Chapter 324: Nicole's Visit; Can I Use Appraisal on It?
Inside the multiversal Chat Group, the lively stream of messages showed no signs of stopping. A chorus of awe and heated discussion surrounding the Sky-Overlord Mech flooded the virtual interface, keeping the atmosphere at a fever pitch.
However, back in the physical world—specifically inside the familiar, warmly lit confines of the Random Play video store on Sixth Street—this relaxed cross-world surfing was abruptly shattered. A frantic, rapid-fire ringing of the front doorbell echoed through the shop.
"Ding-a-ling-a-ling!"
Belle, who had been completely engrossed in the holographic chat interface alongside her brother, blinked. She tore her gaze away from the glowing screen, her brow furrowing in mild confusion as she peered toward the reinforced glass door. "At this hour... who could that be?"
Wise calmly closed his own interface and pushed himself up from the counter stool. "I'll go take a look."
The moment the heavy door swung open, the crisp street breeze swept in, revealing a figure who was both entirely unexpected and yet perfectly on-brand for this kind of disruption. A young woman leaned casually against the doorframe. Striking pink hair framed her face, and she was currently occupied with idly twirling a vivid lock around her index finger. Her expression was a messy blend of exasperation and travel-worn fatigue.
"Yo! You finally opened the door, you two legendary Proxies!" The visitor was none other than Nicole Demara, the founder and leader of the all-purpose odd-job agency, the Cunning Hares.
She swept her vibrant green eyes over Wise and Belle, her tone dripping with a highly familiar, long-suffering complaint. "I say, you two didn't completely forget about our very important business, did you? I literally called you this morning!"
"Important business?" Belle tilted her head, genuinely oblivious. "What important business?"
"What else could it possibly be?" Nicole planted both hands firmly on her hips and let out a dramatic, exaggerated sigh that puffed her cheeks. "To pick you up and take you to the Outer Ring, obviously!"
She leaned in, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "The key figure in the Vision Corporation scandal. Pearlman! He's finally awake! And he claims he has some absolutely astonishing information regarding the mastermind behind the whole mess!"
The gears finally clicked into place. Wise and Belle exchanged a sudden look of realization. Early that morning, they had indeed received a frantic call from Nicole detailing Pearlman's sudden recovery and the promise of critical intel. But immediately after hanging up, the Chat Group's chaotic lottery had completely hijacked their attention, wiping the real-world appointment clean from their minds.
"Ah! I'm so sorry, so sorry!" Belle immediately clapped her hands together in a pleading gesture, her face flushed with genuine guilt. "We... we were just in the middle of discussing some urgent technical things and accidentally lost track of time."
Nicole rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, groaning loudly. "When you two were investigating the Vision Corporation scandal and tracking down Pearlman, you were more active and attentive than anyone else in New Eridu! How is it that the second the key witness actually wakes up, you just forget?"
She threw her arms up in exasperation. "And I even rushed all the way from the Outer Ring into the inner city first thing this morning! I had to squeeze past all those 'goody-two-shoes' who were driving at a snail's pace, strictly obeying the city speed limits for ages just to get here! Their speed was simply infuriating. It wasn't even half of the normal cruising speed out in the Outer Ring!"
Wise, ever the analytical one, keenly caught the discrepancy in her rant. He narrowed his eyes, asking cautiously, "Nicole. If I remember correctly, the legal speed limit within New Eridu's city limits is exactly half of the maximum speed limit allowed on the Outer Ring highways, right?" He paused, studying her defensive posture. "That speed you just complained about... you didn't happen to speed again, did you?"
"It's fine, it's fine!" Nicole waved her hand dismissively, a thoroughly unrepentant, sly grin spreading across her face. "Don't worry, I'm a genius! Right before crossing into the city limits, I completely took off my license plate! That way, even if I get flashed by a traffic camera, Public Security won't be able to track me down!"
Belle's jaw dropped. She stared at the pink-haired girl in absolute horror, her voice pitching an octave higher in sheer disbelief. "Wait! You took off your license plate?! Nicole, you didn't just speed all the way through the city and attract the entire traffic control department, did you? Your driver's license... can it even be saved at this point?"
"Relax, relax!" Nicole maintained her breezy attitude, confidently patting her chest. "I observed my rearview mirror very carefully on the way here. There is absolutely no one tailing me! As for my driver's license..."
She let out a cheeky chuckle, winking at Belle with a knowing expression. "Save a driver's license? I'd have to actually possess one first!"
"You're still driving without a license?!" Belle shrieked, her entire face screaming pure, unadulterated rejection.
She immediately took a large step backward, crossing her arms firmly in front of her chest like a physical shield. "Wait! I suddenly feel that Random Play absolutely cannot be left unattended today! And the HDD system requires extensive, highly sensitive maintenance and debugging. These are all extremely necessary, time-consuming tasks."
She shot her brother a desperate, pleading look. "How about this? Brother, you take Eous and go with Nicole! I'll stay home, man the fort, and be fully responsible for remote technical support and... well, house-sitting!"
Not wanting her excuse to sound too flimsy, she quickly tacked on, "Besides, there are still some highly critical multiversal matters in the Chat Group that haven't been fully resolved yet. I need to monitor the situation!"
Wise stared blankly at his sister, who was shamelessly abandoning ship to save her own skin. He then shifted his gaze to Nicole, who was currently sporting a proud grin. A long, heavy sigh escaped his lips.
He knew all too well that behind the infamous street reputation of the Cunning Hares lay a mountain of exasperating shenanigans and a financial ledger that perpetually teetered on the very edge of total bankruptcy. Driving without a license while speeding through heavily monitored city streets? Honestly, it wasn't even in the top ten most reckless things Nicole had done this month.
"Alright..." Wise pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. He knew he couldn't escape this trip.
He looked Nicole dead in the eye and laid down his single, non-negotiable ultimatum. "I will go with you to the Outer Ring to interrogate Pearlman. But I have one absolute condition—I am driving. Nicole, you absolutely, under no circumstances, are allowed to touch the steering wheel."
"Eh? But my driving skills are actually really good..." Nicole muttered defensively, kicking at the floorboards. However, pinned under Wise's unyielding, deadpan stare, she finally threw her hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright! You're the Proxy, you call the shots."
And so, Wise quickly gathered his gear. He scooped up Eous, the little Bangboo who was still quietly processing its own newly acquired Chat Group skills, and followed Nicole out of the video store. They set off toward the Outer Ring to finally extract Pearlman's supposedly astonishing intel.
Belle, having successfully secured her safety, locked the front door behind them and let out a massive sigh of relief. She practically skipped back to the counter, ready to resume her glorious mission of slacking off in the multiversal chat, while silently sending up a brief prayer for her brother's survival on the road.
Meanwhile, far across the dimensional divide, beneath the blazing sun of Natlan on the continent of Teyvat, Lumine and Paimon had also temporarily logged off from their Chat Group surfing. The duo redirected their focus back to the dusty trails of their current adventure.
However, the dynamic between the two had shifted drastically. Paimon, having just acquired the brand-new Appraisal Skill from the system, was vibrating in mid-air. She was in a state of hyperactive excitement, practically bursting with curiosity and desperate for any excuse to practice her new cheat ability.
"Hey, Lumine! Look at that shiny stone over there!" Paimon zipped ahead, leaving a trail of stardust in her wake. She pointed a tiny finger at a completely ordinary chunk of red Natlan ore half-buried in the dirt by the roadside, her starry eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"Pick it up, pick it up quickly! Let Paimon use her Appraisal Skill to see if it's some super rare, hidden treasure!"
Lumine offered a helpless, fond smile. She crouched down, dusting off the dirt, and picked up the heavy red stone as requested.
Paimon immediately hovered right in front of the rock. She dramatically extended her tiny hand, scrunched up her face in intense concentration, and shouted her activation chant. "Appraisal Skill! Activate!"
A pulse of faint, holographic blue light materialized from her palm, sweeping over the rough surface of the ore like a high-tech scanner.
[Appraisal Result: Ordinary hematite. Hard texture, average iron content. Commonly used for basic forging and refining.]
"Hmm... just an ordinary piece of iron ore." Paimon pouted, her shoulders slumping in momentary disappointment. But her limitless energy quickly rebounded. She spun around, her gaze locking onto a peculiar, broad-leafed plant sprouting near a rock formation.
"What about that grass? That grass looks super strange! Maybe it's some ultra-rare medicinal herb that sells for a ton of Mora!"
Lumine stared at her floating companion, utterly speechless. "..."
And so began a highly tedious trek. As they handled the rugged canyons toward their next destination, Paimon developed an insatiable, burning desire to appraise absolutely every movable—and immovable—object that entered her line of sight.
She scanned wild weeds clinging to the roadside cliffs. She scanned the small, scaly critters that occasionally darted past their boots. She scanned the bubbling, sulfurous hot springs. Even when Lumine approached a group of local Natlan residents to ask for directions, Paimon hovered aggressively nearby, her hands glowing blue, looking as though she wanted to hit the poor locals with an Appraisal Skill to check their biological composition before letting Lumine speak.
"Paimon..." Lumine finally couldn't take it anymore. She rubbed her throbbing forehead, reaching out to physically interrupt her little guide, who was currently aiming her glowing blue hands at a freshly purchased skewer of roasted meat.
"It's roasted meat. It really is just regular roasted meat. You don't need a system to tell you that. If you don't eat it soon, all the juices will dry up and it'll get cold."
"Ah! Oh, right!" Paimon gasped, the blue light vanishing from her hands instantly. "Roasted meat tastes terrible when it gets cold!"
The little fairy suddenly snapped back to reality, her gluttonous instincts temporarily overriding her obsession with her new cheat skill. She eagerly snatched the skewer and began munching away. Yet, even as she chewed, her big, starry eyes continued to dart around the vibrant Natlan landscape, clearly already hunting for her next target to appraise.
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