Penacony — The Golden Hour
While waiting for Stelle to arrive—
Evan was also casually searching for hidden treasure chests in the area.
Very quickly—
He found one at the Clockie Statue Plaza.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained a Golden Hour Treasure Chest!]
[This is a Silver-tier chest. Open it?]
"Open it."
Even with Sparkle beside him—
The system's activation caused no disturbance whatsoever.
Not even an Aeon could trace the origin of this system.
Not even Evan himself knew.
[Congratulations, Host!]
[You obtained a Doraemon item: Evolution-Devolution Ray Gun!]
"…Huh?"
An Evolution-Devolution Ray Gun?
Evan paused slightly.
He remembered this.
After all—
The world of Doraemon was pure sci-fi.
With the authority of the Herrscher of Reason—
He could replicate such a device completely.
No need to understand it first—
Just construct it—
Then analyze it afterward.
But why this… here?
"…Wait."
A thought flashed through his mind.
Primitive Doctor.
Right.
If this item appeared in the Golden Hour—
Then it might be meant for that guy.
The Primitive Doctor—
A mad genius who believed modern humans were a flawed evolutionary outcome.
So what did he do?
Every human he encountered—
He devolved them into monkeys.
Then forced them to evolve again.
"…Heh."
"So sooner or later…"
"I'll have to meet this so-called genius."
Evan narrowed his eyes slightly.
"A fellow genius at the Emanator level…"
"I wonder if you'll be interesting."
"Hey, who are you waiting for?"
Sparkle suddenly popped up behind him.
If not for the faint jingle—
She'd genuinely feel like a ghost.
"Waiting for the actors."
"And also looking at this."
"Clockie?"
Sparkle glanced at the statue, unimpressed.
"What's so special about that?"
"Isn't it just Penacony's most popular cartoon character?"
"Boring."
"Not necessarily."
Evan raised his hand—
Pointing into the distance.
"Do you know what that place is?"
Sparkle followed his finger—
Looking up at a floating region in the sky.
"…One of the Twelve Hours, I guess?"
"Another dream zone like this one."
"Built by those Dreamweavers."
"No."
Evan smiled faintly.
"That's actually a Deep Dream."
While the two were talking—
Evan's gaze shifted slightly.
A familiar figure appeared nearby.
Silver Wolf.
Holographic projection.
Pixelated edges.
Clearly hacked in.
If she was here—
Then that meant—
Firefly was here too.
Evan glanced toward the arcade corner—
Where Silver Wolf was playing games—
Then slowly scanned the surroundings.
"Who are you looking for?"
Sparkle tilted her head.
"The actors."
"The one in your script."
"Firefly."
"…Huh?"
Sparkle froze.
Wait—
Aren't I the director?
Why does it feel like you're more invested than me?!
But—
Since the script came from him—
Then finding actors…
Should also be his job.
"…Found her."
"Let's go."
The Golden Hour was far larger than in the game.
It wasn't just a district—
It was practically a small city.
More areas.
More attractions.
More entertainment.
Among them—
Aideen Park stood out the most.
The heart of Penacony's soda culture.
Bars, scenery, endless SoulGlad drinks—
And most importantly—
The Golden Gacha Machines.
Legend said—
With just a single Aideen Coin—
You could win the entire Penacony.
Though—
That was mostly marketing.
Meanwhile—
"Stop right there!"
"Don't run, you stowaway!"
Two members of the Hound Family were chasing a girl.
Silver hair.
Blue-pink eyes.
From afar—
She looked fragile.
Delicate.
The kind of girl you'd instinctively want to protect.
"…Yeah right."
The girl who could suppress Blade's Mara-struck state—
"Delicate," my ass.
She was cornered—
But suddenly—
Her eyes scanned the area—
And landed on Evan.
Immediately—
She ran toward him.
"S-Sorry! Please help me!"
Big, watery eyes.
Slightly trembling posture.
Perfectly executed helpless act.
"…Pfft."
Evan almost laughed.
Who would've thought—
This girl—
Was the infamous Stellaron Hunter: Sam.
A wanted criminal worth nearly 10 billion credits.
"…Yeah."
Even Evan was shocked when he first found out.
The terrifying armored warrior—
Was actually this soft-looking girl.
Wait.
Another thought hit him.
Back in the game—
Firefly always looked around nervously at first…
Was she actually looking for the Trailblazer?
Was this supposed to be her scripted encounter?
"…Did I just break the script?"
Stelle was off playing somewhere.
So instead—
Firefly locked onto him.
"…Even Elio's script can update itself?"
"Please… help me…"
Firefly's voice trembled slightly.
The Hound guards were closing in.
She looked genuinely anxious.
"…Alright."
"Protecting a beautiful girl—"
"I can't refuse."
Evan stepped forward lazily.
"What stowaway?"
"Look carefully."
"Does this look like a criminal to you?"
"And I'm a guest here."
"Is this how Penacony treats its guests?"
"Should I go complain to Sunday?"
The guards hesitated.
Then—
Quiet whispers brushed past their ears.
Sparkle's doing.
Moments later—
They backed off.
"T-Thank you…"
Firefly lowered her head slightly.
"It's nothing."
Evan waved casually.
"If you really want to thank me…"
"Buy me food."
"…Huh?"
"I—I can do that!"
"Please… come with me…"
Firefly blinked—
Still a bit dazed—
But quickly led the way.
Meanwhile—
Inside her head—
"…Okay okay."
"Silver Wolf gave me 200,000 credits."
"Just a meal."
"No problem."
"…Totally worth it."
After all—
This man—
Was the genius she was looking for.
And if he could cure her—
Then this—
Was the best investment she could ever make.
Evan followed behind her leisurely—
Hands in pockets.
Expression calm.
"…Heh."
Not only did he just scam her money—
He was probably about to—
Make her work for him too. 😏
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