"Eh? Dan Heng, Ena, there's someone over here" March 7th gestured at the grey haired girl on the floor, a trace of surprise flashing across her eyes.
Unlike the others, the girl had simply remained lying there, no wounds marked her body, and even her clothes were untouched. It felt as if she had never taken part in the fight and had only fainted on her own.
"Pale complexion, unstable breathing. Looks like she needs artificial respiration" Dan Heng said calmly, looking at the girl on the ground.
"Hey, hey, hey, Dan Heng. Ena is our Astral Express certified doctor, and she hasn't even said anything yet, you know?!"
"March, Dan Heng assessment isn't wrong..."
Ena gazed at the girl before her. Her breath was weak, like a sleeping beauty fallen ill. But this was likely only on the surface and not the real reason she had fainted here.
"Uh… so we actually doing a manual revive? Who's tanking that job? Ena, just press your Abundance skill button already, no need to hard cast"
"No need it shouldn't be that much trouble."
Ena rested her chin on one hand, thinking carefully. Considering the Stellaron factor, the girl body shouldn't have any major issues. She's fainting here likely had nothing to do with her physical condition.
She subconsciously thought of Kafka Spirit Whisper.
'Could meeting the Trailblazers of the Astral Express be the condition for her to wake up?' Ena thought as she observed the sleeping raccoon
Ena then slowly crouched down and gently cupped the girl's slightly chubby face. Under the watchful eyes of March 7th and Dan Heng, their faces moved closer and closer.
"Wait! are we really doing mouth to mouth?!" March 7th said, flushing slightly. She turned away, but her eyes kept sneaking back anyway.
And then, the girl opened her eyes.
...
The girl consciousness rose from darkness, and the first thing she saw was Ena. Those emerald green eyes met hers gently, the same kind of gaze she once remembered from Kafka.
Her brain immediately stalled as she processed the situation.
'Who is she? Why is she looking at me like that?'
'What should I call her?'
In just a brief moment, her newly born brain underwent a massive brainstorm.
'How was I born?'
'Don't know. Too lazy to think about it.'
Kafka was the first person she saw, and Kafka looked at her with eyes full of maternal affection.
And the woman before her was the second person she saw, also gazing at her with unmistakable maternal warmth.
Therefore, Kafka = Mom.
The woman in front of her = Kafka.
Conclusion: the woman in front of her = Mom.
Case closed: this gentle older sister was her long lost mother.
"Wow, she actually woke up?" March 7th blinked in disbelief. "No meds, no Abundance regen… Dr. Ena MD is kinda cracked."
Then, in the next instant, her expression froze.
"Mama!"
The girl lunged forward and hugged Ena, burying her face into Ena chest. Tears streamed down her cheeks one by one, like a young beast that had lost its home and finally found its homeland once again.
Some newborn birds have a very strict rule set: first thing they see becomes mom. No exceptions. No refund.
And she was exactly that kind of case.
Feeling the restless sensation in her arms, Ena brain deflated like a balloon.
'This child isn't even a day old yet, right? And she's already acting like this?'
'No! that's not fair. She's just a child. Left alone on the Herta Space Station, with no one familiar to her. This behavior is just a result of… lack of love?'
"Calm down! Ena isn't your mom! Also, Ena don't just stand there in a daze, explain it to her quickly!"
March 7th sounded genuinely panicked. Even Dan Heng, usually expressionless, had a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth.
"No way? She gets saved and immediately claims Ena as her mother?" March 7th felt she had never seen anything so ridiculous in her life.
There must be something wrong with this grey-haired head.
"Even if Ena, under the Path of Abundance, gives off a... slightly… maternal vibe... this is still way too far. Damn, those dog things probably did something to her brain."
March 7th began seriously considering whether those creatures had left brain damage behind.
"Don't cry… don't cry. I, Ena, accept you as my daughter!"
"From now on, I am your mother!"
March 7th: "???"
Dan Heng: "???"
System: (Wait? Daughter?!)
Bina: "…"
Yaoshi: "…"
Aha: "HAHAHAHAHA!"
Both the onlookers in the open and those in the shadows were shocked by the scene.
Ena herself didn't know how she had blurted that out. But she felt like she had done something like this during her simulations.
If what she experienced before wasn't a simulation but reality, then Stelle had essentially gained a sister she didn't even know about at this moment.
"This… what on earth is going on?! It's one thing for her waking up to be weird, but what's wrong with you, Ena?!"
"I… I just didn't want this child to stay sad... She gives me this very familiar feeling" Ena tried to explain, though her voice sounded distant and unsure.
"…I don't even know what to say anymore. Fine, whatever. If you've accepted it, just… do your thing, I guess."
March 7th could only accept the scene that had just occurred, then turned her gaze toward this newly born baby?
"By the way, what's your name? Why did you faint here?"
"Me?"
"My name is… Stelle... As for why I'm here… I can't remember."
"Alright can you fight? If not go to the safe zone first. If you can, find a handy weapon first."
"Uhh... as for fighting, I think I can do it" Stelle scratched her head looking like a harmless anime college student who wandered onto the wrong server.
Seeing her casual attitude, March 7th felt a bit unsure. She then turned around to find a weapon for Stelle.
But Ena was faster.
"Baby, how about this one?" she said softly, almost instinctively.
She had already picked up an unknown baseball bat and offered it forward, as if preparing something her child would inevitably need before entering danger.
"It looks good. Thank you! mommy!"
Stelle excitedly took the baseball bat and immediately rested it on her shoulder. The harmless female college student instantly transformed into a mafia boss daughter.
"Ena stepped into that role way too smoothly…" March 7th looked at the scene before her and couldn't help but mutter.
After the small chaos, the group moved on to search for other survivors.
Just as they stepped out of the corridor, several Void Rangers appeared out of nowhere.
Only to be immediately turned into shattered fragments by Stelle bat, like a piñata bursting under too much force.
Her fighting style was simple and brutal, without technique, yet her body carried absurd strength. Even the Tramplers couldn't withstand a single clean hit.
"…Not bad" March 7th admitted, now seeing Stelle differently.
After clearing a few enemies, Stelle turned toward Ena.
"Mommy, praise me…" She stared with shining puppy eyes.
"My baby Stelle is so amazing!" Ena clapped her hands excitedly.
And for a moment, in the middle of a collapsing space station, that exchange felt more natural than anything else around them.