Chapter 86: Empty-Handed Return
Night Star stood on stage, sporting a seriously cute expression.
“A strong rival has arrived; we must remain vigilant to avoid any… accidents!”
She then relayed the information about Hilo arriving at Waltonka to the troupe members below.
Many of them fell into deep thought.
Mo Rabbit finally understood why Night Star didn’t panic when she mentioned a big shot arriving at Waltonka.
So she already knew about it?
Not only that, but she seemed to have all the details! Talk about being well-prepared.
The Group Leader asked, “Is it a high-caliber peer? Will he disrupt our performance?”
“Not sure… I haven’t interacted with him yet,” Night Star shook her head.
“But it seems he wants to find me. No clue what he’s up to.”
Mo Rabbit chimed in, “Do you want to meet him?”
“Um… might as well try. We can’t dodge each other forever; better to meet him head-on.”
Night Star understood that running away wouldn’t solve any problems—might as well confront the one causing them.
As long as she met with Hilo and figured out what he wanted, that would suffice.
However, Night Star didn’t want to go in alone. She felt safer with her fellow troupe members surrounding her.
More people meant more courage, right?
So, Night Star reached out to Lulu Lana, letting her know to contact her as soon as Hilo arrived.
This was also Night Star’s first active interest in meeting a supernova star eclipse.
And this star eclipse was special—he was a follower of the origins. It would be interesting to see what he wanted from her.
Meanwhile…
Lulu Lana was in her room attempting to harness her stars, diligently practicing per the instructions, albeit with scant understanding.
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared in her room—it was Hilo, with his white hair and golden eyes.
Lulu Lana quickly noticed his arrival and felt no panic, only curiosity.
“Where have you been?”
“Making deals with humans.”
“Hmm, like a merchant?”
“Pretty much.”
Seeing Hilo’s quiet demeanor, Lulu Lana decided to bring up yesterday’s events and expressed her gratitude.
“I actually gained a lot of mental energy from you—thank you! But I still don’t know how to use it. I guess I’ll learn bit by bit.”
“Fair trade.”
Hilo remained as taciturn as ever.
Really, this star eclipse had quite the personality!
Then Lulu Lana said, “Actually, I know about the anomalies you mentioned. You’re trying to find my friend, right?”
“I know.”
His implication was clear—he was fully aware of Lulu Lana’s earlier concealments and had returned with the same purpose.
Lulu Lana pondered for a moment.
“I’ve talked to my friend, and she should be willing to meet you. How about I contact her now, and you wait here?”
“Sure.”
After Hilo nodded, Lulu Lana grabbed her smart device and contacted Night Star.
“Night Star, that star eclipse is here again! Do you want to come over now?”
It wasn’t long before Night Star replied.
“Really? I’ll send someone over right away. Don’t act recklessly! Even though he’s relatively friendly to humans, better to be cautious.”
“Uh…” Lulu Lana responded a bit sheepishly.
Night Star certainly didn’t expect that she was making a trade with a star eclipse she had just met.
Was that a tad too bold?
But it’s fine; Hilo seemed like a decent star eclipse.
Just as Lulu Lana thought this, an odd occurrence swiftly unfolded.
A pitch-black door appeared on the wall of her room—it was the Theater Door.
Just when Lulu Lana thought Night Star might step out, a smiling girl emerged instead—it was Kong Yu Bai.
Kong Yu Bai scanned the room, quickly recognizing two figures.
One was the blonde girl, Lulu Lana, whom Kong Yu Bai had seen before, and the other was the white-haired, golden-eyed figure… Hilo, the star eclipse.
“Mr. Hilo, if you have business with our audience performer, please follow me.”
Yes, please walk right into the trap!
After all, the Rising Sun Theater was the safest place, and letting a supernova star eclipse in should pose no major issues.
Plus, all the troupe’s combat prowess was inside, so what could go wrong?
If there were conflicts, they could just resolve it there—much safer than outside.
What mattered most was that Night Star felt safe in the theater.
Hilo nodded gently, seeming familiar with the process.
Kong Yu Bai glanced at Lulu Lana.
“Lulu Lana, you stay here, okay?”
“Can’t I go?”
“At least not right now. You can come to the theater to find Night Star afterward.”
“Fine…”
Lulu Lana realized they were going to discuss serious matters, and she shouldn’t be eavesdropping.
Kong Yu Bai deemed Hilo an audience member and escorted him back to the theater.
Switching perspectives…
Inside the Rising Sun Theater.
Hilo’s figure appeared.
He surveyed his surroundings, finally fixing his gaze in a certain direction.
That was where Night Star stood, flanked by her ensemble of troupe members.
Night Star deliberately cleared her throat to ease her nerves.
“Ahem! Are you Hilo? Allow me to introduce myself; I’m one of the members of the Rising Sun Theater Troupe. You can call me Audience Performer.”
Hilo stared at her blandly, seemingly very interested in her presence.
“Let’s make a deal.”
“Eh? What do you want?”
“The Wish Machine.”
“Denied!”
Night Star raised her hands, crossing them over her chest to indicate her refusal.
As she suspected, this supernova star eclipse had his sights set on the star within her.
It made sense; after all, the Wish Machine was the most valuable thing she had.
If an ancient star eclipse was targeting her, it was undoubtedly for the Wish Machine.
Night Star recalled the Dream Narrator mentioning the effect of “No Deceit for Young and Old,” which could enforce a trade of what each party held.
Theoretically, Hilo could also forcibly obtain the Extraordinary Star Wish Machine through the “No Deceit” effect.
But that was purely theoretical.
There were likely many restrictions that would prevent forced exchanges, which was probably why he wanted to go through normal trade processes.
Of course, it could also be due to him being generally friendly toward humans and not wanting to strong-arm them.
And since Night Star was still considered human, she could probably garner some goodwill.
“Can I ask what you want the Wish Machine for?” Night Star curiously inquired.
Hilo answered her.
“Related to the origins.”
“Ah… So you also want to use the Wish Machine to see the Origin of the Stars?”
This reason was a bit surprising but not illogical.
After all, there had been supernova star eclipses wanting to find the missing Origin of the Stars through her stars as well.
“Hmm… Is it the same idea as the Dream Narrator? Looks like you guys all want to track down your boss…”
But Hilo was fated to leave empty-handed this time.
Because Night Star would never part with the Wish Machine.
