『 After the Hanabi doll finished speaking, several Dreamjolt Troupe Bubble Dogs actually leaped out from who-knows-where!
They glared at Stelle and lunged to bite her without saying a word.
However, Stelle pulled out her baseball bat and knocked them all down in no time flat.
[ To think I was defeated by the despicable underling of Blazin' Bro... You'll never get away with this. Because I'm just an adorable doll, not some imaginary neutron bomb! ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "Holy crap!"
Stelle: "Hanabi's dogs really jumped out to bite me!"
Stelle: "Thank goodness I was a cut above the rest and beat them all down."
Stelle: "That was truly terrifying!"
March 7th: "A doll with dog bodyguards."
March 7th: "That's just as rare as that mute doll!"
Hanabi: "Hehe, congratulations, Little gray-hair, you've wasted a bit more time here!"
Hu Tao: "It shouldn't really matter, right?"
Hu Tao: "After all, you said ten minutes earlier, but ten minutes have long passed."
Hanabi: "The final right of interpretation for those ten minutes belongs entirely to Hanabi-sama~"
Hanabi: "If Hanabi-sama says ten minutes haven't passed, then they haven't!"
....
『 There was no doubt that this doll wasn't a bomb either.
After shouting a few more unwilling words, it fell silent.
Stelle didn't pay it much mind and continued walking toward the bomb's actual coordinates.
But after walking for a while, she encountered another doll.
[ Welcome to the Feldspar, distinguished lady! ]
[ I am a dangerous bomb, and also an outlaw who despises public order and good morals. ]
[ I wish you a wonderful day here. ]
This Hanabi doll was named the Outlaw Doll.
[ You don't look or sound very dangerous. ]
Stelle felt this doll had rather high manners.
[ Really? Fork you. If you don't find this thrilling enough right now, I wouldn't mind showing you what real danger and madness look like. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Boothill: "Son of a nice lady!"
Boothill: "What kind of outlaw doll is this? How did it even copy my catchphrase?"
Boothill: "What's the meaning of this?"
Stelle: "Calm down. It probably thinks your way of speaking is very polite."
Stelle: "So it decided to imitate you."
Boothill: "Muddle-fudger, I declare this a pathetic imitation!"
March 7th: "This crazy doll is about to show real danger and madness!"
March 7th: "It's not going to suddenly blow up, is it?"
Paimon: "But… the bomb at the coordinates isn't this one either, right?"
Lumine: "I feel like at most, it'll be like the doll from earlier, calling out some goons to gang up on Miss Stelle."
Lumine: "It won't be of much use."
....
『 [ To tell you the truth, the reason I became an outlaw isn't that I'm a mother-fudging bomb, but because I possess an ancient, crazy, and taboo blasphemous incantation that defies human relations. ]
[ Do you want to experience it? ]
[ I can recite it to you, but Hanabi-sama will not be held responsible for any consequences. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Mona: "Oh?"
Mona: "Could this doll actually possess some unspeakable forbidden spell?!"
Mona: "This is dangerous indeed!"
Qingque: "A forbidden spell??"
Qingque: "Does such a thing really exist?"
Nahida: "On Teyvat, there are indeed some forbidden spells."
Nahida: "Activating a forbidden spell usually leads to very bad things."
Nahida: "But as for other parts of the universe, I wouldn't know."
Stelle: "Could the bomb just be a distraction?"
Stelle: "The forbidden spell is the real ultimate weapon?!"
March 7th: "A spell that, once uttered, will swallow the entire world in darkness…"
March 7th: "Waaah, it's just like in the movies, just thinking about it is terrifying!"
Hanabi: "???"
Hanabi: "The things you guys are imagining have actually surpassed Hanabi-sama's own brainwaves!"
Qingque: "Everyone, calm down!"
Qingque: "I believe the spell this doll is talking about is definitely not what everyone thinks."
Qingque: "Let's just listen to what grand spell it's actually going to say."
....
『 [ Go ahead, let me see what you've got! ]
Stelle crossed her arms, signaling the doll to go ahead and speak.
She wasn't afraid!
[ Holy fudge, you're more insane than I am! Let me gather my wits... ]
[ …The ritual is ready. ]
[ Perk up your ears and listen closely to the most ancient, primal fear etched into the very fudgin' genes of humanity— ]
[ BLOOMSKA, BOOMSKA, LITTLE SPARKLEEESSS!!! ]
[ BLOOMSKA, BOOMSKA, LITTLE SPARKLEEESSS!!! ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "…"
Stelle: "Aaaah, what did I just hear?!"
Stelle: "WHAT A TERRIFYING SPELL!!"
March 7th: "Pfft, hahaha!!"
March 7th: "The spell is just this??"
March 7th: "Oh my gosh, are you trying to kill me with laughter?"
Paimon: "Bloomska, boomska, little sparkleeesss!"
Paimon: "Hehehe, this is so fun to say!"
Lumine: "I knew Miss Hanabi's dolls wouldn't take a normal path."
Lumine: "This abstract, cute, and catchy spell—I really don't know how she came up with it."
Hanabi: "Did I even need to think?"
Hanabi: "Isn't it just modifying Clockie's lines a bit?"
Stelle: "Ah, so it's a shameless act of plagiarism!"
Stelle: "I strongly condemn this! (Sarcastic_Smile.jpg)"
....
『 After listening to the doll's spell, Stelle was speechless for a moment, then silently walked away.
Not long after walking, she encountered a blue flame.
[ Hello, human. ]
[ We meet again. I really didn't expect to see you here. ]
[ I am currently tasting the sugar-coated cannonballs of Penacony's consumerism on this luxury cruise ship. ]
[ How about you? Are you here for sightseeing? ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Furina de Fontaine: "Eh?"
Furina de Fontaine: "A talking flame?"
Paimon: "No!"
Paimon: "It's a talking, blue flame!"
Paimon: "Ah! I know!"
Paimon: "IT'S A GHOST FIRE!!"
Hu Tao: "What ghost fire?"
Hu Tao: "Paimon, do you mean a will-o'-the-wisp?"
Hu Tao: "But will-o'-the-wisps aren't this intelligent; they can't talk."
March 7th: "This thing looks quite familiar."
March 7th: "Is it a heliobus??"
Hanabi: "I-If I'm not mistaken, it is indeed a heliobus."
Stelle: "Holy moly, aren't heliobi gathered in the Xianzhou?"
Stelle: "How did one end up in Penacony?"
Lumine: "What exactly is a heliobus?"
Dan Heng: "A bizarre energy lifeform."
Dan Heng: "It has the ability to absorb human emotions and memories as nourishment."
Mualani: "That sounds like a very unusual flame!"
Mualani: "But can such a tiny spark really be that powerful?"
Stelle: "Don't let its small appearance fool you. The most terrifying thing about this thing is that it can possess you!"
Stelle: "If you accidentally let it possess you, it's game over!"
Paimon: "Po… Possess?!"
Paimon: "Ugh, how scary!"
Paimon: "That's way scarier than a will-o'-the-wisp!"
Mualani: "Then why is Miss Stelle still chatting with such a dangerous thing?"
Stelle: "I'm not afraid, I'm a Stellaron Hunter—wait, I mean, I have a Stellaron in me!"
Stelle: "And not all heliobi like to possess people."
Mualani: "Oh, I get it now!"
Mualani: "Just like not all Sharkpups bite, there are good heliobi too!"
....
『 [ You remind me of an old friend. ]
Stelle looked at the blue flame, recognizing it as a heliobus, and felt a bit sentimental.
[ An old friend? No, I am not human. ]
[ I am a heliobus, originally residing in the Fyxestroll Garden of the Luofu. ]
[ I was passionate about studying Xianzhou subcultures, but gradually, I realized that Xianzhou subcultures have their limits. ]
[ Long story short, I forgot the middle part, but anyway, I eventually came to Penacony. ]
[ I wanted to study a subculture completely different from the Xianzhou, and the results really blew my mind—if I had one. ]
[ I found that the people here don't treat subcultures as culture. ]
[ They call them me… me… ]
The heliobus stammered for a while, unable to recall what it was called.
[ Mesmerizing antagonists? ]
Stelle muttered hesitantly.
[ Memes, yes, that's it. ]
[ They even have physical forms. I became good friends with one of the sharp-toothed memetic lifeforms. ]
[ It was extremely interested in the Xianzhou Vidyadhara culture, so I gave it an Xianzhou name, and it was very happy. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "Ah… a heliobus making friends with a Memory Zone Meme?"
Stelle: "Why does that sound so bizarre?"
March 7th: "Uh… it is pretty bizarre."
Jing Yuan: "Hahaha."
Jing Yuan: "I never expected a heliobus from our Luofu's Fyxestroll Garden to establish diplomatic relations all the way in Penacony!"
Jing Yuan: "This is truly amusing!"
Qingque: "It even likes studying subcultures. What a scholarly and trendy heliobus."
....
『 [ Oh, speaking of which, I should go find it. ]
[ Memey has a fiery temper and has always lacked patience. ]
[ I wish you luck in finding the real sugar-coated cannonballs—I mean, the bomb. Bye-bye! ]
As it spoke, the heliobus quickly floated away. 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Paimon: "Memey?"
Paimon: "Is that the name it gave to that meme?"
Paimon: "That's really…"
Stelle: "It's just a heliobus after all; asking it to come up with a beautiful name is asking too much."
Stelle: "This name is decent, very distinctive."
Stelle: "So does its meme friend know how to make good jokes?"
March 7th: "No idea."
March 7th: "None of us know what its meme friend actually looks like."
Furina de Fontaine: "A sharp-toothed meme."
Furina de Fontaine: "Could it be 'Something Unto Death'?"
Hu Tao: "Hard to say, maybe it's a Bubble Dog?"
Hu Tao: "Bubble Dogs can be considered sharp-toothed, too."
Lumine: "Ahem, that's not important."
Lumine: "What's important is the bomb!"
Lumine: "With all this time passing, has anyone found the bomb yet?"
Stelle: "I haven't received any messages on my phone, which means not yet!"
Stelle: "But don't panic, I'm close by, I'll definitely arrive shortly!"
Stelle: "When the time comes, I'll show you my bomb-defusing skills!"
March 7th: "You know how to defuse a bomb?"
March 7th: "How come I didn't know about this?"
Stelle: "Did you forget?"
Stelle: "I learned it from that movie we watched together last time!"
Silver Wolf: "…."
March 7th: "Are you serious?"
....
『 After the heliobus disappeared, Stelle continued running without stopping.
This time, she didn't encounter any more strange things along the way.
She successfully reached the vicinity of the pool at the ship's bow.
And upon arriving here, from quite a distance, she saw Hotaru's figure!
This made her heart skip a beat, sensing that something bad was about to happen. 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Qingque: "The person who least should have appeared here, has appeared…"
Lumine: "What was bound to come has come. Is there really no escaping it?!"
Hotaru: "I've said it before, the script cannot be defied…"
Hotaru: "I must face it."
Stelle: "What rubbish script!"
Stelle: "I don't believe it!"
Stelle: "ONCE I DEFUSE THE BOMB IN A BIT, EVERYONE WILL DEFINITELY BE SAFE AND SOUND!!"
Hanabi: "Ehehe, Little gray-hair, stop being stubborn."
Hanabi: "You're very worried, right? Very excited, right?"
Hanabi: "But don't be anxious, the best part of the show is yet to come!"
....
『 [ It's… Hotaru. ]
Stelle ran over quickly, arriving by Hotaru's side.
[ Twenty-eight minutes forty-six seconds... Twenty-eight minutes forty-five seconds... ]
After arriving next to Hotaru, Stelle saw a doll in the pool, counting down.
Clearly, this was the real bomb doll!
[ …Ah, you're here! ]
Seeing Stelle arrive, Hotaru withdrew her complex gaze from the bomb.
[ Were you also called here by the Masked Fools? ]
Stelle looked at Hotaru and asked hurriedly.
[ Masked Fools, as expected, it's their doing. ]
[ Since you're here… I'll make it brief. ]
[ About half an hour ago, I received a message from an unknown sender and rushed over immediately. ]
As she spoke, Hotaru's gaze turned back to the bomb doll.
[ Twenty-seven minutes fifty-two seconds... Twenty-seven minutes fifty-one seconds... ]
The bomb doll continued its silent countdown.
[ The Dreamscape has lost the protection of Order. If we let it explode here… the consequences will be unimaginable. ]
[ I've scrutinized it for a long time, but the bomb's design is incredibly unique, as if it's been locked by some mysterious Path force... ]
[ Aside from the creator, I'm afraid no one can stop it. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
March 7th: "What?!"
March 7th: "Even if we find the bomb, it's useless?!"
Stelle: "Using the power of Elation as a lock?"
Stelle: "Shouldn't it be like in the movies, where you just snip the red or blue wire?"
Asta: "Uh… what you're talking about is just a movie prop, right?"
Asta: "Modern bombs aren't that backward…"
Furina de Fontaine: "In other words, just finding the bomb isn't enough; we also have to catch Hanabi?"
Lumine: "Oh my god, this is too tricky!"
Lumine: "With Hanabi's disguise techniques and bizarre abilities, the difficulty of catching her is simply unimaginable!"
Hanabi: "Who could catch Hanabi-sama?"
Hanabi: "I'm a master of hide-and-seek~"
Hanabi: "As long as I don't want to be found, no one can find me~"
Paimon: "Then… then what should we do!"
Himeko: "Don't worry, there's still nearly half an hour before the bomb explodes."
Himeko: "This much time should be enough to resolve this bomb."
Welt Yang: "I don't think we should be optimistic."
Welt Yang: "Because the countdown on this bomb is not trustworthy in my eyes…"
....
『 [ Don't worry, many others are on their way. ]
Stelle offered a word of comfort to Hotaru.
[ Do you mean the Watchmaker's guests? ]
[ Unfortunately… in my experience, no one present should be able to change the situation. ]
[ A Memokeeper might be able to transfer the bomb to an empty place, but… I found a note inside the doll. ] 』
『 ....』
(What a cliffhanger! My favorite scene is in the next Chapter!?)