Under Grey's threats and temptations.
Phantylia temporarily settled down and reluctantly agreed to cooperate with all kinds of experiments conducted by her and Herta.
After all, if she refused, neither of them had any intention of discussing human rights with a Lord Ravager of Destruction. They would simply use force.
Better to cooperate with some dignity.
"That's more like it. Be good now. Come on, let's get you a slightly bigger living space first."
Grey transferred Phantylia from the birdcage into a small room enclosed by a transparent force field.
It was around twenty square meters in size, with magical restraints and force-field bindings surrounding it as well.
"Feels much better, doesn't it?"
"..."
Phantylia felt that she had merely gone from being an exhibit to becoming a prisoner.
Still, a single-person prison cell was indeed more comfortable than a birdcage.
"Work hard. Depending on your contributions, we'll gradually improve your treatment... hmm."
"Next time we can switch you to an even bigger room. Oh, but if you want freedom of movement, you've still got a very long way to go."
The nanorobot nodded.
Before the reeducation process was fully complete, she had no intention of releasing Phantylia.
"We're going to study the structure of heliobi, as well as how the power of Destruction functions within living organisms."
"Hmm... oh right, I wanted to ask you something else."
Grey scratched her head.
"Do you know where the other Lord Ravagers are? We could capture them too and do some comparative analysis. It'd also stop them from causing trouble everywhere."
Faced with the demand to betray her comrades, Phantylia spoke with righteous indignation:
"I don't know!"
"Hmm?"
Grey tapped the birdcage in her hand.
"I really don't know!"
Phantylia panicked.
"The vanguard general originally assigned to attack the Xianzhou Alliance should have been Celenova. I merely wanted to try some other methods instead."
"As for Zephyro and the other Lord Ravagers, each of us carries out missions in different galaxies. We might not meet once in several hundred years. How would I know where they are?"
"True enough."
Both Herta and Grey looked somewhat disappointed.
"No matter. We can send people to search for them later. At worst, we'll just scan the cosmos one more time."
Amagi said.
"That said, the Antimatter Legion has vast numbers. Aside from the Lord Ravagers, most of them are merely mindless creatures."
"If they learn that Phantylia is imprisoned here, they may very well come cause some trouble."
"Whatever. Half of Sakura Empire's fleet is currently wandering around the Starskiff Haven shopping district anyway. If they think their lives are too long, they can come try."
Grey couldn't care less.
"Hm? Wait a second?!"
Suddenly, she remembered something.
"You said the Antimatter Legion?! That's not right!!"
Looking at the date, quite some time had already passed since the Starsea Empire expeditionary fleet arrived at the Xianzhou, exchanged diplomatic delegations, dealt with the IPC, and cleaned up the aftermath.
The state of the universe had undergone earthshaking changes. Even Phantylia, who originally planned to stir up chaos on the Xianzhou, had been captured.
"Himeko, Kiana, Bronya... stop fooling around on the Xianzhou already!!!"
"Time to get moving!!!"
...
One day later.
"Eh?! We're leaving already?!"
Kiana had a candied haw skewer in her mouth and carried an armful of Xianzhou snacks as she boarded the Astral Express alongside Himeko and the others.
"Where are we going? Pier Point? I still want to play those holographic arcade machines there some more..."
After taking down the IPC, everyone was basically living in cheat mode, changing their bank balances to whatever amount they wanted
They had been having an absolute blast on the Luofu.
"Our goal is to explore this universe, not stay in one place eating and drinking all day, Kiana."
Himeko knocked her lightly on the head.
"You all seemed to be having plenty of fun too..."
The paramecium puffed out her cheeks.
"But where are we going?"
"Hmm... Grey said we should head to Herta Space Station first."
Himeko marked a location on the star map.
"That's Madam Herta's private space station. Miss Asta is currently serving as acting station chief there, and she's still considering whether to join the Starsea Empire."
"The Commander said Herta Space Station might run into a bit of trouble recently, so he suggested we go take a look. It also gives us a chance to help Madam Herta and Asta."
"Bronya understands."
Bronya swiftly tapped the control interface several times and set the route.
Herta was currently busy researching a Lord Ravager together with Grey. Naturally, they couldn't allow someone to sneak an attack on her space station. In the future, it would become the Starsea Empire's forward scientific research base.
Rumble!!!—
The Astral Express slowly departed from the starskiff dock. After passing through the Jade Gate, it arrived in outer space.
[Warp Engine Ready]
[Coordinates Confirmed]
[5, 4, 3, 2, 1...]
Bzzzt!—
A flash of white light burst forth.
The Astral Express tore open a passage through the void and disappeared from its original location.
...
Elsewhere.
At Herta Space Station, on the outer platform of the Master Control Zone.
Asta sat in her chair, staring at the stars in silence for a while.
"Haaa..."
She flipped through the tablet Grey had given her page by page.
Stored within it were various introductory materials about the Starsea Empire, meant to help others quickly understand the nation.
Its scale, systems, territory, environment, and much more.
It even included complete holographic imagery and illustrated explanations.
Asta wasn't like Herta, who would immediately agree the moment she heard about a research project.
A major life decision like this required careful consideration.
"Hmm..."
She carefully read through the contents again. During this period, she had already reviewed them countless times.
It was a nation that truly came from another universe, possessing an almost utopian environment.
If the Aeon of Trailblaze, Akivili, connected the different galaxies of this universe, then the Starsea Empire connected the multiverse.
The difference in scale between the two sides exceeded more than a single order of magnitude.
She read through things that sounded like fantastical stories.
Wonderful and miraculous. It was obvious that life within the Starsea Empire was infinitely richer than life here. They seemed as though they would never grow bored, because there were always other worlds waiting to be explored.
"They've seen the stars of many different worlds..."
Asta gazed at the cosmos with a trace of envy.
To abandon everything she had known until now and join an unfamiliar nation would require tremendous courage.
Gazing at the tablet in her hands, however, she knew this might be the only opportunity in her life.
If she gave it up, she would probably remain on Herta Space Station, or return to her family and live out her days as an ordinary person, plain and uneventful.
When that time came, upon hearing of the Starsea Empire's universe-shaking feats, would she regret not having chosen a different life?
"Hmm..."
After finishing the materials for what must have been the countless time, she clenched her fist and finally made up her mind, preparing to contact them.
A researcher's report suddenly came through.
"Miss Asta, the Astral Express is requesting permission to dock at the platform."
"Oh, understood."
Asta blinked in surprise, then nodded.
It was a miraculous train that carried the power of the Aeon of Trailblaze, capable of traveling through the sea of stars.
The Astral Express had some ties with Herta and would occasionally stop at the space station.
"The Starsea Empire has also dispatched an advance team. They hope to conduct an inspection at the space station."
Not long after, another report came in from the researcher.
"Hmm? That's fine."
Asta didn't see any problem and approved it together.
"The Astral Express travels across countless worlds. If they get to see a civilization truly from another universe, they'll probably be delighted, right?"
"Perfect. I wanted to have another chat with them anyway."
Asta instructed the station staff to prepare to receive the guests in advance.
Hummm—
At the external docking platform of the space station.
A train with a black metallic exterior, classical in style yet tinged with science fiction, approached from the distant stars.
After entering the orbit of the Azure Star, it gradually decelerated and docked with the outer section of Herta Space Station.
Click—
The carriage door opened. A red-haired, golden-eyed woman wearing a gorgeous short white dress and a dark coat stepped onto the station first.
Her features were mature and beautiful as she warmly greeted the surrounding researchers.
Behind her, a pink-haired girl with short hair hopped down energetically.
Dressed in a light-colored jacket and short skirt, a camera hanging at her waist, she radiated youthful vitality.
"Come on, March. Let's go see Station Chief Asta."
Himeko beckoned, signaling March to follow.
"A lot of major events have happened in the universe lately... hmm..."
"I wonder how much Miss Asta knows?"
They had only taken a few steps.
Boom!!—
From not too far away, the roar of a warp engine suddenly resounded.
"Hey?! Who just warped in right in front of our landing point?! What are the odds?!"
"Slow down slow down slow down slow down!!!"
Boom!—
Another Astral Express—crafted by Vill-V and bearing the emblem of the Starsea Empire—burst out from the starry sky on the opposite side.
It dived downward from high above.
"What is that?! Another Astral Express?!"
The space station researchers were stunned.
Himeko and March were equally dumbfounded.
"Hi hi hi, Starsea Empire advance team requesting permission to land~"
The energetic voice of a white-haired girl rang out.
She glanced at the situation on the docking platform below, pointed downward, and poked the person beside her.
"Eh? Instructor Himeko, doesn't that person down there look just like you?"