Chapter 27 Bell: You ask me how I look? Of course, I look while eating.
[ March 7th quietly leaned against the train window, her breath fogging up the glass as her slender fingers drew a cute smiley face on it.
"Not bad," Stelle's voice sounded unexpectedly from behind her.
"Eek! Hey, don't scare me like that!" March 7th shuddered, turning around abruptly to see Stelle's teasing smile.
"Did you come find me before departure because you're nervous about your first Trailblaze?" March 7th asked confidently, hands on her hips. "Don't worry, Dan Heng and I are Trailblazing veterans. Stick with us, and we'll guarantee you'll eat meat—well, provided we can find meat on that planet!"
"But, seeing this planet, I can't help but wonder—this world is all ice, could it have something to do with my past? Once that thought popped up, I couldn't stop thinking about it."
Stelle joked, "Maybe it's your hometown?"
"Probably not, right? I was trapped by a rare substance called Six-Phase Ice back then. It'd be hard to find on a regular planet, I think?" March 7th shook her head, suddenly shivering. "Honestly, I hope this isn't my hometown. It looks so cold, and a beautiful girl like me can't handle the cold very well!" ]
[ ..... ]
~Genshin Impact World~
"Uh... is that girl really going to a snowy place dressed like that?"
Seeing the cold planet in the light screen, Childe immediately thought of his happy hometown. He had experienced the freezing blizzards of Snezhnaya since he was a child.
Someone as lightly dressed as March 7th probably couldn't even walk across the snow-covered wasteland.
But compared to the snow of Snezhnaya, he preferred the scenery of Liyue at the moment.
There were many willows by the port of Liyue, just at the best time of year.
Along the port, every willow tree looked like it was made of jade. The willows swayed in the wind, and the water shimmered in the sunlight, the green of the world swaying together, a sight unseen in Snezhnaya.
His younger brother and sisters, Teucer and the others, were clamoring for Pom-Pom plush toys. Plus, the Fatui Harbingers had been arguing about the light screen, so he had no choice but to ask Pulcinella for a new assignment and come to Liyue to gather information on the Liyue high-ups' response plan to the light screen.
"Don't forget, Miss March 7th can also control ice elements herself."
Inside a high-end private room at Xinyue Kiosk, Zhongli slowly put down his chopsticks and took a sip of fine Chenyu Dewdrop Tea.
"That's true."
Childe hadn't expected to run into Zhongli, the Geo Archon, as soon as he arrived in Liyue. As the former top leader of Liyue, he only needed a meal to get a chance to be alone with this god. Seizing the opportunity, he finally asked the question he had always wanted to know.
"Mr. Zhongli, what do you think about this sudden light screen in the sky... and the Aeons inside?"
The aroma of tea wafted around, and Zhongli sighed contentedly. He stared at the celadon cup in his hand for a long time, his golden pupils reflected in the clear tea.
"Hmm, that... of course, we should watch while we eat."
"..."
—
[ As they were talking, Dan Heng slowly walked up from behind March 7th and joined the pre-departure discussion. But Dan Heng noticed that March 7th kept staring at him.
"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
"No, I was just imagining what interesting things we'll encounter... hehe!" March 7th scratched her head, looking cute and a little silly.
"..." Dan Heng sighed helplessly. "This world is already full of disasters. First, it's the Stellaron, and now you've got your eye on it."
Stelle tried to correct the straying topic and looked at Dan Heng.
"It's such a big planet, where should we land?"
Dan Heng: "I did a preliminary survey and found a place on the surface of this planet with a relatively normal temperature—but by normal, I mean humans can barely survive there."
"If we're going to choose a location for a Trailblaze investigation, I'd definitely choose that relatively warm place."
Stelle nodded in agreement. "Okay, let's go then."
"Yay!" March 7th finally couldn't contain her excitement and said happily,
"The Jarilo-VI Trailblazing Squad, now departing!"
The three of them descended into a pre-selected snowy field via drop pod.
The world before them was only one color: silver-white. The wind was blowing hard, and the snowflakes flew in the air like torn cotton, falling aimlessly everywhere.
The originally verdant pine needles were covered by years of accumulated snow, turning into white icicles.
"There's absolutely no sign of life..." Stelle took a deep breath, the cold air hurting her lungs and chest.
"It really is a snowy wasteland," March 7th said, looking around at the vast expanse of white.
Stelle: "It really is a snowy wasteland."
"You're just repeating me," March 7th said speechlessly, while Stelle put on a wronged expression.
"Hey, it's all white, where should we go?" March 7th looked at the omnipotent Dan Heng.
"According to the target location, the target is not far away," Dan Heng pointed in a direction in the distance. ]
[ ..... ]
~Zenless Zone Zero World~
"Speaking of which, why don't they just land at their destination?"
Inside the Underworld's "Gentle House," Nekomata looked at Nicole in confusion.
"Why do they have to walk so far? It's so cold."
"How would I know that? Anyway, I wouldn't walk that far."
"Uh... Boss Nicole, I think this is actually pretty easy to understand."
Billy slowly leaned closer to Neko, lowering his voice.
"Boss Nicole, do you remember that time? We drove through the Hollow to get the commission item, but we accidentally landed on the roof of a rich person's villa and smashed a hole in their house..."
"Enough, Billy! Don't mention the past!"
Nicole seemed to recall something very unpleasant and shook her head desperately, causing her large headlights to sway horizontally.
"That day, we were like the main characters in a movie, chased by the security officers for three whole hours."
Anby, who was watching the light screen intently, took a bite of her hamburger, revealing a rare, enjoyable expression.
"If we hadn't run away, we would have had to pay 35,000,000 credits and spend the rest of our lives in the New Eridu prison."
Although Nicole was still afraid, she couldn't help but feel a sense of pride when she mentioned that incident, and she proudly raised her chin.
"Avoiding a 35,000,000 credit fine by running away for three hours, doesn't that mean we at Cunning Hares earned 35,000,000 credits in three hours?!"
Billy's eyes suddenly lit up with golden light, and he suddenly sat up in the rickety bed.
"That makes sense, Boss Nicole, you're a genius!"
—