Little Pink Starfish

“I still have some things I haven’t made clear to Eagle. I’ll definitely need to come back soon.” Pei Sen decided he should tell Bix Magic Cube this clearly.

“Okay,” replied Bix Magic Cube, surprisingly agreeable—though Pei Sen had a gut feeling it wasn’t entirely reliable.

As someone who had already reached the requirements to advance to a high-tier profession, Pei Sen could travel to other servers. Most other players would still need time to reach level 60.

Selling skill stones and taking commissions was extremely profitable. Clearly, players’ enthusiasm for gambling on skill stones would never fade.

Pei Sen didn’t plan to fully trust Bix Magic Cube anyway. He would find a way to sneak back if necessary.

Before leaving, he went to find Aiken.

“It’s this thing,” he said, handing over a schematic. “If you come across it, no matter the cost—get it.”

Aiken glanced at the drawing of the magic cube. “What is this? Looks like a square-shaped necklace?”

“Yeah.” Pei Sen figured that with Frost Maple’s growing territory, there might be some rumors about the item.

Aiken nodded. “Alright, I’ll keep an eye out.”

He’d chosen Aiken specifically because he hadn’t participated in the Holy City battle and knew nothing about the necklace the Pope had revealed at the end.

Meanwhile, Pex was licking its fur nervously off to the side, curling its paws, convinced it was doomed if discovered.

Pei Sen happened to glance over. Pex froze stiffly.

Did he notice?! I’ll give the treasure back! I’m innocent!

But Pei Sen only rubbed its round head and said, “I’m not taking you this time. Stay and keep Eagle company. Be good—no mischief.”

Pex blinked up at him, not understanding where Pei Sen was going.

Pei Sen sighed. Though he had left Eagle a letter, he had little faith in its effectiveness. He even suspected that even if he hurried back, Eagle’s rage wouldn’t be so easily soothed.

After all, how was he supposed to explain?

“Young master, this world is actually just a ‘game,’ and I have to go to another server. Also, since you’re an NPC, I can’t take you with me.”

In the end, he’d only written that he’d return soon and asked Eagle to wait for him.

Aiken understood Eagle’s temper. “I think you better come back quickly—or you know how he’ll be.”

Pei Sen nodded silently. That was exactly what he was worried about.
Actually, maybe leaving before Eagle woke up wasn’t such a bad thing.

If Eagle were awake—and Pei Sen had to leave without the silver cube, and without taking him along… who knew how bad it could get.

Pei Sen didn’t want to fight with Eagle. Not even a little.

He didn’t have much to pack—aside from the sigil ring Eagle had given him, there was nothing he needed to bring.

Alone, he boarded the time-space train that Bix Magic Cube had arranged to take him to the Qinghun Era server.

Normally, one had to purchase a ticket to use the train. Only high-level players could ride for free. The train could stop at any location the player chose—so long as it was in an open field.

Pei Sen picked the space behind the Red Maple Castle garden as the train’s departure point from the Arley Continent. He was sure Eagle wouldn’t stay at the Holy City cathedral after waking. Most likely, he’d return to Red Maple Castle.

After one last look at the castle, Pei Sen checked the time.

Soon, a train-like vehicle appeared midair and hovered before him. He lowered his head, didn’t look back, and boarded the train.

Inside the castle, Pex sat at a window. It had sensed a spatial fluctuation and rushed over—just in time to see the massive train breaking through space.

It was too huge to believe.

What… took Master away?!
Pex couldn’t understand it, no matter how hard it tried.

“Wow, Pei Sen disappeared in a blink. Their kind really is mysterious,” Aiken commented from beside the window.

Pex blinked at him.

It noticed—Aiken couldn’t see the massive object that had taken Pei Sen away.

Only Pex had seen it.

Cat is amazing!
I’m the only one who saw it! Cat is awesome!

Then Aiken suddenly said, “Pex, what’s that in your bed?”

Pex let out a startled “meow” and scrambled to cover the object with its chubby body.

Aiken reached under the cat’s belly and pulled out the glowing item. “Huh, isn’t this the necklace Pei Sen was looking for?”

He knocked the cat on the head. “Bad cat! Your master was searching for this, and you hid it in your bed!”

The cat bristled.

No! That’s the cat’s! Thief! Robbery!

Aiken ignored it. “Let’s leave it with Eagle until he wakes up.”

Pex drooped, defeated. Maybe it should’ve just handed it over earlier…

—

Pei Sen knew none of this.

He sat on the nearly empty train, bound for the Qinghun Era.

Players could see the train—non-players couldn’t. Pei Sen didn’t know how the other “NPCs” used the silver cube to switch servers. Maybe it was also this train… maybe not.

“Time’s tight. When I crossed over before, there was a gap… This time, I only have a few days to get ready and prepare to guide players.”

He stared out the window, thoughtful.

“This is different from before. Back then, becoming the butler of Golden Rose Manor was just a coincidence—but it happened to let me guide players.
This time, I need a more suitable identity.”

He understood the Qinghun Era reasonably well. His main class was Mage, and the most suitable servers for mages had been Arley Continent and Eternal Gate. He’d mostly stayed on Eternal Gate, so most of his knowledge of Qinghun came from forum posts, not personal experience.

But Qinghun had always been a popular server. Unlike the later chaos of Arley, Qinghun remained stable and well-liked.

“The announcement said we have to follow Qinghun’s rules.
I guess that means… we can’t break its existing order.”

—

In the short time he spent thinking, the train arrived.

Pei Sen disembarked at the player spawn point and first resurrection site for the Qinghun Era.

It was a train station.

A steam locomotive chugged off into the distance as the train he had ridden came to a halt.

From others’ perspective, Pei Sen hadn’t stepped off a train that only players could see—but from the visible steam train. So even in this crowded, bustling station, no one thought anything strange of this “outsider.”

That said, a few people did give him lingering looks—mostly because of his handsome appearance and the fact he carried no luggage at all.

The black suit he wore was neat and classical in style, not out of place in Qinghun. The new-style clothes here were somewhat Western-influenced, so the outfit actually blended in well.

Just… no luggage? Odd, but not that odd.

Pei Sen glanced at the people around him—countless black-haired, black-eyed, East Asian-looking NPCs—and felt a wave of familiarity.

“It’s been so long surrounded by Western-looking NPCs on Arley…
This actually feels comforting.”

For a moment, he relaxed.

“Just standing here… you wouldn’t think this is just a game,” he murmured.
“The people, the emotions… they’re so lifelike.”

He stood dazed in the crowd for a moment.

Though the scene resembled a modern train station, the Qinghun Era wasn’t set in the present day. Its background was closer to a magical version of the 1910s or 1920s.

The world map here was just as vast as Arley’s. Players who thought nothing could surpass Arley underestimated Bix Magic Cube.

Like Arley, Qinghun’s continent was split by natural barriers—in this case, the Summon Mountains, dividing the Eastern Nation and Western Nation.

But unlike Arley’s south and north, both regions here still looked distinctly Eastern in culture and features.

Still… it was strange.

Why were there Western-style suits and trains here, despite there being no Western countries?

Why had Arley—without Eastern nations—still had silk, porcelain, and tea?

Most players never questioned it. “Just game logic,” they thought.

Only Pei Sen knew better.

“Something’s off. These servers… What’s their real connection to the real world?”

To Pei Sen, the servers seemed like magical versions of real historical periods.

Arley was a fantasy Europe.
Qinghun… was a magic-twisted version of early Republican China.

Pei Sen was now in the Eastern Nation, far more advanced than its Western counterpart. Steam trains were common in the South, though the Southern government had a terrible reputation. Still, it was better than the warlord-infested North.

No foreign invasions here—but the world had still plunged into chaos… due to the appearance of Qinghun demons.

The first demon incursion was in 1517 of the Eastern Calendar, in a small southeastern village. It marked the beginning of disaster and a new era.

Over time, more and more of these monsters appeared. The feudal empire couldn’t handle them and fell apart. A full ten years of darkness followed, with the population halved.

Eventually, a new order emerged—one that learned how to fight back.

—

Pei Sen’s thoughts were interrupted by a scream.

He rushed toward it—and saw a young woman in a qipao-like dress, grabbed by a monstrous hand.

A Qinghun Demon!

These humanoid creatures were towering, monstrous, and brutal. Two to two-and-a-half meters tall, with green-black skin, blood-red eyes, twisted limbs, and claws long enough to slice a person in half.

The girl’s slender waist was nearly engulfed in one clawed hand.

“If I don’t act now, it’ll be too late.”

Pei Sen raised his staff—but then a gunshot rang out.

A purple-blue hole appeared in the demon’s forehead. It loosened its grip and dropped the girl, who hit the ground shaking and crying but uninjured.

“Damn, stolen again,” a gruff male voice grumbled.

A tall, rugged man with stubble stepped forward, cigarette dangling from his lips, a massive, unusual blade strapped to his back.

As the demon died, it didn’t leave a corpse. Instead, it dissolved into acid-like sludge, leaving behind a glowing green stone.

A young woman in riding pants and boots, holding a retro-style rifle, stepped out of the crowd. She picked up the stone with a grin.

“Victory’s mine again.”

Pei Sen quietly stowed his staff.

He recognized the bullet wound—and the mark on the hilt of the man’s weapon.

These were native extraordinaries of Qinghun: the Qinghun Hunters.

They came in two types: Blade Hunters (cold weapons) and Gun Hunters (hot weapons). Whether it was a small knife or a large gun, anything imbued with power could qualify.

These two used elite weapons: a special long blade and a beautifully modified rifle.

Perfect.

Pei Sen had found his ideal NPC identity.

He would join the Qinghun Affairs Management & Research Association—a half-public, half-underground organization that coordinated Qinghun Hunters.

Hard to get into, occasionally suppressed by the southern government or warlords—but undeniably the best equipped to fight demons.

Despite their shaky relationship with the authorities, their services were always in demand—especially since Qinghun stones were key to powering steam technology, like trains.

“Yeah… this identity will work.”

Standing before the group’s worn-out wooden headquarters, Pei Sen let out a long sigh.