"Himeko, we're back—"
March 7th walked over briskly with Stelle in tow, while Dan Heng returned from another direction.
Sylvia, catching sight of Dan Heng as he rejoined the group, couldn't quite picture how someone so reserved would go about comforting others.
"Ah, Sylvia—I just saw the security staff escorting your, uh… pet outside. It scared quite a few people, you know."
After greeting Himeko, March 7th turned her gaze toward Sylvia.
She and Stelle had been busy calming down the station staff when they happened to see security leading that flaming hulk through the corridors. Some of the bolder researchers were fine, but it took a good deal of effort to soothe the more timid ones.
March's tone carried a hint of complaint that wasn't really a complaint—if anything, it felt more like a playful whine.
No wonder March was so well-liked. That perfectly balanced social boldness of hers really did make it easy to win people over.
Sylvia nodded and explained, "It was drawing too much attention staying in the Master Control Zone, so I figured it might as well go outside and make itself useful."
"Oh—I see now."
March 7th looked enlightened, while Asta beside her covered her mouth to hide a laugh.
She still remembered Sylvia's original reasoning, which hadn't been nearly as proper-sounding.
Just then—
Alarms suddenly blared everywhere.
A flood of warning signals poured in from every section of the station.
Soon, the feed from outside the space station was transmitted to Asta's terminal.
And everyone present saw the source of the alerts.
A colossal creature was clinging to the station's protective shield, tearing at it wildly, trying to shatter the defense system that had only just been restored.
A Doomsday Beast!
A notorious anti-civilization siege weapon of the Antimatter Legion. And now, such a monster had set its sights on this small space station.
Asta immediately grasped the seriousness of the situation.
They couldn't let uninvolved people get dragged into this.
Without hesitation, she turned to Himeko and said, "You should leave on the Express first. Please take Sylvia with you. I'll stay."
Himeko shot a discreet glance toward Stelle, then nodded, preparing to lead everyone away.
"But…"
March 7th wanted to say something more, but Himeko had already turned, taken Stelle by the wrist, and started leading her off.
Sylvia, aware of what was really happening, reassured Asta, "Don't worry, everything will be fine."
With that, she also took March 7th by the arm and turned to leave, heading toward where the Astral Express was docked.
--+--
"Hey… Sylvia, don't pull me… We're not just going to run away, are we?"
March 7th wanted to stay and help, but both their leader Himeko and the powerful Sylvia had chosen to leave.
And each of them had taken someone along, leaving no room for argument.
Dan Heng, who'd joined them along the way, was his usual quiet, reserved self—no help was coming from that quarter.
But at least March was certain that Himeko wasn't the type to simply save her own skin when trouble arose.
So her weak protest now was really just an attempt to start a conversation and ask for reasons.
On the other side, Stelle, who was being led by Himeko, instinctively glanced over as well.
But she noticed Sylvia's gaze instead resting on her.
"Our leaving is what will save the space station."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
March 7th stared at Sylvia with a slightly clueless expression, while Himeko seemed thoughtful.
Dan Heng, however, frowned slightly and glanced at Stelle.
Sylvia continued explaining, "The Doomsday Beast is after the Stellaron. Wherever the Stellaron goes, it will follow. We're the ones who can't escape it, so we can't let the battle take place in the Master Control Zone."
"Ah? Us? The Stellaron? You're not saying the Stellaron is with us, are you? We didn't steal anything!"
March's mind hadn't quite caught up yet, and she waved her hands frantically, trying to distance herself from any suspicion.
Dan Heng seemed to have guessed something but stayed silent.
Stelle was still out of the loop, not reacting at all. Having just lost her memories, it wasn't fair to expect too much from her.
As for Himeko, Sylvia's words had helped her piece together more of the situation.
It made her curious about Sylvia's origins—or rather, her connections.
But for now, she still had to take charge of the Express crew. "Let's listen to Sylvia for now. We can discuss the details once this is over. Right now, we need to get as far from the Master Control Zone as possible."
"Oh, okay… I don't really get it, but if you say so, Himeko."
March 7th was the optimistic type. When things got too complicated, she tended to switch off her brain—especially since both Himeko and Dan Heng were the thinking sort.
As long as she stopped overanalyzing at critical moments and just followed instructions, she was less likely to cause trouble.
"So, where are we heading now? A reminder: the Doomsday Beast is the Antimatter Legion's planetary assault weapon. Tearing through the shield will be child's play for it."
Dan Heng chimed in at the right moment, his meaning clear.
If the Doomsday Beast was really after them, they had to be ready for a direct confrontation.
With just March and Dan Heng's abilities, they definitely couldn't handle it. At the very least, they needed to reach a place where Himeko could call in the orbital cannon.
Or rendezvous with Welt.
Himeko obviously knew the station's layout better than Sylvia did.
She quickly selected a destination on the elevator panel and said, "We'll head to the Support Zone where maintenance staff work. From there, we can reach the nearest platform and meet up with Welt."
"Uncle Yang? He's here too? Wasn't he staying on the train?"
March 7th leaned forward curiously. Dan Heng explained from beside her, "The Express's log records our movements in real time. With all this commotion on the station, there's no way Mr. Welt wouldn't have noticed."
"Mhm. I can guarantee your Uncle Yang is already on his way."
Himeko watched the elevator descend as she joined the conversation.
"Right now, a Doomsday Beast alone is still manageable. But if an Emanator of Destruction shows up too, that's another story…"
As she spoke—ding!
The elevator arrived at the target section right on cue.
The doors slid open. Though everyone's attention was still on Ms. Himeko, they stepped out first.
She looked at Stelle, who still seemed a bit confused, and said with a smile, "Let's just get out of here for now. Everything else can be explained later."
"Okay."
Stelle nodded. Even though she hadn't fully grasped the situation, from her brief contact with them so far, the Astral Express crew seemed decent enough.
And judging by the space station staff's reactions to them, sticking with the Express team for now was at least a safe move.
Sylvia nodded as well from the side, then showed a faint, expectant smile.
"Be careful in a moment. I'll focus everything on suppressing that Doomsday Beast."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.