March 7th crossed her arms and looked speechlessly at Stelle.
"You know that's not the Stellaron I was talking about. Do you get joy out of being this cheeky?"
Stelle gave March 7th a thumbs-up.
"Absolutely!"
March 7th was completely at a loss for words. Stelle was beyond saving—shameless to the core.
Half an hour later, everyone finished eating hot pot.
March 7th stretched and stood up.
"Alright, now that we're full, time to get back to work."
Stelle shook her head.
"No rush, let me try one more time!"
She walked over to Ye Yun and took out 30 Stellar Jade.
"Ye Yun, give me three of those Trash Can Scratch Cards!"
Ye Yun, seeing this, helped Stelle purchase three Trash Can Scratch Cards.
Other than March 7th, the others had never seen this before. They all looked at Stelle with a mix of confusion and disdain.
Stelle didn't care one bit. She was just excited to try her luck again with these mysterious Trash Can Scratch Cards!
The three cards appeared in front of everyone.
Stelle acted like an ancient emperor choosing a concubine for the night, contemplating which trash can she would "favor" first.
Clara tilted her head, clearly confused by Stelle's strange behavior.
"Brother Ye Yun, what's Sister Stelle doing? Why is she playing with trash cans?"
Ye Yun was momentarily speechless.
How could he even explain this? Should he say it's her fetish? …Better not badmouth someone behind their back.
He called out to Rios.
"Rios, take Hook and Clara out to play for a bit."
Rios responded by scooping up the two little ones and heading outside.
Soon, Stelle picked her first trash can.
"This is the one! Let's go—open!!"
A flash of golden light filled the room!
Stelle squinted her eyes, full of anticipation.
"Come on! Golden Legend!!"
The light faded, revealing… a can of pickled herring—identical to the one she had gotten before.
Stelle froze. Not this again! Another can of pickled herring?!
Still, she wasn't discouraged. Two trash cans remained.
"Next! You're the one! Let's go! Golden Legend!!"
Another flash of gold. This time, a durian appeared.
Stelle had never seen a durian before, and assumed it was something valuable.
"Ye Yun! What is this? Did I hit the jackpot again?"
Ye Yun looked at the durian and thought for a second.
"Well, it's a fruit—pretty nutritious and tastes decent. As for value… I sell these at 1 Star Coin for 10. Want some?"
Stelle was petrified the moment she heard the price.
Masaka! Another garbage pull! Her hard-earned Star Coins were practically gone!
March 7th looked at the durian in her hand, then glanced at the stunned Stelle, a mischievous smile creeping onto her face.
"Hehehe~ Stelle, since you look so pitiful, I'll buy that durian for 1 Star Coin. How about it? That's 10x market price!"
She emphasized the value again, breaking Stelle's spirit completely.
A 1,000-Star-Coin scratch card gave her a 0.1-Star-Coin durian—she was on the verge of mental collapse.
Stelle dropped to her knees and sobbed dramatically.
"Noooo! Why did I buy these?! My Star Coins! The pain! The heartache!!"
Seele, watching Stelle wail on the floor, leaned over and quietly asked Ye Yun,
"Ye Yun, what's up with her? Is something… wrong with her head?"
Ye Yun thought for a moment.
"Uh… you could say that. She's like a gambler who bet everything and lost it all."
Seele nodded in understanding.
"Oh, I get it—just like those guys who bet it all at the boxing ring, right?"
Ye Yun nodded.
"Exactly."
Just then, a voice interrupted their conversation.
"Hey, Seele, can I borrow your scythe for a sec?"
They turned to see March 7th smiling sweetly, holding the durian in her hands.
She wiggled the spiky fruit and grinned.
"This thing's got spikes. I need your scythe to open it up—let's share it after, sound good?"
Seele perked up, intrigued. The fruit looked kinda interesting.
"Sure, here."
She handed over her scythe.
March 7th set the durian on the table and gave it a few swings.
Slash!
The scythe cleaved the durian open—and that infamous, intense smell immediately filled the entire room.
Seele was stunned.
What is this smell?! Gah—!
Then she realized… her scythe. She stared in horror.
Oh no! My scythe!!
Seele rushed to snatch her weapon back and sniffed it.
Gah—ugh! What is that smell? It's awful!
March 7th, Dan Heng and Stelle weren't doing much better. They all pinched their noses to avoid the stench.
Ye Yun just raised an eyebrow. No rush—they'd stop complaining after they tasted it.
He picked up the durian, scooped out a chunk of the flesh, and started eating it in small bites.
"Mmm—delicious. This one's really good. I'm gonna buy some more later."
March 7th was shocked.
"Ye Yun, how can you eat something that smells this bad?!"
Mouth full, Ye Yun replied,
"That's durian for you—smells bad, tastes great. Want to try?"
March 7th shook her head like crazy.
"No way! If it stinks like this, how can it taste good?"
Ye Yun swallowed and offered a deal.
"How about this—just try it. If you don't like it, I'll give you 100 Star Coins. Deal?"
March 7th hesitated. That didn't sound too bad. One tiny bite, and if it was gross, she'd get paid.
"Alright, I'll try it. Just a teeny bit. A little nibble."
Ye Yun was exasperated. How could she taste anything with just a nibble? He tore off a whole chunk and handed it to her.
"Come on, trust me. You see I'm eating it, right? It's good—just eat it!"
March 7th looked at the durian in her hand, then at Ye Yun enjoying his. It really did look tasty…
Finally, she pinched her nose and took a bite.
Chewed for a second.
"…Mmm! This actually tastes really good! Ye Yun, give me another piece!"
Ye Yun happily tore off another chunk and handed it to her.
March 7th grabbed it and started eating big bites, thoroughly enjoying herself.
Ye Yun then turned to Dan Heng and offered him a piece.
"Dan Heng, you should try it too. Durian's really nutritious—in some worlds, it's called the King of Fruits."
Dan Heng thought about it and took the piece. He didn't want to reject Ye Yun's good intentions, and since March 7th had already confirmed it tasted great, he gave it a shot.
After one bite, Dan Heng agreed—it was actually pretty good.
Seeing this, Stelle grabbed a piece for herself.
She had spent 1,000 Star Coins to get it—she had to eat it, whether she liked it or not!
***
Seele returned after washing her scythe, only to see Ye Yun and the others happily eating durian.
Even Hook and Clara had been called back—both little ones sat on stools, happily enjoying the durian.
Seele sniffed the pungent air and waved her hand in mild disgust.
"Eww~ how can you guys eat such a stinky fruit?"
Clara split her portion of durian in two and offered half to Seele.
"Big Sister Seele, you should try it too. It's really delicious."
Seele glanced at everyone—it didn't look that bad?
Besides, she had eaten things far worse-smelling than this before.
In the Underworld, staying alive was the only goal.
Seele took the durian from Clara and took a bite.
"This fruit is actually so good?! Even though it smells so bad!"
There wasn't much durian, and it was quickly eaten up by everyone.
After eating, Stelle licked her fingers, still craving more.
"Ye Yun, look how unlucky I was with the loot box today. How about treating me to a few more durians?"
Everyone except Dan Heng looked expectantly at Ye Yun.
Ye Yun immediately bought 10 more durians—it only cost 1 Star Coin.
Seele looked at the durian, then at her freshly cleaned scythe, hesitating.
What should she do? Should she use the scythe to cut open the durian? But if she did, the scythe would smell again, and she'd have to clean it all over.
In the end—
Hunger won over reason, and Seele swiftly sliced open a durian.
Stelle, quick as lightning, snatched the whole opened durian.
"Hehe, thanks, Seele. Aah~ so good!"
Seeing this, the others each grabbed a durian.
One by one, they lined up for Stelle to cut theirs open.
Seele mechanically swung her scythe.
Within seconds, everyone was eating delicious durian again.
Seele also sat down, hugging a durian and digging in, her face smeared with fruit pulp, like a messy kitten.
March 7th swallowed her mouthful of durian and noticed something out of the corner of her eye.
"Stelle, you still have one trash can you haven't opened."
At her words, Stelle lifted her head from the durian and popped open the last trash can lid before continuing to eat.
A flash of golden light—The trash can disappeared, leaving behind a game cartridge.
Ye Yun walked over and picked it up, scanning it with the system.
[Special Item: "Sekiro (Hell Mode)" Game Cartridge] Complete the game to gain the skill: Deflect. This reward can only be claimed once.
Ye Yun clicked his tongue in surprise.
This thing… not bad. The Deflect skill was not only cool but also pretty powerful.
But then again, it wasn't overpowered—just decent.
"Stelle, this thing is pretty good. If I were selling it here, it'd cost 3000 Star Coins."
"Congrats, you broke even."
Stelle's eyes lit up as she scrambled over excitedly.
"Really?! It's worth that much?!"
March 7th, Dan Heng and Seele all looked over curiously.
Ye Yun explained,
"This game cartridge gives you a skill after completion. Deflect—lets you parry enemy attacks without taking damage."
"But it's limited. Only works on attacks up to Entrance Stage Emanator level."
Stelle looked at the cartridge in her hand, not particularly excited.
Compared to a skillful move like Deflect, she preferred raw power.
Something like Judgment of Shamash—a big sword you could just slam into enemies—that was her style.
Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Stelle's mind.
"Hehe~ I know how to make a ton of money!"
March 7th asked,"What idea did you come up with?"
Stelle gave a mysterious smile.
"Not telling you."
With that, she grabbed the cartridge and ran outside.
March 7th shrugged helplessly and went back to eating durian.
Outside—
Stelle held the game cartridge in one hand and her phone in the other.
On her screen, she was chatting with someone.
Stelle: Silver Wolf! Silver Wolf! I've got a game cartridge—want it?
Silver Wolf: A game cartridge? Stelle, I doubt you have anything I'd like.
Stelle: You'll love this one!
Silver Wolf: Oh? Intriguing. Tell me more.
Stelle: The game's really hard!
Silver Wolf: Now we're talking. I like a challenge.
Stelle: The quality's great—combat feels amazing.
Silver Wolf: And? That all?
Stelle: Most importantly, you get a skill from the game after clearing it!
Silver Wolf: Oh? That's kind of interesting. Alright, how much?
Stelle: What are you saying? We're friends! No need for money~
Silver Wolf: Cut the nonsense and give me a price, or I'm not taking it.
Stelle: No Credits needed—do you have Stellar Jade? I'll take like… 10,000 or so?
Silver Wolf: Stellar Jade? I've only got a few dozen… You sure that's all you want?
Stelle: Yep, just that!
Silver Wolf: Fine, I'll open a portal.
Stelle closed her phone, and not far ahead, space began to distort—Silver Wolf's projection appeared.
"Long time no see, Stelle."
Stelle grinned, eyes darting toward Silver Wolf's pocket.
"Long time indeed, Silver Wolf. Here, this is the game cartridge. Got the Jade?"
Silver Wolf snapped her fingers—the cartridge disappeared from Stelle's hand, replaced with a small pouch containing 40 Stellar Jade.
"There. I'm heading off. If you need anything, just message me."
And with that, her projection vanished.
Stelle tossed the pouch in her hand, thoroughly pleased.
"Hehe, not bad! Easy 40 Stellar Jade. That's four more trash can scratch-offs! Hehe~"
Then she turned and returned to the clinic.
Instead of spending the Jade right away, Stelle decided to save up.
Once she hit 10,000 Star Coins, she'd do a ten-pull in one go.
After a short rest, March 7th, Stelle, and Dan Heng left the clinic to search for clues about the Stellaron.
March 7th tried to convince Ye Yun to come along, but he declined.
He was planning to return to the Astral Express and bring Hook and Clara to explore for a bit.
On the Astral Express, inside the observation car—
"Himeko! Welt! We're here!"
Lumine and Paimon stepped out of a portal, with Paimon cheerfully greeting Himeko and Welt.
Himeko smiled in welcome.
"Paimon, Lumine, what brings you here?"
Paimon replied,
"Hehe, we're here to buy stuff from Ye Yun~ We found a lot of Primogems after we got back yesterday!"
Himeko nodded, understanding.
"Well, bad timing—Ye Yun isn't on the train at the moment."
Paimon and Lumine looked a little disappointed.
"Aww… seriously?"
Himeko smiled again.
"But if you're just shopping, you don't need to wait for him. You can buy directly from the vending machine by the bar—just insert coins into the touchscreen."