"The kind of DIY milk tea we only see in videos—someone actually made it!"
March 7th wiped the drool from her mouth, unable to tear her eyes away from the oversized milk tea.
"March, mind your image."
Danheng had finished his notes. Since boarding the Astral Express, nothing surprised him anymore.
A lop-eared rabbit plush conductor with an unknown identity and unfathomable strength; a navigator who fixed the train by hand and loved brewing coffee; Welt Yang, who could create black holes; a memory-less girl frozen in ice…
Now, a man who'd headbutted the train, claiming to be from the [Eternity Church], but actually a Pathstrider of Eternity, seemed close with the conductor and had history with the navigator.
"I'm curious—why pretend to be from the Eternity Church? Your style is completely different from theirs."
Danheng had met people from the Eternity Church. Back when he was on the [Mourning Actors]' ship, leaving the Interastral Peace Corporation, there was a peculiar church member.
That scene was unforgettable for Danheng.
The man claimed to be the head of the Eternity Church, constantly preaching and praising the Aeon of Eternity, listing the eight virtues of Eternity, and even trying to recruit the Mourning Actors to convert.
To show sincerity, he gave everyone on the ship a bar of soap and a towel.
Why soap?!
Does your Aeon love bathing that much?
Later, Danheng learned the Eternity Church's headquarters was on a carwash planet, transformed into a city of water and hot springs, famous across the cosmos for its springs.
"When you're out in the universe, you need an identity to get by. Mr. Danheng surely understands this better than I do."
As he spoke, Adrian handed the Pom-Pom-sized milk tea to March 7th, seeing how she was practically starving for it.
…
After a quick round of introductions to get acquainted, Adrian responsibly fixed the damaged train front and reinforced every carriage connection with protective shields.
Now older and wiser, he probably wouldn't pull something as reckless as blowing up a carriage again. The other guy, though—not so sure.
That guy was always either chasing fun or being the fun. Sometimes, HE was the punchline.
Over a few days, Adrian's superb culinary skills won over the Express crew, especially March 7th.
He ran a milk tea shop, so being a master chef was reasonable, right? Win their stomachs, win their hearts. The train had no dedicated cook, so Pom-Pom usually handled meals.
"After these past few days… I've got a question for you."
March 7th, sipping her milk tea, approached Adrian, who was admiring the view in the observation car.
"What's on your mind, Miss March?"
"Well… do you consider yourself a junior or a senior now?" March 7th was fixated on this.
"That's a question worth pondering, Miss March. By general logic, I'd be the most senior on the train—the senior of seniors."
"But you know, the train was only recently restored by Himeko, re-entering the public eye."
"So, we can't judge by past logic."
"Slow down, slow down…" March 7th's brain was struggling to keep up.
"In summary, with the train's restart, everything's reset to zero. I'm the latest to join the Astral Express, making me the junior."
"Really?!"
March 7th beamed. She wasn't the youngest on the train anymore!
Though Adrian was ancient, he joined the train much later than her… so, he was her junior!
"Mere junior, come give me a shoulder massage."
March 7th teased. Over these days, she'd realized Adrian was practically an all-rounder.
He could drink Himeko's coffee without flinching, help Danheng upgrade his database, and discuss mechanical constructs with Uncle Yang.
Most importantly, his cooking was delicious!
Why was someone like him called the [Worst Nameless]?
March 7th couldn't figure it out.
[Ahem, attention all passengers. The train is about to initiate a warp jump. One-minute countdown. Destination: [Herta] Space Station. Please sit tight and hold on! Repeat, repeat…]
[Do not run around the carriage like Passenger March 7th! Repeat, repeat…]
Pom-Pom's voice blared through the broadcast.
"It's a warp jump!"
March 7th's eyes lit up, interrupting Adrian's massage. She loved warp jumps and immediately stood, balancing herself.
"I haven't experienced many warp jumps."
In Adrian's time, who needed jumps? Akivili drove everywhere, only using jumps to escape after causing trouble.
If he was feeling lazy, he could tie up Aha and make HIM pull the train.
Watching March 7th squat in a horse stance with arms outstretched, Adrian kindly warned:
"Miss March, you'll fall like that."
"Oh, you don't get it. I've fallen tons of times already. Know what this spirit's called?" March 7th turned to Adrian.
"Never! Give! In!"
She shouted loudly.
[Stubborn! And! Unteachable!]
Pom-Pom's voice came through the broadcast again.
…
Warp jump complete. Herta Space Station. The Astral Express pulled into the platform.
Unsurprisingly, March 7th took a tumble during the jump.
"Why're you fine?!" Seeing Adrian unscathed despite standing, she wondered why only she fell.
"Miss March, you don't get it. I didn't fall because my mind is calm. As they say, a still heart is naturally cool."
Adrian began spouting nonsense with a straight face.
"The more you think you won't fall, the more likely you will."
"Instead, be like me—stay calm. Embrace Eternity."
Himeko and Welt were quietly observing Adrian.
"He's talking nonsense again. [Eternity]'s Emanators are so weird."
A mere Pathstrider wouldn't be this strong. After days of observing Adrian and prying info from Pom-Pom (threatening it with Himeko's coffee if it didn't talk), they learned Adrian was an [Eternity] Emanator, possibly gazed upon by Aeons more than once.
Himeko and Welt discussed.
"For some reason, his style feels like [Elation]," Himeko said.
Welt's view of Adrian had softened.
Adrian was serious when discussing robotics, even recommending a mobile game called Space Robots, claiming it was the universe's hottest family-friendly game…
Sadly, the train lacked mobile gaming gear, or Welt would've loved to try it.
"His hands-on skills are impressive. He can assemble a complex mecha model in under an hour."
Such deft hands—Adrian must be a model-building enthusiast.
As the saying goes, men are boys till they die, and Aeons are no different. [Elation] Aha was the prime example.
But according to Adrian, he'd chosen to retire, settling on the Xianzhou Luofu to run a milk tea shop.
An [Eternity] Emanator's lifespan was hundreds, even thousands, of times longer than a mortal's.
Yet, because of their longevity, people often couldn't tell if they were blessed by [Abundance] or devotees of Eternity.
Rumors said the Eternity Church's priest was an Emanator, her age a mystery.
Some claimed she predated [Destruction] Nanook's birth, older by far, and that the Eternity Aeon had an untold story with her.
This came from an anonymous Mask of Fools report.
Welt was skeptical. The Mask of Fools' words were half-true, half-false—only half believable.
The question was… which half?