Chapter Summaries

Himeko confronted Lin Chen about his connection to the Stellaron Hunters and his hidden purpose, but he refused to explain while assuring her he meant the Astral Express no harm. After agreeing to accompany Himeko to deliver Herta’s Curio, Lin Chen received a private invitation from Asta and earned 4,000 Conquest Points that night.

• Himeko told Lin Chen she suspected he had arranged for Stelle to join the Astral Express and had inferred what happened to the Stellaron at Herta Space Station.
• Lin Chen confirmed Himeko’s analysis but kept his purpose secret, saying he bore the Express no ill will and could be considered family.
• Himeko announced that she would deliver Herta’s Curio to the collection room the next day and invited Lin Chen to come with her.
• Lin Chen left Himeko to ponder his mysterious behavior, and she decided to check on Stelle.
• Asta messaged Lin Chen and invited him to her room for a special reward.
• Lin Chen visited Asta late that night, and their encounter earned him 4,000 Conquest Points.

Lin Chen visited Himeko in Herta Space Station’s Curio collection room, where she showed him [The Unknown], a metal-like Curio that depicted the Astral Express being destroyed. Himeko said its visions had been accurate, including a fog obscuring the station after Lin Chen arrived, leaving him to wonder whether the Curio could see his future.

• Lin Chen entered the Curio collection room and greeted Himeko after making her wait.
• Himeko demonstrated how [The Unknown] responded to her thoughts by depicting the Astral Express traveling through the stars before a falling battle-axe destroyed it.
• Himeko explained that [The Unknown] could extrapolate possible futures and said it repeatedly showed the Astral Express’s destruction.
• Lin Chen questioned whether the vision was a true prediction or a reflection of Himeko’s subconscious, but Himeko said the Curio’s visions had been accurate.
• Himeko recalled that [The Unknown] had shown only fog over Herta Space Station after Lin Chen arrived, and Lin Chen wondered whether it could not glimpse his future.

Lin Chen and Himeko tested [Unknown] together, and the Curio showed the Astral Express traveling without the battle-axe that had appeared in earlier visions. Himeko took the vision as a sign that Lin Chen could change the train’s fate and regarded him as an even more important ally.

• Lin Chen touched [Unknown]'s display case, but the Curio remained dormant and could not read his future.
• Lin Chen told Himeko that the future was in their own hands, easing her concern about the Astral Express.
• Lin Chen clasped Himeko's hand and pressed it against [Unknown]'s display case to test what the Curio would reveal.
• [Unknown] showed the Astral Express traveling through space without the battle-axe that had threatened to destroy it.
• Himeko pulled her hand free and stepped away, then concluded that Lin Chen's presence might help protect the Astral Express.

Lin Chen and Himeko explored Herta's Curio collection room, where many artifacts had disappeared during a strange disaster. Lin Chen recognized that Lilith might have taken the missing Curios, then examined a black Wind Glider that seemed familiar to him.

• Himeko asked Lin Chen not to take her hand again, but Lin Chen said he had never thought of her as an ordinary friend and called her his partner.
• Himeko changed the subject, and she and Lin Chen began looking around Herta's Curio collection room.
• Himeko explained that a strange disaster had left many display cases and Herta's secret warehouse missing Curios.
• Lin Chen recalled that Lilith had said Herta Space Station's trinkets helped restore her simulated body, and suspected they were the missing Curios.
• Lin Chen touched a black Wind Glider and experienced vivid images of flight, then questioned whether it deserved to be called a Curio.
• Himeko suggested the Wind Glider might have lost its magical power and said magic could address Lin Chen's concerns.

Lin Chen and Himeko visited Herta’s Curio collection room, where a strange score from the Rating Gun prompted Lin Chen to tease her about their supposed special connection. Himeko left for the Astral Express, while Lin Chen resolved to keep pursuing her.

• Lin Chen asked Himeko whether she wanted a life of her own, and she said she planned to follow the Astral Express until she could entrust it to new Nameless.
• Lin Chen stood before the Rating Gun, which gave him a score of 91.
• Lin Chen persuaded Himeko to try the Rating Gun, and it gave her a score of 9.
• Lin Chen joked that their scores added up to 100 and suggested they shared a special connection, making Himeko reconsider their relationship before dismissing the thought.
• Himeko left the Curio collection room for the Astral Express, and Lin Chen resolved to win her over.

Himeko experienced vivid memories of a crimson-haired warrior who resembled her and mistook Lin Chen for the captain she remembered, leading her to kiss him. Lin Chen began recovering matching memories, while Himeko’s own memories of him continued to surface.

• Himeko collapsed beside the Curio display case after hearing a strange voice and seeing visions of a crimson-haired warrior fighting a silver-haired girl.
• Himeko saw the warrior’s shattered greatsword in the case and recognized the woman’s face as her own.
• Himeko mistook Lin Chen for her captain, and Lin Chen supported her as she reached for him.
• Himeko kissed Lin Chen, and he kissed her back while embracing her.
• Lin Chen was struck by a sudden headache as fragmented memories surfaced, including a woman named Murata Himeko calling him Captain.
• Himeko’s memories of the man in the commander’s uniform grew clearer, and his face began to resemble Lin Chen’s.

Himeko recovered from a vision of memories belonging to another Murata Himeko, including her close bond with a captain named Lin Chen, and felt an unexplained connection to Lin Chen. After realizing they had kissed and he had touched her while she was dazed, she agreed to keep the incident secret from March 7th and left the Curio collection room.

• Himeko experienced memories of Murata Himeko’s life as a Valkyrie and her bond with the captain, then wondered whether the memories came from a past life or another world.
• Himeko woke in Lin Chen’s arms, realized what had happened while she was unconscious, and blushed as she recalled that she had kissed him first.
• Lin Chen reassured Himeko and agreed that what happened would remain a secret between them.
• Himeko asked Lin Chen to let go, stood up with his help, and left the Curio collection room.

After Himeko’s visit unlocked an intermediate bond and gifted Lin Chen 24 Infernal Firebats, he inspected the new troops and then visited the Astral Express to see the recovered Stelle. He reassured her that the Express was her home and promised to stay by her side.

• Himeko left, and Lin Chen received an intermediate bond with her and 24 Infernal Firebats for the Conqueror Legion.
• Lin Chen reviewed the Infernal Firebats’ heavy armor and close-range plasma weapons and judged them a valuable addition to his forces.
• After March 7th told him Stelle had woken up, Lin Chen went to the Astral Express to visit her.
• Lin Chen found March 7th with Stelle in her bedroom and learned that Himeko and Pom-Pom had confirmed Stelle was healthy.
• Lin Chen took Stelle’s hand, told her the Astral Express was her home, and promised to stay by her side.

Stelle told Lin Chen and March 7th that she had seen Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction, before she passed out. Lin Chen reassured her but privately worried about the Aeons’ immense power and how weak he still was.

• March 7th comforted Stelle and explained that she and Lin Chen were family.
• Lin Chen asked Stelle what she had experienced before passing out, and she described a cracked giant with golden blood above a river of golden lava.
• Lin Chen identified the vision as Nanook’s manifestation and said the Aeon had turned his gaze toward Stelle.
• March 7th and Lin Chen reassured Stelle that the power of Destruction did not make her a villain.
• Lin Chen reflected on his weakness compared with the Aeons and decided Nanook had no immediate intention of killing him.

Lin Chen gave Stelle and March 7th matching limited-edition phones, and Stelle chose Caelus as her online name. After Stelle joined the Astral Express and Lin Chen returned to Herta Space Station, she summoned him to Ms. Herta’s office, leaving him worried about what had happened.

• Lin Chen gave Stelle a luxury phone, then handed March 7th an identical one after she complained about being left out.
• Stelle chose Caelus as her online name and insisted Lin Chen call her that in their messages.
• Himeko arranged a room for Stelle aboard the Astral Express, while Lin Chen returned to Cabin 0276 on Herta Space Station.
• The following afternoon, Stelle messaged Lin Chen to come help her in Ms. Herta’s office.
• Lin Chen grew serious when he learned Stelle was with Ms. Herta and decided he had to go.

Lin Chen arrived at Herta’s office and learned that Stelle was struggling to complete the Simulated Universe. After Herta explained the machine’s role in researching the Aeons, Lin Chen asked about Ruan Mei’s involvement.

• Lin Chen found Stelle being scolded by a mobile Herta Puppet for failing to clear the Simulated Universe.
• Stelle asked Lin Chen to help her finish a run, and Herta recognized him as the Commander of the Conqueror Legion.
• Lin Chen questioned Herta about using Stelle as a test subject, and Herta explained that the Simulated Universe let researchers study simulated Aeons.
• Herta explained that Stelle’s Stellaron might cause her to be mistaken for Akivili and draw other Aeons into interactions with her.
• Lin Chen asked Herta whether Ruan Mei had helped develop the Simulated Universe.

Lin Chen asked Herta to let him enter the Simulated Universe with Stelle, claiming he would suppress his power and avoid fighting. Herta took his claim seriously and agreed to let him participate.

• Herta asked Lin Chen whether he was close with Ruan Mei, and Lin Chen said they only knew each other.
• Lin Chen told Herta he wanted to join the Simulated Universe test to protect Stelle, and Stelle gained confidence with him beside her.
• Herta worried Lin Chen's strength could ruin the experiment, but Lin Chen said he would enter as an ordinary person and not fight.
• Stelle privately doubted Lin Chen would be useful without his power but concealed her disappointment and voiced concern for him.
• Lin Chen acted haughty and insisted he had never spoken falsely, and Herta addressed him as Mr. Lin Chen before agreeing to his terms.

Herta suspected Lin Chen might be an Aeon after he demonstrated that he could suppress his Path power, and she allowed him and Stelle to enter the Simulated Universe. Lin Chen and Stelle arrived in a replica of Herta Space Station, where the Herta Navigation Sprite directed them toward their mission.

• Herta realized Lin Chen could disperse his Path power and privately wondered whether he was an Aeon.
• With Herta’s guidance, Lin Chen and Stelle entered the Simulated Universe.
• Lin Chen and Stelle appeared in a virtual replica of the Herta Space Station’s Data Room.
• The Herta Navigation Sprite appeared and told them to follow the corridors toward the core area.
• Lin Chen poked the Sprite’s head, and Herta blushed as she complained about him from her office.

Inside a simulated Herta Space Station, Lin Chen let Stelle take the lead against a group of monsters while Herta watched their adventure. Stelle defeated the first wave and vowed to clear the simulated universe, though Lin Chen doubted she could make it through.

• Herta reflected on Lin Chen calling her cute as Lin Chen and Stelle began their simulated-universe adventure.
• Lin Chen told Stelle he was an ordinary person now, and Stelle promised to protect him as Caelus.
• Stelle charged a group of Voidrangers and fought them recklessly while Lin Chen watched from a distance.
• Stelle smashed the monsters into fragments despite suffering several wounds, and Lin Chen praised and encouraged her.
• Stelle vowed to keep fighting toward clearing the simulated universe while Herta privately wondered about her close bond with Lin Chen.

Lin Chen and Stelle encountered Qlipoth in the Simulated Universe, and the Amber Lord blessed Stelle after she greeted them. Lin Chen then asked Qlipoth for more blessings, leaving Stelle with several golden choices to pick from.

• The Simulated Universe transformed into a starry galaxy as Qlipoth, the Aeon of Preservation, appeared before Lin Chen, Stelle, and Herta.
• Herta urged Stelle to speak to the Amber Lord, and Lin Chen encouraged her to greet Qlipoth.
• Qlipoth answered Stelle by granting her a Path of Preservation blessing, and she chose the gold blessing card.
• Lin Chen asked Qlipoth to give Stelle more blessings, and Qlipoth granted her another one.
• Stelle found that all three new blessing choices were gold, while Lin Chen continued asking Qlipoth for additional blessings.

Stelle received repeated Preservation blessings from Qlipoth after Lin Chen asked the Amber Lord for more. Watching the Simulated Universe, Herta concluded that Lin Chen was likely an Aeon even more influential than Akivili and resolved to keep his identity secret so she could study him.

• Stelle casually requested more blessings from the Amber Lord, and Qlipoth granted her another Preservation blessing.
• Herta checked the Simulated Universe Machine and confirmed that it was operating without errors.
• Herta reasoned that Qlipoth’s deference to Lin Chen meant Lin Chen was probably an Aeon with greater standing than Akivili.
• Herta decided not to tell Ruan Mei or Screwllum what she had deduced, and planned to get closer to Lin Chen before he left the Space Station.
• Herta imagined studying Lin Chen and uncovering the mysteries of the Aeons to become the universe’s greatest genius.