At this moment.
Yan Huan sat cross-legged on the ground, Black Abyss White Flower in hand.
Someone had brought over an iron basin and placed it beside him.
Clang, clang—coin-like objects were tossed into the basin one after another.
Hearing the sound, Yan Huan looked completely baffled.
"???"
Not everyone who came seeking treatment was poor.
Many people voluntarily tossed Winter City Shields into Yan Huan's iron basin as payment for treatment.
"What are you throwing in there? Don't you use Credits?" Yan Huan asked.
"Ah, we're already used to using Winter City Shields as currency. Does it bother you, little brother?"
"No, it's just my first time seeing them." Yan Huan waved a hand, not particularly concerned about the Winter City Shields in the basin.
All this time,
he had felt that something was off, though he could not put his finger on it.
Hadn't he been on the snowfield before? How had the tractor ended up here?
That white ring apparently did more than just accelerate things.
"Mr. Yan Huan, um, the supplies have all been distributed."
At that moment, Herta came over to report to Yan Huan.
"Oh, and Sister Ouga helped out too," Herta added.
Yan Huan nodded indifferently, then handed the large basin piled high with Winter City Shields to Herta.
"Take these to Sister Ouga. Consider them payment for her work. We're not short on money."
"O-okay."
Herta nodded, took the Winter City Shields, and carried them off to find Ouga.
Seeing that the time was about right, Yan Huan stood up.
He looked around.
There was not the slightest trace of ice or snow here.
"Let's get out of here. We need to find March 7th and Dan Heng first."
With that, Yan Huan climbed onto the tractor again.
"Rumble rumble... putt putt putt... bang! Rumble rumble... putt putt putt... clank!" The engine once again made the sounds of old age.
Everyone around them: "..."
"Hmm, how did that white ring work again?"
Yan Huan looked at the controls and immediately found himself stumped again.
"Bang bang bang... bang bang bang—!!"
Right in front of everyone, he began smacking it again.
Everyone around them: "..."
"Mr. Yan Huan, wait for me! Let me drive!" Herta came jogging over from afar, panting.
"Hah, you can do it?"
Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, Yan Huan moved over to the passenger seat.
Herta was quick with her hands, performing a series of operations.
A white ring swiftly appeared in front of the tractor.
"I remembered how you did it earlier."
"Awesome, awesome." Yan Huan gave her a thumbs-up. "Who says women can't drive!"
The rusty tractor slowly started moving again.
"Putt putt putt... bang... clank! Putt putt putt... bang... clank!"
The watching crowd: "..."
And so, under everyone's gaze, the tractor slowly drove into the white ring.
At the same time, a woman carrying an iron basin stuffed full of Winter City Shields rushed over in a panic.
"Herta, Mr. Yan Huan, th-there are too many Winter City Shields, I can't..."
Before she could finish, the tractor drove into the white ring and vanished without a trace.
All it left behind were clouds of thick black exhaust.
Belobog, in the normal timeline.
A tractor slowly emerged from the depths of the snowfield.
"Putt putt putt... bang! Putt putt putt... clank..."
Sampo: "..."
Under a tree in the distance, a blue-haired man heard that familiar sound and immediately brightened with delight.
"This familiar tractor, this nearly scrapped clattering noise—it's him, it's him! It has to be him!"
He spread his arms and rushed out at top speed, blocking the tractor's path.
"Wait, buddy, wait! It's me, it's me!" He waved both hands enthusiastically at the tractor's driver.
But amid the deafening engine noise, Sampo only heard this.
"Brake!"
"Which one?"
"Brake!!"
"Which one?"
"Brake!!!"
"Which one?!"
"Bang—!!"
Sampo: "..."
That familiar sensation again—Sampo was run over by the tractor once more.
Soon, the tractor stopped.
As Herta climbed down, she complained:
"Y-you didn't say which one."
Yan Huan comforted her:
"It's fine, no big deal. If we run someone over in a place like this, nobody should find out."
Herta: "..."
Sampo climbed to his feet and stared at the two in shock.
"I heard that."
Herta: "..."
"Wait... you, huh, why do you look kind of familiar?" Sampo began examining Herta's appearance.
He asked uncertainly:
"What's your name?"
"My name is... Herta."
"???"
Sampo stared at the two of them in shock.
No wonder he had sensed a trace of spacetime fluctuations the moment he saw that wrecked tractor.
He looked at Yan Huan, eyes wide.
"Y-you actually went into the past and healed the dying eighth-generation Supreme Guardian?"
"What are you talking about?" Yan Huan frowned.
"Stop bothering me. I need to chase down a pink-haired girl and a poker face. This tractor's got problems, so I can't drive it anymore."
As he spoke, Yan Huan casually waved a hand, and the tractor turned into motes of light and disappeared.
"Wait, wait, wait, the pink-haired girl and the poker face, right? I know, I know." Sampo blocked Yan Huan again. "I saw them both. They've already entered the city!"
"Entered the city?" Yan Huan frowned. "Fine, then I can go back too."
Sampo: "???"
As he spoke, Yan Huan started walking in the opposite direction.
"No, buddy, aren't you going into the city?"
"No. If they entered the city, they'll have food to eat. I haven't eaten yet. I'm exhausted. I'm going home to rest for a few days before heading out again."
Sampo once again blocked Yan Huan and Herta, saying anxiously:
"No, did you forget the purpose of this trip?"
"What purpose? Clipping my nails while those two weren't around? I already finished that."
"It's to save this planet!"
"How am I supposed to save it? I have no idea."
"You need to seal the Stellaron!"
"What Stellaron? I don't even know where it is."
"The Supreme Guardian knows! You need to go find her!"
"You know so much, so why don't you go?"
"Uh..."
Sampo sniffed and stared blankly at the two of them.
Did I let something slip?
"Besides." Yan Huan stared suspiciously at Sampo. "Who are you? Why are you so determined to stick to me?"
"Me?" Sampo pointed at himself and smiled. "I just went outside the city to pick up some ancient valuables and sell them for a little money later."
"So you make a lot, then?"
"Haha, just a small business."
Suddenly, beneath Herta and Sampo's baffled gazes, Yan Huan naturally pulled a black hood from his clothes and put it on.
Then he produced an AK from his clothes.
He aimed the barrel at Sampo.
"Yoshi, hand over the good stuff, and I'll spare your life!"
Sampo's eyes widened as he hurriedly raised both hands.
"No, that's not right... big brother, you're robbing even me?"
Yan Huan's eyes beneath the black hood were unfathomably deep, and his voice was hoarse. "You discovered my identity as a Stellaron Hunter. I cannot let you live."
As he spoke, he was about to pull the trigger.
"Wait, wait, wait, aren't you from the Star Rail Express?!" Sampo hurriedly begged for mercy.
Herta: "..."
The girl had already backed several meters away. She realized that Yan Huan's mental state was not looking very good.
"You even know that." A trace of killing intent that no one else could detect flashed through Yan Huan's eyes.
But it quickly disappeared.
Sampo only saw the bandit fire several shots into the air.
"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat—!!"
"Woohoo~ Since you saw my true face, you're dead for sure!"
Before you continue