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The docking area for the Astral Express was named Cloudford.
Surrounded by densely packed shipping containers stretching as far as the eye could see, not a single person was in sight nearby.
Bochang and his group wandered aimlessly, feeling like they were merely going in circles without making any progress.
"Seriously... This doesn't seem like a place for passengers to disembark; it's clearly a cargo dock," March 7th couldn't help but grumble. "Who led us here?"
"It does seem odd. Given the might of the Xianzhou Alliance, there should have been someone to receive us," Serval added.
Based on Himeko's earlier explanation...
The Xianzhou Alliance was considered one of the most influential powers across the entire universe.
How could such a situation arise?
Bochang stroked his chin and said, "It appears that something indeed went wrong with Xianzhou Luofu."
"Do you think this ship is already completely empty?" Stelle ventured her guess.
The unfolding situation grew increasingly eerie, causing even March 7th to shudder involuntarily.
A starship arriving at an empty spaceport...
It felt like the opening scene of a horror movie. The more March 7th thought about it, the more frightened she became.
Upon hearing this, Welt Yang shook his head.
"It's impossible. The Xianzhou Alliance is incredibly powerful; they wouldn't encounter such trouble so easily. I suspect the current scenario is likely due to the Stellaron Hunters' mischief."
[Dating Options enabled.]
[Option 1: Gently pat her head and reassure March 7th, "Don't worry, we're all here with you..." - Completion Reward: Obtain a random item, ranging from a matchstick to a star destroyer. Note: Such items will...]
[Option 2: Give her shoulder a sudden slap, scaring March 7th by exclaiming, "There are ghosts!" - Completion Reward: Acquire skill, Ghostly Deception, allowing you to induce illusions in people you observe.]
[Option 3: Ignore March 7th - Completion Reward: Guaranteed price increases on purchases, supercharged.]
Comforting March 7th versus scaring her.
"This... how am I supposed to choose? Option one? But the reward for option two seems pretty good..."
Recalling what the pink-haired girl said last night about him always bullying her, Bochang couldn't bring himself to pick the second option.
"Maybe I should inconvenience March once more." After nearly thirty seconds of internal struggle, Bochang decided, "No, let's go with the first option. After all, I'm not particularly in need of such skills."
Bochang walked at the very back of the group, completely opposite from Welt Yangji who was leading the way.
Taking a few steps forward, Bochang utilized his height advantage and effortlessly patted March 7th's small head, saying, "It's alright, we're all here with you..."
"Bochang..."
Startled initially, March 7th felt a warm sense of security upon realizing it was Bochang, completely unaware that he had just wavered between comforting or scaring her for quite some time.
[Reward distribution in progress - Congratulations! You have received the Cheetah Serum. Upon consumption, it significantly enhances your Speed for a short period. Note: This item has been stored in the system space and can be directly retrieved for use.]
Bochang thought to himself, "Hmm... not bad, but I wonder how much exactly it will boost my Speed."
Both Stelle and Serval watched attentively as Bochang interacted with March 7th.
For some reason, their gazes made him feel slightly uneasy, but fortunately, neither of them said anything.
This brief moment passed without further incident.
"Uncle Yang, what should we do now?" March 7th looked at Welt Yang, who responded straightforwardly, "We start by finding the person who opened the Jade World Gate. If they have ulterior motives, it might conveniently save us some trouble. But if it's a staff member, we'll need to interrogate them to understand what happened."
"What if we can't defeat them?"
Stelle shrugged her hands nonchalantly.
At that moment, March 7th placed her hands on her hips, exuding confidence.
"I don't blame you for saying such naive things; after all, you haven't yet witnessed Uncle Yang's capabilities..."
Upon hearing March 7th's words,
Serval began examining Welt Yang curiously.
Judging solely from his appearance,
Indeed, it was difficult to gauge just how skilled this seemingly mature uncle might be. Without elaborating further, he simply gestured for everyone to continue moving.
"Xianzhou... I have absolutely no idea what to expect here; we can only take it step by step," Bochang thought to himself.
They walked along the path between shipping containers for some time.
Finally, they spotted someone.
No...
It appeared to be a soldier, as Bochang could see armor and weapons. At first glance, it was clear he was a well-trained combatant.
However, the soldier lay collapsed on the ground.
Upon seeing a living person, members of the Trailblaze squad rushed over hastily.
The Cloud Knight soldier muttered, "Ahead... ahead..."
It was unclear what had occurred up front.
"You're severely injured; don't talk anymore." Welt assessed the soldier's wounds and began issuing commands, "March, use hexaphase ice to quickly staunch the bleeding. Be careful not to cause frostbite."
As Bochang watched March 7th apply hexaphase ice to treat the wounded soldier,
Initially, Bochang wanted to assist.
However...
Recalling Himeko's warning, he hesitated briefly. In that short moment, March 7th had already frozen the soldier's wounds.
"The ability 'Tongue Blossoming Lotus'... probably isn't considered taboo, but it's best not to use it recklessly for safety."
As Bochang pondered this,
Welt Yang continued, "It seems like there was a fierce battle here. Let's move on."
"Um..." Bochang nodded in agreement.
The group proceeded forward.
Along the way, they encountered numerous injured Cloud Knights. However, all they saw were wounded soldiers; no civilians were present. It appeared that Xianzhou had promptly evacuated the port, leaving only the Cloud Knights to confront the crisis.
The injured soldiers lay scattered across the ground, and as Bochang's team approached, their pleas were remarkably similar. Essentially, they urged the Trailblaze squad to push ahead.
As they crossed the platform ahead,
a few monsters were blocking the bridge below.
Firstly, there were the weakest Wind and Thunder constructs.
Similar to the frost crystal and Flameflow constructs that Bochang knew well, these creatures resembled birds but differed in elemental attributes. Regardless, they appeared quite feeble.
Next was a Mara-Struck Soldier.
Once a frenzied Xianzhou soldier, its humanoid form was barely recognizable amidst endless mutations... resembling numerous yellow branches sprouting from its body.
Welt Yang frowned slightly, saying, "These are monsters I've never seen before."
"Just waiting for your command, Uncle Yang!"
March 7th cheered enthusiastically.
Encountering unfamiliar monsters didn't frighten the pink-haired girl; instead, she grew excited.
After all...
it meant her camera would capture yet another unique subject.
"Pascal, the battle is yours. No problem with that, right?" Bochang had no intention of engaging himself. Since they already had robots, it made sense to utilize them fully.
"Pascal... acknowledged, activating combat mode."