As the Moon-Chasing Festival drew closer day by day, Zane had no choice but to get busy as well.
There were all kinds of booth applications to process, booth locations to arrange, pricing for the Night Moon Fair to decide, people to assign for maintaining market order, security arrangements for the venue, and countless other things that all required his approval.
And yet, at a time this busy, Sister Jinhsi still hadn't shown up to help him, leaving him grumbling to himself for quite a while.
In the end, only after Jue and Changli assured him that Jinhsi wasn't in danger did Zane finally let out a long sigh and continue his "007" lifestyle.
At the same time, Xiangli Yao finally managed to decode the third abnormal wish.
"Moon Tree House, I want to secretly tell you something. I think I might awaken some super amazing power just like the great heroes in hero plays."
"The reason I say that is because… I used to only eat one meal at noon, but now I can scarf down two huge bowls in one go! I also used to need a little stool to reach Grandpa Tree's branches, but now I can touch them with just a small jump!"
"It feels like there's something incredible burning inside my body. Is this a sign that I'm about to become a great hero?"
"But I've waited and waited, and I still can't use powers like the Blazing Flame Ranger…"
"Moon Tree House, can you help me become a great hero?"
"Xiaoman"
Looking at the wish Little Robot had decoded, Rover couldn't help shaking her head with a laugh. It sounded exactly like the innocent wish of a child, filled to the brim with admiration for heroes.
But heroes… were destined to shoulder something.
It wasn't an easy thing to become.
Take a certain idiot, for example. He was currently drowning in overtime work just to become a hero.
Thinking that, Rover looked up at the figure sprawled over the wishing stall, wearing a miserable expression as he continuously scribbled across sheets of paper.
This time, maybe they shouldn't take him out to play. Let him work a little longer instead.
At that thought, Rover pressed her lips together and smiled softly. She could already picture Zane flying into a rage later when he found out they hadn't taken him along.
It would be pretty entertaining.
"Blazing Flame Ranger, huh…" At that moment, the idle Stelle wandered over beside Rover and peeked at the wish displayed on the screen. With a flick of her hand, a baseball bat appeared in her grip.
"Then let me, the Galactic Baseballer, go challenge this Blazing Flame Ranger!"
"You're not actually planning to fight a child, are you?"
Faced with Rover's question, Stelle casually rested the bat on her shoulder, tossed her gray hair back, and declared loudly, "It's not like I absolutely have to beat the kid up. As long as he hands over the title of Blazing Flame Ranger to me…"
Before Stelle could finish speaking, the sound of children arguing came from nearby. They seemed to be fighting over their hero game.
"Stupid Xiao Li! We already agreed I'd be the Blazing Flame Ranger today, and you'd play the Ranger partner controlled by Tacet Discords!"
"Come on, Xiao Mo! Boss Xiaoman isn't here, so let me be the Blazing Flame Ranger just once. I'm always the bad guy every time. That's so unfair."
"I have a suggestion." While Rover was fully focused on enjoying the drama, Stelle suddenly spoke up and interrupted the two children's argument.
"Big Sister, what is it?"
"We fight. Whoever wins gets to be the Blazing Flame Ranger. And don't say I'm bullying you. You two can come at me together!"
Hearing Stelle propose such a "fair" solution, Rover immediately felt a headache coming on. She was suddenly regretting bringing this overgrown child along.
Xiao Li and Xiao Mo liked playing hero games, sure, but that didn't mean they were idiots. There was no way they'd fall for a trap this obvious.
"Big Sister, the real Blazing Flame Ranger is actually Boss Xiaoman. Boss is about to awaken the Blazing Flame Ranger's powers. Why don't you go find him instead? He should be at our secret base right now."
Rover nearly tilted sideways upon hearing that. If she remembered correctly, this Xiaoman should be the child connected to the abnormal wish, right?
'What incredible brothers you are!'
'Still, they'd managed to get Xiaoman's exact location this easily… Could it be she was a genius too?'
While she was thinking that, Stelle had already hoisted the bat onto her shoulder and dashed off toward the direction the two children pointed.
The two girls ran toward the wilderness. Before long, they heard the shout of a child.
"T-take this, my Blazing Flame Punch…"
"Waaah… d-don't come closer!"
Looking into the distance, they saw a young boy surrounded by several Tacet Discords. The voice naturally belonged to him.
Rover's expression sharpened, and her blade instantly materialized in her hand.
But Stelle moved faster than her.
The baseball bat in her hand transformed into a crimson lance in the blink of an eye. Rover only saw a dazzling red flash streak past her vision. The next second, the cries of the Tacet Discords echoed through the forest.
Looking again, Stelle's lance had already pierced through the Tacet Discord closest to the child. With a twist of the spear tip, she knocked aside the claws of another Discord.
And the child stood completely unharmed behind her protection.
"Nicely done!"
Rover praised silently in her heart as her own body turned into a streak of light and crashed violently into the group of Tacet Discords.
Before long, the monsters had been completely wiped out by the two women. Only scattered materials remained lying lonely across the grass.
"You big sisters are amazing!" Only then did the boy lower the arms covering his eyes, admiration glittering in his gaze.
Just like in the hero plays he always adored, heroes would appear at the critical moment and save people.
"What are you doing out here?"
Rover crouched down and looked curiously at the child. If nothing unexpected happened, this should be Xiaoman.
Hearing her question, Xiaoman had no intention of hiding anything.
"The great heroes in hero plays, aren't lots of them Resonators with super invincible Resonance powers?"
"The plays say some are born as Resonators, but others have to run off to super remote caves and train in seclusion all alone."
"And then, 'After a period of time, the Tacet Mark appears, and Resonance powers awaken.' That's my favorite part of the story!"
Rover couldn't help laughing a little. "So, did your Resonance powers awaken?"
"Ugh… no…" Xiaoman said before quickly changing tone. "But I came up with a new idea. Don't the plays always say heroes awaken new powers at critical moments and defeat the bad guys?"
"So if I find the strongest, scariest enemy and fight him, wouldn't that work too?"
This time, Rover didn't laugh. Her red eye shadow furrowed slightly, and her pretty face grew more serious.
"Are Resonance powers really that important?"
"Of course they are! You need Resonance abilities to become a hero. Isn't that how it always works in hero plays? Every great hero is a Resonator."
"You can still become a hero without Resonance powers!"
The moment the words fell, Rover looked at Stelle in surprise. The two of them had spoken at the exact same time. A figure currently buried behind a desk flashed through her mind.
She felt that Stelle had thought of the same person.
But Xiaoman couldn't understand those words at all.
'Wasn't a real hero supposed to defeat bad people and uphold justice?'
Seeing the disbelief still written across Xiaoman's face, Stelle suddenly had an idea. She pointed at Rover beside her.
"If you want to become a hero, you have to beat her first. She's the great hero who defeated the Mourning Aix, resolved the chaos of Mount Firmament, and subdued Jinzhou's Overlord, Rover!"
"Hey, you…"
Rover's face instantly turned red. Everything Stelle said was true, but hearing it said out loud right in front of her was unbearably embarrassing.
Although Xiaoman had only heard about the Mourning Aix incident, that didn't stop him from already treating Rover as the goal on his path to becoming a hero.
"Alright! I'll definitely defeat Big Sister and become a hero!"
Seeing Xiaoman so full of confidence, Stelle nearly burst out laughing.
The Magistrate of Jinzhou was her future sister-in-law. Jinzhou's Sentinel was her warming-maid. Jinzhou's little tyrant was her bandit husband. Jinzhou itself was basically the backyard she founded…
Xiaoman's road to becoming a hero still seemed just a tiny bit far away.