Chapter 9: Joining the Astral Express

"By the way~ can you give us your beacon address? That way, we can stay in touch anytime~"

March 7th waved her phone in the air. Pei Guang instinctively patted his body and checked his system inventory as he looked at her phone, but unfortunately, he didn't have anything like that.

"This… I don't think I have one?"

"Sigh…"

March 7th sighed, then pulled out a pink phone from her pocket. "I won this in a lottery before. If you don't mind…"

"I don't mind! I don't mind! Real men love pink!"

The pink phone made Pei Guang feel empowered. As a macho man, playing games naturally required choosing the manliest color—pink. He wouldn't feel satisfied if it weren't pink enough.

"I didn't know… you actually have a soft side!"

March 7th widened her eyes in disbelief as she looked at him. She had thought Pei Guang might be a little reluctant but would use it temporarily. She never imagined he would accept it so easily.

"But do you know how to use this thing?"

Hearing her question, Pei Guang started fiddling with the phone. "Not bad… More advanced technology, but it's still based on the same smartphone design. Hmm… like this… and this. Hey, March~ give me a smile?"

"No smile!"

Hearing "give me a smile," she instinctively reacted. With Pei Guang's current photography skills, if he took her picture, it would just be another ugly shot to add to the collection.

"What a shame that NPCs are forbidden to take pictures…"

Seeing Pei Guang's slightly disappointed expression, March 7th couldn't help but feel amused. But she didn't forget the main point: "By the way, are you interested in joining the Astral Express to explore the unknown together?"

Hearing this invitation, he immediately agreed: "I knew it! This was just the beginner's tutorial. Now that the main storyline has appeared, there's no reason not to do it!"

As he spoke, Pei Guang got up, ready to take action, but Dan Heng, who was standing nearby, spoke up: "No need to rush. The Astral Express will be staying at the Herta Space Station for three days. You can take some time to rest first. And don't worry, we have a partnership, so we'll be returning here regularly for supplies."

Pei Guang nodded as he listened. "I see. The main storyline won't start for three more days. What a pity! If only I could time jump straight to the start of the main story. But maybe there's a hidden ending I can unlock in the meantime?"

"A hidden ending?"

Although Pei Guang's words were still confusing, March 7th had taken the opportunity while he was unconscious to brush up on some gaming knowledge: terms like NPC, favorability, and hidden endings were now clear to her. The only thing she couldn't figure out was which game he was talking about. Even when she tried searching for it, she couldn't find any information on it.

Pei Guang pondered, "There should be an option where I refuse to board the train. Then, I would live a peaceful life here, only to hear about you guys getting into trouble later, or maybe even that the universe is about to be destroyed—a bad ending."

"?"

A question mark popped up in March 7th's mind, while Dan Heng quietly made a mental note of Pei Guang's words. In this universe, there were indeed beings with the ability to foresee the future. If it were anyone else, he might have dismissed such words as a joke, but with Pei Guang…

"Can't you say something nicer? This beautiful girl here would die?? No way! You have to give me a better outcome!"

Seeing the interaction between those two, Dan Heng also breathed a sigh of relief. However, in his view, Pei Guang and March 7th seemed to have a dynamic of mutual restraint.

On the bed, Pei Guang stretched his body, and after confirming that he felt fine, he turned to Stelle with an invitation: "We have three days before the main storyline starts. Want to do some side quests together?"

Before Stelle could respond, March 7th quickly cut in: "No way, she has been invited by Ms. Herta to participate in some confidential experiments. But if you invite me~ I wouldn't mind accompanying you around."

Pei Guang looked at March 7th curiously: "An NPC is willing to follow me on quests? Did I max out your favorability?"

March 7th shook her head and swayed: "Not even close! My favorability has levels—hostile, unfamiliar, friendly, and warm. As for you, hmm… friendly!"

Hearing these settings, Pei Guang suddenly understood: "I see, saving the damsel in distress only got me to the 'friendly' level. So, if I max it out, can I hold hands and maybe kiss…"

"?"

March 7th's face turned a bit red.

"Hey, hey, hey!!!"

March 7th hurriedly interrupted Pei Guang's thoughts, loudly covering up her inner emotions: "To think that far? Sorry! Not in a hundred attempts. At most, at most… A hug! You can aim for that first!"

"So difficult… Fine, I'll work on it slowly…"

Pei Guang set himself a small goal—to max out March 7th's favorability. Of course, as a gamer, he couldn't just focus on that. He also needed to raise the favorability of other important NPCs, and he wanted to exchange information with the Trailblazer to see if she was also trapped in the game.

If she was, then the two of them would be bound by fate~ But since Stelle would be busy with experiments later, Pei Guang didn't want to waste time. In three days, he could level up by grinding monsters every day. Besides, this space station was huge, and many areas were still occupied by the Antimatter Legion. What does that mean? It means there are plenty of side quests!

Thinking about all this, Pei Guang got right to it. March 7th, who couldn't sit still, felt her instincts telling her that following him would definitely lead to some fun, so she tagged along.

Pei Guang's plan was simple: wander around and see if there were any side quests, complete some side tasks, slay some wild monsters, and gather materials, equipment, and money. Then, he could trade for a new weapon.

As for the wooden sword, well… it felt great, and it was handy for executions, but as a player, there's no way he'd stick with a starter weapon with minimal damage. Naturally, the more weapons, the better, and the cooler, the better. His online friends had already told him that his character was a patchwork of many games, so getting a Yama sword wouldn't be too much, right?

While lost in thought, March 7th curiously asked Pei Guang, who was walking beside her, "By the way, how do you usually find side quests? Teach me, will you?"

After gathering some game-related information and observing Pei Guang's previous behavior, she had become curious about the possibility of finding quests in reality.

Pei Guang looked at the people coming and going in the space station and said, "If there's a quest, just go ask. For example, that guy over there... that... Arlan, right? Look at him, with his furrowed brows, deep in thought, with ideas but hesitant to speak—he definitely has a quest. Unfortunately, this game is too realistic. It would be so much easier for players if quests were marked with an exclamation point."

Pei Guang then demonstrated how to find a quest by approaching Arlan: he was a short guy and a member of the Herta Space Station. Thus it was decided that Pei Guang's first target was him.