While Su Mo was in a standoff with the Stellaron Hunters, the members of the Astral Express were rushing toward his location.
SWISH!
An arrow of solid ice shot forth, its tip glinting with the cold light of the moon.
The arrow then split into two, then four, and finally into a volley of sixteen, clearing out the remaining scattered Voidrangers along the path.
Himeko was stunned by the sight.
"Little March, when did you get so strong?"
Dan Heng and Welt also looked over with curiosity. March 7th had never been capable of clearing out so many grunts in one go before.
"It's a blessing from Lord Su Mo! Pretty cool, right?"
After showing off, March 7th proudly brandished the bracelet on her wrist.
It was only when she started using it that she truly understood how powerful Su Mo's gift was.
It not only enhanced the power and function of her abilities but also granted her more fluid and intuitive control over her Six-Phased Ice.
The attack she just used was only a small taste. If she needed it, this power could provide an even greater boost.
"It is indeed impressive."
Dan Heng offered his praise. Even by his standards, the gift from Su Mo was far superior to many rare Light Cones.
"It's especially useful for someone as… careless as March. The auto-targeting and guaranteed-hit effects are very practical," Welt commented with objective analysis.
The arrows could automatically seek out even the most well-hidden enemies. From now on, they wouldn't have to worry so much about March during their trailblazing expeditions.
"Mr. Yang! I am not careless!"
March 7th, who prided herself on being an enthusiastic and gentle beauty, naturally refused to accept Welt's assessment.
"But it's true that Lord Su Mo's power is really easy to use!"
Seeing the girl's cheerful expression, Himeko asked curiously, "Little March, a gift this precious would be worth a fortune even at the IPC's recycling department. Do you know why Mr. Su gave it to you?"
"Why? I think it was an apology. I helped out one of Lord Su Mo's subordinates!" March 7th replied, scratching her head.
"Just helping out isn't worth something of this value."
Himeko recalled the misunderstanding from her first meeting with Su Mo. She shook her head and asked with a knowing smile, "Do you remember what I asked Mr. Su when we first met him?"
The pink-haired girl's expression went blank for a second before she remembered.
"This Mr. Su, are you willing to take responsibility for Little March?"
She immediately blushed, her words coming out in a slight stammer.
"I-I remember, but what about it? It was just a misunderstanding, right?"
She had only realized later that Himeko had suspected she and Lord Su Mo had been living together for a long time.
Although it was a completely baseless guess, as a young woman of her age, she was still a little shy when it came to topics of romance.
Seeing her avert her gaze, Himeko smiled faintly and continued, "Then do you remember Mr. Su's answer?"
"His answer?"
March 7th froze. After a moment of thought, her face turned beet red, and her expression went slack.
Faced with Himeko's misunderstanding and pointed question, Lord Su Mo's answer had been… that he didn't mind?
Oh, heavens!
March 7th, who had always dreamed of a shoujo-manga lifestyle, completely blanked out when faced with a similar situation in real life.
"Th-th-that was just Lord Su Mo being polite, right?! He… he… how could he possibly be interested in me? There are so many beautiful girls under his command… i-it's impossible!"
She waved her hands frantically, denying the possibility, but the look on her face was a mixture of hope and anxiety.
Seeing her like this, Himeko raised an eyebrow and exchanged a look with the other two.
This child was so honest, completely unable to hide her feelings.
Although she was denying it and had considered all these other factors, from beginning to end, she never once said she would refuse.
In other words, she herself was open to the idea?
Realizing this, Himeko said, "What are you talking about? Our Little March is so cute! Maybe he just likes your type. When it comes to preferences, you can never be sure!"
Though she didn't know Su Mo's full background, as a Trailblazer, she always encouraged her companions to be brave and do what they wanted.
Whether it ended in success or failure, it was all part of the experience.
"Himeko…"
Hearing the words of her elder—whose actual romance experience was zero—March 7th suddenly felt a surge of motivation.
For some reason, she suddenly wanted to see Su Mo as soon as possible.
She picked up her pace and soon arrived at the coordinates the Ex-Machina had provided.
And that was when she saw the little gray-haired girl next to Su Mo and heard the name she called him.
"Dad?"
It wasn't just her.
The members of the Express crew who followed behind her were also stunned into silence.
It had only been two minutes. What in the world did they miss?
Fortunately, thanks to the previous misunderstanding, both sides had some experience with this.
In just a few dozen seconds, Su Mo explained the whole story and cleared up the confusion.
"So, this child isn't Lord Su Mo's daughter?" March 7th breathed a small sigh of relief.
"No." Su Mo nodded and turned to Himeko. "Kafka's wish is for this child to join the Astral Express. As the navigator, I need your opinion on this."
"My opinion?" Himeko thought for two seconds, then sought confirmation. "Are you certain there's a Stellaron sealed inside her?"
"That's right," Su Mo confirmed. "Although the seal is very stable, it's by no means without danger."
"…"
Himeko fell silent.
For any faction, a Stellaron could easily trigger a terrible disaster.
While the Astral Express was well-known, its power couldn't compare to large organizations like the Xianzhou or the IPC.
If they rashly took in this Stellaron-wielding girl, they would have to bear the responsibility of looking after her, which was no easy task.
Faced with a situation with very little reward and a huge amount of effort, a mature leader would often refuse.
In any case, with March 7th around, their relationship with Su Mo was secure. Handing the girl over to Herta for safekeeping would ensure her safety without creating trouble for themselves.
However, she didn't make an immediate decision. Instead, she looked at the Stellaron-wielding girl, who had picked up a baseball bat from somewhere.
"Stelle, right? What are your thoughts?"
"My thoughts?"
The gray-haired girl was excitedly playing with the baseball bat in her hands. She gave an enthusiastic practice swing.
"Rules are made to be broken!"
Himeko didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She clarified, "What I mean is, are you willing to come aboard the Astral Express and explore the galaxy with us?"
Hearing this, the gray-haired girl immediately dropped the bat, her eyes welling up with tears as she hugged Su Mo's leg.
"Dad, are you abandoning me too?"
She looked so pitiful that even March 7th felt sorry for her.
Faced with the girl's incredibly abstract behavior, Su Mo casually reached into her pocket, took out the fifty-credit bill she had, and instantly turned it into a hundred copies.
"How about it?" he asked, using the trick he learned from Kafka. Give her five thousand.
Seeing so much money, the gray-haired girl's face lit up with glee as she accepted it.
"No problem! Thank you, Dad! From now on, I'm a member of the Astral Express!"
Stuffing the five thousand credits into her pocket, the girl immediately let go of Su Mo's leg and stood beside Himeko.
"…"
Seeing this, March 7th felt she had wasted her sympathy on this girl.
Himeko helplessly facepalmed and said to Su Mo, "Mr. Su, forging credits is illegal. The bills have serial numbers. If you use duplicates, you'll be wanted by the Interastral Peace Corporation."
The gray-haired girl's face paled in horror.
She immediately hugged Su Mo's leg again and stuffed the bills back at him.
Seeing this, Su Mo pondered for two seconds and transformed the printed bills into an equivalent weight in gold.
"Is this universally accepted?"
"This should be fine." Himeko's lip twitched as she nodded.
Unlike diamonds, which were an "IQ tax," gold was a stable heavy element and an almost non-renewable resource for ordinary, low-tech civilizations. Even in interstellar society, gold was a recognized hard currency.
After all, the substance was typically born from cosmological events like the Big Bang or supernova explosions. The total amount was essentially fixed.
Although technology now existed to artificially create gold, it was limited to small-scale production, and the cost of large-scale manufacturing was still quite high. [T/N: this one is bullshit]
She just hadn't expected Su Mo to have a trick like this up his sleeve.
As expected of the One True God. If his cost for producing gold was low enough, he could become one of the wealthiest figures in the galaxy with this technique alone.
And hearing Himeko's explanation, the gray-haired girl immediately took the gold and stood up.
She stood behind Himeko, her gaze fixed resolutely on Su Mo.
"Farewell, my father, for tonight I sail afar~ Don't you worry for me, I have your gold and all your love in my heart!" she sang.
"I haven't even said I'd accept you yet… alright, fine! I wasn't going to refuse anyway, so you can stop trying to bribe me. And speaking of which, that's way too little."
After a brief complaint, Himeko looked at the gray-haired girl who was now trying to press fifty credits into her hand. Shaking her head, she finally relented.
This child was indeed suited to be a Trailblazer, but her personality was certainly that of a problem child.
It looked like the Astral Express was about to get a lot livelier.
Just as everything was settled, an emergency communication came through from the Ex-Machina, immediately followed by one from Asta.
"Report to Lord Su Mo. A dangerous energy source is detected approaching the deck. Cross-referencing with network data suggests it is the Antimatter Legion's anti-planetary weapon, the Doomsday Beast."
"Mr. Su, Ms. Himeko, this is bad! Oh… you got the warning too? The Doomsday Beast has appeared! It's right next to the Express!"