[In The Real World]
Regarding the clones, after arrangements made by the Unified Secretary, the players weren't shown too much about them, but a battle was still arranged, written as a small boss but read as an elite enemy.
Four against two. Beating up "Stelle" and "March" together wasn't anything difficult.
After winning this battle, a scene would play where the real Stelle and March beat up the fake versions.
Immediately after that came the part where Stelle ultimately decided to take these two away and give them to Nero as a gift (free labor).
"Hey! It connects with the earlier part!" Hearing Stelle talk about the experience of helping at the Rift factory earlier, Siberian Duck was pleasantly surprised.
After all, before starting the new mission, she had just finished collecting the rewards from this round of the Rift factory.
It gave her the satisfying feeling of successfully catching a returning boomerang.
[Dan-heart Eternal: That may be true, but I feel like Cocolia in the Rift factory isn't very useful. She's completely different from the boss version.]
[Wind-Boy Solo-Stan: Obviously. Worker Cocolia is just a normal Pathwalker. The Stellaron was taken by Nero, the flaming lance was taken by the Trailblazer, and most of the workers in the factory are Rift creatures forced to work, so they won't provide Cocolia with any extra protective equipment...]
[Senior Employee: I can only say that life in the Rift factory isn't great. Monster employees basically don't get any rest time. Working while being eroded by the Rift… Cocolia might be thinking it would've been better if she had died back then.]
[Glue Man: Bro, your username makes your statement very convincing, so what did Bronya say?]
[Kouhai Group: I think Bronya wouldn't say anything. Even if she wanted to, she'd be angry but wouldn't dare say it out loud. Not to mention the factory will accelerate Belobog's development. Right now the two people managing the factory are Tingyun and Sampo, and both of them support Nero.]
[Kouhai Group: Besides, even without them, the crack Nero split open with one sword is still hanging in Belobog's sky... And Bronya isn't someone who doesn't understand reason.]
[Pom-Pom: So Cocolia is called a worker, but in reality she's a reform-through-labor prisoner, right?]
[Siberian Duck's Little Follower: Stop talking, don't spoil it! More spoilers and I'll mute you.]
[Kouhai Group: OKBK!]
"As expected of the Trailblazer, truly too kind. Immediately arranging job positions for the clones!" After seeing Stelle's arrangement for the clones, Siberian Duck couldn't help laughing.
[Madam Herta Fan Support Club: The Nameless of the Astral Express are full of justice. Seeing the pitiful clones with no money and unable to afford food, they thoughtfully gave them a chance to earn money!]
[Aha's Messenger: Clones: 'Thanks!']
[Aha Isn't Here: Alright, alright, so this is how you're playing it?]
[Belobog Savage: Our Boss Nero said it already, this is exactly the kind of high-quality good employee we need!]
[Nero Is My Husband: I completely agree with Stelle and March's approach. Thinking of bringing free and useful labor for Nero is truly heartwarming!]
[Nero Is My Husband: However, I hope these two don't get carried away. Even if they gain Nero's favor through this method, it's useless. The only person who can hold Nero in their arms is me! Hehe!]
[I Use Pantene: I'm now hoping that one day the official staff sees this person who's crazily single-sidedly online-dating and losing their mind. Then they can add this into the game's story or event.]
[Nero Is My Dad: I get it, I get it. Then let Nero personally say things like hating the Yellow Pee Guy or disliking the Sky-Rushing Emperor. That would be perfect!]
[Nero Is My Husband: You two… your hearts are so cruel!]
[So Handsome I Get Beaten On The Street: We just want to see that reaction of yours! The expression of your black heart shattering because Nero hates you!]
———
[Inside The Game]
After confirming what to do with the clones, Stelle and March dragged the two clones, who looked like dead dogs after the beating, and continued following Ditting forward.
After some time, under Ditting's guidance, they arrived at a relatively wide open area.
Once they reached this place and looked around, they could see quite a few people lying on the ground or leaning against the walls in various positions.
Every one of them had their eyes tightly shut, their skin pale, looking as if they were already dead.
Aside from these people lying on the ground, March and Stelle also saw Nero, Qingque, Old Yang, and Bailu, who seemed to have already arrived here earlier.
Nero's group had done something similar to them. Sure enough, they had also captured their clones.
Almost the moment the two entered, Nero noticed them and waved his hand in greeting.
Stelle and March responded as well.
After that, Stelle's gaze swept across the faces of the people lying on the ground. She realized they all seemed to be familiar faces.
So she immediately took out her phone and compared the photos on the list Qingque had previously summarized.
The people who had encountered those strange incidents all corresponded with the individuals lying here on the ground, their condition unknown.
"They're the people who had those incidents. The clones piled them up here," Nero's voice came.
Soon Qingque continued, "None of these people are dead, but they're close. Also, the number of people here isn't complete."
"There should still be some who haven't been dealt with by those clones yet. Bailu checked them earlier."
"They should wake up soon, but afterward they can't go home. For now they'll have to be handed over to the Cloud Knights for supervision. I've already notified them."
After saying that, Qingque sighed. "If I'd known earlier, I wouldn't have taken General Jing Yuan's job. It's much more troublesome than I imagined."
"S-so what should we do now?"
Huohuo's somewhat timid voice came from not far away. The final group had also arrived at the scene.
Yanqing could be seen standing there with a tired expression. If he hadn't used Heaven's Collapse and had instead saved some strength, they probably would have arrived a little faster.
The moment Nero saw Yanqing, he immediately said, "You used Heaven's Collapse, didn't you! I saw it!"
Yanqing looked at Nero and nodded.
"Huh!? Was that phenomenon in the sky earlier something you did?" March showed a surprised expression.
Then the beautiful girl raised a hand to her chin and looked back and forth between Nero and Yanqing with a scrutinizing gaze before saying, "Are the kids on your Xianzhou really that different from kids on other planets? Why is every single one of you so amazing?"
"That's because you haven't actually met many Xianzhou kids," Nero answered March's question very directly.
March didn't know how to respond. After opening her mouth a few times as if she wanted to say something, she finally chose to remain silent.