"What do you mean, 'trapped in the Shackling Prison of the Luofu'? He's been imprisoned by the Luofu, hasn't he?"
"You're asking us to help you break him out?"
March 7th puffed up her cheeks in frustration. She hadn't expected Kafka to make such an outrageous request.
Himeko and Mr. Yang exchanged a glance and shook their heads slightly.
Clearly, this proposal had crossed the Express crew's moral line.
Only Stelle remained pragmatic. "What's the reward you mentioned?" she asked.
Kafka raised her hand, holding up three fingers.
"Three questions."
"Once it's done, I'll answer any three questions from the Express crew truthfully—no lies, no omissions."
Stelle's eyes flickered briefly, but she still shook her head.
"Sorry, we can't agree to this."
Himeko stood up, making the final decision. "Kafka, while your offer is tempting, this request is too much. We can't oppose Xianzhou, and we certainly won't collaborate with the Stellaron Hunters."
With that, she turned to her computer screen, ready to forcibly terminate the call.
Seeing this, Kafka took the hint and gracefully disconnected before Himeko could act.
The train cabin returned to silence.
Only Guinaifen's livestream continued playing in the background.
Kafka's matter was quickly set aside.
Almost instinctively, everyone's attention shifted back to the unfolding story.
The Express crew was now holding a democratic vote on whether to proceed to the Xianzhou.
In the end, Stelle and Dan Heng abstained, while Himeko, Welt, and March 7th raised their hands in favor.
When Stelle questioned her, March 7th chuckled awkwardly. "Uh, well… after calming down and thinking it over, what if that woman wasn't lying? If we don't go, innocent people might suffer… This isn't the time to be stubborn… hehe."
Watching this, March 7th covered her mouth in shock.
Her first thought was—*Wow, I'm ridiculous!*
But upon reflection…
Huh? That's actually pretty in-character for me!
---
Guinaifen's Livestream
As the Astral Express completed its warp jump and arrived at the Luofu, Guinaifen grabbed her cup of juice and took several big gulps.
"Folks! I can't believe it's finally our turn—the Luofu is in the spotlight now!"
"Before, when it was just otherworldly locations, it didn't feel as real. But now, every move the Express crew makes—no, every single second of the story—has me on the edge of my seat!"
"Who knows… maybe we'll even see some familiar faces in the plot!"
"Oh right! Shang Shang is a playable character—I wonder if she'll make an appearance?"
This time, the expedition team was led by Welt, alongside March 7th and Stelle.
The moment they passed through the Jade Gate and entered Luofu territory, an eerie atmosphere immediately enveloped them.
The massive port was completely deserted—no one came to greet them.
As they pressed forward, they were met with the sight of wounded and fallen Cloud Knights littering the ground.
...
[Chat]
"Wow, as expected of this game—wherever the story goes, disaster follows! Our Xianzhou Luofu is no exception."
"Didn't Kafka mention earlier that a Stellaron erupted on the Luofu?"
"When did that happen? I had no idea!"
"It probably hasn't happened yet…"
"Someone alert General Jing Yuan! Are there any officials in this chat?"
"I live near the Cloudford, and I'm not even panicking! Though I did see a bunch of Cloud Knights passing by earlier."
...
The Luofu players were now deeply immersed in the experience.
With their own safety potentially at stake, they were desperate to know what happened next!
Some viewers even started showering the stream with gifts, urging Guinaifen to hurry through the story.
Guinaifen thanked them profusely while keeping up with the gameplay.
As they progressed, they soon encountered their first battle on the Luofu.
"Be careful—these are creatures we haven't seen before," Welt warned.
"Just waiting for Mr. Yang's signal!" March 7th replied.
The grotesque, mutated humanoid monsters might have been unfamiliar to the Express crew, but to the Xianzhou natives, they were all too recognizable—
Mara-Struck Soldiers!
"These enemies revive once after being defeated—totally consistent with the Mara-Struck's traits," Guinaifen remarked.
Then, a voice called out for help from ahead.
"Hey, you there! A little assistance, please~"
The moment this person appeared, the chat exploded.
...
[Chat]
"Hah! The first person they meet on the Luofu is Lady Tingyun!"
"Who doesn't know the famous Tingyun of the Sky-Faring Commission?"
"She's as stunning as ever!"
"March was just saying the first person they meet must be the mastermind—guess that theory's debunked."
"That was just March overthinking things. Did you really believe her?"
...
Soon, the battle reached its conclusion.
Guinaifen used Himeko's "Heavenly Flare" to wipe out all three Mara-Struck Soldiers after their revives.
With a knowing tone, she declared:
"See this, folks? Luofu's enemies revive! Seele's *Resurgence* won't trigger here—Himeko's AoE is way more reliable!"
"Not pulling for Seele back then was a stroke of genius!"
...
[Chat]
"Genius? Let's not kid ourselves!"
"For the record: Guinaifen spent a full 648 trying to get Seele and ended up with a Himeko constellation instead!"
"I didn't pull for Seele either. I like her, but as a meta player, I'm betting on stronger characters down the line."
"Might as well save for General Jing Yuan—no, wait, save for the Reignbow Arbiter! Meanwhile, I'll enjoy my early pulls!"
To be continued…
Guys, I don't really like to say this but I would appreciate it if I will get 2 or so subs for this novel. I bought around 150 chapters of the novel and I have reached till there on my patreon. If there won't be some subs from this novel the story might go on a temporary hiatus till I save up to buy more chapters.
Advance 100 Chapters are up on my Patreon!
pat reon.com/AlphaSenatus