On a street corner during the Golden Hour, Lady Hanabi was curiously exploring this dream world.
However, what was unpleasant was that a Memokeeper had been peeking at her ever since she entered the Daydream Hotel, and in this dream, she had no way to deal with him unless he actively exposed himself.
“Sigh, the people here seem boring too. It looks like I’ll have to wait for those interesting people to arrive before I can have some fun.”
The “interesting people” she referred to were, of course, Astral Express Crew and others not in her plans; only with enough people could a sufficiently exciting play be performed on stage.
Her identity was a Masked Fool pursuing joy, and she was currently disguised as the cosmic superstar Robin, who was also in disguise.
According to the requirements of the mission she accepted, she planned to become an excellent director. Of course, she didn’t care if the performance would fall flat due to too many participants; that wasn’t something she needed to consider.
The bored Director Hanabi plotted how to contact various organizations and transmit key information to keep the drama going, while a camera in an unknown space continuously recorded Lady Hanabi's every action.
Suddenly, Lady Hanabi noticed an interesting person, who seemed to be someone who had crossed over from some cosmic disaster. She was well-traveled and had ample experience with such matters in her pursuit of fun.
“It looks like he might need some help. I should approach him first to see if he has anything special. Perhaps Penacony, this grand stage, can host an even more exciting show.”
.......
Mingyi ran around several corners and arrived at the street, where various high-end vehicles sped past.
Those inside were probably all big spenders; Penacony gathered wealthy merchants and high-ranking officials from all over the universe.
Mingyi, who was struggling with life before his transmigration, had never seen such a sight. His past life’s understanding told him that without money, power, or status, one would inevitably be looked down upon.
Upon arriving in this new world, Mingyi naturally wanted to become rich and powerful, and even possess strength in this world of Paths, so that he could gain a certain degree of freedom instead of struggling for survival every day.
Mingyi stood by the street, a little dizzy from the shimmering lights around him. He was not used to the roads here, and at this moment, he was moving purely by intuition in his mind, unsure if he could shake off his enemies.
He seized an opportunity to run across the street, turning back to confirm the hounds’ position.
Good, he had temporarily shaken off the hounds. It looked like he would be completely safe if he just passed through a few more crowds.
As he crossed the street, he suddenly felt his foot tighten, as if he had tripped over something, losing his balance and falling to the ground.
Fortunately, falling in a dream would not cause any serious harm. He immediately looked for what had tripped him, with a hint of anger.
Hmm? Why was this step higher? Was it like this before?
The situation was urgent, and Mingyi didn't have time to investigate.
Just then, a person, completely wrapped up, reached out and helped him up.
Mingyi did not refuse this kindness from another, and after getting up, he sincerely said, “Thank you.”
“What’s wrong? It looks like you’ve gotten yourself into some trouble. Do you need some help?”
From the voice, it sounded like a young girl, and it was quite pleasant, even somewhat familiar. Mingyi, who was originally in a hurry to leave, stopped.
“Do you know where Dr. Edward’s office is? I’m not very familiar with the directions here.” He asked, a little embarrassed. He needed to wait for the Trailblazer there.
“Is that all? Aren’t you going to consider resolving the crisis you’re in?” The girl’s eyes held a hint of a smile.
What was going on? How did she know what had happened to him?
Mingyi became alert and began to analyze the other party’s identity and purpose.
“You… know what happened to me? Why should I trust you?”
Currently, she had shown too few characteristics, and Mingyi could not determine who the person in front of him was.
“Since you’re so clear about who will appear at Dr. Edward’s place, then you must know who I am, right? Take a guess. If you guess correctly, there’s a surprise; if you’re wrong, there’s a punishment, oh.”
The person in front of Mingyi opened the disguise on her head, allowing Mingyi to see her appearance.
Robin! A member of the Family!
Mingyi subconsciously took a step back.
Ah, how was he going to escape now?
He calmed down, lowered his head, stood straight, and began to think about what to say next.
Even if it was Robin, he wasn’t unable to talk to her. After all, she was one of those beautiful and kind-hearted people, and later she had a very good relationship with Astral Express Crew, so she could indeed help him now.
But, would Robin speak in such a tone?
“Can I ask about the reward and punishment first?” Mingyi asked cautiously.
“The reward is, I will help you resolve the crisis in your body. As for if you answer incorrectly…” She thought for a moment, “Then I’ll hand you over to my brother for judgment.”
Who in Penacony didn't know that the cosmic songstress Robin also had her brother, Sunday? This hint was too obvious. Could she be misleading him?
According to the timeline, there were indeed two possibilities now. One was that Astral Express Crew had already settled in Penacony, and at this time, Robin could indeed be in the Golden Hour with her brother.
In that case, it would indeed be a bit difficult to find Astral Express Crew in the dream later. This was an opportunity for him to contact Astral Express Crew.
But if Astral Express Crew hadn’t settled in at this point, then Miss Robin appearing in the dream at this time…
“You are Lady Hanabi, aren’t you?”
Mingyi answered tentatively. If he answered incorrectly, it wouldn't matter much given Robin's personality, but if he answered correctly, his crisis could be considered resolved. Lady Hanabi's methods were incredibly powerful; she could even slip through Honkai Impact 3rd, so helping him with a small favor would be incredibly simple.
As for deliberately playing dumb… since Lady Hanabi had set her sights on him, playing dumb probably wouldn't do any good.
The young girl in front of him made an exaggerated gesture of surprise, “I didn’t expect you to guess correctly. Sure enough, you are very familiar with Penacony’s future.”
“Then is my body defective?”
What could he do if Lady Hanabi noticed him? He could only hope Lady Hanabi would be a good person. Based on his impression of Lady Hanabi, she could be considered a good person.
This was the price of not having power; to survive, one could only pray for the kindness of others.
“Then I definitely can’t let you get close to Astral Express Crew, after all, I accepted a commission to come here, and if the commission isn’t completed, I’ll be very troubled, but it’s limited to the commission.”
Lady Hanabi patted Mingyi’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you. In return, you’ll have to play some games with me, but if you want to perform on stage, I’d be very happy too.”
“As for now, you can play with these hounds chasing you. If you get caught, you lose the game and have to accept a punishment, oh.” As if she thought of something, Lady Hanabi's body, which was about to disappear, reappeared, “Don’t worry, the punishment won’t endanger your life.”
When you emphasize it like that, I’m even more worried, Mingyi forced a smile, but at least the life-threatening danger was resolved.
Before Mingyi could relax, he found that the hounds, which had been wandering around behind him, spotted him and rushed towards him.
Mingyi quickly took off running, his heart filled with sorrow. Sure enough, no matter what world it was, ordinary people had no human rights, and no matter what happened, they could only pray for the help of others.
The ambition to possess power surged in Mingyi’s heart. He wanted to become a Trailblazer, to have the strength to pursue his desires and ideals, and to have enough capital to face anything that came his way.