Leaving the Xianzhou Luofu, Adrian drifted alone through the cosmos, in no hurry to reach Herta's Space Station. Why be so diligent?
"I hope little Tingyun can weather this crisis," Adrian prayed silently.
Of course, his concern wasn't about the Sky-Faring Commission being attacked or Tingyun's life-or-death uncertainty. He didn't take [Destruction]'s forces seriously at all.
The imaginary energy he'd left in Tingyun's body was actually a coordinate. If she were attacked, she'd be teleported to a specific location.
Though, that place might make her feel a bit… out of sorts.
"I hope the kids at the [Eternity Church] treat strangers kindly. I should've taught them well."
As for the rest of the Sky-Faring Commission, the residual energy was enough to fend off Phantylia, ensuring their safe return to the Xianzhou.
Following the star rails laid by Akivili, Adrian began to drift freely.
The star rails connected the distant worlds in some mystical way. The safe routes the Xianzhou relied on today were built along the remnants of these rails.
Back then, no matter where he went, there was always some jerk who loved ramming his ghostly-flame-powered ride into Adrian's backside.
Now… that jerk with the ghostly flames was no longer by his side.
Living too long wasn't always a good thing. Old friends withered away like leaves in the wind.
If Akivili hadn't fallen, travel between worlds would be even more seamless today.
Lost in memories, Adrian was completely oblivious to his surroundings, failing to notice the glowing object hurtling toward him.
Boom!
A massive crash snapped Adrian out of his reverie. Only two things could collide with him on the star rails.
The Xianzhou or the Astral Express.
Hmm…
Looking at the Astral Express with a massive dent in its front, Adrian fell into deep thought.
Let's just say it was his departed friend responding to him.
Meanwhile, the train's interior shook violently.
"Ow… that hurts!"
A short, adorable pink-haired girl climbed to her feet, rubbing her lower back.
"Huh? Uncle Yang, how come you didn't fall?"
She looked around. Even Danheng had tumbled head-over-heels, yet the man before her stood steady as a rock, unmoved like a mountain.
"The cane's doing."
Welt Yang adjusted his reflective glasses and retracted his cane.
"We seem to have rear-ended something. Stay cautious."
"Train movement obstructed. Front end damaged, unable to proceed!"
The conductor's broadcast reached every passenger's ears.
"No way. Usually, it's other ships rear-ending us. How'd we rear-end someone today?"
It wasn't the first time the train had been in a rear-end collision. After all, two Nameless once blew up a carriage, watered plants with Sparkle Soda… a rear-end crash wasn't exactly rare.
"Drive recklessly, and your loved ones cry endlessly."
An unfamiliar voice sounded beside March 7th. Danheng and Welt immediately went on guard, drawing their weapons.
"Hey, hey, hey!"
March 7th jumped in fright, reaching for her bow, but it seemed pointless.
"Hmm~ You've got the shadow of that peeping tom on you."
Adrian studied March 7th, referring, of course, to [Memory] Fuli—the universe's top paparazzo.
Who knows, maybe THEY were watching him right now.
Adrian didn't mind. After all, he could watch THEM back.
Fuli watches him, he watches Fuli—a cycle without end, eternal!
"What? Peeping tom… Hey! Who're you calling a peeping tom!" March 7th, slow to react, got riled up and drew her bow made of six-phased ice, though it was still useless.
Danheng and Welt glanced at Himeko, who sat on the sofa without a hint of reaction, and put away their weapons.
But seeing March 7th's stance, they didn't have the heart to remind her.
"Little March."
Himeko stirred her freshly brewed coffee with a spoon. "Not an enemy."
"Huh? Himeko, you know him?"
March 7th obediently stowed her weapon, retreating behind Welt and Danheng.
"I'm no peeping tom…" she muttered under her breath.
"It's been a while, hasn't it? This familiar train, but only one familiar face."
Adrian walked to a newly planted potted plant, feeling like it still carried the scent of Sparkle Soda.
"Heh~" Himeko sipped her coffee. "Should I call you Adrian… or the second worst Nameless?"
Adrian, naturally, knew the mature red-haired woman before him.
Back then, Himeko wasn't yet a mature woman, still a slightly green teenager.
While she was repairing the train, Adrian, out of his connection with Akivili, sought out Himeko, who was buried in her work.
He introduced himself to her as a follower of the [Eternity Church].
Everyone knew the bond between Eternity and Trailblaze. The church folks were a bit unhinged, but they were warm toward the Trailblaze faction.
Conversely, the church despised the Destruction faction, spitting at the sight of their members.
Even when facing the Antimatter Legion, despite their weak combat strength, they never stopped scorning Destruction.
Back then, Himeko was focused on fixing the train. Hearing Adrian's introduction, she didn't think much of it, assuming he was just a helper to speed up the repairs.
For the next few days, Adrian showed up on schedule, working alongside Himeko to repair the train.
Two heads are better than one, and the work wasn't tiring. The train was briefly fixed, soaring into the sky with Himeko.
When Himeko came to her senses, Adrian had vanished without a trace, as if he'd never been there.
Adrian's stance was clear: he only helped get the Astral Express running. Whether it was fully repaired wasn't his concern.
"What? You're the worst Nameless that Himeko and Pom-Pom always talk about? No way!"
March 7th felt like she'd provoked someone extraordinary.
"Misunderstanding, Miss Himeko! The worst Nameless isn't me!"
Adrian clutched his forehead. That title clearly belonged to Aha, that jerk.
Pom-Pom had initially wanted to label Adrian as "the worst," but he bribed the conductor with a few special-edition crispy, fragrant Pom-Pom pies, successfully shifting the blame.
All of Adrian's crimes were pinned on Aha—like [flooding the train with Sparkle Soda], [drawing a trash can on the conductor's face during their nap], [turning the train into a steel monstrosity]…
Hiss… listing it out, it did seem like he was the worst Nameless.
"Uh… fine, it's me." Adrian struggled inwardly but ultimately owned up to all the crimes.
Kind Aeons like him were rare.
"Ahem!"
A cough came from below. Conductor Pom-Pom had appeared beside him at some point.
"Passenger Adrian, long time no see, pom!"
Pom-Pom politely greeted him, then hugged his leg and chomped down.
"Whoa, courtesy before violence, huh, Conductor?"
Adrian looked at Pom-Pom biting him and gave a thumbs-up.
"Why'd you crash the train, pom!"
Pom-Pom clung to Adrian's pant leg, refusing to let go.
What kind of passenger tests their head against the train's? How was this different from the guy who blew the carriage in two back then?
No, wait—Adrian was part of that carriage-blowing incident! Double the crime!
The more Pom-Pom thought about it, the angrier it got. It had just checked—the train's front was nearly caved in!
"First time I've seen Pom-Pom like this." March 7th pulled out her camera, capturing the precious moment.
"Hey, hey, stop biting! I brought a gift for the Conductor!"
Adrian pulled a milk tea as tall as Pom-Pom from his pocket. "Take it and drink. If it's not enough, let me know."
"Mmm…"
Pom-Pom let go, eyeing the tantalizing milk tea, hesitating.
"Plus a plate of caramel roasted scones and crispy Pom-Pom pies!"
"Deal!"
Pom-Pom grinned and agreed. March 7th finally realized:
"Wait a sec, so you're the one who caused the rear-end collision!"
Adrian turned to March 7th:
"That's right. Who told me to be so headstrong?" he teased.
"The second worst Nameless…"
Welt remained wary of Adrian. After all, who could withstand a head-on collision with the Astral Express?
And someone who could freely roam the cosmos, had been on the train before, and was likely over a thousand years old.
Something was off—nine parts out of ten were off!
Yet Himeko and Pom-Pom knew him and seemed on good terms.
Welt couldn't quite wrap his head around it.
As for Danheng…
From the moment Adrian appeared, he'd been taking notes.
March 7th…
She'd been glaring at Adrian with hostility earlier, but now she was tempted by the oversized milk tea he'd pulled out.
Hmm…
Something was off—ten parts out of ten were off!