Inside the fitting room, Lucian calmly gazed at the twin-tailed girl in a red kimono standing before him, her small expression revealing both shame and viciousness.
Clearly, after being so mischievous for so long, Sparkle had probably never been humiliated like this in her entire life. Lucian had been fortunate enough to become the only man to admire her 'jade-like body.'
Lucian unconsciously recalled the scene from just now.
Delicate limbs, smooth and fair skin—not large, but tender and rosy—while her flat, flawless waist had been especially eye-catching, a definite bonus.
Of course, her greatest appeal was not her appearance, but her ability to change it.
Being able to become anyone was exciting just to think about, so having her to himself was equal to having every woman in the cosmos. Considering that, he couldn't help but give this little gremlin a perfect score of 10. It was just a pity that her personality was slightly unhinged and rotten, making her not easy to tame, so ordinary methods for conquering her would not work.
"You—Just you wait!" Sparkle pointed at Lucian, her finger trembling with anger, her face burning red. "Mark my words—this isn't over!"
Right after delivering this threat, Sparkle, unable to stay any longer, unlocked the door and ran off, leaving him alone in the fitting room. If she stayed any longer, she felt she might explode on the spot.
Lucian, in response, merely curved his lips slightly, completely unconcerned by her threat.
He knew that although she was mischievous, Sparkle had never caused any deaths, which was why she could do whatever she wanted in Penacony. Besides, if things truly got out of hand, she would be dealt with by the Law of Calamity.
With this in mind, Lucian walked out of the fitting room and happened to run into Robin, who had just finished changing.
"Lucian, was that the girl who just ran out—the one who wanted your autograph earlier?" Robin asked, looking confused. "Did she mess with you again? I heard her voice in the fitting room you were in just now."
"Mess with me?" Lucian said with a smile, naturally wrapping an arm around Robin's waist. "Nah, on the contrary, I messed with her."
"Mess with her? What did you do?"
"Flicked her on the forehead."
Lucian answered in a very calm tone and with a very calm expression, as if that heart-stopping 'Disarm show' had never occurred.
"Oh..."
Robin found it a little strange, but did not think too much about it, mainly because her attention was quickly drawn to the outfit she was wearing.
"Do I look good in this gown?"
Robin asked with a flushed face, showcasing the glittering silver evening gown she had been eying earlier.
Lucian looked at the beautiful gown on her and nodded with a smile.
"Yeah, very beautiful."
===
Meanwhile, as Lucian and Robin were showing affection in the clothing store, Sparkle twisted and turned through several alleys before finally stopping at a deserted dead end, where she leaned her back against the cold wall while breathing heavily—not from exhaustion, but from anger and shame.
Sparkle lowered her head and looked at her chest, then recalled what had just happened in the fitting room.
Completely naked!
Pinned against the wall!
Seen through and through!
"Bastard! Beast! Pervert! Playing dumb just to mess with me!"
Sparkle, thinking that Lucian must have been treating her like a monkey, cursed repeatedly, her delicate face flushed red with anger, while her chest rose and fell violently.
In the next moment, however, she suddenly frowned and went still.
"Lucian... Lucian... could it really just be a coincidence? I mean, his height and build kinda felt like that Emanator of Elation who went to the Tavern that day...?"
Sparkle muttered thoughtfully as she recalled the Emanator of Elation she had encountered before.
"It can't be that much of a coincidence, right?"
"No, I need to find another chance to test him."
"Even if he's that Emanator, I'm still going to get my revenge!"
Having suffered too badly today, Sparkle was determined to make Lucian pay, but before that, she needed to go back and carefully think about how to turn the tables and make that pervert lose face badly for once.
"Hmph, just wait and see!"
Sparkle stomped her foot angrily.
"Robin's boyfriend, huh... I'll vent this anger on that Chicken Wing Boy for now!"
Leaving these words behind, her figure turned into colorful specks of light and disappeared into the depths of the alley.
===
Reverie Hotel, Space Port.
In one of the space ports, a small spaceship with a rough design and a flashy paint job wobbled as it squeezed into a docking spot.
*Psss—*
When the spaceship hatch popped open with a hiss of steam, a pink-haired young woman wearing a hat and a jacket jumped down.
"Hmm, is this the place corrupted by Evil Ninja Osaru? So this time, he's turning people into chickens?"
Needless to say, she was none other than Galaxy Ranger Rappa, here to investigate Dreamcluck Chicken.
Right after her words fell, another spaceship landed just beside her own.
"Dammit, Rappa! You fly this junk like you're drunk or somethin'! Hurry up and give mine back already!"
As soon as the hatch opened, a tall, slim man jumped down, cursing as he immediately started yelling at Rappa.
He had long white hair with black streaks, with bangs that covered the left side of his face, gray eyes, and sharp, shark-like teeth. He wore a black cowboy hat on his head, a short, cropped black jacket with cuffed sleeves that stopped halfway along his arms, black pants, and boots that were mostly black, with spurs on the back of each one.
From his appearance alone, one could instantly see that he was not a pure human, but rather half-human and half-robot, as shown by his robotic arms and his mechanical, muscular torso.
He was known as Boothill, a Galaxy Ranger like Rappa—in other words, her colleague.
Rappa looked at Boothill seriously for a moment, then responded.
"Lord Silvergun Shura, the ninja mantra says: 'Borrow at five, return at four.' Originally, there is nothing, so speak not of baseless claims."
Hearing this, Boothill froze for a moment, then yelled again.
"Cut the crap, I don't get any of this! Let's just switch our ships back and call it a day!"
"Before that, Lord Silvergun Shura, would you be willing to join this one in resolving the crisis here?"
Hearing Rappa's serious words and seeing her equally serious expression, Boothill frowned and paused, then looked around until his eyes locked onto a massive holographic billboard ahead.
On it was the figure of Sunday, wearing his signature suspenders, his hair neatly parted down the middle, dancing an oddly addictive, chicken-like dance, and beside him were huge words that read: 'The best chicken in the cosmos—Dreamcluck Chicken! The pride of Penacony!'
Boothill stared for a moment before his eyes went slightly unfocused, and his mouth unconsciously began to hum along to the song playing on the billboard.
Just after he started humming, however, he froze, his eyes widening.
"Huh?!"
Boothill shook his head violently, as if trying to throw something out of it, then pointed at the billboard with a face full of disgust.
"Darn it! What the hell is that thing?!"
"No, wait… I actually kinda think that guy dances pretty well?"
He suddenly calmed down and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his expression turning strange.
"And I even… wanna protect the best chicken in the cosmos?"
Right after saying this, Boothill froze, his eyes widening once again.
"Damn Dreamcluck Chicken!" Boothill yelled while clutching his head. "Is my brain all messed up or what?!"
Rappa, seeing Boothill's odd behavior, looked at him for a moment, then coldly turned her gaze to the billboard before returning it to his now conflicted face.
"You have been infected, Lord Silvergun Shura," Rappa said calmly, her expression serious. "A memetic virus will affect your synesthesia beacon."
"Infected?" Boothill widened his eyes. "Well, damn, that's just great! C'mon, let's roll! I'll help ya clean up the little punk spreading this damn Dreamcluck Chicken!"
Rappa nodded and looked around, seeing that chicken-related things could be found everywhere.
"No doubt—this place... is the source..." Rappa said slowly, reaching her conclusion. "We must find the mastermind. Evil Ninja Osaru is very likely here."
Hearing this, Boothill unconsciously glanced once more at Sunday's face on the billboard, and in that instant, an inexplicable urge to 'protect' Dreamcluck Chicken resurfaced yet again, but just then, he irritably scratched his head, forcing the cursed idea out of his mind.
"Darn it! Fine by me!" Boothill said with a sneer. "When I see him, I'm gonna show him some love with my bullet!"
With that, the two entered the Reverie Hotel's lobby, but as they passed by the bar, they happened to run into a group of 'colleagues' exuding an extraordinary aura.
"Oh? Well, damn, there are other Galaxy Rangers here, too? Heh, that's kinda rare."
Boothill remarked as he saw more than a dozen Galaxy Rangers approaching, and he immediately walked over.
Rappa also recognized them as Galaxy Rangers from the power of the Hunt they emitted and the emblems on their clothes, but she did not know who they were because she had joined the Galaxy Rangers late, and the members usually operated alone, with little to no contact between them.
From what she knew, the only way they gathered together was through an unwritten rule which stated that when the special bullets, appearing meaningless to anyone other than Galaxy Rangers, were shot out like a flare, Galaxy Rangers would come from all corners of the cosmos toward the place where its light fell, driven by a shared purpose, without questioning the cause or counting the cost.
When Boothill and Rappa approached, they immediately felt an invisible pressure emanating from the old man who walked at the forefront of the group, and finally noticed a particular bullet hanging from his neck, serving as a necklace.
"Whoa! A big shot!"
Boothill's eyes immediately lit up.
Rappa, also noticing the special 'bullet' hanging from the old man's neck, widened her eyes in surprise, not expecting that the old man before her was wearing a legendary bullet of the Galaxy Rangers.
It couldn't be helped.
It was not an ordinary bullet, but some kind of burial artifact worthy only of a hero who had served the Galaxy Rangers with honor, and it symbolized supreme merit that only Galaxy Rangers with great achievements could obtain.
"Haven't seen a badass old man like you in a hot minute," Boothill remarked with a big smile as he approached the old man. "Hey, old man, let's get acquainted. Name's Boothill."
Boothill was extremely outgoing, directly blocking the group's path and trying to befriend the old man, so much so that even Rappa felt shaken by his boldness.
"Oh, a young Ranger, huh? Haha, full of energy. Name's Tiernan."
In response to Boothill's enthusiasm, the old man, who was none other than Tiernan, smiled and shook Boothill's hand.
Seeing that the old man was so easygoing, Boothill grinned, showing his sharp, shark-like teeth, but then froze when he heard the old man's name.
"Tiernan? Hold up, you're that legendary Tiernan?"
Boothill blinked his eyes a couple of times, looking genuinely surprised.
"No way, there ain't but one Galaxy Ranger named Tiernan in this whole damn universe, and he's supposed to be dead!"
"You're the guy who took down a Lord Ravager?!"
"How the hell are you still kickin'?!"
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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