"The Astral Express pursues Stellarons to contain them and prevent the spread of the Cancer of All Worlds. That's all."
"We deal with Stellarons out of necessity, but as for the Stellaron Hunters… well, that's less clear."
At this, Leon cast a meaningful glance at Stelle.
"What exactly is your purpose? It's hard to guess. Perhaps Ms. Kafka could enlighten us?"
Kafka gazed deeply at Leon for a moment before smiling.
"I merely follow Elio's script, as clueless as you are. I can't tell you anything."
"How unfortunate." A trace of regret flashed across Leon's face.
"Back to the point, everyone on the Astral Express, your next destination is—"
Before Kafka could finish, Himeko cut her off brusquely.
"We have no intention of accepting your request, nor do we plan to get involved with the Stellaron Hunters."
"It was nice chatting, but if you're ever willing to visit in person, we can talk then."
Kafka didn't mind Himeko's sharp tone, continuing on her own.
"You've all heard of the Luofu, I presume?"
At this, some on the Express stirred slightly, clearly familiar with the name.
"No matter if you haven't. All you need to know is that the Luofu is very close to the Astral Express right now—two warps away."
Himeko crossed her arms. "The Xianzhou Alliance's Luofu being close to the Astral Express—what does that have to do with us?"
The Express currently had no plans to visit the Xianzhou Alliance, even with time to spare.
"It does, of course…"
"Forty-five system hours ago, a Stellaron erupted on the Luofu."
"A disaster out of nowhere, isn't it?"
Leon's tone seemed to seek confirmation, yet carried certainty. "You want us to head to the Luofu to help deal with the Stellaron's effects?"
"Smart."
Kafka snapped her fingers, and a projection of a man in black appeared beside her.
"The Luofu has pinned the blame on the Stellaron Hunters and taken my companion, Blade, into custody."
"Only by resolving the Luofu's Stellaron crisis can I bring him back and clear the Stellaron Hunters' name."
"You're saying the Luofu's Stellaron crisis has nothing to do with you?"
March 7th made no effort to hide her suspicion of Kafka.
"What a coincidence. The Stellaron erupts on the Luofu, and two days later, you show up on the Express? Nothing to do with you? Who'd believe that?"
"Besides, we barely know you. Why should we care if the Stellaron Hunters are innocent or not?"
Stelle stared intently at Kafka, trying to read something from her expression.
Unfortunately, she found nothing.
Fine, straight to the point.
"Why come to us?"
"Though most of what I know about the Xianzhou Luofu comes from the Interastral Network, at the very least, they're a major galactic power—that's no lie."
"Aside from their sworn enemies, the Abundance factions and the Antimatter Legion, few factions dare provoke the Xianzhou."
"If the widely known information online isn't exaggerated, I don't believe the Luofu lacks the ability to handle a Stellaron."
"And yet, you're asking us to detour and help…"
Stelle didn't know the true strength of the Express's seniors, so she could only reference their experience on Jarilo-VI.
The answer: The Express's overall strength and foundation were far inferior to the Xianzhou Luofu.
At least for now, far inferior.
March 7th nodded in agreement. "Exactly. The Alliance is so powerful—can't they handle a single Stellaron?"
Kafka didn't respond, instead looking at Stelle with a hint of surprise, as if she hadn't expected her to say that.
She felt a bit gratified…
It seemed the Astral Express was taking good care of her.
In that case—
"Well then, I'll share a fact about the future."
"If the Express warps to the next world while the Stellaron hasn't yet corrupted this region—"
"—it won't be long before this star track is blocked again."
"The Stellaron will corrupt the entire Xianzhou Luofu, and roughly half its inhabitants will perish."
"For reference, the Luofu's permanent population exceeds a trillion."
"A calamity of lives lost… Tsk tsk. Brave and fearless Trailblazers, virtuous Nameless—will you stand by and do nothing?"
The Express crew fell silent.
Leon's expression remained calm.
He'd already started pondering the deeper implications, his focus not on Kafka's words.
From the moment Kafka appeared and mentioned the Luofu, he knew they'd have to go.
It was clearly part of her script.
For a world like Jarilo-VI, a Stellaron was a catastrophic disaster.
For the Xianzhou Luofu, it wasn't even a significant issue.
The real problem lay with the mastermind.
Who planted the Stellaron on the Luofu, and who was working with them to exploit its energy for their schemes?
There's definitely an inside job.
Otherwise, with the Luofu's security measures, how could a Stellaron reach their doorstep, on the verge of erupting, without the higher-ups knowing?
Unless—
Someone wanted the Stellaron to erupt.
And this 'someone' wasn't an enemy, but…
Leon's lips curved slightly.
If his guess was right, their audacity was admirable.
Playing a big game.
This was a ship with a trillion inhabitants.
If not, it meant the Luofu's internal management had been severely compromised, with more than one vulnerability.
Rumor had it the Luofu's current leader was General Jing Yuan, bearer of the title Divine Foresight.
Could Jing Yuan still strategize masterfully at this moment?
For someone of his caliber, deducing that the mastermind was likely an Emanator of some Aeon shouldn't be an issue, right?
"The Luofu's coordinates are here. The decision is yours."
Kafka transmitted the coordinates to the Express, raising her umbrella again.
"Mr. Leon is right. Though our goals are entirely different, the orbits of the stars will eventually converge."
"Hehe… See you."
Leon took a sip of his coffee, his expression freezing momentarily.
He'd forgotten it was Himeko's new blend…
Without drawing attention, he swapped the coffee cup with an empty one from his ticket space.
Time flowed differently in the ticket space—coffee could sit there for a month or two without cooling.
"March, go find Dan Heng."
Himeko's voice carried a trace of gravity.
The matter was serious, so March 7th didn't argue, jogging back to the Passenger Car.
Welt frowned.
"How could the mighty Xianzhou Alliance be breached by a mere Stellaron…"
Stelle: "Mr. Welt thinks so too?"
"Yes. The Xianzhou Alliance is one of the few factions that draw power directly from an Aeon."
"Their strength is formidable. Even the Company wouldn't dare provoke them lightly. They far surpass the Express, even under Akivili's protection in its prime."
At this, Leon glanced at the mask on his shoulder, visible only to him.
Is that so, strongest Trailblaze Emanator?
Aha: No way! With Aha around, who'd dare touch a hair on the Express crew?
The voice in his mind made Leon chuckle inwardly.
Who'd believe Aha?
That guy not playing the unreliable guide and causing trouble for the Express would already be a miracle.