Stelle, Dan Heng, and March 7th returned to the hotel.
March 7th was humming a cheerful little tune, full of enthusiasm as she sorted through the photos she had taken today. Thanks to the starry-sky camera, taking pictures had become so much easier for her—snap and print right on the spot, with fantastic results. She no longer had to go through the tedious old routine of coming back, picking out her favorites, and printing them on film.
"Hmm-hm-hmm~ This one's nice, and so is this one."
As she browsed, March 7th stopped at a photo that left her utterly speechless.
"Stelle..."
Dan Heng and Stelle noticed March 7th's speechless expression.
"What's wrong?"
March 7th held up the photo to show them. In the picture, Stelle was holding a trash can lid in one hand, steadying a garbage bin with the other, and peering headfirst inside.
At this sight, Dan Heng fell instantly silent. *Umm... what kind of hobby is this?*
Stelle scratched her head sheepishly. "Hehe, well... March, you know how it is. Didn't I buy those two trash-can scratch-offs from Ye Yun a couple of days ago? So, you see..."
March 7th gave Stelle a sideways glance. "You should be a bit more careful from now on. Anyone who doesn't know you would think you were a beggar."
Stelle nodded hurriedly, promising there wouldn't be a next time. As for whether there would be... well, that depended entirely on Stelle's own self-restraint.
Dan Heng glanced at the time. "Let's go rest for now. Tomorrow morning, we'll head out again to look for that Supreme Guardian."
The night passed quietly. Early the next morning, Stelle sprang up from her bed with a carp kip-up. After washing up and freshening herself, she stepped out into the hallway.
At that moment, March 7th and Dan Heng were standing not far from Stelle's door.
"Morning, March, Dan Heng. How come it's so noisy downstairs?" As soon as Stelle stepped out of her room, a commotion drifted up from the lobby below.
Dan Heng thought for a moment. "Let's go down and take a look."
The three of them arrived in the lobby only to find that the silver-haired woman they had briefly met in the office yesterday had surrounded the entire hotel with a contingent of Silvermane Guards. The moment the trio appeared, Bronya spotted them. With an icy tone, Bronya read out the arrest warrant: "Audacious scoundrels! By order of the Supreme Guardian, I am here to take you all into custody."
Surrounded on all sides, March 7th helplessly spread her hands. "Here we go again! This happens every three worlds!"
Dan Heng looked around, his gaze locking onto a nearby Stellaron portal. "Ahem!" Dan Heng coughed twice to draw Stelle and March 7th's attention. Seeing that both of them were looking at him, Dan Heng signaled toward the Stellaron portal with his eyes. Stelle and March 7th caught on instantly.
Dan Heng then murmured softly:
"From one corner, infer three!
The sovereign's command admits no second choice!
Lean on the ramparts and borrow one!"
The instant Dan Heng finished speaking, Stelle directly activated the Judgement of Shamash and unleashed its liberated stance.
"Shamash! Unsheathe!"
With a single sweep of her sword, a wave of searing flames surged across the area, knocking all the surrounding Silvermane Guards to the ground. Even Bronya was driven back more than ten meters by the scorching heat wave.
Having unleashed her strike, Stelle decisively withdrew her blade and bolted. By the time Bronya regained her footing, Dan Heng, March 7th, and Stelle had already vanished into the Stellaron portal.
Bronya knitted her brows slightly and immediately barked the pursuit order. "Hear my command, all of you! Follow me and pursue them!"
Beside her, Pela looked at the Stellaron portal with deep anxiety. "But... Lady Bronya, that's a Stellaron portal!"
With resolute determination, Bronya declared, "We cannot let these villains escape justice!"
Shortly after, Bronya led the Silvermane Guards in pursuit through the Stellaron portal. Relying on her familiarity with the terrain, Bronya and a large troop of Silvermane Guards managed to corner March 7th, Dan Heng, and Stelle.
Faced with this situation, the three had no choice but to unleash their full power. Under their combined might, the Silvermane Guards were quickly reduced to a state where they could no longer fight.
Stelle looked at the remaining Bronya and Pela, pointing the Judgement of Shamash straight at them. "You two take us on together, or it won't be fair to you!"
Bronya and Pela were extremely tense; the strength of these three was simply too overwhelming. Especially the gray-haired girl right in front of them wielding the blazing greatsword—her destructive power was off the charts.
Yet, things had reached this point, and Bronya and Pela had no choice but to engage Stelle in combat.
Hiding in the shadows, Sampo was utterly shocked. *No way, sister, your combat strength and the script don't quite match! Weren't you supposed to be facing a desperate situation? What's going on here? You're practically about to beat the future Supreme Guardian into a nervous breakdown! Besides, that speech you just gave—that was pure supervillain dialogue, hey!*
*No, no, if this keeps up, I'll have to step in immediately, or this script is going completely off the rails.*
A few specialized smoke grenades were tossed out, and all five of them—Stelle, March 7th, Dan Heng, Bronya, and Pela—were knocked out cold by the fumes.
Sampo slowly stepped out. "Good thing old Sampo came to monitor things in person."
Carrying the five of them, Sampo first dumped Pela near a Silvermane Guard checkpoint in the Overworld so she could go back and deliver a message. Afterward, Sampo took Stelle, Bronya, March 7th, and Dan Heng down to the Underworld.
***
Meanwhile, over at Ye Yun's end.
He had brought Hook to an abandoned restaurant in Rivet Town close to Boulder Town. Ye Yun stepped into the kitchen to inspect the facilities; everything inside was still in good working condition, save for the lack of gas. Ye Yun bought a gas canister from the system and hooked it up to the stove. He turned the valve, and flames leaped into life.
Outside, Lios was playing with Hook. As for the surrounding Stellaron monsters... under a single "Blazing Wildfire" from Lios, every last one of them was reduced to ashes.
The conditions were crude, so Ye Yun figured he'd make some chicken soup, cook up some noodles later on, and have a bowl of chicken noodle soup. Ye Yun had originally wanted to make spicy stir-pot, but considering Hook was a child who had hardly ever tasted oil or salt growing up, he was worried her stomach wouldn't handle the heavy spice.
The rich aroma of chicken soup filled the entire kitchen.
Not far from the kitchen, a young girl wearing a red coat and barefooted paws was scavenging the area for supplies. "Medicine, medicine, let's see if there's any here."
The girl was none other than Clara from the Robot Settlement. Clara had ventured out this time to search for medicine; recent intensification of Stellaron monster activity had left many in the settlement injured. With supplies running low, Clara had brought a few automatons out to Rivet Town to hunt for pharmaceutical provisions.
As she searched, Clara caught the sound of cheerful laughter and shouting.
"Master Lios, run a little faster!"
Clara looked up. "Eh? Isn't that Hook?"
Clara hadn't expected to run into Hook here.
"Hook! Hook!"
Sitting atop Lios, Hook heard someone calling her name and had Lios stop in her tracks. Hook looked toward the voice and quickly spotted Clara standing beside a pile of debris.
"Clara! My Clara!"
Hook slid down from Lios in a flash and dashed toward Clara. Clara and Hook hugged each other, both of them overjoyed to see one another.
"Clara, what are you doing here?" Clara held up the medicine in her hand. "I came to find some medicine for everyone back at the settlement."