The Only Player in ‘Child of Stardust’
Chapter 172 - 125: True Colors

Chapter 172: Chapter 125: True Colors

Zhou Yuan nearly coughed up blood.

"What the hell, slave girl."

"Hmm?"

Chen Guangxi feigned surprise as she looked at him, "Wang Zhen isn’t even angry, so why are you?"

"...You’re being too abstract, and this is pure slander against Wang."

Zhou Yuan spoke seriously, "Wang is righteous and bold, wise and mighty, and a man of integrity. How could he possibly be that kind of person?"

"Exactly, exactly." Wang Zhen nodded.

"But I heard you captured a succubus and a snow demon, and before that there was Fang Qing..."

Chen Guangxi’s gaze shifted to Wang Zhen, "First a female demon, then a female monster, and now a female ghost. Are you collecting an alien species harem? I bet you’ve been up to some wild parties recently, haven’t you?"

Fang Qing: "..."

She twitched at the corners of her mouth. She had often seen people on forums saying Chen Guangxi was weirdly abstract, and now she finally understood why.

Hearing Zhou Yuan’s reminder over the communication channel, she immediately rebuffed with righteous indignation, "I’m not interested in those cheap floozies."

"Alright, take care of yourself." Chen Guangxi acted as if she hadn’t heard Wang Zhen’s explanation and lifted her chin, "You have one minute. Can you handle it?"

"I can."

Disguised as Wang Zhen, Fang Qing activated a blood sea, engulfing the five of them within. During this, Tang Qingsha kept begging Chen Guangxi for mercy, saying she was willing to spill everything she knew and even be a double agent for the Land of Truth, but the latter turned a deaf ear.

Wang Zhen cupped his hands towards the duo, "I must go now. Until we meet again."

Without another word, he transformed into a red streak and quickly fled.

Zhou Yuan looked at Chen Guangxi, questioning, "Why are you guys here?"

Chen Guangxi curled her lips, "We were roaming around after dinner, and Zhao Xiaohai accidentally stumbled into the inner world. So we followed him in, not expecting things to be this lively."

—Zhao Xiaohai was a medic in the Alpha Mobile Task Force, nicknamed Zhao Ritian. Though a healer, his combat prowess was formidable; he once single-handedly wiped out an island occupied by terrorists, which also had many bio-weapons.

"Our involvement means the Control Bureau is involved, so this is over. Your three church members are also safe and have already fled. I heard you stole a piece of the Sage’s Stone?"

"It’s indeed the Sage’s Stone, but whether it’s real or not is still up for debate."

"What do you mean?"

Chen Guangxi looked puzzled, "Could it be fake?"

"It’s hard to say."

Only now did Zhou Yuan have a chance to check his inventory.

[Name: Aizher Red Stone]

[Quality: Normal]

[Effect: Disguises as Aizher Red Stone and possesses the abilities of Aizher Red Stone.]

[Note: Embed this item into the Stone Ghost Mask to break the disguise and reveal the item’s true form.]

The description for the Stone Ghost Mask was similar.

Chen Guangxi became interested, "Take it out and let me have a look."

"Let’s talk about it outside. There’s no rush."

The simplest way to leave the inner world was to step out of its coverage area.

Once they were out of the coverage area, Zhou Yuan noticed the atmosphere around them change, as the lively buzz of the regular world filled the air once more. Hustle and bustle, bustling streets, cars, and pedestrians, glittering skyscrapers, all a vivid contrast to where they had just been.

At the same time, a string of task completion notifications echoed in his ears.

[Mission "Defend Against Demons" completed]

[Mission Rating: S (EXP and Star Coin rewards enhanced to 150%)]

[Comment: Fighting evil requires even greater evil. So—slave girl Silvie, activate!]

[Mission Reward 1: EXP*3450]

[Mission Reward 2: Star Coins*6900]

[Mission Reward 3: Rare Quality Item Pack*1]

[Mission "Swift Rescue" completed]

[Mission Rating: S (EXP and Star Coin rewards enhanced to 150%)]

[Comment: Your performance in this battle was astonishing, earning you fame across the extraordinary world. Not as a celebrated hero, but as the "Naked Explosion Maniac"—a notorious scoundrel everyone’s out to catch, even though it was Wang Zhen behind the specific explosion ability. Everyone naturally thought only the Holy Crow Church had this kind of perverted skill.]

[Mission Reward 1: EXP*1500]

[Mission Reward 2: Star Coins*7500]

[LV24→LV28!]

[EXP: 700/1450]

[Available Attribute Points: 4]

[Star Coins: 21560]

Four levels up!

Plus 14,400 Star Coins, along with a rare quality item pack and 31 Storage Rings.

This was a direct leap.

Zhou Yuan couldn’t conceal his excitement, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Let’s go to the Control Bureau."

Chen Guangxi reminded, "Don’t forget you’re part of the Control Bureau too, and you need to file a report on this."

The smile on Zhou Yuan’s face instantly vanished.

With only a middle school education, he had difficulty even composing essays during his school days. Writing reports for the Control Bureau was pure torture.

·

Xinyue Control Bureau.

After painstakingly finishing his incident report, Zhou Yuan, in front of Chen Guangxi and many investigators, took out the two items.

—Since it was already known that the Sage’s Stone was fake, there was no need to hide it. Making it public would also quash any remaining covetous thoughts.

"Oh, oh, oh! What a beautiful stone!"

Chen Guangxi’s golden eyes sparkled. As a Golden Dragon, she had a penchant for collecting shiny gems.

Then, she saw the menacing Stone Ghost Mask, her expression froze, certain thoughts crossing her mind as her eyes widened, "Wait a minute, this thing..."

"Wow... it’s actually the Aizher Red Stone and the Stone Ghost Mask!" The office filled with gasps of astonishment.

Anomalies came in all shapes and forms, many appearing as storyline items from novels, comics, animations, games, movies, and TV dramas. Therefore, the investigators had to consume a vast amount of artistic works in preparation.

All were seasoned otakus, naturally familiar with these items.

Zhou Yuan carefully placed the Aizher Red Stone in the recess atop the Stone Ghost Mask’s forehead and lightly pressed down, fitting it perfectly.

"Whoa, are you going to evolve into the ultimate lifeform?"

Chen Guangxi barely got her quip out when a flash of ethereal light burst forth.

Embedded with the Aizher Red Stone, the Stone Ghost Mask in Zhou Yuan’s hands began to morph, shedding its false exterior to reveal its true form.

A finely crafted, gold-engraved, palm-sized treasure box, with a golden key inserted into its lock.

[This is a distress signal from an unknown person in an unknown place.]

The Eyes of Identification’s prompt startled Zhou Yuan, who clutched the key and turned, unlocking the box.

Inside was a note, written in East Continent script.

["Loner," by Aio.]

Nothing else.

"What’s this?" Zhou Yuan and Chen Guangxi were dumbfounded.

They stared at each other in bewilderment.

After a long while, Zhou Yuan repeatedly examined the note but found no additional clues.

A gleam appeared in Chen Guangxi’s golden eyes as she scrutinized the treasure box, key, and note from more than ten special perspectives.

Someone even brought in special equipment to scan them.

Nothing.

And then, in that moment, the box, key, and note all turned to dust, vanishing altogether.