Clap clap!
Kafka lightly clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention back to her.
If she didn't get to the point soon, Stelle would definitely derail the conversation. Following the script in her memory, the sooner she finished, the sooner she could rest.
Hearing the commotion outside, Dan Heng pushed open his door and was greeted by an absurd scene:
Two Stellaron Hunters had appeared in the car, one of whom he'd crossed paths with briefly on Jarilo-VI. Dan Heng remembered the chaos in the Iron Guard Restricted Zone.
March 7th was attempting to thaw a Six-Phase Ice-frozen potted plant with a primitive tool like a hairdryer.
Silver Wolf, Pom-Pom, and Stelle were all hiding behind Adrian, with the former two engaged in pointless bickering.
Hmm… Silver Wolf seemed particularly terrified of the weapon in Stelle's hand.
As for the other Stellaron Hunter… no abnormalities stood out for now.
"Ah, now everyone's here." Kafka flashed a mysterious smile, sensing some [Elation] was about to unfold.
"My apologies for interrupting your gathering, but I believe once you hear my request, you'll understand my boldness." With Dan Heng joining the conversation, Kafka officially kicked off the topic:
Her slender fingers tapped lightly on the wooden table, moving with the grace of a skittering spider.
"I'm asking you… to change your destination."
"Stellaron Hunter, I've seen your kind before—on the Corporation's wanted posters, with bounties in the astronomical range. Aside from [Destiny's Slave], dead or alive doesn't matter. Do you know how much your bounty is?"
Himeko stood fearlessly before Kafka, the air thick with tension.
"Not particularly interested." Kafka shook her head. Silver Wolf's bounty had spiked thanks to Adrian's influence. "The Corporation's wanted posters? Less infamy, more like high praise. The bigger the number, the grander the acclaim."
"108.99 billion and 88.32 billion—a tidy sum, indeed," Dan Heng noted.
"Sigh~ I can't wrap my head around you wanted criminals' mindset. So carefree?" March 7th continued drying the plant with her hairdryer.
"…Speaking of which, Herta's praised you too: [A lunatic claiming to see fate, leading a gang of reckless maniacs, chasing the universe's most dangerous things!] Herta rarely gives compliments, you know."
"Pfft, a rare decent review from that little gremlin Herta." Silver Wolf blew a bubblegum bubble. The memory of her 76 accounts being banned felt like yesterday. As the saying goes from Adrian's hometown: A grudge unavenged makes not a gentleman!
"[Chasing the universe's most dangerous things]? On that front, your train and we are cut from the same cloth, aren't we?"
"We're standing here, which means the Stellaron Core on Jarilo-VI has been dealt with, right?" Kafka deliberately avoided Adrian, focusing only on Himeko and Welt.
For an Aeon, a Stellaron Core was child's play.
"Right here." Stelle took off her sandglass necklace.
"Hey! Don't spill everything to outsiders!" March 7th warned, but Stelle's words had already piqued Kafka's interest.
"Intriguing~ But now's not the time."
"You've come to the wrong place, Kafka. We don't intend to entertain your request or get tangled up with Stellaron Hunters."
"I enjoyed our chat. Perhaps one day you'll bring your companions to visit in person, and we can talk further." Himeko's stance was clear: if Kafka wanted to talk, she'd need to show up in the flesh.
Kafka didn't ignore Himeko's words. Instead, she nodded. "Fair enough." She manipulated something in the air, and her real self appeared in the car.
"Now… can we have a proper talk?" She spread her hands, deliberately waving them in front of Himeko, almost tauntingly.
Himeko froze. Wait… she just appeared like that, fresh as a daisy?
"Cite your sources when borrowing ideas." Adrian turned his head, unable to help but admire Silver Wolf's hacking skills, capable of crafting a prop mimicking an [Eternity] Emanator's high-speed movement.
"Next time, for sure."
"Ether cartridges have gotten this ridiculous, replicating an Emanator's abilities?!" Stelle exclaimed, clearly misunderstanding.
"Huh…" March 7th's eyes darted back and forth. Why wasn't she following? Were the Stellaron Hunters colluding with [Eternity]'s people?
"Have you all heard of [Luofu]?" Seeing the conversation veering off again with misunderstandings piling up, Kafka pivoted.
"…One of the Xianzhou Alliance's six flagships, the Xianzhou [Luofu]. We know of it."
All eyes turned to Adrian and Dan Heng, the only two with ties to the Xianzhou Luofu.
Dan Heng stayed silent, while Adrian put on a grave expression. "The Stellaron Hunters mentioning Luofu… why do I have a bad feeling about this?"
"Hehe~" Kafka gave a soft smile. The Aeon's acting was pretty convincing. She continued, "What you don't know is that this Xianzhou is very close to you now—just two warps away."
"That's not the point. The point is… forty-five system hours ago, a Stellaron Core… erupted on the Luofu."
"A calamity out of nowhere, isn't it?"
Her words cast a heavy silence over the room.
Welt adjusted his glasses. "Stellaron Hunters, what are you scheming? The Xianzhou Alliance isn't as easygoing as we are. Once [The Hunt] sets its sights on you, you'll stop being hunters and become the hunted. The Alliance will chase you to the ends of the cosmos…"
"Hmm~ Sounds intriguing. I'm looking forward to such a performance."
Seeing Kafka still playing the cryptic card, Himeko lost patience. "Just say it plainly, Kafka. No more riddles."
"Or… are you confident enough to face an Emanator's wrath head-on?" Stelle dragged Adrian into it, unsure where Kafka's confidence came from to appear in the car in person.
"It's simple. This Stellaron Core has nothing to do with us, but the Xianzhou has pinned the blame on the Stellaron Hunters. Being wrongfully accused doesn't feel great, you know."
Another holographic image appeared. "My companion Blade was taken by the Cloud Knights. I need to bring him back, resolve this Stellaron crisis, and clear our name."
At the sight of that face, bad memories flooded Dan Heng's mind. The man had appeared in a recent nightmare.
"Nothing to do with you? Who'd believe that? How convenient that a Stellaron erupts and you show up right after… Besides, we've got no ties with you. Why should we care if the Stellaron Hunters are innocent or not?"
March 7th didn't notice Dan Heng's reaction, only finding Kafka's request absurd.
"Maybe… we could do them a favor?" Stelle speculated.
"No way. I'm not listening to this woman. The Alliance is so powerful—can't they handle one Stellaron? We're the Astral Express crew, not Stellaron Core sealers!"
As the group argued heatedly, Silver Wolf quietly nudged Adrian. The two were completely out of sync, as if they'd opened a private chat channel:
"That glasses-wearing uncle keeps giving me weird looks. Is there some misunderstanding between us?"
Welt, suddenly called out: …