Chapter Summaries

Asta woke to learn that a Doomsday Beast was attacking Herta Space Station and hurried to the Central Control Zone to respond. Lin Feng and March 7th raced toward the danger, while Himeko and the others prepared to intercept the beast at the Starry Sky Rail Platform.

• Arlan woke Asta and reported that the Doomsday Beast was attacking and the station's Repulsion Field Barrier was close to failing.
• Asta ordered Arlan back to the Central Control Zone, dressed, and made her way there despite her pain.
• March 7th joined Lin Feng on the run to confront the Doomsday Beast, insisting she would face the danger with him.
• Himeko told the Astral Express crew to prepare to intercept the Doomsday Beast and bring March 7th and Lin Feng back.
• Welt suggested Lin Feng's potential as a human vessel for a Stellaron might let him stop the Doomsday Beast.

Lin Feng and March 7th reached the Starrail Platform as the Doomsday Beast attacked Herta Space Station. Lin Feng chose to stay and fight alongside the Astral Express Crew, while he and Himeko both felt an inexplicable familiarity with each other.

• Lin Feng and March 7th arrived at the Starrail Platform and saw the Doomsday Beast battering the Peace Shield.
• The station's Defense Firepower Module struck the beast, but its attacks barely scorched the creature's armor.
• March 7th reunited with Himeko, Dan Heng, and Welt Yang, who checked that Lin Feng's stellaron was stable.
• Himeko offered Lin Feng the chance to withdraw to the Astral Express, but he resolved to stay and defend Herta Space Station.
• Lin Feng and Himeko each felt strangely familiar to the other, and Welt turned his attention to the Doomsday Beast.

After the Doomsday Beast destroyed Herta Space Station’s Peace Shield, Lin Feng and the Astral Express crew fought it to buy time for the station’s evacuation. Asta watched anxiously from the Central Control Zone and resolved to stay at her post rather than flee.

• The Doomsday Beast shattered the Peace Shield, and Himeko, Welt, March 7th, Dan Heng, and Lin Feng prepared to hold it off.
• March 7th drew the beast’s attention with ice attacks, and Lin Feng blocked its claw before striking its head alongside Dan Heng and Himeko.
• Welt halted the Doomsday Beast’s sweeping attack with spatial rifts as the group continued fighting, but their attacks barely harmed it.
• Asta watched the battle on surveillance and refused Arlan’s suggestion that she escape, declaring that she would stand or fall with Herta Space Station.

The exhausted Astral Express crew struggled to damage the Doomsday Beast while Lin Feng tried to provoke it into using its Annihilation Ray. After Himeko was gravely wounded and trapped in the beam’s path, she closed her eyes and remembered first encountering the Astral Express.

• Asta received messages and prayed for Lin Feng while Arlan wondered at her sudden change in behavior.
• March 7th, Dan Heng, Himeko, and Welt Yang struggled against the Doomsday Beast as Lin Feng relentlessly struck its head to enrage it.
• The Doomsday Beast flung Lin Feng aside and struck Himeko with its claw, leaving her gravely wounded.
• The Doomsday Beast charged its Annihilation Ray and fired it at Himeko while her companions shouted warnings.
• Himeko, unable to move, accepted her apparent death and recalled walking through the winter sea toward the battered train that would become the Astral Express.

Lin Feng awakened the Stellaron’s power by enduring the Doomsday Beast’s destruction ray, then struck the monster with his bat and badly wounded it. As Himeko, March 7th, Welt Yang, Dan Heng, Asta, and Arlan watched in shock, Lin Feng prepared to continue the fight.

• Himeko regained consciousness after Lin Feng shielded her from the Doomsday Beast’s attack.
• Lin Feng endured the destruction ray and awakened the Stellaron’s power, surrounding himself with silver flames.
• March 7th, Welt Yang, and Dan Heng reacted with surprise as Lin Feng charged the Doomsday Beast.
• Lin Feng leapt into the air and struck the Doomsday Beast with a giant silver phantom bat, sending it flying and severely injuring it.
• Asta and Arlan watched Lin Feng’s attack from the Central Control Zone, and Arlan decided to ask him how to become as strong as he was.

The Doomsday Beast grew stronger despite its injuries, while Lin Feng’s Stellaron-powered attack abruptly failed and left him unable to finish it. After gaining simulation points for his brief display, Lin Feng faced the charging beast alone.

• Welt Yang led Dan Heng, March 7th, and the unconscious Himeko away as the Doomsday Beast destroyed their platform.
• March 7th encouraged Lin Feng to defeat the beast, and Lin Feng confidently tried to summon his enormous phantom baseball bat.
• Lin Feng’s attack repeatedly shrank and failed, his starflames went out, and he fell onto the platform.
• Lin Feng realized he could draw only a fraction of the Stellaron’s power and received 150 Path of Elation Simulation Points for an achievement.
• The Doomsday Beast charged at Lin Feng to take revenge.

Lin Feng and the others could not defeat the berserk Doomsday Beast until Asta’s Star Destroyer, Giant Peak, arrived and vaporized it. After the ship left to patrol Herta Space Station, March 7th teased Lin Feng about being a wealthy young master.

• Lin Feng, March 7th, Welt Yang, and the others charged the Doomsday Beast but were thrown back by its attacks.
• A colossal Star Destroyer named Giant Peak appeared above Herta Space Station, and Lin Feng recognized Asta’s involvement.
• Giant Peak deployed Storm Griffin Fighters, which lured the Doomsday Beast away from the station.
• Giant Peak fired its Antimatter Pulse Main Cannon and vaporized the Doomsday Beast.
• Giant Peak began patrolling Herta Space Station before departing, and March 7th jokingly asked whether Lin Feng was a conglomerate’s young master.

After the Doomsday Beast was destroyed, Lin Feng discovered that March 7th had no Credits to lend him and lamented the Astral Express Crew’s lack of money. At Herta Space Station, Asta asked Arlan to bring Lin Feng to see her, hoping to grow closer to him before the crew left.

• Lin Feng asked March 7th to lend him 5,000 Credits for a phone, but she explained that Dan Heng handled the crew’s reimbursed expedition budget and she had no money of her own.
• Lin Feng accepted that he was broke and thought about thanking Asta for buying the Star Destroyer that defeated the Doomsday Beast.
• Asta watched the researchers celebrate the station’s survival as Arlan asked whether she had spent recklessly on the Star Destroyer.
• Asta told Arlan to return to his duties and address her as Lead Researcher, then asked him to tell Lin Feng to come see her about station security.
• Asta decided to approach Lin Feng because she knew he needed Credits and wanted to get closer to him before the Astral Express Crew left.

While exploring the Curio Collection Room, Lin Feng experienced strange memories after viewing a shattered red blade and wondered if its red-haired warrior resembled Himeko. Arlan then brought him to meet Asta and asked how to grow stronger, leaving with Lin Feng’s dubious training advice.

• Lin Feng explored the Curio Collection Room using the highest-level access granted to him after the Doomsday Beast attack.
• A recording about the Black Wings stirred a sense of familiarity in Lin Feng, though he could not recall why.
• A recording about a shattered red blade triggered painful, hazy visions of a red-haired woman fighting a silver-haired girl, and Lin Feng wondered if the woman was Himeko.
• Arlan found Lin Feng and said Asta wanted to discuss the station’s security arrangements.
• Arlan asked how he could become as strong as Lin Feng, who advised him to do daily calisthenics and run ten kilometers.
• Arlan thanked Lin Feng and resolved to train so he could fight future threats instead of waiting for help.

Lin Feng entered Asta's private room after Arlan claimed she wanted to discuss Herta Space Station's defenses. Asta awkwardly asked about the Star Destroyer, and the two exchanged thanks for their roles in the station's rescue.

• Arlan brought Lin Feng to Asta's chamber, then hurried away after letting him in.
• Arlan recalled being reprimanded by Asta for barging into her room and decided not to interfere with her feelings for Lin Feng.
• Lin Feng entered Asta's boudoir and greeted her while concealing his familiarity with her.
• Asta improvised a question about the Giant Peak after realizing she had no real defense-related topic prepared.
• Lin Feng praised the Giant Peak's firepower and thanked Asta for her quick thinking, while Asta credited him with helping save the station.

Asta questioned Lin Feng about why he stayed to defend Herta Space Station, and he implied that he had done it for someone important to him. Believing he meant her, Asta stopped him from leaving and went to fetch a gift, leaving Lin Feng curious about what was in the box.

• Asta told Lin Feng that the station had given him several heroic nicknames and asked why he had stayed to fight the Doomsday Beast.
• Lin Feng evaded her question, then suggested that he had stayed because someone important to him was at the station.
• Asta took Lin Feng’s words and gaze as a confession that he had protected her, and she became flustered by the thought.
• When Lin Feng tried to leave, Asta took his hand and told him she had something to give him.
• Asta searched the room and returned carrying an enormous box.

Asta gave Lin Feng over a hundred custom phones and an Interstellar Alliance settlement card, insisting that his contributions to Herta Space Station deserved a reward. Though shocked to learn the card held one billion Credits, Lin Feng accepted it after Asta urged him to.

• Asta showed Lin Feng a case containing over a hundred exclusive phones and invited him to take whichever he liked.
• Lin Feng chose two phones and exchanged smiling emojis with Asta, whose number was the only contact saved on them.
• Asta gave Lin Feng a black settlement card and revealed it held one billion Credits.
• Lin Feng tried to return the card, but Asta insisted the reward was deserved because he had helped save Herta Space Station and its Curios.
• Lin Feng accepted the card and considered Asta's immense wealth and her family's possible ties to the Interastral Peace Corporation.

Lin Feng accepted Asta’s black card and told her he would remain on Herta Space Station while Himeko recovered, though he still hoped to see the stars beyond. After visiting Himeko, he joined the Astral Express group chat and invited everyone to dinner, confident that his newfound billion Credits could cover the bill.

• Lin Feng told Asta he was still considering joining the Astral Express but would stay on Herta Space Station while Himeko recovered.
• Lin Feng visited the unconscious Himeko in the medical ward, left her flowers, and took a picture with his new phone.
• March 7th added Lin Feng to the Astral Express group chat, where Pom-Pom, Dan Heng, and Yang Wo Qi Zuo welcomed him.
• Lin Feng invited the group to dinner at the Eye of the Starry Sky Restaurant at six that evening.
• March 7th worried that Lin Feng might not have enough Credits to pay, but he assured her he could afford it with Asta’s black card.

Lin Feng treated the Astral Express Crew to dinner at the Starlight Restaurant, where Pom-Pom and Welt Yang ordered lavishly after learning Lin Feng was extremely wealthy. The meal was set to begin, and Lin Feng considered how to thank Asta for his fortune.

• Lin Feng and the Astral Express Crew gathered for dinner at the Starlight Restaurant, while March 7th worried about the cost of his treat.
• March 7th tried to order cautiously, but Pom-Pom seized the menu and called out dozens of dishes.
• Welt Yang told the waitress to bring one of every most expensive item on the menu.
• Dan Heng and March 7th worried that the bill would bankrupt Lin Feng, but Welt Yang revealed Lin Feng had an Aeon of Preservation Qlipoth Co-Branded Black Card.
• The crew celebrated Lin Feng's wealth, and Lin Feng reflected that his card held a billion Credits and wondered how to thank Asta.

After dinner, Lin Feng gathered contacts and explored anonymous Herta Space Station chat groups, hoping to learn more for his next path simulation. He provocatively joked about Herta Puppets in the Ms. Herta Solo Fan Association, unaware that the furious group owner was Asta.

• Pom-Pom ate every dish at the Astral Express Crew's dinner at the Starlight Restaurant.
• Lin Feng strolled through Herta Space Station, collected researchers' contacts, and joined several chat groups.
• Lin Feng found the Ms. Herta Solo Fan Association and joined its conversation under the nickname Three Inches Into Iron.
• Lin Feng made crude jokes about Herta Puppets, angering the anonymous group owner, Name Withheld.
• Asta revealed in private that she had created the group to understand the station staff and was furious at Lin Feng's messages.

Asta muted Lin Feng’s anonymous group account after he insulted her, then thought about him before going to sleep. Lin Feng watched the group chat discuss Himeko and realized another member might also be pursuing her.

• Asta suspected the anonymous user Iron Piercer might be Lin Feng, but dismissed the idea and muted him for 13,450 years after he insulted her.
• Asta admired her appearance, thought about Lin Feng and the previous night, and eventually fell asleep.
• Lin Feng watched the group members discuss Iron Piercer’s punishment and speculate about the group owner.
• Melon Farmer asked for a high-resolution headshot of Himeko, prompting other members to warn her against pursuing the Astral Express navigator.
• Lin Feng focused on the conversation about Himeko and wondered whether Melon Farmer was romantically interested in her.

Lin Feng learned that rumors accused Asta of misusing Herta Space Station funds and decided to find their source. Arlan could not identify the anonymous poster, but pointed Lin Feng toward gossip expert Pamela, who was trapped near the Special Analysis Room by the Fragmentum.

• Lin Feng read group messages spreading rumors that Asta had misappropriated station funds for personal purchases.
• Lin Feng decided to protect Asta’s reputation by finding the person who started the rumors, whom he suspected was Watermelon Field Chara.
• Lin Feng visited Arlan and told him about the accusations; Arlan angrily agreed that they needed to find the culprit.
• Arlan said he did not know Watermelon Field Chara’s identity but suggested asking Pamela, a well-connected gossip enthusiast.
• Arlan told Lin Feng that Pamela and her team were trapped near the Special Analysis Room after Fragmentum appeared inside the station.

Lin Feng learned that a Fragmentum had appeared on Herta Space Station and went to the Storage Zone to help. After clearing monsters, restoring the Central Elevator, and rescuing researchers, he met Pamela, who offered information about Watermelon Field Chara in exchange for an awkwardly vague favor.

• Arlan explained that the Fragmentum was a dangerous spatial corrosion filled with monsters and isolated spaces, and Lin Feng volunteered to investigate despite his injuries.
• Lin Feng reached the Storage Zone, where Security Department soldiers told him Fragmentum monsters had damaged the Central Elevator's power supply and stranded researchers below.
• Lin Feng defeated the Voidrangers, activated the elevator's backup power, and rescued the stranded researchers before reaching the Special Analysis Room.
• Lin Feng met Pamela, the Melon Farmer, who guessed he wanted to know who Watermelon Field Chara in the Black Fan Group was and teased him about Asta.
• Pamela said she would trade the information for a price, then suggested an unclear favor that Lin Feng claimed not to understand.

Lin Feng rejected Pamela’s request to sleep with him but agreed to obtain seductive photos of Himeko in exchange for information about Watermelon Field Chara. Pamela left to await his message, and Lin Feng decided to make his move with Himeko.

• Pamela offered to sleep with Lin Feng for bragging rights, but he refused and told her to choose another condition.
• Pamela revealed that she wanted a close-up photo of Himeko, and Lin Feng sent her one he had taken earlier.
• Lin Feng pressed Pamela for information about Watermelon Field Chara, but she demanded seductive photos of Himeko in return.
• Lin Feng threatened Pamela, then agreed to obtain photos on the condition she could view them only once and could not save copies.
• Pamela accepted the deal and left, while Lin Feng planned to sneak into Himeko’s hospital room and change his plans to pursue her.

Lin Feng sneaked into Himeko’s room to take photos, but her tearful dream and his fragmented memories revealed a shared past in which he had been her captain. Himeko began to recognize why Lin Feng’s actions stirred her heart, while he stayed beside her and promised he was there.

• Lin Feng entered Himeko’s private medical room and secretly took several photos of her sleeping.
• Himeko began crying in her sleep and murmured for her captain not to leave.
• Lin Feng heard her words, suffered a painful rush of fragmented memories, and held her hand as his phone fell to the floor.
• Lin Feng told Himeko he had always been there, while her dream recalled their life together aboard the Hyperion and his presence at her final moments as a Valkyrie.
• Himeko realized that Lin Feng’s resemblance to the captain in her dreams explained why she had been shaken when he protected her on Herta Space Station.