Come to think of it, Asta and March 7th are from completely different worlds, aren't they?
I really don't know how they became best friends.
Lin Chen looked at the calm, intelligent, academically gifted heiress before him.
Then he looked at the adorably goofy bundle of energy beside him.
All he could say was that fate... worked in mysterious ways.
"Asta, I'll leave Lin Chen to you!"
March 7th folded her arms across her chest, her cute, innocent face
lit up with an especially brilliant smile.
She seemed more than happy to dump the burden that was Lin Chen on someone else.
"Yes... Himeko already informed me about him."
"March 7th, I remember it's been over a year since we last met."
"My workload won't be too heavy the day after tomorrow. We could meet up at our usual spot, just the two of us..."
Asta nodded quietly, a faint ripple stirring in her clear, lake-blue eyes.
Her gaze settled on Lin Chen, revealing only a trace of indifference and coldness.
Then the heiress of such distinguished standing spared him no further glance.
Cold or arrogant?
Lin Chen couldn't quite put his first impression of Asta into words.
The acting lead researcher of Herta Space Station seemed
rather unapproachable. Was she treating him like some random nobody?
Still, Lin Chen didn't particularly care.
Asta might have exceptional looks and bearing, but that was all.
Rather than dwell on her,
he would be better off finding chances to interact with March 7th and rack up more worldline influence.
That way, the corresponding rewards would keep coming.
Only then could he survive more easily in this world rife with uncanny horrors.
"Sure! It's a date!"
"Oh, right, Asta. Lin Chen lost his memories of the past, just like me."
"Even if he goes to Azure Star, making a living will be a problem."
"How about this? Could you arrange a job for him at Herta Space Station?"
"With your position, that should be easy enough, right?"
Her delicate brows lifted slightly, as though something had occurred to her.
March 7th leaned forward toward Asta, a rare seriousness appearing on her pretty face.
Hearing March 7th's words, Lin Chen felt surprised,
and a warm current flowed through his heart, touching him in a way he couldn't quite explain.
To think March 7th could be so thoughtful.
She really had given him a new appreciation for her.
Himeko had been right. March 7th was innocent and kind, as pure as ice and snow.
"It isn't as simple as you think, March 7th."
"Lin Chen, correct? Do you have any scientific aptitude or outstanding skills?"
After a moment's pause, Asta turned her gaze toward Lin Chen.
Her beautiful eyes, clear as a lake, still held the same coldness as before.
"Sorry... I don't think I do!"
Lin Chen casually spread his hands, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
He answered her with a somewhat flippant, impatient air.
After their brief interaction, his opinion of Asta had already plummeted.
What did her ethereal beauty, bearing, and exalted status matter?
Her arrogant attitude alone was enough to wipe out half her score.
By comparison, Lin Chen found March 7th far more endearing.
"In that case, you aren't qualified to remain at Herta Space Station."
"This place brings together academic elites from numerous cutting-edge disciplines. We have never accommodated idlers."
Her rosy lips curved slightly as Asta revealed a rarely seen smile.
It carried more than a hint of contempt and rejection.
"Asta... you're going a little too far."
"No matter what, Lin Chen is a passenger on the Astral Express."
"You shouldn't treat him like that..."
Watching from the side, March 7th couldn't help frowning at Asta's answer.
"There is nothing wrong with my decision."
"Agreeing to Himeko's request and helping him obtain residency on Azure Star"
"is already a sufficient courtesy to the Astral Express."
Shaking her head and ignoring March 7th's attempt to reason with her, Asta continued speaking slowly.
From Asta's gaze, Lin Chen could plainly detect
the growing contempt in those already cold eyes.
"Asta, you..."
"Enough! March 7th, we're leaving!"
"I'll take a shuttle to Azure Star first thing tomorrow morning."
"I don't want to spend another day in this damned place!"
"And has no one ever told you how disgusting that look in your eyes is?"
He cut March 7th off outright.
His temper rising, Lin Chen turned and walked away.
If he hadn't been mindful of March 7th's feelings,
he wouldn't have minded throwing out a few harsher words.
Something like, Fortunes change. Don't look down on a young man just because he's poor!
Still, he really wasn't that interested in blowing Herta Space Station to pieces.
Hmm... too small-minded.
Perhaps one day, the boundless sea of stars would bow beneath his feet.
Asta's expression then would surely be quite a sight.
"You..."
Watching Lin Chen's retreating figure, Asta's pupils trembled violently.
Her once-lustrous rosy lips lost their color as she bit down on them.
For the first time in her life, someone had mercilessly humiliated her to her face.
After Lin Chen left,
hurried footsteps sounded, and March 7th soon caught up with him.
"Lin Chen, are you really angry?"
Her delicate brows tightly furrowed, March 7th looked at his cold expression and spoke softly.
"That's right!"
Lin Chen nodded silently, making no attempt to hide it.
At that moment, his opinion of Asta had hit rock bottom.
"Asta... she was never like this before!"
"Now I'm starting to believe what you said earlier."
"There really does seem to be something wrong with her..."
As she spoke, solemn confusion appeared on March 7th's fair, jade-like face.
"Oh? Really?"
Still walking, Lin Chen answered offhandedly.
"Yes! I know Asta really well!"
"She can act a little spoiled sometimes, but she'd never behave the way she did today."
"I can't quite explain it, but I just feel... like she's no longer the person I knew..."
March 7th clenched both hands into fists, her expression earnest.
A faint jolt of electricity flashed through Lin Chen's mind.
Suddenly thinking of something, he raised his wrist.
The time on his watch had reached 11:11.
[Remain appropriately vigilant late at night, because you never know what you might encounter...]
Suddenly recalling the system's earlier vague warning, Lin Chen felt a slight chill run down his spine.
Late at night? Isn't that right now?
Thinking back carefully to their meeting with Asta in the master control zone,
he realized that apart from the heiress herself, there hadn't been a single researcher on duty nearby.
For a massive space station with hundreds of thousands of employees,
even at midnight, the central area of the master control zone had been far too quiet.
In that case, the young woman he and March 7th had just met...
Had she really been Asta?
The more he thought about it, the more terrifying that question became.
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