'So, the opening of the third season is going to be Liuli's concert?'
'It should be, right? After all, if Liuli had to call up Tendo, it means the trouble is definitely much bigger than we imagine.'
'The Tendo-Caroline shippers are finally going to gain some ground!'
'My Tendo-Liuli is the best; she thinks of our Mimi no matter what. I'm going to vote for her popularity right now!'
'The one above, maybe Liuli is simply wise in a way that looks naive?'
'Hilarious. With Tendo-Liuli 's positioning, she's clearly the group's favorite, okay?'
'Looks like Season Three will be a full-cast reunion! Yay!'
Watching the figure at the center of the screen, Jing Liuli, who had physically matured but whose personality was exactly the same as when she was a child in Season One.
Although she had a brief, secret chat with Chen Xing not long ago, the Tendo-Caroline shippers did not express the same intense hostility toward the Tendo-Xing shippers.
After all, Liuli clearly seemed to be the Stars production team's strongest "wingman" specifically arranged for Caroline.
No one would gratuitously attack their own teammate, bringing joy to their enemies and pain to their allies.
In the gaps between the scrolling bullet comments, someone quietly slipped in the line, "Time flies so fast, everyone's grown up."
The next second, the main footage of Stars Season Two: Glimmer gradually faded.
A series of yellowed, dynamic comic panels, textured with the aged quality of old paper, slowly appeared before the dimensional audience.
The first thing the crowd saw was the new look of the Twelve Brass Council.
Although Tendo had recently purged the vast majority of the "Twelve Brass Nobles," he had only eliminated the contemporary family heads, not uprooting the families behind them.
Therefore, after negotiations with Liam, the President of the Steam Branch, those people, though unwilling, were forced to accept reality and silently acquiesce to the Steam Furnace being opened.
However, the new Steam Furnace was now completely out of their control.
While they could still receive some forging dividends, these dividends were allocated from the Steam Branch's share—appearing as both charity and compensation.
Even though they were still somewhat resentful, these individuals understood that compromise was their only option.
The emergence of Tendo had completely changed the rules of the City of Steam.
No compromise? Then the City of Steam's graveyard would gain a few new coffins.
As for the 'Chief Councilor' of the new Brass Nobles, it was the only old noble who survived the great purge: Scorpio Layton.
No one knew why Tendo had spared him, but as the sole remaining veteran noble, the newly established elites, even if unconvinced, couldn't cause any major disturbance and could only accept the situation.
The Steam Branch was also happy to see this situation, as stability was the "result" the Association desired most.
As for the "process" in between... it was irrelevant.
In the frame, Layton's profile was hidden in the shadows of the steam; his expression was unclear. He was playing with a pocket watch clasped in his hand, as if counting someone's time.
After a brief introduction to the aftermath of the Brass Nobles, the dynamic comic panel shifted to the Lower City of Steam.
Due to the recent riot, the conflict between the Lower City and the Upper City had been completely escalated and was on the verge of becoming uncontrollable.
However, with the demise of the old Brass Nobles, Layton sought to win over and pacify the populace.
He not only pulled together several large companies to publicly issue a Lower City redevelopment plan but also instantly dismantled the Nut Transfer Station that originally blocked access between the Upper and Lower cities, replacing it with an unobstructed "Nut Elevator."
Though the citizens of the Lower City still harbored some suspicion toward Layton and these Upper City "old masters," believing they weren't capable of such kindness...
Regardless, a long-awaited "dawn" was finally beginning to break through the sky of the City of Steam.
To address the "environmental pollution" caused by the Steam Furnace, Layton even joined forces with the Chiyu Group from the City of Martial Arts to manage the Lower City's "steam pollution problem."
As a consequence, a large part of the Lower City's development work was handed over to the Chiyu Group.
Although the dynamic comic didn't elaborate on the future changes in the City of Steam, the dimensional audience could still see a positive side to it.
Old Jack, who should have left the City of Steam, not only reappeared in the frame, but his "Rust Nail Bar" had also undergone a radical transformation.
It had changed from a post-apocalyptic dark tone to a music bar with a warm, yellow-lit, and cozy atmosphere.
The former Rust Nail Bar was merely a safe zone in the Rusty Iron Hell - District 12.
But the reborn "Rivet Tavern" had become a safe zone for the entire Lower City.
While change isn't always for the better, if one is already at the bottom of "hell," then any path forward... is upward.
After detailing the changes in the Upper and Lower City of Steam, the series footage switched to a mysterious, technologically advanced hall.
Inside the hall, a giant humanoid mecha sat on a throne-like chair, impassively looking down at a dark-haired woman below.
Although the Stars production team didn't reveal the content of the conversation between the mecha and the dark-haired woman, they made her purpose clear through the woman's identity and her recent dialogue with President Enite.
She was there to warn the Iron Dome family.
Under the President's pressure, the Iron Dome family eventually capitulated.
The next second, a wanted poster floated in the center of the screen, bearing a photo of Tendo when he was a child.
The poster was suddenly engulfed in a fierce fire, slowly curling and blackening before finally dissolving into a wisp of ash in the air.
This undoubtedly hinted that, without the relentless pursuit of the Iron Dome family, the Association had withdrawn the original wanted notice for Tendo.
After explaining all of this, the series footage cut back to Chen Kong and the others in the City of Steam.
Ring-a-ling!
In a scene similar to the beginning of Season Two, Vivian lowered her umbrella and pushed open that familiar door.
The former "Rust Nail Bar" now bore a wooden sign reading "Rivet Tavern."
The newly laid wooden floor creaked faintly underfoot.
"Need any help?"
Vivian asked with a smile, looking at Old Jack who was arranging tables and chairs nearby.
Old Jack looked up. Although the wrinkles around his eyes had increased, the smile on his face was visibly much brighter than it had been at the start of Season Two.
"Help with what? I'm just old, not dying."
"Besides me, why don't you go help that boy Chen Kong? He's the one who's truly swamped."
Vivian nodded and walked into the tavern's back kitchen.
She saw Chen Kong surrounded by all sorts of spirits, some she recognized, some she didn't.
Just as Vivian walked in, Chen Kong was on his tiptoes, trying to place a bottle of liquor called "Dream of the Sky Sea" onto a high shelf.
However, the sudden sound of the door opening caused his hand to slip...
Fortunately, a slender, delicate hand caught the bottle just before it hit the floor.
"Be careful," Vivian's voice said.
Chen Kong looked up and smiled at Vivian.
"I'm always careful. My hand just slipped for a second."
Vivian shook her head and helped him place the Dream of the Sky Sea in the correct position.
In the process, their hands lightly brushed, and Vivian instantly recoiled as if shocked, her earlobes turning slightly red.
Chen Kong wisely just smiled, saying nothing.
Just then, the camera angle suddenly changed.
Simultaneously, all the backgrounds began to blur.
The figures of Vivian and Chen Kong slowly faded into a halo of light, which focused on a brightly lit invitation card on the kitchen table.
[City of Martial Arts · Star-Vault Ladder Ranking Tournament · Invitation]
The lettering on the invitation was brand new, but the edge of the paper had a subtle, hard-to-miss curl, seemingly hinting that their journey this time would not be too smooth.
The next second, the crisp sound of a train suddenly rang out from off-screen.
The series footage then arrived at the train station in the City of Steam.
Inside the first-class carriage of the steam train, which was about to depart.
Tendo leaned lazily against the seat back, in the exact same posture as when he first arrived in the City of Steam.
However, unlike the scene of him traveling alone back then, this time, his departure was accompanied by many more people.
His fingertips unconsciously tapped on the armrest, and the series footage completely froze on him and the others sitting beside him: Chen Xing, Jing Liuli, and Danica.
The next second, the series footage completely faded to black.
At the same time, a cold system notification sounded in Tendo's ear.
[Season Two playback ended. Single-season popularity being calculated.]
Tendo looked at the constantly scrolling information on the system panel, understanding that his part in Season Two had been declared finished.
Next, he would have to put all his effort into preparing for that brand-new "theatrical version."
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