Huohuo, now one of the Six Charioteers of the Xianzhou Luofu—the Helm Master of the Sky-Faring Commission—and on the same rank as Qingque, could be considered one of the Luofu's top pillars.
For a big shot of this level to still come and participate in the Martial Exhibition... isn't that a bit... bullying people?
"What's wrong? Is it that my age doesn't qualify, or my status doesn't qualify?"
Hearing this, Huohuo let out a cold snort and said, "I've been short on money lately, so I came to compete for the prize. Young one, do you have any objections?"
Stelle scratched her head: "No, not at all. It's just that it feels a bit unexpected. In that case, doesn't that mean the championship is yours without a doubt?"
Huohuo waved her hand: "No big deal, no big deal. Depends on my mood. Alright, I'm off—it's about time to head to the stage. We can chat when there's time."
"Bye, Helm Master."
Watching Huohuo leave, at that moment, a somewhat familiar red figure flashed through Stelle's field of vision. It was a rose-like red, pure and beautiful.
That was... a red-haired man? He feels so familiar?
Unfortunately, that red-haired back vanished into the crowd in a flash, swallowed up by the vast sea of people. No matter how Stelle searched, she couldn't find his figure again.
Just for that instant, Stelle felt like that person was... Argenti? But he disappeared too quickly; she didn't have time to confirm.
She wondered what Argenti in this universe looked like. She was really looking forward to it.
Stelle wandered aimlessly through the crowd when suddenly, she spotted the large Herta puppet in the style of the wild Araki line that had appeared a few days ago. She thought about it and felt it was still necessary to say hello, so she took the initiative to approach, smiling and waving: "Hello, Herta. Long time no see. How have you and Silver Wolf been lately?"
The Herta puppet turned around, looking down at Stelle. After a brief silence, it slowly uttered two words: "Guest. See."
Stelle: ?
Why does this feel like a strange sense of déjà vu? This way of speaking is just like Screwllum...
Click-clack—
The Herta puppet's outer shell flipped open with a series of mechanical sounds, and an Intelligence in a suit stepped out from within. "I, Screwllum."
"Why can you speak your full name properly when introducing yourself?!" Stelle complained, then asked, "Mr. Screwllum, what's this... some new game between geniuses? Does Herta know you're using her puppet?"
Screwllum handed Stelle a translator and said, "Astra, I, Herta, famous."
Stelle: ?
The translator loaded for a few seconds and automatically interpreted: "It was Stationmaster Asta who requested I participate in this competition. She said using Herta's image would help her better face the general public."
Screwllum: "Latest, Herta, more, reclusive, not, only, genius, people."
Translator: "Lately, Herta has become even more reclusive, and no one knows why. She's nowhere to be seen all day."
Stelle touched her chin, deep in thought: "That doesn't make sense? Clearly, last time she had already resolved her inner conflicts. By all rights, she should be having a great time playing with Silver Wolf. How could she become reclusive... Oh, oh, oh!"
Stelle: "Alright then, good luck to you. I won't disturb you anymore."
Screwllum: "Bye."
After bidding farewell to Screwllum, Stelle kept walking and unexpectedly spotted an old acquaintance—Robin!
A few days apart, and Robin's appearance didn't seem much different, but in those pair of emerald eyes, there was one less glint of brightness and one more hint of sickly pallor. At this moment, she stood in the crowd, muttering to herself: "Where is he? Where is he..."
As for Robin's condition, it had to start from the day the Astral Express crew left Penacony.
That day, Robin had thought it was just an ordinary farewell, but after Stelle and Sunday—the two people she "cherished in her heart"—left, she found that she couldn't achieve the calm she had imagined.
Her dear brother, and the Miss Stelle she had recently become infatuated with, were no longer by her side!
So these past few days, Robin had been in utter torment. But fortunately, after some inquiring, she learned that everyone had come to the Luofu to participate in the Martial Exhibition, so without any hesitation, she immediately used her financial power to obtain an invitation to the Martial Exhibition and personally rushed here to compete.
This was a perfect chance to show off her strength—maybe she could successfully attract those two people?
"Robin?" Stelle called out to Robin from afar, grinning as she said, "What a coincidence! Are you here for the Martial Exhibition too?"
"Ah..."
Hearing this familiar voice, Robin instinctively turned her head and rushed to Stelle in one stride: "Ah... yes, what a coincidence, Stelle. I didn't expect to run into you here. Meeting by fate—let's have a meal together? Or tea is fine too?"
Stelle shook her head: "Tonight. The Martial Exhibition is about to start. By the way, are you here looking for Sunday? He's up in the VIP box."
Robin: "He... we'll talk about that later. So, shall we set a time tonight to catch up? Eleven o'clock at night, how about that?"
Ring ring ring—
At that moment, a phone ringtone suddenly interrupted their chat. Stelle puzzledly took out her phone; the caller ID displayed: Sunday.
Stelle answered the call in front of Robin: "Hello?"
—"Hello? Miss Stelle, the Martial Exhibition is about to begin its opening ceremony. I'm worried you might be having too much fun and forget the time, missing it. Coincidentally, this VIP box of mine has the best view on the entire Skysplitter. Why don't you come here and watch with me? Don't worry, Miss March 7th won't know."
Robin's brows shot up, and she leaned close to the phone, saying coldly, "Brother, you're really full of thoughts about yourself, aren't you?"
"Ro... Robin?!"
"That's right, Brother. I came over from Penacony." Robin ground her silver teeth and said, "And I'm about to come find you right now. VIP box, huh? Wait for me."
"No, wait a moment... beep beep beep."
The call was hastily hung up by the panicked Sunday, and Robin drew her revolver from her waist, her expression becoming exceptionally terrifying: "That little Woo-Woo he treasures so much—truly, a grown man can't be kept at home. Not only does he not stay obediently by my side, he even dares to compete with me for..."
Stelle: ?
After watching Robin leave, Stelle searched around again and finally found that familiar tuft of white hair in a remote corner.
But what she didn't expect was that besides Clara, the burly, towering Huaiyan—standing at nearly 1.8 meters tall—was also here. The two had serious expressions, their large and small hands clasped together, seemingly engaged in some kind of arm-wrestling.
How did General Huaiyan and Clara get to know each other?
Stelle's eyes widened, her hands clutching her head, just about to rush over when she was suddenly stopped by the appearing Cocolia: "Don't move. Don't disturb them."
"Cocolia? How are you... Wait, that's not the point. The point is, what are those two doing right now?" Stelle pointed at the big and small white-haired duo.
"Them?" Cocolia's expression was complicated as she said, "They're arm-wrestling."
Stelle: "Ah?"