Chapter 87: Big Trouble
In the blink of an eye…
Night Star Lan jolted awake on the stage of the Rising Sun Theater, realizing she had probably returned to her original timeline.
She pulled out her phone to check the time and, indeed, it was confirmed.
But what puzzled her was…
Time had actually flown by like a runaway train!
It seemed a whole week had passed!
And the Rising Sun Theater Group must have wrapped up a performance during her absence—what in the world was going on?
“Holy moly…”
This was the first time Night Star Lan had ever encountered such a situation, leaving her utterly dazed.
Confusion soon followed.
Nobody knew what on earth happened during that week.
Since she had disappeared for so long, it was guaranteed to raise concerns among those around her.
First things first: she needed to figure out why time hadn’t stood still.
The issue had to be with the Group Leader.
Night Star Lan quickly came to this conclusion.
Last time, when she ventured into Luo Xi’s timeline, she didn’t rely on the Wish Princess but instead gained the powers of the Group Leader, Kuro.
Maybe Kuro’s time-traveling powers weren’t as miraculous as the Wish Princess’s, which would halt the flow of time in that timeline.
So, however long Night Star Lan had spent in the other timeline, the same amount of time passed here.
Oh, what an easy detail to overlook!
Right now, Night Star Lan felt quite down in the dumps.
She was unsure how to address all the issues that had piled up during her absence.
She definitely had to explain things to some people.
The theater group members weren’t a big deal; at least they knew why she left.
But others were a different story.
To them, Night Star had vanished into thin air, without a trace or any warning whatsoever.
A whole week gone—who knew how urgently the Night Watchers were searching for her?
And what about poor little Ghost Girl, Eypar? Was she already…gone?
In any case, she needed to rush back to explain and handle this mess.
Night Star Lan quickly stood up, passing through the Theater Door and heading back to the Night Watcher Base.
At that moment, the theater group members began popping up one by one.
It was Lianhua and the others.
“Audience Performer, after a week, you’ve finally returned!”
As soon as they saw Night Star, all the members let out a collective sigh of relief, thrilled for her safe return.
Night Star quickly began to inquire.
“Singer, has anything important happened while I was gone?”
Kong Yu Bai wore a somewhat complicated expression.
“While you were away, quite a bit went down. Not that the Rising Sun Theater had any major drama; you just missed one performance. But your friends back in Night Lan’s world were really worried about you. If I hadn’t stepped in to explain, they might’ve started a worldwide search for you!”
“Phew~ So nothing too serious happened after all…”
In truth, that was still manageable.
She could easily explain her absence to White Fish and the Leader.
No need to hide too much information.
“What about Eypar? That ghost girl is so fragile; she can’t be away from me for too long. If she actually…gone, I’d be so heartbroken!”
Well, maybe just a smidge heartbroken.
After that, she’d just wait for the Wish Princess to recover and make a wish to bring Eypar back!
Upon hearing Night Star’s question about Eypar, Kong Yu Bai’s expression turned a tad peculiar.
“During your absence, yeah, she did give off this vibe like she could vanish at any moment, but I managed to keep her around using Existence Interference, so she’s held on until now.”
“It’s a relief she’s still here. Otherwise, I’d have to wish her back. I can’t believe she lasted this long!”
Night Star murmured, turning to Kong Yu Bai to express her gratitude.
“Thank you, Singer! Once I get Eypar back to her full self, I’ll make sure she thanks you properly!”
“Just a small favor.”
Shortly after, Kong Yu Bai fetched the little ghost who had fallen into slumber due to Night Star’s energy deficiency.
She looked like a fluffy little cloud, not making a single sound.
Night Star stared at the little ghost, deep in thought.
Because Eypar looked completely different from before.
If she used to be Ghost Girl, now she was Ghost Loli!
Who would have thought she could shrink?
“Hmm… this form’s actually quite nice—adorable, even.”
Night Star couldn’t help but mutter.
Of course, this didn’t matter much; waking her up was the priority.
Night Star reached out to touch the floating Eypar, seemingly injecting some kind of energy into her.
The next second.
Eypar’s body reinflated like a deflated balloon getting its air back!
“Eypar’s perfectly revived!”
The ghost girl opened her eyes, quickly bouncing back to life, floating around the theater.
Night Star breathed a sigh of relief.
Looks like everything’s just peachy.
This was fantastic.
At that moment, Eypar swooped down and wrapped her arms tightly around Night Star, giving her quite the squeeze.
“I thought I’d never see you again! Please don’t leave Eypar behind, okay?”
Eypar’s tone was so pitiful, like a little creature about to be abandoned.
A week without seeing Night Star Lan made Eypar truly realize how much she mattered.
This was a genuine case of not being able to leave!
She really might vanish!
“Okay, okay~ I won’t leave you again,” Night Star comforted, patting Eypar’s back gently, like soothing a little child.
“Whew! That’s great! Eypar will continue to roam outside!”
The sadness came quickly, but it also left just as fast.
Eypar’s ability to switch moods left Night Star a bit speechless.
But hey, at least she was optimistic!
No need to worry too much about her state.
After Eypar zoomed off, Night Star looked around, taking in the sights of her fellow theater members.
The Fraudster, Gentleman, Singer, Puppet Master, Makeup Artist, Playwright, and Announcer were all present.
Even Guqiu was quietly perched on a beam munching on fries.
The only one missing was the Group Leader.
This gave Night Star an uneasy feeling.
Whatever happened during this past week was surely more complicated than she had imagined.
Night Star’s mood quickly darkened as she inquired about the Group Leader’s whereabouts.
“Where’s the Group Leader?”
The Fraudster answered, “Not sure. The Group Leader left the theater shortly after you did; we didn’t ask where he was going, and he didn’t mention it. He didn’t even participate in the weekend’s performance, and as of now, he hasn’t returned.”
The Gentleman spoke up too, “The Group Leader seemed a bit off at the time. I checked in on him, but he said everything was fine. My gut tells me he might’ve been lying, but I chose not to pry further and respected his wishes.”
Hearing that, Night Star’s heart sank further.
Just as she suspected.
Exactly like what Luo Xi said.
The Kuro powers in the Group Leader had gone haywire!
He might no longer be just a boost for Star Eclipses but had become a terrifying entity with a mind of its own!
With Kuro merged within him, the Group Leader possessed unimaginable time-manipulating abilities.
If Kuro’s consciousness was manipulating the Group Leader’s body, that could be a real disaster.
Night Star suddenly had a premonition.
The Group Leader might no longer be in this timeline.
Just like how another version of the Group Leader from a different timeline used time powers to leave.
This was a big mess!
