Chapter 78 Chapter 78: Who Can Resist a Bad Woman?
Chapter 78: Who Can Resist a Bad Woman?
"One of the six great ships of the Xianzhou Alliance, the Xianzhou 'Luofu'. We know."
Welt and Himeko exchanged a glance, then with tacit understanding, Welt provided the answer.
"Hmm, but what you don't know is: this Xianzhou ship is currently very close to you, just two jumps away. Moreover, forty-five system hours ago, a Stellaron on the Luofu... erupted."
Kafka's tone inexplicably carried a hint of lament: "An unwarranted disaster... isn't it?"
"Stellaron Hunters, what are you plotting... The Xianzhou Alliance isn't as easygoing as we are. Once targeted by 'The Hunt,' you'll no longer be hunters, but prey. The Alliance will pursue you to the ends of the universe—"
Just as Pardo had explained to Kevin earlier, these Xianzhou ships themselves are terrifying strategic weapons. As believers of 'The Hunt,' they are exceptionally skilled at pursuits and vengeance.
"Speak plainly, no riddles, Kafka," Himeko added.
"...It's simple. This Stellaron has nothing to do with us, but the Xianzhou has already pinned the blame on the Stellaron Hunters; my companion Blade has been taken by the Cloud Knights. I need to get him back, resolve this Stellaron crisis, and clear our name."
The reason sounds quite legitimate, but a little thought reveals how many unreasonable aspects there are.
"Nothing to do with you? Who would believe that? What a coincidence, the Stellaron erupts and you show up right away... Besides, we have no connection with you. What does it matter to us whether the Stellaron Hunters are innocent or not?"
How could her ever-principled March 7th possibly get involved with wanted criminals? She wouldn't before, and certainly not now. Besides, if they're already wanted criminals, how could they be good people? If they were good, why wouldn't they go explain themselves!
"You can certainly stand aside. While the Stellaron hasn't contaminated this sector yet, initiate the jump, and you can head to the next world. But given time, this star rail will be blocked again."
"I can tell you what the future holds: if you don't go to the 'Luofu,' the Stellaron will eventually contaminate the entire Xianzhou ship. About half of its inhabitants will perish... Brave and fearless Trailblazers, nameless travelers who act for good, surely won't stand idly by."
Even by a conservative estimate, there are at least nearly a hundred million people on a Xianzhou ship. Half would mean tens of millions.
But while Kafka's words sound nice, isn't this completely emotional blackmail?
"But your companion, the one called Blade, he won't be spared either, right?" Himeko immediately countered.
"That point... I cannot comment. The coordinates are here. The decision is entirely up to you... Though our goals are utterly different, the orbits of stars will eventually intersect. Goodbye."
Without even giving them a chance to rebut, after saying this, Kafka directly cut off the projection linked to the Astral Express, vanishing without a trace.
"Hmm..."
This sudden development made Himeko ponder briefly before she turned her head: "March, go get Dan Heng."
Whether to go to the 'Luofu' or not should ultimately be decided fairly through a group vote and discussion.
A moment later, after Dan Heng was also summoned from his room by March 7th, Himeko gathered everyone together again and explained: "The Stellaron Hunters claim a Stellaron has erupted on the Xianzhou 'Luofu,' and the Express is very close to it. If we go to Luofu, we might have a chance to save many innocent lives."
"But there's also a possibility... we're just being used by the Stellaron Hunters, falling for their trick. Welt and I both think the Stellaron Hunters aren't telling the whole truth, but we can't completely ignore her information either... So, whether to change course for the Xianzhou, we'll decide by democratic vote: raise your hand for agree, don't raise for disagree."
"Three, two, one...!"
As Himeko's countdown ended, four hands quickly went up. Stelle, who voted against, immediately glared at March 7th beside her: "Weren't you going to vote against?!"
When they went to get Dan Heng earlier, this girl had pulled them all together and spent a long time frowning and cursing Kafka.
"Ehehe... Thinking about it calmly now, what if that woman isn't lying? If we don't go to the Xianzhou, many, many innocent people will suffer... Seems like now isn't the time to be willful... Hehe?" March 7th tried her best to put on an awkward yet polite smile.
"You unprincipled woman!"
Stelle mercilessly expressed strong condemnation of March 7th's behavior, then quickly turned her attention to little Elysia on the other side who also voted in favor: "Weren't you going to vote against too?"
"Ahem~ Based on my years of experience getting close to girls, I've discovered an eternal truth—the prettier a girl is, the better she is at lying..."
Little Elysia paused slightly before stating with great certainty: "And the more she looks like a pretty, lying bad woman, the more I like her!"
"...?"
This bizarre statement successfully plunged everyone present into silence. Fortunately, considering Elysia is still just a child, no one made an issue of it.
"So, Dan Heng? Are you staying behind?"
Himeko turned to look at Dan Heng, the other dissenting vote. Although he has never seriously told his story, it's not hard for them to see that he definitely has significant ties to the Xianzhou Alliance.
"Mm, I won't go this time."
Seeing Dan Heng nod his head, Himeko then shifted her gaze to Welt: "Then this Trailblazing journey is up to you? You've been tense ever since meeting friends from your homeland. This is a good chance to relax."
"You'll have to take care of Stelle and little March. Also, our new little Elysia definitely won't sit still either."
In less than two days, little Elysia had already built a solid emotional foundation with Himeko. After all, who doesn't like a cute and articulate child?
Since the destination was decided, everyone on the Express quickly found their seats before the jump began. Only March 7th stubbornly stood in the middle with her eyes closed.
"What is she doing?"
Little Elysia couldn't help but ask Stelle beside her out of curiosity. The other answered in a rather novel way: "Between the Xianzhou and the Astral Express is roughly the distance of March 7th falling twice."
"Huh?"
Before little Elysia could ask further, Conductor Pom-Pom's voice came over the broadcast—
"Attention all passengers, jump initiation imminent. Three, two, one..."
"Ouch!"
Student March 7th lands on her buttocks—points deducted!
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