---o---
Screwllum was someone he was familiar with, and since Screwllum knew his itinerary, it was understandable that he would kindly book a hotel room for him.
But what did it mean for Aventurine from the Strategic Investment Department and someone named Sparkle to have also booked rooms for him?
Were they that close?
He had never even heard of the former, despite having just met Topaz from the same department. As for the latter...
The moment he heard the name Sparkle, an image of a black-haired girl in a fiery red outfit, covering her mouth as she giggled, involuntarily surfaced in Fu Zhu's mind.
Did she have too much money to burn? Hadn't he already made it clear he wasn't keen on cooperating with her?
Though he couldn't quite grasp it, Fu Zhu guessed that both individuals had likely booked a room for him with the intention of building a better relationship, and their efforts just happened to overlap.
"Um... Mr. Fu Zhu? What would you like to do with these three rooms?"
The staff member's voice pulled Fu Zhu back to reality. His companions were also looking at him, awaiting his decision. Fu Zhu quickly made up his mind.
"Alright, give me the key for the room booked by Screwllum. Give the key for the one booked by the Strategic Investment Department's Aventurine to Xing."
It was one thing to explain the IPC's attempt to win him over to Xing and the others, but explaining his cooperation with Silver Wolf would be much more difficult. For example, the fact that Xing used to be a Stellaron Hunter... he planned to at least talk to Xing about it and get her thoughts before telling Himeko and the others.
Besides, given the image Sparkle had presented on Jarilo-VI, Fu Zhu had a feeling she was up to no good.
However, the staff member looked hesitant.
"Giving you the key for the room Mr. Screwllum booked is no problem, but transferring the room Mr. Aventurine booked to Miss Xing is a bit..."
"Hm?" The staff member's inflexibility made Fu Zhu frown. "What's the problem? Regardless of who booked the rooms for me, don't I have the right to use them as I see fit?"
"But..."
The staff member's hesitant attitude was a bit of a disappointment for Fu Zhu. Penacony was supposed to be the star of festivities, a service industry renowned throughout the cosmos. How could their staff be so rigid?
"Fine. Then give me the keys to both rooms."
"Of course."
Seeing that Fu Zhu was no longer insisting on transferring the room to Xing, the staff member immediately agreed. After a few operations, they handed two room cards [Dreamscape Passports] to Fu Zhu. He took them and immediately handed one to Xing.
The staff member saw this and froze on the spot, completely dumbfounded.
Just then, a round of applause sounded from behind them. Fu Zhu and the others turned to see a man with blond hair and turquoise eyes standing there, clapping.
"Truly impressive, Mr. Fu Zhu. When faced with a fool who clings stubbornly to the rules, the only way to solve the problem is with a maneuver their pathetic little brain can't comprehend. You've truly opened my eyes."
Fu Zhu looked skeptically at this overly familiar blond man, then glanced at the identifier on his minimap.
[Strategic Investment Department · Ten Stonehearts · Aventurine]
"Aventurine?" Fu Zhu murmured the name aloud.
Aventurine's turquoise eyes lit up, and the smile on his lips widened. He removed his hat and gave Fu Zhu an elegant bow.
"Indeed. I am Aventurine from the Strategic Investment Department, the very one who booked a room for you. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Ah, thank you."
Fu Zhu gave Aventurine a polite nod. The gesture seemed to surprise Aventurine slightly.
Noticing the surprise on his face, Fu Zhu asked, puzzled, "What is it?"
"It's nothing." Aventurine shook his head with a light laugh. "I just thought you would ask me why I'm suddenly being so courteous, booking a room for you."
"While I was indeed wondering that, you did help me out. You deserve a 'thank you' for that."
Fu Zhu's words made the smile on Aventurine's face grow even brighter.
"It's my pleasure to have been of assistance."
With that, Aventurine walked to the counter. The smile vanished from his face, and his eyes grew cold as he stared at the staff member and said in a low voice, "Miss, I hope you remember this: I booked that room for Mr. Fu Zhu. Whatever he chooses to do with it is his decision, not yours. If you continue to cause trouble for a friend I wish to make, then I will have to cause 'trouble' for you."
The staff member's face went pale with fright as she nodded frantically.
"That's more like it."
Aventurine's smile returned. He passed over his own identification. "Now then, can you process my check-in?"
"Yes, of course, Mr. Aventurine."
This time, after being threatened, the staff member worked with incredible efficiency, processing Aventurine's check-in in an instant.
Aventurine took the room card [Dreamscape Passport] from her and turned back to Fu Zhu with a smile. "Mr. Fu Zhu, I was wondering if you might have some time to chat with me alone later?"
"I do."
Fu Zhu nodded in agreement. He was also curious about the Company's current attitude towards him. After all, he had dealt them a considerable blow on Jarilo-VI.
"I'm so glad you could agree. To be honest, I'd love to chat with you right now, but unfortunately, the person I'm waiting for has arrived..."
Aventurine glanced to the side. Fu Zhu followed his gaze and saw a man and a woman, both with light blue hair, walking over side-by-side. They looked quite similar, like a brother and sister.
"Speak of the devil. Well, if it isn't Mr. Sunday and the galaxy-famous singer, Miss Robin," Aventurine remarked.
"Mr. Aventurine, and the esteemed members of the Astral Express, welcome to Penacony."
Sunday offered a polite smile to the group before addressing Aventurine directly. "Mr. Aventurine, let's talk over here."
He then turned to the woman beside him. "Robin, please entertain our guests from the Astral Express."
"Of course, brother."
The moment the woman, Robin, spoke, her voice made Fu Zhu's brow furrow. He felt that there was a faint electronic, autotuned quality to her words. Was it just his imagination?
While Fu Zhu was still pondering this, Sunday had already led Aventurine away.
Robin, meanwhile, smiled and gestured to the Astral Express crew. "Everyone, please, come have a seat and rest for a bit."
She led them to a nearby lounge area and they all sat down.
The moment Fu Zhu sat down, before the seat was even warm, March 7th, who was beside him, leaned forward with a mix of excitement and nervousness. "Excuse me... are you the Miss Robin who sang 'If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking'? I'm a huge fan of yours!"
Hearing March 7th's words, Robin smiled with delight. "I didn't expect a cute young lady like yourself to be a fan of mine. It's an honor."
Fu Zhu's brow furrowed again. This time, it wasn't because of any issue with the conversation between Robin and March 7th. It was because he had distinctly noticed it again—Robin's voice definitely had a hint of autotune.
Are all cosmic-level singers like this? Do they speak with a built-in electronic effect? Does that mean their singing is supercharged with electricity?
Robin's chat with the crew was brief. After giving them a quick rundown of Penacony, her brother, Sunday, returned.
"My apologies, guests of the Astral Express. As the acting managers of this year's Charmony Festival, we still have many matters to attend to. We cannot continue to accompany you on your tour of Penacony for the time being."
Himeko smiled and waved her hand. "That's quite alright, Mr. Sunday. Please, attend to your duties if you have things to do."
Sunday nodded. "Then we shall take our leave."
As Sunday and Robin departed, Xing stared at their retreating backs without blinking.
Fu Zhu leaned over and asked, "What are you looking at? Are you a fan of Robin's too? Why didn't you ask for an autograph and a photo with her like March did?"
Xing shook her head honestly. "I'm a 2D girl, I don't follow celebrities. I was just thinking about something..."
"What?"
"We're both siblings, but they seem more like siblings than we do. Are we even really brother and sister?"
Fu Zhu's heart skipped a beat. Had Xing remembered her past as a Stellaron Hunter?
Suddenly, Xing turned to him, her expression dead serious. "I think it's very possible that I'm the older sister! And you're the younger brother!"
Bonk!
"Ow! Why'd you hit my head again, you mean old bro!" Xing cried out, rubbing her head pitifully, her lips pouting so far they could hang a pot from them.
Fu Zhu sat beside her, arms crossed, rolling his eyes dramatically.
Himeko couldn't help but chuckle at the scene. She reached out and ruffled Xing's hair. "Alright, let's all go to our rooms and sort out our luggage first. I promise that the 'real' Penacony will be a pleasant surprise for you all later."
No one objected. They all stood up and headed for the elevator together.
However, since Fu Zhu's and Xing's rooms had been booked by others, they weren't on the same floor as Himeko's group. They had to part ways. A little while later, Fu Zhu also split from Xing and headed towards his own room.
Just as he reached his door and was about to use the room card, he noticed a new marker appear on his minimap—inside his room.
[Masked Fool · Sparkle]
So this girl was in the room Screwllum booked for him?
Acting as if he hadn't noticed anything, Fu Zhu used the card and walked inside.
As he turned to close the door, he felt a hard, solid object press against the back of his head.
"Don't move Or else, bang your head will blossom like a flower~"
Hearing this, Fu Zhu immediately spun around, only to see Sparkle standing on her tiptoes, desperately stretching her arm up to press a colorful revolver against his forehead. Although she was holding a gun, her strained posture looked utterly ridiculous.
"Oh my, my, aren't you a brave little brother~ Are you not afraid of me pulling the trigger?"
Fu Zhu simply smiled back. "If you hurt me, I promise I'll spank your butt until it's raw."
As the words left his mouth, he reached out, hooked his thumb inside the trigger guard over Sparkle's finger, and pulled the trigger himself.
Pop!
A burst of confetti shot out and hit Fu Zhu squarely in the head.
Sparkle stared at Fu Zhu, completely stunned. She never would have imagined he would actually pull the trigger himself, without a shred of hesitation!
Just as she was about to ask him what he was doing, Fu Zhu suddenly grabbed her wrist. He forcefully dragged her over to a nearby chair, sat down, and placed her over his lap.
"Eh? Eh? Eh? Little brother, what are you doing? You're so bold~"
Sparkle was flustered, unable to comprehend Fu Zhu's actions. She tried to tease him as usual, but she soon found herself unable to laugh.
Fu Zhu positioned Sparkle just right, then raised his right hand and brought it down with a firm slap on her behind. What followed was a flurry of smacks.
"Ah!!"
"I told you, if you hurt me, I would spank your butt raw."
That confetti gun of hers had actually chipped a point of durability off his helmet!
Soon, Sparkle's yelps of surprise turned into whimpers.
After a few dozen slaps, Fu Zhu finally let her go. By now, Sparkle could barely stand. She clutched her behind, half-paralyzed and half-sprawled on the ground.
Tears welled in the corners of her eyes. She bit her lower lip and glared at Fu Zhu, her expression a mix of grievance and pain that would stir anyone's heart.
"You're the one who pulled the trigger!"
Fu Zhu smiled brightly, casually grabbing a bottle of Soul-Calming Seltzer from the coffee table and taking a sip.
"So what? You scared me. Now talk, Masked Fool. Why are you in a room someone else booked for me?"
Hearing this, Sparkle instinctively tried to stand up, but the moment she moved, the pain in her rear made her whimper. Her body went limp, and she collapsed onto Fu Zhu's lap. She decided to just stay in that position, propping herself up on his legs and looking up at him with a mischievous expression.
"Little brother, could you have forgotten that we're partners now? I came to find you for our fun little plan, of course Getting your room number was a piece of cake with Silver Wolf's help But as partners, there must be a show of good faith. I've prepared a little surprise in each of your three rooms."
Fu Zhu stared down at Sparkle, his expression unchanging. "Is your so-called surprise pointing a gun at my head and then getting your butt spanked by me? Hmm, I have to say, it felt pretty good."
A rare blush crept onto Sparkle's cheeks. She let out a soft huff. "That was an extra surprise!"
"Then what was the original one?"
"The original? Oh, I just made a few minor modifications to the dream pools in all three rooms. The water in them is usually nice and cool, but I replaced it all with hundred-degree boiling water~"
Fu Zhu's mouth twitched. This surprise... was rather low-effort.
He was about to question Sparkle about their cooperative mission when a gasp suddenly came from the doorway.
"You... you... what are you two doing!"
March 7th had appeared at the door at some unknown point, her finger pointed at Fu Zhu and Sparkle on his lap, her expression one of utter panic.
Seeing March 7th appear, Fu Zhu was momentarily surprised. He'd been so focused on Sparkle that he hadn't even noticed his minimap!
A glint flashed in Sparkle's eyes. She immediately raised a hand and deliberately wiped the corner of her mouth, her voice becoming slurred and indistinct.
"What am I doing? Servicing my dear big brother, of course! Hehe!"