Over half an hour later, outside a cafeteria in the space station.
Ye Yun held a bowl of noodles, eating as he watched Hiko, Stelle, and March 7th sitting on a nearby bench, browsing the rchandise list.
After leaving the little garden earlier, Ye Yun had been looking for a place to stay.
But while he didn't find any accommodations, he did stumble upon a cafeteria.
Once inside, he figured he might as well buy sothing to eat.
However, the cafeteria required a staff ID to purchase food.
Left with no choice, Ye Yun contacted Herta and asked her to get him a temporary work ID for the space station.
As for Ye Yun being an uninvited guest, Herta didn't care how he got to the station.
As long as he had sothing she found interesting, that was enough.
Ten minutes later, Hiko still hadn't found anything she wanted in the shop list.
Seeing her put away the phone without buying anything, March 7th offered a suggestion.
"Hiko, if there's nothing you like on the list, you can just tell Ye Yun what you're looking for.
He did say there's nothing you can't buy from him."
Ye Yun nodded.
"That's right. My goods co from across all worlds. As long as you have enough Star Coins, you can get anything you want."
Hiko thought for a mont.
"Do you have a coffee machine? The one on the train just broke."
Ye Yun snapped his fingers, and three coffee machines floated into view, wrapped in shimring bubbles.
"These three models—take a look and see which one you like:
First one – Magic Coffee Machine. From a magical world. Equipped with water and grinding arrays. Just press a button, and coffee appears. Price: 2,000 Star Coins.
Second one – Fully Automatic Coffee Machine. From a tech world. Just add beans and water, and you get your brew. Price: 500 Star Coins.
Third one – Spiritual Qi Coffee Machine. From an immortal cultivation world. Powered by spirit stones. Coffee brewed enhances physical constitution. Price: 3,000 Star Coins. One extra note: Spirit stones cost 100 Star Coins each and can make 100 cups."
After hearing the introduction, Hiko's gaze locked onto the Spiritual Qi Coffee Machine.
A coffee machine that boosts your body's strength?
More importantly, it's manual! And she loved hand-brewed coffee the most.
Those automatic machines with fixed ratios? No interest at all.
Pointing to the Spiritual Qi Coffee Machine, Hiko said,
"I'll take this one. But I need to head back to the train to grab so Stellar Jade."
Ye Yun packed away the other two machines and held up the chosen one.
"Let's go. I'm not busy anyway."
Hiko smiled warmly.
"Thanks."
The four of them walked toward the platform where the Astral Express was docked.
They chatted and laughed along the way.
On the way, they even encountered a common treasure chest.
Stelle lifted Judgnt of Shamash and easily dealt with the Voidspawn guarding it, taking the Stellar Jade inside—five pieces in total. Worth 500 Star Coins!
March 7th clenched her fists in silent frustration. Darn it! I was just a step too slow!
Over half an hour later, they finally arrived at the platform.
Ye Yun stood at a high vantage point and looked over. A vintage steam train was parked neatly at the platform.
In the rear cars, he could see Welt and Pom-Pom checking off items on a cargo list.
Noticing Ye Yun staring in awe, Hiko smiled.
"What do you think? The Astral Express is pretty impressive, right?"
Ye Yun nodded thoughtfully.
"Yeah. I've heard of the Astral Express before, but this is my first ti seeing it in person.
I didn't expect sothing this long to be able to travel through space."
March 7th, she put her hands on her hips, proud.
"Right? And it's super fast! One whoosh and we're already light-years away!"
Hiko gestured toward the train.
"Co on, let's go inside."
Led by Hiko, Ye Yun, Stelle, and March 7th entered the viewing carriage.
Stelle looked around with wide eyes like a curious baby.
It was her first ti inside the train. From the outside, it looked vintage—but the interior was sleek and futuristic.
Hiko led Ye Yun and Stelle to a sofa.
"You two sit here and relax for a bit. I'll go fetch the Stellar Jade. Little March, go pour so water."
March, who had been snapping pictures with her new cara, cheerfully ran off to get water.
Hiko headed into the resting carriage to grab the Stellar Jade from her room.
With nothing to do, Ye Yun opened his phone to keep copying product descriptions.
Stelle scooted over and watched as he wrote. Every ti he added sothing new, she peeked at it. When she saw sothing interesting, she took a photo with her phone—planning to ask Ye Yun about it later.
March returned with water and quickly joined in.
Over ten minutes later, Hiko returned to the viewing carriage.
But this ti, she wasn't alone—Dan Heng was with her.
Dan Heng—one of the Naless on the Express—quiet, serious, and always imrsed in data.
March 7th raised her brows in surprise.
"Well, well~ Dan Heng! You finally left the data room!"
Dan Heng replied coolly,
"I was recording information on the Doomsday Beast."
March sighed. Dan Heng, can't you give us just a little more reaction?
Ah well. She turned her attention back to Ye Yun's product list.
Hiko handed over the Stellar Jade.
"Ye Yun, here are 30 pieces. Is that enough?"
Ye Yun took out his balance scale.
"Place them on one side."
Hiko placed the 30 Stellar Jade pieces on the scale.
A mont later, the Stellar Jade vanished, and the other side of the scale displayed 30 Star Coins worth 100 each.
March, standing close by, helped Hiko collect the notes.
"Hiko! These are Star Coins! I'll show you how to use them!"
She grabbed Hiko and pulled her over to the floating Spiritual Qi Coffee Machine.
March cleared her throat dramatically.
"Watch and learn!"
With flair, she slapped the 3,000 Star Coins onto the bubble surrounding the coffee machine.
The bubble and the coins vanished, and the coffee machine slowly descended to the floor.
"Ta-da! That's how it's done!"
Hiko chuckled at March's enthusiasm.
"Thank you, March."
March grinned proudly, beaming.
Then Hiko turned to Ye Yun.
"Ye Yun, could I show that product list to Dan Heng?"
Ye Yun handed over the updated list.
Dan Heng simply nodded. "Thanks." And imdiately started reading.
Hiko lifted the Spiritual Qi Coffee Machine and placed it on a nearby cabinet.
Seeing that Dan Heng was browsing, Ye Yun wandered over to Hiko, curious.
Just then, Hiko noticed sothing—she hadn't bought any spirit stones yet.
Ye Yun, realizing what she needed, spent 100 Star Coins of his own to buy one.
Any profits made from sales in the shop went entirely to Ye Yun—the system didn't take a cut.
"Here, try one out."
Hiko smiled softly.
"Thank you."
***
Hiko took the spirit stone and placed it into the spiritual energy coffee machine.
The indicator light in front of the machine instantly lit up and began operating.
Stelle and March 7th also ca over to join the fun.
Very quickly, Hiko skillfully brewed a cup of coffee.
Hiko turned around and looked at Ye Yun, Stelle, and March 7th.
"Want a taste?"
March 7th shivered all over—Hiko's coffee was not sothing to be drunk lightly!
"Uh, I'm gonna go check if Dan Heng's picked out what he wants. You guys drink!"
With that, March 7th turned and bolted. If she didn't run now, she'd have to drink that coffee!
Hiko's smile stiffened a bit.
"Stelle, Ye Yun, would you like to try?"
Stelle didn't quite get what was going on. Why did March 7th leave in such a panic? It was just a cup of coffee, right?
Well, as they say—newborn calves are not afraid of tigers. Stelle took the coffee from Hiko.
"Thanks!"
She downed it in one gulp.
Hiko looked at Stelle expectantly.
"How is it, Stelle? How does it taste?"
Stelle smiled and gave a thumbs-up.
"Delicious!"
Then she waved to March 7th.
"March! Co drink so coffee; it's really good!"
March 7th peeked her head out from behind Dan Heng.
She saw Stelle proudly showing off her empty coffee cup.
March 7th was confusing.
Hiko's coffee is... good now? Judging from Stelle's expression, it did look pretty good. Maybe... Should I try it?
She mustered up the courage and asked Hiko to make her a cup.
March 7th took the coffee and sniffed it first.
Hmm! Slls normal! No weird odor!
Stelle urged from the side.
"Co on, March, try it! It's really good!"
Ye Yun, watching from the side, could barely hold back his laughter. He saw it all clearly—Stelle's legs were trembling slightly.
From the looks of it, she was just trying to drag March 7th down with her—she didn't want to suffer alone.
March 7th raised the cup and took a big gulp. The mont she swallowed...
Stelle and March 7th both collapsed on the spot, legs twitching, eyes rolling up as they passed out.
"Gah!"
Ye Yun looked at the two lying on the floor, thoroughly entertained. Tsk tsk tsk, Hiko's coffee really is lethal.
Hiko, looking at the unconscious pair, began to doubt her coffee-making skills.
But that thought was quickly tossed aside. She turned around and picked up a book on hand-brewed coffee, flipping through to see where she might've gone wrong.
Ye Yun, seeing the two passed out, kindly moved them to the sofa to rest.
Just then, Dan Heng had picked out what he wanted: a pair of headphones with infinite battery power. The price wasn't high—only 300 Star Coins.
He exchanged three Stellar Jades for Star Coins, bought the headphones, then left Ye Yun and Hiko to return to the archives.
Ye Yun glanced at the two still unconscious on the sofa. After thinking for a mont, he decided to talk to Hiko about renting a train carriage.
He approached Hiko.
"Hiko, there's sothing I'd like to discuss."
Hiko put down her book.
"Oh? What is it?"
Ye Yun took a sip of water and said slowly:
"I'd like to rent a carriage to open a shop.Of course, I won't use it for free—you and the crew can take one item each month from my shop, worth up to 3000 Star Coins. What do you think?"
Hiko listened to his proposal and began to ponder.
This had never happened on the train before—at least not in the history of the Naless that she knew of.
Still, renting it to Ye Yun wasn't out of the question. Every month they could get an item from the myriad worlds.
As for whether Ye Yun might pose a threat to the train crew? From what she could tell, that was unlikely.
Her evaluation of Ye Yun? A pure businessman—a conscientious one, at that.
After a mont of thought, Hiko said:
"I can't decide that on my own. I have to ask the rest of the crew."
When it cos to major decisions for the train crew, they've always followed one rule passed down since the train's creation—vote by majority.
Ye Yun smiled.
"Of course. I'll be waiting—just ssage once you've decided.
Oh, and we don't have each other's contact info yet. Let's exchange."
After exchanging contacts, Ye Yun returned to the space station.
Once he got off the train, he ssaged Herta, asking her to arrange a place for him to rest.
He had no choice—he couldn't find any hotels or inns in the station.
Everyone working here had their own rooms, all provided for free.
Don't ask why—just know the company's rich and doesn't care about this kind of expense.
***
Two hours later, in the observation carriage.
Hiko, Welt, Pom-Pom, Dan Heng, March 7th, and Stelle had all gathered.
Welt, Pom-Pom, and Dan Heng had arrived earlier, and Hiko had already briefed them on Ye Yun's proposal.
They were just waiting for March 7th and Stelle to wake up so they could vote.
Just monts ago, the two had finally groggily gotten up from the sofa.
After a cup of hot water to clear their heads, Hiko explained the situation to them.
Stelle was confused—she wasn't even part of the train crew yet, so why was Hiko telling her all this?
Seeing her puzzled expression, Hiko smiled.
"Stelle, rember I invited you to join the train before? Have you thought about it?"
Stelle rubbed her chin and pondered.
March 7th added with enthusiasm,
"Co on, Stelle~ Join us! We roam the galaxy, fight evil, save worlds—it's so cool!"
Stelle thought about it—very cool. The past few days at the space station had been... lonely.
Other than Asta, Arlan, and Herta, no one really talked to her.
Everyone was too busy with their own work. There was no warmth here.
But hanging out with the train crew? That felt fun.
"Alright. I'll join the train."
March 7th cheered.
"Yay!"
Hiko took out a train ticket and handed it to Stelle.
"Here, wear this. It's the symbol of a Naless."
Stelle accepted the ticket and pinned it to her collar.
Welt and Dan Heng also welcod her into the crew.
After chatting for a bit, Hiko brought things back to the main topic.
"Alright, now that the whole crew is here, let's vote on whether or not Ye Yun can rent a carriage.
As always—majority rules. Raise your hand if you agree, keep it down if you don't.
Three...Two...One!"
The results ca in—Stelle, March 7th, Hiko, and Dan Heng all voted yes. Only Welt didn't.
Welt explained,
"Consider abstaining. I haven't interacted with Ye Yun yet, so I can't say yes or no. I'll decide after getting to know him."
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