Mysterious Narrator of the Honkai: Star Rail World: The Lone Wolf's Adventure, Act Four: "Skip Straight to the Boss Fight!" action!
"Cornerstone? What's that?" Clara frowned slightly, asking.
Welt pulled out his phone and searched "Cornerstone." "Hm... according to the company's official intel, a Cornerstone is a precious material that falls from the divine body of Qlipoth, the Preservation. It contains immense power of the [Preservation] Path, granting ordinary people unimaginable abilities."
"These abilities include, but are not limited to, form upgrades, enhanced physical strength, amplified Path abilities, time-stopping, hypnosis... In short, this stuff is extremely valuable. Unless you're a department director or higher, you'd never get near one."
"Ha! You even know about this? Not bad!"
Skott sneered. "That's right, this isn't an authentic Cornerstone, but who says only authentic ones work?"
"As long as it works, I don't care if it's real or fake! Watch closely!"
Skott gripped the Cornerstone tightly, chanting, "I scheme, I evade, I steal..."
"I let my teammates charge forward bravely, backstabbing others to seize victory!"
"All for—myself!"
Boom!
The Cornerstone in Skott's hand erupted with dazzling light, transforming him into a wolf-like creature.
If Stelle were here, she'd definitely quip: Why is this model reusing Hoolay's?! This isn't a game!
And how was Skott connected to Hoolay anyway?! Because they're both equally despicable?
"Hahahaha—I can feel it! This power—it's worthy of a Cornerstone!!"
Skott, now in Hoolay's form, laughed maniacally, his ferocious wolf eyes glaring at Clara and Welt. "Now, it's my turn for revenge!"
...
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
"—Hahahahaha, no more talk, sisters, I'm impressed today! Little bro, I'll chug another bottle for you!"
In stark contrast to the Lower District's tension, the atmosphere in the Upper District's restaurant was downright jovial. The owner, face flushed, downed an entire bottle of liquor in one go, laughing heartily. "From the first time I saw you all, I knew you weren't ordinary!"
"And now, I see I was right! One move, and you've covered my entire year's revenue—hahaha!"
Cocolia smiled. "It's nothing, just a small sum. Doesn't hurt me."
After all, the check was signed with Gepard's name, so it was Gepard's money being spent.
Buzz—
Cocolia's phone vibrated. She glanced at the caller ID, smiled, and hung up.
"Hahahaha—this place is so much fun! I love this about new worlds—every time, something catches my eye!"
Numby picked up a turkey at least a meter long and wide, passing it to Topaz. "Little guy, time to eat~"
"Hmph hmph~" (cheerful squeal)
Topaz grabbed the turkey, opening its mouth to an absurd degree and swallowing the entire bird in one gulp. Its neck bulged bizarrely before slowly returning to normal.
"Burp~ hmph hmph!" (cheerful squeal)
"Boss, it says it wants another!" Numby laughed.
"Great, great, great! I'll have someone prepare it!" The owner, thrilled, opened another bottle. "Here's another toast to you all!"
March 7th, with a faint smile, raised her glass. "I'm in!"
Gulp gulp—
"Great drinking, young lady!"
After downing the bottle, the owner gave March 7th a thumbs-up. "I just noticed—your tolerance is no joke! Maybe just two bottles behind me?"
"Of course!"
At the mention of March 7th, Stelle immediately puffed out her chest proudly. "Our March is an all-rounder, especially when it comes to drinking. Forgot? Last time we dined and dashed, she insisted on taking a whole barrel of wine with her."
"Oh, I remember, I remember! How could I forget? I've been thinking about that for over a month. If I'd known Miss March loves to drink, I'd have brought out my prized collection—hahaha!"
"Hey, aren't you forgetting the main issue?" Numby playfully tapped Stelle's shoulder. "Didn't we agree? You still need to find this world's leader to sign a contract with me. Forgot already?"
Stelle: "Oh—don't worry about it. No need to bother with Gepard. When he runs out of money, he'll come to us. Then we'll just have Topaz talk to him. It's just signing a contract—hahaha!"
Numby: "That makes sense! But can this Gepard guy you mentioned understand Dimensional Piggy language? Won't communication be a bit tricky?"
Stelle shook her head. "Doesn't matter if he understands. As long as he can read the contract and sign it."
Five minutes earlier.
After losing hundreds of coin tosses, Stelle thought she'd botched everything. But after learning more, she realized—wow, what a conscientious entrepreneur! Numby's contract terms followed the final plan from the original story, basically clearing the stage in one go!
At the time, Stelle had asked, "Wait, if you offer a contract like this, won't your company punish you?"
If, like in the original story, Numby had to take the fall for them, Stelle would feel bad.
But Numby waved it off. "Punishment? What punishment? I've got people below me."
Stelle: ?
She leaned down, peering under the table: nothing but the girls' long, fair legs.
"You're so funny."
Numby burst out laughing, her throat making a "giggle giggle" sound. "Oh, come on, I didn't mean someone's literally under the table. I meant there's a deputy leader in the company's delegation this time who's below me in rank."
Stelle and March 7th exchanged glances and asked, "Hold on... why did you say 'people below you'? Normally, don't you say you've got someone above covering you, so you can act freely?"
Numby said smugly, "Sure, but what I meant is, if there's any punishment, of course I'll let the people below me take the fall!"
Stelle & March 7th & Cocolia: ...
Saying such a ruthless thing in the cheeriest tone? For a moment, they didn't know whether to congratulate or condemn her.
...
Lower District.
"Wahahahaha—this power feels so exhilarating!"
To be fair, Skott's knockoff Cornerstone had some effect. At the very least, it kept him from being knocked out by a single kick from Clara and even let him fight back.
Though part of this was because Clara and Welt weren't going all out, regardless, for this minute and a half, Skott managed to hold his own against two opponents.
"Warm-up's about done. Watch me beat you both to a pulp..."
Beep beep—beep beep—beep beep—
Just as Skott was about to unleash his might, a timer's alarm suddenly blared. Flashing red lights erupted from his body, making the atmosphere somewhat awkward...