Chapter 422: The Chat Group is Simply Amazing
Without warning, a familiar, translucent azure light flared to life. The holographic system screen forcefully expanded, anchoring itself dead center in the field of vision of every single Chat Group member. This wasn't the usual casual private message window. It was a `[Group-Wide Announcement]`, framed by a striking, glowing border that carried a rare weight of solemnity.
`[System Announcement]`
`[Given that the permanent event 'Hollow Evacuation Operation' has been widely praised by participants since its launch, and the event atmosphere has been positive and active, in order to promote a broader experience of exchange and collaboration and to enrich the event ecosystem, the Gear Coins Shop will launch brand-new limited exchange items.]`
`[May the bonds of friendship and adventure have the opportunity to connect to a wider world.]`
The text was brief, yet it struck like a meteor crashing into a tranquil sea. While the exact mechanics of these new items remained shrouded in mystery, the core implication was crystal clear. Connecting to a wider world. The prospect of inviting outside friends to participate in their exclusive multiversal event was enough to send their imaginations spiraling into overdrive.
What followed was a deeply eerie spectacle right in the middle of the lively banquet hall.
Every single member of the Chat Group froze. Lumine, who had just tilted her porcelain cup to sip her floral tea, stopped with the rim resting against her lower lip. Paimon, hovering mid-air with her tiny hands outstretched toward a third slice of strawberry cake, locked up entirely. Zhongli halted mid-sentence during a polite exchange with Miyabi, his golden eyes losing focus. Venti, having just plucked the final chord of a lively tune for Bernice, remained perfectly motionless with his fingers hovering rigidly over his lyre strings.
It was a flawless, synchronized petrification. Smiles stiffened, teacups hovered in mid-air, and the ambient hum of their conversations was abruptly severed. Their pupils dilated, focus shifting entirely from their physical surroundings to the glowing virtual screens that only they could perceive. To an outside observer, it looked as though a localized time-stop had just hijacked half the room.
Naturally, this bizarre phenomenon did not go unnoticed by the locals of New Eridu.
"Hmm?" Bernice blinked, tilting her head. She leaned closer to Venti, waving a hand in front of his face. The previously animated bard had transformed into a breathing statue, the carefree arc of his grin rigidly plastered in place.
Across the table, Paimon looked even more ridiculous. Her tiny fingers were mere inches from the frosting, yet her starry eyes stared blankly into the empty air, completely oblivious to the sugary prize she had been craving just seconds prior.
Nearby, Yanagi had just accepted a second cup of dark, bitter coffee from Himeko. She opened her mouth, ready to dive deeper into the complex mechanics of the Astral Express's spatial jumps, only to realize Himeko was completely unresponsive. The elegant navigator remained locked in the exact pose of handing over the saucer, her crimson eyes staring straight through Yanagi into an unseen distance. Holding the steaming ceramic, Yanagi stood awkwardly, caught in a dilemma of whether to take a sip or set the cup down before someone dropped it.
"Hey! Wise! Belle!" Caesar's voice cut through the rising confusion. She leaned over the table, her brow furrowing in genuine concern. "Why did you guys suddenly stop moving? Did something short-circuit with your gear?" She scrutinized the siblings' physical bodies, finding them just as unresponsive as the outlanders.
The once-bustling banquet hall plunged into an unsettling, heavy silence. With nearly half the attendees trapped in this eerie stasis, the atmosphere shifted from festive to faintly terrifying. Only the lingering resonance of Venti's final lyre note echoed against the walls. The residents of New Eridu exchanged uneasy glances, their expressions rapidly cycling through confusion, sharp vigilance, and mounting worry.
The tense quiet stretched for three agonizing seconds.
And then—
"WOO-HOO—!!!"
An unhinged, deafening cheer erupted from Stelle's lungs. It was a primal howl of sheer, unadulterated hype, laced with an unmistakable layer of smug 'I knew it!' energy. The sudden outburst cracked through the room like a thunderclap, instantly shattering the bizarre freezing spell that had gripped the group.
As if a switch had been flipped, the rest of the Chat Group members snapped out of their petrification. Light flooded back into their eyes, and matching expressions of wild exhilaration bloomed across their faces.
"The Chat Group is simply amazing!!!" Stelle roared, slamming her hands onto the table. The sheer joy in her voice threatened to shatter glass, her golden eyes burning with a manic, starry brilliance.
She had meant to scream that into the group's mental network, but her overwhelming excitement had forced it out into the physical world.
For the natives of New Eridu, this only deepened the mystery. Chat Group? What in the world was a Chat Group? Why was the tall, gray-haired girl praising it like it was the greatest invention in the universe? Was this invisible 'group' the reason half the room had just suffered a collective stroke?
Stelle, however, offered zero explanations. The surging adrenaline brought on by the system announcement acted like high-grade rocket fuel injected straight into her veins. The infinite possibilities of dragging more of her chaotic friends into this world consumed her thoughts.
She vaulted out of her seat. The metal legs of her chair shrieked against the polished floor as it tipped over backward.
"The shop! Yes, I need to get to the shop!" she muttered feverishly. Her gaze locked onto the corridor leading toward the Gear Coins Shop like a heat-seeking missile acquiring its target.
In the blink of an eye, she bolted. Ignoring the bewildered stares of her hosts, she abandoned the luxurious banquet, the towering plates of delicacies, and her companions without a single shred of hesitation. She moved like a blur of gray and gold, kicking up a gust of wind as she sprinted down the hall.
"Stelle! Where do you think you're going?!" March 7th shrieked, acting purely on reflex.
Watching her friend enter that reckless, hyper-fixated state triggered a deep, ingrained trauma within the pink-haired archer. A heavy sense of responsibility crashed down on her—a potent cocktail of 'this raccoon is going to cause a disaster'and'if I don't leash her right now, the Express is going to get sued.'
Shoving the system announcement to the back of her mind, March slammed her half-eaten macaron onto a napkin. "Hey! Wait for me!" she yelled, scrambling over her chair to chase after the runaway Trailblazer.
Just like that, two of the loudest, most chaotic figures at the banquet vanished down the corridor, leaving behind nothing but a trail of dust and the fading echoes of Stelle's manic laughter.
The remaining Chat Group members were still buzzing with residual excitement. They exchanged knowing, electric glances across the table, silently communicating the sheer magnitude of this update.
Inviting friends. The implications were staggering. They could finally pull their closest allies, their family members, and their mentors into this bizarre, wonderful multiversal nexus. They could share the thrill of these cross-world adventures with the people who mattered most to them.
Still, common sense prevailed for the rest of them. They couldn't just abandon the banquet en masse to raid the shop. The New Eridu locals were currently staring at them like they had all grown second heads. As the unofficial hosts of this bizarre gathering, they had a duty to perform damage control before a panic broke out.
Lumine coughed into her fist, forcibly smoothing out her features to hide her eager grin. She adopted a mask of polite composure, though her golden eyes still sparkled with suppressed hype. Paimon quickly floated back to the Traveler's shoulder, crossing her arms and puffing out her chest, desperately pretending that she hadn't just been staring into the void like a malfunctioning toy.
As the natural bridge between these two colliding worlds, Wise and Belle smoothly stepped up to manage the fallout.
Belle was the first to pivot. A bright, disarming smile flashed across her face as she clapped her hands together, the sharp sound drawing the wary gazes of their New Eridu companions.
"Attention, everyone! Sorry about that, we just had a tiny little situation pop up!" Belle's voice was crisp and cheerful, radiating a confident warmth that immediately lowered the tension in the room. "No need to panic. It's nothing bad, and I promise our gear hasn't short-circuited!"
She shot a subtle, pleading glance at her brother. Wise didn't miss a beat. He smoothly reached over and grabbed the portable microphone they had been using to manage the banquet's background tracks.
Tapping the mic twice, Wise cleared his throat, ensuring his calm, measured voice echoed clearly across the dining area. "Ahem. Yes, as Belle said, everything is perfectly fine. We just... well, we suddenly received some rather exciting news regarding our current project."
He opted for a vague, sanitized version of the truth. "Stelle has a rather... enthusiastic personality, as I'm sure you've noticed. When she hears good news, she tends to act on impulse to check out the specifics immediately. That's why she ran off in such a hurry." He offered a polite, reassuring smile, his tone perfectly leveled and natural. "There's nothing to worry about. Let's keep the banquet going! Please, don't let our little interruption ruin your appetites!"
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