launched an attack on the group.
"Stelle, protect March!" Wende ordered decisively.
"Little Diting! Get over here!"
March quickly grabbed the Diting and placed it by her feet, her longbow drawn taut.
"Where's Dan Heng?"
March looked at the Abominations that were gradually surrounding them. If Dan Heng had been here, they would have probably noticed them much earlier, right?
"Let's deal with these guys first," Wende said resolutely.
He threw a lightning needle at Stelle, buffing her. Now dual-wielding her weapons, Stelle immediately went on a rampage through the horde of Abominations.
"Biu!"
Protected by March's Six-Phased Ice shield, Stelle charged forward relentlessly, an unstoppable force cutting a path through the monsters.
"What in the world is going on? Why are there so many Abominations of Abundance?" March asked, bewildered, never ceasing her arrow fire.
"The Cloud Knights stationed at the Cloudford..."
Wende instantly had a bad feeling. Although the Cloud Knight squad they knew had been transferred to Changle Tian, the new replacements shouldn't have let the monsters run this rampant, should they?
"Hah!!"
Stelle swept her lance sideways, sending three Abominations flying. And with that, the battle, which had lasted for more than ten minutes, was over.
Looking at the ground littered with Abominations, Wende's brows furrowed deeply. He found one that wasn't quite dead yet and shot a lightning needle from his hand. Under the combined effect of the Abundance power and his Yin-Yang energy, the Abomination's monstrous shell began to recede, revealing its original form...
"This is... a Xianzhou civilian?" March exclaimed in shock.