The female staff member was still standing outside the maze, looking a little worried.
Although the ones tasked with retrieving the Horrific Maze this time were the heroes who had saved the space station during the Antimatter Legion's invasion, the Security Department's staff had already failed far too many times. Combined with the Horrific Maze's unusual abilities, that left her somewhat concerned.
Just then, she suddenly saw the maze disappear, and the wall blocking the corridor slowly returned to its original position!
The worry on her face instantly vanished. This change clearly meant the plan to retrieve the Horrific Maze had succeeded!
Before she could do anything, an utterly miserable wail reached her ears. Then the Horrific Maze's core flew over from afar, circled twice, and immediately set its sights on her.
Seeing the Horrific Maze suddenly charge toward her gave the female staff member a fright.
"You, you, you! Hurry up and capture me! I'll go with you! Just never let me see that white-haired bastard again!"
The Horrific Maze stopped in front of her and demanded that she take it into custody.
Its voice was so desperate, so impatient.
"Huh?"
The female staff member froze in place, astonished by the Horrific Maze's attitude.
If she remembered correctly, the white-haired one was the guy who had smashed a hole in the Doomsday Beast's head with a floor panel...
If it was him, the Horrific Maze's current state was understandable.
But what had he done to leave it like this?
As she wondered, Jiang Yu and Stelle strolled over. Of course, they had also brought back the two tools meant for retrieving the Horrific Maze, completely unused.
At the sight of Jiang Yu and Stelle approaching, the Horrific Maze shrieked and hid behind the female staff member.
She blinked, looking rather bewildered.
She could only ask Jiang Yu what had happened.
"Nothing much. I just said its methods of scaring people sucked." Jiang Yu spread his hands. "This thing's got a fragile ego. I don't think you'll need those tools anymore. Just mock it with enough disdain, and it'll have a meltdown all on its own."
His explanation struck the female staff member as rather implausible.
Could it really be dealt with that easily?
But looking at the Horrific Maze behind her, sobbing uncontrollably and utterly broken, it certainly seemed to have suffered a meltdown.
She looked at Stelle, hoping to get confirmation from his companion.
Stelle shook her head, then spread her hands. "Don't look at me. I don't really know either. But we definitely didn't beat it into submission."
The female staff member nodded thoughtfully, accepting their account, then sucked in a breath.
Before Jiang Yu and Stelle, several teams from the Security Department had tried to retrieve the Horrific Maze, only to be frightened into mental breakdowns themselves.
Who would have thought these two would resolve it so quickly and even discover an easier way to retrieve it?
That prompted her to exclaim from the bottom of her heart, "As expected of the heroes who saved the space station! Even retrieving Curios is heaps and heaps easier for you!"
Jiang Yu nodded, ignoring her odd choice of words for the compliment.
In a flash, he moved beside her and grabbed the Horrific Maze before it could react.
Then Jiang Yu grinned, put the Horrific Maze on the floor, and stomped on it twice.
The thing had been taunting him earlier. Ignoring it didn't mean he wasn't holding a grudge. He had long since decided to kick its ass once he caught it.
Although he had absolutely no idea where this cube's ass was, that didn't matter. He just had to stomp wherever he pleased.
After a few stomps, Jiang Yu turned to the female staff member and Stelle. "Want to give it a few stomps too?"
"Huh?"
The female staff member stared blankly.
Stelle nodded. The Horrific Maze's constant taunting earlier had annoyed her too, so of course she was going to teach it a proper lesson now.
Whatever Jiang Yu did, she would follow his lead.
And so, under the female staff member's gaze, the two of them viciously trampled the Horrific Maze, making the Curio squeal.
Fortunately, Lukacs, who was obsessively protective of Curios, wasn't there. Otherwise, he might have come after Jiang Yu and Stelle with his life on the line.
Only after teaching the foul-mouthed Horrific Maze a lesson did Jiang Yu scoop it up and toss it into the designated Imaginary Overflow Storage Container. Then he carried the container off to report back to Asta.
In the real world.
In Siberian Duck's livestream.
She was progressing through the quest's story.
Following the quest instructions, she first found Wen Shiling, then followed Wen Shiling's directions to search for information related to the Horrific Maze.
Along the way, she triggered the scene where they caught a Warp Trotter.
"Little Fish seems to have spotted something. We're getting a short cutscene now," Siberian Duck said as she watched the screen.
[Amen Forever: What are you, a space piggy?]
[Eagle of Foresight: It's a Warp Trotter!]
[Little Fish's Sword: Little Fish even sniffed it after catching it. Judging by his face, it must smell pretty good.]
[Little Black Guy ikun: Little Fish was clearly hooked by the smell.]
[China's Master Chef: Exactly. HoYo's technical skills are really strong now. That expression on Jiang Yu's face clearly means he's hungry.]
[Dan's Heart Endures: Lol. Little Fish only knows it's called a Warp Trotter. We still need Teacher Dan Heng for this.]
Siberian Duck controlled Stelle and took a photo of Jiang Yu holding the Warp Trotter, then sent it to Dan Heng.
As she did so, she said, "Help me, all-knowing Teacher Dan Heng!"
Dan Heng replied very quickly.
"Oh, Dan Heng answered so fast."
As Dan Heng's replies appeared one after another, Siberian Duck struggled to suppress her laughter.
"As expected of the all-knowing Teacher Dan Heng. He's so knowledgeable. He gave us a really detailed introduction to Warp Trotters."
[Anemo Boys Only: What does Dan Heng mean by specifically telling Little Fish he can't eat it? And he emphasized it three times! (dog)]
[Aha's Emanator: Important things must be said three times. Such is the bond between Xianzhou natives!]
[Fatui Technology: Hoyo sure knows its memes. We Xianzhou natives know how to eat.]
[Welt Yang's Arahato: Stelle's confused expression is hilarious! She's asking you a question, Little Fish. Do you really love eating that much?]
Then, when Jiang Yu raised a hand in the scene and made a tiny pinching gesture, answering Stelle with "Just a little," Siberian Duck burst out laughing.
"You little bastard, aren't you modest!"
[Chinese Gamer Gooner: Loves eating. But can only eat a little.]
[Phantom Universe: Got it. Off to Chenghua Avenue!]
[Tang Seng Washes His Hair with Rejoice: Sure, Xianzhou natives all love eating, but Little Fish, what's with offering her Soda Douzhi? That stuff tastes awful. Can't you treat her to something nice?]
[Sunshine in My Heart: Isn't douzhi's funky little flavor pretty amazing? It's only authentic with that taste.]
[HOIHIOH: Who would've thought someone as innocent-looking as you could be so sly, Little Fish!]
As the story progressed, nobody spent even a moment feeling sorry that Dan Heng had singled Jiang Yu out for special attention.
Because right afterward, Jiang Yu turned around and decided to treat Stelle to Soda Douzhi, and she even agreed.
Although the game had only just launched, they were already looking forward to the Xianzhou storyline.
Before you continue