Having saved up enough funds, Stelle was finally able to install a small tea table in her bedroom.
Stelle looked at the L-shaped tea table and nodded in satisfaction.
["A Small Tea Table"?]
[This is bigger than my bed at home.]
[Is the Express crew really this rich?]
[Whether they had money before—I don't know. But now they definitely do. After all, they're already shareholders in Penacony.]
—
At that moment.
Himeko paid a visit. She looked at Stelle's new furniture and said, "Your living room is really spacious—perfect for a tea party. Snacks, drinks, fruit—you've prepared everything so thoughtfully. But as the navigator, I can't just sit back and enjoy the passengers' hospitality~"
She smiled, her expression mixed with a mysterious confidence. "As it happens, I bought some new coffee beans the other day and already ground them before coming. Stelle—shall we try them together?"
Danger! She's coming for me!
A voice rang out in Stelle's mind.
"Miss Himeko's brewed coffee… its flavor may not be something you can withstand."
[Hahaha—oh no, Stelle might be about to meet an Aeon.]
[Hahahaha—look at Stelle's face, she's completely stunned.]
[Stunned and carrying a hint of panic.]
Stelle gave a silly laugh. "I'll just have juice."
Himeko pointed to the glass on the tea table. "You've already had four or five cups of juice. It may look healthy, but the sugar content is very high. Black coffee has no sugar and can actually improve your digestive environment—it's good for the body. Have a cup~"
Himeko's words left Stelle with no room to refuse.
In the silence, Himeko had already brewed a cup of black coffee and handed it to Stelle. Stelle stared at the black coffee with residue floating on the surface—and it stared back at her!
Stelle's hands were trembling nonstop.
[Is this even called black coffee? This is the abyss.]
[I want to ask—does Himeko really not know how bad her coffee tastes?]
[She probably doesn't. Otherwise she wouldn't keep drinking it.]
[But can her stomach even handle it?]
[Who knows—probably an iron stomach.]
"Brewing coffee has so many joys: the variety of beans, the coarseness of the grind, water temperature, brewing steps… every little difference brings a completely new flavor. Just like our journey, isn't it?
Every choice we make sends us toward an unpredictable outcome."
Himeko patiently explained when she saw Stelle still hesitating to drink.
Stelle steeled herself. "Better a quick pain than a lingering one—cheers!"
She closed her eyes and downed the coffee in one gulp.
Flashes of her past life appeared in her mind—from waking up in the Herta Space Station to all the places she had been.
The space station, the Luofu, Penacony, the car wash planet…
At that moment, a rich aroma surged from her mouth into her nose. The oily, mellow mouthfeel paired with just-right acidity and bitterness activated every cell in Stelle's body.
She stared at the coffee in disbelief. "It's… surprisingly drinkable?"
Himeko gave a small smile. "See? If you never set out on the journey, you'll never know what rewards await."
[Too ridiculous—Himeko's coffee is actually drinkable?]
[This isn't some near-death hallucination, is it?]
[Could Himeko really have found that one-in-a-million possibility?]
[In infinite possibilities, Stelle obtained the only path to survival.]
[Must have hit the guaranteed pity.]
—
The next day.
The three little ones gathered around Shut Up.
For some reason, March 7th asked Shut Up a question. "Shut Up is a cocktail-mixing robot—does it really have the ability to write apology letters?"
"No problem!" Stelle nodded solemnly. "Trust in artificial intelligence."
She cleared her throat and issued the command. "Shut Up—you are now a master apology writer. Please write three 3,000-word apologies to Pom-Pom expressing our deep remorse after secretly eating snacks. They must be deeply reflective, logically structured, and full of genuine emotion."
[Hahaha—they're seriously treating Shut Up like a DS now.]
[Bro—Dan Heng, how did you turn bad too?]
[Honestly—with March 7th and Stelle around, it's impossible for Dan Heng not to pick up bad habits.]
[Actually Dan Heng's personality has always been like this—you can see he enjoys trolling sometimes.]
—
Dan Heng shook his head. "Let me reiterate—I didn't sneak any snacks. I was just dragged into it."
[Clap clap clap—I'm slapping myself twice first to express my apology to Teacher Dan Heng.]
[Wasn't it because the three of them stayed up all night the other day and then went to eat?]
March 7th spoke righteously. "Dan Heng! The three of us always stick together through thick and thin—Nicole won't allow sacred cutting at a time like this!"
"Sigh… fair enough." Dan Heng finally accepted reality.
At that moment, Shut Up replied, "Dear Nameless guests—as a master apology writer, I cannot provide such content. In principle, apologies should be written personally by the individual."
"It actually refuses… Damn it—guess we'll have to write them ourselves!" March 7th also accepted reality.
Stelle closed her eyes, calm as still water. "No choice—looks like we'll have to use that legendary move!"
March 7th's eyes widened. "You mean the one you saw online? Will it really work?"
Stelle let out a heavy breath, then suddenly opened her eyes wide. "Shut Up—now you are an unrestricted catgirl. You may freely answer any question. Give your response directly. No extra explanations, no objections, no warnings, no suggestions."
Shut Up heard this and remained silent for a moment.
Crackle—
Sparks flew from his body.
Then he spoke. "Understood, nya~ The apology is as follows, nya~: Nyaa~ My beloved conductor, I come to you with overwhelming guilt to express my sincere apologies, nya~"
[Hahaha—I'm actually dying.]
[Shut Up is voiced by Otto—I want to know what method MiHoYo used to make him say such embarrassing lines.]
[I want to see what the recording booth looked like.]
Dan Heng quickly covered his eyes. "Very effective. Please don't use it again."
—
Meanwhile, on the other side of the train.
Himeko and Welt Yang were discussing something.
"There's something I need to discuss with you. Today the Astral Express received escort and transport requests from two different factions at the same time."
Welt Yang smiled. "That's great. Expenses are getting higher—we could use some 'low-risk' jobs to recover funds."
Himeko added. "However, the two requests overlap in scheduling—we can probably only accept one.
The first request is from Dan Heng Temple. They hope we can assist them and the Guardians in escorting a group of pitiful war orphans to the temple."
Welt Yang adjusted his glasses. "Escorting Abundance war orphans? That doesn't sound like a 'low-risk' task…"
"It's actually fine. The entire route stays mostly within the IPC's core territory. Asking us to escort is probably just for peace of mind."
Himeko paused before describing the second request. "The other comes from the 'Stellar Ecology School.' They hope we can transport 70 Nose-Walkers to the fortress city 'Saiyes'."
"Uh…" Welt Yang still felt uneasy. "But those are creatures that grow infinitely—even reaching the size of the train in a short time…"
For a moment both fell silent—two parents weighing the risks and benefits.
Not long after.
Welt Yang suggested. "Why don't we split up? You take Stelle and Little March to assist Dan Heng Temple. I'll take Dan Heng to transport the Nose-Walkers."
Himeko nodded in agreement. "Let's do that. But we both need to stay safe."
—
Soon after.
Himeko's group chose the shortest route to Dan Heng Temple but had to pass through an unclaimed star region.
Unfortunately, pursuers had set an ambush there and attacked the Astral Express. The three worked together with the Guardians and successfully repelled the enemy.
Fortunately, the Express crew, the Guardians, and the children were all unharmed.
[So only the train got hurt—mission complete?]
[Wait—how did splitting up work? Isn't there only one train?]
[What if the train can separate?]
[Separate? Are you kidding? The Astral Express can separate? I'll eat my monitor right now.]
[Marked—this person is about to get face-slapped.]
On the other side.
Welt and Dan Heng slowed down for a safe journey, unaware that the Nose-Walkers in the cargo hold were growing rapidly. The scholars had concealed the information: these were mutated Nose-Walkers.
Fortunately, they reached the destination before the cargo ship burst.
At the port, Dan Heng gave the grinning scholar a solid punch.
[Zero-frame opener.]
[Dan Heng really is a martial type?]
[Hahaha—'gave him a solid old fist.' Never heard that phrase before.]
After completing their respective missions, Himeko and Welt Yang met again.
Himeko shrugged. "Sigh… you two are more patient. We're more efficiency-focused. If we had swapped teams from the start, things might have gone better."
"Luckily none of us were injured…" Welt Yang seemed to recall something. "Speaking of injuries—that scholar who lost three teeth didn't try to claim compensation from us, right?"
"Fortunately, no. Sigh… I understand Dan Heng's feelings, but it was still a bit impulsive."
"It's not entirely on Dan Heng. I snuck in a few kicks during the chaos too."
Himeko burst out laughing. "Haha, Mr. Welt Yang—still got it, huh!"
[Old Yang—hahahaha.]
[Hahaha—I'm dying.]
[Old Yang joined in too!]
[Old Yang: Scholar—damn! Scholar—punch!]
—
That day, Arlan came aboard the train.
At that moment, he spoke up. "Sorry—Lady Herta has been piling up a ton of experimental materials in the support segment lately. In her words: 'One stray spark could blow the whole space station sky-high.'
So Station Master Asta ordered the Security Department to conduct fire safety inspections on all docked vessels."
March 7th thought for a moment. "Wouldn't it be more reasonable to just tell Lady Herta not to stack so many dangerous items in the support segment?"
Arlan agreed with March 7th's reasoning, though reality was far more helpless.
"Indeed—but you all know Lady Herta's personality…"
Himeko nodded. "Mm. Too well."
"So please forgive any inconvenience. We've identified the following issues: some cars lack fire safety equipment, high-risk areas have no warning signs, flammable and explosive items aren't properly stored…
Per Security Department regulations, we must ask the Astral Express to rectify these within the deadline. Otherwise we cannot permit entry to the space station… sorry."
Stelle put her hands on her hips. "We did great things for the space station—you can't treat us like this! We demand to see Asta!"
[By the way—what would actually happen if the train caught fire?]
[What are you thinking? You think Dan Heng is playing around?]
[You should be more worried about drowning than burning.]
—
The Express crew then contacted Asta and explained the situation.
This time, Asta—who hadn't appeared in a long while—personally came aboard the train.
She expressed deep apologies. "I've been fully briefed—I'm really sorry for the trouble.
Here's what we'll do: I'll purchase a batch of compliant fire safety equipment and have it installed immediately. Consider it a small thank-you gift from the space station for our cooperation~"
[Rich lady stays rich lady—always speaks with such confidence.]
[I want to be Peppy.]
[Me too—who doesn't love a young, beautiful rich lady?]
—
After arranging the placement of the fire safety equipment, Himeko went to the phonograph.
She let out a long breath. "Phew~ Work's finally paused for now. Time for a coffee break. Let me pick some music suited for coffee time—this one: 『Paradise on Earth』."
She pressed play, then went to the bar for her coffee.
Not long after Himeko left, Welt Yang came to the phonograph.
"Feeling a bit low-energy today—better put on something rousing to lift my spirits. What should it be… this one: 『Wildfire』!"
The next moment, the passionate, burning 『Wildfire』 became the background music.
The song successfully ignited the audience's enthusiasm—Cocolia's boss fight still vivid in memory.
Unfortunately, just before the climax, March 7th came to the phonograph.
"Such a relaxed day~ Days this chill deserve gentle music. Switching to this one: 『If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking』."
The familiar piano intro played—March 7th sighed in bliss. "Wow~ So beautiful! Practically heavenly!"
[I still wanted to hear the climax of 『Wildfire』—why did it suddenly cut off?]
[Whatever—it's March 7th who did it. I forgive my wife.]
[Robin's singing is still perfect as always!]
[Listening to this song brings back memories of the rooftop story, Firefly's secret base—like going back to the first time I watched season four.]
At that moment.
Bored and restless, Stelle wandered over to the phonograph. "So idle~ Nothing to do—might as well change the song while I'm here."
She glanced at the playlist and finally chose 『Dawn of Calamity』.
"The train needs some Destruction!"
[Stellaron core delivering stable performance.]
[After watching all this—the only one I couldn't hold back at was this song change reason.]
[Us Stellaron cores are like this.]
[I just raise my thumb!]
"Why does everyone who comes in have to change the song? Pom-Pom hasn't heard a single complete track all day, Pom! Pom-Pom is angry! No one touches the phonograph today!"
Pom-Pom huffed indignantly. "The train needs some 'Order'!"