Asta's Gift

Pom-Pom: The route information has been prepared. All Nameless, please return to the train as soon as possible and prepare for the warp, pom!

Bai Luoming looked at the message on his terminal. He was still stuffing pastries into his mouth, his cheeks puffed out like a ball.

Seeing the message, Bai Luoming struggled to swallow the pastries in his mouth and looked up from his terminal at Herta across from him.

"Ms. Herta." He swallowed the mouthful of sickly sweet pastry with a muffled gulp, his Adam's apple bobbing as his hand reached for the armrest of his high-backed chair. "I might have to leave first. The train says it's time for the next warp."

Herta didn't answer. She simply stood at the console, her gaze resting on the virtual screen, seemingly lost in thought.

Bai Luoming stopped moving his chair. He glanced at the open alloy door a few steps away, then at Herta across the table.

Unsure what Herta meant, and seeing that she had fallen silent, he didn't like to interrupt her. He remained seated, waiting for her to finish thinking.

"Leave if you want to," Herta said, leaning against the edge of the console. Her gaze passed through the rising steam and settled on him.

"When you get somewhere new, remember to be more careful. Stay away from women with ulterior motives."

The last bit of flaky pastry in Bai Luoming's mouth nearly stuck in his throat. He picked up his teacup and took a large gulp, forcing down the sweetness, then asked, "What counts as ulterior motives?"

Herta lifted her eyelids, her gaze sweeping over his lower lip, which had been bitten red earlier. "You can tell at a glance. Stay as far away from them as you can."

Bai Luoming followed her gaze and looked her over.

The skirt of Herta's white strapless dress had several noticeable creases, perhaps from sitting astride him earlier. Its neckline was also half an inch lower than usual, leaving a broad expanse of fair skin exposed to the air.

He leaned back in his chair, the corners of his mouth curling upward. "In that case, doesn't Ms. Herta fit that description perfectly?"

"Does that mean you're a bad woman too, Ms. Herta?"

With those words, the air in the office seemed to fall still.

Herta stopped what she was doing and turned to look at Bai Luoming, a trace of chill in her gaze. She said coldly:

"Then don't leave. Today, this genius will make sure you see what ulterior motives look like."

Bai Luoming pressed his back against the chair and raised both hands over his head, surrendering without the slightest hesitation. "I was wrong, I was wrong. My brain just glitched before I left, that's all. Please be magnanimous and let me off, Ms. Herta."

Seeing that Bai Luoming knew better, Herta gave a cold snort and stopped advancing.

Then she turned around, drew up a control panel with a sweep of her fingertips, and dragged the Memoria data containing active signals into a separate encrypted folder.

Only after doing all that did she continue, "Good that you know. Remember to stay away from those bad women. They won't be as easy to talk to as I am."

Seeing her move out of his way, Bai Luoming immediately stood up.

He walked over to the round table and pointed at a few untouched pastries on another plate. "Since nobody's eating these, taking them with me wouldn't count as taking the space station's research property, would it?"

Herta stared at his hand as it reached for the plate. "What, you don't think they taste bad anymore?"

"That was my assessment of eating them on their own." Without changing expression, Bai Luoming picked up a pastry between two fingers and said softly, "Besides, you made these yourself, Ms. Herta. I thought I'd take them back to the train and let my companions have a taste too."

He searched the table but couldn't find anything to put them in.

"By the way, Ms. Herta, could you give me a few bags so my companions back on the train can have the honor of tasting your cooking?"

"Tsk, honestly, what am I going to do with you?"

Though Herta put on a show of being annoyed with Bai Luoming, she opened a storage cabinet beneath the console. She tossed several folded paper boxes and sealing bags of different sizes onto the table.

Bai Luoming deftly unfolded the boxes and arranged the pastries neatly inside.

He watched Herta pull open a sealing bag for him, her fingers' distinct knuckles reflecting a cold light under the lamps.

The words of thanks rose to his lips, but he swallowed them back down.

"Next time the train stops at the space station, I'll bring you some local specialties." He sealed the bag, his tone earnest.

"You coming back to the space station a couple more times would be better than any specialty." Herta didn't even look up.

Bai Luoming tucked the bag into his coat pocket and walked to the door, then turned back. "Well, see you, Ms. Herta. Don't forget to eat."

Herta's hands paused as she sorted the data. She turned around, her voice cold. "I don't need a reminder from someone who forgets to eat himself."

"Hehe, see you next time, Ms. Herta." Bai Luoming nodded and stepped through the doorway. The alloy door closed silently behind him.

Bai Luoming had just left the office when his terminal began to vibrate.

March 7th's face appeared on the screen.

"Bai Luoming! Did you fall into the space station or something? The train's about to warp to the next stop. Hurry back!" she shouted loudly, reminding Bai Luoming not to forget what he was supposed to do.

Bai Luoming patted his bulging pocket, and the plastic bag rustled. "Roger. Returning with space station specialties."

March 7th's ears twitched, and her gaze immediately locked onto his pocket. "What specialties? What's in that bag?"

"Pastries Herta made herself."

The other end of the screen went quiet for a full three seconds. March 7th brought her face close to the screen and exclaimed, "Seriously? Ms. Herta can cook?"

"They're fine with tea. I tried them myself."

March 7th was skeptical, but she continued, "All right, then. Remember to get back to the train quickly. We're all waiting for you."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

As he passed the spiral staircase in the Master Control Zone, Asta emerged from a data passage to the side. She wore a dark blue uniform jacket today and held a long, narrow black velvet box.

"How did the examination go?" Asta walked up to him, her eyes sweeping over his face. "Ms. Herta didn't give you a hard time, did she?"

"It was all right. She didn't give me a hard time. Ms. Herta is very nice, actually." Bai Luoming glossed over the matter.

Asta opened the velvet box, revealing a silver-gray mechanical wristwatch. A ring of miniature communication modules was set around the edge of the dial, and there were no unnecessary gemstones, giving it a minimalist industrial beauty.

"This is from the Procurement Department's new batch. I picked it out especially for you. You can use it to tell the time and take calls, and it also has high-level access privileges for the space station." Asta held out the box. "It's a gift for you. We can keep in touch more while you're on the train too."

Bai Luoming accepted the watch and immediately put it on.

He said to Asta, "Thank you, Station Master Asta. By the way, you have so much work to do. I won't be bothering you if I send you messages, will I?"

Asta held her hands behind her back and smiled gently. "No. The Defense Department and Research Department share the space station's affairs at every level. Replying to your messages won't be a bother."

She watched Bai Luoming fasten the watch around his wrist. The dial lit up, and the synchronization progress bar filled.

Using the act of looking at the dial as an opportunity, Asta took half a step forward, closing the distance between them. At the same time, a faint baked sweetness mixed with a cool fragrance wafted into her nose.

Remembering that Bai Luoming had just come from Herta's office, a trace of darkness flashed through her eyes, though nothing showed on her face.

Of course, the watch had a little something extra added to it. As long as Bai Luoming wore it, his location and communication status would bypass Herta's surveillance and be sent directly to Asta's private terminal.

"Thanks. Let's keep in touch." Bai Luoming waved his wrist.

Asta watched him walk toward the platform until his figure disappeared around the corner. The gentle smile slowly faded from her face, and she raised her own wrist, which bore another watch of the same design.

Asta tapped the dial lightly with her fingertip. A faint light flashed, and a tiny green signal appeared steadily in a corner of the space station's star chart on the screen, slowly moving toward the platform where the train was docked.

Only after confirming that the signal was stable did she close the screen in satisfaction and turn toward her office.

The airlock door at the rear of the train slid open. Bai Luoming had barely stepped into the carriage when a cylindrical object giving off a strange smell was thrust right in front of his face.

Stelle held up a somewhat worn metal storage canister, while her other hand clutched a handful of Credits and several rusty gears.

She raised her chin, her gray hair swaying with the movement. "Serves you right for not coming with me. Regretting it now, aren't you? This was a top-tier blind box from the trash can deep in the Administrative District."

She dumped the odds and ends onto the table. Among them was a large handful of Credits, roughly estimated at tens of thousands, and even a few glittering gemstones.

March 7th stood beside the sofa, clutching her camera and shrinking back in disgust. She pinched her nose tightly with two fingers. "Who would regret missing out on rummaging through a trash can?! Get that thing away from me. It smells fermented!"

Bai Luoming looked at the pile of trash on the table, then at March 7th, and said earnestly, "Ah, you can't judge a book by its cover. There's an example right in front of us."

March 7th looked back and forth between the two of them, at a loss for words.