The hunters watched in secret, and he petted Pom-Pom to his heart's content

With the Astral Express's departure, the Antimatter Legion's attack on Herta Space Station seemed to have finally come to an end.

After the guests left, the space station picked up the pace of its reconstruction and recovery efforts.

Aside from a peculiar group called the "Little Fish Fan Support Club" appearing among the station's staff, life on the station returned to its usual rhythm.

At that moment, on the second floor of Herta Space Station's Storage Zone.

Inside a Curio collection room with its doors tightly shut...

The Curio called the Rating Gun floated in midair. Then a series of data lights flashed, and two figures appeared.

A petite girl with long silver-gray hair tied into a spiral ponytail behind her head toyed with the Rating Gun, her expression nonchalant.

Beside her, waves of scorching heat were held in check. A silver humanoid suit of armor over two meters tall stood quietly at her side, like a knight roaming the cosmos.

Silver Wolf turned and pointed at the Herta Puppet in the corner, whose connection she had already severed. "Sam, look. That's hilarious. There's even a little Herta here."

Sam remained unmoved. A mechanical male voice came from inside the armor.

"Silver Wolf, business first."

Silver Wolf shrugged and casually tossed the Rating Gun back into its container. A virtual communication screen appeared before her, displaying her own ever-eye-catching wolf-head emblem.

Kafka's voice came through.

"Silver Wolf? Any results?"

"The Astral Express has already left Herta Space Station. I took a look, and I'm pretty sure I found the person Elio mentioned-the one who suddenly entered the game and threw the future off course. A Xianzhou native named Jiang Yu. From the Xianzhou Luofu, apparently."

"Is he dangerous?" Kafka asked.

"Hard to say." Silver Wolf shook her head. "But he's definitely strong. He smashed the Doomsday Beast's head with a leaping strike, charged bodily into the field of a rampaging Stellaron and suppressed it, then made a Curio cry with just a few choice words.

"Oh, and... everyone on the station says he flew straight in from space. After crossing the void, he crashed into Herta Space Station like a meteor and damaged it."

"..." Kafka fell silent on the other end, seemingly unsure how to comment on Jiang Yu's handiwork.

When Kafka said nothing, Silver Wolf continued:

"From what we've seen so far, he doesn't pose much of a threat to the Astral Express.

"I heard their conversation on the Platform. He wants to take the Astral Express back to the Xianzhou, but since its next stop is already set, they won't change their destination. They should still be heading toward Jarilo-VI.

"Should we stop them? The train only just departed. Sam and I should still be able to catch up."

"In that case... then... hmm?"

Kafka seemed about to say something, but something on her end interrupted her.

After another brief silence, Kafka's voice sounded again.

"Elio says there's no need. Since the Astral Express's destination hasn't changed, we'll proceed as planned. Besides, having that Xianzhou native with them should make it easier to get them to the Xianzhou.

"Once they arrive at the Xianzhou, there will be plenty of opportunities for Elio to contact him and gather the necessary information.

"Come back, Silver Wolf. We'll carry out our other missions first."

"No problem."

The call ended.

Silver Wolf turned to Sam. "Let's go. There's nothing to worry about with the Astral Express."

Sam nodded.

Silver Wolf snapped her fingers. Their figures dissolved into streams of data light and finally vanished.

Once Silver Wolf and Sam left, all the systems they had previously disconnected in the collection room returned to normal.

"Aaaah! What are you doing, pom?!"

Aboard the train, Pom-Pom's screams rang through every carriage.

Everyone who heard them thought something had happened and came running.

Himeko carried her briefcase, Old Yang had drawn the cane fashioned from the Star of Eden, and Dan Heng rushed over with his spear, Cloud-Piercer, in hand.

Then all three froze.

The scene before them was nothing like what they had imagined: the train under attack and Pom-Pom in danger.

There was no danger whatsoever. In fact, the scene was rather peaceful.

Of course, Pom-Pom might not have called it peaceful.

Stelle and March 7th were both staring at Jiang Yu with sparkling eyes.

Jiang Yu sat on the train's floor with Pom-Pom in his arms. One of his wicked hands rubbed Pom-Pom's belly, while the other gently squeezed Pom-Pom's ear.

Curiosity filled the white-haired boy's eyes, and a hint of satisfaction hung on his face. Pom-Pom, cradled in his arms, looked flustered, pupils trembling and expression deeply embarrassed.

Jiang Yu didn't know whether anyone else wanted to cuddle and pet Pom-Pom, but he certainly did.

Now that he had his chance, he was going to pet Pom-Pom to his heart's content!

The boy pressed his cheek against Pom-Pom's and nuzzled it. "So warm. You really do feel like a living creature, though you're also soft and fluffy."

As he spoke, Jiang Yu kept his hands moving, scratching Pom-Pom's little belly and squeezing Pom-Pom's cheeks, while his other hand worked from the base of an ear all the way to its tip.

"W-well, of course, pom! Pom-Pom isn't a stuffed toy, pom!"

Pom-Pom shuddered twice in Jiang Yu's arms, realizing this new passenger had quite a knack for this.

I don't want to admit it, but this petting feels kind of nice... darn it, pom!

At this rate... at this rate... the Conductor's dignity will be utterly ruined, pom!

Jiang Yu buried his face against Pom-Pom and took a deep breath, then lifted his head with a satisfied expression.

"You smell even nicer than a Warp Trotter!"

"Ah..." Pom-Pom's voice trembled a little. "P-passenger Jiang Yu... that should be enough now, pom..."

Jiang Yu looked down at Pom-Pom in his arms and decided that was enough for now. He had satisfied both his curiosity and his urge to pet Pom-Pom.

"Mm!" Jiang Yu nodded, picked Pom-Pom up, and set Pom-Pom on the floor. "Thank you, Conductor!"

"I-it's nothing... it's what the Conductor should do, pom..." Pom-Pom's steps were unsteady, and it took two turns in place to regain balance.

"Then let's do this again when we get the chance!"

Jiang Yu grinned, displaying an innocence that seemed utterly incapable of recognizing polite pleasantries.

Pom-Pom immediately jolted!

"W-well... Pom-Pom still has things to do... I'll be going now, pom!"

Pom-Pom fled.

Watching Pom-Pom beat a hasty retreat, March 7th pouted and stood beside Jiang Yu, asking jealously:

"How did you do that? You petted Pom-Pom like that without making Pom-Pom angry!

"Every time I try, Pom-Pom won't let me. I can only use a Pom-Pom plushie as a substitute.

"But Pom-Pom is really scary when angry, so I can't just go for it..."

Jiang Yu chuckled. "I have no idea!"

Watching the scene, Dan Heng sighed, put away Cloud-Piercer, and turned to head back to the archives.

The two adults, Himeko and Old Yang, couldn't help smiling helplessly at the sight either.