"Seriously, do you Xianzhou people even understand reason?!"
"Now I get it—you're just taking advantage of the chaos, aren't you?"
"Hmph, you Xianzhou people are so cunning, always twisting words into endless, convoluted schemes!"
Just as the Artisanship Commission approached their destination, a voice dripping with anger and sarcasm reached everyone's ears.
"Hiss... that sarcastic voice sounds so familiar... like I've heard it somewhere before?" Stelle scratched her head, muttering to herself.
The voice... it was too similar, too much like that of that one guy...
"Stelle, do you know those IPC employees causing the commotion?" Lumina's superior perception allowed her to clearly discern the employees' appearances from this distance.
Among them, the one dressed distinctly differently from the others—obviously their squad leader—must be Scott.
Hmm... he certainly has the look of someone destined for greatness.
Lumina studied Scott intently for a moment, arriving at her typically precise assessment.
As arguably the most popular NPC in the game, Lumina couldn't help but be mildly interested in Scott.
Of course, this "mild interest" excluded all the beautiful girls. It was the kind of fleeting interest you might feel when walking down the street and noticing a leaf falling from a tree.
"We're acquainted. He's a dog I met in Aurum Alley," Stelle nodded, bluntly revealing Scott's true form.
"A dog?" Hearing this, and now that they were closer, Scott's appearance came into clear view. March 7th scrutinized him from head to toe, exclaiming, "I can't believe this human-looking guy is actually a transformed puppy!"
Having traveled the Cosmos with the Astral Express and received occasional lessons from Dan Heng along the way, March 7th merely marveled at Scott's canine form, showing no shock whatsoever.
"..." Dan Heng, the Astral Express Archive's resident encyclopedia, lowered his gaze at March 7th's words, a speechless expression creeping across his face.
Though speechless, Dan Heng couldn't be bothered to explain. The speechless expression flashed across his face before quickly returning to normal.
"March, Stelle's 'dog' comment was just a figure of speech, not that he's a dog transformed," Lumina kindly clarified, reaching out to pat March 7th's head and gently pinch her cheek.
Two slightly envious gazes then landed on Lumina, before shifting to March 7th. Though Lumina didn't look directly at the owners of those gazes, she could guess their thoughts well enough.
Probably just thinking, "March 7th's dumb luck never fails her."
"Scott, I could hear your barking from miles away!" Stelle strode into the quarrel's center, hands on her hips, and greeted him with a remarkably polite greeting.
"You bastard! Who are you calling a dog?!"
"Huh? Oh, it's you again?"
"You're like a persistent ghost! Did you move to the Luofu?"
Seeing the familiar gray-furred figure before him, Scott seemed to recall unpleasant memories. His previously fierce expression faltered, his blustering aura diminishing significantly the moment Stelle appeared.
"Hmm? Aren't you guests from the Astral Express? What are you doing here at the Artisanship Commission with Yanqing?" The Foxian woman from the Sky-Faring Commission visibly relaxed at Yanqing's arrival.
This Scott fellow was proving quite difficult to deal with. A typical IPC employee would likely have surrendered long ago, opening the hatch for the Cloud Knights to inspect.
After nodding briefly to acknowledge the Astral Express crew, the Foxian woman refocused her gaze on Scott, crossing her arms. Her already resolute demeanor only intensified with the arrival of reinforcements.
"Ugh... seriously, nothing good ever comes from running into you, pal," Scott muttered, rubbing his temples in exasperation. He wasn't stupid; this clearly meant trouble. In his mind, Stelle had just earned the title of "jinx."
"Can you handle this?" Lumina asked Stelle, her voice low. Thanks to a perception-altering charm, she appeared to others as just an ordinary person, remaining unrecognized. Watching Scott clutch his head in pain, Lumina continued, "I'd rather not draw unnecessary attention to ourselves."
Hearing this, Stelle shook her head and declared in a voice dripping with Chuuni bravado, "Those who fall by my hand cease to be my rivals. I'll grant them time to catch up, but even if they chase me their entire lives, they'll never see my shadow."
"When that day comes, they'll realize that the moment I defeated them was the closest they'll ever get to me."
Stelle stood with her hands on her hips, her expression blank and her tone utterly flat, yet an overwhelming aura of kingly dominance radiated from her, pressing down on everyone present with palpable force.
"Just one lucky win and you're acting like this?" Scott, who had initially wanted to avoid Stelle, bristled at her words.
This gray-haired brat's arrogance would get him severely disciplined back at the IPC.
"Heh, it wasn't luck," Stelle said, a dragon-king-like smile curling her lips. "If I can beat you once, I can beat you twice. If I can beat you twice, I can..." She paused dramatically, her tone shifting abruptly.
"No. A loser who's lost to me twice isn't worthy of competing on the same stage anymore."
At that moment, another wave of overwhelming kingly dominance crashed over them.
"Ugh... she's at it again," March 7th muttered, rolling her eyes at Stelle. She'd grown somewhat used to Stelle's occasional bouts of lunacy.
But...
"Where on earth did she even learn these cringeworthy lines?"
March 7th silently scoffed. At first glance, the phrases sounded incredibly imposing. But upon closer examination, as Stelle's companion, March 7th desperately wanted to crawl into a crack and hide her head...
So incredibly embarrassing...
"What's going on here?" Yanqing asked the Foxian woman.
"Well, it's like this..." The Foxian woman nodded and explained the entire situation from beginning to end.
During her explanation, Scott repeatedly interrupted, only to be swiftly rebuffed by Stelle each time.
"This Mr. Scott is remarkably stubborn," Yanqing observed. "He doesn't seem easily persuaded... While we could resolve this with force, I'd rather not escalate things to that point and risk a confrontation with the IPC."
"Want me to handle it?" Lumina offered with a smile.
What was a major headache for the Sky-Faring Commission was merely a word for Lumina.
Well... or rather, all she needed to do was open her phone and send a message to a high-ranking executive at the IPC.
Or perhaps, apply a little "Hypnosis Magic" to them~
As an Emanator of Abundance, wouldn't possessing some "Hypnosis Magic" be perfectly normal?
In truth, what she called "Hypnosis Magic" was nothing more than a suppression born from her absolute power, bearing absolutely no resemblance to actual hypnosis.
"There's no need to trouble Sister Lumina." As soon as Lumina finished speaking, Stelle stepped forward, moving with the decisive stride of a soldier reporting to their General. She clasped her hands behind her back and fixed her gaze on Scott.
"You're just a defeated opponent from last time—consider that a fluke."
"This time, let me completely shatter his Dao Heart!"
Stelle declared, transforming into a Xuanhuan prodigy facing a defeated opponent, ready to crush Scott's heart, body, and spirit.
Is this girl reading too many novels...?
Hearing Stelle's Chuunii-esque declaration, March 7th clutched her head, feigning ignorance of her. Even Dan Heng wore a look of speechless exasperation.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Only the naive Little Swarm bounced around, clapping enthusiastically like an adoring fan, her eyes sparkling with admiration for Stelle's domineering display.