Miss Arlan?

"After I took those pills the young lady... no, the station manager gave me, I ended up like this."

The girl with short grayish-white hair quietly lowered his head, his voice slightly hoarse.

His gaze seemed evasive against his wheat-colored complexion.

"Arlan, you idiot, just how many did you take?"

Asta did not know whether to laugh or cry.

She rubbed her temples hard, as though trying to calm herself down a little.

"Huh? All... all of them."

"I was afraid they wouldn't be strong enough, so..."

Arlan scratched his head awkwardly, still wearing a rather slow-witted expression.

He looked like a child who had done something wrong.

"Ugh... I don't even know what to say to you!"

Asta rested her slender hands on her waist, her delicate brows furrowed.

She let out a long sigh and stopped looking at Arlan reproachfully.

Mr. Lin Chen seemed to have mentioned it before.

Those Sanity Pills could wake people from nightmares, but they also had some aftereffects.

Clearly, Arlan's aftereffects were more severe than hers.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Arlan."

"Tonight, we'll be fighting side by side."

Sensing the slightly awkward atmosphere, Lin Chen stepped forward to greet him.

The girl with short grayish-white hair standing before him.

Though he seemed a little wooden, he looked like he could hold his own in a fight.

According to what March 7th had said earlier, Arlan was the head of Herta Space Station's Security Department.

That naturally raised Arlan in Lin Chen's estimation.

Though he was not as cute as March 7th and Asta.

The girl before him was still... well, a rather distinctive type.

"Thank you for saving me, sir, and giving me another chance to protect the space station."

"And... you can just call me Arlan."

Arlan stepped forward to shake Lin Chen's hand, his head lowered.

He replied in a slightly deep voice.

Lin Chen faintly noticed a light blush spreading across the girl's wheat-colored skin.

Am I really that charming? Or does Arlan have the same symptoms as Asta?

Ahem... better not let my imagination run wild. Maybe Arlan is just naturally like this.

[Ding! The host has formed a basic bond with Arlan, an important figure in the Star Rail World.]

[Fate gift pack opened.]

[Space Marines × 6 have joined the Conqueror Legion's ranks.]

The instant their hands clasped, the system's voice rang out in Lin Chen's mind.

Heh, you really never disappoint, system.

So as long as I improve my relationships with outstanding girls, I get rewards, right?

Come to think of it, Miss Arlan doesn't seem to rank as highly as March 7th and Asta.

The corners of Lin Chen's lips lifted slightly, a pleasant surprise stirring within him.

Naturally, he had noticed the small detail in the system's notification.

March 7th and Asta were both key figures, while Miss Arlan was only an important figure.

Accordingly, the reward the system gave him was fairly ordinary.

"Miss Arlan seems to have taken five pills, but I don't see anything obviously wrong."

"I guess the aftereffects vary from person to person."

After greeting Arlan and returning to March 7th's side, Lin Chen voiced his thoughts.

"You call this nothing wrong? It's already completely insane!"

"Lin Chen, don't tell me you didn't know... Arlan was originally a boy?"

Hearing Lin Chen's words, March 7th, who had been standing there in a daze, slowly spoke up to remind him.

"You're not joking, are you, March 7th...?"

"Hmph, why would I lie to you? That's just the truth."

"Lin Chen, your special medicine has some bizarre side effects. Even something like this happened..."

"Uh, th-this..."

Lin Chen's face twitched slightly as the truth dawned on him.

He suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

No wonder Arlan had reacted that way earlier, especially to being called "miss."

Lin Chen had just been giving some thought to how he could improve his relationship with Miss Arlan.

Now he felt that his thinking had been rather dangerous.

A little while later, the four who had assembled before midnight gathered together.

They began discussing the details of tonight's operation to eliminate the source of the Uncanny.

"I still have no leads on the source of the uncanny singing at midnight."

"I've reviewed the recordings from every surveillance device on the space station, but found nothing unusual."

"Over the past half month, nothing strange seems to have revealed any trace of itself."

Asta spoke slowly, her fair, lovely face filled with gravity.

"I also conducted a detailed investigation of the areas where the Security Department's fighters mysteriously disappeared."

"I found no particular pattern to where it happened."

"There weren't even signs of a struggle. They simply vanished..."

With his arms held across his chest and his hand gripping his sword hilt, Arlan spoke in a low voice.

At the mention of his colleagues in the Security Department, clear anger surfaced in Arlan's eyes.

"We should leave this sort of thing to our master Demon Hunter."

"Lin Chen is really good at handling weird supernatural incidents like these."

March 7th looked toward Lin Chen and spread her hands.

She did not know much about what had happened on Herta Space Station.

"Uncanny entities can't be judged by conventional logic. Many of them can conceal themselves completely."

"Asta, where does Herta Space Station store its water?"

Looking at the others as they exchanged glances, Lin Chen spoke with a serious expression.

The old books that had appeared in Cabin 0018 and Cabin 0276 probably were not a coincidence.

Judging by the fables recorded in those books.

They all seemed to have something to do with seafaring.

That uncanny singing, suspected to belong to a "siren," seemed to point in the same direction.

An ocean was a vast accumulation of water.

And Herta Space Station was certain to have a centralized water storage area.

After all, for a city in space, fresh water was an essential survival resource that had to be secured.

"It's in the B4 load zone of the Base Zone. There's a reservoir there with a capacity of forty million liters."

"Good. In that case, that's our destination tonight."

"I'll find a way to pinpoint this thing's exact coordinates."

"As for the fighting, I hope everyone will give it their all. Perhaps... this is our last chance."

With his fingers interlaced beneath his chin, Lin Chen looked utterly serious.

He had already purchased the Psyonic Detection Force Field Generator through the system shop.

If any abnormal fluctuations appeared near the reservoir Asta had mentioned.

He should be able to detect the target's location in time.

"Huh? At the reservoir? What are you basing that on?"

Faced with Lin Chen's judgment, Asta furrowed her delicate brows, her face full of curiosity.

"Naturally, I have grounds for my judgment. As for the truth, we'll wait and see."

Lin Chen gave a faint smile, not intending to explain much more.

Bringing up the fables recorded in those two books would sound a little too mystical.

Still, since some power lurking in the shadows was deliberately guiding him toward that place.

Choosing to confront it head-on might be unwise, but it was also the most direct route forward.