Chapter 11: Starting with March 7th, I'm Absolutely Sobbing!
Perched on the rElysiang of a towering building, Kafka gazed at the bustling city below. A gentle breeze rustled her coat and hair, creating an air of serene leisure. If only I had a glass of wine, she mused, it would complete this perfect moment.
Beside her, Silver Wolf remained glued to her screen, fingers flying across the interface, lost in rapid commands. Finally, a triumphant smile touched the corners of her lips.
"Success!" she declared, pointing at a graffiti-like symbol on the screen. "Remember this? It's the digital graffiti I left at the [Herta] space station, my little backdoor program. And just now, I've achieved my goal." With that, Silver Wolf pushed her goggles down from her forehead.
Kafka offered a slight smile. "So, what's your next move?"
"Getting my hands on the 'Punklode Spirit' game cartridge, of course," Silver Wolf replied instantly. "There haven't been any decent new games lately; it's been agonizingly boring. This one is the only thing that's even remotely interesting."
"Well then, good luck." Kafka raised his hand in a mock toast, then returned to enjoying the rare tranquility.
Meanwhile, though physically present, Silver Wolf's mind was already light-years away, at the [Herta] space station.
Back in the live stream, the chat was buzzing with reactions to the initial playable characters.
"Hey folks! Just as I expected!"
"I knew Kafka and Silver Wolf were just a brief taste. They wouldn't give us such powerful characters right away."
"What a stylish entrance! One ultimate move wiped out all those Voidrangers!"
"Otherwise, our protagonist would look completely useless!"
"With characters as strong as Kafka and Silver Wolf, you'll definitely have to spend money to unlock them later."
"That's understandable, though. Considering the impressive effort they put into those ultimate moves, it's worth paying a bit to support them."
As Guinaifen continued the story, she shared her thoughts aloud. The narrative then shifted back to the protagonist's perspective, the pace finally slowing down. The protagonist, March 7th, and Dan Heng introduced themselves to each other. Following this, March 7th led the protagonist towards the Master Control Zone, while Dan Heng went to find Arlan from the Security Division.
The chat became even more animated.
"I think we should watch more and see if any other characters appear later."
"No matter how Kafka is introduced, I'm determined to get her!"
"Youngsters often underestimate Silver Wolf's value, mistaking the protagonist for the real prize."
"I want them all! I've already saved up a month's salary—hurry up and release these two characters!"
"Does the production team even understand?! Give us the purchase link!"
As Guinaifen observed the rapid stream of comments, she followed the game's instructions and opened the character interface. Her current team consisted of two members: the protagonist Trailblazer and March 7th.
"Regardless, I'm definitely going to pull for the Stellaron Hunters when they become available!" Guinaifen declared. "And it's not just because their ultimate abilities look incredibly flashy!"
"The characters on this screen should be our initial party members..." she noted. "Besides the protagonist, there's also March 7th, a member of the Astral Express Crew!"
Understanding the character stats was straightforward: health points, attack power, critical hit chance, damage multiplier, and so on—common elements in many games. Guinaifen didn't feel the need to elaborate.
"But what truly sets this game apart is," she emphasized, "each character has different attributes and Fates."
"Fam, check out Star in my team—the protagonist herself—is a Physical attribute Destruction Fate character, oh yeah!"
"And as expected, Miss March 7th from the Astral Express Crew is an Ice attribute Preservation Fate character~"
While explaining her understanding, Guinaifen maneuvered the protagonist to pick up a baseball bat as a makeshift weapon. Soon after, they encountered the roaming Antimatter Legion, marking the first battle for both the protagonist and March 7th.
"Let's take a look at their abilities," Guinaifen said. "Honestly, Little Guizi here isn't expecting much; just hoping they're half as effective as Kafka and Silver Wolf would be great."
"After all, our protagonist is wielding a mere baseball bat, and Miss March 7th doesn't exactly scream 'combat expert' either."
Before long, their energy levels were full. Guinaifen promptly activated March 7th's ultimate ability.
Whoosh!
March 7th's vibrant character portrait flashed briefly on screen.
[Ice Engraved Arrow Rain] initiated.
"It's about time I get serious," March 7th's voice declared. With a graceful swipe near her dress, an arrow formed from condensed frost appeared in her hand. "Have a taste of my prowess!" Looking pleased, she placed the arrow on the bowstring, leaped into the air, and unleashed a powerful shot forward. The ice arrow split mid-flight into numerous Pom-Pom dolls, raining down indiscriminate bombardment upon the enemies.
Guinaifen's eyes widened in excitement. "Wow, just like Kafka and Silver Wolf, she has her own unique close-up animation!"
"Ooh, ooh, these skill effects are impressive too!"
"I adore energetic girls like Miss March 7th—just as cute as us!"
"That's surprising! Could it be that every character has their own unique close-up animation?"
"Even without Kafka and Silver Wolf, starting with March 7th is still quite generous."
"In any other game, such a meticulously crafted character would easily cost at least 100,000 credits!"
"This game doesn't even have an option to recharge yet—I'm dying inside!"