Although Nero had kicked the door open here, in a game that could be played on Blue Star, players would still have to solve the puzzle through the normal process.
Of course, if someone absolutely refused to read the clues and wandered around here for a long time without finding a solution, then the story would eventually have Nero come over and kick the door open for them, showing them what a Xianzhou Sword Immortal was.
Following this newly opened path, Stelle and Nero continued forward. Before long, they spotted Huohuo standing there alone.
At that moment, Cirrus spoke, "Remember? We had a deal. You're supposed to help me get away from the Ten-Lords Commission."
Nero turned his head.
"Wrong. I only asked you to show your value. I never made any deal with you. Don't treat your own imagination as reality."
Cirrus, "?"
However, Cirrus thought Nero's words were already excessive, but then Stelle directly added, "Are you teaching me how to do things?"
Cirrus, "!"
Stelle was obviously an outsider, so Cirrus couldn't really say much about her. But looking at Nero, even she, a Heliobus with little attachment to any nation or people, couldn't help worrying about the future of the Xianzhou.
'Bandit!'
'This is outright bandit behavior!'
After being a Heliobus for so many years, this was the first time she had seen someone this arrogant and overbearing.
Were all of Xianzhou's younger generation like this now?
While Cirrus was questioning her life choices, Nero and Stelle had already walked toward Huohuo.
"Ah! Nero, Stelle..." Hearing footsteps from behind, Huohuo's whole body instantly tensed up. After turning around and seeing Nero and Stelle, she visibly relaxed.
"F-Finally, I found living people! That's great. I thought I'd be trapped here and never get out... It's really good to see you."
Huohuo's voice was tight and trembling, as if she had been frightened to the point of tears.
Nero reached out and patted Huohuo's head.
This had become a habit. He often patted the other three on the head as well.
After calming down for a while, Huohuo said worriedly, "Um... have you seen Miss Guinaifen and Miss March?"
"I still haven't found Miss Guinaifen, and I don't know when Miss March got separated from us. Nothing bad happened to them, right...?"
"That's not good..." Stelle frowned and was about to say, "Let's go find them."
But when the words came out, they became, "Don't bother looking. Guinaifen and March 7th have probably already been eaten by a Heliobus by now."
Huohuo was instantly frightened.
She looked at Stelle in horror and covered her mouth with both hands.
"H-How could that happen? Even Guinaifen, whose yang energy is so strong... Then wouldn't I be even more likely to be targeted...?"
Stelle blinked and stood there in confusion.
"Did I really just say that?" she thought.
But in the next moment, Cirrus's voice sounded in her mind.
"Hehe, the vocal cords are the easiest muscles in a human body to manipulate."
Huohuo anxiously paced back and forth, then reached out and grabbed Nero.
"Nero, you can definitely find a way out, right? When you leave, please make sure to take me with you..."
"I seriously can't stand how cowardly you are." Tail seemed unable to watch any longer and spoke up again.
"You're a judge of the Ten-Lords Commission. Why are you always thinking about asking other people for help?"
Huohuo looked at Tail with a wronged expression.
"You know I'm not cut out to be a judge. I used to think that after working in the Ten-Lords Commission long enough, I'd become braver."
"Now I've realized that if I can't do it, I can't do it. I didn't improve in the Ten-Lords Commission, and it doesn't seem like I've improved at Nero's factory either..."
Tail looked at Huohuo, who was tightly clutching Nero's sleeve, and curled his lips.
A subtle feeling began to spread inside him.
He felt like he finally understood what that metal lump called Svarog had meant in Belobog when he said people should be careful around Nero.
Of course, for now, that wasn't important.
After adjusting his mood, Tail twisted the expression on his face and said disdainfully, "Tch. Useless thing. How did I end up sealed onto someone like you?"
Huohuo pouted.
Perhaps she was already used to Tail's sharp tongue, or perhaps she felt supported standing beside Nero.
This time, she unexpectedly complained back.
"All you do all day is show off. Then the moment you're not paying attention, we both fall into somebody else's trap... So who's the useless one?"
Even though she was complaining, the more she spoke, the quieter and less confident her voice became.
By the end, all that remained was grievance.
Watching Huohuo and Tail start arguing, Stelle felt she should say something.
Besides, she was currently possessed by Cirrus and had even lost the ability to speak freely. That was a serious problem.
She felt she should ask Huohuo whether there was a way to deal with being possessed by a Heliobus.
As for Nero...
Stelle turned her head and looked at him.
She found that the kid was just watching the show.
Given his personality, he would probably wait until the show was over before helping.
Still, with more people around, whether they were arguing or not, talking more would at least help boost Huohuo's courage.
This was called redirecting attention.
After gathering herself again, Stelle focused on her throat and spoke once more.
However, she still failed to say what she wanted.
"Following Nero won't help either. Forget it. We're leaving. We only came over to say hello. You can stay here by yourself. Goodbye."
Cold and heartless words... Words that chilled people.
"Ahhh, don't go, don't go! Wait for me..." Hearing that, Huohuo became so anxious that she cried. Her hands tightened around Nero's sleeve even more and refused to let go, even though Nero hadn't done anything.
"It's okay. Don't be scared."
Nero gently pulled his sleeve free from Huohuo's hands and then grabbed her hand instead.
After that, he turned and looked at the faint green firelight in Stelle's eyes.
"You're really a beast."
Huohuo, who had relaxed a little because of Nero's actions, "?"
She obviously didn't understand what Nero was doing.
Even though Stelle had just said those things, she didn't think this was something Nero would normally do. After all, Stelle was still their friend...
However, she quickly witnessed a shocking scene.
After hearing Nero's words, Stelle actually nodded.
The emotion shown on her face was clearly one of agreement.
Huohuo, "!?"
"W-What's going on?"
At this moment, looking at the tears in Huohuo's eyes, Stelle thought seriously, Nero rarely used such direct insults. Before this, she had even thought he didn't know any swear words at all.
"But if Nero says you're a beast, then you're definitely a beast," Stelle said to Cirrus in her mind.
Cirrus, however, didn't care.
"Hehehe. I just love seeing the look on your faces when there's nothing you can do about me. Why'd you stop talking? Learned your lesson? That's fine. I'll come up with some lines. You just read them obediently."
Stelle instantly realized something was wrong.
But it was already too late to warn anyone.
"The Ten-Lords Commission really doesn't care about quality. Even trash like you can become a judge. It's enough to make people laugh themselves to death."
"Waaah..." Huohuo lowered her head and quietly cried.
Tail glanced at Nero.
He didn't know what this kid was thinking.
Then again, maybe it was because the kid genuinely had no good solution. So even if he had ideas, he couldn't do anything effective.
Still, regardless of what the kid was thinking, Tail felt he needed to say something.
"Hey, hey, that's enough."
Tail looked into Stelle's eyes and spoke, "The only one allowed to criticize this fool is me... and those judges. Got it?
"Cirrus. Hiding inside a puppet's body and throwing your voice around. That's exactly the kind of thing trash like you always does."
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