Chapter 2: Holy Macaroni! The Group Leader!
November 1, 2035.
This was the first bit of information that Night Star Lan learned after descending into this strange new timeline.
“2035? Hmm, seems relatively modern. Back home it’s 2102, so we’ve got a gap of about seventy years…”
Night Star Lan stood atop an incredibly unfamiliar building, gazing at a blend of the familiar and the strange in the cityscape, and couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.
They called it a different timeline, but it felt like a time-warp back to the past.
The city of her old timeline looked somewhat similar, with buildings in a comparable architectural style.
There were no dazzling cyberpunk skyscrapers, and no hovering cars zooming by.
It felt surprisingly normal.
This place resembled a far-off era where technology hadn’t leaped ahead as it had in her timeline.
Of course, it would be a little silly to treat this timeline as if it were the original.
Luo Xi had said before coming here that the two worlds might have many differences.
They were pretty much two distinct worldviews.
Just because there were Star and Star Eclipses powers over there, it didn’t mean that the same supernatural forces existed here. So, better observe first!
At least she needed to familiarize herself with the details of this place.
But this sort of thing was left to Mo Rabbit.
That girl was more than happy to take on such tasks.
After her arrival, she quickly vanished, leaving Night Star Lan to wait for her to bring back some news.
Night Star Lan didn’t want to casually use her powers in this utterly strange environment.
Otherwise, if she ran into a tough cookie and couldn’t fight back, that’d be a bit dangerous.
With that thought, Night Star Lan plopped down on the edge of the rooftop, soaking in the view as the gentle breeze tousled her dark and silver hair.
“What the heck! I was expecting some fantasy wonderland filled with swords and sorcery, and instead, I got a regular modern city? I was kinda looking forward to a cute beast-eared girl making an appearance!”
Night Star Lan grumbled.
Honestly, what was up with the Group Leader?
If you can time travel, why not pick a place brimming with adorable beast-eared girls?
That way, at least Night Star Lan would have the motivation to explore!
But discovering this was just a modern city made her feel a bit lazy.
Best to just wait for Mo Rabbit to gather the intel.
As time ticked by, she employed some special methods to acquire a smartphone that could connect to the internet—a nifty little gadget she could use to check out this world.
While the tech here wasn’t as advanced as it was back in 2102, at least there was an internet connection! She could look up all sorts of things she was curious about.
That was a step up from those other worlds with no power or internet, at least she wouldn’t feel quite so lost.
Night Star Lan quickly got the hang of operating the phone.
After all, her original equipment was based on devices that had evolved from centuries ago.
This place’s tech tree was pretty similar and just in a more regressive phase. But it would likely leap forward with the passage of time.
Not that it was Night Star Lan’s concern—she just wanted to use the internet to figure out what was going on here.
Way better than wandering aimlessly in a strange place!
Speaking of wandering, the Ghost Girl had vanished upon her arrival—where did she scurry off to?
A real worrywart, that one.
The other theater group members were also gradually leaving the theater, seemingly anxious to find the Group Leader who was stuck in this time.
And here was Night Star Lan, the lone survivor.
“Guess I’ll just k*ll some time online.”
In no time, Night Star Lan downloaded some trendy apps and started surfing the internet.
Even if it was a different timeline, the online environment was pretty similar, causing her little trouble.
“Oh snap! Look at those familiar shows! Seems like there’s some overlap after all!”
She stumbled upon plenty of anime that she recognized—most were like ancient relics from her own timeline.
If she didn’t know better, she’d swear this was just a lower point in time of her world.
Quite the fun discovery!
Eager, Night Star Lan began using search engines to look up information, quickly finding answers to her questions.
“Hmm, seems like old-school performances haven’t been totally swept under the rug here. They might not be trendy, but it’s still better than what’s happening in my original world!”
In other words, those stage performances were niche entertainment here, while they were practically extinct back home.
The Rising Sun Theater Group managed to pull up its popularity with incredible performances and whimsical stages.
Not to mention the crowd-pleasing personas of the performers.
The Group Leader and the others were practically idols.
Just standing still on stage could capture the audience’s gaze, and then BAM! A spectacular show would steal their hearts in a snap.
Since this world had a decent performance scene, Night Star Lan wasn’t about to miss out.
At least she wanted to leave a mark of the Rising Sun Theater Group while she was here.
Seemed like a fun challenge!
“Hmm, if the Group Leader wasn’t being controlled by Kuro, then after landing in this strange timeline, he’d probably be scouring for stages to perform on, right?”
Night Star Lan recalled the moment she first saw the Group Leader. He was right there among the crowd, drawing attention.
Back then, many passersby had stopped to watch, creating a lively atmosphere.
Of course, that was thanks to the Group Leader’s so-called Star Eclipse influence.
Normally, the Group Leader’s old-school magic tricks wouldn’t attract a crowd.
Talk about tired!
But in this timeline, it should work just fine.
Street performances were still full of fun!
Night Star Lan had seen plenty of short videos of street performances online, with audiences happily munching popcorn and enjoying the show.
She thought the performers in the videos didn’t measure up to the Group Leader at all.
If he were up there, he’d definitely steal the show!
“Hmm… should I give it a shot?”
Suddenly, a lightbulb lit up in her mind.
Next, she began searching for keywords, especially on the short video platforms—there had to be some clues!
Keywords like “magic,” “street performance,” “magic costume”—basically typing in all the Group Leader’s traits.
Soon enough, the search engine sprang into action, spitting out a bunch of related videos.
Night Star Lan pondered as she clicked on each one, hoping to find what she was after.
Not even five clicks in, and she spotted a set of familiar figures in one of the videos.
“HOLY MACARONI! The Group Leader!”
Night Star Lan approached this casually, without much hope, but who would’ve thought she would actually stumble upon the Group Leader this way?!
The video, shown from a bystander’s point of view, depicted an older gentleman performing magic tricks. Dressed in formal attire, he radiated an air of sophistication that was simply captivating.
Thus, some spectators filmed his performance and posted it, and it was discovered by a bored Night Star Lan.
Upon catching a glimpse of the Group Leader, her first thought was confusion.
“Hmm? Why is the Group Leader doing street performances? Sure, that’s his obsession, but if Kuro’s controlling him, wouldn’t he act out of character?”
The mysteries were stacking up like a futuristic game of Jenga.
