Jarilo's Borders
Aventurine adjusted his hairstyle.
Numby shook its head, looking at him smugly.
"Pe…"
Aventurine sighed.
"I can't afford to mess with you."
Casually, he pulled a gold coin from his pocket and tossed it to the Numby. Numby immediately lunged forward, biting down on it—then swallowed it whole!
Still unsatisfied, it stared at Aventurine.
"Just as greedy as your master, huh?"
Aventurine was ready to slip away.
He left a few messages for Topaz:
[I'm not getting involved in this mission anymore. Thought I could get a piece of the pie, but now I'm just getting dragged into the mess...]
[Higher-ups want me to head to Penacony ASAP since Honkai: Star Rail's storyline is clearly heading there now.]
[Need to avoid any unexpected disruptions, so I'm pulling back.]
[Good luck to you.]
After sending the messages, Aventurine put on his sunglasses and boarded his spaceship under the escort of his staff.
Inside the ship, he finally had a rare moment of peace.
He scrolled through videos on his device.
Since he had been closely following Honkai: Star Rail recently, all his recommendations were related to it—character guides, storyline analyses, map Easter eggs, and so on.
But today's recommendations were… unusual.
[Don't Be Fooled by Star Rail! This is the Real Kafka—A Dangerous Mind Control Master!]
[Why I No Longer Recommend Anyone Play Honkai: Star Rail!]
[Following Silver Wolf, Two More Stellaron Hunters Join the Banner—Feather Spirit Might Be Collaborating with Them!]
After skimming through a few videos, Aventurine let out a cold chuckle.
"Heh, so they're pulling this move now?"
"They're already pushing the anti-publicity strategy, setting the narrative."
"Same old tricks from marketing accounts."
"This? I doubt Feather Spirit even needs to do anything. The players themselves will tear it apart."
"Looks like there's some good drama ahead."
Silver Wolf leaned back in her chair, stretching her legs onto the window ledge. She lazily fiddled with her screen, looking bored—until a sly grin spread across her face. She had found something juicy!
"Hahaha…!"
"Kafka, looks like you're the one taking the hit this time."
"The company's development division hired an army of bots to smear Star Rail—guess who they're mainly targeting?"
Kafka narrowed her eyes slightly.
Playing along, she asked, "It's not me, is it?"
Silver Wolf smirked. "Bingo! It's you!"
"The higher-ups are really panicking."
Kafka gazed out the window, her reflection visible against the backdrop of space.
"I don't need them to tarnish my name."
"For the next act, I'll take the stage myself."
She picked up her phone and quickly typed a message.
Recipient: Yu Ling
Message: How about an impromptu performance?
It was an anonymous message, seemingly cryptic, but the system flagged it as important.
Tatsuke pondered for a moment, then quickly deduced the sender's identity.
"It's from Kafka, isn't it?"
Using [Eye of Insight], he confirmed it instantly.
"An impromptu performance?"
He was about to reply, asking what exactly she meant—then stopped.
"Oh, right. Let's try out this new ability."
Activating: [Master of Dreams]
Elsewhere.
After sending the message, Kafka suddenly felt an overwhelming drowsiness wash over her.
The next moment, she was out like a light.
Silver Wolf glanced over at her, noticing her steady breathing.
"You actually get tired too, huh?"
"Young people really can sleep anywhere."
....
Inside the dream.
Kafka found herself standing on an island high above the clouds.
She took in the bizarre, surreal scenery around her, deep in thought.
A figure appeared before her.
"It's you..."
Yu Ling?
A look of excitement crossed Kafka's face.
The elusive game developer—was finally willing to meet her this way?
Even if it was just in a dream, it was still a huge step forward.
"It's me."
Tatsuke's voice was cold and commanding, devoid of emotion.
Inside, however, he was a little impressed.
A completely controlled dream world—this was fascinating!
Here, everything was under his absolute control.
Though he still looked like himself, he had made a few tweaks.
For instance, his pupils now had a golden ring around them, with a sharp glint at the center. Even a casual glance from him carried an overwhelming sense of dominance.
A long mane of silver-white hair cascaded down to his waist, swaying slightly in the ethereal mist.
His feet hovered just above the ground.
Clad in a simple yet elegant white robe, he exuded an aura so grand that even the Aeons themselves might feel inferior.
Tatsuke was pleased with his dream-world appearance.
"You… don't look like this in real life, do you?" Kafka asked curiously.
"This is my domain. Here, I decide everything," Tatsuke stated.
"Like this."
With a flick of his wrist, Kafka's signature black coat and suit vanished—replaced by a sleek and professional outfit that suited her perfectly.
Kafka glanced down at herself and smirked.
"Not bad."
Then, she cut to the chase.
"Since you've chosen to meet me like this, you must be interested in my 'impromptu performance,' right?"
"Mm."
Tatsuke, keeping up his cool demeanor, nodded.
"It's simple. The company is trying to smear my banner before release to dampen Honkai: Star Rail's hype and character sales."
"...But I'm going to make them shoot themselves in the foot."
Tatsuke's gaze turned sharper.
"I understand your plan now."
He raised his hand. A golden sphere of light materialized in his palm.
"This contains your character's official data after release."
"When the time comes, introduce yourself."
Kafka snatched the glowing sphere, raising an eyebrow.
"Thanks."
"Guess it's time to wake up."
She turned around, waving casually.
"And by the way… since we're sort of allies now, could you change your look next time?"
"This one's a bit… intimidating."
Tatsuke, maintaining his air of mystery, simply responded:
"This is my true form."
Kafka chuckled. "Sure, I'll believe that."
Then, she took a leap forward, attempting to wake herself up via freefall.
...But in this absolute dream world controlled by Tatsuke, even falling wouldn't wake her.
The golden sphere was merely her in-game skill data. Once her banner launched, it would no longer be a secret.
But Kafka had made up her mind—
When her banner dropped, she would personally unveil her own abilities!
"I'll be my own spokesperson."
Tatsuke was curious to see how it would play out.
"This will cause quite a stir."
"Now then, time to prepare for the Penacony preview event."
With a snap of his fingers, the dream shattered.
Kafka, still falling, suddenly heard the crisp snap.
The dream space collapsed around her.
"So… he really was in total control of the dream," she murmured.
"Yu Ling… truly intriguing."
As the dream world shattered, Kafka's consciousness returned to reality.
She blinked a few times and casually tossed the golden sphere to Silver Wolf.
"Analyze this for me."
Silver Wolf, intrigued, quickly uploaded the data to her system.
Two seconds later, her eyes widened in shock.
"This…!"
"Your in-game skill set and stats?!"
"But your character hasn't even been released yet! How did you get this?"
Kafka smiled.
"I had a dream. And in that dream, I met Yu Ling."
"What?! He appeared in your dream?!"
"Ugh! Why won't he contact me directly?!"
"Fine! I'll just speedrun Chaos Memory mode and take the #1 rank. Then he'll have to notice me!"
To be continued…
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