Chapter 63: The little pink chicken is still chasing me?!
The descending staircase was lined with sound-absorbing magical carpet, flanked by warm wooden walls embedded with soft, glowing magic light strips.
A fresh, metallic-cool air instantly blocked out the cloying pink chaos from outside. The passage was short, a dozen steps leading to a level corridor.
“Wow! So cool!” Blazewing wriggled free from Mistfeather’s arms, bounding like an unleashed beast to touch the smooth walls and glowing strips, her ruby eyes sparkling. Her earlier urge to “reason” was long forgotten.
“Slippery! Warm!”
Mistfeather relaxed too, her ice-blue eyes curiously scanning the high-tech space. Its aura felt comforting, like Aphrosia’s new daggers and the faint, pure power she sometimes exuded.
But this place’s style… it didn’t belong to this world.
Could it be… tied to that transmigrator senior?
No time for that. Aphrosia exhaled, temporarily free from that clingy pink gum. Glancing at the sealed wall entrance, she pictured the wobbly blue heart she left on the door, a mischievous smirk tugging her lips.
Imagining Ifrora’s mix of annoyance and amusement (or worse, excitement?) felt oddly satisfying.
“Phew… safe for now?” She patted her chest, knowing Ifrora’s skills meant this respite was temporary, but any calm was welcome…
At the corridor’s end stood a heavy, matte silver-gray door, neither metal nor wood, cold to the touch. As Aphrosia pondered keyholes or shouting “open sesame,” her daggers hummed again, like a cat nuzzling her hand.
The blue glow pulsed gently, urging her. On a whim, she pressed her palm to the door.
Beep—
A crisp chime sounded, and a square slot slid open, soft white light scanning her hand.
“Identity verification: unregistered visitor.”
A calm, synthetic female voice spoke.
“Detected: ‘Frostwind Touch’ (resonance state)… Processing clearance…”
“Clearance: Temporary visitor (restricted area) granted. Welcome to the Stardust Workshop logistics zone, unknown guest.”
Click. The metal door slid inward like a stage curtain, revealing a jaw-dropping scene.
Inside was… an absurdly eclectic space!
Seriously, was this even from this world? Aphrosia wanted to quip!
One half was a hardcore magic lab: sleek silver-white worktables floated silently, projecting dizzyingly complex 3D blueprints. Strange, blinking magical devices hummed softly. Curved wall screens displayed rotating visuals.
It differed from her past-life labs only in power source—magic instead of electricity.
The other half? A lazy otaku paradise. A massive, sink-in sofa sat beside a tea table piled with colorful snack bags. Aphrosia spotted “Spicy Chips” and “Happy Otaku Water” in blocky text!
It’d been over a decade since Flo saw those words! A corner coffee machine gurgled, wafting aroma. Opposite the sofa, a huge screen froze on a white-haired loli making a goofy face.
Most striking was a massive aquarium behind the worktable, filled not with water but liquid starlight. Dreamlike, translucent magical fish swam, scattering stardust.
“This…” Aphrosia’s jaw dropped. Even her past-life experience couldn’t prepare her for this “cyberpunk-otaku haven” mashup. Definitely a transmigrator’s lair! And judging by the snacks and wallpaper… Senior, you live large!
“Fish! Shiny fish!” Blazewing cheered, cannonballing toward the aquarium, face nearly pressed to the glass, eyes reflecting starlight, drooling—whether for eating or swimming, who knew.
Mistfeather was drawn to the floating table and its intricate projections, her blue eyes gleaming with knowledge-hunger, like a curious kitten studying the blinking lights.
Aphrosia’s gaze locked on a crystal stand at the table’s center, holding an irregular silver metal fragment etched with arcane patterns, glowing with the same gentle, deep blue as her daggers. The daggers’ hum peaked, like old friends greeting each other.
“This… it resonates with my daggers. That goblin vendor was set up…” Aphrosia murmured, reaching for the glowing fragment.
“Hey, hey, hey! Newbie! Don’t touch the boss’s prized lump!” A rapid, raspy voice burst from behind the sofa.
A fuzzy brown head popped up—a hamster in a tiny blue vest, sporting mini gold-rimmed monocles, clutching a chip bigger than its head, glaring at Aphrosia.
“Squeak!” Another smaller, grayer hamster head appeared, also in a vest, hugging a plump candy, black eyes curiously scanning the trio.
“Ah! Talking, dressed-up rats!” Blazewing’s focus shifted, abandoning the fish to bounce over. “So cute! Can I pet them?”
“I’m Jason, this zone’s smart assistant and chip guardian!” The hamster puffed its chest, adjusting its monocle for a scholarly vibe. “This is my assistant, Squeak! Boss’s away! How’d you get in? Temporary visitor clearance? With a ‘Star Key’ fragment resonance? Rare, rare, rare!” Its beady eyes darted over Aphrosia and her daggers.
Aphrosia: Didn’t think you were Jerry… a mole rat?
Jason hopped onto the sofa back, peering down (still short). “Gold hair, pointy ears? Two bird-like girls? Star Key resonance… too many flags, miss! Boss didn’t mention guests… wait!”
Its eyes bulged, claw pointing at Aphrosia’s forehead. “You! You’ve got a fresh pink tracking mark!”
As if on cue, Aphrosia’s forehead heated!
A small, eye-searing pink heart sticker with flapping wings materialized, floating smugly before slapping onto her brow, dead center!
Glittering magic dust spelled: Caught you~ ♥
Aphrosia: “…”
Mistfeather: “…”
Aphrosia remembered the unresolved contract on her leg…
Wait—if Ifrora tracked her through that, her identity might be exposed!
Think, think fast!
Her brow furrowed, sweat beading, pale fingers crumpling her white skirt.
Blazewing, carefree as ever, cooed, “Wow! Shiny sticker! So pretty!”
Jason clutched its face in despair. “How’d she send a mark through the spatial barrier?! I’m done! Boss’ll cut my chip stipend! My fries! My cheese! Waaah…”
Aphrosia, stone-faced, reached to rip off the rose-scented sticker. As her fingers brushed it, it popped into thick pink smoke, choking her with rose perfume, bursting across her face.
Cough, cough! Tears welled as she waved the smoke away, her brow burning. No mirror needed—she knew a glowing pink heart was stamped there! She could picture Ifrora cackling, image ruined!
Where’d that pink chicken get these dirty tricks?!
“Ifrora!” Aphrosia stomped, daggers clanking, face red with humiliated fury. “You sneaky, dishonorable pink chicken! Face me fair and square! Stickers aren’t heroic!”
Meanwhile, at a prime-view dessert corner on the guild’s second floor…
Ifrora elegantly stirred a “Stardust Dream” drink, sprinkled with edible stars. Her music box projected Aphrosia’s fuming, pink-heart-marked tantrum.
She couldn’t hear the words, but the gestures screamed no flattery…
“Pfft—hahaha!” Ifrora lost it, laughing ungracefully, drawing side-eyes. She covered her mouth, but her crimson eyes, curved like crescents, brimmed with delight.
“Oh~ A marked canary, never gets old~” she murmured, twirling pink hair, voice like melted honey. “That brow medal suits you, so sparkly~”
She raised her cup to the raging blonde in the projection, mimicking a cheeky toast.
“Your overlap with pointy-eared mister keeps growing…”
“You’re really him, forgetting your ‘archenemy’ and playing hide-and-seek? I won’t let you off easy~”
“Next ‘chance meeting,’ what ‘surprise’ awaits, my dear… Miss Canary? Stay tuned~ My ‘greetings’ only get better~ ♥”