Later
"Damn it, why are there so many of them?" Asta grumbles as she adjusts her staff and glances at Zhi Jiang apologetically. "I'm sorry you had to help again."
"Don't worry too much..." Zhi Jiang says as he takes a breather. "We need as many helping hands as possible..."
"If only Arlan were here..." Asta mutters quietly. Zhi Jiang heard this and wonders who Arlan is, but he notices a crowd of Voidrangers surrounding a control room. He glances a bit and notices a person with white hair is currently in the control room, and from how he holds his arm, he seems injured.
"Someone's in that room injured," Zhi Jiang says as he points at the room crowded with Voidrangers. He didn't wait for Asta to respond as he started shooting down the Voidrangers, but unfortunately, his body once again grew weaker as he only managed to crack their armor before he dropped his bow, and his arms were trembling. Thankfully, Asta quickly assists as she blasts lasers using her staff right at the cracked armor, instantly killing them all.
"S-sorry," Zhi Jiang says weakly as Asta shakes her head.
"Don't be, I should be apologizing because you had to intervene, again," Asta says with a guilty look.
"...let's just stop apologizing and we're good, okay?" Zhi Jiang says as Asta merely nods before they all walk to the room. As Asta looks at the person in the room, she gasps and approaches him.
"Arlon!" Asta exclaims as the young man, who doesn't even reach Zhi Jiang's chest, looks at her in surprise.
"L-lady Asta!? W-what are you doing here!? You should be going to the safe zone!" Arlan exclaims.
"Let's worry about your injuries first," Asta says as she looks at the wounded arm and leg, pulling out a bandage from nowhere and starts wrapping it around Arlan's injuries.
"...where did she pull that out? Did she carry that around?" Zhi Jiang mutters in surprise.
"She had to, given how Arlan was. Being part of the security department, Arlan took his job seriously and tended to overdo things. He's willing to risk his life to keep everyone in safety, especially Lead Researcher Asta, and keep his scars as a badge of honor." Lucas explains as Asta keeps tending to his injuries.
"I...see..." Zhi Jiang sweatdrops as he watches the duo. Asta reprimands Arlan for being reckless while Arlan tries to defend himself for his actions.
'...yeah, those two like each other,' Zhi Jiang deadpans. The level of worries Asta displays is more than how a boss worries for their coworkers, and how Arlan continues to stutter while talking to Asta, letting her berate him, just shows he's smitten with her.
'...I wonder how my life would have gone if I had never gotten stranded. Would I have found the love of my life, would I have gotten my dream job...but alas, those thoughts were meaningless...' Zhi Jiang thought before the door opened, and Zhi Jiang was greeted by March and Dan Heng with another person behind them, a girl around March's age with golden eyes, and long grey hair holding a...baseball bat?
"Zhi Jiang, you're here?" March asks in surprise. "Aren't you supposed to be in the safe zone? You haven't fully recovered."
It seems like it was a bad choice of words, as the two kids Zhi Jiang rescued earlier started tearing up, looking very guilty. March notices this and starts panicking, completely confused at what happened.
"That would be my fault," Asta says as she finishes tending Arlan's wounds while Zhi Jiang pats the kids' heads. "He had to help us with some Voidrangers on the way, and we got...sidetracked when Voidrangers surrounding the room where Arlan is."
"I...see," Dan Heng says before glancing at Zhi Jiang, noting how he tries to comfort the kids. "I hope you didn't get injured."
"Nope," Zhi Jiang says reassuringly. "Honestly, I was surprised at how easy it was to take down these monsters."
'Easy?' Both March and Dan Heng were visibly surprised at Zhi Jiang's choice of words before looking at his bow. Dan Heng knows how the weapon works; the arrow it launches is based on the wielder's draw strength, and Zhi Jiang's condition isn't something that Dan Heng would call top performance, especially when he seems very exhausted.
"Mr. Nameless, I think it's more of your absurd strength that you possess that takes care of these Voidrangers, especially with your condition," Lucas explains with a sweatdrop as everyone nods.
"Huh?" Zhi Jiang blinks before looking at the bow. "You didn't mistake those for this bow's capability, didn't you?"
"Mr. Zhi Jiang, that bow is...a common weapon for anyone to use, and it was not recommended by a lot of buyers when there are so many better weapons on the market," Asta explains with a sweatdrop.
"...so, then how was I able to kill those Voidrangers so easily?" Zhi Jiang asks in confusion.
'...he's so clueless,' Everyone thought blankly.
"...let's focus on the current situation," Dan Heng says. "We have a lot of people required to be evacuated, and Arlan needs to be moved to safety with his injury. While those who can fight need to launch a counterattack, we need to go to the master control zone."
"Oh, right," Asta says before giving them the encryption key. "You might need these. We shut down the elevator to prevent the Legion from reaching there."
"This will help, thank you, Lady Asta," Dan Heng nods before looking at March and the gray-haired girl.
"Um, since no one's asking, maybe I should. Who is that girl?" Zhi Jiang asks as he points at the mysterious girl.
"Oh, this is Stelle. We found her when we were looking around the Space Station to look for the Stellaron Hunters, but it seems that they already left." March says casually while patting the girl, Stelle, on her shoulder.
"Ah..." Zhi Jiang merely nods. "You guys gonna be okay?"
"Don't worry! I may not look like it, but I'm strong!" March exclaims while pointing at Dan Heng and Stelle. "With both of them with me, we're unstoppable!"
"Okay...be careful," Zhi Jiang says as March pauses before nodding with a warm smile.
"I will," March says before the three of them leave. All Zhi Jiang could do was watch as they left, a pang of regret and worry filled his heart.
Asta helps Arlan to get up as he reaches the monitor, preparing for something. To their surprise, the Astral Express crew and Stelle were surrounded by the Voidranger, and one of them happened to look like a giant centaur. Zhi Jiang rushes towards the door as it opens automatically and pulls his bow with every inch of his strength. Before Dan Heng and March could do anything, Zhi Jiang unleashed the string as the arrow launched, creating a missile-like whistle before it hit the Voidranger on the back and exploded.
Everyone stares at the scene in disbelief as Zhi Jiang once again drops his bow and his arms turn limp. Dan Heng and March stare at the Voidranger in shock as it falls, revealing a huge crater on its back. They look at each other before looking at Zhi Jiang, who attempts to raise his right arm and gives them a thumbs-up. They nod before taking care of the rest and activating the elevator.
As they managed to do so and entered the elevator, more Voidrangers attempted to enter, but thankfully, the door closed before they could reach it. Then, a familiar-looking drone appears and starts shooting the Voidrangers.
"Alright, it's time to leave," Asta says as they all help the injured and exhausted before going to the safe zone. Zhi Jiang merely sighs as he knows he's not in the best shape to help, but he can't help but be concerned about the Astral Express crew, especially March.
It takes a while before the group manages to reach the safe zone, and Zhi Jiang notices Welt is nearby, helping with the evacuation. He glances at their directions, and he simply adjusts his glasses upon looking at Zhi Jiang.
"Zhi Jiang," Welt says in an even tone, and Zhi Jiang can't help but feel like a kid getting caught stealing cookies in the middle of the night. "Are you okay?"
"....y-yeah," Zhi Jiang takes a few seconds to process what Welt says before he responds.
"You should have stayed in the train, Pom-Pom is worried about you," Welt says as Zhi Jiang feels a bit guilty upon hearing it.
"S-sorry, but...I don't think I could sleep at night if I don't..." Zhi Jiang says, before looking at the kids he saved earlier. Welt notices this before letting out a small sigh.
"I understand," Welt nods. "But, you should be more careful. You have only recovered for a day."
"...yeah, fair," Zhi Jiang simply nods before suddenly, the Space Station starts to shake. This causes a slight panic with everyone in the Space Station as Welt turns on his communicator.
"Himeko, what's the status?" Welt asks.
"The Doomsday Beast has arrived," Himeko's response is short and simple, but to everyone who hears it, they all turn pale. Zhi Jiang looks slightly confused, but he understands based on everyone's expression. Whatever Doomsday Beasts are, they're bad news for everyone.
"I'll be on my way," Welt says before looking at Asta.
"I understand. I shall take care of the rest," Asta says as Welt nods.
"Still...I shall leave my passenger in your care," Welt says as Asta nods before the older man rushes off. Asta takes a deep breath and guides everyone to enter the safe zone. Some Voidrangers attempt to attack, but Welt doesn't hesitate to blast them with multiple gravity blasts.
"...damn," Zhi Jiang blinks as he sees how effortlessly Welt took care of the Voidrangers so casually.
"You never saw Mr. Welt in action?" Asta asks as they enter the safe zone together.
"No...Like I said earlier, I was new." Zhi Jiang says as Asta nods.
"Don't sell yourself short. You alone are quite impressive as well," Asta says as Zhi Jiang doesn't respond. "...once again, thank you for saving my fellow researchers and the kids, despite your condition."
"...don't mention it," Zhi Jiang says as he is gently placed down onto the ground. Meanwhile, the kids had brought the bow he had dropped earlier, causing Zhi Jiang to blink.
"...oh, thanks," Zhi Jiang says before he accepts it. Then, out of nowhere, he feels a chill down his spine before looking at the ceiling. 'W-what was that...?'
"Is...something wrong?" Asta asks in confusion.
"...sorry, I thought someone was watching..." Zhi Jiang says, confusing Asta before she nods.
To be Continued