Chapter 177
["With his companions missing, Dan Heng seems rather anxious. Let's give him some time—worry is poison to judgment."]
[While the staff went to report to their superiors, Dan Heng grew restless being unable to contact his companions. During the wait, Boothill wasn't idle either, beginning to investigate clues from the dream in reality.]
[After chatting with numerous guests and staff members, Boothill reunited with Dan Heng once more:] ["Neither employees nor guests know anything about the situation in the dream. Everywhere you go, it's nothing but scenes of harmonious joy... If you ask me, this is definitely not a good sign."]
[Dan Heng nodded: "I agree. There's also something strange—among the five families governing Penacony, the Oak Family organizers are responsible for all management and coordination work both inside and outside the dream.
But strangely enough..."] ["I've circled the entire hotel, yet on such an important day, for such an important family, I haven't seen a single member."]
[Dan Heng and Boothill exchanged information and speculated about issues within their family. Finally, Boothill decided they should check the contact signal left by the Memokeeper.]
[March 7th]:"I feel... Dan Heng and Boothill actually make a pretty good team?"
[Kiana]:"This... The Family really knows how to keep secrets! In reality, they've completely hidden all emerging incidents, and concealed them even more tightly than in the dream!"
[Bronya Rand]:"This is quite normal. Although we still don't know what plans the Family has, if they definitely want the grand ceremony to proceed as scheduled, they must keep things hidden."
[Fu Hua]:"Moreover, the guests in reality didn't witness Tazzyronth's blade personally. That makes it even easier to conceal."
[Stelle]:"Dan Heng... hurry, hurry and leave... It's dangerous here..."
[Dan Heng]:"......Boring."
[To find a way in, Dan Heng and Boothill located the hotel manager, Daniel. Boothill took the lead in negotiations:] ["We're Nameless from the Astral Express, here to check in! There's been no response! That girl at your front desk said she'd contact someone in charge for us, but then she disappeared too!"] ["We two brothers have been standing here staring blankly for ages—no water to drink, no food to eat. What the treasure! Is this how the Family treats their guests?"]
[Dan Heng frowned: "Is your 'street smarts' just about picking fights?"] ["This is called fighting for legitimate rights."]
[After Daniel understood the situation, he told them: "Please calm down, gentlemen. I know the whole story. The hotel needs to contact Sunday first. How about this—I'll arrange VIP lounge seating with drinks.
Please rest while you wait."] ["See? It worked."]
[Dan Heng said无语ly: "...Next time, don't claim to be Nameless."]
[Following the information left by Black Swan, Boothill first went to the bar to retrieve the drink she'd left. Perhaps because Boothill arrived too early, the bottle wasn't there yet.]
[But since they were already there, Dan Heng had a drink under Boothill's lead.]
[Stelle]:"This Boothill guy... feels inferior to my clock tricks."
[March 7th]:"Sigh, I almost forgot—compared to Boothill, your behavior is still the one that brings us the most shame..."
[Boothill]:"What the treasure! See? I told you my 'street smarts' are good, right?"
[Dan Heng]:"...I won't comment."
[Stelle]:"March 7th, I understand now, I get it completely... From now on, I won't act like this anymore. Sorry."
[March 7th]:"Um, actually, you don't need to go that far..."
[Stelle]:"So! From now on when I cause trouble, I'll claim to be a Stellaron Hunter!"
[Silver Wolf]:"Huh? Don't shift blame onto us either!"
[After finishing their drinks, Dan Heng still couldn't shake his worry about his companions. The current situation was extremely complex, and he didn't know the truth behind it.] ["Actually, there's something else about [Tazzyronth] that bothers me."] ["You know this too—factions that worship [The Hunt] are the most unprovokable group in the universe. Any sane person wouldn't dare impersonate the Xianzhou Alliance or Galaxy Rangers—that's just asking for death..."] ["Don't the Xianzhou people have a saying? The Divine Fletching only declares his wheelchair with light arrows—"] ["Divine edict. Declares his divine edict."]
[As a former Xianzhou native, Dan Heng seriously corrected Boothill's mistake.] ["Whatever, you get what I mean. Anyway, don't think that just because the Galaxy Rangers have disappeared for so many years, we haven't been watching this universe.
Many fools would rather offend the Annihilation Gang than得罪 the Rangers."]
[Boothill believed Tazzyronth might know the Rangers or want to draw them out.]
[Dan Heng seemed thoughtful but still believed the Family's issues were more significant. Gathering followers of over a dozen Paths to Penacony—this behavior was just too abnormal.]
[Qingque]:"The Divine Fletching only declares his wheelchair with light arrows... Divine Fletching Sovereign above, this, this..."
[Aha]:"Hahaha, Aha can already imagine Lan sitting in a wheelchair, hahaha..."
[Sushang]:"This... what's the difference between these two phrases?"
[Guinaifen]:"Oh my Sushang, who's the real Xianzhou native here—you or me? 'The Divine Fletching only declares his divine edict with light arrows' means the Divine Fletching Sovereign never delivers oracles, only using his own arrows to inform believers of his next target."
[Guinaifen]:"That should be right, shouldn't it?"
[Fu Xuan]:"Correct, more or less. At least you understand better than Sushang." ["Brother Dan Heng, when you circled the hotel earlier, did you see any guests—or several guests... with particularly prestigious status?"] ["...What are you planning to do?"]
[Boothill chuckled lightly: "Simple—we quietly take a few hostages. After that, everything becomes easier. We can use them to negotiate with the Family, or take their identities—"] ["No need. Let's return to the Express now."] ["What! Are you scared, brother? Take out your spear! It's time we pulled off something big!"]
[Just then, the tavern server arrived and informed them that the Astedana White Oak had been prepared.]
[At that moment, Dan Heng understood—the Memokeeper had arrived.]
[Stelle]:"'Do not bully the weak, do not kill innocents indiscriminately'"
[Boothill]:"Pah! What kind of bullying is this? I just want to borrow their identities temporarily! I wouldn't treasure-damn do anything to them!"
[March 7th]:"Um, compared to us Nameless, you Galaxy Rangers really are rather... unrestrained and unconventional."
[Rappa]:"Such actions by His Highness Silver Spear·Asura do not resemble those of a proper shinobi."
[Boothill]:"Alright, alright! I was just thinking about it! Haven't actually done it yet!"