Grotto-Dust Inn.
Welt and Dan Heng walked side by side through the hallway.
"To think so many things happened during this period..."
Being targeted by Masked Fools, capturing Kafka, selling her to the Xianzhou for bounty money.
Effortlessly creating two viral hit videos that reached the top ten on the Luofu's short video platforms.
Proposing to Stelle using a trash can, creating a meme that became popular across the Luofu internet, and declaring, "I am Miss Jingliu's Dog~!"
"Should I say, as expected of those two?"
Listening to Welt's account, a faint smile emerged on Dan Heng's face, which was usually as still as an ancient well.
It was a slight pity he hadn't disembarked with them from the start; had he been there, it likely would have been quite amusing.
However, he was also very fortunate to have arrived only now, spared from the pressure of the chaos caused by Team Star Rail.
Given the extent of those two's troublemaking, Dan Heng estimated that even with March's level of vivacity, she would be worn out to the point of mental exhaustion.
"Dan Heng, you arrived at just the right time. I received a message from Caelus. General Jing Yuan and the Master Diviner will arraign the Stellaron Hunter, Kafka, tomorrow."
Welt pushed up his black-rimmed glasses.
As a mature and reliable senior Nameless, Old Yang naturally wouldn't wander around wildly with the young ones, rummaging through trash cans for chests and Crystals, or playing crazily.
The reason Dan Heng had only just regrouped with the main force was that his phone had been tampered with by an unknown hacker.
The communication signal had been intermittent, and his navigation map had turned into a 'Wicked Map,' specifically guiding Dan Heng onto dead ends and small paths. While he possessed memories of his past life, not all of them were particularly clear.
Moreover, his identity was a sensitive issue on the Luofu.
After learning of Dan Heng's situation, Welt had decided to go and pick him up.
Then, this 'pick up' mission lasted for three days.
For no other reason than Welt discovering a suspicious individual who might be related to the Stellaron disaster on the Luofu!
He had been tracking and investigating this person for the past few days.
"Uncle Yang, did you find any evidence or clues?"
Dan Heng, who had been dragged along by Welt to investigate for three days, hadn't noticed anything abnormal.
"No substantial evidence as of yet."
Welt shook his head. "But I feel we can have the Realm-Keeping Commission or the Divination Commission conduct a deep investigation."
"..."
Dan Heng silently looked at the reliable middle-aged man beside him. he had always been relatively trusting of Welt.
From animation production to historical research, the seasoned and prudent Welt could always speak with ease and assurance, as if he were an omniscient encyclopedia.
Therefore, Dan Heng didn't understand.
"Uncle Yang, why do you think Luocha is suspicious?"
Welt's targeting of Luocha must have had a specific aim; he wouldn't suspect someone without cause. Yet, Dan Heng had observed secretly for a long time, and aside from losing him a few times, he hadn't found any suspicious points connecting Luocha to the Stellaron.
"How should I explain this..."
Old Yang pondered for a few seconds before speaking with certainty: "Because of his looks!"
Dan Heng: "?"
A simple and clear question mark perfectly expressed the Cold-faced Little Azure Dragon's confusion. Dan Heng remained silent.
After a long while, a look of realization dawned in Dan Heng's eyes, and he let out a complicated sigh.
He understood!
It was Team Star Rail!
Was the infectiousness of the 'Abstract virus' so strong that even Welt couldn't resist it?
Dan Heng had witnessed Caelus judging people by their names on Jarilo-VI. As a result, Welt, who led the team this time, had been directly infected by the two into judging people by their appearance.
"Uncle Yang, judging people by appearance is not advisable."
Dan Heng felt that Old Yang could still be saved.
"I know... hmm, it's hard to explain. I can only say that my intuition tells me that Mr. Luocha definitely has a problem."
What do you know?
Just because someone has that face, are they necessarily a bad person?
Dan Heng couldn't understand. He felt that perhaps he should give up on the rescue attempt.
Welt didn't notice Dan Heng's complicated gaze. He pushed open the door: "Everyone, look who's he..."
His voice abruptly jammed halfway, as if a pause button had been pressed. Welt and Dan Heng's footsteps halted in unison.
The two stared blankly into the large living room of the suite, where the atmosphere was somewhat subtle.
Five figures were seated facing each other across the dining table. On one side were the two gray-hairs, looking as if they were carved from the same mold. On the other side was the 'Deep Blue Sea Seven' team.
The aura of Team Star Rail and the Duck-Seven group felt like generals playing a strategy game; the long table was the Chu River and Han Border. Only 'White' Seele's small face looked a bit nervous.
She looked at Sister Bronya for a moment, then secretly stole a glance at Brother Caelus, her angel-like face flushing slightly.
Seele's small movements caused the smile on Little Duck's face to become somewhat strained.
"Before the two armies, there is no need for many words."
With a face as handsome as the spring breeze yet carrying a desolate autumn chill, and eyebrows raised with a hint of disdainful arrogance, Caelus wore a slightly frivolous and haughty smile.
"Ah Qi, prepare to use your camera to record our figures as we become Kings!"
"Of course. I will definitely capture the expressions of you guys kneeling precisely on the ground, watching me eat vanilla ice cream, while you yourselves eat Sister Himeko's creative meals and drink hand-brewed coffee!"
"Hah!" Stelle slammed the table, eyebrows raised in anger. "Ah Qi, how can you use such a cute little mouth to speak such cold and vicious words?"
"Bleh, bleh, bleh! This is payback for you pitting me last time!" March 7th stuck out her tongue at Stelle.
Hanging out with Team Star Rail, March 7th would grow too. She couldn't just get pitted to death without making any progress, right?
"Ah Qi, your fantasy is destined to fail. Surrender with your troops, and we might consider sparing you." Caelus spoke with earnest advice.
"Hehe, since you guys are so confident, how about we raise the stakes?"
March 7th crossed her arms over her chest, brimming with confidence, her small mouth curving into a cute 'w' shape.
"What?" Stelle's expression turned bizarre.
"How do we raise it?"
"From one King's Order, increased to three King's Orders."
March 7th held up three slender white fingers. Stelle looked horrified.
Using the 'Honey Trap' of wearing this outfit tonight to play with Caelus-cub, she had successfully gotten Caelus-cub to agree to use a scheme to make Little March raise the King's Game bet.
But Caelus-cub clearly hadn't done anything yet?
How did Little March propose raising the stakes herself?
Hachi-Caelus, you guy... how on earth did you manage this?
"Omoshiroi. Is this the decision of all of you?"
Facing Stelle's gaze with a light snort, Caelus's eyes swept over March, Duck-Duck, and 'White' Seele in turn.
"That's right!"
Little Duck revealed a smiling big-sister expression. Nowadays, she was becoming more and more skilled at playing Silver Wing.
Unless it was a professional director of Sparkle's level, ordinary people couldn't see the traces of stiffness in her smile.
"Sigh, isn't this bad? If you lose, that's three King's Orders, you know," Caelus said with fake hypocrisy.
"Sister March, can we really win?"
The moment she met Caelus's gaze, 'White' Seele instantly thought of that night when Seele was turned into a cream puff. Her small face instantly turned beet red and she lowered her head, looking at March 7th nervously and shyly.
"We will win!"
The confidence on March 7th was still displayed vividly.
"Our win rate is 1000%!"
If one asked for the reason, it was simple.
Although the three of them had found nothing within the Alchemy Commission, upon their return, they met three new friends: the Cloud Knight girl Sushang, the internet streamer Little Gui, and the Healer Lady Bailu.
Among them, the internet streamer Little Gui turned out to be Caelus's apprentice. March 7th didn't know what skill Caelus had that qualified him to be a teacher, until Little Gui said she was learning 'how to perform antics'.
March 7th couldn't hold it back.
What surprised March 7th even more was that this trio was also investigating the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, and they had confirmed that the Disciples' base camp was right in the Alchemy Commission.
The Sword Immortal girl Sushang, whom March 7th somewhat admired, had told them a lot of intelligence regarding the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. Relying on this intel, they were bound to win this bet.
Although using intelligence gained from Caelus's apprentice and friends to win against Caelus might be slightly dishonorable emotionally, she would compensate Sushang later!
As for Team Star Rail, today they would be suppressed single-handedly by the Great Detective March!
"Since that's the case, we agree. The bet is raised from one King's right to three."
Caelus spoke faintly. Stelle almost jumped up.
"Come on! Start presenting the investigation results. Uncle Yang and Dan Heng will serve as witnesses."
Caelus pushed the backs of Old Yang and Dan Heng, pressing the two confused individuals into seats at both ends of the long table.
"...Can someone explain this to me first?"
Dan Heng's expression remained unchanged, guessing in his heart that these comedians were up to some antics again.
"Here's the thing. There's an organization on the Xianzhou called the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. Uncle Yang, Dan Heng, do you know them?"
Caelus patted Dan Heng on the shoulder and looked at Welt opposite him.
"I have some impression."
The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus had lurked in the Xianzhou for a long time. They were occasionally active even in Dan Feng's era, so Dan Heng naturally knew of them.
Welt also nodded. They were a group of Denizens of Abundance who defied Xianzhou laws and pursued longevity; their recent activities had been quite frequent.
But unlike the Stellaron disaster, this matter belonged entirely to Xianzhou internal affairs. It also involved historical legacy issues. Without the Xianzhou actively inviting them, Welt couldn't easily intervene.
"Jing Yuan commissioned me to investigate, so we made a bet..."
Caelus sat back next to Stelle and explained the sequence of events.
Welt and Dan Heng felt somewhat helpless. Investigating such a serious matter as the Sanctus Medicus organization... having these few turn it into this, didn't the flavor change a bit?
However, for this group of comedians, it was a good excuse to raise their enthusiasm.
Looking at their performance, the investigation results were remarkable. In terms of results, it was quite good.
However, the hand cards played by both sides next left Welt and Dan Heng dumbfounded.
What?
The lair of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus is the Alchemy Commission, one of the Six Commissions!?
There is a secret Grotto-Heaven beneath the Alchemy Commission!?
Nearly half of the healers and alchemists are members of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus?
"March, you aren't joking, are you?"
Dan Heng covered his face. Dan Heng couldn't hold it back.
Even setting aside the factor of it being his homeland, just looking at this matter with Dan Feng's memories, it was outrageous enough!
"Of course not. We have evidence."
March 7th muttered, her tone weakening a fraction. It wasn't that she was lying, but her evidence was a video shot by Guinaifen. Taking it out to watch, one would discover this investigation result had some 'water' in it.
"Cough cough, anyway, the evidence is solid. How about it? You guys lost, right?"
March 7th crossed her arms, looking triumphantly at the two gray-hairs opposite her.
She hadn't encountered Team Star Rail in the Alchemy Commission, which meant they hadn't investigated the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus base camp. This investigation competition was their win!
"Lost?"
Team Star Rail looked at each other. They took black fedoras out of their respective space rings, placed them on their heads, and raised their hands to lightly press down the brims. Their temperaments shifted under the astonished gazes of the others.
"Allow me to introduce myself. Standing before you now is... Gin."
Caelus, clad in a black trench coat, hands in his pockets.
"Vodka."
Stelle hadn't changed clothes, mainly because changing out of Xianzhou-style garments was a bit troublesome.
"The high-level core member about to assume the post of Second-in-Command of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, and his lackey underling. This is the identity jade token of the Medicine King's Head."
March 7th: w(°)w, what?
Bronya: (°—°")
'White' Seele: ")"
Dan Heng: "(."
Old Yang: "(△"
What did you guys do!?
Sent you to investigate the organization, and you went undercover to become the organization's Second-in-Command!?
"Ah Qi."
Caelus's airy tone made the expressions of March 7th and Little Duck turn gradually pale.
"We already know all the intelligence you investigated. Furthermore, I have even more detailed branch information and Head information right here!"
"!!!"
Crap!
We... we flipped the car (screwed up)!
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 50 advanced chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Leanzin