Bailu stood off to the side listening to Sushang and Stelle talk, and her head started to ache.
Still, the last thing Nero said had stirred her blood for a brief moment. But the second she remembered that whenever Nero wasn't around, even going outside meant being monitored by the Vidyadhara elders, her enthusiasm instantly cooled back down.
Then Bailu shook her head, "I didn't expect that coming out for one trip would lead to so many things happening."
After saying that, she looked up at Stelle, "But if you're willing to help, then one more person means one more bit of strength. That way, the snack shops in Aurum Alley won't disappear!"
Stelle turned toward Bailu, "You're only worried about the food stalls disappearing?"
The very next second, she heard Nero and Bailu refute her in perfect unison, "Isn't that important? It's extremely important... Aurum Alley without good food is like... like instant noodles without seasoning packets (a gourd without medicine pills inside), completely meaningless."
The corner of Stelle's mouth twitched into a helpless smile.
The way children saw the world was strangely consistent.
Bailu's comparison about gourds without medicine pills was hard for Stelle to fully understand. After all, in her eyes, a medicine box could also hold pills.
But Nero's comparison about instant noodles without seasoning packets...
That one, Stelle understood deeply.
There were plenty of little foodies aboard the Express, and convenient food was always necessary. And once upon a time, she herself had won the grand prize.
Right as she was preparing instant noodles, she discovered in horror that there was no seasoning packet inside.
It was absolutely terrifying. Even Aha would lose their mask if they saw something like that. Fuli would probably apply multiple layers of memory encryption after witnessing it. Even Nanook would feel personally destroyed by such a disaster.
Although sharing a bowl with Nero afterward had been satisfying, instant noodles without seasoning packets remained an unforgivable crime.
What?
You want to know who the little foodies on the Express are?
Why do you care about that? Obviously the Galactic Baseballer isn't one of them.
After discussing things with her companions, the answer became obvious.
Stelle gladly accepted the position of Aurum Alley Business Consultant, despite knowing absolutely nothing about business or commercial competition beforehand.
After all, this industry was still quite different from helping Belobog's official museum attract visitors.
But as the saying went, once you understand one thing, the rest become easier. No matter what, Stelle had successfully restored that museum to its former glory, so acting as a business consultant now wasn't completely blind fumbling.
Then the little secretary led the Stellaron Squad away, saying she was taking them to meet the chairman.
The "chairman" here was obviously referring to the chamber of commerce chairman.
Before heading over, however, Nero and Bailu handed the free medicine jar over to Yuanfeng and asked him to deliver it to the Alchemy Commission.
Yuanfeng agreed.
Soon enough, the group followed the little secretary to a building, where they saw a Vidyadhara woman standing at the entrance.
The little secretary stepped forward and said, "Sister Lianyan, please tell the chairman that I found helpers who can save the Aurum Alley docks... Not only that, I believe they can help Aurum Alley flourish again!"
Stelle narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips.
"Uwaah~ I hate interviews more than anything."
Lianyan turned to look at Stelle and raised an eyebrow. She thought the tall girl looked a bit too young and pretty, and she was also a short-life species...
Of course, that didn't affect her judgment. After all, capable people didn't necessarily have to look the way you imagined they should. That was something everyone ought to learn and remember.
Then she looked toward the others the little secretary had brought.
And the moment she did, excitement immediately surged through her heart so strongly that she almost wanted to shout, "We've got this!"
Wasn't that adorable girl with dragon horns and a dragon tail one of the three children worshipped by the "Luofu Trio," the Healer Lady, Lady Bailu herself?
Then, from the corner of her eye, snow-like long hair drifted into view, and Lianyan saw Nero standing behind Stelle.
'Wow! So cute! That porcelain doll-like boy is beautiful like an exquisite ice sculpture!'
'Isn't this Nero himself?! The entire reason I joined the Luofu Trio fan club!'
'We're saved. Everything's completely saved!'
Barely suppressing her excitement, Lianyan then looked toward the other tall girl with twin ponytails.
Judging by her outfit and posture, she looked like a Cloud Knight.
Lianyan blinked. From the clear look in Sushang's eyes, she really didn't think this girl understood anything about business.
But considering Lady Bailu's identity and Nero's relationship with the General, perhaps she was just acting as their bodyguard.
Lianyan raised a hand and gently pressed down the corners of her mouth that were threatening to curl upward. She forced her expression back into place before saying, "Please wait a moment. I'll go notify the chairman."
After saying that, Lianyan turned around seriously, then climbed up beside the window and took a deep breath.
The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat heavy.
But in the next instant, everyone heard Lianyan shout into the room, "Chairman! Nero and Lady Bailu came to visit! They even brought helpers who can save Aurum Alley!"
Immediately afterward, everyone heard rustling sounds coming from inside the room.
Lianyan nodded and returned, then said with a solemn face, "The chairman trusts the little secretary's judgment. However, he has still prepared a test. Please incorporate 'Old Machinery Shop' into the logistics planning."
Then Lianyan looked toward Bailu and Nero again.
"Nero, Lady Bailu. The chairman hopes to meet with you." Afterward she turned toward Sushang, who had been spacing out beside them. "As for the bodyguard, please come in as well."
"Huh?" Sushang blinked and pointed at herself. "Me?"
Lianyan nodded.
"N-no, wait... I'm not a bodyguard..." Before Sushang could finish, her gaze suddenly sharpened. Thinking about how mysterious this chamber chairman was acting, she lowered her head to look at the two children beside her.
"Forget it. I'm the bodyguard. Please let me come in too."
Lianyan nodded again, then gave Stelle an apologetic look before leading Bailu, Nero, and "bodyguard" Sushang into the building.
But once they entered, they didn't seem to see anyone inside.
Sushang frowned and looked at Lianyan beside her.
"Where's the chairman?"
Before Lianyan could answer, an aged voice filled with metallic reed-like vibrations echoed through the room. It sounded like an iron banana slowly melting,
"I'm right here."
Hearing the voice, Nero and the others slowly turned to look.
There, sitting atop the table, was a gold automaton head.
That voice had come from him.
Bailu's eyes widened slightly as she raised a hand to cover her little mouth.
Sushang froze too, blurting out in shock, "...You're the chairman?!"
"That's right." The golden head gave an affirmative answer. "This old man doesn't wish to show himself publicly either, but today is a special occasion after all..."
At that point, the golden head paused.
Then his tone suddenly became shrill and wildly excited, to the point where it sounded like the vibrating reed inside him was flinging itself around like a long strip of jelly, "Nero, I'm your fan!"
"Ah???" Sushang stood there blankly. Her already slow brain completely stopped functioning at that moment.
If he'd had a body, she genuinely suspected the golden head would have leapt up and tackled Nero immediately.
But very quickly, Sushang's expression turned serious again. Her brows locked tightly as she stared at the golden head with a strange look.
You're already just a robot head and you still chase celebrities? And isn't your attitude toward me and Nero a little too different?
Nero, meanwhile, wasn't too shocked. After all, he had already known the chairman was a robot head.
But suddenly he thought of something he had never considered back when he played the game in his previous life, and the words slipped out of his mouth, "You're a robot head too?"
In the distant depths of the universe, within the cold and lonely darkness, countless lights flickered endlessly, like stars filling the heavens, yet also like rows upon rows of vast, dense, and complicated matrix indicator lamps.
And amid those flashing lights, a single red glow lit up. That light swept horizontally across the universe like a crack splitting the sky apart.
Today, Nous the Erudition, who endlessly explored the mysteries of the cosmos and seemed forever immersed in infinite calculations, stopped Its ceaseless computations for the very first time.
And this pause lasted a full ten seconds.
During those ten seconds, Nous's mechanical brain, which stored immeasurable knowledge, entered an almost completely defensive standby state, temporarily setting aside all thought.
And within those same ten seconds, It did only one thing.
It broadcast a signal across the universe.
Almost every genius blessed by Nous received that signal in the same instant, and every one of them was mentally overwhelmed by it.
"1000110000000001 101011100101000 101001111101011 110001000010001 1111111100011111"