Chapter Summaries

Lin Shuang and Gepard promised to restore a planet with buildings inspired by their homelands before Lin Shuang returned to Penacony. Topaz contacted Lin Shuang to learn what happened in the Dreamscape, and Lin Shuang prepared to trade information to the IPC for a reward.

• Lin Shuang and Gepard agreed to make the planet their own and build structures inspired by both their homelands.
• Lin Shuang returned to The Reverie alone after taking Gepard back and received a message from Sparkle asking for help.
• Topaz called Lin Shuang, whose knowledge of Penacony could earn her a valuable deal with the IPC.
• Topaz asked Lin Shuang about her experience in the Dreamscape and offered therapeutic help.
• Lin Shuang said she was fine and invited Topaz to continue their unfinished discussion.

Lin Shuang negotiated with Topaz to exchange information about Penacony for the Credits needed to restore Sephalia, without agreeing to act against Firefly or the Family. After their call, Sparkle took Lin Shuang to Dreamflux Reef, where they began making Button Bombs together.

• Topaz explained the Sephalia restoration proposal, but Lin Shuang rejected taking on the enormous loan and refused to help the Corporation act against the Family.
• Lin Shuang offered Topaz one piece of information about Penacony in exchange for the Credits in the proposal, and Topaz accepted the deal.
• Lin Shuang ended her call with Topaz and was met by Sparkle, who pulled her into a secluded alley.
• Sparkle brought Lin Shuang to Dreamflux Reef to make Button Bombs by hand for fun.
• Lin Shuang sighed but picked up the bomb parts and began learning how to assemble them with Sparkle.

While making Sparkle Bombs with Sparkle, Lin Shuang gained Sparkle’s affection and drew a hand-to-hand combat skill and a transformation ability called Fool’s Mask. She tested the mask by copying Sparkle, but felt the mask’s chaotic influence and wondered whether it could threaten her identity.

• Sparkle’s affection for Lin Shuang rose to 70 as they made bombs together, earning Lin Shuang one Green Draw and one Purple Draw.
• Lin Shuang used the Green Draw and gained Sparkle’s hand-to-hand combat techniques.
• Lin Shuang used the Purple Draw and received Fool’s Mask, a skill that let her assume someone’s appearance with a warning that wearing a mask too long could make it impossible to remove.
• Lin Shuang took Sparkle’s mask and activated the skill, transforming into Sparkle’s appearance.
• Lin Shuang felt a giggling voice and chaotic amusement within her after transforming, and suspected the influence came from the mask.

Lin Shuang tested her ability to transform into Sparkle, signed a reconstruction contract with Topaz, and learned that the Sky-Faring Commission was quietly helping Aurum Alley recover. After Lin Shuang told Acheron about her new ability, Acheron asked her to open a Portal so she could return and see it.

• Lin Shuang transformed into Sparkle with Sparkle's mask, refused to explain the ability, and went back to making bombs.
• Topaz sent Lin Shuang a contract, which Tingyun reviewed before Lin Shuang signed it and shared information about Penacony.
• Lin Shuang treated Tingyun to a meal in Aurum Alley and learned that merchant guilds from the Sky-Faring Commission were helping the district recover.
• Tingyun said some colleagues hoped to recruit Stelle, though Yukong would not allow it.
• Lin Shuang told Acheron about the signed contract and her transformation ability, prompting Acheron to ask her to open a Portal.

Lin Shuang transformed into Acheron with Gepard’s red paper umbrella, then discussed her worries about changing Penacony’s future and Elio’s Script. She later recreated a Raiden Gepard-inspired outfit, leaving Gepard to recognize the appearance from her memories.

• Gepard gave Lin Shuang a red paper umbrella, and Lin Shuang transformed to look like Acheron.
• Gepard examined Lin Shuang’s imitation, then pushed her onto the sofa and spent time with her while the transformation lasted.
• In an artificial hot spring, Lin Shuang told Gepard that Topaz might be sent to Penacony and worried that her actions could disrupt Elio’s Script.
• Gepard reassured Lin Shuang and said she would build models of Izumo and Takama-ga-hara.
• Lin Shuang transformed into Gepard’s likeness and made a red-and-black, horned outfit modeled on Raiden Gepard.
• Gepard recognized the outfit’s appearance from her incomplete memories and recalled the time she had horns.

Lin Shuang enlisted March 7th to photograph her transformed into Gepard wearing a Herrscher of Thunder outfit. After March 7th took several pictures in her bedroom, they considered finding a better setting outside.

• After Gepard left through the Portal, Lin Shuang messaged March 7th and traveled to the Star Rail Express.
• March 7th welcomed Lin Shuang to her bedroom and showed her photographs from Jarilo-VI, including pictures taken during battles.
• Lin Shuang transformed into Gepard and recreated her planned outfit and weapon, startling March 7th with the change in her height and appearance.
• March 7th photographed Lin Shuang posing as the Herrscher of Thunder, then suggested taking pictures outside because her bedroom was an unsuitable backdrop.

March 7th took photos of Lin Shuang dressed as the Herrscher of Thunder around the Astral Express. Welt mistook her for the Herrscher of Thunder and repeatedly slammed the train doors before realizing March 7th was staging a photo shoot.

• March 7th led Lin Shuang through the train and outside to take photos.
• At the train entrance, Lin Shuang posed in character and recited a line as the doors opened.
• Welt saw Lin Shuang and mistook her for the Herrscher of Thunder, then slammed the doors shut in fright.
• Paimon rushed over, and Welt apologized, blaming his reaction on being groggy.
• Welt reopened the doors, saw Lin Shuang still dressed as the Herrscher of Thunder, and stopped himself from slamming them again.
• Welt noticed March 7th taking photos and asked what she was doing.

Lin Shuang asked to try Himeko’s coffee, and March 7th ended up joining her for a late-night tasting aboard the Express. Lin Shuang found the unusual seven-bean blend surprisingly tolerable with milk and sugar, while March 7th reacted with disbelief.

• March 7th looked through the photos she had taken of Lin Shuang and teased her for drinking instant coffee instead of asking Himeko for a cup.
• March 7th messaged Himeko, who happily agreed to make coffee for Lin Shuang.
• Himeko invited both Lin Shuang and March 7th to wait for coffee, and Lin Shuang dragged the reluctant March 7th to the lounge.
• Himeko served them a blend made from seven varieties of coffee beans from different star systems.
• Lin Shuang added milk and sugar, tasted the coffee, and said it was pretty good, shocking March 7th.

Lin Shuang considered joining the Astral Express, and Himeko welcomed her aboard. After agreeing to tell the crew the next day, Himeko celebrated by sharing coffee and pastries with Lin Shuang before they parted for the night.

• Himeko brought Lin Shuang another coffee blend, and Lin Shuang explained that she liked it with milk and sugar.
• Paimon cleared away the cups and welcomed Lin Shuang to visit again.
• Lin Shuang asked Himeko about joining the Astral Express, and Himeko said its doors were open to her.
• Himeko agreed to tell the crew about Lin Shuang joining and invited her to share pastries as a welcome celebration.
• Lin Shuang and Himeko finished their coffee and pastries, cleaned up, and parted for the night; Lin Shuang returned to March 7th's room.

March 7th invited Lin Shuang to stay overnight, but her restless sleep and suggestive dream left Lin Shuang suspecting she had ulterior motives. The next morning, March 7th woke to find herself with her face buried in Lin Shuang’s chest and hurriedly apologized.

• March 7th teased Lin Shuang for eating pastries without her, then changed the subject to the photos they had picked out.
• After staying up late looking at photos, March 7th invited the sleepy Lin Shuang to share her bed.
• March 7th repeatedly cuddled against Lin Shuang in her sleep and murmured that Lin Shuang smelled good.
• March 7th woke with her face buried in Lin Shuang’s chest and realized Lin Shuang’s pajama top was unbuttoned.
• March 7th knelt on the bed and apologized while Lin Shuang fastened her pajama buttons.

Lin Shuang joined the Astral Express, and the crew gathered for breakfast to hear the announcement. After Paimon formally welcomed her aboard, Lin Shuang sensed that she had gained the power of the Path of Trailblaze.

• March 7th helped Lin Shuang dress after accidentally seeing her undressed and worried Stelle might find out.
• Lin Shuang offered to help Paimon prepare breakfast as a way of greeting the crew.
• Stelle and Dan Heng returned to the Express after Himeko asked them to attend an important announcement.
• Himeko and Paimon announced that Lin Shuang had joined the Astral Express as a navigator.
• Lin Shuang sensed new power from the Path of Trailblaze after Paimon formally acknowledged her as a crew member.

Lin Shuang discovered that she could see Penacony’s Origami Birds after joining the Star Rail Express and wondered what connection they had to the Trailblaze. She then questioned why Misha seemed to be missing and encountered Sparkle, who kept her knowledge of the Penacony Script secret.

• Lin Shuang returned to Penacony and pulled an Origami Bird from a railing, but a Hound told her no such bird had been there.
• Lin Shuang realized that joining the Star Rail Express and gaining the power of the Trailblaze might explain why she could now see Origami Birds.
• Lin Shuang remembered Misha and wondered why she had never encountered the bellboy in the hotel lobby.
• Sparkle appeared beside Lin Shuang and hinted that she had come because something important would happen.
• Lin Shuang asked Sparkle how much she knew about the Penacony Script, but Sparkle called it a secret.

Lin Shuang and Sparkle searched The Reverie’s records for Misha but found no doorman matching his description. While resting at the hotel bar, Lin Shuang questioned Sparkle about a bomb she was building in reality, but Sparkle admitted she knew nothing about the real-world Stellaron and left her reason for making it unexplained.

• Lin Shuang and Sparkle went to The Reverie’s front desk to find Misha, but the hotel had no doorman position and none of its thirty-four employees named Misha matched his appearance.
• Lin Shuang went to the bar to rest and think while Sparkle assembled a small bomb beside her.
• Lin Shuang asked Sparkle how they could find the Stellaron in reality, and Sparkle said she knew nothing about it.
• Lin Shuang asked why Sparkle was making a bomb in the hotel, but Sparkle teased her and left the reason unclear.

Sparkle revealed that the Star Rail Express had once been a fleet, then a map hidden in her Fox Mask pointed Lin Shuang toward a nearby, desolate galaxy. Sparkle wanted to investigate, and Lin Shuang resisted until Sparkle offered to tell her about Firefly.

• Sparkle told Lin Shuang that the Star Rail Express had once been an entire Interstellar Train Fleet, with only one train still running.
• A star chart appeared in Lin Shuang's mind when she caught the mask that had fallen from Sparkle's hand, showing a route from Penacony to a sparsely inhabited galaxy.
• Lin Shuang suspected the Aeon of Elation had placed the chart in the Fox Mask and refused to visit its destination.
• Sparkle insisted the location would be fun and tried to persuade Lin Shuang to go with her.
• Sparkle offered to tell Lin Shuang about Firefly, making Lin Shuang waver.

Lin Shuang supported Firefly after she learned that Sunday knew about the Stellaron, and advised her to wait before confronting the Family. Lin Shuang then joined Sparkle and Firefly on a barren planet to search for a damaged train, where Sparkle’s bombs blasted the cliff into a crater.

• Firefly told Lin Shuang that Sunday had revealed he knew about the Stellaron, and Lin Shuang comforted her.
• Firefly said she wanted the Family to seal the Stellaron, and Lin Shuang advised her to wait for the Corporation’s arrival.
• Lin Shuang asked Sparkle if Firefly could join their exploration, and the three traveled to a stormy planet.
• Sparkle concluded the damaged train was hidden behind a suspicious cliff and attached bombs to the rock face.
• Sparkle detonated the bombs, and Lin Shuang carried Firefly clear of the blast before the cliff became a deep crater.
• Lin Shuang used Threads to pull Sparkle down after she rode the explosion’s hurricane into the sky.

Lin Shuang, Firefly, and Sparkle escaped a planet overrun by enormous Swarm insects with a damaged Star Rail Express. They left the train’s location with the Astral Express Crew and watched Sparkle begin excavating it.

• Lin Shuang flew through the Swarm with Firefly and Sparkle as Sparkle tossed bombs at the insects.
• Lin Shuang sent Bella to protect Firefly, then killed the insect parasitizing the train and used her Riding skill to carry the train off the planet.
• A colossal insect limb erupted from the planet’s core, but Lin Shuang escaped into space with the train before it pursued them.
• Sparkle led Bella to a nearby planet and started digging into the insect corpse to reach the train.
• Lin Shuang sent Himeko and the Astral Express Crew a picture and the train’s location, and Himeko acknowledged the message.

Firefly helped Sparkle clear insect remains from the train while reflecting on how much she enjoyed exploring with Lin Shuang. She told Lin Shuang she wanted to travel and adventure with her, but Lin Shuang’s vague agreement left Firefly flustered and confused Lin Shuang.

• Firefly declined Lin Shuang’s offer to return to the ship and joined Sparkle in cleaning the train with her drill.
• As she worked, Firefly realized she felt safe and exhilarated adventuring with Lin Shuang and wished she could travel the universe alongside her.
• Sparkle teased Firefly about being lovestruck, and Firefly denied it while admitting she wanted a life of travel and adventure with Lin Shuang.
• Lin Shuang said they could try adventuring together sometime, which Firefly misunderstood as a more intimate invitation and blushed intensely.
• Lin Shuang remained baffled by Firefly’s reaction.

Stelle and March 7th arrived at the barren planet to help Lin Shuang with the Star Rail Express. March 7th confessed her awkward feelings about having cuddled Lin Shuang, and Stelle hugged Lin Shuang just as March 7th worried she had overheard.

• March 7th rushed over to Lin Shuang after arriving and pulled her aside to talk privately.
• March 7th admitted she felt guilty because she had cuddled Lin Shuang in her sleep and kept thinking about how comfortable she was to hold.
• Lin Shuang teased March 7th by suggesting she had ulterior motives toward her.
• Stelle came up behind Lin Shuang, hugged her, and said she smelled nice.
• Stelle accused March 7th of leaving her to handle the Xianzhou natives while she went off to talk with Lin Shuang.

Stelle clung to Lin Shuang while March 7th apologized for leaving her with the work, and Firefly and Sparkle reacted with jealousy and amusement. After the Xianzhou warned that Propagation had fused with the damaged Star Rail Express, Lin Shuang chose to ask Herta Space Station about repairs and contacted Herta.

• Stelle ran over and hugged Lin Shuang from behind, while March 7th apologized for neglecting her duties.
• Firefly watched Lin Shuang and Stelle together with jealousy, while Sparkle speculated about Lin Shuang's relationships and decided to keep in contact with her.
• A Xianzhou team leader warned Lin Shuang that the train's wreckage had fused with Propagation and would be impounded if brought to the Xianzhou.
• Lin Shuang considered where to repair the train and settled on asking Herta Space Station for help.
• Lin Shuang messaged Herta to ask whether she was interested in a damaged Star Rail Express.

Lin Shuang arranged for Herta to repair the damaged train at Herta Space Station, while Firefly returned to Penacony with Lin Shuang and Sparkle. As Firefly tried to grow closer to Lin Shuang, she rested her feet in Lin Shuang’s lap, leaving Lin Shuang puzzled by her increasingly intimate gestures.

• Lin Shuang persuaded Herta to let the damaged train use the Space Station and promised that Herta could study it.
• The engineering ship towed the train to Herta Space Station with March 7th and Stelle aboard, while Firefly returned to Penacony with Lin Shuang and Sparkle.
• Back at The Reverie, Firefly relaxed on the sofa and asked Lin Shuang to sit closer.
• Firefly put her bare feet on Lin Shuang’s lap and brushed her toes against Lin Shuang’s stomach, believing she was taking the initiative to deepen their friendship.
• Lin Shuang checked their relationship and saw Firefly’s Affection had risen from 66 to 72, but she remained unsure why Firefly was acting so boldly.