Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

The steel hatch slowly lifted, making a creaking sound, which didn't sound like it was properly maintained.

Under Akina Sawaya's gaze, a kappa-like girl with fluffy, cotton-candy-like hair and silver-white hair nimbly jumped out of the cockpit.

Once out of the cockpit, the kappa girl became surprisingly poised and confident. She patted her chest, met everyone's gaze, and smiled:

"My name is Kawashiro Romon, an ordinary kappa who only likes piloting robots."

......

Chapter 195 Prejudice is a Mountain

"Waaah~ I already told you what you're looking for has been stolen!"

The moment of his cool demeanor lasted only two seconds, He Cheng Luo Meng covered his forehead with both hands, his eyes brimming with tears, and squatted in the shadow of the mecha.

Akina Ze also walked over and immediately noticed the large bump on Miss Romon's forehead.

Ouch... this must hurt a lot, right?

"Hmph? You're feeling sorry for him again?" Aya Shameimaru noticed Sawaya Akina's expression and sneered.

Upon hearing this, Akina Sawa also showed a wry smile. He had already realized that Miss Wenwen was jealous.

He has indeed been in close contact with several girls these past few days, but it's all just pure friendship.

Moreover, if he finds someone in danger on the roadside, even if they are not friends, Akina Ze will still step forward to help. As for comforting them afterward, it's just a matter of seeing it through to the end.

Not wanting to dwell on it, Akina Sawa pretended not to hear and asked Shameimaru Aya, "What are you looking for?"

Aya Shameimaru pursed her lips and did not respond, seemingly not wanting Akina Sawa to know her whereabouts.

"She's looking for an Obsession Amplifier, an item that can strengthen obsessions!"

On the contrary, He Cheng Luo Meng, who was crouching down with his head in his hands, seemed to have seen a savior and quickly threw out a long speech.

Shameimaru Aya's eyes narrowed as she glared at Romon, signaling her to shut up.

Miss Romon trembled and cast a pitiful, pleading look at Akina Ze.

Although this tengu seems quite domineering, she can tell who the real boss is.

The name "Obsession Amplifier" immediately suggests a close connection to that dark energy. Akina Sawa sighed, "Wenwen, you don't mind if I let her continue, do you?"

Aya Shameimaru remained silent, a hint of resentment in her eyes. She may have prepared a plan, but now it had been shattered.

Looking fearfully in the direction of Aya Shameimaru, Romon Kawashiro moved toward Akina Sawa, but stopped after only a few steps because she felt a chill run through her body.

Not daring to get any closer, He Cheng Luo Meng swallowed and said, "It's a box that's 30 centimeters long, tall, and wide. You just need to put the prepared host into the groove inside and close it tightly, then press the red button on the front to give the host the ability to enhance their obsession."

"But this kind of tool has a certain flaw; its strengthening of obsession is random and will not proceed in the ideal direction."

"How do you explain the jade pendant?" Qiu Mingze raised an eyebrow, finding a loophole in Luo Meng's words.

If the obsession amplifier doesn't enhance the obsession itself, then why did the white-coated kappa in the Gensokyo Origins Chronicles only sell jade pendants that could amplify the obsession of weight loss? Although the jade pendants did have problems later on, how do you explain that?

Hearing this question, Luo Meng hesitated for a moment, but still said, "The item's function can be repeatedly obtained, but this makes the result unstable. Although the last time you got it, it enhanced your obsession with losing weight, but the obsession from the previous times..."

Luo Meng paused at this point, while Shameimaru Aya scoffed, "It exists too, right? It's just being revealed slowly."

He Cheng Luo Meng lowered her head in shame and weakly defended herself, "This has nothing to do with me. Those people were just my relatives at the time, and they have already been locked up in the underground modification base. I just inherited this prop!"

"You only inherited this item and nothing else?" Aya Shameimaru chuckled teasingly.

He Cheng Luo Meng involuntarily glanced at her most beloved mecha...

"Ahem, Wenwen, you've gone off on a tangent."

Seeing that things were about to veer off course, Akina Sawa coughed to interrupt the process.

The Hakurei Shrine Maiden naturally heard Aya Shameimaru's criticism of Romon.

However, she didn't have any particular feelings about it. Rather than spending most of her time alone at the shrine, she had also thought about living a happy life with her friends in the human world, but that was just a childhood dream...

Reimu Hakurei glanced silently at Zeya Akina.

The joys of childhood may no longer satisfy her... but from that comic book, she discovered a new kind of happiness.

But this is just a hypothetical situation; the reality may not be so pleasant, and the road ahead is still quite difficult...

"So, what do we say now? That thing called the Obsession Amplifier is lost. Should I gather others to help us search for it?"

Black Mary Jane shoes swept across the turned-up dirt as Reimu Hakurei stood beside Sawaya Akina and asked, ignoring the gaze coming from Aya Shameimaru.

If the tengu really refused, she agreed to a fair spell card duel, but Reimu didn't think she would lose, because she was sure she could win.

Akina Sawa was oblivious to the tension emanating from beyond his sight; he was simply lost in thought, resting his chin on his hand.

The clues from Eientei, Suzunaan, and even Hieda House all lead this far, but the Obsession Amplifier has already been stolen.

From this perspective, the thief might be the culprit behind this series of events, because the prop had been stored with Miss Romon for so long without any problems, but now that it has been stolen, things have gone wrong.

But Miss Romon has absolutely no clues. How can she find the person who stole the item in this situation?

Wait a minute, there might be some points we haven't considered...

Akina Sawa suddenly turned to look at Hakurei Reimu, a strange expression on his face.

Reimu Hakurei, who was secretly vying with Aya Shameimaru, instantly returned to her calm demeanor, as if the winking and gesturing had never happened.

Akina Sawa, of course, didn't notice this small detail, because he was immersed in the joy of about to solve a difficult problem.

After organizing his thoughts, Akina Sawa asked, "Reimu, can you tell me who gave you that comic book?"

"It's Marisa? She said she found it for me in a pile of junk..."

The more she spoke, the softer Reimu Hakurei's voice became, until finally a look of "I knew it" appeared on her face.

“It’s Marisa,” Reimu Hakurei said calmly.

“This trajectory wouldn’t even make my front page,” Aya Shameimaru shrugged.

"This is a headache. It looks like the anti-Marisa radar system needs an update and maintenance."

Even He Cheng Luo Meng showed no surprise, only a slight frown.

"What? Is this all the reaction you guys have?" Akina Ze couldn't sit still any longer. He had spent so much effort figuring out who the thief was, but why wasn't anyone giving him any feedback?

Reimu Hakurei glanced at Zeya Akina and said with an exaggerated expression, "So it's Marisa... This is really surprising~"

It was only then that Akina Sawa realized that human prejudice is a mountain, but don't ask where this prejudice comes from.

......

Chapter 196 'Stealth'

A few days ago...

"Pah! Pah! Pah! Why are there so many traps down there? Is the defense this tight?"

Marisa Kirisame, covered in dirt and grime, burst out from a gap, her face smeared with black stains and black smoke billowing from her mouth.

She looked rather disheveled; her black and white dress was torn in several places, and even her hat had several holes in it.

Some time ago, Marisa saw some secrets about the hidden bottom of Youkai Mountain in the books she borrowed from the Scarlet Devil Mansion, which made her extremely curious.

So, on a dark and windy night, Marisa Kirisame hastily made some preparations and eagerly rushed into the entrance she had discovered during her daytime scouting.

She was so skilled at this that she quickly bypassed the guarding kappa's line of sight and arrived at a gate.

Looking up at the magnificent silver-white gate, a hint of joy flashed in Marisa Kirisame's eyes. According to the book, the real secret was located inside the gate.

However, Marisa Kirisame dared not be careless at all, because several times she was about to succeed when her master discovered her and she failed at the last minute.

Having learned her lesson this time, Marisa Kirisame quietly lurked in a secluded corner, her amber eyes fixed intently on the door, her golden curls hidden in the shadows.

She was waiting for an opportunity.

Sure enough, not long after, a small door-shaped gap suddenly appeared on the left side of the tightly integrated gate, and a kappa wearing a white coat stretched and walked out.

"It's now!"

Marisa Kirisame's eyes lit up, and her sharp canine teeth were faintly visible at the corners of her mouth.

Suddenly, the broom, which had been dormant for a long time and had been gathering strength, trembled, and specks of starlight appeared at the forked end of the broom.

The kappa seemed to have heard a strange sound and looked toward where Marisa was hiding with a puzzled expression.

Suddenly, her eyes widened and her lips moved as if she was about to scream.

Unfortunately, she won't have that opportunity.

Riding on her broom, Marisa Kirisame swiftly passed through the kappa like a black lightning bolt and burst into the gap.

The white-coated kappa opened its mouth but made no sound before collapsing to the ground.

The area where she stood was shrouded in a greenish mist, which was Marisa's latest sleeping potion, and it came in handy here.

......

"Let me see what you're all hiding!"

With excitement on her face, Marisa Kirisame swiftly passed through the four-meter-thick gate.

She looked ahead and saw an extremely dazzling milky white light shining from the gate exit, making it impossible to see what was on the other side.

Marisa Kirisame steeled her resolve, used her magic to create a protective shield for herself, and charged straight ahead.

As we entered the light, there were no obstacles as expected, only a slight dazzle.

After a moment of adjustment, Marisa Kirisame forced her eyes open and realized that she was in a huge void.

Looking up, a huge sphere of light hung in the center, and a dense network of buildings, like a spider web, was situated on the cliff face, spiraling downwards. Even Marisa couldn't see the bottom as far as she could see.

"Youkai Mountain... has it been hollowed out?" Overwhelmed with shock, Marisa Kirisame murmured. Such a massive undertaking had been hidden so thoroughly...

The shock was followed by intense excitement.

Marisa stared intently at the sprawling building like a wolf in a sheepfold. "There must be a lot of interesting things inside, right?"

If the central sphere of light weren't so enormous, she would have loved to pry it off.

"Please stand firm and hold on tight, and do not move around. Every kappa is a member of the family, so please cherish your life."

Looking in the direction from which the sound came, a suspended steel block, about two meters long and wide, with its edges blocked by a half-meter-high railing, was seen floating towards them.

"This must be the kappa's usual mode of transportation, right?"

Before the cube could get close, Marisa Kirisame flew over on her broom, completely oblivious to the bottomless abyss.

The steel blocks were engraved with shimmering patterns, arranged according to some rule that Marisa had not yet mastered.

Marisa recorded these patterns in her handwritten notebook, then hovered her broom over the cube.

With a light leap, Marisa Kirisame stood on the rock.

"There's absolutely no sign of it shaking!" she asked, a look of inquiry on her face.

"Alert! Alert! Unauthorized personnel detected. Level 1 alert triggered!"

The patterns on the steel blocks, which had originally shone with a yellow light, suddenly turned red, and a loud announcement was made.

Marisa Kirisame's expression changed instantly. Without time to investigate, she leaped back onto the broom and tried to return the way she came.

"Holy crap! How come so many mechanisms have suddenly appeared?!"

Looking around, Marisa discovered that the original entrance was densely packed with traps, crossbows, guns, and even cucumbers tied to slingshots were all heading towards her.

When Marisa Kirisame looked back, she saw that kappa were emerging from the cluster of buildings that were circling the cliff.

If we don't leave now, it will be too late!

Without further hesitation, Marisa silently chanted a spell, and all her magical power began to surge towards the miniature Bagua furnace floating beside her.

Before her magic power reached its limit, a golden light flashed in Marisa Kirisame's eyes as she silently recited:

"Extreme Spark!"

Immediately, a thick beam of light burst forth from the relatively small miniature Bagua Furnace, destroying all the mechanisms blocking its path.

Firepower is the eternal truth!

Before she could even celebrate the sparks, Marisa rushed toward the small door, facing the still crackling and burning mechanism.

Perhaps the designers were concerned that the thickness of the four-meter-wide gate would cause the kappa inside to die if it were to be closed in an emergency.