Little Pink Starfish

The process of absorbing the Light Holy Spring took a long time this time, primarily because of the immense power within Eagle himself. Both Seeds of Light in his body had been fully awakened, causing another surge in strength. To reach equilibrium, he had to absorb even more power.

It was almost an instinctive process. Perhaps it was due to Eagle’s Light bloodline, or perhaps the Seeds of Light in his body acted as an attractor. Absorbing the so-called divine power from the God of Light’s blood was exceptionally easy for him. To Eagle, it simply felt like a long sleep. When he awoke, his body felt extraordinarily light, without the previous agony in his bones and flesh.

Eagle had expected the first person he’d see upon waking to be Pei Sen—but it wasn’t.

Feeling sticky and uncomfortable, he took a bath. When he came out, the first person he saw was Aiken, who looked at him with curiosity.

“Where’s Pei Sen?”

Aiken smiled. “I was wondering when you’d ask.” He pulled out a letter and handed it over. “Here, he left you a note.”

Eagle silently stared at the thin envelope, but didn’t take it.

“I know how this looks,” Aiken said helplessly. “But don’t worry. Your butler didn’t disappear without saying goodbye. He actually waited a long time for you to wake up, but you slept a bit too long this time. When he left this letter, he made me promise over and over to tell you he’d be back soon… He was forced to leave for something very important and will return as fast as he can.”

As he spoke seriously, Aiken also wanted to praise Pei Sen’s survival instincts.

Eagle’s expression remained calm, unreadable. Aiken raised the letter. “Come on, just read it.”

Taking the letter, Eagle said, “There’s nothing to read.” Then, without even opening it, he put it away.

Cautiously, Aiken asked, “Eagle, you’re not angry, are you? Pei Sen didn’t want to leave. He was really anxious the last couple of days before going, but you wouldn’t wake up.”

“Hmm.” Eagle nodded. “I’m not angry. Don’t worry. I’m not a child anymore. I’m not that unreasonable. Pei Sen has his own matters. It’s normal. I have no reason to be angry.”

Aiken sighed in relief, though he still wasn’t entirely convinced. Eagle didn’t exactly have a reputation for being easygoing. “By the way, this necklace—Pei Sen had been looking for it. I don’t know why he wanted it, but your troublemaking cat hid it in its nest…”

Technically, either Ichabod or Sadin should’ve come to visit Eagle now that he’d woken up. But with Pei Sen gone, they were wary of Eagle’s temper and stayed away for now. Otherwise, Sadin would’ve immediately mentioned the pope’s necklace—he was the first to discover it had ended up with Pekes and had been monitoring the cat ever since to prevent any problems.

Sadin didn’t tell Pei Sen about it, though—probably because he didn’t like him. Pei Sen hadn’t mentioned the necklace either.

Eagle took the necklace with its silver magical gem. “The cat hid it?”

“Yeah, found it in its nest.”

Eagle turned his gaze to Pekes, who was pretending to be dead. Sensing his look, the cat twitched its ears and immediately flattened them in fear.

The cat… just wanted to borrow it for a bit, is that so wrong?

Eagle casually looked down at the necklace in his hand and softly said, “Alright. I’ll wait for you a few days.”

A few days? Pei Sen definitely wanted to return in just a few days!

But, returning now wasn’t that simple.

The Azure Soul Affairs Research Society had finally decided to settle down here—because this location was simply too perfect.

Not only was it near the most prosperous part of the Southern Government’s territory, but more importantly, the underground facilities were absurdly well-built.

Back when the Qingyi Gang was at its peak, even though it had now declined with only remnants surviving, they hadn’t lost much of their accumulated wealth. That’s why this house had such prime location and comfortable, high-standard underground installations, matching the era’s best.

Pei Sen handled the property transfer alone. He brought the original deed and easily bribed the Southern Government clerk with a few silver yuan. Given Pei Sen’s extraordinary appearance and bearing, the clerk didn’t ask a single question.

These clerks had seen it all. They could tell who not to mess with at a glance. For people like Pei Sen, they’d smile and cooperate instantly. Ordinary folks didn’t get this kind of treatment.

In this era—no, especially in the northern regions—warlords were infamous for their cruelty. The Southern Government was greedy. But they held the power, and overthrowing them wasn’t easy.

Originally, Chen Qingxu wanted the property put in Pei Sen’s name. But Pei Sen was still using a pseudonym. Vice President Jing Hui, though from a major clan, had little contact with her family now. Even so, with the house under her name, no one dared touch it.

Just as Pei Sen predicted—Jing Hui wasn’t suited to managing a property of this scale. He watched in dismay as they piled junk in the once-elegant garden.

“Tomorrow we’re cleaning up,” Pei Sen coldly declared, notebook in hand, speaking to Chen Tian.

Chen Tian said helplessly, “But isn’t it fine here? Some of these things are useful. Storing them away would make them hard to access.”

Pei Sen looked at the heap of junk and really couldn’t imagine what among it might be “frequently used.”

“Anyway, this is the final warning. If it’s not cleared out by tomorrow, I’m hiring someone to sell it all.”

Chen Tian: “…”

Watching the Azure Soul Hunters—so smooth in battle, so clumsy at tidying up—Pei Sen was exasperated. Perhaps from years of poverty, they had a habit of hoarding. They often brought back useless things. Even Chen Qingxu, the world’s most powerful transcendent, had the habit of scavenging…

Seeing the increasingly messy courtyard, Pei Sen began missing the ever-capable players.

Meanwhile, the in-game forum had exploded with excitement over the upcoming new server. Even more surprising to players was the sudden influx of… foreign players?

“This Bix Magic Cube’s built-in forum is freakishly powerful. I just opened the English version, and instantly the threads switched to flawless English—not garbage machine translation, but fully polished!”

“Seriously?”

“Yes! I pasted part of my thesis and it translated it perfectly in English mode!”

“This language feature is incredible. Hey, does that mean we can translate novels too?”

“Sure, but I think there’s a post character limit.”

“…”

As they discussed the forum’s amazing translation features, many players eagerly welcomed the foreign newcomers.

“The Bix Magic Cube pod is now being mass-distributed abroad. In East Asia alone, ten million units were sold in a day. Impressive.”

“Only ten million? That’s nothing compared to domestic sales.”

“Well, their population’s smaller.”

“North America shattered records. Sales are insane. There’ll be more and more foreign players in the game.”

“So what? When have we ever been afraid of numbers?”

“Well, we can’t beat India in raw population, but in internet users, we’re unmatched.”

“After playing Bix Magic Cube, all other games seem boring. Even farming is more fun in this game.”

“Your crops still alive?”

“Barely. They’re not all dead yet. My neighbor’s amazing—she basically saved my entire field.”

“Weren’t we talking about foreign players? How did this become a farming discussion?”

“Because farming is in our genes, haha.”

“But with the game pods going global, most new foreign players will join the new server, right?”

“Yeah, the ‘Azure Soul Era’ server—still don’t know much about its background. Really curious.”

“Me too.”

“Guys, check your wallets before talking big.”

“…”

In any case, most people couldn’t afford a time-travel ticket to the Azure Soul Era.

Of course, there were exceptions. Some rich folks didn’t care about money.

Take Claude, the rich second-gen—he happily bought two round-trip tickets to the Azure Soul Era. Each cost him 180,000, and with no real-money transactions allowed in-game, offline gold trading still thrived. Though Bix Magic Cube didn’t ban it, it also didn’t protect it—so big spenders only bought from reputable studios.

Since the housing and shop system launched, gold prices stayed high.

These two round-trip tickets cost Claude 180,000 each and were only valid for a month. So he effectively spent that money for a one-month visit to the new server.

One ticket was for himself. The other…

“Latiao Bro, over here!” he waved.

BraisedSpicySnack sat down opposite. “What, treating me to a drink?”

Claude grinned and handed him two golden tickets. “They’re for you.”

“What?” BraisedSpicySnack didn’t recognize them at first, but when he saw the words “Time-Space Ticket,” he was stunned. “Round-trip?”

“Yup. One month,” Claude said, holding up one finger.

But BraisedSpicySnack sighed and shook his head. “No way. This is way too expensive. I can’t accept it.” Though clearly tempted, he knew the value of a ticket.

Claude insisted, “You have to! You’ve been teaming with me all this time. I know I’ve been dragging the team down.”

BraisedSpicySnack raised an eyebrow. “At least you’re self-aware.”

“If not for your face, I think even Nai Nai and Little Deer would’ve ditched me. The others definitely wouldn’t have stuck around.” Claude wasn’t clueless. “Just take it as thanks.”

“That little help doesn’t deserve something this valuable,” BraisedSpicySnack still refused.

Claude quickly added, “Too late! I already registered your ID. It’s non-refundable. If you don’t go, it’s wasted! Plus, do you really want me going alone? Just think of it as being my bodyguard!”

Bodyguard? That was new. Who needed a bodyguard in a game? Was this guy for real?

In the end, the tickets ended up in BraisedSpicySnack’s inventory. Still, he was already thinking of how to repay Claude.

It hurt. That was a lot of money!

Fine. He’d just take on more pet surgeries over the next few months.

That’s right—BraisedSpicySnack had become somewhat known in pet hospital circles and was occasionally hired for procedures small shops couldn’t handle.

March 17 arrived right on time. The new server, Azure Soul Era, was about to launch.

Near the Starfall Plains, a previously empty zone was now bustling with players, noisy and excited.

“The train’s here!”

The time-space train arrived precisely on schedule. Both onlookers and those holding tickets turned to watch the train descend from the sky. That moment alone was enough to make them shout, “Holy crap!”

“This game is insane! It’s really a time-space train!”

“Bix Magic Cube is unbeatable. I wish I could go to the new server…”

“Poverty is a disease. A terminal one.”

“Any rich guys willing to take me along? I’ll do anything. Like, anything.”

“Please. No one wants to buy your pixel self.”

“Ahhh, I want on that train!”

“Same!”

“…”

Still, most people could only dream.

Claude and BraisedSpicySnack boarded the train. That single departure carried nearly a thousand veteran players.

And this was just the first wave.

They were mostly just curious—going for a tour, really.

But to the residents of the Azure Soul Era, this would be a shockwave.

Unlike new players, these veterans were all transcendents.

All of them… but not like the Azure Soul Hunters.

As Pei Sen watched the crowded train filled with people, he suddenly understood why Bix Magic Cube had chosen him to be a guide.

He wasn’t just here to help new players.

He had to handle this group of veterans too—players who could do absolutely anything.

“…Seriously, how are they all this rich?” Pei Sen thought helplessly.