Chapter 208: The Return Journey

Since the return trip didn’t require rushing, BB-0027’s scheduled moon bus entered a stable cruising mode after climbing out of the crater. The journey would take about ten hours.

The reason for not speeding was to prevent this patchwork bus from falling apart. This luxuriously appointed moon bus was brand new when it left Central City, but now it was almost unrecognizable…

Sista, however, was awakened by the ticklish sensation of Clara’s ear fluff brushing against her cheek. By the window seat, Clara was sound asleep, hugging the Moon Rabbit.

Something tasty? Miss Clara is smacking her lips in her sleep, is she eating something in her dream? She’s just too adorable.

Whenever Sista saw Clara, she couldn’t help but think this. Just looking at that relaxed sleeping face made her smile.

Shiver.

But right then, a sudden chill on her face made her shudder.

“Mm—”

At the same time, a soft sigh reached her ears.

Sista blinked and turned her head. It was Third Sister… oh no, now it’s Third Brother. She was holding a cup of iced coffee with three fingers and handed the dew-covered paper cup to Sista, then sat down in the seat beside her.

But she didn’t start a conversation. She also leaned over to admire Clara’s peaceful sleeping face for a moment, then put on her headphones, closed her eyes, and enjoyed her personal time.

The entire carriage was quiet, not really suitable for talking. Most of the others were either lying down or napping on their stomachs. The drone in automatic photography mode was still filming material inside the carriage.

However, the loli president of the dream witch company was still awake, working on her laptop.

These journeys often came with accumulated fatigue. Moreover, during these seven days, they had encountered unpleasant things in their dreams…

Everyone had been thoroughly exhausted, completely devoid of a vacation atmosphere.

While the excitement of departure could keep one awake, on the return trip, Qiexiya wasn’t unwilling to sleep, but if she also fell asleep, the others would likely become even more tired.

Sista took a sip of the coffee and pulled out her phone.

The subsiding of the Strong Solar Storm finally allowed her phone to connect to a normal signal and access the internet.

She was paying attention to the changing public opinion online regarding the Sigma Series.

Although there were voices of encouragement, there were more disparaging comments like “undeserving of their reputation” and “nothing special.”

And this was under the condition that she had managed to defend the Sigma Series’s bottom line; otherwise, the situation would have been even worse…

“Huh?”

But it wasn’t all negative. Mixed in were many strange comments.

[I didn’t pay much attention before because I heard it was a boy band, but the gender swap isn’t bad?]

[They have handsome souls, so even as girls, they’re still cool.]

[Gender swap? There are actually mutants with such an ability! This power should be promoted; she should become a hero!]

[The brothers have all turned into sisters.]

[In this modified state, if they return to the Abyss and check historical data, they’ll revert, right?]

[Actually, it wouldn’t be bad if they didn’t revert!]

Of course, besides these, there were also many nasty, malicious remarks…

Although the livestream hadn’t continued, the photographer lady had released short videos of the four of them shooting photos in swimsuits on the beach.

She even posted some of the unprocessed raw footage online. Hostility was thus exposed, all to salvage their reputation.

“Hmm?”

There were also some comments directed at her.

[Pure White Storm doesn’t seem to have changed much.]

[He always had a kind of androgynous beauty! Doesn’t even need to change clothes.]

[Too bad we didn’t get to see Pure White Storm in a swimsuit.]

[However, the image of Pure White Storm, wings lost, guarding the gate alone… isn’t that incredibly cool? That’s what a hero should look like!]

[That part was actually a bit tragic.]

Her own changes were indeed minimal—just an extra pair of rabbit ears. Other parts were almost no different from her original body, even her clothes were the same ones she’d worn before…

Sista couldn’t help but recall her previous promise with Clara.

After returning to Central City, she would wear women’s clothing and accompany her out shopping as a girl.

“…As a girl?”

Although her body was indeed that of a young girl, Sista, who had existed as a beautiful boy hero since birth, had no awareness of being a maiden. She didn’t even understand how to be full of that adorable girlish aura like Clara.

Perhaps her admiration for Miss Clara stemmed from yearning for those qualities she herself lacked.

This had always been her distressed. If she could also become like that…

“Huh?”

In the video of her clumsily dancing the grass skirt, an inconspicuous comment scrolled into view:

[Pure White Storm is actually quite cute, isn’t she?]

[Although not as professional as Blue Cavalier’s dancing, doesn’t that earnest effort make you want to cheer her on?]

[She really does seem like a girl.]

[She is a girl now, right?]

Herself… cute? Like a girl?

Just associating these words, Sista genuinely raised the corners of her mouth. It took several seconds before she realized she was smiling.

Being recognized as a hero by fans also made her happy, but these two types of joy were different.

***

Yuehai Resort Station · Empty Guest Room.

“Hey, can you stop making that silly laughing sound at your phone?”

Psycho complained without looking up, typing and sending supportive comments at high speed. She was browsing videos of the Sigma Series after they became bunny girls.

Labi snorted coldly in retort. “Hmph, you fool who doesn’t understand Pure White Storm’s charm! If I hadn’t fished you out, you’d have been escorted back to Central City by those guys! What would you have faced then?”

“Pretty pathetic for an executive of an Evil Organization, aren’t you?”

Psycho said flatly, “Ordinary laws aside, there are some red lines even we can’t cross.”

“The Abyssal administration bureau monsters won’t let you off easily for directly intercepting the souls of the deceased… You should lay low for a while. Our boss will probably put you under house arrest.”

Labi, displeased, continued to grumble. “That was just an operation! If they want to assign blame, Big Head is the real culprit, even the boss himself signed off on it!”

“Please, I was just executing the combat plan formulated by the ‘disaster strategy department’,” Psycho replied. “Let’s talk about it after we get on the ship.”

“…When are they coming?”

Labi felt a bit anxious. She was genuinely afraid of being confined after returning. She had originally planned to go on a beach vacation on Earth. Now, forget vacation, even her personal freedom might be taken away.

Psycho put down her phone, walked to the balcony, and looked up at the dome.

The gaseous dome didn’t block all light. Looking carefully, one could barely make out the outside even during the day.

“Aerial says she’s already on her way.”

Labi suddenly thought of something. “Speaking of which, that Pure White Storm you like… she was originally a girl, wasn’t she?”

“Huh? Wasn’t that your doing?”

“No, I mean… she was a girl from the start, before I took her soul.”

“Huh? Wasn’t that your doing?”

Psycho was caught off guard. She quickly walked back inside, looking at Labi in the bathtub, checking if she was joking…

But the latter’s expression was serious.

“Ah? So you didn’t know?”

“…No. Do I look like a lesbian to you?”

Psycho tried to smooth the furrow between her brows.

“This… I need to look into the Sigma Series’s origins.”

(End of Volume 2)

Please allow me to apologize here to all you esteemed readers.

I have seen many criticisms of this volume: poor suspense setup, dragging pace, lack of freshness due to not changing the setting, etc. Due to my lack of skill, I have brought you a poor reading experience. I am truly sorry…

Precisely because of this, I want to express my gratitude to those of you who have continued reading this far.

In the next volume, I will do my best to speed up the narrative pace and avoid having an overly long volume. If there are shortcomings, I hope you will continue to point them out.

Thank you once again.