Chapter 242

Livestream chat.

"Hehehe, Miss Firefly was shy just now, she was definitely shy."

"And that last sentence also sounded like she was jealous."

"It seems Miss Firefly really has a high level of favorability toward Stelle; even when they first met, her eyes lit up when she saw Stelle."

"Indeed, I have a bold idea."

"To the person above, I think what you're thinking is the same as what I'm thinking."

"Me too."

【Through the pinball machine, Stelle and Firefly arrived outside a café.】

【(A secret base...... is a café?) Stelle wondered to herself.】

【Firefly also stopped and looked at Stelle: "We've arrived, this is it."】

【Stelle exclaimed: "What a beautiful café, is this the secret base?"】

【Firefly said with an awkward expression: "No, it's not......"】

【As she spoke, Firefly looked at a manhole cover to the side: "—It's here."】

【Stelle's expression stiffened, but she continued to praise: "What a beautiful manhole cover."】

【Firefly also nodded awkwardly and said: "The secret base is inside."】

【"I want to demonstrate—it will be a bit dark at first, you have to follow closely."】

【Just as Stelle and Firefly entered the manhole one after another, the scene shifted to a girl in a red dress with a mask tilted on her forehead, who had appeared in a previous PV.】

【Suddenly, the girl in the red dress stopped: "Hey, let me ask you......"】

【"Is your way of attracting girls to openly stalk them? It's been almost half a system hour."】

【Aventurine walked out slowly at this moment and corrected her: "To be precise, it's 45 minutes. Pleasant times always pass quickly, don't they?"】

【The girl in the red dress looked at Aventurine and chuckled: "Heh, little peacock.... You have a pair of beautiful eyes. Is your hometown in Sigonia?"】

【Aventurine said nonchalantly: "Want a further hint? For example, am I an Avgin (honey)?"】

【The girl in the red dress snorted and said: "Hmm...... My eyes aren't as good as yours, but I'm not blind......"】

【"—In the whole universe, who doesn't know you Sigonians? Born liars, thieves, social butterflies...... honey-mouthed and sword-hearted, true to your reputation."】

【"If you ask me, you're better suited to staying under a manhole cover than in a dream...... Ah, there's one right there, go on."】

【As the girl in the red dress spoke, her gaze shifted to a manhole cover not far away on the side of the road, her smile playful.】

【Aventurine declined, looking around as he said: "No need, dark corners don't match my temperament. This sweet dream is more suitable for me; frivolous, vain, flashy......"】

【"...... And it won't rain! This outfit of mine is very delicate; it can't withstand the wind and rain."】

【The girl in the red dress stared at Aventurine and said: "Put away that witty tongue of yours, little peacock. Please go back; we are Fools, not idiots, and we don't intend to play friend games with the IPC's lapdogs."】

【Aventurine seemed not to believe her, or perhaps he was surprised: "Oh, is that true? Have you never made friends with people from the IPC?"】

【The girl in the red dress said: "Haven't I read the history of Penacony? Don't try to drag me into your boring office politics."】

【Aventurine pointed out the current situation: "Fools—from the moment you accepted the invitation to this grand event, you had no choice. Pick a side in time, don't let yourself lose everything."】

【The girl in the red dress joked: "You sound very confident~ It makes it seem like you've already handled that wing-boy from the Family."】

【"How did you do it, little peacock? Stripped naked and knelt before him to apologize, promising 'Sob sob sob, the IPC will absolutely not have designs on Penacony'?"】

【"Friends...... forget it, you only treat others as bargaining chips."】

【Aventurine's tone was calm, seemingly unaffected by the girl's sarcasm: "Aren't bargaining chips good? At the gambling table, only bargaining chips won't lose themselves. Look, our friends from the Mourning Actors and the Astral Express understand this truth; they are very smart."】

【The girl in the red dress smiled brilliantly: "But smart people wouldn't enter the game from the start. You see, am I not a bit smarter?"】

【"Listen well, little peacock, you are also someone who has received an invitation from the 'Garden.' Want to invite a Masked Fool to join? Sure, use your brain; what is it that the God of Elation, 'Aha,' really wants?"】

【"Let me give you a hint: since you can't persuade anyone, why not consider finding a mute to be friends with? At least they won't refute you, haha."】

【"Thank you! 'Making friends with a mute'—I will keep it in mind!"】 Aventurine said, watching the back of the girl in the red dress as she walked away.

【Subsequently, Aventurine sighed softly, seemingly helpless: "...... What a bother. It seems I have to go meet the 'Family' again."】

Livestream chat.

"This little girl is so pretty, but her mouth is really sharp."

"Didn't you notice? She's a Masked Fool; it's no surprise she says things like that."

"But seeing Aventurine get shut down was worth the price of admission."

"Listening to their conversation, I feel like my brain isn't enough. The only thing I know is that Penacony is definitely surging with undercurrents, but what does 'making friends with a mute' mean?"

"It's very obvious that you aren't the only one whose brain isn't enough."

Where the Astral Express crew is.

Welt Yang pondered: "Aventurine should be wanting to cooperate with that Masked Fool girl, but the other party refused him."

Following Dan Heng nodded and said: "And who does the mute refer to? Could it be......"

Following Dan Heng thought of someone, but couldn't be sure.

【In the livestream, the scene shifted to the other side; after passing through the manhole passage, Firefly and Stelle arrived at a small park plaza.】

【Firefly walked to the railing, looked at the Penacony Grand Theater and the Golden Hour in the distance, and said with a beautiful smile: "Look, it's a very beautiful place, right?"】

【"Usually, tourists aren't allowed to come here, so we have to be careful not to be discovered by others."】

【Seeing that Stelle seemed a bit worried, Firefly smiled and comforted her: "Don't worry, it's not a dangerous area. You can understand this place as the border of the Golden Hour; the dreamscape further out is still being built and renovated by the Family."】