Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

Shortly after choosing their rooms and enjoying a brief moment of intimacy with the captain, Pam's voice came over the car's loudspeaker. Kiana and the captain exchanged a smile, then held hands and entered the observation cabin together.

Inside the observation car, Himeko began the final exploration meeting after everyone had arrived. After briefly explaining the destination and important points, Himeko concluded the meeting.

While Pam was busy preparing for the train jump, Kiana found a corner where she wouldn't be disturbed and sat down, while gently patting the sofa with her right hand to signal the captain to sit next to her.

Then she saw March 7th still standing nervously in the center of the observation car, muttering encouragement to herself. Based on their earlier conversation, she learned that March 7th was trying to test her ability to stay upright during a war leap without falling. She said this was her third attempt, and all her previous attempts had ended in failure.

Of course, standing on open ground is strictly forbidden during jumps, a point Pam repeatedly emphasizes before each jump. However, March 7th seems unwilling to heed Pam's advice and continues to stand on open ground as if it were nothing.

Kiana could only silently wish her success. After turning her gaze away, Kiana leaned against the captain's chest and looked out the window at the boundless starry sky.

The captain felt the soft body in his arms and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. His left hand naturally rested on Kiana's waist, and he looked tenderly at Kiana who was leaning on his shoulder.

Suddenly, Kiana seemed to remember something, looked up at the captain, and asked.

"Speaking of which, what will happen to Ai-chan after you take in Hyperion?"

"Nothing will happen."

The captain responded while stroking Kiana's head.

"After we take her in, either Ai-chan will continue to steal her electricity inside the Hyperion, or I'll release her and let her join us."

"I see. Then let's keep her in the Hyperion."

The captain remained silent in response to Kiana's reply, simply continuing to stroke her head, savoring the soft, cloud-like texture of her hair against his palm. Occasionally, he could feel Kiana swaying her head along the path of his strokes, letting out soft, contented purrs.

"She really is becoming more and more like a kitten!"

"That's right~ I'm the captain's personal little kitten~"

As she spoke, Kiana let out a series of meows, and the captain vaguely seemed to see a tail wagging happily behind Kiana.

Watching the two interacting intimately in the distance, March 7th inexplicably felt stuffed. So she quietly walked over to Walter and asked softly.

"Uncle Yang, have Kiana and the Captain always been this lovey-dovey?"

"As far as I know, after the calamity in my hometown ended, Kiana and the captain officially became a couple and they would often ignore others and become intimate. However, even after many years, it is quite remarkable that their relationship is still so close."

"Speaking of which, they've been together for a long time, haven't they? Why haven't we seen them get married and have children yet, Uncle Yang?"

"Regarding this issue, I won't go into too much detail here because it involves multiple reasons. In March, all you need to know is that it's not that they don't want to get married and have children, but that they can't get married and have children right now."

"Of course, marriage and childbirth are not necessarily combined in our area. There are also many young people who do not plan to have children after marriage. They want more of a sense of ceremony. Due to their work, they want to hold a grand wedding with a sense of ceremony, which was a luxury for them before."

"But thinking about it carefully, their work should have officially ended by now, otherwise they wouldn't be taking this spontaneous trip as a couple. Am I right, Uncle Yang?"

Welt opened his mouth but couldn't say what he wanted to say. He also couldn't bring himself to reveal Kiana and the others' true purpose for their trip. Besides, in a sense, March 7th was right. He decided to let March 7th continue to misunderstand for the time being.

Why did this unknown entity, the Unified Will, seek out Kiana? Why did it make this deal with her? The fewer people who know the reasons before figuring them out, the better. Besides, there's really no need to tell the train crew about this. Although they're all nameless passengers, this matter is ultimately Earth's own affair, and I don't want these new companions to worry too much about things concerning their homeland.

As Pam's voice rang out again over the train's loudspeaker, the Star Train finally entered the jump phase. As the train body gradually emitted a blue light, the stars outside the windows gradually turned into streaks of light and flashed past the train.

Countless stars transformed into a tunnel of light, through which the train weaved. Time seemed to stretch out infinitely, yet also compress it infinitely. The immense inertia of the jump caused everyone present to lean backward, thankfully the sofas behind them catching them from their impending fall. But one person crashed heavily to the ground—March 7th, who had sought to push her limits.

As the train slowly pulled up beside a planet covered in ice and snow, the jump journey continued smoothly, though Himeko couldn't help but feel a little generous looking at the planet before her.

"This is the planet we're embarking on this exploration journey; it's called Yalilo-VI. But compared to its grandeur a thousand years ago when it first connected with the galaxy, Yalilo-VI has changed so much!"

"According to the records in the library, a thousand years ago, Yalilo-VI had a pleasant temperature and a beautiful environment, making it a perfect place for vacation and tourism."

Dan Heng explained from the side, "It's probably because something happened over the past thousand years that this planet has changed from a tourist destination to what it is today."

"I'm afraid this pioneering journey won't be easy."

Himeko concluded that at the same time, Pam, having completed the jump, returned from the engine room to the observation cabin, but judging from his serious expression, it seemed that he had some bad news to tell everyone.

"Space readings are abnormal! Orbit stability has decreased by 12%! Docking schedule has been changed; the seven-day docking period at this station is now indefinite."

"Indefinitely?"

Kiana looked at Pam with a puzzled expression.

"Indefinitely! Until the anomaly is eliminated."

"To use a regular land-based train as an analogy, it's like the tracks suddenly breaking, leaving a bottomless abyss below. In that situation, the only option is to apply the emergency brakes."

Pam took over Himeko's explanation and added to it.

"Forcing our way forward could lead to terrible consequences!"

"It's happening again. Needless to say, the cause of this star orbit anomaly is probably also..."

“The preliminary test results are in,” Walter continued, picking up where March 7 left off. “The root of the anomaly is still the star core.”

"Star Core".

Upon hearing the familiar name, Xing murmured.

"That's right, it's the same substance as the star core implanted in your body."

"So what exactly is a star core?"

“There are many mysteries surrounding the star core, even the Black Tower hasn’t fully deciphered it,” Himeko explained reassuringly. “However, you don’t need to worry. This isn’t the first time we’ve encountered a situation where our flight path is blocked by the star core. Even if we don’t understand the fundamental principles of the star core, there are still ways to counteract its effects.”

"The only thing that can be confirmed is that the impact of the star core will bring about drastic changes to civilization and ecology, as well as spatial distortion phenomena such as rifts. The reason why Yalilo-VI has become such an icy planet is probably inseparable from the influence of the star core."

"According to our conjecture, the star core is a scourge sown by a star god and planted in various worlds. Without eradicating the source of the calamity, there is no way to talk about [expansion]."

"What Himeko means by that is..."

"It means the train crew has work to do."

On March 7th, Hoshi answered Himeko's question on her behalf, while Himeko pondered the question and looked around at everyone.

"I hope to entrust Kiana's expedition this time to you, March 7, Xing, and Danheng. The purpose of the journey is simple: to find the star core that has brought calamity to this world and caused spatial distortion, bring it back to the train, and leave the rest to us. As for the captain, I have another task for him, so I will not arrange for him to accompany you on this expedition."

Kiana couldn't help but feel a little disappointed after hearing Himeko's arrangement, but since it was Himeko's plan, Kiana could only accept it silently.

Of the others, March 7th was the most excited. After quickly packing their supplies, the group set off. Just then, Himeko, having finished assigning tasks to the captain, called out to Kiana, who was about to depart.

"Kiana, I hope you won't use your overwhelming power during this expedition. I want you all to have an unforgettable experience on this journey, and for March and the others to experience more things and develop teamwork. That's the most important goal of this expedition."

Kiana looked at Himeko without speaking. At this moment, words were unnecessary; Kiana understood Himeko's thoughts. She nodded heavily to Himeko and then boarded the landing pod to begin her first pioneering journey.