Penacony, the Planet of Festivities.
Within the Asdana Star System, this magnificent megastructure gleamed like a jewel set against dark velvet.
The iconic Reverie Hotel pierced straight into the sky — once IPC's cold frontier prison, now transformed by Family's deft hands into a splendid gateway to the Dreamscape, and a glittering hub where interstellar travelers converged.
People flocked here from every corner of the galaxy, chasing that one dream buried deep in their hearts, the one that never let them go.
"Ahaha~ Penacony, the Planet of Festivities, the biggest and most luxurious amusement park in the whole universe — here we come!"
March 7th cheered, spinning in place with delight, her skirt flaring out, already itching to dash into that dazzling sea of light.
"Whoa, what a huge hotel~!"
White Seele let out a shocked gasp, speaking for all native Earthlings.
"Is this really a hotel?"
Calling the Reverie Hotel a 'hotel' almost felt like an understatement — it was more like an entire city cluster, so vast it was visible even from near-orbit.
"I have disembarked. Feeling good!"
Stelle followed right behind, landing a perfectly textbook 'watch this guy pull a move' side-flip, clean and sharp.
"Outside this window~ the night's aglow~ shimmering lights~?"
Caelus mimicked a pose straight out of some game PV he half-remembered, swaying his hips to the tune playing in his head.
"Don't forget~ close your eyes~ that's when you truly wake~?"
Almost on reflex, Stelle slid into position, seamlessly stepping into the spot Aventurine occupied in that PV, and together with Caelus-cub she perfectly recreated the absurdly catchy 'Heilan Home — A Man's Wardrobe' duet dance.
When the dance ended, Stelle blinked, only just coming back to herself.
"...What were you two doing just now?"
Haxxor Bunny stared, jaw slack, lips twitching, and it took her a good while to squeeze out that question.
Was this some new kind of encrypted communication?
Stelle's face turned solemn. She crossed her arms, thought hard for several seconds, and delivered an answer beyond dispute:
"I don't know."
"It's like... the moment I hear that melody, my body just moves on its own."
Himeko shook her head, equal parts exasperated and fond.
Here we go again.
Behind his glasses, Old Yang's gaze held the calm of long practice.
The veteran Express crew had long since stopped being surprised by this sort of everyday lunacy.
"Outside this window, the night's aglow~?"
Stelle hummed the earworm melody again without noticing, her fine eyebrows furrowing slightly as she tried to dredge something up from memory.
"It's weird... the original singer's voice sounds so familiar."
"Who's the original singer?"
Little Duck tilted her head, curious.
"I don't know."
Stelle produced her top-quality answer once more.
The 'original singer' was the voice that surfaced from somewhere deep in her subconscious — not Caelus-cub's cover version.
"I remember this person sang for the Mi Family before, too."
Stelle rested her chin on her hand, putting on a show of solemnly reminiscing.
"Really?"
Caelus was pretty sure this song was sung by Zhang Jie. Had he done other collabs with Mihoyo before?
Then again, Zhang Jie really had sung theme songs for a ton of different games.
Also — had his and Star-baby's subconscious minds really fused this deeply? To the point she could even say the words 'the Mi Family'?
"Think harder..."
Stelle pushed up a pair of glasses that didn't exist, and offered a hint: "Space theme, traveling across star systems, a turn-based epic, main cast is one pink, one green, plus a trash-tier guy."
She pointed at pink-clad March 7th, then toward the green-clad Master Dan Heng on the Express, and finally at herself and Caelus-cub.
The air seemed to freeze for a second.
"Oh, hell, YES!"
It clicked for Caelus.
Seer, right?
So that's the 'Mi' you meant.
Ah, right — Rice-Wash has rice in the name too!
[Parallel-world me, can you make sense of what Brother Caelus and Sister Stelle are talking about?]
White Seele silently consulted her erudite 'other self.'
[That's a long story.]
Seele began recounting the tale of Seer to Little White Seele.
"Shame Penacony doesn't have infinite energy."
Caelus stared at the river of humanity flowing before him — a spectacle worthy of the universe itself — and couldn't resist a jab.
With the Charmony Festival approaching, the pull of this cosmic gathering had this Planet of Festivities nearly bursting with visitors from every star system.
Wherever he looked, it was nothing but a sea of heads, bobbing endlessly.
It instantly brought to mind those suffocating 'crowds-at-famous-tourist-spots-on-holiday' clip compilations he used to watch back on Earth.
"The Family's entry procedures are ridiculously complicated. We must've gone through a dozen checkpoints, big and small, just getting here!"
March 7th, dragging her flower-decorated pink suitcase, scrunched up her little face.
She could have stored it in her spatial gear, but she felt lugging it around gave the trip more of a proper travel feel.
"Could be worse."
Stelle's voice came from beside her. She and Haxxor Bunny had already used the long, tedious wait through the paperwork to team up online for a match.
She gave Caelus's forehead a light nudge with her elbow — he'd been comfortably pillowed on her long legs the whole time. "Mid lane! Get over here and gank, now!"
"At least they didn't yank my Stellaron out to poke and prod it."
"Uh..."
March 7th choked on her words.
She suddenly felt like maybe Family's absurdly strict security checks weren't entirely unreasonable after all.
But.
She looked around.
Watching the security staff bustling about, March 7th felt a certain philosophical doubt bubbling up in her, the kind that certain Inspector she remembered from a show always seemed to voice.
Didn't you people find literally nothing?!
After Stelle called out 'daddy' four times and Caelus called out 'mommy' once—
"Finally done."
March 7th let out a huge sigh of relief and stretched luxuriously, her lovely figure on full display.
Her exhaustion evaporated the instant she saw the sight before her, and she came back to life at full health, taking in the floating crystal corridors, the star-studded domed ceiling, the columns like flowing liquid gold — a lobby that felt like it reached straight into the sea of stars.
"Whoa~ so the suffering was worth it after all — this is way too spectacular!"
"Look at all those tiny lights... are those all guest room windows? God, how many people even live here?"
"No wonder it's the most celebrated dream destination in the whole Galaxy."
Even Caelus found himself genuinely awed.
The game's rendering had been limited by its models, showing only so much of any given scene.
The real Penacony, the real scale of the Reverie Hotel, was probably continent-sized.
Just the number of guests alone was probably measured in the tens of billions.
Taking advantage of the crowd's excellent cover, Caelus let his thoughts drift, and an elegant figure silently emerged from his Valkyrie Space — Mei, armed with the Demonblade - Annihilation Blade.
Her waist-length purple hair shimmered like a galaxy of crystallized starlight, gorgeous and alluring, while the antique, weathered black longsword at her hip lent her an added air of fierce elegance.
Without so much as an exchanged glance with Caelus, Mei let a faint smile curl at the corner of her mouth and vanished into the crowd.
Valkyrie Space — one of the safest ways to smuggle someone in.
Next up: a random unlucky scoundrel, selected at random.
"Welcome to the Reverie Hotel. We hope you have an unforgettable vacation experience! For check-in, please proceed straight ahead to the front desk."
A hostess's voice came through, gentle and composed.
"I wonder which room's ours — let's go, let's go! Uncle Yang and the others must already be lining up at the front desk. Let's hurry and catch up!"
March 7th took the lead, guiding everyone through the dense flow of people toward that unmistakable, massive front desk area.
But as they got closer, they found a crowd had gathered at the front desk, and check-in seemed to have hit a snag — right at the spot where Himeko and Old Yang stood.
"Trouble?"
Little Duck eyed the packed crowd, brow furrowing slightly.
They squeezed their way through to Welt Yang, and after a bit of back-and-forth, finally understood the problem.
When the Express first replied to Family's invitation, Caelus, Stelle, and Seele hadn't even boarded yet — let alone Bronya and Bronie, who'd joined even later.
The four rooms originally reserved fell drastically short given how much the group had swelled since.
"Want me to hack into the system and open up a room for each of us?"
Haxxor Bunny chewed her gum, fingers already itching over the virtual keyboard.
This was where having a top-tier hacker of the universe aboard came in handy.
Aether Editing, kiddo.
"Uh, is that really okay?"
March 7th mumbled, eyes darting, clearly a little guilty.
"That would indeed be improper."
Old Yang calmly adjusted his glasses. "We're guests here by invitation. Resorting to such means would go against the etiquette of a guest."
"I see..."
Having sized up the situation, Stelle's eyes gleamed with a sudden idea. She lunged straight to the front desk and, to the harried attendant Alley, dropped a bombshell:
"This young lady is Dan Heng!"
Alley looked at the gray-haired, gold-eyed, striking young woman in front of her, then pulled up the photo of Dan Heng attached to the Express's invitation in the system — a cool, composed young man with black hair and blue eyes — and very nearly lost control of her professional composure:
"Miss, is this photo... you?"
Stelle stared at the holographic image, a face bearing zero resemblance to her own, and nodded with the utmost seriousness:
"That's me!"
Her tone brooked no argument:
"I had short hair back then."
Stelle yanked Caelus-cub over beside her, her expression instantly switching to one radiating maternal warmth, launching into an impassioned, improvised performance:
"Miss, you have no idea!"
"I really did have short black hair once, looked like a total boy. But after I became a mother and took on the sacred duty of raising the next generation, I made the resolute decision to grow it out. See? Doesn't this look so much more like a gentle mother now?"
She smoothed down her silky gray hair, then shoved Caelus — his face already gone dead-fish flat — forward:
"And this is the child I raised through hardship and toil — Caelus!"
Given the resemblance in hair and eye color, Alley was almost ready to believe these two were blood relatives.
But... wasn't there something deeply off about this relationship?
And furthermore...
"The invitation was confirmed two months ago — this is a two-month-old photo."
Alley's smile had curdled into something brittle, as she pointed at Caelus in complaint.
"You might as well say... he's the one who's actually Dan Heng!"
"Exactly!"
Caelus straightened up the instant he heard that, face turning solemn, sliding seamlessly into the act. Under Alley's twitching eye, he nodded:
"Actually, I'm the real Dan Heng!"
Caelus pointed at Stelle, his tone carrying the weary, doting exasperation of an old father:
"She's my daughter, Stelle. She's not of age yet — only three years old — and lacks full legal capacity, so she has to live together with me, her guardian."
"Heh heh."
Alley let out a laugh that sounded like it had drained her soul dry, her eyes sweeping over the 'three-year-old daughter's' figure — taller and curvier than her own — while she struggled to maintain professional decorum:
"Your... your daughter... is three?"
Her tone stayed impeccably polite, but every syllable screamed silently.
There's no way in hell that's three years old!
Who do you think you're fooling?!
"Here, this is the latest biological age assessment report issued by the Herta Space Station."
Caelus, looking entirely matter-of-fact, calmly pulled up a document projection from his personal terminal:
"Personally supervised and signed off by Genius Society #83, Ms. Herta. What, does your fine hotel doubt the authority of a Herta Space Station certification?"
Alley leaned in for a closer look — the report's conclusion read 'Biological age assessment: approximately 3 standard cosmic years,' complete with the Herta Space Station's verification code.
She was losing it.
What the hell!
It really said three years old?!
Alley's eyes went wide. She fell silent.
Per hotel policy, a minor lacking legal capacity was indeed permitted to share lodging and dream-access privileges with their legal guardian.
Crushed under the sheer absurdity of the situation and the weight of Herta's authority, Alley operated the system in a daze, swapping the original reservation under Dan Heng for guardian Dan Heng (Caelus) and his three-year-old daughter, Stelle.
The Express still carried some clout — with Himeko vouching for them, swapping the already-reserved Dan Heng for another passenger wasn't a problem, and these two clearly did share some family resemblance, so that wasn't an issue either.
But as for the rest of the new passengers — suddenly so many extra people needing rooms — that was way beyond what Alley alone could decide.
"Under normal circumstances—"
A voice cut in, lazy and teasing, ringing out like the clink of coins, instantly drawing every eye in the room.
"—a hotel really ought to have some contingency plan for a situation like this. Such a shame, though..."
A blond man, dressed as gaudily as a peacock in full display, leaned against a nearby pillar, a playful smile curling at his lips, his golden-green eyes sweeping over the group with obvious interest.
Something stirred in Caelus's gaze — this face rang a bell.
Not that he knew the guy well, but he'd definitely seen him in fan-made videos before — Aventurine, IPC executive, colleague of Topaz or something?
Aventurine strolled forward, movements elegant:
"With the Charmony Festival just around the corner, Family's sent invitations to every faction of note across the whole Galaxy. If every distinguished guest showed up with as many surprise plus-ones as the Express crew..."
He spread his hands and mimed an explosion.
"Boom! This place would turn into an absolute mess."
"Hotel security's already stretched thin as it is — can't afford a single slip-up. This kind of surprise really isn't something this young lady here should have to handle alone."
Aventurine looked at the group with a smile, his tone laced with gentle persuasion:
"Folks from the Express, don't make this poor girl's life harder than it needs to be."
As one of the illustrious Stonehearts, brokering profitable strategic favors was Aventurine's specialty.
On the surface, he was smoothing things over for the Express — but really, he wanted them to ask him for help, so he could swoop in, do them a favor, and use it as a foothold to build a connection with these two gray-haired figures for whatever plans lay ahead.
"Alright then."
Under Aventurine's curious gaze, Caelus actually nodded.
"I was hoping to get by with you all as just an ordinary guy. But all it earned me was distance."
A hooded figure stepped out from the crowd. Caelus took her hand and led her to the front desk, and the elegant silhouette pulled back her hood — to the utter shock of countless bystanders — and affectionately wrapped her arm around Caelus's:
"No more hiding it — I'm the husband of Genius Ruan Mei. There, I've laid my cards on the table!"
At the same time, Bronie handed body control back to Haxxor Bunny, bowing slightly toward Caelus and Ruan Mei:
"The three-year term has arrived. Welcome back, Genius!"
Genius?!
Ruan Mei?!
Husband?!
As a member of the Genius Society, Ruan Mei's name carried thunderous fame across the Galaxy.
Probably nine out of ten people in Penacony had heard of her.
"This—"
Even Aventurine looked utterly floored by this sudden turn of events, staring in disbelief at Ruan Mei, arm tucked intimately around Caelus.
"You're joking, right?"
He had indeed gotten intel from Topaz about Caelus's close relationship with the Genius — but close in this sense?
Every eye in the room was now locked onto Caelus and Ruan Mei.
The corner of Stelle's mouth curled up as if tugged by some inexplicable force of narrative destiny, while Caelus, facing everyone's stares, remained entirely unfazed, flashing a crooked, arrogant smirk.
Stelle, Caelus: checkmate!
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