---o---
Rider's mouth twitched. The frustration in her chest simmered for a long time, but she couldn't find the right words to retort.
She looked down at the two familiar faces before her. One was smiling so hard her eyes crinkled into crescents, the other wore a more restrained smile, but the curve of their lips held the exact same punchable quality.
Rider took a deep breath, swallowing the last bit of her indignation, and opened her arms to Bronya and Mei.
"I'm back."
The two of them crashed into her embrace almost simultaneously.
Bronya wrapped her arms around Rider's waist while Mei's arms went around her shoulders. They both hugged her with crushing force, as if trying to squeeze her into their very bones. Rider was squeezed so tight she could barely breathe, but she didn't push them away.
They buried their faces in the crook of Rider's neck, feeling the warmth radiating from her body. Her breath was warm, her heartbeat was real—this was no illusion.
Bronya's voice, muffled against Rider's shoulder, was very soft. "Welcome back."
Mei followed with the same four words, her voice even quieter than Bronya's.
Standing to the side, Kiana turned her head and quickly swiped at the corner of her eye with her index finger.
She sniffled, then stepped forward and squeezed into the huddle from the side, hooking her arms around the necks of Rider and Mei.
The four of them were crammed together in a tight, awkward tangle of limbs pressing against hair and elbows digging into ribs, but no one let go.
After a long while, Rider slowly released her arms.
She looked up towards the other side of the room. Theresa was standing a few steps away, her hands clasped before her, watching them quietly. Her eyes were red, her lips pressed into a thin line—her expression wasn't one of sadness, but more of a tender affection, brimming but held back.
Rider smiled and extended her arms towards Theresa, her tone teasing.
"Theresa, not going to come over for a long-awaited reunion hug?"
Theresa sniffled, wiped her face messily with the back of her hand, and managed to scrub away most of her tears. Then she broke into a little run and threw herself into Rider's arms.
"Welcome back!"
Her voice was muffled against Rider's chest, the words indistinct, but every syllable was heard clearly.
Rider raised a hand and patted Theresa's back, saying nothing.
After they separated, Theresa glanced at Fu Zhu's group on the other side of the room before looking back at Rider. "And they are?"
"My companions on the Astral Express, and also my saviors." Rider introduced everyone to Theresa.
The Trailblazer, Stelle, March 7th, and Himeko, her otherworldly counterpart. For every name announced, Theresa would give a nod to the corresponding person.
When she heard "the Astral Express is on a trailblazing journey across the entire universe," the eyes of Theresa's group lit up.
Seeing their interest, Himeko took over, recounting some of the planets the Express had visited and the sights they had seen on their journey, from the Xianzhou Luofu to Penacony, and even a few thrilling encounters where they nearly capsized. She spoke with an unhurried, elegant choice of words that was still full of charm.
Theresa was completely engrossed. Mei and Bronya had also moved closer, chiming in with questions about details from time to time. For a moment, the atmosphere in the room became lively.
The sound of footsteps came from the doorway.
Everyone turned their heads in unison.
Welt walked in front, with Tesla following half a step behind him as they entered the room.
The first thing Fu Zhu noticed was that Welt's left ear was a bit red, his shirt collar was askew, the hem was messily untucked from his belt, and his hair was no longer as meticulously styled as usual, with a few strands clearly having been tugged.
A grin spread across Fu Zhu's face.
Stelle's shoulders began to shake.
March 7th slapped a hand over her mouth.
The three of them exchanged a look. No one said a word, but the smiles on their faces were impossible to suppress. It was the first time in all the time they'd known Uncle Yang that they had seen the ever-composed elder look so disheveled.
Welt keenly caught their gazes. He let out two dry coughs and fumbled to tuck his shirt back in and straighten his collar. Then he reached out, wrapped an arm around Tesla, and pulled her in front of him to face the crew.
"This is my wife, Tesla."
Fu Zhu, Stelle, and March 7th shot up from their seats.
The three of them stood in a line, their backs ramrod straight, and spoke in unison—
"Hello, Auntie Tesla!"
The smile on Tesla's face froze for precisely 0.3 seconds.
Auntie?
In any other situation, anyone who dared to utter those two words would already be getting chased around the room by her.
But Welt had mentioned these kids to her before. During their time on the Express, he had come to see Fu Zhu, Stelle, March 7th, and Dan Heng as his own children. Faced with these juniors, Tesla managed to swallow the curse that had risen to her throat.
"Hello." She forced a smile, her voice a little stiff, then reached into her pocket.
She rummaged through her wallet, pulled out a bank card, and handed it over.
"I came in such a hurry, I didn't have time to prepare any meeting gifts." Tesla pushed the card forward, speaking quickly. "Take this for now, don't mind that it's not much."
Fu Zhu took the bank card and said his thanks. Stelle and March 7th followed suit, their grins so wide they couldn't hide them.
After everyone had gotten to know each other, Theresa clapped her hands and looked around the room.
"Since everyone has traveled so far to be here, how about I, as your host, invite you all to rest on Earth for a while?"
The Astral Express crew agreed almost in unison. They had been curious about Earth from the very beginning. Fu Zhu also held onto a final sliver of hope, wanting to confirm whether this Earth was his.
Just as everyone was getting up to leave, Fu Zhu noticed Kiana hadn't moved.
She stood where she was, hands behind her back, watching the others walk towards the door. Her feet seemed nailed to the floor, showing no intention of following.
Fu Zhu paused. "You're not coming with us?"
Kiana was taken aback for a moment, then she forced a smile. It was a bit too wide, and she couldn't hide the stiffness at the corners of her brow.
"Me… for certain reasons, I can't go to Earth."
Fu Zhu frowned.
Theresa's voice came from the side, much softer than before.
"I don't know if Welt told you about the Honkai, but Kiana's body contains ninety-nine percent of all the Honkai energy in the world." She paused. "If she were to return to Earth, the planet would be destroyed because it couldn't withstand it. So… she can only stay here at the moon base."
The room fell silent for a moment.
March 7th's mouth opened, her gaze falling on Kiana, her voice filled with heartache. "Then doesn't that mean she has to stay here all by herself forever?"
Kiana waved her hand and said with a smile that it was fine.
But everyone present could hear that her "fine" was said a little too quickly.
The air grew heavy.
A sense of regret hung on everyone's faces, and for a moment, no one could find the right words to break the silence.
Stelle's voice rang out in the quiet, her tone as casual as if she were commenting on the weather.
"If there's a problem, just solve it."
Everyone's gaze instantly shifted to her. Stelle turned her head, looked at Fu Zhu, her eyes shining brightly.
"Bro, it's time for you to bring out your Upper, Middle, and Lower Strategies!"
---o---
Author's PS: Sorry for the long delay. This book will be concluded in the next day or two. After this book is finished, my previous old book will also slowly resume updates. That old book is expected to be finished after the Amphoreus arc. Finally, I sincerely apologize to everyone!
Author's PS2: And finally, let me shamelessly plug my new book. This will be my last MC x Star Rail book; I won't write any more after this.
"What If the Protagonist of Star Rail was Steve"
Elio, the 'Slave of Destiny,' can see the future. But when he sets his meticulously crafted script in motion, he discovers that everything has changed.
"What do you mean Caelus melted down his baseball bat to forge a Netherite Sword?"
"What do you mean Caelus turned the Stellaron into a hand-held bomb with a ten-meter range and a three-kilometer blast radius? Isn't he afraid of dying?"
"What do you mean Caelus taught Nous what Redstone technology is? And the Masked Fools are spreading sheep-powered flying machines across the entire universe?"
"What do you mean Caelus used a Brittle Bones MOD to cure Entropy Loss Syndrome?"
Elio is starting to lose it. His script wasn't supposed to be like this!