{More fun is coming—how about Theresa scaring Old Yang so badly that he loses his wits? Everyone, guess what method Theresa used to scare Old Yang?}
Everyone was discussing Kafka's intentions. Both Welt and Himeko were deeply wary of the Stellaron Hunters—or rather, they did not want anything to do with them. After all, Trailblaze itself had some connection to the Interastral Peace Corporation. Once a planet had been explored, the Corporation would send its Market Development Department to attempt contact.
What happened afterward was no longer the Astral Express's concern. The Astral Express only needed to uphold the Path of Trailblaze, while the Corporation had far more to consider.
For instance, maintaining the planets after they had been explored, rewarding the Astral Express with Credit Points or Stellar Jade to replenish Trailblaze Power, and offering discounts on purchasing replacement train parts. There were also Corporation employees at the Space Station on Azure Star, such as Asta, the rich stationmaster.
In short, the Astral Express could hardly manage without the Corporation's support when it came to maintenance and repairs. The Astral Express and the Interastral Peace Corporation had an employment relationship: the Astral Express was responsible for saving and exploring worlds, while the Interastral Peace Corporation was responsible for making contact and developing them. That was the arrangement.
That was why Himeko and Welt were so unwilling to have contact with the Stellaron Hunters. Nearly every member of the Stellaron Hunters was wanted by the Corporation.
If the Corporation believed that the Astral Express had been secretly contacting the Stellaron Hunters, it would definitely start overthinking things, assuming that the Astral Express had also been incited by the Stellaron Hunters to cause trouble.
{The author isn't making this up; I checked Baidu. If you don't believe me, look it up