Welt was in a bit of trouble.
He felt extremely guilty about dragging his companions on the Astral Express into danger because of his own affairs.
"I know this might be hard for you all to accept. But if the Xianzhou is fine, just leave me on the Luofu, and then find a chance to get away quickly before the Stellaron erupts."
Welt spoke with great gravity. He didn't want these young people to get dragged into this mess because of him.
At this moment, Dan Heng, who had just woken up and was still groggy, also joined the meeting.
Himeko knew he had things he couldn't easily say, so she reassured him, "Don't worry. Everyone has secrets they can't talk about. If we can help, we'll do our best. If we can't, we'll do everything we can to preserve our own lives."
Welt didn't respond much to Himeko's reassurance; if anything, he grew even more melancholic.
It was precisely because he knew how good his friends on the Astral Express were that he had said what he did.
"This mission is extremely dangerous. I'm not certain if they are still the people I once knew. In this vast universe, it's inevitable to run into one or two dangerous friends, isn't it?"
The Kevin in Welt's memory could never smile as cheerfully as the one in the projection. You'd think some happy-go-lucky kid had decided to take a vacation on the Xianzhou.
But Elysia's and Mobius's expressions matched his memory. It was just 'Kevin's' mental state that was a bit off.
Welt couldn't figure out why Kafka had shown him a projection of Kevin with the smile of a cheerful young man.
It couldn't be that a younger Kevin had found a way through Imaginary Space, crossing worlds to arrive in this universe, could it? If so, Dr. MEI should have been with him, not Mobius.
There were too many things he couldn't figure out. Welt decided he had to go and see for himself.
He knew what level of crisis a Stellaron was. He also knew what level of crisis the Honkai was. What level of crisis the two combined would be, he didn't know.
Dan Heng stepped forward and asked, "Mr. Yang, is this mission very troublesome?"
'It's not a question of whether it's troublesome or not...'
Welt sighed, his spirits sinking for a moment.
He hadn't been able to completely resolve this crisis back on his home world, and in the sea of stars, he had yet to find a power equivalent to the Honkai.
Imaginary Energy was indeed powerful, but only an Aeon had the qualification to construct an Imaginary framework.
An Emanator was out of the question. The power of an Emanator alone was not enough to solve the crisis of his home world.
"Mr. Yang, what's wrong?! Isn't this what we Nameless on the Astral Express do? Why are you suddenly so down? This isn't like you at all. Aren't you supposed to be the steady guide? What's with this attitude? How are you supposed to lead our newcomer, Stelle, to the next destination?"
March 7th nudged Stelle with her elbow, signaling for her to add a few words.
Stelle frowned slightly and said seriously, "Mr. Yang, you didn't look right when you saw that white-haired man. Is it... because you have a dark and troubled past with him?"
Welt rubbed the corner of his eye and said helplessly, "If you don't know how to use an idiom, you don't have to. It's not that my relationship with him is the problem; it's that the person himself is a big problem. I'm just not sure if he's the person from my memory. That's why I need to go to the Luofu and have a good 'chat' with him."
March 7th seemed to have found a loophole. "But isn't it possible he's not the person from your memory? As long as there's a chance, then other possibilities exist. The possibility that he's different from the one in your memory."
"However..." He pondered for a moment. "March, you have a point. It's not a guarantee that a fight will break out when we get there."
Dan Heng broke into a cold sweat. He hadn't realized Mr. Yang was already preparing for a fight the moment he saw the man's face.
"Although I think the chances are slim—it's possible to meet similar-looking people in this world. But if I run into three at the same time, then I'll have to seriously consider whether I'm cursed, or if I've been targeted by the Aeon of Elation."
Welt's mood stabilized somewhat. He also hoped for a better outcome. The best-case scenario would be that these people had nothing to do with his world and were just tourists on the Luofu.
How could he have run into similar people during the last Stellaron crisis, and now run into them again in this one?
How could something like that happen?
Welt refused to believe his luck could be that bad.
"If those Aeons really targeted us so easily, that'd be great! Would we even need to bother thinking about fighting some local Emanator or Stellaron monster?"
March 7th, in their past trailblazing missions, had faced risks, but it wasn't so ridiculous that an Aeon was watching them every single time.
Stelle strongly agreed with March. She nodded and said, "How could we attract the attention of an Aeon so easily? So Mr. Yang, just take us there. I don't believe it'll be that dangerous. Besides, didn't Kafka say? The Stellaron landed on the Luofu, but it hasn't erupted. That means the situation is still under the Xianzhou's control!"
Seeing the two juniors analyzing the fragmented information so logically...
Welt decided to trust them!
"You're right. We on the Astral Express rise and fall together. There is absolutely no question of abandoning a friend on this train."
His expression grew serious again as he said this. He warned, "But you mustn't underestimate the dangers. If real trouble arises, just escape as quickly as possible. Besides, I have my own ways to stay alive. Even against an Emanator, I have a way to escape, so you don't need to worry about me."
Himeko had long known that Welt held some cards close to his chest, but she never expected him to have an even deeper ace up his sleeve.
But on the Astral Express, they didn't make a habit of prying into each other's pasts.
March 7th was completely shocked. No wonder Welt always dared to let an unreliable person like her handle trouble; it turned out he had such powerful backup.
Stelle was stunned. "Does that mean I can run wild on other planets now?!"
The touched expression on Welt's face instantly vanished.
He considered for a moment, then sighed, "Stelle, maybe you should just stay on the train? I'm genuinely worried that if you go out, you'll get beaten to death by a stranger, and I won't even know how to bring you back."
Stelle was even more shocked. "Is the Xianzhou really that terrifying?"
Welt let out a long sigh. "It's even more terrifying than you can imagine."
This was probably the day he had sighed the most on the train.