A Date with Natasha

Jing Yan hadn't come to the Overworld just to go on a date with Natasha. He was also here for the "visitors from beyond the stars" from the Astral Express: Dan Heng, March 7th, and Stelle, the protagonist, whose artificial body housed a Stellaron.

Natasha seemed to notice the unusual look in Jing Yan's eyes. As she sampled the food from the Overworld, she watched the people around them, then turned to him and said, "Why do you seem so distracted? Weren't you supposed to be taking me on a date?"

Natasha said.

Her words caught Jing Yan by surprise. He turned to her and said, "I didn't think you'd realized this was a date."

Natasha pursed her lips. "Isn't it obvious? Though I'm still curious about that stone you're carrying, the one that gives off all those colorful lights. Where did you get it? I thought you'd learned a magic trick or two from that boy Sampo and would conjure up a bouquet or something."

Natasha wore an expression that said she'd seen it all.

Jing Yan was at a loss for words. He shot her a sidelong glance and teased, "You seem to have a lot of experience with this, Sister Natasha. Have people confessed to you often?"

At that, Natasha's face flushed again.

"What are you talking about? You're impossible, Jing Yan. You see how busy the clinic is every day. We can barely keep up with the work, and there are always more patients and injured people to treat. Who has time to go around confessing?"

"Right, your vase could use a fresh bouquet, couldn't it, Sister Natasha? How about we stop by the flower shop and get you one after we eat?" Jing Yan suggested.

Natasha hesitated, glancing around before turning him down. "Let's not. The fact that we've stayed here this long without being spotted is already thanks to the Aeons. If we stick around much longer, the Silvermane Guards might come and arrest us..."

"It's fine." Jing Yan smiled.

"I don't care about a few Silvermane Guards."

"You..." Natasha was at a loss.

[Natasha's Favorability increased by 1%. Current Favorability: 79%]

"You're all talk for now. Don't blame me when you get caught later," Natasha said with a laugh.

"Don't worry. If they catch us, I'll take responsibility." Jing Yan sounded confident.

As he spoke, he headed toward the flower shop in the distance.

On the way, Silvermane Guards patrolled the central square.

But when they encountered Jing Yan, they didn't ask many questions.

They simply greeted him and let him pass.

Natasha's brow furrowed slightly at the sight.

Before long, Jing Yan had visited the Ever-Summer Flower Shop and returned with a bouquet.

"What do you think of this Warm Sun Flower, Miss Natasha?" Jing Yan said as he approached, holding it out to her.

Natasha stared at it in surprise.

"How did you know I liked Warm Sun Flowers?" she asked, blinking.

[Natasha's Favorability increased by 1%. Current Favorability: 80%]

[Favorability Rating: Excellent!]

[Special Ability Reward: Aeon Ability Perception!]

"Why, I...observed you."

Jing Yan smiled.

"Then you really are incredibly observant, Jing Yan."

Natasha held the flowers, beaming. She seemed to be in a very good mood.

"By the way, I made plans with Sampo. If he hasn't made it to the Underworld today, I'm supposed to go meet him. Sister Natasha, I'll head out first."

Natasha was taken aback.

"Sampo?"

"Where did that guy go? Wait, you didn't buy that stone from him, did you?"

Jing Yan took the Emotion Stone from his coat and placed it in Natasha's hand.

Then he waved and headed toward the exit leading out of the city.

Winter was approaching, and most of the Silvermane Guards were stationed along the city walls.

They didn't keep a particularly close watch on the roads out of the city, though.

The snowfield beyond the city stretched on without end.

Most of the time, unless someone belonged to an expedition team or was a soldier going out on patrol, no one would willingly leave the city.

Seeing Jing Yan set off, Natasha was momentarily confused about his intentions, but...

Jing Yan was always cautious and steady in his actions, so she said nothing more.

Holding the Emotion Stone, Natasha prepared to return to the Underworld and begin her research.

"Jing Yan, be careful. Oh, and if you see this person, ask him how the Blizzard Immunity Potion is coming along."

"This is my older brother, Vache. He wrote to me earlier and said he'd made a breakthrough in his research, so..."

Natasha took out a pocket watch. On the back of its case was a portrait of a brown-haired man.

That man was her older brother, Vache, who had spent years traveling around to research the Blizzard Immunity Potion.

Jing Yan nodded. "Got it. I'll ask him if I see him."

Jing Yan headed off into the distance, waving to Natasha.

Watching him go, Natasha felt that something about him was strange, but she didn't say anything.

The stone in her hand felt unusual.

It seemed to give off a warm, fragrant aura.

Like sunlight, the kind she could never see overhead in the Underworld.

But now, because of the Frost Wave, even though people in the Overworld could see the sun, they still relied on Geomarrow Ore from the Underworld to keep warm.

Jing Yan...

Why did he seem so mysterious? He seemed a little different from before.

Natasha studied the stone in her hand, pondering, but couldn't figure it out.

After having someone deliver a letter to her adoptive parents in the Overworld, she turned and headed back to the Underworld.

The Overworld looked more beautiful than the Underworld, but to Natasha, it was still a house built on air.

If she couldn't find a way to resist the blizzards before the Geomarrow veins ran dry, then everyone would die, whether they lived in the Overworld or the Underworld.

That was why, after being adopted by a couple from the Overworld at the orphanage in Rivet Town, Natasha had ultimately chosen to return to the Underworld.

At that moment, in the Suburban Snowfield,

Jing Yan was already out among the snow.

There was no denying the Stellaron's power was terrifying.

Even though he was an Aeon, stepping into this place so suddenly still left him feeling cold. Only after he controlled his divine power and sent it to the surface of his body did he manage to keep his temperature steady.

In the distance,

besides the frozen statues of Fragmentum Monsters and a few wandering Fragmentum Monsters, he spotted three figures.

At first, they were only three dark specks. But as they drew closer, Jing Yan recognized them. The three were none other than March 7th, Dan Heng, and Stelle.

What was more, after gaining the ability he'd just been rewarded, Jing Yan discovered that he could sense the power of the Stellaron inside Stelle.

More precisely, he could see a golden-yellow sphere of energy!