Chapter 261 - 261: Wanted

Jing Yuan had only just stepped into Guinaifen's livestream room when his gaze caught the broadcasted scene. His typically placid expression twisted into a rather spectacular display of suppressed shock. His brow twitched. 'Oh boy...'he mused inwardly, letting out a slow, measured breath.'Lord Akivili, just what exactly are you doing?'

It was one thing for the man to spread such an outrageous rumor in passing, but to deliberately code it into a widely broadcasted video game? Jing Yuan understood the desire to recreate Trailblaze experiences, but this particular narrative bullet was aimed squarely at his own head.

In Jing Yuan's mind, Leon's true identity as the Trailblaze Aeon was already an absolute certainty. Because of that unshakable belief, he could not even muster a sliver of genuine anger toward the rumor. The real headache lay in the fact that the rest of the universe remained blissfully ignorant. To any outside observer, this in-game lore was a blatant, unapologetic provocation against the entire Xianzhou Luofu.

Despite the rising tide of political complications threatening to drown him, Jing Yuan kept his outward demeanor perfectly serene. He simply closed his eyes, leaning back into his seat, flawlessly maintaining his signature Dozing General persona.

"Hahahaha... I can't believe something like this actually exists!" Feixiao leaned over, her sharp eyes locked onto the screen. She burst into a fit of boisterous laughter, her hand coming down to slap Jing Yuan squarely on the shoulder with enough force to rattle his bones. "This ridiculous rumor has to be the handiwork of your precious Astral Express, right? Oh, Jing Yuan, you are in massive trouble!"

She could already picture the impending storm when Marshal Hua inevitably dragged him in for a severe interrogation. Leon's casual remarks could be brushed off as a tasteless joke at best, but at worst, they constituted direct defamation of the Reignbow Arbiter. The devout followers of The Hunt would never take such an insult lying down. This was the Xianzhou; fanaticism ran deep in their veins. Feixiao herself was a devout follower, yet she lacked that blinding extremism, largely due to her unwavering trust in Jing Yuan's judgment.

Huaiyan sat nearby, silently observing the subtle shifts in Jing Yuan's expression. He stroked his chin, lost in deep thought before finally speaking up. "And what exactly does General Jing Yuan make of all this? Looking at your current posture... it seems you harbor absolutely no intention of slapping a wanted poster on this Trailblazer."

Issue a wanted warrant?

Jing Yuan's expression shifted into a rather colorful grimace at the mere suggestion. He would never dare authorize such a suicidal command. In his eyes, Leon was Akivili incarnate. The Xianzhou Luofu had already managed to put five different Aeons on their cosmic hit list; they certainly did not need to add the Trailblaze to that terrifying roster.

Right as he was contemplating his next move, a sharp chime echoed from his jade token.

He glanced down at the glowing screen. Just as expected, Marshal Hua was already demanding answers in their private communication group.

[Hua: @Jing Yuan. Care to explain exactly what is going on here?]

Her foul mood practically bled through the digital text. As a staunch, unyielding supporter of the Reignbow Arbiter, she was obligated to step forward and demand immediate clarification. Even if the other generals had not started pressuring her yet, she did not need to be a genius to predict the fallout. Someone would absolutely use this broadcast as political ammunition to stir up chaos. Once the outrage boiled over, protecting Jing Yuan would become a logistical nightmare. 'Jing Yuan, oh Jing Yuan,'she likely thought,'you always know exactly how to invite disaster.'

Jing Yuan's fingers tapped rapidly across the jade token's surface.

[Jing Yuan: Lord Marshal, I am truly in the dark regarding this matter.]

[Jing Yuan: At the time, the entirety of the Luofu's forces were stretched thin investigating the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. We completely failed to track the origin of this particular rumor.]

[Hua: Fine. Then I expect you to confront the Trailblazers immediately and extract a proper explanation.]

Her tone remained strictly restrained. If Jing Yuan had not previously warned her about the possibility of an Aeon traveling aboard the Astral Express, she would have bypassed this entire conversation and ordered a galaxy-wide manhunt hours ago.

[Jing Yuan: Understood...]

He paused, his thumb hovering over the screen before he decided to add a subtle suggestion.

[Jing Yuan: Actually, Marshal Hua, it might be beneficial to simply continue watching the plot of Honkai: Star Rail unfold.]

[Jing Yuan: I have a strong feeling... an explanation will naturally present itself within the game.]

He phrased his words with the utmost tact. His mind drifted back to the severe crisis Cocolia had faced on Belobog. That entire geopolitical disaster had also been sparked by the very same game Leon had coded. And the miraculous solution to that crisis? A literal, divine glance from the Amber Lord.

Jing Yuan lacked concrete evidence, but his razor-sharp intuition screamed that Leon was the sole architect behind that divine intervention. If the Belobog situation had been resolved through such astronomical means, then surely the Xianzhou Luofu's current predicament would follow a similar pattern. He desperately wanted to type out his full theory, to explain that they were likely dancing in the palm of an Aeon's hand. Yet, he held back. Leon had never explicitly confirmed his identity. Overstepping his bounds and ruining the man's grand game could invite a disaster far worse than a few angry Hunt fanatics.

[Hua: Fine. I will keep watching.]

Jing Yuan dismissed the holographic interface, letting out a quiet sigh as he redirected his attention back to Guinaifen's bustling livestream.

Meanwhile, aboard the Astral Express, March 7th eagerly clicked the play button on her very own character promotional video.

The screen faded from black, slowly unveiling a stunning expanse of a brilliant starry sky. The camera perspective floated weightlessly just outside the metallic hull of the Herta Space Station, offering a magnificent, sweeping view of the vast blue planet resting in the distance.

"Wow..."

March's recorded voice echoed through the speakers, dripping with her signature, infectious sense of wonder. The camera smoothly pulled back, bringing her animated counterpart into the center of the frame. Her hands pressed eagerly against the thick glass of the porthole, her vibrant pink eyes sparkling with reflected starlight as she drank in the galaxy.

A cheerful, rhythmic drumbeat kicked in. The animated March raised her trusty camera, pressing the viewfinder to her eye.

"Everything I haven't seen... I have to take a picture of it!" she declared brightly. "That way, I won't ever forget!"

The scenery shifted in a flash. She was now skipping through the automatic sliding doors of the Express, chasing after a familiar silhouette.

"Wait, wait... wait up for me!"

Stelle leaned over the couch, resting her chin on March's shoulder as she watched the screen. "Wow, this video is incredibly realistic. It captures your exact chaotic energy."

"Nonsense!" March shot her a playful glare, puffing out her cheeks. "If my own promotional video doesn't look exactly like me, then who else is it supposed to look like?"

Unlike Kafka's trailer, which dripped with dangerous, mysterious elegance, or Silver Wolf's aggressive, fast-paced cyberpunk aesthetic, March 7th's video was a pure, concentrated burst of lively cuteness. The cinematography mimicked a shaky handheld camcorder, intimately documenting her cheerful daily routine. It showed her sprinting down hallways after Stelle and Caelus, pulling ridiculous faces in her vanity mirror, and rolling around on her bed while tightly hugging a giant Ice Pop plushie. Every single frame oozed a sugary sweetness that forced an unconscious, fond smile onto the viewer's face.

Amidst the rapid cuts, the background environment quietly, almost imperceptibly, shifted. The warm lighting of the Express was replaced by the biting, desolate frost of Belobog.

"That... is..."

March's real-life voice hitched, dying in her throat.

On the screen, her animated self stood alone in the middle of a howling snowfield. Towering directly in front of her was a massive, crystal-clear block of ancient ice. The bright, carefree smile on the animated girl's face melted away, replaced by a haunting blankness. The upbeat drum track cut out abruptly, leaving behind a suffocating silence before a slow, deeply melancholic string melody began to weep from the speakers.

A brilliant meteor shower streaked across the dark, frozen sky above. The camera slowly zoomed in on the monolithic glacier, revealing a chilling truth. Sealed deep within the impenetrable ice was a solitary figure.

It was March 7th herself, trapped in eternal slumber.

The heavy atmosphere shattered in the very next instant. The scene violently smash-cut to a chaotic battlefield. A horde of monstrous enemies materialized, lunging directly at the pink-haired girl. The animated March snapped her head up, shaking off the dark memory as if waking from a terrible nightmare. That signature, blindingly bright smile instantly returned to her lips.

"Are you guys..." She casually raised her camera, tilting her head with an innocent, teasing hum. "...here to be my models?"

A beautifully crafted bow materialized in her left grip. With a fluid, practiced motion, her right hand brushed lightly against the hem of her skirt. The ambient moisture in the air rapidly froze, condensing into a razor-sharp arrow of pure, glittering ice resting perfectly between her fingers.

The upbeat, energetic pop track roared back to life. She launched into a dazzling display of her combat prowess, gracefully dancing through the enemy ranks as deadly ice arrows flew and a storm of pristine snowflakes fluttered in her wake.

"Hey, this pose is all wrong... you guys really don't know the first thing about taking a good photo." She stuck her tongue out, making a playful face at the lens. "Then sit back and let this lady teach you a lesson!"

She drew her bowstring taut, aiming directly at the heavens, and let the arrow fly. The icy projectile rocketed upward before detonating high in the atmosphere. It shattered into millions of microscopic ice crystals that cascaded down upon the battlefield like a sudden, freezing torrential rain. The entire enemy vanguard was flash-frozen into solid, glittering statues in the blink of an eye.

"Ha..." March spun around, raising her camera high to capture both herself and the newly formed gallery of ice sculptures in the background. "Cheese!"

A bright flash illuminated the screen, and a freshly printed Polaroid slid from the bottom of her camera.

"How is it, how is it?" She held the photo up, leaning close to the screen with wide, expectant eyes. "Pretty interesting, right?"

Suddenly, her animated counterpart paused, blinking in confusion.

"Huh? Hmm?"

She scrunched her nose, peering intensely through the fourth wall, directly at the viewer. "Why are you still spacing out?" Her voice carried a heavy dose of playful reprimand.

But the feigned annoyance vanished as quickly as it appeared, melting into a warm, genuine laugh. She lifted her camera one last time, aiming the lens dead center at the screen.

"Watch the birdie..."

A crisp, satisfying mechanical click echoed through the audio track, and the screen cut to black, signaling the end of the promotional video.

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