Astral Express? Astral Dining Car!

After leaving Delicious Supreme.

Jiang Yao set his sights on the roadside food stalls again.

There were authentic Luofu snacks with names like Big Buns, Little Dumplings, and the signature haphazardly chopped beef offal in chili oil.

And the Singing Lotus Root Cake, Dream Tapir Rolls, and Hot Floating Mutton Milk he had been dreaming of...

Jiang Yao had barely managed to get 0.0(insert N more zeroes here)1 percent full.

Only when most of the shops in Aurum Alley had closed for the night.

Did Jiang Yao lose interest and slowly sip from a vat of blazing strong tea.

A "tea" with a crystalline hue and a rich, enticing fragrance, fermented from extracted plant essences.

A single spark could set it alight.

Yes, just like Phantylia—written as Phantylia, read as Tingyun.

The same went for this blazing strong tea—written as liquor, read as tea.

Jiang Yao was starting to enter something of a post-indulgence zen state.

He had sampled most of the Xianzhou's cuisine.

His verdict was: not bad.

And that was only thanks to the rose-tinted glasses of not having eaten many of those ingredients in ages.

Judged purely on taste, though: one star!

Perhaps he had gotten too used to cooking for himself.

Jiang Yao was growing increasingly intolerant of how carelessly other people handled ingredients.

Ordinary people wouldn't notice anything.

But in Jiang Yao's mouth, the flavor was all wrong.

Every flaw was magnified infinitely.

Just as Jiang Yao was lamenting this.

His interstellar phone suddenly vibrated.

As it turned out, Welt and the two girls had spent the entire day running around, finally capturing Kafka, and were about to rest while waiting for tomorrow's interrogation.

Then they suddenly realized—

Where was our great big Jiang Yao?

Why hadn't he come back yet?

Was there any difference between being bad at fighting and being utterly defenseless?

Had something happened to him?

Of course, they still had faith in the Luofu's capabilities.

Since someone had been sent to meet Jiang Yao, surely nothing should have gone wrong?

So they sent him a message first to check on things.

Welt: [Jiang Yao, how are things on your end? Are you still busy?]

Jiang Yao: [Sorry, sorry. I'm in Aurum Alley, having someone buy ingredients for me~ There are plenty of good ingredients here, and everything I've checked is top quality. I lost track of time. Sorry about that~]

Jiang Yao had messaged Welt and the others when he arrived on the Luofu.

He would be acting alone.

He told his companions not to worry.

Had it not gotten so late.

Without so much as a message from him.

Welt wouldn't have contacted him.

Welt: [As long as you're all right.]

Welt: [When will you come meet up with us?]

Jiang Yao thought it over. He had already asked Yan Cui to buy the ingredients, and he had eaten his way through most of Aurum Alley.

Maybe I should head back?

Just as Jiang Yao finished typing his message and was about to send it.

A call suddenly came in!

"A call from Asta?"

Jiang Yao's heart raced.

Asta didn't normally call him.

Could it be...

The first batch of ingredients had arrived?!

At that thought.

Jiang Yao first replied to Welt.

Jiang Yao: [Hang on, something's come up. Let me take this call~ I'll get right back to you~]

Welt stared at Jiang Yao's reply in bewilderment.

Something had come up?

What had come up?

He was taking a call?

From whom?

Welt was baffled.

"Uncle Yang, when's Jiang Yao coming back? I miss him."

March 7th rubbed her empty stomach and sighed.

"I really, really miss him too."

Stelle stared blankly at the ceiling.

She looked utterly listless.

Welt adjusted his glasses and sighed.

Jiang Yao had a lot to answer for!

He had spoiled their palates.

As a result, the dinner the Luofu had treated them to tonight...

Could only be described as tasting like cardboard!

They were waiting for Jiang Yao to whip up something special for them!

"Let's wait a little longer... Something seems to have come up on his end. He said he'd reply shortly."

Welt told them the truth.

"What?!"

March 7th and Stelle perked up instantly.

Their earlier listlessness was nowhere to be seen.

"What happened? Does he need our help?"

March 7th and Stelle immediately grew anxious.

"It's fine. The Luofu said they sent someone to meet him. They called it hospitality, but it was probably surveillance. Presumably, the two of them are still together. He'll be all right."

Welt truly was a clearheaded, dependable veteran, deducing a great deal of useful information in an instant.

And what about Jiang Yao, whom his companions were worrying about?

Right now, every fiber of his Aeon being was buzzing with excitement!

"Um... Is... is this a bad time?"

Asta's face flushed as she spoke over the phone.

For some reason.

Just after Jiang Yao answered, she had heard a woman's voice on his end.

Then came Jiang Yao's rapid panting.

Considering it was nighttime on the Luofu.

It was hard not to let her thoughts drift toward [Propagation].

Unless he claimed he had a habit of going for nighttime runs.

"Huh? Not at all! It's a perfect time!"

Jiang Yao absolutely adored Asta.

She had just brought him news that could keep him happy for an entire amber era.

After reaching their agreement, Jiang Yao had also casually told Asta to search freely for ingredients—the more remote the star system, the better.

He hadn't expected the [Search Squad] Asta assembled to actually find a remote planet by following the star charts of the Trailblaze.

Based on the pictures Asta sent back.

The things currently confirmed to be usable as ingredients included—

Sweet Flowers, Whopperflowers, Dendro Slimes, Blazing Trees, Bathysmal Vishaps, Honkai Beasts...

The scans indicated that far too many things could serve as ingredients.

Asta didn't know which ones tasted good, so she simply asked Jiang Yao to decide for himself.

"Um... I thought I heard something on your end... Um, well, if this is a bad time, I can wait. It's all right."

As Asta listened to Jiang Yao's increasingly excited panting.

Her face turned so red it was practically cooked.

"Huh? I! Am! Completely! Available!"

Jiang Yao repeated himself.

He was so excited he felt ready to explode.

Asta really had given him a wonderful surprise.

The universe was vast, unimaginably vast.

Even as an Aeon, he couldn't simply go wherever he wanted.

Nous wasn't omniscient or omnipotent either.

So the universe was full of undiscovered ingredients.

Waiting for the right person to find them.

Traveling with the Astral Express was something of a shortcut for Jiang Yao.

But he hadn't expected Asta to surprise him first.

Jiang Yao hadn't had any particular plans before.

But the moment Asta delivered this news.

He suddenly wanted to turn the Astral Express into an Astral Dining Car!

After all.

Besides bringing people joy, a delicious dish.

With the right ingredients.

Could also grant special buffs!

Like boosting attack, increasing defense, speeding you up, healing injuries, making you last longer~~~

He might not necessarily need them.

But I could choose not to use them; I couldn't go without them!

Most importantly—

They tasted good!

What's this about good medicine tasting bitter?

Sir, that's bullshit~

Nothing I make could possibly taste bad!

Jiang Yao suppressed his inner agitation.

And continued looking through the pictures Asta had sent.

There were so many!

Far, far too many!

They could only take the most important ones.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have enough people.

So the choice lay in Jiang Yao's hands.

It was hard to choose.

Really hard to choose.

He wanted to eat every single one!

For once, Jiang Yao found himself agonizing over a decision.

Meanwhile, Phantylia was utterly numb as she watched Jiang Yao go from post-indulgence zen to fully rejuvenated after a single phone call.

The woman's voice Asta had heard was hers.

Because Jiang Yao's ravenous foodie expression had genuinely startled her.

She heard what Jiang Yao and Asta were discussing.

So, being the little schemer she was, she couldn't stand seeing Jiang Yao happy. She was going to teach him a lesson—he really had scared her just now!

I received so many gifts! So happy o(￣▽￣)ブ Have an extra chapter~