Join the Defense Division, huh?
Sounded like a guard-type position — something Nolan had absolutely no problem with.
Being able to stay here and learn more about interstellar society was already worth it, and this kind of work was right up his alley.
After all, he'd taken plenty of adventuring commissions before — protecting merchant convoys and the like. So, he nodded and said,
"No problem at all, Miss Asta. I'll follow your arrangements."
"Then let's go handle your Defense Division assignment now," Asta replied, brushing a pink strand of hair from her cheek.
"Alright." Nolan nodded again, then turned toward the elegant mechanical gentleman beside him. "Mr. Screwllum, I'll go on ahead with Miss Asta, then."
"When you have time, do come visit Screwllum Prime," Screwllum said, adjusting his hat slightly. "I should also be paying Lady Herta a visit soon."
"Come on," Asta said, turning to him. "Before we head to the Defense Division, I'll need to get you registered."
She took the lead, her white legs stepping lightly forward.
The young adventurer who had just arrived at Herta Space Station followed after her, and after a few minutes walking side by side, he asked curiously,
"Screwllum Prime — is that Mr. Screwllum's home planet?"
"That's right. In fact, Mr. Screwllum is the ruler of that planet," Asta replied with a bright smile.
"Ruler…" Nolan blinked in surprise. He had sensed Screwllum wasn't ordinary, but he never would've guessed that such a gentle person was actually a king.
That was quite unexpected.
"Anyway, since you've just entered galactic society, you probably have a lot of questions," Asta said as they reached the central control sector — essentially the station's command hub. "I'll give you a smartphone later. You can look up anything you want on the Galactic Peace Network."
She intended to use her authority as station master to fast-track a long-term ID for him.
"A smartphone?!" Nolan's eyes lit up.
Even in such an advanced interstellar civilization, they were still using smartphones? That meant this form of terminal had some irreplaceable advantages.
He suddenly found himself looking forward to it.
Ever since arriving in Teyvat, he hadn't touched a phone again, and the "Akasha Network" there was still in its infancy. So the "Galactic Peace Network" truly sparked his curiosity.
After all, even Earth's internet contained countless papers and knowledge databases — surely a galaxy-wide network would be on a whole other level.
If he could browse and bring that information back to Teyvat… in no time at all, the whole world might experience a true technological revolution!
And then — building his own star-faring vessel would no longer be a distant dream!
"That's right," Asta said, tilting her head. "Oh? Does your homeworld also use smartphones?"
Seeing that he didn't seem unfamiliar with the term, she took out her own phone and showed it to him, stopping beside the command bridge of the monitoring sector.
"Yes, exactly the same!"
Nolan looked at the cute device — printed with a small white dog mascot — and nodded slightly.
Putting the phone away, Asta began operating the monitoring system, pulling up the temporary ID record created for him aboard the dreadnought, and with a few quick authorizations, converted it into a permanent status.
As she worked, she said,
"So your homeworld has already begun its first steps into space, right? If you remember how to get back, the Space Station could even cooperate with your people — help them expand beyond your planet faster."
Nolan could indeed roam through space on his own, but individual strength had its limits. Even reaching beyond a solar system was already a major feat.
So it was natural Asta assumed his homeworld must still be somewhere nearby.
"Uh… that's kind of complicated." Nolan thought for a moment and then gave a simple explanation.
"I ended up in outer space through a random teleportation… and just happened to appear inside the stomach of the Giant True Stringer.
"During that time, the creature made two separate warp jumps. So honestly, if you asked me where my planet is… I really couldn't tell you."
He wasn't lying — just leaving out some truths. He didn't mention that he could use space transmission to return to Teyvat at any time… or that his real homeworld was actually Earth.
Since he still didn't understand the nature of Asta or this galactic society, it would've been foolish to reveal everything — even to a kind and cute girl.
There was no guarantee someone couldn't extract information from her against her will.
He'd at least wait until her affection level reached six or seven before trusting her with anything critical.
After all, Asta wasn't just adorable and pretty — she was the station's master.
Whether for convenience in daily life and work on the Herta Station, or for unlocking new "affection skills," Nolan definitely hoped to stay on her good side.
Once her affection rose high enough, he could equip her with all sorts of protective techniques — "Interstellar Travel," "Divine Maiden's Purity," "Grace of the Night's Opulent Splendor," and more — ensuring she'd never be in danger, and couldn't leak any information.
It wasn't that he wasn't being sincere — it was simply smart to think ahead and choose a path that benefited everyone.
"That's really unfortunate," Asta said sympathetically, finishing the ID registration and glancing at him with gentle eyes.
She didn't doubt him. After all, the Herta Station's super-range radar was capable of detecting gravitational waves from any planet within several hundred light-years.
All potentially life-bearing worlds in that range had already been flagged by the AI scanners and then confirmed through human observation.
And none of them had any trace of intelligent life.
If Nolan's homeworld truly existed nearby, then the scanners must have somehow missed it — unlikely, but not impossible.
After all, it was beyond human capacity to manually examine every single star system within hundreds of light-years. Even advanced AI screening could overlook one or two.
"Well then, your ID status has been updated." Asta smiled. "Let's go. It's getting late — I'll take you to the Defense Division so they can arrange your quarters and other details."
"Alright." Nolan nodded lightly.
Judging from the station's atmosphere, it was probably closing time already.
Back in Teyvat, it wasn't even noon yet — getting up in the morning only to find it's already evening here… that was definitely a strange and novel experience.
The two of them walked down the corridor of the space station, the dull clack of Asta's black heels echoing softly against the metallic floor.
Before long, Asta led Nolan to the Defense Division's main office.
The door automatically slid open as the access system recognized Asta's identity. Inside, the lighting was bright, and many uniformed officers in gray and white were working at their stations.
This was the Defense Division's command hub — all orders for response and security operations across the station originated here.
The department's leader was a young man with dark skin and short silver-white hair. When he saw Asta, he looked slightly surprised.
"Miss Asta? What brings you here?"
"Woof woof!"
At that moment, a small, lively white dog came running over, circling Asta twice and wagging its tail with cheerful barks.
"Peppy! I knew you'd be here!" Asta laughed and scooped the dog into her arms, scratching its head affectionately before turning toward the silver-haired youth.
"Arlan, let me introduce someone — this is Nolan. I've found you guys a super powerful helper for the Defense Division!"
Even as she stroked Peppy's fur, Asta found time to give Nolan's shoulder an encouraging pat.
"A… super helper?!"
Her words immediately caught everyone's attention — the entire division turned their curious gazes toward Nolan.
Being stared at by so many people at once, Nolan felt a little awkward, so he simply responded with a polite smile.
"That's right."
To prevent the Defense Division from accidentally offending him, Asta gave a brief overview of Nolan's "achievements."
When they heard that he had single-handedly exterminated the insect swarms of an entire planet, everyone — including Arlan — was stunned.
Someone this powerful was practically unheard of. Aside from Lady Herta and her few peers, they had only ever read about people like that on the Galactic Peace Network.
No one had expected that their own station master, Asta, would actually manage to recruit such a person to the Defense Division.
Had she… used the power of money again?
Everyone on the station knew Asta was incredibly wealthy. It wasn't unusual to see entire transport ships from the Galactic Peace Company docking here, delivering massive shipments of goods — all purchased by Asta herself.
So spending a fortune to hire a top-tier powerhouse to guard the station… wasn't too far-fetched an idea.
"In any case," Asta continued, "Nolan is now officially part of the Defense Division. Arlan, please see to his arrangements."
"Yes, ma'am," Arlan replied immediately, then turned toward Nolan. "Mr. Nolan, I'll take you to your quarters first. As for your duties… I'll think about it and finalize the details tomorrow."
Truth be told, Arlan was a bit troubled. Someone this strong couldn't possibly be assigned to routine patrols or gate duty — that would be a complete waste of talent.
He also worried that if Nolan got bored with such trivial work, he might simply leave.
To honor Miss Asta's goodwill, Arlan decided he'd find him something easier and more fitting — but he'd need time to think about what exactly that would be.
After all, most Defense Division work revolved around patrolling, guarding, and training — not much room for creativity there.
He'd figure it out later, after clocking out.
Nolan, unaware of Arlan's dilemma, simply nodded.
"No problem. I'll leave it to you."
"Then, Mr. Nolan, please follow Arlan. I'll take Peppy back for now and come find you later."
Asta had promised to give him a smartphone, and she planned to fetch one from her office.
"Alright," Nolan replied with a nod.
As Asta departed with the little dog in her arms, Arlan led Nolan toward the Defense Division's living quarters.
The dorms weren't far — close enough for quick mobilization during emergencies, since the division handled all the station's security affairs and needed to respond at any time.
They soon arrived.
As they walked, Arlan explained,
"Our dorms usually house four people each, but there are a few empty ones. How about you take a room to yourself?"
Strong individuals were given special treatment wherever they went, and since there were free rooms, it was only natural to make Nolan comfortable.
"Thank you," Nolan said sincerely.
He appreciated Arlan's thoughtfulness — after all, he often returned to Teyvat or the Wonderland Space at night, so sharing a dorm would be inconvenient.
"This way, please."
Arlan brought him to an empty unit. Everything inside was clean and fully equipped — no need to prepare anything extra.
After settling him in, Arlan told him to rest well and left.
Now alone in the quiet dormitory, Nolan found himself with nothing to do. So, he decided to take a stroll — or rather, to explore the space station while remaining unseen.
Activating the Golden Eye of Judgment, he entered an unobservable invisible state and slipped out of his room.
If he was going to live here, he might as well learn the lay of the land — and make sure he didn't accidentally offend anyone dangerous.
He first summoned a Sword God of Lumine to stay behind in his dorm, just in case someone came looking for him while he was gone.
Then he quietly vanished into the corridors.
He passed several Defense Division officers returning from their shifts — their levels, displayed above their heads, mostly hovered around Level 20.
Comparable to Mondstadt's Knights of Favonius or Liyue's Millelith after proper training.
However, instead of blades or spears, they carried advanced energy rifles — high-tech weapons that likely made them far stronger than an ordinary knight without a Vision.
Returning to the division's command center, Nolan spotted Arlan again — and through the vision of the Golden Eye, saw that Arlan's level reached an astounding 67!
The gap between him and his subordinates was enormous. That could only mean one thing: Arlan possessed some kind of extraordinary power.
In Teyvat, that would naturally be a Vision.
But here, across the stars — where no Visions existed — what form did their extraordinary abilities take?
Nolan pondered the mystery, intrigued.
Silently, he continued his invisible exploration of the station. Before long, he found himself back in the main control sector, where groups of researchers chatted leisurely — clearly off duty.
Scanning their levels, he found most ranged from below 10 up to around 30. Understandable, given their scholarly professions.
Now, he was curious about Screwllum's strength. Earlier, it would've been rude to activate the Golden Eye in front of him — but now, while invisible, no one could tell.
He remembered seeing Screwllum head left after exiting the space elevator, saying he was going to meet Lady Herta, the station's owner.
So finding him shouldn't be too difficult…
(End of Chapter)
RedX43's Note:
➤ Want More? Get up to +40 Extra Chapters on Patreon!
➤ [email protected]/RedX43
➤ +400 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter Drop!
➤ Thanks for reading! 🙌