"You're now listening to Night Voice Radio, broadcasting from the Flying Feather Star Domain's 'White Feather-α' residential star. The time is 8:06 PM on September 16th..." The player on the table emitted a slightly hoarse voice.

The faint sound of water trickling came from the adjacent bathroom. In the room, only the area by the window was illuminated by a purple light strip, complementing the urban nightscape outside where hover cars weaved through.

"This morning, the Federal Central Council announced the progress of the first phase of the 'Radiant Stars' project. Many council members praised the greatness of this plan, stating they would increase investment so more residents could benefit from it. To build a new home, the Federation deems it necessary to restart the Exploration Fleet project, which has been stalled for centuries, to once again extend the footprint and scope of human civilization..."

"After this news was released, stocks of many large corporations involved in shipbuilding surged. Many Federation residents also believe that when the Exploration Fleet project is restarted, the Federation's overall economy will enter another phase of active growth."

The sound of water in the bathroom gradually ceased, and a woman in a bathrobe slowly walked out. Her hair was still dripping wet, simply wrapped in a towel.

She lightly bounced on the sofa, then stretched her long legs, leaning back against the sofa backrest, letting an auto-dryer dry her hair.

The cyan hair gradually dried in the wind, becoming smooth and flowing. If someone familiar with Federation songstresses was present, they'd likely recognize her as Xiang Ke'er, the 'Blue Jasmine,' who had been a sensation in the Central Star Domain in recent years.

After listening to the news on the radio, the woman slowly opened her eyes and sat up.

"The Exploration Fleet, huh? That's quite a clever idea, ah~" she said, yawning.

Just as she was about to take a nap on the sofa, her personal terminal on the table vibrated.

With a 'ding,' the terminal connected, and then a head with grayish-purple hair appeared above the terminal.

"You're lazing around again, aren't you? It's already evening." The other party spoke casually, indicating a good relationship between them.

"Just finished a shower, so what's up, Miss Cini~" the cyan-haired woman teased a bit.

"Alright, let's not talk about that. You got some time later to grab a drink?"

"OK~" Then the two hung up.

...

Half an hour later, the two met in a sky bar with a great night view.

Unlike during the call earlier, both made some changes to their appearance. For instance, the cyan-haired woman now wore black sunglasses and a mask with a certain interactive signature, styled like a black zipper torn open to reveal a big smile, giving off a rather avant-garde vibe.

The woman who originally had grayish-purple hair now had all-black hair, also wearing sunglasses. The moon and star pendants on her earlobes refracted sparkling silver light.

"Let's sit over there." Cini pointed to a vacant spot at the edge of the rooftop.

This bar was located at the top of a building. Besides the indoor bar and open-air grills for buying drinks, the perimeter also had various styles of tables and chairs for guests to choose from.

"OK."

After ordering what they wanted to drink, the two walked to the windier edge of the rooftop.

Sitting down on a simple metal chair, they first admired the scenery for a while, then started discussing recent matters.

"I didn't expect Prin Coco to be quite well-behaved, not stirring up much trouble these past two years." Like Xiang Ke'er, Cini was also a Federation songstress, known as 'Purple Seashell,' though not very famous, ranking lower in the star-studded Central Star Domain.

"There are various reasons for that." Xiang Ke'er opened a can of beer, taking a small sip first.

"I heard from the Children of the Stars that when Prin was crowned, she suffered some hidden injuries and spent a lot of time recuperating, so she became much more subdued."

"Why didn't you tell me, huh? Seems I'm not that important," Cini joked, leaning against the railing.

"Who knows, anyway, the Children of the Stars have always been pretty secretive. Until things happen, I didn't even realize that those around me were secretly supported and controlled by them." Xiang Ke'er casually replied.

"You, me, and 'Blue Demon Moon Deer' Cosnard are all songstresses in the Star Son Alliance camp. They've secretly contacted many songstresses, but none of the top-ranked ones."

"If it weren't for the right timing, they probably wouldn't have put me in the spotlight." Xiang Ke'er casually complained while standing in the evening breeze.

"Because the Children of the Stars mainly rely on the 'Connector' star array that forms the Crown, which doesn't have much to do with us, so they haven't involved us in core affairs."

The two casually chatted about the recent situation of the Children of the Stars and the Federation. Although the topic was somewhat sensitive, it wasn't any big secret, so they didn't mind being overheard by certain organizations. If they really wanted to discuss secretive matters, the two songstresses would switch to mental communication.

...

"The Federation's atmosphere has notably improved over the past few years." After their drinks and snacks were served, it was already over ten minutes later. This bar wasn't busy, with only four staff members, and preparations were slow.

"Due to the start of the 'Radiant Stars' plan, various projects have been launched, attracting numerous personnel. Even if other companies aren't involved, they have to improve welfare benefits to prevent employees from resigning and leaving."

"That's right, employment situations at universities have improved a lot as well. My cousin recently told me about it," Cini said, shaking the glass in her hand, the light red liquid swaying against the glass wall.

"Many people online are saying that this is a sign of the Federation's resurgence and a particularly good era, with multiple songstresses and factions competing side by side, no extreme power dominating, everyone having the freedom of choice, and watching the major factions compete, keeping the environment from corruption," Cini remarked with a hint of sarcasm.