Asta's Invitation
Asta approached with a spring in her step, her gaze passing over Himeko and March 7th before settling firmly on Bai Luoming.
Her beautiful eyes held the anticipation of someone who had waited a long time.
That anticipation was so intense that the tense but orderly atmosphere in the Master Control Zone seemed to grow slightly stagnant.
Even Himeko's hand lingered in the air for an extra moment as she held her coffee cup.
Dan Heng lowered his eyes to the handle of his spear, as if studying the patterns on it.
Asta herself was the first to break the silence.
She stepped forward and bowed slightly to Himeko, Dan Heng, and March 7th, offering a proper formal greeting.
"Ms. Himeko, Mr. Dan Heng, Miss March 7th, thank you all for coming to the space station's aid in its time of crisis. On behalf of the entire research staff, I offer the Astral Express our sincerest thanks."
Her voice was clear and her words were courteous, just like the capable station master she was on any other day.
If not for the nearly overflowing look in her eyes that never left Bai Luoming, her formalities would have been flawless.
Himeko took a sip of coffee and replied warmly, "The Express and the space station are friends. It's only natural for us to help each other."
Dan Heng stepped forward, subtly positioning himself in front of and to the side of Bai Luoming. He gave a brief report. "We cleared out three waves of Voidrangers along the way. There were fewer than we expected, so I hope that eases some of the burden on the space station."
"Thank you for your efforts. I'll have the technical department follow up and analyze the information." Asta dutifully recorded it on her terminal, as if she were hearing it for the first time.
After a thoroughly impeccable exchange of official business, she finally steered the conversation toward her real target.
"Are these two... new members of the crew? I don't recognize them."
She had asked about "these two," but those star-filled eyes reflected Bai Luoming alone from beginning to end, as if she were searching his features to make sure a lost and recovered treasure was still intact.
The way she looked at Bai Luoming made him a little uneasy.
He instinctively raised a hand and touched the cartoon bandage on his cheek.
Was the design March 7th had picked too eye-catching? Or was there something dirty on his face?
He quickly went over everything in his head, but he still couldn't figure out why Asta was paying him so much attention when this was clearly their first meeting.
Unable to make sense of it, he could only nod politely to Asta in response.
Himeko noticed Bai Luoming's discomfort and smiled as she came to his rescue. "This is Stelle, and this is Bai Luoming. They're survivors March and the others rescued while clearing out the Voidrangers."
She paused, then added, "Neither of them has officially joined the Express yet. As for whether they want to become Nameless, they'll need to learn more about the Express before making that decision."
"They definitely will!" March 7th immediately jumped in, her tone confident. "The Express is so great. Luo Ming and Stelle will definitely join!"
But after saying that, she felt her words didn't sound very convincing. She quickly turned to the two of them, looking at them eagerly with bright eyes as she added, "Right? Right?"
Stelle didn't answer immediately. She couldn't yet say for certain whether being a Nameless would become her future career.
Bai Luoming, meanwhile, couldn't ignore the pure anticipation in March 7th's gaze. He smiled and, rather than refusing outright, said gently, "I can't even find my way around the space station yet. Isn't it a little early to be discussing where I'll end up?"
Hearing that, March 7th muttered, "You sure think a lot," but her fingers quietly loosened their grip on her camera strap.
Asta took in the entire exchange.
From their reactions, Asta concluded that they had no memories of the future. Although she wasn't entirely certain, she still breathed an inward sigh of relief.
It also led her to make a decision the very next second.
In her previous life, Bai Luoming had likewise chosen not to stay on the space station. Instead, he had set out on a different path, wandering through countless worlds in crisis, always surrounded by women with complicated intentions and facing danger time and again.
She didn't deny the significance of Bai Luoming saving worlds. But in this life, he didn't have to face those dangers again.
After all, what was wrong with staying on the space station and living a peaceful little life with her and Ms. Herta's resources at his disposal?
Asta's expression didn't change in the slightest. Simply picking up on Himeko's words, she said quite naturally, "Since you haven't decided where to go yet, would either of you be interested in joining the space station?"
"The space station is currently in need of personnel. We can verify your identities gradually, but we can arrange accommodation, medical care, insurance, and personal terminals right away."
Her gaze shifted to Bai Luoming, and she calmly played her final card.
"If you're both willing to stay, your salaries and benefits can be set at the highest tier."
The moment the words "highest tier" were spoken, the movements of at least three researchers beside the circular console visibly faltered.
Bai Luoming was also a little dazed by this windfall. After a moment's silence, he asked a very serious question. "May I ask exactly how much the highest tier is?"
Asta answered calmly, "The figure is negotiable. Applications for certain resources can also be handled separately under the station master's authority."
She made it sound casual, but it was tantamount to declaring that the resources of the entire space station could be directed toward him if he only asked.
This enormous windfall wasn't merely being delivered to his door; it was being stuffed straight into his arms.
March 7th looked at Asta warily, her instincts alerting her to the danger of someone trying to "snatch him away." But Asta's offer was perfectly reasonable, and March couldn't think of a way to argue against it, leaving her silently anxious.
She edged half a step toward Bai Luoming and was about to say something when she realized her movement was too obvious. She abruptly changed direction and turned to ask Stelle, "What about you, Stelle? Are you interested in the space station?"
Stelle had only just emerged from her thoughts about the "five social insurances and housing fund." Faced with Asta's generous offer, she didn't ask about the benefits first. Instead, she instinctively looked to Bai Luoming, waiting for his decision.
Her gaze caught Bai Luoming off guard. Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, he reminded her, "For a major life decision like this, you can't rely on the opinion of someone you've known for less than half a day. Otherwise, you could easily end up regretting it."
But Stelle answered seriously, "You're among the only people I know right now. So your opinion is valuable for reference."
Bai Luoming couldn't argue with that. After considering his words, he said, "The space station's offer really is good, but I still want to see the Astral Express first."
He met Asta's gaze and said frankly, "I want to see the legendary Astral Express. After that, I'll consider whether to stay or leave."
At his words, Asta's fingers tightened around her terminal for an instant before returning to normal.
She didn't try to stop him and simply nodded. "I understand. The space station's invitation will remain open. You can come find me whenever you change your mind."
As she spoke, she tapped a few commands into her terminal.
"This is my private contact information," Asta said, offering a perfectly proper explanation. "It'll make it easier to verify your identity later."
Bai Luoming looked a little confused. He didn't have a terminal or any sort of communications device at the moment, so he had no idea where Asta had sent it. He could only ask cautiously:
"Um... I don't have a terminal yet, Station Master Asta. Who did you send it to...?"
"Huh? You don't have a terminal yet?" Asta really hadn't expected that Bai Luoming didn't have a terminal at this point. Just now, acting out of habit, she had sent the message straight to his terminal.
It could only be said that habits could be deadly.
She picked up her terminal to check, and sure enough, the message hadn't gone through.
"I'm terribly sorry... I didn't notice that... I'll get you a terminal in a little while. For now, I'll send the contact information to Himeko."
There was a hint of embarrassment in Asta's voice, but drawing on her experience from her previous life, she quickly made excuses for her actions.
Himeko had been watching quietly from the side. Only now did she speak, putting an end to this "battle to snatch him away" in a gentle but firm tone. "It seems best to let the children take a look around the Express first. The Express never forces anyone to stay, and of course, it won't stop them from choosing a more stable future, either."
She promised, "Once the situation on the space station has stabilized, we'll let these two children give it proper thought."
"That's true. I'm not in much of a hurry myself. We can wait until they've had time to think it over."
"Thank you, Station Master Asta. I'll give it careful consideration," Bai Luoming said sincerely.
The answer was almost identical to the one he had given in her previous life, and Asta lost herself for a moment.
She collected herself and simply cautioned them, "The space station's alert hasn't been fully lifted yet. Don't go into any restricted areas alone."
Bai Luoming took it as a standard warning from the station master to the survivors and readily agreed.
"Station Master Asta!" In the distance, a technical researcher suddenly called out, "We found records of abnormal permissions access in the system's underlying layers. The surveillance and defense logs in several zones were deliberately overwritten!"
Asta's expression turned serious, and she had no choice but to end the conversation for the time being. She said goodbye to the members of the Astral Express Crew, then turned and hurried toward the command console.
Before leaving, she couldn't resist looking back at Bai Luoming.
Bai Luoming noticed her gaze and politely waved.
March 7th, standing beside him, immediately followed suit. She squeezed into Asta's line of sight and waved even harder than he did.
Asta hurried back to the command console and took over the data stream the technicians had pulled up.
The intruders had used forged space station permissions to bypass the standard firewalls and precisely alter some of the surveillance and access-control records in the Curio containment zone.
But they couldn't quite understand something: since the intruders possessed that kind of technology, why hadn't they erased the backend logs instead of leaving clues for them to trace?
"Isolate all affected nodes immediately! Preserve the remaining logs!" Asta's orders came clearly and swiftly. "Security department, send a team to inspect the Curio containment area and confirm whether anything has been stolen!"
After those orders were issued, the chaotic situation was quickly brought under control.
Asta looked at the space station schematic on the console, her fingertip tapping lightly on the area marked "containment zone."
The situation was already far better than it had been before her rebirth. Thanks to her efforts this time, she had minimized the space station's losses and should also have left a good impression on Bai Luoming.
Still, it wasn't a big problem. Once this crisis was over, she would have plenty of time to make Bai Luoming's stay at the space station official.
At that thought, Asta couldn't help humming softly.
All she needed to do next was follow her memories, deal with the remaining Voidrangers, and then wait for the Doomsday Beast to appear and work with the Astral Express Crew to drive it back...
The moment that thought surfaced, her finger abruptly stopped tapping the screen.
Wait, the Doomsday Beast!
Asta's head snapped up, and she looked toward the elevator the Astral Express Crew and Bai Luoming had just taken.