"Yoo, Helm Master Huohuo, you're struggling, huh? Perfect. Struggling means you're guilty, being guilty means you're admitting it, and admitting it means you're not Huohuo but a Heliobus! Don't even think about escaping~"
"Y-you! Can't you act a little like a General?! Get your hands off me, get—get away!"
"Hehehehehe, scream all you want! Even if you scream until your throat breaks, no one will come to save you!"
...
In the corridor, Stelle, Bailu, Fu Xuan, and the others silently watched the tightly closed door in front of them. For a moment, everyone fell quiet.
Stelle's inner thoughts: As expected of the General. Her way of thinking really is different from normal people. She didn't take the chance to win Fu Xuan back but went straight for Huohuo instead? Interesting.
Bailu's inner thoughts: Eh? What are the General and Helm Master doing inside?
Fu Xuan's inner thoughts: Wait, shouldn't I be the one being investigated? What does it mean to leave me out here?
The three of them tacitly said nothing and paced back and forth in front of the door.
—"Warning, warning!"
At this moment, a stiff voice sounded from the other end of the corridor. Xueyi suddenly stood up and walked straight toward the hospital room in a daze: "In, Star, skiff, sea, dis, cov, ered, sus, pect, ed, He, li, o, bus, traces, re, quest, ing, de, ploy, ment."
"Ehh ehh ehh!"
Stelle hurriedly stepped forward and blocked Xueyi, giving her a meaningful look. "The General and Helm Master are handling official business inside."
Xueyi remained expressionless and kept repeating: "Heliobus, Heliobus, capture, capture."
It was also at this moment that Hanya stepped in front of Stelle. Her delicate and pretty face showed no expression and looked somewhat gloomy.
Stelle: Hmm...
Before this, she had no interaction with this universe's Hanya, Xueyi, and Sushang trio, so she naturally didn't know their personalities. From their current performance, however, Xueyi seemed less "intelligent" than before, Hanya was speaking less than before, and as for Sushang...
"Ahem, Miss Trailblazer, I understand your intention to stop us."
Sushang cleared her throat and said seriously: "However, according to Article 12, Subsection 4 of the Cloud Knights Special Operations Team Code, when the safety of ordinary Luofu citizens is endangered, we may directly report to the leadership."
Stelle couldn't help covering her face. Her voice leaked out from between her fingers: "…Can you first tell me what happened?"
Hanya's voice was low: "...My sister said we need to capture a Heliobus."
Stelle blinked, then pointed at herself: "Are you talking to me?"
Hanya moved her mouth and answered: "Sister discovered signs of a Heliobus causing chaos in Central Starskiff Haven. We need to request instructions from Helm Master and proceed with the capture."
Stelle understood: "Ohhh, so it's about catching a Heliobus. I have experience with this. Why don't I take you guys to catch it?"
Hanya: "Yes."
Stelle: ???
She was stunned for two seconds and suddenly noticed Hanya's speaking pattern. She asked tentatively: "Wait… are you always just answering my previous sentence?"
Hanya: "But… wouldn't that go against the rules? The Astral Express is an honored guest of the Luofu. This is our own trouble; we cannot trouble you."
Stelle was now completely sure: "I see. Oh, back to the main topic—it's no big deal. After all, Huohuo is also my friend. I can't bear to watch her suffer, so I've decided to leave this place and help you guys out."
Hanya nodded: "Yes."
"Are you sure?" Sushang hesitated: "This might be dangerous."
"No danger is greater than Phantylia's." Stelle said lightly, "Back then, I, Jing Yuan, Himeko, Uncle Yang, March 7th, Dan Heng, Bailu... together defeated Phantylia. Our combined combat power is not to be underestimated."
That's right. Since the few of them together defeated Phantylia back then, on average she at least had one-tenth of Phantylia's strength.
Phantylia was a Lord Ravager, and Zephyro was also a Lord Ravager, so "Phantylia" = "Zephyro."
Therefore, by conversion, she probably had roughly one-tenth of Zephyro's strength. Dealing with a tiny little Heliobus fragment would be as easy as pie.
Plus there was Bailu, the Vidyadhara Dragon Lord, so there was no need to worry about combat power.
"This... alright then." Sushang thought for a moment and agreed.
Thus, the group walked away chatting and laughing, leaving Fu Xuan standing alone at the hospital room door, at a loss.
"Eh... Eh? You guys left. W-what about me?"
Fu Xuan stretched her hand toward the group's backs, but her calls did not make anyone turn around. She could only watch helplessly as they walked farther and farther away.
What should she do? Should she follow them?
—"Eek ah! Qingque, you guy! What are you doing?!"
"Oh? Weren't you doing the exact same thing to my Fu Xuan earlier? What? When the same trick is used on you, you can't handle it? Helm Master is really applying double standards."
"..."
Fu Xuan took a panicked step back. Her gaze shifted back and forth between the hospital room and Stelle's group's backs. In the end, she chose the latter and chased after them in a panic: "W-wait for me!"
...
The Greedy Heliobus was a smart Heliobus.
It knew that although it had temporarily escaped the restraints of the "Creation Furnace," it was not as free as it had imagined. At the very least, it needed to leave Xianzhou territory first.
It was called the Greedy Heliobus because it was very greedy; and to be "very greedy," it naturally needed matching intelligence.
So when Cirrus asked it to stir up chaos in the Xianzhou, although it agreed on the surface, in reality it had already begun planning where to escape.
Escape directly? No good. The Luofu's "Jade Boundary Gate" could detect it. To run, it would be best to possess someone.
Thus, it wandered around the Luofu and finally locked onto its target.
It was a white-haired master-disciple pair.
Jing Yuan and Jingliu walked down the street, completely unaware of the gaze coming from an unknown place. The former said with a smile: "Master, look at your current mental state—you've only just recovered. Shouldn't you spend more time with Lady Ruan Mei?"
Jingliu remained silent.
Jing Yuan continued: "Then Master, you've traveled the galaxy for many years. You must have some savings, right? To be honest, your disciple's current life is really not great, and money is quite tight. You've been to Penacony yourself, so you should know how important salary is to a person."
Jingliu paused, her voice cold and clear: "No money."
Jing Yuan's mouth twitched: "Master, you're not young anymore. You need to learn how to earn money..."
"No need for more words. Earning money is a small matter. If I want to do it, it's as easy as lifting a hand. Don't forget, I am still your Master after all."
Easy as lifting a hand my ass! Jing Yuan cursed inwardly. Does he really think money is that easy to earn?
...
Every move between the two was seen by the Greedy Heliobus. Its gaze was fixed dead on Jing Yuan, filled with even more disdain:
Hmph, someone who even openly calculates with his own Master is truly petty!
Perfect. This kind of person will be easier to control after possession.
With such thoughts, the Greedy Heliobus sneered coldly in secret and swooped down toward Jing Yuan!