Astral Express, parlor car.
Ye Yan shivered. Why did he have a bad feeling?
The instant he finished delivering the Cloud-Piercing Arrow to Aha, he returned to the carriage and acted as though nothing had happened.
"Ow... that hurts, that hurts!"
March 7th clutched her backside. She had been taking pictures of the blue planet opposite them when a sudden boom knocked her flat on the floor.
"Why do I keep falling over these past few days? Aren't pretty girls supposed to have good luck?"
She checked her camera. Fortunately, it wasn't broken.
"Are you two all right?"
Welt and Dan Heng entered the parlor car to check on Ye Yan and March 7th.
"Mr. Welt, I think we need to buy March some armor."
"The Interastral Peace Corporation was attacked just last night. Shipping might be delayed, so it could take a while to arrive." Welt was seriously considering the proposal.
"No need, Uncle Yang! I can take a fall!"
March 7th straightened her back. "The ice will protect me if I fall... uh, even though landing on ice hurts more."
"Better to be careful. That loud noise just now might attract something dangerous."
"It sounded more like... some kind of signal," Welt speculated.
Ye Yan closed his book and stretched.
"Is Uncle Yang going into great detective mode again?"
"Soap..."
Dan Heng was still thinking about that bar of soap.
The soap really worked wonders. Bathing with it felt like having both body and mind purified. All the exhaustion vanished, and after a night's sleep, another day full of energy awaited!
Of course, that was March 7th's review after using it.
Ding-dong~
Ye Yan's phone vibrated. The Cloud-Piercing Arrow should be stuck in Aha's backside right now. Apparently, it still didn't hurt enough if Aha had time to message him.
[Universe's Number One Paparazzo (note) sent an image]
[Fuli: Garden of Recollection latest production Light Cone three Aeons interconnected Eternity The Hunt Elation pitch-black arrow of light pierces mask screams abound absolutely spectacular utterly marvelous sharing here]
[Ye Yan: ...]
[Ye Yan: You don't use punctuation when you type either!]
[Fuli: Typing speaking same equally unaccustomed to using it]
[Fuli: ,,.]
[Ye Yan: Am I doing a language exercise where I have to add the punctuation?]
[Fuli: Aeon doing exercises interesting worth recording]
[Fuli: ,..]
[System notification: Universe's Number One Paparazzo (note) has gone offline]
Fuli had even added another line of punctuation before going offline. That was the part that made it hardest to keep a straight face.
Ye Yan wanted to ask Lan for a few more Cloud-Piercing Arrows and treat every Aeon equally.
"Based on my observations over the last few days, I think the Express really needs to purchase some medical equipment."
Ye Yan continued discussing the topic of [Solutions to March 7th's Falling Problem].
"Agreed." Dan Heng endorsed that view. Ever since Ye Yan helped modify Cloud-Piercer, he had begun focusing on practicing spear thrusts and shooting.
Cloud-Piercer was still the same Cloud-Piercer, just with ranged combat capabilities. Nothing else had been changed.
"Cloud-Piercer never leaves my hand!"
The shaft stayed in his hand, but the spearhead was another matter, my friend. It could plunge into your heart at any moment.
"I told you, we don't need that stuff!"
After several leisurely days, a new day arrived.
The Antimatter Legion had launched a full-scale invasion two system hours earlier, and its numbers were far from ordinary.
Countless Voidrangers appeared inside and outside the space station, wreaking havoc.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! There are way too many Legion pawns!"
March 7th swung her ice bow, batting away a Voidranger that tried to engage her in close combat.
"A melee archer. Impressive, Miss March!" With both hands in his pockets, Ye Yan successfully dodged every attack from the Reaver before him.
"Hmph, pretty girls can fight too! Who says a magic DPS can't deal physical damage?"
Whoosh!
Cloud-Piercer whistled past her ear and struck the heart of a centaur-shaped Voidranger: Trampler.
"Watch your back. This is an ambush. We can't afford to be careless."
Dan Heng ran up to the Trampler, which still had a little life left in it, and delivered the final blow. He picked the spearhead up off the floor and reattached it.
He had been fretting over having no test subjects to try out the modified Cloud-Piercer's power these past few days, and then the Antimatter Legion arrived.
So far, the results were good. He just had to run over and retrieve the spearhead himself.
"Watching the all-capable Teacher Dan Heng do that feels oddly comical."
"You have the all-capable Teacher Ye Yan to blame for that."
Dan Heng chuckled, successfully changing the subject.
"Haha, I'll fit it with a magnetic attachment later." Ye Yan joked, "I'll go support the other sections first. You two be careful too. If you need help, just shout, 'Help me, Mr. Ye Yan.'"
"Nobody's going to say that!"
Then Ye Yan tore open the void and jumped straight in without looking back, leaving the two staring in shock.
"The strong really are full of surprises! Can all Emanators of Eternity do that?"
March 7th regretted not recording that scene with her camera. She chatted with Dan Heng as they ran.
"I think that move would really suit you. Want to learn it, Teacher Dan Heng?"
"Can I not answer that?"
No sooner had Ye Yan left than an explosion erupted inside the space station, causing widespread failure in the main control system.
At the same time, the Stellaron Hunter Kafka stopped playing her violin.
"Looks like I came at the wrong time."
"No, I think you came at just the right time." Silver Wolf came up beside her.
"System time, 23:47:15. You're right on time, Kafka."
"I thought you'd contact me through the equipment. I didn't expect this."
"Surprised?" Silver Wolf blew a bubble with her gum. "Actually, I've been beside you the whole time. You just couldn't notice me."
"Is this in Elio's [script] too?"
"Who knows? The script was perfectly clear a few weeks ago. Ever since that black meteor streaked past, it's been nothing but garbled text."
"Elio hasn't reacted at all, either. Is this in his [script] too? A play within a play?"
Silver Wolf didn't understand. All she knew was that her phone had frozen solid as soon as the meteor passed, costing her the promotion match.
"Just don't let me find out who did it." Silver Wolf gritted her teeth. She was furious!
"Elio hasn't said anything, so this operation proceeds as usual~ From this point on, I'm taking over."
Although Kafka had questions about the garbled script, its ultimate objective was still correct.
Aside from Herta, there might be another Emanator-level presence on the space station.
"The last few operations were boring. Hopefully, this one will be a little more fun."
"Today's task is very dull: simply [put the target inside]. But it definitely won't disappoint you. Isn't that [Eternity] friend of yours on the station too?"
"He is, but whether he'll play with me is another matter."
"Hmm?"
Kafka noticed something amiss. "Is he very busy?"
Silver Wolf nodded. "No, he's just plain lazy."
Kafka: ...
Now wasn't the time for this sort of discussion, and Kafka didn't ask further.
They encountered no trace of the Antimatter Legion along the way.
"Since when were there so few of the Antimatter Legion?"
Kafka and Silver Wolf walked down the corridor, utterly uninterested in the portraits of Genius Society members on either side. Aside from Screwllum and Zandar, they recognized hardly any of them.
"That shouldn't be right. The forces we lured here had just about everything short of a Lord Ravager coming in person..." Silver Wolf lowered her head in thought. She had even sent the signal twice.
"If there aren't enough of them, they won't hold up the Astral Express bunch."
"Relax. At least two Doomsday Beasts came this time. Those Lord Ravagers have no signal at all. Even if I wanted to contact them, I couldn't."
There might be few trash mobs, but there were plenty of elites! And having too many troop types wouldn't attract a boss, either. This was practically tailor-made for the Astral Express and the space station!
"I haven't asked yet. How capable is that friend of yours in combat?"
"On par with an Emanator."
Kafka: ...
Her mistake. She should have asked sooner.
"Whoa... that explosion sounded powerful."
Ye Yan walked down the corridor toward the monitoring room, letting the Voidrangers' attacks hit him. He had only dodged earlier to put on a show. Since they dealt zero damage to him anyway, he couldn't be bothered to dodge.
Wait a second. Weren't there a few too many?
Ye Yan could even feel the gazes of several Doomsday Beasts soaring freely around the blue planet.
"What am I, a newly hired Lord Ravager?"
Ye Yan muttered to himself as he looked at the hundreds of Voidrangers crowding the corridor.
If he were a Lord Ravager, these pawns would all be down on one knee declaring their submission.
So there was only one truth!
Nanook had marked [Eternity] as the highest-priority target. Ye Yan deduced that [Elation] probably came next.
"Damn you, Nanook. We're colleagues who've stayed out of each other's way, and you secretly raised my aggro for your lackeys. You even gave me the highest level."
One more reason to beat Nanook up when the time came.
As an Imaginary shell fired by a Voidranger: Eliminator struck Ye Yan, every Voidranger around him was wiped out, including the one that fired. Not a scrap remained.
Damage transfer, kid!
"I should find a chance to get an automatic counterattack."
Back when he played games, Ye Yan loved putting Yunli and Clara, those two barefoot lolis, on the same team. Even if they competed for aggro, it was still playable.
Lolis were great... pfft, characters who automatically counterattacked after being hit were great.
"Wait, I don't remember there being this many Doomsday Beasts!"
Belatedly realizing it, Ye Yan concealed his presence and arrived before the blue planet, looking at a full five Doomsday Beasts lying in wait.
"Did she accidentally add an extra zero when she summoned the Antimatter Legion?"
He would have to grill Silver Wolf later. Was she trying to make the entire Astral Express Crew take the field by bringing this many? At that rate, even Pom-Pom would show up.
"What can I say? I'm just that kindhearted. The sooner I finish the real work, the sooner I can slack off." Ye Yan tugged at his collar and charged toward the Doomsday Beasts.
"Damn you, Nanook. Can't you keep your pets under control? Someone tosses out a little bait, and off they go."
Yet another reason to give Nanook a beating!