Absolutely legitimate Star Iron, I've awakened the Underworld System?

"Then please lead the way."

Bai Qiong nodded to the young man, then took March 7's hand and followed Wilder deeper into Rivet Town.

Old weapons testing ground.

The celebration service hall was filled with brightly colored flags and banners. Although there was still a faint smell of rust, it couldn't dampen the joyful atmosphere.

Various uniquely shaped stalls and decorations dot the area, making it look more like a lively carnival.

March 7th looked around curiously, her eyes shining with excitement. "Wait a minute, this place looks familiar..."

She stopped and looked around, as if trying to remember something.

"Ah! I remember now!"

March 7th suddenly exclaimed, clapping her hands sharply, "Isn't this the arsenal Miss Topa found before? We almost fought her there! The situation was terrifying!" "This is definitely the place."

Bai Qiong nodded, a hint of understanding in his eyes as he looked at Wilder. "I didn't expect things to have changed so much here."

He knew, of course, that the old weapons factory had been modified, but compared to its appearance in the game, this place had been modified much more thoroughly and completely.

If he hadn't known the plot beforehand, he would never have guessed that this place used to be an abandoned arms factory.

"Haha, so you two have been here before? It seems we really are destined to meet!"

Wilder explained enthusiastically, "Since the debt issue was successfully resolved, Belloberg and the company have established a good working relationship. The company is very optimistic about the future potential of the Arillow-VI, so it decided to increase its investment here. This old weapons testing range is our first important project together!"

He paused, a hint of pride in his voice. Of course, the "weapons testing ground" was a thing of the past.

This is now the central venue for the "Interstellar Showdown Celebration"!

Chapter Sixty-Three: Departure, Echoing Corridor! (6.8K)

The three looked in the direction of the sound and saw a man wearing a tuxedo, with a full head of silver hair and a strange mask.

Wilder's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Hey? Isn't that...?"

He strode forward, his voice tinged with excitement, "Mr. Giovanni! Is that you?"

The man called Giovanni turned around, his expression hidden by a mask, but his voice held a hint of pleasure: "Hmm?"

He looked Wilder up and down and laughed, "Ha, Wilder! I was wondering where you'd been."

His gaze shifted to Bai Qiong and March 7th, he bowed slightly, his posture elegant, and his tone became even more enthusiastic: "You've even brought a handsome gentleman and this beautiful lady! Welcome to my arena! If I'm not mistaken, you two are Bai Qiong and March 7th from the Starry Sky Train, aren't you?"

March 7th blinked and asked curiously, "How do you know our names?"

Giovanni let out a low laugh. "That's not important, my friend. What's important is that we met here!"

He straightened up and began to introduce himself, "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Giovanni di Giorgio da Epsilon, a small private merchant from Epsilon, and the full sponsor of this year's 'Interstellar Showdown Celebration.' I hope you two will take good care of me."

March 7 scratched his head and muttered, "Thank you for your self-introduction, Giovanni de Jo... something something Mr.

She looked Giovanni up and down, her tone somewhat puzzled. "You sound like a very important person, why are you in such a small place?"

Seeing this, Bai Qiong quickly reached out and gently covered March 7's mouth, whispering, "That's very rude, March."

Giovanni waved his hand and laughed heartily, "Haha, it's harmless, it's harmless! I actually quite like Miss March's straightforward personality."

He cleared his throat and continued, "Now, let me answer Miss March's question. As you can see, the 'Interstellar Victory Celebration' is about to be held on this beautiful icy planet."

"As the full sponsor of this event, it is only natural for me to come to the venue to check on the operation."

He turned slightly to the side, his gaze sweeping over Bai Qiong and March 7th. "Furthermore, I'd like to get to know the players in the tournament, and you two—in this vast universe, you can never have too many friends."

"If you two would still be so kind as to call me a friend, that would be a great honor for me!"

March 7th broke free from Bai Qiong's grasp and whispered in Bai Qiong's ear, "Hmm... Bai Qiong, this guy is wearing a mask and looks really strange. I have a feeling there might be some kind of conspiracy behind this game, right?"

Bai Qiong pressed his index finger against March 7's mouth, "Don't talk nonsense! Little March, I don't think there's anything wrong with this Mr. Giovanni."

At this moment, Bai Qiong remembered this NPC. This was Giovanni, the mastermind behind "Ether Front," and also a traveler on the path of "pleasure."

However, in the original storyline, he didn't actually do anything outrageous.

Giovanni still heard March 7's whisper, but he didn't seem to care, letting out a hearty laugh: "Hahaha, being too suspicious isn't good for your health. Don't worry, I'm just enjoying the game and want to see players compete and work together."

At this point, he lowered his head slightly, his tone becoming solemn, "I can swear to you, on my honor and on this mask!"

Bai Qiong looked at Giovanni with calm and deep eyes and slowly said, "I believe in you too, Mr. Giovanni."

At this moment, Wilder walked over with two small coins in his hand and said with a smile, "Gentlemen, your Ether coins are ready as well."

He handed the Ether Coins to Bai Qiong and March 7 for safekeeping. "These are essential for exploring the Ether Front," he said.

Bai Qiong took the Ether Coin; it was cool to the touch, with exquisite patterns engraved on it, and faintly radiating some kind of energy fluctuation.

March 7th curiously played with the Ether coin and asked, "Wild, what's the use of this Ether coin?"

Wilder patiently explained, "This coin allows you to store creatures in the form of 'ethereal' data, materialize them into 'ethereal spirits,' and have them 'battle' with other players."

"I see."

On March 7th, he suddenly realized what was happening and carefully put away the Ethereum coins.

Giovanni looked at the two of them, a barely perceptible glint in his eyes, and said with a smile, "It seems you two are eager to experience the charm of 'Ether Front.' This coin contains a random initial Ether Spirit for you to nurture."

Afterwards, travel to various "Winner's Parks" to improve your "Winner's Rating," complete the "Trials" in each Winner's Park, and obtain all the "Qualification Badges." Then you can register for the festival's grand finale event—the Championship.

"Well then, I won't disturb your enjoyment any longer." Wilder nodded slightly to the two of them. "I also have other things to attend to. I wish you both the best of luck in the competition! I look forward to meeting you both on the field."

March 7th waved to them both: "Well then... goodbye, gentlemen?"

"goodbye!"

After saying that, Giovanni and Wilder turned and left, their figures quickly disappearing into the bustling crowd.

Bai Qiong stood frozen in place, watching the two figures disappear into the distance. He felt as if something was amiss, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Hey, Bai Qiong, what are you spacing out for?"

March 7th tugged at Bai Qiong's sleeve, interrupting his thoughts, "Aren't you going to look at your own ethereal spirit?"

On March 7th, he eagerly held the coin up in front of him and, following Wilder's instructions, gently tossed it.

A flash of blue light appeared, and a small mechanical object jumped out, spinning around and making a crackling sound.

Wow! So cute!

March 7th exclaimed in surprise, cautiously extending a finger to gently touch the small mechanical contraption. "This is... a Demonic Mechanism?"

The possessed mechanical device seemed to sense March 7's touch, emitting an even more cheerful "sizzle" sound as it danced around her fingers.

March 7th smiled happily, gently stroking the metal casing of the Demonic Mechanism with his other hand, his eyes full of affection.

"Is this my original ethereal spirit? It feels amazing!" March 7th exclaimed excitedly.

Looking at San Yueqi and her demonic possession technique, Bai Qiong realized that something was wrong.

In the original storyline, after talking to Giovanni, a group called "Topa Supporters" will appear.

Similar to Team Rocket in Pokémon, they steal an Aether Coin that a child has picked up.

This is also the tutorial level. After completing this level, the child will give the protagonist the coins they collected, and then obtain the first Ether Spirit.

Dimensional savings.

But now...

No children found any coins, and Topa's support group did not show up.

This is the biggest worldline shift to date.

He took a deep breath, took out his ether coin, and, imitating March 7th, held the coin up in front of him and tossed it gently.

The blue light flashed and disappeared in an instant, and surprisingly, nothing was summoned.

Bai Qiong paused slightly, looking at the empty coin in his hand, his brows furrowing. He tried again, tossing the coin up once more, watching intently.

However, nothing appeared.

The coin traced an arc in the air before landing back in his palm. It remained cool to the touch, but there was no trace of any ethereal spirit.

"what?"

March 7th came over, blinking its big eyes, looking puzzled. "What happened? Little White, where's your Ether Spirit?"

She tilted her head, pointing to the demonic machines fluttering merrily around her, then to the coin in Bai Qiong's hand: "Is there something wrong with your Ether Coin? Should we go find Mr. Wilder to exchange it for you?"

Bai Qiong also found it a bit strange.

He nodded and said in a deep voice, "Yes, there is a problem. It won't work without the initial etheric spirit. I'll text him and ask him."

Not having any starter Pokémon to choose from is bad enough, but to lose your starting random Aether Spirit is unbearable!

Just then, a system dialog box popped up in front of Bai Qiong.

[A reminder to the master: As the protagonist of this story, the center of the world, you are naturally different from everyone else.]

[Although you don't have an initial Aether Spirit and can't normally obtain other Aether Spirits, you can summon a female character with a Corruption value of 50% as an Aether Spirit to the field.]

[From your perspective, they will appear normal, but from someone else's perspective, their appearance and attacks will be transformed into what ethereal beings should look like.]

[Also! Please note that female characters you defeat in battle can be captured as Aether Spirits, removing the 50% corruption threshold.]

[Hurry up! Before the Meme DLC is fully activated, you're the only one in the world who can trigger the base-reaching mechanic right now.]

[If you don't want depravity to run rampant, then win over everyone before things completely spiral out of control.]

Bai Qiong carefully read the words before him, his expression hardening.

Wait, what are all these things?

My ethereal spirit, the Luminary I originally intended to subdue...

How did it become like this?

Furthermore, is a female character with more than 50% corruption value required?

Bai Qiong's gaze fell on San Yueqi beside him, looking him up and down.

March 7th is currently the only one around me with a corruption value of 50%. Mirror Flow's corruption value is still too low to be usable.

Hey! Why are you looking at me like that?

Feeling uncomfortable under Bai Qiong's intense gaze, March 7th couldn't help but shiver.