CHAPTER 150: XUEYI, HANYA, AND HUOHUO’S EMERGENCY MISSION! FOCUS ON THE GAME PLOT!

Luofu, Jinren Alley.

The night market was sparsely populated.

The warm orange glow of lanterns and the scattered silhouettes of passersby painted the street with an atmosphere of quiet leisure.

At the end of the alley, two women appeared.

Though they had deliberately suppressed their eerie aura, the oppressive gloom around them was still palpable. Even the streetlights seemed unable to penetrate the darkness clinging to them.

"Sigh..."

The taller woman lightly brushed aside her disheveled hair, a faint, contented smile appearing on her pale face.

"Truly... a rare moment of peace."

"Sister, thanks to your great contributions in capturing the followers of the Sanctus Mediucs cult, the Ten-Lords Commission has granted us seven days of ’return to the living.’"

"Ah... In the past, we’d only get half a day for every criminal we apprehended. I used to think that was the happiest time in the world."

"But now... we have so much time to enjoy."

"No work... no endless stacks of sin records from the Hall of Karmic Retribution..."

"This is absolutely the best period of my life!"

Hanya’s grin stretched so wide it nearly reached her ears.

A passerby who caught sight of her immediately veered away in fright—

Thinking he’d seen a ghost.

Xueyi spoke impassively, "That’s only because we acted ahead of time based on Honkai: Star Rail’s plot, so our efficiency was unusually high."

"An opportunity like this comes once in a thousand years. Enjoy it while it lasts."

After saying this, she seemed to realize she’d been too stern.

Her expression softened slightly. "Where should we start exploring?"

Hanya tried to control her excitement, but her lips refused to obey, leaving her with a twisted, giddy expression.

A little boy holding skewers happened to glance at her—

And immediately screamed, "GHOST!!!"

He dropped his food and bolted without looking back.

Xueyi blinked. "If you keep standing here, Jinren Alley is going to spawn a new urban legend."

Hanya took a deep breath and nodded.

Just as she was about to leave, both of their jade terminals simultaneously buzzed with a message from the Ten-Lords Commission.

[URGENT NOTICE: Xueyi, Hanya, and Huohuo—halt all current activities and immediately focus on the Honkai: Star Rail in-game quest Clouds Leave No Trace which contains plot developments relevant to all three of you.]

[...Monitor the progression of this quest closely and respond flexibly. This period will be considered an emergency mission and will not count against your ’return to the living’ time.]

"A mission featuring all three of us at once..." Xueyi mused.

"It seems we’ll have to return to work temporarily."

"No problem, Sister." Hanya nodded seriously.

But internally, she was thrilled.

She had already planned to spend part of her seven-day break playing Honkai: Star Rail.

And now, there was a quest specifically about her and her sister?

This was basically paid vacation!

Hanya couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this happy.

Years of accumulated exhaustion seemed to melt away.

Suddenly—

Someone bumped into her leg.

"Oww..."

Hanya looked down in surprise.

"Huohuo?"

The little girl rubbed her forehead and timidly said, "L-Lady Hanya... Lady Xueyi..."

"Um... the Ten-Lords Commission told us to check out the Clouds Leave No Trace quest in Honkai: Star Rail..."

"I was thinking... maybe we could watch it together somewhere bright...?"

"Of course." Xueyi replied.

Meanwhile, [Tail] grumbled in Huohuo’s ear, "Why bother with them?"

"I already told you—this Clouds Leave No Trace quest sounds like nonsense! Even the horror-comedies you watch are better!"

Huohuo turned and argued, "N-no! Honkai: Star Rail—developed by the writers—is amazing! Even the Ten-Lords Commission acknowledges its importance!"

[Tail] scoffed. "Those old fogies don’t know anything! If they’re so great, why don’t they let me appear in the quest?!"

"If I showed up, I’d scare those players half to death!"

"Let’s go." Xueyi said flatly.

The three of them headed toward a nearby open courtyard.

Hanya eagerly activated her jade terminal and pulled up Xiaoguizi’s livestream—she knew the streamer was currently playing Clouds Leave No Traces.

At that moment, Xiaoguizi was reading the quest description aloud:

[You meet Guinaifen, who’s just as pretty in person as online... Wait, getting off track. The girl is desperately trying to convince you she’s encountered supernatural phenomena—even showing you "evidence" from her livestream.]

[In this day and age, even video can’t be trusted... but her panicked tone and unguarded expressions do suggest something terrifying happened in the forest.]

[Heh. Time for the Trailblazer to uncover the truth! Let’s go ghost-hunting in Fyxestroll Garden!]

[What you don’t realize yet is—curiosity is how every horror movie starts.]

"Pfft—HAHAHA!"

"Now that’s good writing!"

"This quest just keeps getting better."

"It kinda reminds me of a horror movie I watched..."

[New Area Unlocked: Fyxestroll Garden]

Upon arriving, they first explored the surroundings.

Deserted corridors... mysteriously glowing pavilions... occasional wisps of ghost fire...

An oppressive, eerie atmosphere hung in the air—a stark contrast to the bustling streets of Central Starskiff Haven!

Guinaifen couldn’t help but comment, "This is a really nice garden..."

"Nice everything... except for the ’enjoyable to visit’ part."

The livestream chat erupted in agreement:

"Holy crap! The Luofu has a place like this?!"

"This is straight-up nightmare fuel!"

"Map design can be ’atmospheric,’ but it shouldn’t be funeral atmosphere!"

"Has anyone actually been to Fyxestroll Garden IRL? Is it really this creepy?"

"I’ve been. It’s deserted, but not this bad—definitely no ghost fires floating around."

As they pressed forward, the in-game Guinaifen diligently explained Fyxestroll Garden’s history while recording spooky footage.

"Ooh, this spot’s extra eerie. Perfect for thumbnails—hehe!"

"Hmm... would this shot even pass moderation?"

"Shh, fam—walk softly, move slowly..."

The real Guinaifen couldn’t help but puff up with pride.

"See that, fam? This is what we call professionalism!"

"Resisting the urge to bolt in a place this creepy, sticking around to film like a crime reporter—"

"Being an internet streamer ain’t easy!"

Their exploration continued until, in a derelict courtyard—

Four Wraith Wardens suddenly appeared behind them!

"Halt!"

"Who are you? Why are you here? You’re under arrest!"

"F-fam, let me explain—!"

The in-game Guinaifen tried to talk her way out—

But the screen shattered.

[COMBAT INITIATED]

"Suspicious trespassers in a forbidden zone—detain first, question later. No exceptions."

"Forbidden zone? Since when was Fyxestroll Garden your property?"

The Wraith Wardens were new enemies, but their mechanics were straightforward.

The real challenge came in the second wave—the Golden Soulhunter.

Not only was it fast and hit hard, but it could also stun multiple party members at once.

Xiaoguizi’s Luocha was spamming his healing orb like his life depended on it.

Finally, they got the Golden Soulhunter below half HP—

When suddenly, the battle cut off.

A cool, slightly hoarse voice spoke:

"Stand down, Wraith Wardens. These two mean no harm."

"Yes... Judge."

Guinaifen whispered to the Trailblazer, "See that, fam? Her skin’s deathly pale, her eyes are unfocused... Is she even human?"

The woman replied, "Once you join the Ten-Lords Commission, you may as well consider me already dead. My codename is Hanya—a judge overseeing the four duties of arrest, binding, punishment, and interrogation."

Hanya, Xueyi, and Huohuo stepped into view.

The chat exploded:

"Wait, she’s a judge too?!"

"Those dark circles are intense!"

"Is Hanya alive or some kind of puppet? My friend’s corpse is rosier than her!"

"Huohuo’s also a judge? She looks more scared than Xiaoguizi!"

"I have a feeling... the Ten-Lords Commission might not be as ’orderly’ as we thought..."

To be continued...

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