Stelle had seen these musical note sprites before; they were familiar. They were the assistants that appeared when Sunday used his abilities or during the Harmony Choir. But why were they independently existing here?
Could it be… that the current de facto ruler of Dreamflux Reef was Sunday?
With such doubts, Stelle tentatively asked, "So, if I don't pay the fine, what kind of punishment can you impose on me?"
Boom—
No sooner had she spoken than a commotion erupted from the tallest building in Dreamflux Reef. At the top stood a statue of Clockie, its massive dial at the head beginning to gather energy, poised to strike.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Stelle's forehead as she raised her hands. "I'll pay! I'll pay!"
Musical Note Sprite (Team 1): "Very well, calculating the fine: Your gaze has violated Dreamflux Reef's portrait rights, you've breathed Dreamflux Reef's air, moved on Dreamflux Reef's land, and interacted with local tourists. You must also apply for a temporary Dreamflux Reef ID…"
"…Totaling eight hundred million credits."
Stelle: "How much?!"
Eight hundred million credits?
Forget now—she hadn't even seen that many credits back when she was playing Honkai: Star Rail!
So, this version of Star Rail couldn't inflate combat power, but it sure inflated the economy first, huh?
Compared to this, the credit expenses on the Xianzhou were practically pocket change for a kid! (At that exact moment, the Dragon Lord of the Luofu sneezed, taking the chance to nap a bit more during a wash.)
"I-I don't have any money…" Stelle tried to play cute to get by, looking pitiful.
—"C-C'mon, I don't have any money. Can't you cut me some slack, please, please, please!"
Just then, a voice rang out nearby. Stelle glanced sideways and saw, not far away, a familiar purple-haired woman squatting miserably on the ground, surrounded by a ring of musical note sprites.
The purple-haired woman clasped her hands together, her eyes sincere and clear, her tone coy: "Pretty please~"
Kafka? Here? …Oh, I get it. It's fake. Kafka's too pretty, so someone here must've stolen her skin.
Yeah, yeah, in a place where Aeon skins are everywhere, what's one Kafka skin?
That's gotta be it!
Musical Note Sprite (Team 2): "Dear guest, if your balance is insufficient, you may take out a loan through the 'Dreamflux Reef Spends-Endlessly' platform. For new users, we offer a minimum of eight hundred million and a maximum of twenty billion credits."
Kafka blinked her big eyes: "But, but, my info's already on the galactic credit blacklist. Can I still borrow?"
Musical Note Sprite (Team 2): "No."
Kafka: "Then…"
The Clockie statue above finished charging, and a laser beam precisely struck Kafka, flashing with electric light and even revealing a skeletal effect.
Kafka: (X﹏X)
Musical Note Sprite (Team 2): "Take her away. Sign an unpaid labor contract for eight hundred years."
"…"
A bead of cold sweat slowly rolled down the back of Stelle's head. What just happened? What was with that "c'mon" and "galactic credit blacklist"? Why did she have a bad feeling about this?
"…Miss, what did you just say?"
The voice of the musical note sprite snapped Stelle back to reality.
Stelle blinked several times in succession: "Nothing, I didn't say anything… Oh, oh, oh, right, there's something I want to tell you. Actually, I'm an Astral Express Nameless, very close to your Chairman Mikhail, his junior…"
—"Wait a minute, I have something to tell you! I'm Chairman Mikhail's actual brother!"
Another abrupt voice interrupted Stelle. She glanced sideways and saw, not far away, a short-haired, light-blue-haired boy surrounded by another group of musical note sprites (Team 3). Judging by his appearance, it seemed to be the same Mila from the hotel earlier.
Mila shouted: "I'm Mila! You can't treat me like this! I'm here to find someone!"
Whoosh—
Clockie's laser struck Mila with precision, accompanied by a "flashing electric light + skeletal x-ray" effect. Mila: (X__X)
Musical Note Sprite (Team 3): "Take him away, take him away. Make him sign the contract first, then talk."
Another bead of sweat rolled down the back of Stelle's head.
"Um? Sorry… I zoned out just now. What did you say?"
The musical note sprite in front of her asked again.
The corner of Stelle's mouth twitched: "Well… actually, I didn't mean to trespass. I just accidentally got lost and fell into this world, I…"
—"Wait a minute! Actually, I didn't mean to trespass. I just accidentally got lost and fell into this world!"
Another voice interrupted Stelle. Not far away, a seemingly airheaded white-haired, blue-eyed girl with a single ponytail was surrounded by musical note sprites (Team 4), protesting: "I just got lost in the Quantum Sea! Where the heck did you guys take me?!"
"Until my Mei arrives, I won't say a single word!"
Whoosh—
White-haired, blue-eyed girl: (X__X)
Musical Note Sprite (Team 4): "Take her away, take her away. Sign a labor contract first… Hm? A call from the Chairman?"
…
"Um? Sorry, miss, what were you about to say?" The musical note sprite expressed its apologies once again: "Sorry, Dreamflux Reef has been a bit chaotic lately, with all sorts of people sneaking in for no reason."
Stelle swallowed hard. At this point, what could she do?
Playing dumb didn't work, acting pitiful didn't work, pulling connections didn't work… Was her only option now to resort to that move?
On the surface, Stelle forced herself to stay calm, but her foot had already scooped up a handful of golden sand, preparing to execute the thirty-sixth stratagem: running away.
Hah, even if she couldn't win a fight, couldn't she still run? She was in Preservation mode now—surely she could tank a couple of hits from Clockie's defense tower. Once she blended into the crowd, she doubted that thing could still lock onto her.
—"Hahahahaha! Think you can kill me, the illusion master Sparkle?!"
Yet another voice rang out. Not far away, Sparkle, whom she hadn't seen for half a system hour, was surrounded by a group of musical note sprites (Team 5). Even though she was targeted by the Clockie defense tower above, she showed no trace of panic.
"Did you really think the great Sparkle would keep taking losses here?"
Sparkle laughed loudly, her eyes glinting with an eerie pink glow. The space around her warped, and pink "Dreamfish" appeared out of thin air.
The "Dreamfish" kept shifting, gradually transforming into multiple "Sparkles." In just a few breaths, an army of "Sparkles" filled the entire street, making it impossible to tell which was the real one.
"Come play hide-and-seek!" all the Sparkles teased with a laugh. "I figured it out already—that defense tower needs to charge, right? So what happens when there are too many targets for it to handle?"
"Will you find the answer? Hahahahaha—"
Sparkle's awesome!
Seeing this, Stelle secretly clenched her fist. Amazing—if Sparkle hadn't pointed it out, she wouldn't have noticed. Indeed, the Clockie defense tower had a long attack interval and a noticeable wind-up. This gave her even more confidence…
Click, clack, clack—
As if it had heard Sparkle's mockery, the Clockie statue's dial suddenly transformed, sprouting hundreds of gun barrels, resembling a laser Gatling gun.
Sparkle/Stelle: …
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
The laser Gatling began spinning wildly, sweeping with precision to target every single "Sparkle." Under such overwhelming firepower, the "Sparkle army" (including the real one) didn't even last ten seconds.
Sparkle: (X__X)
Yet again, the musical note sprite turned back to Stelle, sincerely apologizing: "Sorry, miss, what were you about to say?"