Mount No.1 didn't look too pleased.
But bound by Sylvia's command, it still crouched down to let Arlan climb onto its back.
Sylvia and Dan Heng walked alongside it, heading toward the central elevator.
Since the circular walkway's edge had no railings, it offered an open view into the distance. The moment they left the monitoring room,
Sylvia spotted March 7th approaching the central elevator, and Stelle—now awake—clutching a baseball bat.
That bat felt vaguely familiar to Sylvia; she'd seen it while searching for the Rating Pistol.
Only now, watching Stelle hold it, did she recall—this was Stelle's weapon of choice.
"Those over there are my companions."
Before either Sylvia or Arlan could speak, the usually quiet Dan Heng spoke up first to explain.
Mount No.1 charged ahead.
Wreathed in flame, it strode through the air and landed right behind March 7th and Stelle.
Its four hooves struck the ground, sending waves of scorching heat that made March shiver from head to toe.
"Look out—!"
March notched an arrow to her bow, while Stelle raised her bat, ready to charge at March's signal.
But sharp-eyed Stelle spotted Arlan riding on the creature's back.
The flames leaped high, and Mount No.1 was so towering that March completely missed the passenger at first glance.
"Is someone sitting on it?"
Stelle lifted her left hand to point at the creature's back.
"Huh? This thing's blazing all over—wouldn't sitting on it roast your butt clean off…"
March shot Stelle a puzzled look, then turned to stare wide-eyed at Mount No.1.
Mount No.1 crossed its arms, seeming utterly unimpressed by March's threat, which instantly made March feel mocked.
"Hey—is this thing looking down on me?!"
"March…"
"Oh, Dan Heng! What's up with this big guy? Some hidden species from the space station?"
Seeing Dan Heng walk out casually from behind the creature, March's expression switched in an instant, beaming as she waved cheerfully at him.
"Oh, right, right—come take a look! This elevator's stuck. Did the Antimatter Legion break it? Can you fix it?"
"I can't."
They'd barely met, and Sylvia hadn't even gotten a word in yet—all she'd heard so far was March chattering away.
Leaning against Mount No.1's thigh, Sylvia hadn't planned to interrupt.
But when March walked over, about to ask Arlan something, she finally noticed the white-haired woman half-buried in the flames beside the hulking creature.
It gave her a real fright.
"Whoa—how's there another person here?!"
"…"
Sylvia looked at March with a mix of amusement and exasperation.
Her stare soon made March scratch her head awkwardly and break into a sheepish grin.
"He he… Well, your clothes don't look like space station gear. Did you lose your memory too?"
"Not exactly. I'm Sylvia, invited by Station Manager Asta."
"I'm March 7th, she's Stelle. We're with Dan Heng. Manager Asta asked us to come down and look for someone too, heh."
March introduced herself breezily, then turned back to Arlan.
"Oh right, Arlan—any idea what's up with the elevator?"
"The elevator was actively locked to prevent the Antimatter Legion from breaching the Master Control Zone. If you were sent by the Station Manager, you should have been given a decryption key."
"Um… now that you mention it, I think she did give me a card…"
March's expression turned guilty.
She hadn't paid much attention when she received the card and totally forgot what it was for. Worse, she couldn't even remember where she'd stuffed it…
"But I forgot where I put it…"
"…March."
Dan Heng had lost count of how many times he'd been left speechless.
Beside him, Stelle wore a similarly strained smile. She glanced at Dan Heng, then at March, finding her rather endearing.
While March patted herself down, searching for the card,
Stelle had somehow wandered right up to Mount No.1.
Eyes sparkling, she stared up at its featureless face, even testing the flames' heat with her bat.
Just as she was about to say something, Stelle stared intently at Sylvia's face for a moment and suddenly declared:
"I remember you! You're the lady who groped someone's butt!"
"Pfft—cough, what??"
March, who'd just found the card behind her, hadn't even spoken before hearing Stelle's bombshell.
She nearly choked.
Dan Heng and Arlan very sensibly chose to pretend they hadn't heard, feigning temporary deafness.
"I remember—mmph!!!"
Stelle turned her head to explain to March, even lifting a finger to gesture, when a large hand—swift and sudden—clamped over Stelle's delightfully shameless face.
The soft flesh of her cheeks squished between Sylvia's fingers, puffing out and pushing her lips into a pout.
Sylvia leaned in with a smiling, 'kind' expression, an invisible pressure instantly making both Stelle and March break out in a cold sweat.
Especially Stelle, whose face was gripped firmly. Her pupils shook, and cold sweat poured down instantly.
As Sylvia's grip tightened, the pain made Stelle hastily raise her hands in surrender.
"Ow ow ow—I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
Sylvia narrowed her eyes with a faint smile, easing the pressure.
"You'd better mean it."
"Mmm…"
Stelle raised both hands to cover her flushed cheeks, looking pitifully at Sylvia and nodding without a sound.
Height-wise, Stelle was genuinely tall, with the handsome look of a cool older sister.
But somehow, it didn't feel that way in-game. Seeing her now, Sylvia couldn't help thinking this girl was a bit silly.
A little clueless, really.
Watching Stelle get thoroughly subdued by Sylvia without any resistance, March offered an awkward chuckle, retracting her curious gaze and carefully holding up the keycard with both hands to hide her face.
"Um… I, I found the key."
Right then—
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
Amid a crackle of teleportation static, over a dozen Antimatter Legion Voidrangers materialized right in front of the group.
And their numbers kept growing—surrounding everyone from all sides.
"Hey hey hey—ganging up on us, huh? Not playing fair, are you!"
March quickly raised her bow, pressing her back against the elevator as she went on alert.
Dan Heng and Stelle also drew their weapons, eyeing the ever-increasing Voidrangers warily.
Mount No.1 lifted its hand, drawing back a massive, thick bow. An arrow condensed from flame aimed with terrifying menace, locking onto the enemies ahead.
Seeing this, Sylvia subtly lifted her left hand. Silken threads caught Arlan—who was struggling to stay steady—and lowered him from Mount No.1's back, depositing him right into Dan Heng's arms.
"Deal with them."
"Roar!!"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.