Chapter 29: Performance Props
By the beach.
A loli and a pigeon struck up a conversation.
“Miss Pigeon, when did you start hanging around here? Don’t tell me you’ve been doing this all along?”
“Gruh, no idea.”
“Ahh… So Miss Pigeon used to ask passersby for food, yes?!”
“Gruh, of course. It’s necessary!”
“Does that mean you still need food now? You should be one of those beings that don’t need eating to survive, right?”
“Gruh? What are you talking about?”
The slate-gray pigeon tilted its head, completely baffled by what this girl who could see and talk to it so naturally was going on about.
Night Star snapped back to reality.
“Oh, you’re right, too. It is indeed very odd to talk with a pigeon using human logic…”
Considering the pigeon’s low IQ and common sense, Night Star decided to just chat idly anyway.
“Pigeon Lady—”
“Gruh, don’t call me ‘Pigeon Lady,’ it’s too long and sounds terrible.”
“Um, do you have a name then?”
“Gruh, no, give me one!”
“How about Gooqiu?”
“Gruh, sounds nice! I accept it. Call me Gooqiu from now on.”
Gooqiu jumped in place, appearing quite pleased.
Night Star exhaled deeply, revealing an adorable smile.
“That’s good. Actually, I’m not great at naming things. I thought you’d hate it.”
They continued their exchange.
To outsiders, this cute silver-haired girl seemed like she was talking to herself, which gave them a strange impression.
“Hey, Gooqiu, you always ask people for food like today, right?”
“Gruh, yeah, but these two-legged creatures never notice my ‘gruhr’ sounds, so I can only take their food secretly.”
Gooqiu fluttered over to Night Star’s side, eyeing her fries.
Night Star quickly snatched one and put it in Gooqiu’s mouth.
“Gruh, you’re awesome! I like it!”
Gooqiu finished its fry happily, seeming extremely satisfied.
For Gooqiu, nothing was more joyful than getting easy access to fries.
“Hehe~”
Night Star was incredibly curious about this talking pigeon.
Curious enough to hold it and examine it thoroughly.
Such a unique Star Eclipse, she had never seen before.
Speaking of Night Watchers, few were aware of animal form Star Eclipses because low-level animals couldn’t awaken into stars.
In other words, they lacked the mental power or intelligence required for such transformation.
Yet tonight, Night Star saw a rather rare animal Star Eclipser, unheard of in her experience.
While learning from Zero Meow, she had been introduced to some cases of low-level animal Star Eclipses, but they were merely ordinary creatures influenced by the Star Eclipses’ aura.
Thus, all known low-level animal Star Eclipses were artificial.
And now, she found this talkative pigeon emitting Star Eclipses’ aura—quite a discovery!
Was it an artificial one?
She didn’t know.
Still, Night Star doubted she’d get anything useful out of this bird—just more “give fries!”
“Hey, Gooqiu, do you want to stay here forever?”
“Gruh, absolutely! Here, I can eat fries every day.”
“Why fries? Why not other foods?”
“Gruh, fries are the meaning of my pigeon life.”
“They’re so important you just think of nothing else?” Night Star sighed.
That’s why no Night Watchers bothered with this pigeon; it was useless to such an extent, not even fit for a urban legend.
Apart from speaking and being undetectable, it was almost like any normal pigeon.
But Night Star found it utterly fascinating, even wanting to take it away.
Just as this thought sprang up, she jumped in eagerly.
“Gooqiu, would you go with me?”
“Gruh, you’re going to keep me?”
“Mmm…kind of.”
“Gruh, do I get fries?”
“Should be…I’m not sure,” Night Star hesitantly replied.
Fries weren’t exactly part of her interests.
They were just handy today.
If anyone happened to crave fries, though, she’d be glad to help.
So, Night Star pushed the remainder of the fries toward Gooqiu with a smile.
“You can have these leftovers. I’m done.”
Seeing that, Gooqiu hopped excitedly.
“Gruh! You’re such a kind human! I’ll follow you from now on! Remember to bring lots of fries!”
“Sheesh…” Night Star smiled silently.
Actually, she didn’t plan to take it home but rather back to the theater.
This pigeon being a Star Eclipser meant it wouldn’t be harmed by the Theater Group’s members, making a perfect addition to their props.
Besides, the Group Leader happened to excel at magic tricks. Transforming a talking pigeon would certainly blow minds more than a regular one.
Yeah, Night Star felt quite proud of this genius idea.
“There’s no time like the present. Let’s head back now~”
“Gruh, gruhr, gruh! Great!”
Gooqiu perched atop Night Star’s head, resembling something akin to a driver.
“Gruh, off we go!”
Thus, the bizarre duo from the Cloudy Beach left together. No one noticed.
Back at the theater, Night Star let out a cheerful sound.
“Hey everyone, I brought a new member!”
Upon hearing this, the cast shifted their gazes towards the returning silver-haired loli, wondering if she had found script inspiration.
The Theater Leader chimed in, “Welcome back, Audience Performer. Found some new ideas for scripts?”
“Mm, not yet, but I brought a new buddy instead!”
“A buddy?”
Everyone was puzzled.
Night Star raised the slate-gray pigeon on her head, showing it off to the rest.
“Check it out; this is Gooqiu!”
The troupe members focused intently on the pigeon, deep in thought.
The Announcer burst into laughter.
“Hah, a pigeon? Quite the discovery.”
Lianhua approached Night Star, observing the pigeon curiously in Night Star’s hand.
“Audience Performer, what’s up with this pigeon?”
“It’s called Gooqiu; I met it during my search for inspiration. It has a distinctive trait.”
“What is it?”
Quickly, Night Star extended her arm, letting the crowd get a better look at Gooqiu.
“Come on, Gooqiu, show them your stuff!”
“Gruh! Give me some fries, quick!”
The pigeon suddenly screeched loudly, even silencing the formidable Director.
Certainly, an unusual pigeon.
The Director adjusted his top hat gently and remarked, “Indeed as the Audience Performer has described, it is indeed special. Why did you decide to bring it back to the group?”
“Because I want it to become a performance prop for the troupe. Its daily pay is a box of fries—quite a fair deal, isn’t it?”
At that moment, Gooqiu tipped its head slightly, somewhat confused about the current situation.
“Gruh?”
