" March 7th is your favorite detective game."
Xing turned her head and said to March 7th.
"Sigh~ This time I really have to play the role of a great detective... But before the investigation begins, how should I answer the Family and the Aventurine?"
"In my opinion, the Family harbors no ill will towards the Astral Express —they wouldn't easily entrust an outsider with investigating a case that could be described as a [scandal] if they didn't trust the Astral Express Crew's integrity."
"Besides, this is the Family territory; cooperating with them should make things much easier later on."
Himeko analyzed the situation, "As for the Aventurine... Welt and Ye Yan, I'd like to hear your opinions."
"A good person."
Ye Yan's answer remained concise, but he received a disdainful look from Xing.
Would a good person steal her amber milk tea? She's gotten too used to petty theft; she can't keep valuables on her person anymore. She needs to find a way to create a spatial artifact to hold her belongings.
From Ye Yan's perspective, aside from [ Destruction ], He probably sees everyone else as a good person, and understanding is everything.
"This man is not simple. During his negotiations with Xing, he deliberately adopted a humble attitude, but his words were constantly pressing and obstructing... He gave a convincing explanation both logically and emotionally."
"They say they're not forcing me, but their intentions are quite clear."
"However, given the current uncertainty, establishing more connections is not a bad thing. Aventurine demonstrated his shrewdness in just a few words; as long as interests align, he can become a reliable ally."
Welt said that the Astral Express also had to be careful about its distance from the Family, and must not get too close.
Therefore, cooperating with a company is a way to maintain balance; if either party has ulterior motives, they will have the opportunity to withdraw.
In conclusion, Welt's suggestion is to first accept the Aventurine cooperation proposal.
"While potential risks certainly exist... we can only make further judgments after all parties have clarified their intentions."
March 7th was completely baffled by the situation at Penacony; multiple forces were involved, and even a Emanator had been implicated.
"I understand the logic, but there are so many bad women and bad men here. I'm really worried about being betrayed. Xingdu has been bullied several times already, and I just can't stand by and watch..."
Xing nodded. "To secure this partnership with the company, I even sacrificed a cup of milk tea..."
After saying that, she gave Ye Yan a few meaningful glances.
"Just this one cup; you know my business philosophy."
Ye Yan glanced at Xing; it seemed all three cups of milk tea He had given him were gone...
"Huh? What milk tea? You didn't do something shady with Teacher Ye Yan behind my back, did you?!"
Xing nodded honestly, "Yes, I went to him to learn some pillow fight moves."
"Pillow fight... and this kind of magical milk tea?" March 7th looked at Ye Yan. No wonder she hadn't been able to beat Xing in the past few days; it turned out she had found outside help.
"Ahem, then please have Xing give Aventurine an answer. Everyone, please take this time to sort out your thoughts."
Himeko suggested that Hoshi open her phone and find Aventurine's contact information.
[Star: The Astral Express Crew agrees to cooperate]
[ Aventurine: Not bad, not bad, the reply was faster than expected... Now we're in the same boat.]
[ Aventurine: It's a pleasure doing business with you. Here's a small gift for good luck.]
Ding ding!
[Transfer received: 1,000,000 Credits ]
[Star: Great, great, great! Boss is so generous, thank you so much!]
[ Aventurine: Oops, my hand slipped and I made a mistake. Here's some more for you. Good luck on your first day of work!]
Ding ding!
[Transfer received: 7,000,000 Credits ]
Seeing the sudden arrival of eight million Credits, Xing couldn't help but smile slightly; that amber milk tea hadn't been a waste.
However... it seems like the amber crystal isn't worth that much... it seems a bit undervalued.
[ Aventurine: Just as I thought, the Family plans to keep the Robin's affair a secret, so this case is between you and me.]
[ Aventurine: But in the other case... it depends on what excuse they're prepared to use against you.]
[ Aventurine: Excuse me, I look forward to your wonderful performances!]
After ending the communication, Hoshi returned to Himeko's side and explained the situation to her.
" Aventurine's goal is to reclaim Penacony for the company, and to do that... he must bring down the Family and create a sufficiently large opening."
"The existence of [death] will be concealed by the Family. How does he intend to break this deadlock? The entry point must be significant enough to attract everyone's attention, but the process cannot be too ostentatious..."
First, we can rule out the Church of Eternity. They have partnerships with the company and the Family, so the probability of them getting involved is low. Fulisina is most likely fine, but she might be used as a starting point by Aventurine.
Targeting hotel guests...
As Himeko pondered this, she glanced towards Ye Yan's location; the idea was utterly absurd.
Penacony has many world-renowned figures among its clients, and even the company wouldn't dare to easily touch these people. Aventurine is a shrewd businessman, and he couldn't possibly be unaware of this.
"The target of the Aventurine is definitely the Family, but the method is unknown. [ Harmony ] With Penacony's growing power, it's extremely difficult to confront them head-on. The fact that the company assigned him here shows that they don't intend to rely on normal means."
His only suspect was Acheron. Ye Yan said they were all good people and he wouldn't consider Him for the time being. If a murder case involved the Aeon personally, then things would be hopeless.
Currently, the Astral Express knows very little about this Galaxy Ranger and cannot make any judgments.
"In any case, one must be wary when dealing with Aventurine. He's adept at understanding people's hearts and knows when to strike. And... he's clearly a born gambler, willing to bet everything for victory."
This is Himeko's judgment. Now let's look at the situation of the other members. On March 7th, she came to Ye Yan's side and told him her guess.
" Teacher Ye Yan, I don't know if it's too sudden, but I always feel... Miss Robin isn't dead, she's still alive and well somewhere, and it was all just... a prank..."
"Furthermore... the disappearances of Priestess Sister and Miss Firefly are highly suspicious! Think about it, isn't this a dream? How could anyone die in Dreamscape Paradise? Shouldn't only good things happen...?"
"And another thing, I sent several messages to Chair Blake, but they all show as read but not replied to... The Church must be plotting something behind our backs."
On March 7th, he analyzed the situation seriously, concluding that the Church of Eternity must have its eye on this Dreamscape Paradise! They wanted to use it to create a true " Eternity " Paradise!
" Miss March 7th, it would be impolite to keep guessing."
Ye Yan looked at the Grand Theater in the distance, "Has Miss March 7th ever suspected the Family?"
"No—after all, it's thanks to them that we have the beautiful dream of bringing smiles to everyone's faces today. It's just that I feel like I'm starting to not understand them anymore..."
"The people on the street are still so happy, nobody knows what happened... It feels so unreal, like Miss Robin, and us... are from another world."
"Ugh..." March 7th clutched her head in anguish, "So annoying, I really want some ice-cold drink to calm down..."
Before she could finish speaking, March 7th felt something roll to her feet.
"Huh? What's with this bottle of milk tea? And it's even starry-sky colored?"