Chapter 223: Penacony's market value is plummeting—it's about to collapse!
After receiving the gift.
Guinaifen instantly transformed from a timid ordinary person into a fearless Galaxy Baseballer.
She walked towards the door, filled with confidence.
And in the hallway.
It wasn't exactly a den of dragons or a nest of tigers.
Although the atmosphere remained eerie.
She saw Firefly!
At Firefly's feet.
Lay a motionless member of the Dreamjolt Troupe.
"Nice, nice, nice…"
"That was so easy—I've already rendezvoused with Firefly!"
"Don't worry, Miss Firefly, I will protect you for the rest of the way!"
In the livestream chat.
Many players noticed something off.
…
"Did Firefly just beat up a Meme by herself?"
"Looks like Firefly has some combat power after all."
"Didn't we want to use the baseball bat to solve problems earlier? Firefly said the baseball bat's efficiency was too low. Looking at it this way… could Firefly actually be a master?"
"Hahaha… could it be that Firefly will enter the gacha pool as a Destruction DPS?"
"Looking at Firefly's blank, innocent eyes, maybe she just scared the Meme to death."
…
After meeting up with Firefly.
Firefly analyzed: "Regardless, we are definitely still in a dream, not anywhere else, and certainly not in reality… There is a unique tactile sensation of Memoria in the air; I cannot be mistaken."
"But this place is so different from the Dreamscape I know. Claustrophobic… desolate… unsettling… and these floating words, you can see them too, right? Penacony under the Family's governance couldn't possibly have a place like this. So, is it a Dream Bubble…?"
"No, that's not right—do you remember? Before we lost consciousness, that friend of yours said—the true dream…"
[ Is this the Family's secret…? ]
"I cannot be sure; this discovery is too sudden. But regardless, the Family must be hiding something, about the truth of the Dreamscape…"
"And, you noticed it too when you woke up, the clocks and ticking sounds everywhere… My intuition tells me that the secret hidden here probably also has to do with that mysterious Watchmaker."
"If it points to the Watchmaker's legacy—it is closely related to everyone currently in the Dream of Penacony…"
"Let's go… whether to uncover the truth or to leave this place, we must move forward."
Soon.
They arrived at a room with Firefly.
Here, one can use [ Dream Bubble Charge ] to walk on walls.
The room's map also became three-dimensional.
During the exploration.
It was still accompanied by the little boy's floating words.
[ Why come here specifically? ]
[ Mikhail, you seem to have something on your mind… ]
[ It's so dark here… ]
[ Mikhail? ]
[ Are you leaving? ]
[ Don't go, okay? ]
[ At least take me with you, please… ]
[ Okay? Please… ]
Firefly asked with confusion: "From just now, these words keep appearing and disappearing. Are they the heartfelt wishes of someone? And who is Mikhail…"
"I seem to be able to feel the emotions contained within them. Confusion… fear… sorrow… and a faint determination that is almost imperceptible…"
"A determination to face death without fear…"
On the Astral Express.
Himeko focused on these words that appeared in the plot.
Her brows furrowed from time to time.
Then she showed a thoughtful expression.
She was continuously inferring based on the information on these maps.
Taking advantage of the streamer's pause in exploring the map.
Himeko spoke: "The name of this map is [ Child's Dream ]. According to what Firefly said, these words represent the heartfelt wishes of this child…"
"And this [ Child ], if nothing goes wrong, should be the hotel's bellboy—Misha."
Welt's expression was somewhat grave.
He spoke: "I just verified it with the Family."
"The Family's administrators stated that there is no member named [ Misha ] under any of their various factions."
March 7th was immediately shocked.
"Eh!?"
"In other words… Misha is actually a person who doesn't exist? A character fabricated by Feathered Spirit?"
Welt shook his head: "No, Feathered Spirit wouldn't do that."
"There is another possibility—"
"This Misha, just like the Origami Birds and Clockie, can only be seen by the Trailblazer."
"Think carefully, in the story, apart from us Trailblazers, no one else has ever interacted with Misha."
March 7th took a deep breath: "Hiss… that's terrifying!"
"Sister Himeko, Mr. Yang, it's a good thing I'm watching the plot with you, otherwise I wouldn't have noticed so many details…"
Stelle said: "So, Misha has some kind of profound connection with Mikhail?"
Pom-Pom was full of anticipation.
And a bit nervous.
Watching everyone express their opinions and supplement each other's speculations.
Getting closer and closer to the answer.
It really wanted to know.
After that young, confident Mikhail got off the train back then.
What did he experience on this planet?
At this moment.
Stelle suddenly revealed a look of realization.
She shouted: "I know!"
Everyone immediately turned their eyes to Stelle.
"They both have the surname Mi…"
"Misha is Mikhail's grandson!"
Himeko: "…"
Welt: "That possibility cannot be ruled out."
Everyone continued to look at the plot.
The space in the screen was less of a room and more of a hall.
There was also a huge fountain in the middle.
Little Guizi took a lot of effort to find the path to the exit.
Before moving to the next space ahead.
There was a reward for successful exploration in front of this door—[ Valuable Loot ].
[ Obtained Item: [Grand Duke's Graceful Robe] (Five-star) ]
Clicking to open it.
She was instantly overjoyed!
"Wow!"
"A crit chest piece dropped!"
"The substats even have crit damage, ATK, and speed!"
"Top-tier, oh my god!"
"How could this roll be this good?!"
…
"The Grand Duke's burial shroud."
"The Duke of Inferno dropped artifacts."
"Duke, I miss you."
"Penacony is full of the Duke's relics, hilarious."
"My Jing Yuan can finally wear new suitable relics."
"No defense, lacking survivability, suggest salvaging it."
…
Little Guizi immediately excitedly enhanced this newly acquired crit chest piece.
Pulled it straight to level 15!
Looking forward to the new relic's full glory with anticipation!
But the result made her show an expression of disbelief.
"Ah?"
"Something out of nothing, maxed out on defense!?"
"No way…!"
"Is that how you enhance substats?!"
"Even if you spread it out evenly, at least I could use it!"
"Ahhhhh, the one in the chat who said it lacked defense, COME OUT HERE!!!"
Seeing the screen full of "Feeling better now" and "Thank you, Little Guizi" comments.
Little Guizi's mentality completely shattered.
She sighed.
Sincerely advising the family members in the livestream: "Sigh, family, please don't get addicted to gambling on relics."
"We are plot fans."
"What double crit relics, what perfect substats, I don't care about them at all, really."
"Let's continue to push the plot."
"I have a premonition that some major changes are bound to happen in the upcoming plot…"
Entering a new area.
It was a low and narrow corridor.
Firefly's voice sounded: "Narrow escape… but we made it."
"But the Family clearly promised to the outside world that the Dreamscape is absolutely safe…"
…
The Reverie Hotel.
Lobby.
The players gathered here to watch the livestream couldn't sit still anymore.
They stood up one after another to denounce the Family!
"There are such dangerous and creepy places in the Dreamscape!?"
"How much has the Family been hiding?"
"I want to sue you for false advertising in the Interastral Peace Court!"
"The Family administrators need to come out and give an explanation, right?"
"Refund, refund!"
…
The Iris Family.
Patriarch Old Oti was sitting on the sofa.
Watching the plot while drinking.
At this time.
An assistant came over.
Presenting a financial report before him.
"Sir, this is the latest Penacony financial report."
"Because of the performance of the 'Honkai: Star Rail' plot, our currency exchange rate has dropped by several percentage points, and market management and auction transactions have also received varying degrees of impact…"
As the economic pillar among the five families.
The impact of the plot on Penacony's wealth was of paramount importance to them.
Now.
Even an optimist like Old Oti couldn't let out a "Ho ho ho ho" laugh.
This plot.
Was undoubtedly a major blow to Penacony!
Old Oti waved his hand.
"I know, don't worry about these for now."
"Right now, Penacony is in danger of being destroyed at any time, and I don't know what the Oak Family patriarch and that Dream Master are planning…"
"At such a moment, the foundation of Penacony is already teetering, and thinking about these exchange rates and interests is meaningless."
"If things go wrong, all the Family's administrators might step down this time…"
Behind his sunglasses.
Old Oti revealed a trace of worry.
He still had some means to deal with things when playing games in the business world.
But under this general trend.
He could only do one thing now—
Watch the plot.
Pray silently!
"Sigh, Watchmaker, why did you have to create a legacy…"
"Penacony cannot accommodate so many forces in the universe."
"Everyone, please be careful."
"Don't you go and break Penacony…"