"Oh! Let's go deal with the Doomsday Beast!"
If this had been before, March 7th might not have been so confident. But what was the situation now? Ms. Herta had permitted Himeko to use the orbital cannon over the comms. A mere Doomsday Beast was nothing to worry about.
But just as March 7th shouted in celebration, Himeko interrupted her from the side.
"March 7th, stop fooling around."
Himeko grabbed March 7th, who had been about to get a close-up view of the fireworks. After calculating the situation, she roughly estimated the damage that using the orbital cannon now would cause.
After running the numbers, Himeko decided to give up.
"Forget it. Asta, we'll head to the Platform first. If a battle breaks out there, the damage might be much smaller. Even if we have no choice but to activate the orbital cannon, the destruction should be reduced."
"Sorry for the trouble, Himeko."
As Himeko left with Stelle and March 7th, Dan Heng also raised his spear. With his other hand, he informed Ouyang of the current situation.
Kiana wanted to follow them and take a look. After all, she had never seen a living Doomsday Beast before.
A legendary weapon designed to target celestial bodies. Although an Emanator's combat power was often measured in planets, the only one Kiana knew was Ms. Herta, and Ms. Herta would not have her true body appear just because Kiana was interested.
However, before Kiana had taken two steps, she was grabbed by the scruff of her fate.
Seeing Asta tugging at the collar of her Staff Uniform while holding a special roll of tape, Kiana immediately sensed that something was wrong.
Unfortunately, it was already too late to run.
After Kiana caught up with the others, March 7th looked curiously at the Pink Cartoon Tape sealing Kiana's mouth. She immediately pulled out the camera hanging from her waist, intending to take a commemorative photo.
After taking the photo, she pulled up Kiana, who looked like a listless fish that had lost all hope, and asked what had happened.
"Kiana, how did you make Asta angry again? She actually sealed your mouth shut. But we're not in the Master Control Zone anymore, so why don't you tear it off?"
Kiana wanted to speak, but with her mouth sealed, she could only make muffled whining sounds.
With no other choice, Kiana took out her phone, typed a message, and showed it to March 7th.
This was a new product from the Interastral Peace Corporation. It was supposedly developed specifically to shut people up. It did not hurt the skin and could even beautify and moisturize it. However, once applied, it could not be removed for an hour unless exposed to high temperatures or treated with a specific solution.
"Uh..."
March 7th was rendered speechless. What does the Interastral Peace Corporation think about all day? Would anyone actually buy something like this?
Then she remembered Asta's rumored identity. Well, whether anyone bought it was no longer the point.
Looking at Kiana Cat, who had been gagged and could no longer shout at will, March 7th suddenly felt an urge to pet her for some reason.
But thanks to her powerful willpower—ha, that was hilarious. March 7th did not have anything like that. Kiana merely shifted her body and dodged March 7th's wandering hand.
Himeko witnessed the scene and decided to contact Asta after they left and ask for the link. She would buy a whole case to keep in reserve.
This time it was only the Doomsday Beast. If Kiana accidentally summoned some existence they could not defeat next time, they would not even be able to cry.
However, because Stelle had come to the Platform with them, the Space Station's alert level was gradually lowered.
By the time they reached the Platform, Asta, who was in the Master Control Zone, discovered that the warning had been completely lifted.
Ouyang had also been waiting there for quite some time. But when he saw that the White-haired ball of fluff's mouth had been sealed with tape, even the corner of his mouth twitched.
What kind of scene had he not seen?
This was one scene he had truly never seen before.
The battle ended rather hastily. With Ouyang joining them and Himeko able to fight without holding back, the Doomsday Beast was quickly defeated without anyone taking damage.
To be honest, only Himeko, Ouyang, and March 7th had actually fought. Himeko and Ouyang handled the damage, while March 7th provided support and interference from the rear.
As for Stelle and Kiana, they had initially planned to fight as well. But after attacking for a while, they realized that their attack range was simply too short. In the end, they retreated to the rear and chose to watch the show.
"Stelle, do you want some?"
By then, the seal on Kiana's mouth had fallen off. She had suddenly remembered that she possessed spatial abilities. Something like this could not restrain her at all.
She took out two bags of potato chips and handed one to Stelle.
Stelle did not hold back either. She accepted the chips and began eating.
As the Doomsday Beast fell beneath the righteous beating of the group, its core neared destruction and its life approached its end.
But in its final moment before collapsing, the Doomsday Beast gathered the remaining power within its body and launched a last-ditch counterattack.
Its target was March 7th, who had already collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.
"Look out!"
As a member of the Preservation Path, March 7th was responsible for absorbing damage and supporting the team, so she had stood at the very front.
Thus, even though Himeko wanted to act, it was already too late.
March 7th had thought she was about to suffer serious injuries. But when she opened her eyes, she discovered that she had not been hurt at all.
She found herself wrapped in a warm embrace.
She twitched her delicate nose, and a faint fragrance entered her nostrils, leaving her mind somewhat dazed.
For some reason, however, Kiana felt as though something was missing nearby.
Looking ahead, she discovered that Stelle, who had been eating chips beside her moments ago, had somehow rushed forward and was now standing where March 7th had originally collapsed.
Looking at March 7th, whom she had pulled over with her ability, Kiana could only sigh. The gears of fate really were terrifying.
Fortunately, Stelle was not standing exactly where March 7th had been. The Doomsday Beast's attack did not strike her directly. Judging from its trajectory, Stelle would most likely only be blasted away rather than face the attack head-on.
"Ah, is Stelle going to be okay?"
"Don't worry. It's not like the Doomsday Beast's attack can turn corners."
Ouyang created a miniature pseudo-black hole in front of himself and had just pulled Stelle toward him when he heard March 7th and Kiana. His heart immediately began to race.
Unfortunately, it was already too late to stop them.
The Doomsday Beast's charged attack had arrived.
What was ridiculous was that the attack seemed to have locked onto Stelle. Although Stelle had already left the Doomsday Beast's attack range, its final strike still pursued her.
What could Stelle say? Before rampaging and losing consciousness, she left behind only one instinctive word.
"Fuck!"
Interastral Peace Corporation Account Deposit: 1 Billion Credit Points
"So, uh... If I say this has nothing to do with me, will you believe me?"
But when she saw everyone's expression—Go on, we almost believed you—Kiana ultimately swallowed her excuses.
Not far away, Silver Wolf looked at her masterpiece and nodded in satisfaction.
"That was close, that was close. I almost went off-script. Mission complete. Let's go home."
After Silver Wolf made a few gestures in the air, a gateway to another world appeared before the two of them. Once they stepped through it, everything came to an end.
Fortunately, Kiana did not end up taking the blame for everything.
Kafka and Silver Wolf had not deliberately concealed their movements, so after they left, the surveillance cameras nearby recorded everything they had done along the way.
Silver Wolf had even sprayed graffiti representing her identity beneath many of the cameras, as if deliberately taunting them.
"I told you it wasn't my fault! You still didn't believe me! The surveillance footage is proof! Whether it was running into Voidrangers around the corner or the Doomsday Beast's attack turning, it was all the Stellaron Hunters' fault!"
"But the Doomsday Beast..."
"Um, if the surveillance footage hasn't been altered, then everything involving the Anti-Matter Legion is connected to the Stellaron Hunters. And the target was..."
At this point, Asta looked toward Stelle.
The others looked in the same direction.
"By the way, Ms. Herta is looking for you."
Himeko said this to Stelle. Ms. Herta had reconnected just now to examine the person who had accommodated a Stellaron in her body, and to clean up the aftermath while she was at it. After all, the remains of a Doomsday Beast were rare and valuable materials.
"Okay, I'll go now."
After Stelle left, Himeko and the others departed as well. After all, the Express crew had come not only to find Kiana, but more importantly to deliver the Curios Ms. Herta needed and replenish their supplies.
The only ones left were Asta and Kiana.
"Kiana, what do you think? Do you like the Express crew's atmosphere?"
"Yeah. Asta, I'll come visit you often from now on."
"All right, all right. Don't make it look like we're parting forever. It's not as if we can't contact each other by phone. By the way, if you go out alone, you can't do without some money. Wait a moment. I'll send you some spending money. If you run out in the future, remember to tell me."
Kiana was just about to say that it was unnecessary, but when she heard the notification from her phone, she left the words unsaid.
Interastral Peace Corporation Account Deposit: 1 Billion Credit Points.
"Asta, you're the best!"
"All right, all right."
Asta pushed away Kiana, who wanted to come over and hug her, then returned to her station and began handling the remaining work.
Kiana did not stay any longer either.
Just as Asta had said, this was not a parting forever. If Kiana wanted to come back, she could visit every few days.
A brief separation was only for the sake of a better reunion.
Just then, Kiana felt her phone vibrate. When she opened it, she found that Ms. Herta had added her again.
Ms. Herta: Come test.
Dominating Moon Sea Fish Fish Cat: ?
Ms. Herta: Simulated Universe. Come test.
Ms. Herta did not continue explaining. No matter what Kiana sent afterward, all she received was the automatic reply Ms. Herta had set.
"Forget it. I'll go take a look."
After Kiana left, the moment everyone watched her walk into Ms. Herta's office, they suddenly cheered together.
"Yay!"
Although Kiana was cute, fairly strong, and even had many fans, everyone was genuinely afraid of her mouth that seemed to illuminate everything.
The staff members who currently had projects in hand were especially excited. They would no longer have to live in constant dread that they might run into Kiana one day and have her criticize their work, causing some flaw in their research to appear.
They estimated they would wake up crying from happiness even in their dreams.
Asta was reluctant to see Kiana leave, but after confirming that Kiana had gone, she also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The others might only be worried, but she had truly been a victim.
She remembered how, half a month ago, she had taken Kiana to see the subject she was researching. When they were looking at a planet that was unsuitable for biological habitation but had an extremely beautiful appearance, Kiana had made a comment.
"Wow, this planet is so red. But I read in a book a few days ago that this planet has a very long lifespan. It won't suddenly explode one day, will it?"
At the time, Asta's heart had lurched. Researching that planet was one of her current projects, and it was also the one closest to completion.
Still, the subject had been assigned to her by Ms. Herta. Surely it could not be such a coincidence.
Then, when Asta wanted to continue her research the next day, she discovered that it was gone. Everything was gone.
The planet had not perished because it had reached the end of its lifespan. Instead, it had been blasted into rubble when the Anti-Matter Legion passed by.
Fortunately, the Space Station's soundproofing was quite good. When Kiana entered Ms. Herta's office, she did not hear the sounds outside. Otherwise, she would definitely have given those people a proper scolding.
"Ms. Herta, why did you call me here?"
"Simulated Universe. Go test it."
In response to Kiana's question, Ms. Herta merely pointed at the equipment nearby and told Kiana to lie down inside.
However, after seeing Stelle nearby and the surveillance feed of Stelle entering the Simulated Universe, Kiana was not in a hurry. Instead, she watched the interactions between Stelle and the Aeons within the Simulated Universe.
"Go already!"
Perhaps Kiana's constant peeking around had distracted Ms. Herta.
Ms. Herta stopped her work, turned around, and shouted at Kiana.
However, Ms. Herta's appearance did not fit that of a stern old-fashioned person. She did not have an intimidating appearance, so Kiana felt that her shout sounded more like a coquettish complaint.
It was not until a purple hammer appeared in Ms. Herta's hand that Kiana reluctantly lay down inside.
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