Stop framing Elio

Dan Heng truly was an indispensable travel companion—quiet, unobtrusive, and highly skilled in combat.

Otherwise, how could he serve as both the archive manager and the Express's guard?

Seeing that Dan Heng had no intention of asking anything, Stelle cradled her Hot Floating Goat Milk in both hands and leaped onto the skiff ahead of him. Turning around, she waved at Dan Heng, who was still standing on the dock.

"Let's go. We're heading back to the Express."

She no longer planned to keep wandering around the Luofu. On one hand, with Dan Heng accompanying her this time, it was inconvenient for her to do anything; mainly, she was afraid he would overthink things. On the other hand, after successfully winning Jing Yuan over, Aha had promised her two scripts.

Since she could get twice the result with half the effort, why bother working herself to the bone?

Dan Heng silently boarded the Express behind Stelle.

Stelle was still planning out the upcoming itinerary. Since they had already visited Belobog and the Xianzhou Luofu, their next destination naturally had to be Penacony!

But...

As Stelle carefully savored the milky fragrance of the Hot Floating Goat Milk in her mouth, an inexplicable exhaustion suddenly surged through her.

She had already turned off the Elation Switch when she waved goodbye to Jing Yuan.

Thus, the sharp, aggressive aura she had carried while facing Jing Yuan had long since faded.

At this moment, she looked exactly as Dan Heng was most familiar with—completely non-threatening, harmless to man and beast, and mild-tempered.

Of course, that was Stelle's own assessment of herself.

If the other members of the Express Crew were asked about their impression of Stelle, their answers would definitely have nothing to do with words like "harmless" or "non-threatening"!

As Stelle listlessly bit down on her straw and watched the drifting clouds outside through the skiff's window, she failed to notice that Dan Heng, seated beside her, was silently watching her with an exceedingly complicated gaze.

It felt like Stelle had come to the Luofu this time carrying many secrets.

Dan Heng sighed. He could not shake the feeling that Stelle and Jing Yuan had sent him away to hide something unknown from him.

But he was not someone who liked prying into others' affairs. No matter how curious he was, he could only force himself to act as though he did not care.

Yet...

Dan Heng really wanted to ask Stelle.

"Weren't we the best companions in the Express Crew? There had never been any barriers between us. Stelle, why do you have secrets now, why do you treat me like an outsider...?"

He looked at Stelle with a complicated expression, but in the end, he merely pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Meanwhile, Stelle remained immersed in her fantasies of the future, bantering with Aha in her head.

Stelle: Come to think of it, the food on the Xianzhou Luofu really is delicious. Once we're done with things on Amphoreus, I feel like I could settle down on the Luofu, never involve myself in worldly disputes again, and retire from Trailblazing.

Aha: If you stop Trailblazing, Aha will be sad on Akivili's behalf, you know?

Stelle: Are you two being a little too intimate? What exactly is your relationship with Akivili? Do They need you to be sad for Them?

Aha: After all, we once shared an inseparable and intimate relationship, together day and night. Though They have been gone for a long time, I still think of Them at every moment.

Ordinary people probably rarely got the chance to casually chat with the Aeon of Elation, right?

Thinking this, Stelle realized before she knew it that she was already standing at the entrance to the Express.

Ah, they were back already.

Aha really was an expert at killing time. It seemed she should chat with Them whenever she had nothing to do in the future and waste some time.

As Stelle entered the Express, she felt as though every bone in her body was about to fall apart.

How strange. She clearly had not done anything—she had merely gone to the Luofu in the morning, eaten a meal, and chatted with Jing Yuan for a while.

It had not taken much time at all; she was already back in the afternoon.

Even including the round trip, it had only taken half a day. Why was she so tired?

It was like the exhaustion of spending 300 Trailblaze Power in a row farming EXP books.

Stelle yawned. Seeing that the Parlor Car was empty, she turned back to greet Dan Heng before heading toward the Party Car.

If you enjoy this book and don't want to lose it next time, please remember to add it to your bookshelf!

She was going back to her room to catch up on sleep.

This was practically a Trailblazer's standard routine after returning to the Express.

Dan Heng nodded and watched Stelle walk up the stairs.

He set the Hot Floating Goat Milk he had been carrying on the table, then turned to gaze at the chaotic starry sky beyond the Parlor Car's transparent glass.

The vast galaxy was dazzling beyond description.

Dan Heng turned and returned to his room as well.

"Forget it," he murmured, a bitter smile curling across his lips.

"Forget it. I should sleep first."

Nestling comfortably into the soft bed, Stelle closed her eyes without another word and, in an instant, blissfully drifted into dreamland.

Even Aha admired Their Emanator's quality of sleep.

She really fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow.

Her body was in the recovery phase brought on by sleep, while her consciousness moved unimpeded through her mind, searching for traces of Aha.

It was time to reveal the script again!

"Seriously, they're just crumpled little slips of paper you pulled out of your pocket. Was there really any need to give them such a grand name as 'script'? Don't drag Elio into this, okay?!"

Stelle held two little paper balls in her hands and complained to Aha with a speechless look on her face.

"Alright, alright, none of that matters. The contents of the script are what matter most. Hurry up and open them."

Stelle recalled the last time they had revealed the script.

1. Trailblazer, your life will be in danger.

2. Trailblazer, you will escape danger unharmed.

It had been utterly useless nonsense.

"I've been in life-threatening danger plenty of times! And when have I ever failed to make it out safely?" Stelle huffed as she crumpled the slip of paper back into a ball and viciously hurled it at Aha's head.

"I'm the protagonist, you know? The protagonist! I have protagonist plot armor!"

Stelle declared this with complete confidence.

Of course she was the protagonist. After all, in the "real world" she had seen through Aha back then, every living, breathing human had been controlling Stelle—the Trailblazer—as their player character in a mobile game.

What kind of content would be revealed this time?

It felt rather like opening a blind box. It really was exciting.

With that thought, Stelle rubbed her hands excitedly, her heart pounding and her hands trembling as she opened one of the slips.

3. Eat whatever you feel like eating while you still can. You won't get another chance later.

4. Amphoreus has adorable Earthly Beasts.

Stelle was genuinely about to get angry.

What the hell was this supposed to mean?!

Seeing Stelle's expression shift from red to green, then to black, her entire face filled with the indignation of someone who had been toyed with by Aha, the culprit hurriedly spoke up.

"This is a very important script, you know. Don't wrong Aha. Aha can explain.

Think about it—people need to have some deductive ability, right? You can't just look at the surface of things.

Look at what the third entry means. It means that Amphoreus is a place you can go to but never return from. You won't be able to come back easily before your Trailblazing there is over, so that's why Aha told you to eat whatever you want while you still can.

As for the fourth entry... everyone has their specialty.

Sometimes, when there are troublesome people you can't handle, you can let the adorable Earthly Beasts handle them for you.

It's that simple."