Alan and Xing were locked in combat.
Asta slowly approached Gu Fan. "Is she a Path Walker too?"
"Should be."
Gu Fan wasn't sure about Xing's current state - the game version of Xing never had a pickaxe.
"Which Path is she on?" Asta continued asking.
"Destruction, probably." Gu Fan couldn't possibly know which Stellar Guide Xing had encountered in the Path's Intersections.
Asta nodded.
Gu Fan turned to look at the seemingly carefree young heiress, quite puzzled. Why hadn't she stopped Alan? Even now, Alan would immediately cease fighting if Asta spoke up. As for the grey-haired one, Gu Fan was certain that if Alan stopped, she wouldn't give him any trouble.
But Asta didn't call for a stop.
"You're not deliberately letting Alan fight to test Grey's abilities, are you?" Gu Fan said.
In the game, while Asta seemed to have no concept of money and appeared naive, she was actually quite shrewd. Her character voice lines revealed that growing up in a noble family meant she was exposed to political maneuvering, whether she wanted to learn it or not.
"Ah haha..." Asta gave an awkward laugh, neither confirming nor denying.
Though Xing wasn't using her bat, she still fought with physical attacks, wielding her ornate pickaxe in an even match against Alan's greatsword.
Alan, wielding a Lightning-attribute greatsword, had faint lightning serpents visibly coiling around his body as he fought.
Xing had only gained consciousness a few days ago. Although she was a five-star character in the game while Alan was just four-star, Alan was still the experienced chief of the Space Station's Defense Department.
Xing blocked Alan's attack with her pickaxe.
Alan wielded his person-height greatsword with ease.
Their weapons clashed repeatedly with metallic clangs.
Xing used the hook of her pickaxe to catch Alan's sword guard, pulling hard to try and disarm him.
Alan, however, decisively let go of his weapon.
Caught off guard, Xing stumbled. Alan quickly retrieved his weapon and brought it down on Xing.
Xing had a chance to block the attack, but oddly chose to use her hand instead of her Path-bonded pickaxe.
Grey's arm took Alan's lightning-charged slash, leaving a wound.
Asta's eyes sharpened. Alan froze as if he'd committed a grave error.
Ignoring her injury, Xing raised her pickaxe with her other hand and swung it at Alan's head.
Gu Fan hurried to stop her - with Alan completely defenseless, even the space station's medical technology might not save him from that blow.
Xing obediently stopped, and the right forearm that Alan had carelessly wounded began to heal gradually.
Hm? How did Grey have self-healing abilities? What Path was she really on?
Alan approached Asta with his head lowered, like a child waiting to be scolded for misbehaving.
"You were too rough," Asta scolded. "She's our guest, after all!"
Alan pressed his lips together and apologized, "I'm sorry, Young Miss."
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," Asta said sternly, hands on her hips.
Alan turned to face Xing, bowed deeply, and said loudly, "I'm sorry!"
Xing only responded with a soft "Mm." She couldn't understand why this was such a serious matter - her wound had healed, and it hadn't even hurt much.
"If apologies were enough, what would we need the Defense Department for?" Gu Fan said. "Oh right, you're the Defense Department Chief."
Alan hung his head in shame and retreated to Asta's side with heavy steps.
Asta said, "There, there, stop picking on my Alan. Next time I'll treat you all to a meal."
"Hmph!" Gu Fan pretended to be dramatic, "For your Young Miss's sake, I'll let you off this time!"
Achievement unlocked: Dinner opportunity with Asta.
Alan's head drooped even lower, feeling he'd not only caused trouble and embarrassed his Young Miss but also forced her to dine with a strange man.
Xing's arm had fully healed. A faint trace of dissatisfaction showed on her face as she told Gu Fan, "Give me a little more time, I can defeat him."
Asta only gave an awkward smile before turning her attention to directing the space station's exterior wall repairs, with Alan standing guard beside her.
Gu Fan carefully observed Asta's figure in front of Alan. Her well-maintained legs appeared even whiter against the black universe visible through the corridor's glass, with her garters creating an appealing sight.
Alan noticed Gu Fan's gaze and bit his lip, but this time didn't dare say anything.
Gu Fan activated the system's gacha, using 300 emotion points.
He hoped for an item that could help solve Asta's problems - building a good relationship with the young rich lady would solve his future money concerns.
His calculations were good, but the system's gacha results mercilessly slapped him in the face.
[Path Points +1]
[Path Points +1]
[Path Points +1]
Really? Three consecutive Path Points? Wait, what even are Path Points?
[Path Points can unlock the host's Path]
[Please choose from the following Paths]
[Destruction, Hunt, Harmony, Nihility, Preservation, Abundance, Erudition, Trailblaze]
As a game player, Gu Fan was familiar with the first seven major Paths.
Destruction was tough and strong, like a warrior. Hunt excelled at single-target damage, like an assassin; Harmony enhanced self or ally output; Nihility applied debuffs; Preservation provided shields; Abundance was the healer and cleanse role; while Erudition specialized in AoE damage, great for clearing mobs.
But why was Trailblaze listed here?
[The Trailblaze Path represents self-healing and damage-sharing abilities, the rest is for the host to explore]
Self-healing... Grey's arm had just healed on its own, could it be...
Never mind, he'd just ask Grey directly later.
Grey was quite attached to him in her confusion, and would likely answer any questions he asked.
However, he hadn't gotten any items to help solve the young rich lady's problems. It seemed the system wouldn't make things convenient for issues that weren't immediate priorities.
Gu Fan was about to leave Asta and Alan behind when Asta called out to him. She took out her phone, which had a Pomeranian drawn on the case.
"Contact info?"
Adding her on social media would allow them to chat anytime, which Gu Fan naturally wanted, but unfortunately, he was a soul transmigrator without a phone. Even if he had physically transmigrated, whether a real-world phone would be compatible with Star Rail's communication protocols was another question.
Gu Fan shook his head, "I'm just a primitive man without a phone."
"Don't they issue phones to Stellar Hunters?"
"I'm completely new," he said.
"Is that so." Asta looked at him with sympathy.
The Young Miss might be shrewd, but she still had naive understanding of worldly matters. Even if Stellar Hunters were treated poorly, providing new recruits with phones for communication would benefit everyone.
Asta also asked Xing, who of course didn't have one either. Asta hummed thoughtfully.
Gu Fan promised Asta he'd add her as his first contact once he got a phone. Asta smiled and returned to directing the repair work.
Gu Fan said goodbye and left. Xing followed silently until Gu Fan sent the clingy Xing back to her own room. Then Gu Fan began exploring the space station.
Half an hour later, a male voice called out to Gu Fan:
"Young man, do you have a moment?"
End of Chapter