A purple energy sphere materialized out of thin air, its powerful energy distorting the surrounding space. After a blurry shimmer, a phantom in purple armor curled up and floated in front of Felicity.
Then—
It smoothly crashed to the ground.
The motion was seamless.
Felicity, the instigator, merely let out a lazy yawn and fiddled idly with her fingers.
"Hmm... This makes the fifteenth. Should be enough to treat Arlan's wounds, right?"
She wasn't entirely sure. After all, she rarely used this ability—draining life force from others to heal someone else sounded like a skill only a villain would employ.
"The enemies along this path seem mostly cleared now. Time to check on Arlan."
Felicity stretched lazily.
These low-level minions posed no threat to her life. She didn't even need to lift a finger—the giant flower she summoned could drain the enemies' life force and replenish her own.
She recalled Dan Heng and March 7th mentioning that these identical armored monsters belonged to the Antimatter Legion, and above them was a formidable figure known as... the Lord Ravager?
With a name like that, they must have plenty of methods to annihilate her.
The question was how to get their attention. Would killing a few more Antimatter Legion members make them take notice?
Felicity pursed her lips and cut short her wandering thoughts.
She had reached the monitoring room.
Arlan's presence was inside.
...
Arlan hid in the monitoring room, holding his breath and focusing intently.
His arms and legs were wrapped in emergency bandages, but the originally white gauze was now stained with vivid red.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, his nerves stretched to the breaking point.
Following Asta's orders, he had covered the evacuation of all staff members until the last one boarded the elevator.
He stayed behind alone to hold the line, never retreating even when faced with endless enemies. His skills were exceptional—a heavy sword in hand, he cut down one foe after another.
But the Voidrangers were simply too numerous, far too many, swarming forth like locusts in relentless waves, charging forward with reckless abandon.
Left with no other choice, he had to temporarily lock down the elevator access and then hide alone in the monitoring room.
If no one came to his aid, he would probably die.
*Tap, tap, tap.*
Was that a sound?
Even at his limit, Arlan forced himself to raise his heavy sword, enduring the tearing pain from the wound in his dominant hand, and stared intently at the entrance of the monitoring room.
"Hello~"
A clear, cheerful female voice rang out first, sounding far too carefree for someone moving through a battlefield.
Felicity poked her head through the doorway of the monitoring room and immediately spotted the wary Arlan standing there. With a bright, beaming smile, she greeted him,
"Good morning, Mr. Arlan~"
"Miss Felicity..."
Seeing who it was, Arlan finally let out a sigh of relief, feeling inexplicably reassured.
He had heard from Miss Asta that Felicity was a friend of Madam Herta. Anyone capable of being friends with Madam Herta was certainly no ordinary person, and the fact that she had strolled over to him as if taking a casual walk was the best proof.
"Could you tell me what exactly happened?"
Felicity walked over to Arlan's side, raised her hand, and a green orb of light coalesced in her palm.
"Don't move—I'll heal you."
Although she had already asked Dan Heng and March 7th about what happened, Arlan was the head of the station's security department and might know more.
"I... don't have any clues either. The Legion's arrival was very strange... The station's defense systems suddenly failed, and shortly after, those guys showed up."
Arlan shook his head as he replied. Midway through his explanation, his eyes dimmed slightly, and he paused before continuing,
"Miss... Station Head Asta immediately organized the evacuation of the staff. I was supposed to cover everyone's retreat, but... I never expected to let my guard down in the end."
"I see."
Felicity nodded gently.
The healing was nearly complete, so she withdrew her hand and asked curiously,
"How do you feel?"
"I'm... healed?"
Hearing this, Arlan instinctively shook his dominant hand and realized the tearing pain from earlier had vanished without a trace.
He tore off the bandage—the wound had healed completely, without even a scar left behind.
"This..."
"Since you're healed, lead the way. Let's regroup with Asta."
Felicity urged.
"Understood, but... the elevator access is temporarily locked down, and the decryption key isn't with me..."
Arlan scratched his head awkwardly.
"Then let's find the Astral Express crew. They were entrusted by Asta to come support you—they should have that key or whatever."
Felicity waved her hand dismissively, completely unconcerned about being trapped in this area.
"I understand."
Arlan nodded.
The two set off immediately, heading straight for the atrium where the elevator was located. Along the way, any Voidrangers they encountered were easily suppressed and defeated by Felicity's giant flower, and they soon reached the atrium.
"Hey, Dan Heng, use your all-purpose and inexplicable knowledge to think of something!"
From a distance, March 7th's lively yet clumsy voice could be heard clearly. The pink-haired girl cast a pleading look toward Dan Heng.
"I don't know how to fix this."
Dan Heng shook his head decisively.
This was a space elevator connecting various sections of the space station, running perpendicular to the equator of The Blue. It would be truly bizarre if random knowledge happened to include repair methods for such a thing.
Felicity quietly approached from behind March 7th, a playful impulse suddenly arising within her. She leaned close to March 7th and asked in a soft, curious voice:
"Did you break it?"
"Waaah! It wasn't me!"
Startled by the sudden voice, March 7th's body tensed up. She stumbled a few steps toward Stelle before reflexively retorting in frustration: "It must have been the Antimatter Legion!"
"Pfft..."
Felicity couldn't hold back a chuckle. She patted March 7th's shoulder and comforted her with a smile:
"Alright, alright, I believe you."
"Wow! How come you walk without making any sound!"
March 7th patted her chest to calm herself down, then turned to Felicity with a mix of anger and urgency, complaining:
"At least say something to let me know you're there next time!"
"This elevator hasn't been operational since before we arrived. Do you have any solutions?"
Dan Heng inquired.
Only when he saw Arlan standing obediently behind Felicity did he finally lower his guard. Even he hadn't detected Felicity's approach - truth be told, the moment she spoke, he had nearly drawn his weapon.
"Well, about that... let's have Arlan explain."
Felicity blinked, and being the type to avoid trouble, she immediately took a step back, positioning Arlan in front of her.