"Alright, alright, Welt, you're a grown man—can't handle a little fan edit from the youngsters?"
Himeko calmly sipped her coffee and took the remote from his hand. "Just treat this story as a parallel universe version of yourselves. Nothing unacceptable about that, right?"
The four turned to her in unison: "Himeko, you're talking big because you weren't in it."
In the preview segment, Himeko was the only one who didn't appear. That blasted fictional historian—playing favorites, huh?!
The preview PV officially ended here, automatically transitioning to the next segment, Herta Space Station Arc:
["Maybe we came at a bad time, Blade."]
["…It's not safe here. You'd better activate SAM."]
["I… don't worry, I won't hold you back."]
Everyone knew what happened next. Under the Stellaron Hunters' operation, Stelle's body was created and implanted with a Stellaron.
"Hm?"
Stelle raised an eyebrow, sensing something off.
When she first woke up, she saw… Kafka and Silver Wolf, right?
Why were these two guys here instead?
Did these two know anything besides fighting? And shouldn't Kafka be using her Spirit Whisper to hypnotize her here—
Then, Stelle saw herself on the screen getting knocked out by a single sword strike from Blade, "forcibly shut down."
Stelle: …
"Pfft—"
March 7th was the first to lose it, clutching her stomach, tears streaming from laughter. "Stelle… did you offend this author or something? Didn't you say you were gently lulled to sleep by Kafka's soft words?"
"This contrast is just too much, hahaha—"
Stelle's mouth twitched. "This grudge, I'm keeping."
The scene continued. After a brief black screen, a moment from the preview PV appeared—when March 7th tried to perform CPR, Dan Heng pushed her aside: ["She's awake."]
["You okay? Can you hear me? Do you remember your name?"]
[March 7th leaned close to Stelle's face, her voice calm and serious: "You okay?"]
["…" Stelle didn't respond.]
["No reaction… Did the Voidranger attack damage her brain?" March 7th propped her chin. "Dan Heng, we need to get her to a safe place."]
[Stelle stiffly turned her neck and said, "I-I'm fine. Hi, I'm Stelle, zero years old…"]
[March 7th looked Stelle up and down, then turned to Dan Heng: "Dan Heng, this girl doesn't seem quite right in the head. She looks kind of silly, saying she's zero years old."]
"Defying the heavens!"
Stelle exploded, "Where's the author? Want to test how hard my bat is?!"
"Who's silly?! Isn't that a normal self-introduction?"
Dan Heng coughed lightly. "…To be fair, that kind of statement does match your usual mental state."
Stelle: "…"
"But… this March seems a bit off," Himeko said with interest, glancing at March 7th. "From the tone and demeanor of March in the video, she's quite different from the cute, beautiful girl we know."
March 7th blinked. "Eh? Is she?"
"Yeah, I noticed too. The March 7th here has a bit of Dan Heng's vibe—more aloof," Welt sharply pointed out the most noticeable change.
"Me? Aloof?"
March 7th thought for a few seconds, then her eyes widened with excitement. "Oh, oh, oh—I get what you mean! So, in this, I'm basically a March 7th-shaped Dan Heng?"
Dan Heng: "…If that helps you understand, sure."
March 7th cleared her throat, mimicking Dan Heng's calm and composed tone: "Ahem… I'm March 7th, the train's guard. If there's any danger, leave it to me!"
"Life and death, reality and illusion, all in a single thought. Cavern transformation, a dream shattered… Break!"
Dan Heng shook his head helplessly. "Mm… you learned well. Don't do it again."
Stelle: "Saved."
"Eh? When did you record that? Delete it now!"
[As they talked, the roar of Voidrangers suddenly echoed. A squad of Voidrangers seemed to have spotted them, immediately swinging their bladed arms in attack—]
["Everyone, get behind me!"]
[March 7th gave a light shout, her beautiful eyes narrowing. Cloud Piercer appeared in her hands, and with immense force, she smashed it down on the Voidranger's head!]
Everyone had seen the outcome of this scene, but they still couldn't help but twitch their mouths, finding it hard to comprehend.
[Stelle turned to Dan Heng: "Uh… shouldn't you help her? Like, with a bow or something?"]
Seeing this, Dan Heng remained calm on the surface, but his fist unconsciously clenched—what happened next would determine how his image held up in this universe.
["I don't use a bow."]
"Phew."
Hearing this, Dan Heng quietly sighed in relief. He should be safe then.
But the next second, a scene he could never have imagined appeared—
[Dan Heng pulled out a bronze gourd, chanting: "Life and death, reality and illusion, all in a single thought. Cavern transformation, a dream shattered!"]
[A water dragon burst from the bronze gourd, intercepting the swarm of Voidrangers on one side of the passage.]
It's over, Dan Heng thought.
"Pfft—hahahahaha!"
As expected, Stelle and March 7th immediately clutched their stomachs, laughing. "Dan Heng, you got nerfed so bad! If I'm not mistaken, that gourd belongs to Bailu, right?!"
"Is this the legendary 'Dragon Medicine Man' of the Xianzhou Luofu? So rare, so rare, hahaha…"
"Hahahahaha—"
Dan Heng helplessly rubbed his forehead and kept watching.
[With Dan Heng and March 7th's teamwork, the trio was temporarily safe. At this moment, Stelle suddenly spoke up: "May I ask, are you March 7th and Dan Heng from the Astral Express?"]
[The two exchanged a glance. Dan Heng coughed lightly: "Since you've heard of us, I'll keep this brief… (omitting 800 words of backstory)"]
["…In short, for your safety, you should stick with us for now."]
"Oh, oh, oh—this part feels right, just like back then! That's how the three of us formed a team!" March 7th clenched her small fists, looking excited. "What's that line again? Oh, right! 'The gears of fate have begun to turn'!"
Stelle casually slung her arms around their necks. "Exactly! This was the moment the galaxy's future quietly began to change!"
"Pfft, there you go bragging again."
Stelle and March 7th started roughhousing again, dragging Dan Heng along in the chaos. He shook his head helplessly without speaking, but a faint smile curved his lips, almost imperceptible.