---o---
"So… I thought you said you weren't going to get involved?"
March 7th stared at Wende with dead-fish eyes, demanding an explanation.
"Shhh… Can you really bear to watch Stelle get duped by someone else? What if she actually eats something she shouldn't…"
Wende quickly covered March's mouth, voicing the anxiety in his heart.
"He's right. Even if she doesn't eat anything strange, if she can't control herself and ends up smashing something, we'll be the ones paying for it," Dan Heng added with a firm nod of agreement.
"We just need to make sure we don't interfere with Stelle's choices. As for everything else… to be honest, I don't quite trust that 'Danshu' either. Why send Stelle a message now? The timing is far too coincidental," Welt analyzed rationally.
"Mmph… hmmph… wah! Even if that's true, are you three really not going to arouse suspicion by sitting here in plain sight, reading newspapers?"
Pushing Wende's hand away, a slightly flushed March wiped her mouth before gesturing at the three men sitting on a long bench in the exact same pose, holding identical newspapers.
"Relax, Stelle won't notice. Besides, I've already checked the surrounding area. No one else will notice us either," Wende said, shaking his head with absolute certainty.
"Huh? What makes you so sure?" March's eyes widened in confusion, unable to comprehend Wende's confidence.
"It's simple. Traffic has been restored, so Changle has returned to normal operations. And as it happens, I just ran into an acquaintance."
Wende took out his phone and handed it to March.
"Divine Doctor, we've already secured the perimeter of this area in secret. Rest assured, the Third Squad of the Cloud Knights guarantees we will support the Astral Express crew in completing your mission!"
"Understood. Thank you, Captain!"
"Hiss…"
March handed the phone back to Wende, sucking in a sharp breath.
"Is that the Cloud Knight captain we met back at Cloudford?"
"Mhm. They were just transferred from Cloudford to Changle. I took the opportunity to add his contact information and asked them to coordinate with my work."
"But how can you command them?"
"Well, about that…"
Wende glanced at Welt, who was sitting beside him, and just smiled and shook his head.
Actually, having the Xianzhou's help is pretty nice.
---o---
At a secret surveillance point exclusive to the Changle Cloud Knights…
"Buddy? Are you here to watch this area too?" a man in plainclothes asked in surprise, looking at the Cloud Knight who had appeared behind him out of nowhere.
"That's right… I was just transferred over. Your token?"
"Don't draw your weapon! I'm friendly! I was sent by the Divine Foresight Residence to monitor this place… Here's my token…"
The plainclothes agent immediately ducked, hands on his head, and presented his token.
"Oh, so you're one of us… We are here by order of the General's honored guests, the members of the Astral Express, to help manage the situation here. These are our deployment orders."
"I see… Have you reported this to the General?"
"The General just told us to follow their lead…"
"As expected of the Divine Foresight General…"
---o---
"Even if other people won't notice, why are you so sure Stelle won't? If she finds out you're still secretly protecting her, she'll probably be very disappointed, right?" March asked, raising a hand.
"Relax, Stelle won't notice," Wende said again, shaking his head.
"Why not?" March tilted her head, completely baffled.
"This is a photo of Danshu…"
"Hiss… Okay, yeah, she definitely won't notice us…"
March stared at Wende in horror. So this is… a parent who understands their child on every level? He's even got a death grip on Stelle's XP! A mature big sister with that kind of aura… Stelle truly doesn't stand a chance!
"Newspaper? Want one?" Dan Heng offered March the last remaining paper.
"Er, no thanks. I brought a novel."
"Oh…"
---o---
"Waaah, Big Sister Danshu has it so rough! Being blind must be so painful!"
Dogzi wailed with feigned sympathy, watching as Danshu recounted her past on the screen.
[You'd better not get tricked by a mature big sister.jpg]
[Based on past experience, Dogzi is about to get scammed out of his shorts.]
[But she's so pitiful… and so pretty, and her voice is so nice… hehehe…]
[Hey, person above me, wipe your drool! It's dripping on my head!]
[You're just thirsty for her body! You're shameless!]
[Tsk… Mods, can you please ban the spoilers? Don't ruin the fun for the rest of us!]
"I don't care! Big Sister Danshu is so gentle! How could she possibly trick me!" Dogzi crossed his arms, refusing to believe it. "Her voice is so gentle, she helps the Xianzhou analyze prescriptions, she gives medicine to others, and she even asked us to deliver it for her so she wouldn't bother the other doctors. Isn't she 100% a good person?!"
[That's right, Danshu is a good person. Stop projecting your PTSD onto everything!]
[Exactly! Just because you got tricked by one big sister doesn't mean you'll get tricked by all of them!]
[Go, Dogzi! Prove them wrong!]
[I almost believed you guys (Smirks)]
"See! Danshu is definitely a good person!"
Seeing the bullet comments gradually turning in his favor, Dogzi's confidence surged.
"Let's go! Time to deliver the medicine!"
---o---
"Hiss, just as I thought. She got duped by another pretty big sister into running errands!" March whispered, watching as Stelle walked off with a pouch in hand, a look of "I knew it" on her face.
"And that," Wende said, closing his newspaper with a helpless sigh, "is precisely why I couldn't just stay away."
"She'll be fine after she gets a few harsh beatings from society."
"Hiss… Dan Heng, that sounds really cold coming from you."
"Alas, I suppose this is what they call growth."
"Uncle Yang, don't just sigh philosophically!"
March put her hands on her hips, looking helplessly at the three grown men before her. How come these three feel even less reliable than Stelle does?!
"March, don't worry. We just have to wait here," Wende said, turning to glance at a pavilion about a hundred meters away before patting her shoulder reassuringly.
"Hmph… Fine…"
---o---
"What's this…?"
Stelle stared in surprise at the scene before her. A few mischievous, bratty kids… bullying a little girl?
"What are you looking at, you short-lived outlander!" one of the kids shouted at Stelle, seeing her stare. His tone was arrogant and domineering.
"Tsk…"
They hardened. Her fists hardened.
And so, under the terrified gazes of the three bratty kids, Stelle drew her flame lance.
---o---
"Uh, buddy? Should we get involved in this?" the Cloud Knight asked, utterly astonished as he watched Stelle scare three children to tears with a single move. He turned to the plainclothes agent beside him.
"Nah, this is normal," the agent said, shaking his head as if he'd seen it all before. "As long as she's not rummaging through trash cans, it's nothing to worry about."
"Oh… oh."
---o---