"March, March?"
Stelle waved her hand in front of March 7th, snapping her out of her daze.
How could she not want such a beautiful crystal?
"Here."
Blinking, Stelle pushed the crystal closer to March 7th.
"Are you really sure you don't want it?"
"Uh..."
March 7th stared at the crumpled ball of waste paper before her, noticing the brownish stains left by dried coffee and catching a faint, peculiar odor.
"Stelle, this is a ball of waste paper, isn't it?"
"What waste paper?" Stelle scratched her head in confusion.
"This is a crystal!"
In her vision, the crystal shimmered with a clear, azure glow, captivating and mesmerizing.
Without a doubt, this was one of the most beautiful things in the world!
How could it possibly be waste paper?
Stelle raised an eyebrow, placed her hands on March 7th's shoulders, and stared intently into her panicked blue-violet eyes, shaking her firmly.
"Team Member March, are you in your right mind?"
Hearing this, March 7th's expression instantly froze.
"I'm clear-headed, very clear-headed! Isn't it you who has the problem?"
"This is clearly a ball of waste paper! And it's dirty!"
Feeling slightly unhinged, March 7th couldn't help but retort, instinctively taking half a step back to distance herself from the dirty ball of waste paper in Stelle's hand.
She quickly realized that the paper ball wasn't important—Stelle was.
"Stelle, are you okay? Are you hallucinating? Look, how many fingers am I holding up?"
Her beautiful eyes filled with concern, March 7th examined Stelle closely while holding up a few fingers to test her.
Could their new member really be having a mental breakdown?
"Three... Of course, I'm fine."
Answering March's question out of habit, Stelle furrowed her brow, realizing that something was truly off.
Her brain, reset to factory settings, began to process the situation. She glanced back at Caelus, then at the anxious March 7th, stroking her chin thoughtfully.
"Is it possible that you're the one with the problem?"
"Look, both Caelus and I can see treasure chests and crystals. Only you see waste paper."
Stelle spread her hands, making her case.
"Don't you think it's more likely that you're the one hallucinating, rather than both of us?"
These words left March 7th stunned.
Right!
Two-thirds versus one-third—she could figure out which number was larger in two seconds.
March 7th's pupils trembled violently.
The probability of her hallucinating alone was indeed higher than both Stelle and Caelus hallucinating together.
So, the problem was with her?
Was it a mental attack from the Antimatter Legion?
But she didn't recall the Legion's grunts having any psychic abilities.
Was it stress-induced hallucinations?
How could mere foot soldiers make her feel pressured?
Could it be exhaustion from recent trailblazing, without proper rest?
"..."
Caelus watched as March 7th fell into self-doubt under Stelle's words and fell into a speechless silence.
He rubbed the smooth, jade-like crystal in his hand, and with a thought, it dissolved into specks of blue and white light.
The crystal count in the upper right corner of his system interface changed from 1630 to 1632.
It was indeed a crystal, so why did March 7th say it was waste paper?
[System?]
[It wasn't me! It must have been Aha's doing! Grrrrr!]
The system hurriedly shifted the blame.
The treasure chest was genuine, the crystals were authentic, but as for the rest—He had no idea what was going on.
Caelus was momentarily stunned.
Well, well, well!
Although there was only one suspect's name, the reasoning was logical and convincing!
Forget it!
Frowning slightly and thinking for a moment, Caelus tossed the question to the back of his mind.
After all, he couldn't possibly go ask Aha, and even if he did, the answer might not be true.
He also had no ability to stop Aha. As long as the crystals were real, who cared what they looked like to outsiders?
As long as he could draw cards, that was all that mattered!
As his thoughts flickered, Caelus recalled the doubts he had previously set aside.
[System, is the reason Stelle can see the treasure chest and touch the crystals because...]
[That's right. The host and Stelle are two sides of the same coin. In the source code of this system, both of you have the data type 'player.' That's why she can see the treasure chest that, in theory, only the host should be able to see.]
The system provided an explanation.
[Can she use the crystals to draw cards?] Caelus asked curiously.
[No, she can't. Drawing cards is my core module, and only the soul-bound host can use it...]
"I see," Caelus nodded slightly.
It made perfect sense—like a Genshin Impact friend entering your world, except they could not only gather resources but also open chests.
[What about other functions?]
[Other functions...]
The system hesitated for a moment, as if conducting a self-check.
[With the host as the core connection point, there is a certain link between Stelle and me. If the host grants her permissions, she should be able to use non-core modules like the shop function.]
After a moment of thought, Caelus made a decision, resting his chin on his hand.
[System, grant Stelle permissions.]
Playing solo was nowhere near as fun as playing with someone else, especially when that someone was 'yourself.'
[Okay... Gah!]
A sound like a spinning gear suddenly jamming echoed, and Caelus grew suspicious.
[What's wrong now?]
[Ahem, it's nothing. I just forgot to tell the host that the items Stelle sees in the shop will be different from yours.]
[Oh, that's a good thing.]
It meant the two of them would have more choices.
[Mhm, mhm!]
Agreeing with the host, the system looked at the bug in the backend caused by the unique existence of Caelus and Stelle and smoothly tossed it to the bottom layer.
Look, the host was even praising Him!
Not only had He helped the host, but the 'stalls' available for rent had doubled. He was truly a genius!
A bit surprised by the system's inexplicable obedience, Caelus didn't continue the mental exchange with Him. Instead, he stepped forward, intending to vouch for Stelle and help fool March 7th.
But just then, he heard Stelle suddenly exclaim, "Huh? What's this?"
A look of bewilderment on her face, Stelle reached out and poked the light screen that had suddenly popped up in her retina, but her finger passed right through it, as if the thing didn't exist in reality.
A strange sense of familiarity washed over her. Her 'subconscious' told her that this was...
"A game? A shop?"
"Stelle, what's wrong with you?"
Stelle's bizarre behavior snapped March 7th out of her daze, who had been doubting her own sanity and worrying she was hallucinating. Her eyes gradually cleared.
Clearly, it was more likely that Stelle was the one with mental issues.
Damn, miscalculation!
Seeing this, Caelus cursed inwardly.
He had acted too quickly. He should have waited until he 'treated' Little March's mental issues before granting Stelle permissions. Now, the fun was ruined.
Walking up behind Stelle, Caelus leaned over to look at the light screen. The shop interface was filled with "restocking" labels.
No, there's actually something you can buy inside.
Credit Points.
Stelle silently looked at the crystal in her hand, then at the interface displaying the ×10,000 Credit Points symbol, and the number 1 marked below indicating the crystal count.
Her 'subconscious' quickly made her understand the meaning of this interface.
And so, Stelle didn't hesitate and was about to slap the crystal onto it.
1 for 10,000—no matter how you think about it, that's a huge profit!?
"Wretched creature, what do you think you're doing?"
At that moment, the crystal was only 0.1 centimeters away from the light screen. Caelus grabbed Stelle's hand, stopping her foolish action.
"Using a crystal to buy Credit Points, are you brain-dead?"
"Hey~ what are you doing!"
Stelle let out a sound like a little hater.
"One crystal can be exchanged for 10,000!"
"Don't say 1 for 10,000, even if you add another zero, it's still a damn serious waste."
Caelus wanted to snatch the crystal away but couldn't pry open Stelle's fingers, so he could only press her arm down.
For a game where you can't spend money, the value of gacha resources is self-evident.
"Why?" Stelle asked blankly.
"Because...."
Before Caelus could figure out how to explain it to Stelle, he felt his wrist being grabbed, and then his body was pulled by a force toward the door.
"Huh? March?"
Stelle, just as surprised as Caelus, turned her head to look at March 7th, who was dragging both of them by their arms.
"Don't worry, when we get back, I'll ask Station Head Asta to find a doctor from the space station. We'll definitely cure both of you."
A gentle, slightly pitying voice reached Stelle and Caelus's ears.
As the two, who were muttering inexplicable things, started arguing again over the empty void, March 7th finally confirmed that the ones with mental issues were this pair of gray-haired individuals.
They needed treatment with psychiatric medication!
Just as March 7th dragged the two out of the room, into the hallway, and prepared to head toward the main control cabin—
Her steps suddenly halted, and the noise behind her vanished.
In the middle of the hallway, Voidrangers—born for destruction and war—were drifting about. The moment they spotted the trio, several Voidrangers turned their heads in unison.
Their eyes glowed with red light, the blades generated by the Ravagers' antimatter force fields gleamed coldly, and the Annihilators raised their antimatter cannons.
Staring at the Voidranger squad exuding an aura of destruction, Caelus's expression turned serious as he silently pulled the two in front of him.
"They're the lackeys of the Legion, be careful... uh."
Before March 7th could finish, she noticed Caelus had already retreated several steps.
March 7th's lips twitched slightly, but she hadn't expected there to be another problem child.
Only, this problem child's issue was the complete opposite of the other one.
Stelle looked at the baseball bat in her hand, which radiated a captivating, confident glow.
Stelle felt she could be just as confident.
And so.
"So you're the damn Antimatter Legion?"
Stelle charged forward, brandishing the baseball bat.
Cowardice?
Please forgive her—she was just born and had no idea how to write that word!
Just go all out!
"Ollie give!"
Stelle shouted the word that had popped into her 'subconscious.'