Stelle looked at Jiang Yu's face and pressed her lips together.
A warmth unique to a child who smelled of sunshine instantly enveloped her.
She couldn't refuse.
She absolutely couldn't refuse!
There was no way she could refuse him!
"Of course. Let's go find Asta together."
Caught up in the moment, Stelle opened her mouth and agreed.
"Yay!"
Jiang Yu was delighted.
Acting cute might be shameless, but as long as it worked, that was all that mattered.
Back on the Luofu, he had attracted plenty of new customers to the Evernight Marquis as its poster boy.
Seeing that Stelle had agreed to go with him, Jiang Yu immediately took her hand and ran downstairs, bringing her along to find Asta.
They found Asta in her usual spot in the Master Control Zone.
Asta usually directed operations from there. Since Herta Space Station was still busy rebuilding after the battle, the young woman had quite a lot on her plate.
"Asta!" Jiang Yu called.
Asta turned at the sound of Jiang Yu's voice. Seeing him with Stelle, she immediately understood what was going on.
"Asta, did Herta send you a notice?" Jiang Yu asked.
"Yes. Ms. Herta told me you could leave once you paid the remaining three hundred million Credits in compensation." Asta nodded, looking at the two before her with a smile hidden deep in her eyes. "So, have you come because you have the Credits ready?"
At Asta's words, Jiang Yu's little face fell.
"When I came to the space station, even my flying sword burned to ashes. Forget Credits... I don't have a penny to my name!"
"Oh, so you're going to help him pay?" Asta looked teasingly at Stelle.
Stelle's expression changed. She took a small step back and waved her hands, looking embarrassed and a little panicked.
"I don't have any money either..."
"Neither of you has any money, but you still came to talk to me about this?" Asta pursed her lips, pretending to be annoyed.
"But Herta left the decision up to you, didn't she? Cut me some slack and let me go?"
Asta raised her chin as she looked at the boy before her. "Trying to get off scot-free? Nothing in this world comes that easily."
"I'm not trying to freeload, but I really don't have any money. At this rate, I'll have to spend the rest of my life on the space station. Just let me go? Once I get home, I'll send you some fine Xianzhou tea and Mr. Xiyan's latest storytelling tales! Besides, I'll definitely have to ask the Express to take me home. We might even travel beneath other starry skies along the way. How about I take pictures for you?"
Jiang Yu glanced at the small, obviously expensive astronomical telescope hanging at Asta's waist and spoke with a grin.
When Jiang Yu mentioned asking the Express to take him home, Stelle turned to look at him, then lowered her eyes and began to think.
It was time to choose whether to stay on the space station or board the Astral Express.
Everyone was nice, but the atmosphere on the space station really didn't suit her.
Stelle thought about everything she had seen and heard on the space station, about the dark circles under most of the staff's eyes, their exhausted gazes, and their rough skin.
If she stayed on the space station forever, she might end up like that too.
Compared with going on adventures with everyone, the unchanging work on the space station held no appeal at all.
A spark appeared in the young woman's golden eyes. After another glance at the white-haired boy beside her, Stelle made her choice.
Meanwhile, Asta relented after hearing Jiang Yu's offer, saying with a grin, "I could consider it."
Asta had never intended to make things difficult for Jiang Yu. She only wanted to tease him.
Just as Jiang Yu had initially thought, in Asta's eyes, the lives of the space station's staff, as well as its Curios and research data, were worth far more than the damage he had caused.
However...
Asta gave Jiang Yu and Stelle a sly wink and said:
"I can let you leave. After all, you saved the space station. The staff, the research data, and those Curios are our truly valuable assets. However..."
"However?"
Jiang Yu and Stelle looked at Asta in confusion.
"The space station is currently busy rebuilding, and we're short-handed. Also, because of the Antimatter Legion's invasion, quite a few Curios were scattered throughout the station, either due to the Legion's destruction or because staff members took them out to use them. We're in the process of recovering them."
Asta explained to the two of them:
"But some Curios are self-aware, and the staff have a hard time dealing with them, which has hindered our recovery efforts. Right now, there's a Curio numbered #1145, the Horrific Maze, on the second floor of the Storage Zone. The staff can't do anything about it. Arlan is still recovering from his injuries, and other members of the Security Department have suffered injuries or symptoms of mental instability while trying to recover it.
"In other words, there's practically no one on the space station who can step up and deal with this thing right now. Since you two are so strong, how about helping us recover the Horrific Maze? Then little Jiang Yu can leave. Of course, you're welcome to visit the space station again whenever you like!"
"No problem. Leave it to us!"
Jiang Yu clapped his little hands together and promised to put the Horrific Maze firmly in its place.
Stelle also took out her Bat, declaring that this was precisely her specialty. She even announced in front of Asta and Jiang Yu:
"Fear not! With me, the Galaxy Bat Hero, on the case, success is guaranteed!"
In the real world.
Siberian Duck's livestream.
After accepting the mission, Siberian Duck controlled Stelle and found Jiang Yu in the Master Control Zone.
Then she learned that Asta was loaded.
Finally, she saw Jiang Yu holding Stelle's hand, hoping that Stelle would help him.
Two dialogue options popped up.
"No problem. I'll help you!" "(How could I possibly say no to this...)"
Siberian Duck stared at the screen for a moment, then said:
"Holy shit, guys, this is about a billion times too cute. I seriously can't fucking say no."
The chat went wild at that moment too.
[Tang Seng washes his hair with Rejoice: I can't fucking say no either!]
[Castel Pie: Who the fuck could say no to this?]
[A heart as steadfast as Dan Heng: This old man's heart just took an arrow.]
[I'm really coming: I'm reporting this. Someone's cheating!]
[Chinese gooner: He seems to know how cute he is.]
[HSAAU: Acting cute is shameless, but it works.]
[Suck on those two ice creams: Guys, I just finished! I feel so refreshed!]
[World-roaming shuttle: I finished too, kksk!]
[Huahua gets balder by the day: Besties, I've got inspiration again!]
[DIISMNI: Hurry up and draw it, master! Your earlier Dan Heng and little sunshine piece was so good. I finish to it ten times a day!]
"Guys, this is amazing. I'm taking a screenshot first. This is going to be my wallpaper from now on!"
As she spoke, Siberian Duck got to work, expertly taking a screenshot of the scene and immediately setting it as her computer wallpaper.
Before you continue