"Well, guys, a friend asked me for help, so I'll have to excuse myself for a moment."
Lucian stood up, slipped his phone back into his pants pocket, and smiled at the Astral Express crew.
Looking at his humble and gentle demeanor, Himeko, who had always been fond of that sort of temperament, couldn't help but feel that this young man was truly refreshing to be around.
Her impression of him was exceptionally positive.
Not only was he powerful, but he was also reserved, low-key, gentle, and decisive when the situation called for action. It had already been a long time since she had encountered such a remarkable man.
Although she prided herself on having traveled across countless corners of the cosmos, even with all her experiences, she had never come across a man as well-rounded and outstanding as him.
"Mr. Lucian, please go ahead and take care of your own matters first," Himeko said with a smile, returning the courtesy. "After all, this isn't our first time at this space station, so we can take care of ourselves."
"Mhm, that sucks..." March chimed in with a long face. "I was just about to say we should treat you to a meal."
"Well, I'll be back soon, and if you're treating me, I'm definitely gonna eat," Lucian said with a friendly smile, immediately taking her up on the offer. "I'll bring you a gift later, too."
Right after saying that, he gave a wave, then used Absolute Hit to teleport himself to the coordinates Silver Wolf had sent.
Himeko and the other two watched him vanish abruptly and exchanged surprised glances.
"Did he just teleport?" March muttered in wonder before letting out a sigh. "But a gift, huh? What kinda gift? I'm really looking forward to it."
"A gift..." Himeko muttered before smiling at March. "In that case, we should prepare a return gift as well."
"I have a feeling the gift won't be simple," Welt said, his gaze fixed seriously on the empty spot where Lucian had been standing. "Knowing him, it might be something rather abstract."
In his eyes, when Earthlings gave gifts—especially extraordinary individuals like Lucian—did they ever keep things simple?
===
Inside a cabin of the spaceship where Silver Wolf and Kafka were waiting, Lucian's figure appeared as if a signal were being reassembled, suddenly manifesting within the cabin.
Lucian observed the cabin and saw that the lighting inside was somewhat dim, while the metallic walls reflected a cold, metallic sheen.
However, somewhat surprisingly, a faint trace of fragrant perfume lingered in the air.
As someone who had mingled with many women, he could tell immediately that the scent belonged to a mature woman.
"Yo, you're pretty fast!"
Silver Wolf's voice rang out first.
As she spoke, she briefly glanced up at Lucian before immediately lowering her head again to stare at the screen in front of her, her fingers clattering rapidly across the virtual keyboard.
At this moment, she was sitting cross-legged on a floating chair, chewing bubble gum while a virtual screen projected a game before her.
"Hang on a sec, partner—this round's about to clear! Ten seconds!"
Seeing that Silver Wolf actually still had time to play a game, Lucian merely raised an eyebrow, not particularly bothered by it.
In the end, with her attention still occupied by the game, his gaze naturally shifted toward the other person in the cabin—Kafka.
Unlike Silver Wolf, Kafka leaned sideways against the wide viewing window, allowing the gentle starlight to filter through the specially crafted glass and spill softly across her body, outlining her graceful, slender silhouette.
Just like in the game, she wore a perfectly tailored black jacket that wrapped around her exquisitely shaped figure, and the hem of the jacket swayed lightly with the subtle vibrations of the spaceship, like ripples spreading across the surface of water.
Her long purple hair resembled fine silk, and after careful grooming, it draped lazily over her shoulders, with several strands falling beside her pale and delicate cheeks.
Seeing her figure from such a close distance, Lucian had to admit that, unlike in the game, the lines of her profile in reality were astonishingly more beautiful.
Her nose bridge was straight, her lips were a seductive rose-red color, and the corners of her mouth seemed to carry a faint smile at all times, making her look mysterious and filled with a fatal allure.
In her hand, she held a glass of red wine, her slender fingers lightly pinching the stem of the wineglass.
However, because she wasn't wearing her gloves, her nails, painted a purplish-red color that echoed the shade of her hair, were fully on display, looking just as beautiful and captivating as her profile.
Silently, she gently swirled the glass, causing the deep red wine inside to ripple, reflecting the brilliant river of stars outside the window as well as her eyes, which were as deep and captivating as violets.
Her eyes were calm and indifferent, as though they could see through people's hearts, and yet at the same time, as though nothing in the world truly mattered to her.
Sensing Lucian's gaze, Kafka slowly turned her head to meet his eyes, and in that instant, the faint smile on her lips deepened ever so slightly.
Even though it was entirely unintentional, it was utterly enchanting and alluring, as though she had already seen through all of his thoughts.
"Are you Lucian—the helper Silver Wolf mentioned? You know, she speaks so highly of you."
Kafka's voice was very gentle as she spoke, sounding almost like that of a kind and gentle mother.
Seeing her appearance with his own eyes, like a piece of art beneath the starlight, and hearing her voice directly with his own ears, Lucian now understood why so many people in his original world called her 'Mommy Kafka.'
Her reputation was well deserved, since her figure was far more exquisite than the in-game model, much prettier than the 2D illustration—enough to captivate countless people.
Unfortunately, she was a Stellaron Hunter, not someone easy to deal with.
As a loving mother, she was perfectly qualified, but as a virtuous wife, that remained to be seen.
"Every woman who's met me says I'm good, including you, Kafka."
Lucian's tone was casual as he responded to Kafka, without the slightest sense of unfamiliarity.
Before transmigrating, he had already known Kafka and Silver Wolf very well, since he owned both of them in the game, so what unfamiliarity could there be?
Both of them were basically like old friends to him.
Right after saying those somewhat narcissistic words, Lucian walked over and sat in the empty chair beside Silver Wolf, pouring himself a glass of water.
"Confidence is good, but... earning my special praise isn't easy, you know? Can you handle it? I'm looking forward to it."
Kafka smiled elegantly at Lucian, not minding his narcissistic words at all.
However, if one observed her face more carefully, although her smile looked beautiful, it contained little sincerity, merely a polite smile that did not reach the heart.
Just then, Silver Wolf finally happened to defeat the final boss in her game, and a huge 'WINNER!' appeared on the virtual screen before her.
"Done!"
Silver Wolf spoke while blowing a satisfied bubble, and only then did she turn around to look at Lucian.
"Partner, we're gonna use the Stellaron in Herta Space Station to do something that'll save the universe, so we gotta have your help."
"Use that teleportation ability you used last time when you sent me home and get us inside the space station. And if possible, it'd be even better if you could stir up a little chaos to grab everyone's attention."
"Earlier, I lured the Antimatter Legion over, which already got the space station's attention, but just when we were sneaking in, I dunno which damn guy showed up and wiped them all out instantly—but thanks to that, our whole plan fell apart."
"And that's when I thought of you."
"Partner, you wanna help us carry the burden of saving the universe?"
Silver Wolf explained earnestly to Lucian with a righteous expression before lowering her voice and throwing out that offer.
Lucian could tell that even though she was waving the banner of saving the universe, there was a hint of excitement at the prospect of doing something mischievous in her gaze.
In the end, he merely smiled and said nothing, but inwardly, he couldn't help but remark with a trace of pity.
'Oh, little wolf, the damn guy you mentioned is me...'
Naturally, Lucian wasn't about to tell Silver Wolf the truth—anything that could damage group unity was better left unsaid.
"I heard Herta herself is at the space station now..." Silver Wolf went on, frowning a bit. "As you can see, this operation's kinda troublesome, so we're gonna need a careful plan."
"Silver Wolf is right," Kafka chimed in, still wearing her elegant smile. "Now that our original plan has failed, we can only rely on improvisation."
"Yeah, we can just do this… then this… and then that…" Silver Wolf explained perfunctorily, feeling too lazy to elaborate. "Anyway, the tricky part is that where Herta keeps the Stellaron is kinda hidden, so it's gonna take some time to find it. Sadly, there are way too many people on the space station, so we—"
Lucian could not be bothered to listen to Silver Wolf's long plan and quickly interrupted.
"No need to make it so complicated."
Creating chaos, investigating the location, and cleaning up afterward—just hearing all of that already gave him a headache. So, without bothering with Silver Wolf's unnecessary plan, he simply took out his phone and made a call.
"Hey, Herta, where'd you keep the Stellaron you collected?"
Hearing that, Kafka and Silver Wolf were both startled, staring at Lucian as if they were looking at a madman.
Calling Herta directly to ask where the Stellaron was—what kind of procedure was that supposed to be?
Neither of them could quite understand what was happening.
Lucian, however, ignored the astonished looks from the two of them and continued talking to Herta.
[Stellaron? It's in my private gallery, the Gallery of Shadow. Just head to the first floor of the Storage Zone—the gallery's there.]
[Once you're inside, just find the cabinet labeled A-465, swipe the access pass I gave you earlier, and a hidden room will open. Right in the center of the room, the shiny golden orb with the serial number A-097 is the Stellaron. 'Genius Herta is number one in the cosmos' is the barrier password.]
[By the way, what do you need the Stellaron for?]
"Nah, nothing special. I'm just gonna use it to create a person. I'll let you research them when I'm done."
[Hmm, sure, sure. Just hurry up then.]
Just like that, Lucian hung up the phone. When he turned to the side, he found Silver Wolf and Kafka still gawking at him, their expressions frozen in disbelief.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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