"March? March?"
Stelle waved a hand in front of March 7th's face, pulling her back to reality.
Doesn't she want such a beautiful crystal?
"Here."
Blinking, Stelle pushed the crystal towards March 7th again.
"Are you sure you don't want it?"
"Uh..."
March 7th stared at the crumpled ball of waste paper before her. She could vaguely make out a brown stain where coffee had soaked into it, emitting a faintly strange smell.
"Stelle, isn't this just a crumpled piece of paper?"
"What crumpled paper?" Stelle scratched her head, perplexed.
"This is a crystal!"
In Stelle's vision, a brilliant, azure crystal, clear as glass, shimmered with a light that tugged at the heartstrings.
Without a doubt, it was absolutely one of the most beautiful things in the world!
How could it possibly be waste paper?
Stelle raised an eyebrow slightly, placing a hand firmly on March 7th's shoulder. Her expression turned serious as she stared directly into those startled, gradient blue-violet eyes and gave her a gentle shake.
"Crewmate March, are you fully conscious?"
Hearing this, March 7th's expression instantly crumbled. She couldn't keep a straight face.
"I am conscious! Perfectly conscious! You're the one with the problem, aren't you?"
"This is obviously a ball of paper! And it's dirty!"
Feeling a bit overwhelmed, March 7th couldn't help but retort, instinctively taking half a step back, away from the dirty wad of paper in Stelle's hand.
But she quickly realised the paper wasn't important; Stelle was.
"Stelle, are you okay? Are you hallucinating? Look here, how many fingers am I holding up?"
Her beautiful eyes, full of worry, scanned Stelle up and down. March 7th asked with considerable concern, simultaneously holding up a few fingers, intending to test Stelle's perception.
The new member can't actually be having mental problems, can she?
"Three... Of course, I'm fine."
Stelle answered March's question instinctively, but her brow furrowed slightly. She realised something really wasn't right.
Her factory-reset CPU began to whir. Stelle glanced back at Caelus, then looked at the anxious March 7th, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
"Have you considered the possibility that maybe... you're the one with the mental issue?"
"Look, Caelus and I, both of us, can see the treasure chest and the crystal. Only you see waste paper."
Stelle spread her hands, laying out the logic.
"Compared to the chance of both of us hallucinating together, don't you think the probability of you having the problem is a bit higher?"
These words made March 7th freeze.
She's right!
Two-thirds versus one-third – she could figure out which number was bigger in about two seconds.
And so, March 7th's pupils began to tremble violently.
Compared to Stelle and Caelus hallucinating together, the probability of her hallucinating alone was indeed greater.
So, the problem is... me?
Is it a mental attack from the Antimatter Legion?
But she couldn't recall the Legion's foot soldiers having any mental attack abilities?
Is it stress causing hallucinations?
Mere grunts, how could they possibly make her feel stressed?
Could it be exhaustion from Trailblazing lately, not getting enough proper rest?
"..."
Caelus watched March 7th, now spiralling into self-doubt thanks to Stelle's words, and fell into a quiet silence.
He rubbed the crystal in his hand, smooth and warm like jade. With a thought, the crystal instantly dissolved into points of blue-white light.
The crystal count in the top right corner of his system interface changed from 1630 to 1632.
It definitely is a crystal, no doubt. But why would March 7th say it's waste paper?
[System?]
[It wasn't me! It must have been Aha! Hahahaha!]
The System hastily deflected blame.
The treasure chest was genuine, the crystal absolutely real. As for anything else, It claimed ignorance.
Caelus paused.
You know... that actually makes sense!
Even though there was only one named suspect, the reasoning was sound and strangely convincing!
Whatever!
Frowning slightly and pondering for a moment, Caelus pushed the problem to the back of his mind.
He couldn't possibly ask Aha anyway, and even if he did, the answer wouldn't necessarily be true.
He certainly had no power to stop Aha. As long as the crystals were real, who cared what they looked like to others!
As long as I can use them for pulls!
His thoughts flickered, and Caelus recalled the question he'd dismissed earlier.
[System, the reason Stelle can see the treasure chest and touch the crystal... is it because...]
[Correct. The Host and Stelle are two sides of the same coin. In this System's source code, both of your data types are designated as 'Player'. Therefore, she can see the treasure chests that theoretically only the Host should be able to see.]
The System provided the answer.
[Can she use the crystals for gacha pulls?] Caelus asked curiously.
[That is not possible. The gacha function is my core module, usable only by the soul-bound Host...]
"I see." Caelus nodded slightly.
It was easy to understand. Like a friend joining your world in Genshin Impact, but instead of just gathering resources, they could also open chests.
[What about other functions?]
[Others...]
The System hesitated for a moment, seemingly running a self-diagnostic.
[With the Host acting as the central connection point, there is a certain link between Stelle and myself. If the Host grants her permission, she should be able to use non-core modules like the shop function.]
After a moment's thought, Caelus rested his chin in his hand and made a decision.
[System, grant Stelle access.]
Playing solo isn't as fun as playing multiplayer, especially when the other player is technically 'yourself'.
[Okay... Gak!]
A sound like grinding gears suddenly catching interrupted the process. Caelus felt a flicker of doubt.
[Now what?]
[Ahem, nothing. I just forgot to inform the Host that the items Stelle sees in the shop will be different from yours.]
[Oh? That's actually a good thing.]
It meant more options between the two of them.
[Mhm!]
Agreeing with the Host, the System looked at the bug generated in the background due to the unique existence of Caelus and Stelle, and promptly shoved the bug report deep into the system's core.
See? The Host even praised It!
Not only did It help the Host, but the 'stalls' available for rent could now be doubled! It truly was a genius!
Slightly surprised by the System's unusual compliance, Caelus didn't dwell on their mental exchange. He took a few steps forward, intending to back Stelle up and help convince March 7th.
But then he heard Stelle suddenly exclaim, "Huh? What's this?"
A look of astonishment crossed her face. Stelle reached out and poked at the light screen that had suddenly popped up in her vision, but her finger passed right through, as if the thing didn't exist in reality.
There was an odd sense of familiarity. Her 'subconscious' told Stelle this was...
"A game? A shop?"
"Stelle, what's wrong?"
Stelle's strange behaviour snapped March 7th out of her fearful suspicion that she was hallucinating. Her eyes gradually cleared.
Okay, clearly, Stelle is the one more likely to have mental issues.
Damn it, miscalculated!
Seeing this, Caelus cursed inwardly.
Acted too fast. Should have waited until after 'treating' March's little mental hiccup before giving Stelle access. Now the fun's ruined.
Walking up behind Stelle, Caelus peered at the light screen. Most of the shop interface showed 'Restocking...' icons.
No, wait, there was actually one item available for purchase.
Credits.
Stelle fell silent, looking at the crystal in her hand, then at the icon for ×10,000 Credits on the interface, and the crystal cost of '1' listed below it.
Her 'subconscious' quickly allowed her to grasp the interface's meaning.
Without hesitation, Stelle moved to slap the crystal onto the screen.
1 crystal for 10,000 Credits? No matter how you look at it, that's a huge win!
"You fool! What do you think you're doing?"
In that split second, the crystal mere millimeters from the light screen, Caelus grabbed Stelle's hand, stopping her foolish action.
"Trading a crystal for Credits? Are you an idiot?"
"Ow~! Hey! What was that for?"
Stelle let out a playful whine.
"One crystal can trade for 10,000!"
"Forget 1 for 10,000! Even if you added another zero, it would still be a damn colossal waste!"
Caelus tried to snatch the crystal away but couldn't pry Stelle's fingers open, so he settled for pushing her arm down.
For a game where you couldn't just buy premium currency, the value of gacha resources was self-evident.
"Why?" Stelle asked blankly.
"Because... uhm..."
Before Caelus could figure out how to explain it to Stelle, he felt his own wrist being grabbed. Then, a force pulled his body towards the door.
"Hm? March?"
Stelle and Caelus turned their heads in surprise, looking at March 7th who was now dragging both of them by the arm.
"Don't worry. When we get back, I'll ask Director Asta to find a doctor on the space station. They'll definitely be able to cure both of you."
A gentle voice, tinged with pity, reached Stelle and Caelus's ears.
As the two continued muttering inexplicable things and arguing over empty space, March 7th had finally confirmed that this pair of gray-haired Trailblazers were the ones with the mental problems.
They needed psychiatric medication!
Just as March 7th dragged the pair out of the room, into the corridor, and prepared to head towards the master control zone...
Her steps suddenly halted. At the same moment, the bickering behind her ceased.
In the middle of the corridor, Voidrangers, born for destruction and war, were drifting. The instant they spotted the trio, several Voidrangers turned their heads in unison.
Red light flashed in their eyes. The blades formed by the Reavers' Anti-Matter Fields glinted coldly. The Eliminators raised their anti-matter cannons.
Gazing at the Voidranger squad radiating destructive aura, Caelus's expression turned grim. He instinctively moved to shield the other two.
"It's the Legion's lackeys! Be caref— Uh."
March 7th hadn't even finished her sentence when she noticed Caelus had already retreated several steps away.
March 7th's mouth twitched slightly. She hadn't expected another problem child.
Except this problem child's issue was the complete opposite of the other one.
Stelle looked down at the baseball bat in her hand. It radiated a charming, confident glow.
Stelle felt she could be just as confident.
And so.
"So you're the famous Antimatter Legion, huh?"
Stelle charged forward, baseball bat in hand.
Fear?
Forgive her, she was just born; she didn't even know how to write that word!
Just do it!
"Let's go!"
Stelle yelled out the phrase that popped into her 'subconscious'.
________________________________________
I have a little challenge for you! For every 100 POWER STONES, I'll release ONE EXTRA CHAPTER!