"What's wrong? Is something bothering you?"
March 7th looked at Bai Ming with concern after Dan Heng finished speaking, noticing how Bai Ming suddenly seemed lost in deep self-doubt.
She reached out instinctively, using a near-universal method to check someone's temperature—one hand on Bai Ming's forehead, the other on her own.
"You don't have a fever either…" she murmured. "Do you have some other kind of illness?"
Bai Ming rolled her eyes slightly, the corner of her lips curling into a faint, mischievous smile.
"Hmm… I do have an illness."
"I thought so," March 7th said with a serious nod. "What kind of illness? Maybe we can find a way to help."
"Hehe, I'm sure there's a cure!"
Bai Ming lifted her head, looking at March 7 with wide, expectant eyes.
"Because it's the kind of illness where I'll die if no girl pats my head!"
"E-Eh—?!" March yelped, completely caught off guard.
March 7 quickly tried to regain her composure—but her face was instantly flushed red again.
At that very moment, a new results screen appeared in front of Bai Ming:
[Heart-Throbbing Event Completed]
[Score: 7/100]
[Reward: Crystals ×70]
[First-Time Affection: Bonus Reward Crystals ×100]
"Wait—doing this earns crystals too?!" Bai Ming blurted out in surprise.
She gradually began to realize there was a pattern—a clear connection between the score and the rewards.
The first time—performing CPR—she'd scored 20 points and earned 200 crystals!
The second time—the stylish baseball combo—had scored 13 points and earned 130 crystals!
And this time—the current event—scored 7 points and earned 70 crystals!
Crystals! For every single point, she earned ten crystals.
Thinking about it that way—
This [First-Time Affection] must refer to the first time this kind of event was triggered, right?
Which means… it could be triggered again in the future!
'You can actually farm this?! Speaking of which… how many crystals do I even have right now…?'
Her eyes gleamed.
'One more pull!'
"W–why do you have so many 'illnesses'?!"
March 7th's shy, flustered voice carried a hint of exasperation.
"First it was the 'I'll die if no girl performs CPR on me' disease! And now it's the 'I'll die if no girl pats my head' disease!"
"This is way too weird!"
"But March 7th, you've already completely cured my illness now!"
"Bai Ming! You weren't even listening to what I was saying, were you?!"
The two of them started bickering once again, voices overlapping like a familiar comedy routine.
Dan Heng sighed softly and stepped in to mediate. "Enough. Let's focus on finding Arlan first. Everything else can wait."
---
The Monitoring Room
It was a vast chamber located deep within the space station.
True to its name, the room was lined with consoles and screens displaying data streams and live camera feeds from across the station. Dozens of holographic interfaces floated midair, flickering with constant activity, giving the space a sleek, futuristic atmosphere.
For Bai Ming, this was an entirely new sight. In her previous life, she had never seen technology so advanced—it was like stepping straight into a sci-fi movie.
"Such an impressive machine," Bai Ming couldn't help but say, eyes wide with wonder.
"Is it?" March 7 remained calm. "It's nothing special. To keep the space station running, it has to be at this level, doesn't it?"
"Bai Ming, you've never seen anything like this before?"
"Mm-hmm," Bai Ming nodded eagerly. "I've never seen anything like it at all."
"I see…" March 7th nodded thoughtfully.
"Now I can understand why you used a baseball bat to smash that control panel earlier."
"But I don't approve of that! First, it's dangerous, and second… replacing this would be really expensive!"
"Is that so!" Bai Ming muttered, a light sweat forming on her forehead. She had really come dangerously close to disaster just now!
The three of them continued walking.
Soon, a figure appeared ahead.
He wasn't very tall, but his posture and energy made him seem lively.
White hair framed his face, the tips dyed brown, and one purple eye peeked out from beneath his fringe, giving him a slightly unconventional look.
His clothing was high-tech in style, and an ID-like badge was pinned to his chest.
Ah… this was clearly the Arlan, Dan Heng had mentioned earlier.
At that moment, Arlan seemed lost in thought.
When he noticed the three of them approaching, he turned and spoke in a slightly restrained tone:
"Hey… you're all together?"
"Yeah!" March 7 nodded, then, as if taking on the role of a tour guide, gestured to introduce.
"Yup, we're all from the Astral Express~"
Arlan's expression softened as he spoke thoughtfully.
"Oh… did Madam Herta send you to assist?"
"Purely a coincidence," Dan Heng replied.
"We came to deliver the rare relic Herta entrusted to us, but we didn't expect to arrive during an invasion."
"Speaking of which…"
March 7th placed a hand on her hip, frowning slightly in puzzlement.
"Why is the Antimatter Legion targeting you? From what I've seen, their attacks are focused on the space station—they don't seem to care about the planet's surface at all."
Hearing this, Arlan first shook his head, a hint of regret in his tone. "I… honestly don't have a clue either. The Legion appeared very suddenly… the station's defense systems failed, and before long, those guys were already here."
"Miss Asta" He quickly corrected himself, realizing how it sounded: "Director Asta organized the evacuation of all personnel immediately. I was supposed to cover everyone's retreat, but… I didn't expect to be careless in the end."
"Don't blame yourself," Dan Heng said, comforting Arlan. "You injured your leg and dominant hand, and stayed hidden to avoid direct confrontation with the Legion. That was a calm and rational decision."
"Right!"
March 7th nodded in agreement with Dan Heng's words. "Most of the staff have already evacuated to the shelters. The top priority now is…"
"…to return to the Master control zone and organize a counterattack!"
March 7th gaze fell on Arlan, still blaming himself, and she studied him cautiously.
"Do you know how to operate the elevator? It won't start…"
She didn't dare mention that Bai Ming had nearly dismantled the control device. After all, Arlan was a staff member of the space station—if she admitted that in front of him, they'd probably be in serious trouble.
Arlan's lips moved slightly, clearly about to respond.
But before he could, Bai Ming—silent until now—suddenly stomped her foot. "I'm done playing! This is way too unfair!!"
-------
A/n: While I am a new translator, I have a Patreon! While it may be a bit empty right now both this and the other book on my page has advanced chapters posted on patreon. Set up for my web novel will be 2 chapters for every book a day and if you go to my patreon you'll see the set up there.
patreon.com/deadlygoober