Chapter 71

"... You're so gentle."

A tear slid down the corner of the girl's eye, then she leaned slightly forward, resting her head naturally on Bai Jun's shoulder, gently wiping away the tear with his clothes.

"I'm not gentle, I'm only like this to a few people. Oh, and I also need to apologize for what happened yesterday; I shouldn't have touched your hair so casually."

"... Yes, I'm very angry!"

After wiping away her tears, the girl jumped off the box, turned around, and shouted loudly at him.

"Liuying, my real name is Liuying."

In those gentle, pale blue eyes, a subtle emotion was now present.

"If you really want to apologize to me, then engrave this name deep in your mind, and absolutely, absolutely do not forget it!"

Moist, pale blue eyes.

A hand pressed against the chest.

A gentle and generous smile.

The Liuying spoke to him as if making a lifelong request.

Upon witnessing this figure, Bai Jun, sitting on the box, slowly revealed a smile.

"Alright, it's a deal then, Liuying."

Seeing the faint yet tenacious firefly's light, Liuying gradually made up her mind.

Ding-dong--

"Sam is ready, and everything can proceed as planned."

The woman with long, burgundy hair saw the message on the communicator, gracefully rose from the sofa, and tossed the communicator aside.

"Let's go, Blade. Silver Wolf and Sam are ready. The grand event is about to begin."

"..."

The black-haired man carrying the sword remained silent, simply following behind.

Chapter 97 Welt noticed something was wrong

System time: 21:23:47.

"Here's your coffee, senior. It's tough working the night shift, so drink it while it's hot."

"Thank you. Please put it on the deck for now. I'll drink it after I finish recording this data."

Beside the Supply Zone platform, a young man with an afro handed a freshly brewed coffee to a middle-aged man who was engrossed in recording data. The man with the afro then leaned against the platform railing with his own coffee, lazily gazing at the empty platform ahead.

"By the way, senior, what exactly happened outside the space station that made Station Director Asta issue a Level 1 alert? Come to think of it, this is the first time I've encountered such an emergency since I joined the space station."

Seemingly finding the unchanging, cold scenery before him too boring, the man with the afro took a sip of coffee and curiously looked at his senior beside him.

Even though Asta tried her best to keep the information from ordinary staff members, how easily can human curiosity be quelled?

Moreover, the crew members on the space station are top-notch personnel from their respective planets, who came here to seek new knowledge, so they cannot be simply dismissed with a "wait for further notice."

The middle-aged man put down his pen, thought seriously for a while, and then shook his head at the man with the afro.

"I don't know, but I think Station Director Asta must have had her reasons for issuing this order. Don't overthink it. Since the order has been given, we at the grassroots level should execute it rigorously. This applies to pursuing knowledge and to our work. I hope your personality isn't as frizzy as your hair."

"What does this have to do with hair? Besides, I think everyone wearing the same uniform is a complete suppression of individuality! Why don't you join our 'Cosmically Invincible Nuclear Warhead Association,' senior? I think you'll love it!"

"Forget it, I'm too old, I can't keep up with your divergent brainwaves anymore."

The middle-aged man looked at the big, curly, and fluffy afro that swayed vigorously as he spoke.

Since they couldn't see eye to eye, the two stopped wasting each other's time and silently focused on their own affairs.

"Someone has applied to enter the space station? What should we do, senior? Should we refuse?"

As soon as the lights for the evacuation at the space station platform came on, the man with the afro suddenly raised his head and nervously looked at the calm middle-aged man beside him.

"No, open the access hatch. They are guests that Ms. Herta has already arranged. Let them in."

The older man followed the direction he was pointing and looked out the window, waving his hand dismissively.

Upon hearing his senior's words, the man with the afro put aside his thoughts and brought the retro-styled train, which looked like it had been around for a long time, into the space station.

After passing through the long access corridor of the space station, the train finally came to a slow stop in front of the platform.

The long-silent atmosphere inside the train was enlivened by the girl's voice.

"Wow, Sister Himeko! We've finally arrived at the space station!"

A pretty pink-haired girl playfully pressed herself against the train window, excitedly shouting to the red-haired woman beside her.

This also means that the train's long and tedious interstellar journey can finally come to a temporary end.

"I understand your joy, Little March, but don't forget our mission before that."

Her long, bright red hair was half-tied up behind her back, and the gold rose on her collar shone brightly against her beautiful face. Her elegant long dress accentuated her gentle and intellectual temperament, and a pair of snow-white, shapely legs were visible beneath the slit in her skirt. Her raised jade feet were adorned with a pair of exquisite black pointed high heels.

Seeing March 7th's happy little face, a relieved smile appeared on her face as well.

"Hmph~ Don't worry, Sister Himeko, I've already memorized everything. Hmm, bring the relics from Ms. Herta's request, then buy daily toiletries, prepare some essential food and water, and... and..."

Don't forget to buy a gift for the Conductor.

On March 7th, she counted on her fingers one by one, lost in thought for a moment. Fortunately, the taciturn black-haired boy beside her filled in the gaps for her.

"Yes, yes, yes, you can't forget the plush toy you promised the Conductor last time!"

"Pah!? Passenger March 7th! No, didn't we agree not to tell anyone else about this?!"

Pom-Pom, who had just stepped out of the cockpit, overheard this. Feeling both ashamed and annoyed, it pricked up its long ears, trotted over to March 7th, and protested loudly.

Himeko quietly held her coffee, gently watching this scene. Then, with a smile, she turned to the taciturn black-haired boy. "Dan Heng, I'm entrusting Little March to you. I'm really worried she'll forget things without you watching over her."

"I'll keep an eye on that idiot March 7th, Ms. Himeko."

Dan Heng nodded and tucked the blue notebook filled with travel plans into his pocket.

"Don't think I can't hear you! Who did you just call an idiot? You silent type!"

Hearing this, March 7th, who was playfully fighting with Pom-Pom, immediately raised her head in dissatisfaction, looking at the brown-haired man sitting on the sofa opposite Himeko like a child complaining. "Uncle Yang! Dan Heng called me an idiot again!"

The brown-haired man did not respond.

"Uncle Yang?"

This time, all eyes on the train were focused on the brown-haired man.

"I'm here. Sorry, Little March, I was just spacing out."

A brown-haired man dressed in a gray-brown suit with a matching gray scarf draped over his shoulders sat on the opposite sofa, staring blankly at his right thumb, which was resting on a cane. After hearing the girl's slightly worried call, he calmly adjusted his glasses with his left hand and looked up at March 7th.

"You seem so distracted, unlike you usually are. Is something wrong, Welt?"

Himeko put down her coffee cup and turned her gaze to Welt, whose face was full of worry.

"It's just... recalling fragments of the past, maybe it's because I didn't rest well last night."

Welt rubbed his temples, clearing his mind of the jumbled thoughts, and his tone gradually returned to its usual rationality.

"I'm sorry to have worried you. I remember the proper procedures. Himeko will contact Ms. Herta, and Little March and Dan Heng will go to purchase the necessary supplies. As for the train, I will stay behind to oversee it."

"Uncle Yang, are you really alright?"

"Enough about March 7th, let Mr. Welt have some time to himself."

"Let's listen to Dan Heng, Little March."

Himeko agreed with Dan Heng's words, packed the relics entrusted by the Herta into her suitcase, and prepared to get off the bus with March 7th and the others.

But just then, Pom-Pom suddenly jumped up and patted Welt's arm:

"No, Passenger Welt Conductor, I think you should go down with Passenger March 7th and the others to get some fresh air. After all, you're not Benpa; always being stuck inside the train can get to you, so go for a walk, have something good to eat, and relax."

Little Pom-Pom also appropriately displayed her authority as the Conductor.

"Don't worry, Pa, Welt, just go down with them for some fresh air. I, the Conductor, will keep the train running smoothly. After all, protecting the train is Pa's mission. Besides, the Astral Express's tracking system is recording your movements in real time, and I'll notify you if anything happens, Pa."

Welt stared blankly at Pom-Pom, a faint smile appearing on his usually calm and rational face.

"Roger that, Conductor."

Standing at the train door, witnessing everything that had just happened, the other three also showed varying degrees of smiles, with March 7th being the happiest.

"Yay! The Conductor is definitely the best!"

Immediately afterwards, Welt stood up and followed Himeko and the others off the train.

"Ugh, finally I can go out and about! I was so bored on the train for so long, I was about to suffocate."

March 7th, walking at the very front, let out a long sigh and stretched out the graceful curves of her body.

Dan Heng and Welt silently followed behind her, and the three of them went to the Base Zone to purchase relevant supplies. As for Himeko, she took the relics entrusted by the Herta to the Master Control Zone on the upper level of the Base Zone alone to contact the Herta and submit the relics.

"Let's finish our task before we wander around in March 7th."

"Okay, okay, hmph~ I wonder if they sell anything good to eat here."

On March 7th, she gave a perfunctory reply and wandered around aimlessly with cheerful steps.

"... I just told you to tone it down a bit."

"Alright, Dan Heng, you don't have to be so tense all the time. Try to relax a bit."

"Mr. Welt, you shouldn't always spoil March 7th like this; you'll spoil her rotten."

Welt patted Dan Heng on the shoulder, and the latter just sighed and followed after him with some unease.

"Sigh, this is such a dilemma. What should I give him to express my feelings? Would Curio be too cliché...? I heard Mr. Bai Jun is from Xianzhou native, so maybe I should get some Xianzhou specialties, but will he think I'm too casual? Or should I give him both the Curio and the specialties together? That way I won't have to worry about him not liking them~"

On March 7th, she heard a woman's voice filled with hesitation and shyness. Out of a girl's instinct, she stopped in her tracks out of curiosity.

Mr. Bai Jun?

The name was completely unfamiliar, and its format was unusual for the space station. March 7th searched through his Remembrance but couldn't recall anyone with that name on the space station.

Seemingly sensing someone eavesdropping, the female clerk turned around and saw March 7th looking on with curiosity. Startled, she screamed, "Ah! Who are you? Why are you suddenly behind me? Were you deliberately eavesdropping on Wen Shiling's conversation?!"

"No, no, no, you misunderstand. I just happened to be passing by! The name Bai Jun sounded unfamiliar to me!"

March 7th blushed slightly and quickly shook her head, trying to deny that she had eavesdropped, but the other person suddenly moved closer to her with a strange expression.

"You don't even know Mr. Bai Jun?"

"No, I don't know him..."

Upon seeing Dan Heng and Welt approaching, March 7th timidly hid behind them.

Dan Heng temporarily suppressed his urge to reprimand March 7th, stepped forward and stood in front of Wen Shiling, defending the girl behind him. "I'm sorry, this is my companion. Has she caused you any unnecessary trouble?"

"Oh, judging from your attire, you must have just arrived at the space station recently. Never mind, let me introduce you again!"

Wen Shiling ignored the expressions of the three people and did not ask if they were willing to listen, but simply began to introduce herself:

"If you were to ask who the brightest star is on the space station, besides Lady Herta, Lord Bai Jun would undoubtedly be among them. He is gentle and humble, yet mature and calm. His excellent inner character has given him a perfect appearance: a flowing silver ponytail, cornflower-blue eyes, a tall and slender perfect figure, and black and white flame-wielding twin pistols... Ah! This must be the meaning of 'appearance reflects the heart'!"

Wen Shiling fell deeply in love after accidentally seeing Bai Jun's handsome figure urging the other staff members in the training room. Even though Bai Jun had no idea who she was, Bai Jun Wen Shiling was still excited whenever he was mentioned, her eyes sparkling as if stars were shining.

March 7th and Dan Heng were completely confused.

As Welt listened to her description, especially upon hearing the keyword "black and white flame twin pistols," he imagined it for a moment and immediately felt a chill run down his spine, instinctively shivering.

At the same time, an absurd and wildly imaginative idea popped into Welt's mind.

--Could it really be that man?

"Uncle Yang, what's wrong with you? You seem really strange today."

Lost in thought, Welt suddenly felt March 7th gently tugging at the hem of his clothes from behind. He immediately snapped out of it and dismissed the ridiculous idea.

"N-nothing, it's just that I inexplicably thought of someone... uh, someone I used to know?"

Welt adjusted his glasses with his slightly trembling left hand, just about to leave with March 7th and Dan Heng, when he seemed to catch a glimpse of a silver figure flashing past in the next corridor.

"--!?"

Welt's eyes widened suddenly. The moment he noticed the figure, a familiar yet strange feeling welled up in his heart. He looked in surprise and doubt at the silver figure that was gradually disappearing into the elevator room of the Base Zone.