The Villain Is Too Popular

"Wow—!"

"Is this the New Federation's modern metropolis? It really is different from outside!"

In the Deep Blue Metropolis's port exit channel, Tendo pressed himself against the transparent protective barrier, his sunglasses slipped to the tip of his nose, and his pair of cyan eyes excitedly gazed at the magnificent spectacle outside.

Coral-constructed skyscrapers refracted colorful halos under the sunlight.

On the kelp-shaped three-dimensional traffic network, hovercars resembled jellyfish-like special vehicles.

Even the surrounding sidewalks were paved with special seashells, hard yet aesthetically pleasing.

All of this made Tendo feel as if he wasn't in a modern metropolis at all, but rather a peculiar "underwater world" built on the sea.

Just as Tendo was engrossed in the sight, he suddenly felt someone tugging at his clothes.

"What's wrong, Caroline? Why are you suddenly pulling me?"

Tendo turned his head in confusion, looking at Caroline beside him.

Caroline had her head lowered, her cat ears twitching in embarrassment, as if she had something difficult to say.

Before Caroline could explain, Tendo, who thought he had guessed her thoughts, immediately showed a look of sudden realization.

"Oh, so you want to see too, huh? You should've said so earlier! Come, come, this angle is super awesome!"

At these words, Caroline froze instantly.

She seemed to disbelieve that Tendo's thought process could be so peculiar.

Just as she was about to speak directly and tell Tendo to mind his image and not make a fool of himself, a series of muffled laughs suddenly erupted around them.

Several local girls, dressed in glowing jellyfish skirts, were pointing and giggling at Tendo and Caroline, who stood by the transparent barrier of the channel, covering their mouths.

Other locals from Deep Blue Metropolis who had disembarked with them all wore expressions of pity, as if thinking, 'Another country bumpkin.'

Seeing this scene, Tendo immediately understood why Caroline had pulled him.

But to Caroline's great surprise, Tendo didn't care about their "pointing" and "scorn" at all.

He ruffled Caroline's somewhat tense head and said nonchalantly, "No, Caroline, so after all this time, you just wanted me to pay attention to this?"

"It's just the thoughts of a bunch of mediocrities, what's there to care about?"

"Come, come, let's look at that big jellyfish together."

"Which genius designed this? To think of building a tower in the shape of a jellyfish, they must have so much life in them!"

Upon hearing Tendo's words, Caroline was momentarily stunned.

Before she could ponder the meaning of Tendo's words, he pressed on her shoulder and led her to the edge of the huge transparent barrier.

Following Tendo's pointing finger, Caroline quickly saw an exquisitely shaped, light blue tower that resembled a large jellyfish.

Although Caroline had never been to 'Deep Blue Metropolis,' according to the 'Deep Blue Travel Guide' she had read on the ship earlier, this jellyfish-like tower was the iconic landmark of Deep Blue Metropolis's Coastal District, the Deep Blue Pearl.

It had the function of changing the color of its spire according to different weather conditions.

Gazing at the Deep Blue Pearl, which was entirely light blue and uniquely shaped under the clear sky, Caroline's heart, which had been tense from her first long journey, slowly calmed down.

She subtly glanced at the excited Tendo beside her, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve upwards. Then, without a second thought, she joined Tendo in admiring the beautiful scenery outside the barrier.

After all, just as Tendo had said, they were just a bunch of ignorant mediocrities; why should she care about their opinions?

Just as Tendo wanted to see what other peculiar sights Deep Blue Metropolis held, his system suddenly sent a notification.

[Advanced Screening function loaded. Real-time bullet comment function has been enabled for you.]

Huh? Advanced Screening?

Tendo looked at the suddenly updated system and immediately began to carefully read the description of this function.

After a thorough review, he quickly understood what this so-called "Advanced Screening" was all about.

For the 13-station fans in the real world, "Advanced Screening" was an exclusive privilege they received after subscribing to the website's premium membership.

It allowed them to unlock two subsequent episodes of Prequel of the Stars: Embers in advance.

For Tendo in this reality, "Advanced Screening" was a form of "live broadcast" in an alternative sense.

The difference was that in others' "live broadcasts," the camera was always on them.

Tendo's "live broadcast," however, often wasn't focused on him.

However, Tendo wasn't entirely without means to control this camera.

He could obtain his "exclusive camera" by consuming popularity points.

[Exclusive Camera: Can consume a certain amount of popularity points to obtain partial exclusive camera views.]

[Price: 10,000 popularity points/minute (maximum three minutes per episode)]

Although the exclusive camera view cost 10,000 popularity points per minute, which was a bit expensive, if used well, the popularity points invested in the camera could potentially yield multiple returns.

For Operation Master Tendo Simei, who loved to go all-in, enjoyed going all-in, and understood how to go all-in, this was undoubtedly a very good and highly potential new feature—a gambler's delight, so to speak.

Meanwhile, with the official launch of "Advanced Screening," Tendo quickly saw the "real-time bullet comments" floating beside his vision.

Undoubtedly, this meant that the current anime camera was focused on him and Caroline.

Wow! They've unlocked a new map so quickly?

The new map is so beautiful! The production team's budget exploded!

Taking your wife to the aquarium? Tendo, you're truly a romantic man.

So sweet!

Tendo looked at the bullet comments scrolling before him, his eyes darted around, and he clearly thought of another mischievous idea to gain popularity.

"Come, Caroline, let's take a picture!"

Before Caroline could react, Tendo suddenly wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer.

Then, Tendo took out her phone from his pocket, skillfully unlocked the screen, and raised it, aiming the camera at himself and her.

Click!

As the phone's selfie shutter clicked, Caroline, finally coming to her senses, snatched her phone back and seriously examined the selfie of herself and Tendo.

This inspection immediately made Caroline's expression turn awkward.

In the selfie, her expression was bewildered, her eyes vacant, appearing utterly unintelligent, a stark contrast to her usual demeanor.

And it wouldn't have been so bad if she just looked bad; she could have just made a fool of herself with Tendo.

But Tendo, that sly guy, had a trick up his sleeve.

Not only did he deliberately strike a handsome pose when taking the picture, but even the angle of the shot was specially chosen.

As a result, in this selfie, Tendo's virtual attractiveness increased by one point, and Caroline's virtually decreased by one point.

Thinking this, Caroline, with her cat ears perked up, gritted her teeth and said, "Tendo, if you're going to take a picture, fine, but why didn't you wait for me to get ready? You did it on purpose, didn't you!"

Tendo adjusted his sunglasses and said with a smile, "What's the fun if you're ready? We want that sense of realism!"

Looking at Tendo's mischievous expression, Caroline knew he was messing with her.

And so, Caroline, abandoning her usual composure and demureness, immediately slapped his arm hard.

"Realism, my foot! You're clearly just playing a prank!"

"Whoa, Caroline, I disagree with that! I clearly made myself look handsome!"

"What about me?!"

"You? Whatever. As long as you're in the shot, what's with all the demands?"

"Commander Tendo!"

He fled, she chased, the two of them playfully bickering as they ran towards the outside of the channel.

Because Tendo had deliberately lingered to enjoy the scenery, they had fallen quite a distance behind Yunmeng and the other two. They couldn't afford not to catch up quickly.

And watching this interesting little interaction between Tendo and Caroline, the real-time bullet comments for the advanced screening immediately became lively.

Wow! If they don't get married later, it's really hard to end this!

Tendo-Caroline duo, scoring big again!

Something's not right, I feel very uneasy. Isn't Stars a passionate combat anime? Why is it so sweet? It feels like there's a problem!

Selfie? Do you think Tendo-Caroline will temporarily separate due to special reasons later, leading Caroline to only be able to look at their selfie and feel silently heartbroken?

Damn it, are you a devil in front of me? Quickly retract that, don't let the production team see it!

Don't mess this up! If they ruin this, I'll drop the anime!

If the production team dares to break up Tendo-Caroline, I'll dare to send my blade to the production team!