"Huff—! Huff—!"
Stella supported herself with her hands on her knees, panting heavily in a connecting passage of the Space Station, her small face flushed red.
Having sprinted all the way from a remote storage room, the distance was not short. This body, with only Level 1 basic physical fitness, was clearly reaching its limit, and her lungs were sounding an alarm like a broken bellows.
"As expected... a Level 1 character's stamina bar is as flimsy as paper!"
Stella felt like crying but had no tears. Her legs felt like they were filled with lead, and every lift was incredibly difficult.
Seeing the Astral Express docking port not far ahead, this stretch of road felt like a natural chasm.
"No! If this continues, I'm really going to miss the train!"
At the thought of Pom-Pom potentially broadcasting "Looking for missing passenger Stella," or March 7th imagining her being swallowed by some strange Curio, Stella shuddered.
In her desperation, she had a flash of inspiration: "That's it! Switch characters! Switch to someone with better stamina... or someone who runs faster!"
No sooner said than done!
With a quick thought, familiar pale blue data points instantly shimmered on her body, and her form rapidly changed and shrank within the light.
As the light dissipated, a little girl with short white hair, cute dragon horns on her head, a long slender dragon Tail dragging behind her, and wearing clothes with distinct Xianzhou characteristics appeared—it was the Bailu form she had recently obtained!
Stella (Bailu) looked down at her new, seemingly shorter little legs, then moved her limbs, a giant question mark appearing over her head:
"Strange.. Why didn't I choose a higher-level Clara, or March 7th, and instead chose Bailu?"
She felt a hint of confusion over her choice.
But some inexplicable intuition told her: This is the one! These short legs are destined to run incredibly fast!
"Whatever! Intuition reigns supreme!"
Stella (Bailu) nodded vigorously, clenched her small fists, and took a deep breath—
"Chaaarge!"
In the next second, she started her second charge toward the train with those literal "short legs"!
And wouldn't you know it! Whether it was psychological, or Bailu's body truly had a talent for short bursts of speed, or perhaps the buff from the "belief in returning home (to the train)," Stella (Bailu) felt her steps were exceptionally light and her push-off was powerful, even creating a whistling wind as she ran!
Those two short legs moved so fast they almost left after-images!
"Oh oh oh! So fast! Bailu, you're amazing!"
While sprinting, Stella (Bailu) gave her new skin a thumbs-up in her heart.
——————
The Astral Express docking port.
"Calculating the time, that girl should be here by now, right?"
March 7th held her phone, occasionally standing on her tiptoes to peer down the end of the passage, her mouth pouting, a bit worried and a bit impatient.
"She couldn't have really been snatched away by some trash can Curio that swallows people, right? Or did she get lost in some sector where dangerous experiments are being conducted?"
Just as she was considering whether to actually contact the Security Department to broadcast a search for the person—
"Wait for me—! I'm here—!!"
A crisp, slightly babyish shout that cracked a bit due to urgency, accompanied by the rapid "patter-patter-patter" of footsteps, came from the distance.
March 7th was startled and turned toward the sound.
At the end of the passage, a small white dot was enlarging at an alarming speed!
It was a tiny figure with prominent dragon horns, wagging a little Tail, and running so fast her hair was practically flying, charging toward her like a bolt of lightning!
"Stella?"
March 7th squinted, barely recognizing who it was.
"You've changed your appearance again? This time it's..."
She didn't get to finish her sentence.
Because the high-speed sprinting Stella (Bailu) had her full attention on the train and March 7th ahead, completely failing to notice what was under her feet—
An empty, crushed energy drink can left on the floor by some careless researcher.
Snap!
The small dragon foot stepped squarely and precisely onto that round can!
"Aieee—!!"
Under the effect of tremendous inertia, Stella(Bailu), having stepped into the "trap," instantly lost her balance!
She let out a startled cry and pitched forward uncontrollably, but because she was going so fast, instead of falling, it was more like... flying low, skimming the ground!
Like a launched, white, humanoid cannonball with horns and a Tail, she flailed her arms and legs, crashing straight toward March 7th, who was standing near the train door!
"W-Wait! Why are you flying at me?! Aaaaah—!! Stop! Stop! Brake!!"
March 7th saw this "flying disaster" clearly and was scared witless. She wanted to dodge, but her body couldn't keep up with her eyes, and she only had time to let out a series of terrified screams.
Bang—!!!
A dull thud sounded, accompanied by two overlapping cries of pain.
Stella (Bailu)'s hard little draconic head delivered a solid, precise headbutt right into March 7th's defenseless, soft stomach!
"Oof—!"
March 7th instantly felt as if her internal organs had shifted, and she saw stars. The massive impact knocked her off her feet, and together with the colliding Stella (Bailu), they turned into a tangled "pink-and-white ball" and flew backward!
And the direction they were flying was exactly toward Stelle, who was standing inside the train door, curiously poking her head out to see what was happening!
"Hmm? What's that sound... Waaaaah!!!"
Stelle only saw an unidentified object whistling toward her and had no time to dodge.
Thud—!!
"Ouch—!"
The three of them were like bowling pins, stacking perfectly together on the soft carpet of the train's corridor.
At the very bottom was Stelle, who had suffered this unforeseen disaster and served as a human cushion, her face full of resignation.
In the middle was the victim, March 7th, who had been hit by the headbutt and was still rolling her eyes while rubbing her stomach.
On the very top was the culprit, Stella (Bailu), whose head was spinning with swirling circles in her eyes as she lay on March 7th's stomach.
A perfect three-tier "human pyramid"!
"Stella—!!!"
Having caught her breath, March 7th's anger instantly outweighed her pain.
She grabbed Stella (Bailu), who was lying on her stomach and still dizzily shaking her head, and used both hands to fiercely knead that baby-fat-filled, dazed little dragon girl face like she was working dough!
"You brat! Those short legs move pretty fast, don't they! This isn't how you throw yourself into someone's arms! Do you have any idea how much your dragon horns hurt! You almost knocked my breakfast out of me!"
March 7th "accused" her while kneading, but her movements were less of a punishment and more like she was taking the opportunity to rua a super-rare, limited-edition dragon plushie.
"I'm sorry... I was really wrong... I won't do it again... I can't breathe..."
Stella (Bailu) mumbled as her face was being kneaded into various comical shapes, and her Tailalso drooped listlessly due to her owner's "tragic encounter."
"Hey! You two!"
Stelle, pressed at the very bottom and bearing the unbearable weight of life, finally let out an indignant roar.
"If you want to fight, play, or knead faces, can you get off me first! I'm about to be squashed into a pancake!!"
She felt her ribs groaning; even the Trailblaze Pathcouldn't withstand this kind of physical human pyramid!
At the entrance to the Parlor Car, Mr. Welt Yang, who had witnessed the entire process, silently pushed up his glasses. The look behind his lenses was filled with the helplessness and a hint of indulgence a senior has when watching mischievous children's antics. He shook his head slightly and sighed quietly, "Young people... they really are full of vitality."
He considered whether he should add a rule to the train's safety protocols: "High-speed running and dangerous collisions are prohibited at the docking port."
Meanwhile, sitting on the nearby sofa, Dan Heng, who had been holding a cup of hot tea and quietly reading a Data Pad, had maintained an expressionless watch throughout the entire process of Stella (Bailu) flying over to headbutt March 7th, the three of them stacking up, and finally March 7thstarting to frantically knead the little dragon girl's face.
Until he saw Stella (Bailu)'s deformed, pitiful, yet hilarious little face, and those innocently twitching dragon Tails—
"Pfft—!!!"
Dan Heng, who was always known for being calm and composed, finally couldn't hold it in. A mouthful of hot tea he had just taken was sprayed without warning all over the Data Pad in front of him!