A Date with Natasha

Jing Yan's visit to the Overworld this time was not merely for a date with Natasha, but also for the "visitors from beyond" arriving on the Astral Express: Dan Heng, March 7th, and the protagonist Stelle, whose artificial body housed the Stellaron.

Beside him, Natasha seemed to notice the strange look in Jing Yan's eyes. As she sampled the Overworld cuisine, she kept a watchful eye on the movements of those around them before turning to Jing Yan and saying, "Why do you seem so distracted? Didn't you bring me here for a date?"

Natasha spoke.

This remark caught Jing Yan off guard. He turned back to look at her and said, "I didn't expect you to know this was a date."

Natasha curled her lip at his words: "Isn't it obvious? Still, I'm curious where you got that stone you're carrying that emits a seven-colored glow. I had expected you to learn a magic trick or two from that brat Sampo and conjure up a bouquet of flowers or something."

Natasha wore an expression that suggested she saw through everything.

Jing Yan was speechless. He glanced at her sideways and teased, "Sister Natasha, it sounds like you've been confessed to quite often. How are you so experienced?"

At this, Natasha's face flushed red once more.

"What are you saying? You really are something, Jing Yan. You see it every day at the clinic—I'm so busy I can barely keep up, with an endless stream of patients and the wounded. Who has the leisure time to come and confess?"

"By the way, the vase at Natasha's place needs a fresh bouquet, doesn't it? How about I buy you one from the flower shop after we finish eating?" Jing Yan suggested.

Natasha hesitated as she looked around and declined: "Forget it. Being able to stay here this long without being discovered is already a blessing from the Aeons. If we stay any longer, I fear the Silvermane Guards will come to arrest us..."

"It's fine," Jing Yan smiled.

"The mere Silvermane Guards are nothing I need to worry about."

"You..." Natasha was left speechless.

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

"You're only acting tough now. Don't blame me when you get caught later," Natasha said with a smile.

"Don't worry, if I get caught, it's on me," Jing Yan said with great confidence.

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

Along the way, Silvermane Guards were patrolling the central plaza.

However, when they encountered Jing Yan, they didn't ask any questions.

They simply greeted him and let him pass.

Natasha frowned slightly at the sight.

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

"How do you like this Warm Sun Flower, Miss Natasha?" Jing Yan asked as he approached and offered the flowers.

Natasha was stunned for a moment.

"How did you know I liked Warm Sun Flowers?" Natasha asked, blinking her eyes.

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

[Favorability Rating: Excellent!]

[Reward: Special Ability: Aeon Ability Perception!]

"It was, of course... a matter of observation."

Jing Yan smiled.

"Then your powers of observation are truly quite sharp, little brother Jing Yan."

Natasha cradled the flowers, her face beaming with a smile; she seemed to be in a very good mood.

"By the way, I have an appointment with Sampo. If he hasn't reached the Underworld today, I'm going to go meet him. Sister Natasha, I'll take my leave first?"

Natasha was taken aback.

"Sampo?"

"Where has that guy gone? And tell me, you didn't buy this stone from him, did you?"

At this moment, Jing Yan took the "Emotion Stone" from his pocket and placed it in Natasha's hand.

He waved his hand and headed toward the exit leading out of the city.

With the bitter winter approaching, most of the Silvermane Guards were concentrated at the city walls.

However, they were not very strict about the roads leading out of the city.

Because beyond the walls lay an endless expanse of snowfields.

In most cases, unless it was the Trailblazers or soldiers on patrol, no one would ever want to leave the city voluntarily.

Seeing Jing Yan's actions, Natasha was stunned, not quite understanding his purpose, but...

Jing Yan had always been cautious and steady in his dealings, so Natasha said nothing more.

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

"Little brother Jing Yan, be careful. Also, if you see this person, remember to ask him how the 'Blizzard Immunity Potion' is coming along."

"This is my brother, Vache. He wrote to me earlier saying his research had made a breakthrough, so..."

Natasha took out a pocket watch; on the back of the casing was a picture of a brown-haired man.

This was her brother, Vache, who had been traveling abroad for years to research the Blizzard Immunity Potion.

Jing Yan nodded upon hearing this. "Understood. If I happen to see them, I will."

With that, Jing Yan walked off into the distance, waving a hand at Natasha as he went.

Watching his movements, Natasha felt a sense of peculiarity, though she said nothing.

She only felt that the stone in her hand was quite extraordinary.

It seemed to emanate a warm, fragrant aura.

It was just like the sunlight above that could not be seen in the Underworld.

Yet, in the Overworld today, because of the Frost Wave, even if people could see the sun, they still relied on the Geomarrow Ore produced in the Underworld to maintain warmth.

Jing Yan...

Why did he seem a bit mysterious, and somewhat different from before?

Natasha studied the stone in her hand, lost in thought, but she could not figure it out for the time being.

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

Although the Overworld looked more beautiful than the Underworld, in Natasha's eyes, it was still a castle in the air.

If she could not find a way to curb the snowstorms before the Geomarrow veins were exhausted, then whether it was the Overworld or the Underworld, the people would have only one path: death.

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

At this moment, in the Suburban Snowfield.

Jing Yan was already standing within it.

It had to be said that the power of the Stellaron was truly terrifying.

Even though he was an Aeon, being suddenly thrust into this environment made him feel the cold, and it was only after he controlled his divine power and channeled it to the surface of his body that he was able to maintain a constant temperature.

In the distance.

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

At first glance, they were just three black dots, but as he drew closer, Jing Yan recognized their identities. These three were none other than March 7th, Dan Heng, and Stelle.

Not only that, but after obtaining his recent reward ability, Jing Yan discovered that he could perceive the power of the Stellaron within Stelle.

To be precise, he could see that golden, spherical mass of energy!