Star Rail Train, Daziel's room.
With several versions to go before the train crew would allocate funds for him to renovate his room, Daziel could only tidy it up slightly to make it look less messy. Of course, the most crucial thing was to clear a space for himself, convenient for adjusting Jingliu.
Having finished today's adjustments, Daziel carefully resecured Jingliu's restraints, ensuring she could only make slight, subtle sounds.
He took several deep breaths, calming his agitated mood, and switched back to sage mode before finally getting up from the floor.
Daziel squatted down, took off Jingliu's thin clothes, which were soaked with sweat, and casually tossed them aside.
He'd have to wash them himself later...
"... ..."
Daziel let out a long sigh, feeling the exhaustion of his body intertwined with the excitement of his mind, forming an indescribable complex sensation.
He looked at Jingliu, who was quietly leaning against the wall, bound, and gave a wry smile.
"Jingliu, oh Jingliu, tell me, I've worked so hard, why is your depravity value rising so slowly?" Daziel muttered to himself, his tone tinged with emotion and helplessness. It had been a few days since he brought Jingliu onto the train, yet despite trying every method, Jingliu's depravity value had only increased by less than 2%.
Currently, Jingliu's depravity value was only 4%.
"Humph! Hmph!"
Jingliu hummed a few times, her body trembling slightly, seemingly expressing her dissatisfaction with Daziel.
He gently stroked Jingliu's head, as if comforting a frightened little animal.
"But don't worry, I'm not some brute. I'll take good 'care' of you..."
Daziel's voice was low and hoarse, like that of a villain.
However, Daziel firmly believed that everything he was doing was to save this world that was on the verge of collapse!
All for—justice!
Just as Daziel finished showering and drying his hair, the phone on his bedside table suddenly vibrated, and several new text messages popped up on the screen.
Daziel picked up his phone and saw that the sender was listed as "Wilder."
"Wilder? Who is that?" Daziel frowned in confusion.
He opened the text message, the content was simple:
[Wilder: Dear Mr. Daziel, hello.]
[Wilder: Let me introduce myself, I am Wilder, an employee of the Interstellar Peace Corporation's "Strategic Investment Department." You are a major client of our company, so I asked Director Topaz for your contact information. I hope you don't mind.]
[Wilder: I'm contacting you this time to recommend an electronic game.]
Seeing this, Daziel frowned.
Topaz... how did she leak my information again? Last time it was Scott, and this time it's this guy named Wilder.
It seems I really need to find a chance to give her a good beating with my big bat again, lest she gets unruly again.
Daziel replied—
[Daziel: Game? What game? Is it exciting? Can you teach me how to Duang Lang?]
[Wilder: Duang Lang? What does that mean? I haven't heard of it...]
[Wilder: Our game is called "Aetherium Wars." It is a cosmic-level heavyweight cultural brand spearheaded by the company's Market Development Department, in conjunction with the Interstellar Interconnection Network and Interstellar Peace Film and Television.]
Seeing the words "Aetherium Wars," Daziel instantly understood.
This was the event mission from Star Rail, where you could capture Aether Spirits, battle NPCs, and the in-game text even played with a lot of Pokémon references.
Although the story text was quite interesting, the essence of the event content did not deviate from Star Rail's turn-based framework, and the attributes of the Aether Spirits obtained were also fixed and lacked randomness.
This was also a disappointing point.
However, now that he had transmigrated, this Aetherium Wars event should be a bit more interesting than he imagined. At least, the Aether Spirits that could be obtained shouldn't just be those fixed ones.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if he could get a Dewdrop Celestial, a humanoid Aether Spirit?
Thinking of the The Ascended's bare jade feet, Daziel couldn't help but rub his hands together in anticipation.
[Daziel: I've heard of your product. It's that card-collecting and trading battle game, right?]
[Wilder: Since you've heard of it, that's even better. If you're interested, why not come to the Rivet Town Commercial Plaza on Jarilo-VI to learn more details in person!]
[Wilder: We are about to hold an Aetherium Wars offline fan festival here—the "Interstellar Showdown Celebration"! Please be sure to come and see!]
[Daziel: I will definitely come!]
Putting away his phone, Daziel prepared to go to Belobog to see what was going on.
At this moment, a system notification popped up in front of Daziel—
[Reminder to the host, the story content of this "Aetherium Wars" will be vastly different from what you know. Please be mentally prepared.]
"The plot of this world has long been unbearable to watch. What's different this time?"
Daziel asked curiously in his mind.
[Affected by special memetic contamination, the difficulty of this Aetherium Wars will be much greater than the original plot, and the content and form will also have significant changes.]
[At the same time, there will be different rewards and punishments for defeating or being defeated by the opponent.]
"There are rewards and punishments too?"
Daziel scratched his head, somewhat confused by what the system said.
[Ahem... I've seen the host's memories. Actually, it's similar to that Pokémon eroge you played. After defeating the opponent's trainer, you can proceed to the "home run." Conversely, if you lose... you can only be "homered" by the opponent.]
[This memetic contamination is extremely special. To put it simply, it's DLC content installed on top of the base "inner world" Memetic.]
[Only by defeating the opponent and completing the "home run" can the DLC portion on the opponent be removed.]
[Of course, the basic "inner world" Memetic part cannot be removed. The host still needs to work harder on Jingliu.]
Daziel's lips twitched slightly after hearing this.
"Wait, what is all this nonsense? Why do I have to do that kind of thing whether I win or lose? Is there any difference...?"
[Don't think that way, host. Only by winning can you advance the plot. If you lose, you will be additionally squeezed dry.]
[Without obtaining the "anime energy" reward, if you lose too many times, your body may not be able to handle it.]
[So, for the sake of your kidneys, win, host.]
Daziel nodded thoughtfully after reading the system's prompt.
So that's what's going on...
Then at this time, he couldn't help but adapt a line from Ash Ketchum!—
If I win, I can only be "homered" by you?
No problem! But we won't lose!
Maintaining the dignity of a male protagonist in a harem novel and adhering to the principle of the male taking the initiative is his bounden duty!
Thinking of this, a surge of belief rose in Daziel's heart.
Daziel quickly got dressed and left the room.
UID 5596854
In the carriage, March was hugging a pillow, sitting on the soft sofa, scrolling through her phone with boredom. Seeing Daziel come out, she immediately looked up, her bright eyes carrying a hint of doubt and curiosity.
"Hey, Daziel, where are you going, you?"
March's voice was a bit silly but carried the unique sweetness of a girl, "You're not going to sneak off again and disappear, are you?"
Daziel walked up to March, ruffled her smooth pink hair, and explained gently, "This time it's not anything dangerous, just going to play the game that the company is promoting to me. Ever since I paid off Belobog's debt and became a major client of the company, they've been quite attentive to me."
He took out his phone, brought up the text message from Wilder, and handed it to March to read, "Look, the company recommended a new game called 'Aetherium Wars' and invited me to Belobog to participate in an offline event."
March curiously took the phone and carefully read the text message, muttering softly, "Aetherium Wars... Interstellar Showdown Celebration... Rivet Town Commercial Plaza..."
Daziel patiently explained, "I've heard of this game before. It's probably about using a technology called Aether Copy to record seen creatures in coins and then print them out for battles..."
He deliberately concealed the information about memetic contamination and the inner world. After all, explaining such things was too complicated and might even make the memetic contamination worse.
He couldn't let the adorable little March be contaminated any further!
After listening, March's eyes instantly lit up, and she exclaimed excitedly, "Wow! Such amazing technology! It sounds like so much fun! I thought only that little girl from the Stellaron Hunters had this kind of technology. I didn't expect the company to have it too!"
She grabbed Daziel's arm and shook it playfully, "Daziel, Daziel, I want to go too! Take me with you!"
Daziel looked at March's enthusiastic appearance, the corners of his mouth slightly raised. He took her soft little hand and said with a smile, "Okay, let's go together then!"
What could be more fun than adventuring in the Star Rail world with his little girlfriend?
Besides, in the original plot, March also accompanied the protagonist, catching Aether Spirits all the way, going through the gyms, and heading towards the champion's path.
The two held hands and left the train carriage.
Belobog, Rivet Town.
March's gaze swept through the hurried crowd and pointed to a company employee in uniform standing at a street corner, constantly looking around, "Daziel, do you think that guy in uniform with the shifty eyes is the one who sent you the message?"
March's crisp voice interrupted Daziel's thoughts.
Daziel looked in the direction March was pointing, and sure enough, a young man with blond hair wearing a Rivet Town company uniform was standing in the crowd, holding a phone and constantly scanning his surroundings, as if looking for someone.
"That should be him."
Daziel nodded to March, picked up his phone, and was about to send a message to the other party to confirm.
Unexpectedly, before he could make any move, the young man in uniform seemed to suddenly spot his target. His eyes lit up, and he quickly walked towards Daziel and March.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Daziel? I'm Wilder!"
The young man walked up to Daziel, his face immediately filled with an enthusiastic smile, and said with a slightly excited tone, "It doesn't matter if you don't recognize me, but I recognized you at first glance! Your photo has been widely circulated in our Strategic Investment Department. Seeing you in person today, you look even more handsome and dashing than in the photos!"
Daziel's lips twitched slightly.
Strategic Investment Department? Widely circulated?
Although Daziel had vaguely learned from Scott last time that he was now listed as a key concern within the Belobog Interstellar Peace Corporation.
However, being so enthusiastically recognized and directly praised as "handsome and dashing" still made him feel a bit awkward, even a bit... socially awkward. He waved his hand, trying to make his expression look more natural, and said, "Let's skip the pleasantries and talk about what you mentioned in your text message. What exactly is this 'Interstellar Showdown Celebration'?"
Wilder didn't seem to notice Daziel's embarrassment and continued to explain enthusiastically, "You've asked a really good question! This celebration is actually a large-scale competitive event for players across the universe, specially organized by the 'Aetherium Wars Competitive Association' at the end of each season to thank our many players!"
He paused, seemingly to emphasize the special nature of this celebration, and added, "Originally, according to the plan, this celebration was supposed to hold large-scale offline competitions and carnival activities. However, as you know, the Stellaron is blocking interstellar pathways, causing many interstellar routes to be affected. Therefore, to ensure that all players can participate smoothly, the association temporarily changed this celebration to an online viewing mode."
"Online viewing mode?"
March tilted her head, asking with some confusion, "If it's online viewing, then why did you ask us to come here?"
"No, no, no! Miss, you've misunderstood!"
Wilder quickly waved his hand and explained, "Although the main part is online viewing, to cater to those enthusiastic viewers who insist on experiencing the atmosphere of the celebration in person, our company specially applied to set up a small offline venue in Belobog, specifically to provide services to the attendees!"
He pointed to the bustling crowd around them and said proudly, "Look, although it's a temporary venue, the atmosphere on-site is still very lively! Moreover, we have prepared all sorts of offline activities to ensure that every attendee can have a great time!"
As Wilder spoke, he pointed to a huge electronic screen not far away. The screen was playing the promotional video for the game "Aetherium Wars," as well as various event previews.
"'Collect, Duel, Train, Upgrade—this is the core gameplay and slogan of our 'Aetherium Wars'!"
Wilder pointed to the scrolling slogans on the screen and said with an excited tone, "How about it, doesn't it sound exhilarating?!"
March looked at the various uniquely shaped, sci-fi creatures on the screen, her eyes sparkling with excitement, and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Mmm! It does sound very interesting! That... Aetherium Wars, how do you actually play it? Where can I play this game?"
"Haha, you must be Miss March, right? It seems you're also very interested in our game!"
Wilder became even more enthusiastic after hearing March's words, "Without further ado, since both of you are interested in 'Aetherium Wars,' then I'll take you to the Celebration Service Hall first. You can register for a game account there and start your Aetherium Wars journey!"
He made a "please" gesture, signaling for Daziel and March to follow him, "Come with me, this way please! The Celebration Service Hall is not far ahead!"
Daziel and March exchanged a look, both seeing anticipation and curiosity in each other's eyes.
"Then we'll trouble you to lead the way."
Daziel nodded to the young man, then took March's hand and followed Wilder towards the depths of Rivet Town.
...
Old Weapons Testing Ground.
The Celebration Service Hall was decorated everywhere with brightly colored flags and banners. Although the faint smell of rust still lingered, it couldn't suppress the cheerful atmosphere of the scene.
Various uniquely shaped stalls and decorations dotted the area, making it look more like a lively carnival venue.
March looked around curiously, her eyes filled with excitement, "This place... wait, I feel like I've seen this place before..."
She stopped and looked around, seemingly trying to recall something.
"Ah! I remember!"
March suddenly exclaimed, clapping her hands together, "Isn't this the armory that Miss Topaz found before? We almost fought her there. The situation at the time scared this young lady to death!"
"This is the place indeed..."
Daziel nodded, a hint of understanding in his eyes as he looked at Wilder, "I didn't expect it to change so much."
Of course, he knew that the old weapons factory had been remodeled but compared to how it looked in the game, this place had been renovated more thoroughly and completely.
If he hadn't known the plot beforehand, he would never have guessed that this place used to be that abandoned armory.
"Haha, so you two have been here before? It seems we really have a fate"
Wilder explained enthusiastically, "Since the debt issue was resolved satisfactorily, Belobog and the company have established a good cooperative relationship. The company is very optimistic about the future potential of Jarilo-VI, so it decided to increase its investment here. This old weapons testing ground is our first important cooperative project!"
He paused, a hint of pride in his tone, "Of course, the 'Weapons Testing Ground' is a thing of the past—now this is the central venue for the 'Interstellar Showdown Celebration'! Our company and the Aetherium Wars Competitive Association have worked together to transform this place into a comprehensive celebration venue integrating competition, entertainment, and social interaction!"
Daziel nodded, indicating his understanding.
In the original plot, the setting where the company helped Belobog build the planet even though Belobog hadn't paid back the company's money was a bit too far-fetched.
It could be evaluated as having unrealistic fantasies about capitalists.
Only like it is now, with the debt repaid and the two sides establishing a good cooperative relationship, does it align more with real-world logic.
"The two of you, this way please!"
Wilder pointed to a building ahead decorated with a huge game logo and said, "The Celebration Service Hall is just ahead. Let's go there first to register for game accounts, and then we can officially start experiencing the charm of 'Aetherium Wars'!"
Daziel and March followed Wilder through the bustling crowd and arrived at the Celebration Service Hall.
The interior of the hall was decorated with a cyberpunk feel. Huge screens displayed game trailers, and various energetic music and sound effects filled the entire space.
The service hall was crowded with players who had come to register their accounts. Wilder skillfully led Daziel and March to a special VIP channel, avoiding the crowded areas.
"Please wait a moment, I'll help you with the registration procedures right away."
Wilder said enthusiastically, walking to a console and quickly starting to operate it.
"This registration process is very simple. You just need to fill in some basic information and set a game nickname."
While operating the console, Wilder introduced to Daziel and March, "By the way, have you two thought of your game nicknames?"
March tilted her head, thought seriously for a moment, and then her eyes lit up, "I've got it! How about 'Eat Less Carbs'? Isn't this ID both cute and cool?"
Daziel nodded. This ID...
It really fit March's style.
"Hmm, a great name, definitely one for a beautiful girl!"
Wilder praised with a smile, then entered March's ID on the console and confirmed the registration.
"Alright, Miss March, your account has been successfully registered!"
Wilder turned to look at Daziel, "Mr. Daziel, what about you? Have you thought of your nickname?"
Daziel thought for a moment. He didn't have any particular ideas for a game nickname. Any usable one would do.
"Just call me 'Galaxy Baseball Bat Man'," Daziel said casually.
"Okay, Mr. Daziel."
Wilder entered the ID "Galaxy Baseball Bat Man" as instructed and clicked confirm.
"Hmm? Is this name already taken?"
Wilder was slightly taken aback, looking at the prompt message that popped up on the screen, and said with some embarrassment, "It seems Mr. Daziel, you're already quite famous. How about you choose another one...?"
Daziel was also a bit surprised. This ID was actually taken?
Were there other people in this world who wanted to be the Galaxy Baseball Bat Man?
Did they have his big baseball bat? Did they dare to use the same nickname as him?
"Why don't you choose another one?"
March curiously leaned over to take a look and suggested, "How about 'Hero of the Stick,' which you kept muttering in your room before! It's about the same, your stick is super powerful, I can't handle it for long..."
Daziel looked at March helplessly. This ID...
Better forget it.
"No need to be so troublesome."
Daziel shook his head and said, "Try 'Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town'."
In a sense, this was also a tribute.
| Book Guest 5596854
"'Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town'?" Wilder repeated the name, feeling a bit confused, but he still re-entered the ID on the console and clicked confirm again.
This time, the registration went through smoothly.
After all, no one else in this world should register such an ID.
"Congratulations, Mr. Daziel, your account has also been successfully registered!"
Wilder said with a smile, handing two cards printed with account information to Daziel and March, "These two cards are your game account cards. Please keep them safe, as you'll need them to log in to the game later."
Daziel took the card and glanced at it. The front of the card was printed with his game nickname, "Super Rookie," and a string of account UID, while the back had a QR code.
He put away the card and nodded to Wilder, "Thank you."
"You're welcome, it's all part of my job."
Wilder waved his hand and said enthusiastically, "Now that your accounts are registered, familiarize yourselves with the Aetherium Wars player terminal devices over there, and you can start experiencing the fun of 'Aetherium Wars'! I hope you two have a great time!"
Just as Daziel and March were asking Wilder about how to use the terminals, a low, hoarse, and magnetic male voice came from not far away.
"Not bad, not bad... everything is proceeding according to plan."
Although the voice was not loud, it clearly reached the ears of the three people.
_____
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