Following the staff member to the cleaning area, Astro quickly completed his rinse.
The warm water washed away three days' worth of dust and fatigue. After changing into the clean casual clothes provided by the Space Station,
he finally looked somewhat presentable, though the mental shock was far from subsiding.
He hung his head, deep in thought, as he followed the staff member to the temporary lounge.
His mind kept echoing the mind-boggling titles "Ms. Welt" and "Mr. Herta."
Just as he turned a corner in the corridor, a petite figure suddenly darted out from his side at incredible speed!
"Watch out!"
Astro only had time to hear a crisp exclamation before being solidly bumped, staggering and nearly falling.
The figure that bumped into him also let out an "Ouch!" and stumbled back two steps.
He focused his gaze and saw a girl with healthy, wheat-colored skin.
She had neat white hair with a hint of blue gradient at the tips, her eyes filled with apology and a bit of urgency as she looked at him.
"Sorry, sorry! I didn't notice anyone here!"
The girl quickly apologized, speaking rapidly.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm... I'm fine."
Astro rubbed his sore shoulder and answered instinctively.
He looked at the energetic girl before him.
That inexplicable sense of familiarity surfaced again, but he still couldn't recall where he'd seen her.
Just then,
[Ding!]
A crisp notification sound rang in his mind.
Immediately, the game interface that had been grayed out automatically popped up, hovering over the character icon representing "Arlan (4-Star • Lightning • Destruction)."
A faint light glowed, and the icon actually changed from gray to a selectable, colorful state!
Astro's pupils contracted—his cheat ability... was reacting! Was it because of this girl?
Seeing him staring blankly at her without speaking,
the girl thought he was still angry. She quickly stood at attention and spoke clearly, as if reporting work:
"I'm truly sorry! I'm Arlan, a staff member of the Space Station's Security Department!"
"I was chasing an escaped Dimensional Praevaricator and ran too fast without watching where I was going! Are you injured?"
"Do you need to go to the Medical Room for a check-up?"
Ar... lan... Astro looked at this self-proclaimed Arlan, the energetic Security Department staff member (loli version).
Then he thought of the character icon in his mind that had just lit up, representing a steady and reliable young man... He opened his mouth, feeling countless points of absurdity, which ultimately turned into a deep sense of helplessness.
"It's fine, really fine."
He waved weakly.
"You... go ahead with your work."
"Thank you very much for your understanding!"
Seeing that he was indeed unharmed, Arlan visibly relaxed, apologized once more,
and then ran off like a gust of wind, continuing her Dimensional Praevaricator pursuit mission.
Astro stood in place, watching the direction the girl had disappeared.
He then glanced down at the now-lit Arlan icon in his mind.
Numb. Completely numb.
This world really is fucking toxic.
He forced himself to move his feet and followed the expressionless staff member forward.
The staff member led him to a simple temporary lounge.
After giving a few instructions—such as someone coming later to ask questions and not wandering around—they left.
As soon as the door closed, Astro eagerly immersed his consciousness fully into the game interface in his mind.
The icon representing Arlan still emitted a faint glow, standing out prominently among the array of grayed-out avatars.
It seemed that contacting the corresponding person could activate the icon. He confirmed this hypothesis.
So, what happens after clicking?
He prepared to touch the glowing Arlan icon to see what this damn cheat ability could pull off.
Woo—!!! Woo—!!!
Alarm sirens blared without warning!
Red warning lights flashed frantically in the lounge.
"Warning! Detected large-scale high-energy reactions approaching!"
"Warning! The Space Station's external barrier is under impact!"
"Antimatter Legion invasion! All non-combat personnel, proceed to Shelters immediately! Repeat..."
The electronic female voice from the broadcast mixed with the urgent alarms, making Astro's head buzz.
He froze in place, maintaining his poised-to-click posture, his expression rigid.
Antimatter Legion... invasion... Space Station... this familiar plot... "Holy shit..."
Astro couldn't help but exclaim, "Is this fucking... the very first episode of the story?!"
He remembered clearly—the game's opening was the Astral Express Space Station being raided by the Antimatter Legion, followed by the Astral Express Crew's arrival... BOOM!!!
A deafening roar came from outside the door, shaking the entire lounge violently.
Before Astro could react, his metal door bulged inward, deforming.
"Holy shit!!!"
Astro's pupils contracted sharply as he watched the seemingly sturdy door being forcibly smashed open from outside by an overwhelmingly brutal force!
The twisted door panel whistled past his head and slammed heavily into the wall behind him!
Amid the swirling dust, a massive figure exuding intense destruction and malice blocked the shattered doorway.
Its body was composed of dark metal and twisted energy, a crimson single eye gleaming with killing intent.
In its hand, it held a giant blade burning with eerie purple flames.
Void Trotter!
And not just one!
Through the broken door frame, shadowy figures could be seen—more Void Rangers surging through the corridor!
The Void Trotter let out an inhuman roar, its single eye instantly locking onto the only target in the room—Astro!
An immense sense of crisis snapped Astro out of his shock instantly!
Run! Must run!
Almost on instinct, he lunged backward to the side, scrambling toward a corner of the room in a desperate attempt to find cover.
But the Void Trotter had already raised its burning giant blade, destructive energy gathering once more.
This time, it was closer—inescapable!
The shadow of death had never felt clearer!
Damn! Just activated the cheat ability, and it's not even warmed up before I'm done for?!
An intense will to survive made him act almost recklessly.
He focused all his mental energy and slammed it toward the newly lit, faintly glowing Arlan icon in his mind!