Inaba Tsukiyo was too familiar with Haxxor Bunny Adventure, not because she liked Haxxor Bunny so much, but because Bronya and Theresa loved Haxxor Bunny very much. (Kiana: What about me?!)
Inaba Tsukiyo didn't understand why Theresa and Bronya liked Haxxor Bunny so much; it looked so strange. Was it because of their aesthetic sense? Was that why she had no feelings for Haxxor Bunny at all?
And... there was one thing Inaba Tsukiyo couldn't figure out, and that was the Boy's attire... wasn't it a bit too shabby?
Haxxor Bunny Adventure was very popular, and as the author, he should have received a lot of royalties or copyright fees. Why did his clothes look like something he just picked up at a street stall?
The person Kiana called Teacher Mu Yue raised his head a little proudly, seemingly very proud of his work.
With this as a topic, the Boy sat down at their table, under the murderous gazes of the other Boys in the restaurant.
"I accidentally overheard you were looking for Jiuyou. To draw good comics, I've specifically researched the history and legends of many countries. When I was traveling in Shenzhou before, I happened to come across information about Jiuyou."
"...Don't you draw Haxxor Bunny Adventure? Why would you research the history and legends of countries? Are you going to incorporate Haxxor Bunny characters into it?"
Inaba Tsukiyo found it strange. According to the content of Haxxor Bunny Adventure she had secretly flipped through before, there were no historical stories in it. As the author of Haxxor Bunny Adventure, why would he research this?
"Uh... actually, Haxxor Bunny Adventure isn't my only work. I've drawn other comics, and these researches are necessary for them."
"Oh? Really? But I have a friend who really loves Haxxor Bunny Adventure. She has collected many rare editions of Haxxor Bunny Adventure, but there are no other comics in her room."
"Uh..."
"I don't know if it's because she only likes Haxxor Bunny, but if she really wanted to support you, she should at least buy your other comics. But I've never heard from her that the author of Haxxor Bunny has other works. Which means..."
"Ugh!"
For some reason, Mu Yue looked at Inaba Tsukiyo nervously, as if worried that something would be exposed by Inaba Tsukiyo.
Inaba Tsukiyo's deduction also attracted the attention of the others. Everyone's eyes were focused on Inaba Tsukiyo.
Inaba Tsukiyo coughed twice before speaking the rest of her thoughts.
"Simply put, besides Haxxor Bunny Adventure, hardly anyone reads your other works! Your other works have no recognition. In other words, you're a flop author!"
"..."
Mu Yue's mouth hung open as he looked at Inaba Tsukiyo, who had stood up and was pointing at him. He hadn't expected this girl, who had been silent until now, to suddenly blurt out so many words.
After regaining his senses, Mu Yue wanted to explain something, but a sense of desolation kept washing over him. The words "flop author" kept swirling in his mind, making him feel as if his heart was being cut, and his world truly turned black and white.
Actually... Inaba Tsukiyo wasn't wrong. Before Haxxor Bunny Adventure became a hit, he indeed had a few works, but without exception, none of them had a good reception.
Inaba Tsukiyo wasn't wrong. He... was just a flop author.
Tears of sorrow flowed involuntarily. Although there was no sound, everyone could feel the bitterness of this Boy. He was a Boy with a story.
"Ahem! Ahem! Alright, alright! Even if I'm a flop author, that's in the past. Haven't I made it now? Aren't we talking about Jiuyou now? I can tell you what I know."
At this point, the Boy suddenly glanced at Himeko beside him, a mysterious smile on his face, and continued.
"However, the matter about Jiuyou is a bit long. If you want to hear it, it might take some time."
"We don't have much time to chat with you. If you want my phone number, I can give it to you after you give us useful information. If not, you know the consequences, right?"
As she spoke, Himeko crushed the beer can in her hand with one hand. This made the Boy, who had been quite confident, nervously swallow. Believing in the doctrine of 'following one's heart,' he quickly told them what he knew.
"To understand Jiuyou, you need to understand Chiyou and the Emperor, these two legendary figures. After Chiyou was defeated by the Emperor, he fled to Jiuyou. In Shenzhou, Jiuyou represents the deepest part of the underworld, leading directly to the Yellow Springs."
"You should know that even if you dig a hole on land, it can't be as deep as the bottom of the sea. So, the saying that Jiuyou is at the deepest part of Shenzhou's land is incorrect. There's also a rumor that Jiuyou is at the bottom of the sea in Guangzhou."
"Oh? Jiuyou, which leads directly to the Yellow Springs... If the Yellow Springs are compared to the bottom of the deep sea, then this rumor might be true."
They had been searching for Jiuyou on the mainland of Shenzhou all this time, but found no clues whatsoever about Jiuyou.
If the reason they hadn't found Jiuyou was because they had been looking in the wrong place from the start, and Jiuyou was actually not on land but under the sea, then it would make sense why they couldn't find it.
Himeko lowered her head, pondering the possibility of this matter.
Although she didn't know how credible the Boy's words were, they had no other choice but to find Jiuyou.
Thinking this, Himeko and Fu Hua exchanged glances, then pulled Kiana, who was still eating, and ignored her struggles as they walked outside, instructing someone to contact the branch as they went.
Just after the others left, Inaba Tsukiyo went to the front desk alone to pay the bill.
Without any unnecessary words, Inaba Tsukiyo directly pulled out her black card and handed it to the waiter to swipe.
As the waiter was processing the payment, Inaba Tsukiyo suddenly remembered the silk book in Himeko's hand, which contained the recipe for water chestnut cake.
After a moment of thought, Inaba Tsukiyo tilted her head, recalling a certain allusion from the Far Eastern mythology, and an idea kept forming in her mind.
"Excuse me, do you have water chestnut cake here? If so, please give me a few servings."
"Huh? Oh... okay, please wait a moment."
Although she didn't understand why Inaba Tsukiyo needed water chestnut cake, the waiter quickly packed two servings of water chestnut cake and handed them to Inaba Tsukiyo.
Leaving the restaurant, Inaba Tsukiyo quickly found Himeko and her group, who had already left. They were heading towards the port area.
They had already contacted the Guangzhou branch of Schicksal, but it would take a few hours for them to arrive.
"I think, if Nine Nether is at the bottom of the sea, it shouldn't be too far from the land. After all, the era of the Emperor and Chiyou was different from modern times; there weren't very good ships back then, so it should be in the coastal waters."
Even if Ji Xuanyuan was very powerful, she couldn't have swum too far to seal Chiyou; it must have been in a relatively close location.
Although the exact location of Nine Nether was still unknown, the only place that could be confirmed right now was the coastal waters.
Inaba Tsukiyo's speculation was not without reason; the ships from Ji Xuanyuan's time were indeed not as good as modern ones. Himeko and Fu Hua nodded, agreeing with Inaba Tsukiyo's conjecture.
As for Kiana, she was engrossed in playing with the game console she brought, completely oblivious to Inaba Tsukiyo's words.
"Coastal waters… so that means… even if we don't need the branch's help, we can find Nine Nether ourselves?"
Himeko thought for a moment. Since it wasn't very far from the land, they could find a ship themselves to search for Nine Nether's location.
However, there were no ships near the port at all, and even if there were, how would they explain to the boatman why they needed a ride?
"Hey! There's a ship! And it has Haxxor Bunny printed on it, look! Look!"
Suddenly, Kiana seemed to see something and shouted, pointing in a certain direction.
Everyone was drawn by Kiana's voice, turned around, and looked towards the ship's location, discovering that there really was a ship not far away.
It was a small boat, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that on the ship, there was a Haxxor Bunny design printed.
According to the saying in the Far East, such a ship could probably be called… an itasha.
"Perfect, then let's 'borrow' this ship for now!"
Himeko didn't pay attention to the Haxxor Bunny design on the ship. As long as the ship was usable, she didn't care if it was an itasha.
"Major Himeko, using someone else's property without negotiating with the owner first can be considered theft."
Fu Hua pushed up her glasses, couldn't help but remind Major Himeko about her actions.
"It's fine; I'll just pay them back later. Tell the people at the Guangzhou branch about this; they'll handle it."
Himeko didn't care. Back when she was fighting Honkai, she didn't know how many times she had done such things; she was already used to it.
She no longer had the time to wait a few hours for the branch personnel to come for support.
While Himeko and Fu Hua were discussing, Inaba Tsukiyo was thinking about Anti-Entropy.
"Tsukiyo-jie."
Seele's voice came, she floated beside Inaba Tsukiyo, seemingly wanting to say something, but was afraid Inaba Tsukiyo would get angry, unsure how to begin.
"What is it, Seele? Did you see someone? Or do you have something you want to ask me to do?"
This girl, whenever she shows this expression, she definitely wants to ask for something she herself is unwilling to do.
Although she didn't know what Seele wanted to do, she would try to fulfill whatever Seele asked, even if it made her very unhappy.
"Um… Tsukiyo-jie, if Cocolia-mama is among the Anti-Entropy people this time, could you please let her go?"
"…Cocolia."
Inaba Tsukiyo was silent, unsure whether to agree to Seele's request.
Inaba Tsukiyo really didn't have much good impression of Cocolia. If Cocolia appeared here this time, she would definitely teach her a lesson.
However… since Seele had already come forward to ask her, Inaba Tsukiyo could only give in.
"I won't make things difficult for her, but I will teach her a slight lesson. Of course, I won't let An-Mar off."
"Mm, thank you, Tsukiyo-jie."
Seele nodded happily. She didn't have any hatred for Cocolia; after all, Cocolia had taken her in for over a decade, and she truly regarded her as her mother.
As a daughter, she didn't want Cocolia to get hurt.
"Eh? So you guys are here too."
Just then, a familiar voice sounded behind them.
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