Regarding the Celestial Jade tiles that had suddenly spread across the entire cosmos, the Astral Express naturally hadn't ignored them.
Since Originium was falling all over the universe anyway, they could just pick a spot to dock—any planet or asteroid would do—and find some after a quick search.
Counting Hysilens and Cerydra, who hadn't disembarked yet, the Express crew currently consisted of exactly four people.
Thus, in their spare time, they had tried a few rounds of Celestial Jade.
Himeko, hailing from Planarcadia, had dabbled in all sorts of cultural styles and adapted to the game well enough.
Dan Heng, of course, went without saying; as a native of the Xianzhou, it came naturally to him.
Cerydra was doing alright too, but Hysilens seemed to lose more than she won.
On one hand, she simply wasn't suited for this kind of entertainment; on the other, she was always preoccupied with trying to hand the victory over to Cerydra.
However, such leisure time did not last long. Because...
"According to the information gathered by the IPC so far, the number of worlds officially calling for help—worlds that have suffered from Stellaron disasters and remained silent for years—has exceeded ten thousand, and that number is still climbing."
"The Corporation has formally extended an invitation to the Express, asking the Astral Express to once again blaze the Star Rail for the galaxy."
Himeko reported the current intel to everyone on the train.
Cerydra sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, taking a sip of wine as she let out a scoff.
"The Corporation certainly has a lovely imagination, treating us like free labor. We clean up the Stellarons, and they get to haul all the profits home?"
In this universe, the Astral Express was indeed the faction best suited to clearing the Star Rail and sealing Stellarons. But that didn't mean other major powers lacked the capability to contain them.
If a faction couldn't even handle a Stellaron, they wouldn't be fit to stand as a major power in the cosmos in the first place.
"Besides, even if those worlds couldn't speak up in the past, it's not like the Corporation didn't know exactly who was hit and who wasn't. Why the sudden surge of initiative? What kind of scheme are they cooking up now?" Cerydra looked at Himeko with curiosity.
If the IPC had suddenly made this decision, there had to be some profit involved.
If she couldn't get a clear answer on that, Cerydra was going to cast a dissenting vote when it came time to decide.
After all, back when the Corporation's people came to Amphoreus, they were like hungry wolves catching a scent.
If it hadn't been for those few individuals, they probably would have stripped Amphoreus bone-dry. Cerydra didn't have much of a good impression of the Interastral Peace Corporation.
Nearby, while Dan Heng didn't voice an opinion, he also looked toward Himeko, wanting more information.
Himeko smiled at their reactions. She understood her companions' concerns; in fact, when she first heard the news, she had been wondering about the IPC's motives herself.
However, the Corporation soon released the news themselves, explaining the reason behind their actions.
"Regarding this matter, it's said that a deal was struck between the IPC and Madam Bai Ming. As the price, the Corporation needs to resolve these Stellaron disasters."
"Madam Bai Ming?"
Cerydra and Hysilens traded a glance.
So the Savior of Amphoreus had made a move? Then it wasn't surprising at all.
Although the world often felt that the Aeon of Elation she had become meant she wasn't exactly a 'proper' deity, in Cerydra's eyes, the Savior of Amphoreus was undoubtedly a benevolent god.
If it was the Savior, then such an action was perfectly understandable.
"It should be spreading across the net by now and hitting the trending tabs. You can look it up," Himeko added.
She knew these few had been busy studying how to play tiles and likely hadn't paid attention to today's breaking news.
After a quick confirmation, the group temporarily lowered their guard.
Since the announcement was made in Madam Bai Ming's name, the Corporation wouldn't be foolish enough to fake such a thing.
Still, even with the motive clarified, whether or not to accept the invitation was another matter.
"The Astral Express will not stand by and watch anyone in need of help. But beyond that, whether we accept the IPC's invitation to form an alliance is something we should discuss together."
Himeko didn't mind trailblazing the Star Rail again; after all, the fuel for the Express's journey through the cosmos was earned through repeated acts of Trailblazing.
Taking a slight detour on the path of Akivili wasn't a difficult choice. But helping is one thing; cooperating with the Corporation or forming an alliance was an entirely different topic.
Even if they accepted some funding from various factions, it didn't mean the Astral Express had to change its neutral stance.
The Express had only just set sail again, with only four people on board plus Pom-Pom, who couldn't leave the train. Entering a deep partnership with the Corporation at this stage wasn't exactly a wise move.
Then again, with the operations against the Stellaron disasters becoming such a grand spectacle, it might just draw the attention of Lord Ravager Celenova.
That was a risk they had to guard against. They needed to think carefully before taking action.
'Qingque' had no idea what had gotten into Diamond's head, but he had specifically gone through Jade to contact her. He wanted to ask about the rules and boundaries of making wishes.
Although Diamond hadn't said it outright, 'Qingque' could guess: the Corporation likely wanted to accumulate enough wishes—whether to trade them or keep them for themselves—as a convenient way to borrow the power of an Aeon.
But the fact that they had to specifically reach out to her for such a small thing felt... subtle.
It made 'Qingque' feel more and more that her status truly wasn't what it used to be.
However, 'Qingque' didn't really care about these factions collecting wishing opportunities or trading them.
After all, the upper limit of these wishes was always decided by her alone.
Whether to grant the wish, or to twist it, was also her call. She didn't mind the trading of wishes.
But if someone wanted to use such an opportunity to have her grant power for something like war profiteering, she'd turn around and give them a twisted wish instead, letting the wisher get exactly what they deserved.
Since the IPC had come knocking on her door, 'Qingque' figured she might as well make use of them.
She threw out some ambiguous statements, making the Corporation contribute some effort toward galactic peace—such as rescuing worlds sealed off by Stellaron disasters that had reconnected via Originium.
She even had the Corporation act under her banner. With her reputation spreading like that, her emotional value earnings would naturally reach a new level.
As for how exactly the IPC planned to execute it, 'Qingque' didn't care much. If they botched it, she'd just apply a heavy discount when it came time to fulfill the IPC's wish.
While the IPC was busy, 'Qingque,' who currently had nothing serious to do, was facing a silent, accusatory glare from the real Qingque.
"Oh? Is the 'Boss' back?"
"..."
Qingque stared at 'Qingque' with a resentful gaze, not saying a word.
When it came to an Aeon—especially the Arbiter of Myriad Distinctions, who held a rather unique significance for the Xianzhou—news of being able to actually make a wish spread through the Alliance incredibly fast.
On top of that, throughout the entire Luofu, only that one parlor was running the offline pilot for Celestial Jade.
As a result, Qingque hadn't enjoyed her peace for long before she was recognized.
As more and more people gathered at the parlor, they even had to deploy the Cloud Knights to maintain order.
At that point, how could Qingque, the center of attention as the 'Boss,' have the heart to relax and play tiles under those countless gazes? She had no choice but to leave the table and make a run for it.
Yet, even after leaving the parlor, there was no peace.
Just in that short span of time, her photo and name had already spread across the Luofu forums. Along the way, she felt passersby glancing at her from time to time, whispering things like "Look, it's the Boss."
It was a massive headache for someone like Qingque, who loved to blend in as a mediocre nobody.
She had initially thought about hiding out at the Divination Commission, since unauthorized personnel weren't allowed there. But unfortunately, Master Diviner Fu Xuan had taken the day off.
Without the pressure from Fu Xuan, and with Qingque becoming a sensation, the diviners all turned their gossip toward her.
The work groups and private messages were flooded with curious inquiries from her colleagues.
Now, she couldn't even go to the Divination Commission. If she did, she'd be caught and interrogated by the whole department.
And since Qingque didn't yet have the courage to face her parents directly, she had thought it over and came to the headquarters of Celestial Sparrow Entertainment.
And there, at the headquarters, she caught 'Qingque' playing tiles with someone else.
Qingque didn't speak. She just walked up to 'Qingque' and stared her straight in the eye, attempting to use her gaze to fiercely denounce this 'Heliobus' who had utterly pranked her!
Now, Qingque suspected that the "Heliobus" identity was a fake, too.
She had never heard of a Heliobus on the Xianzhou who was on good terms with the Arbiter of Myriad Distinctions.
Furthermore, the Arbiter of Myriad Distinctions herself had the ability to transform into others.
Add to that the fact that the first platform this person logged into wasn't a normal gaming site but such a special place, and it led Qingque to reasonably suspect that the person standing in front of her, wearing her own face... was that very same Arbiter of Myriad Distinctions who loved to wander around using other people's identities!
Being stared at like that—especially with the other girl wearing an expression that screamed, "I misjudged you!" and "How could you bully poor little Qingque!"—was honestly quite adorable.
So, 'Qingque' grinned.
While laughing, she reached out both hands and pinched Qingque's cheeks.
The round face was very soft and springy. 'Qingque' giggled as she rubbed the cute little round face, saying as she did:
"Are you sure you want to keep staring at me like that~? From today on, you've got an Aeon as your backer. You can spend the rest of your life lying flat, and people will be falling over themselves to give you money and take care of you."
"Mwoo-mwoo—"
With her cheeks being pinched and rubbed by 'Qingque's' hands, Qingque's attempt to speak turned into adorable muffled noises.
She tried to struggle, but unfortunately, she couldn't break free from those wicked hands.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL