Stellar Train: I Open a Small Shop on the Train-Chapter 160

The Astral Express sped rapidly toward Amphoreus.

Stelle sat in the carriage, chatting leisurely with the others.

Suddenly! The carriage was struck hard, and the engine caught fire as it plummeted toward the ground.

Dan Heng and Stelle reacted quickly, leaping onto the top of the carriage.

Stelle looked around and saw parts of the train breaking off and trailing flames as they fell alongside the main carriage body.

Seeing this, Dan Heng no longer held back and transformed directly into his Imbibitor Lunae form. He carried Stelle away from the carriage just before it hit the ground, landing safely.

The moment the carriage hit the ground, it exploded violently. Stelle and Dan Heng arrived at the crash site.

Dan Heng inspected the carriage—everything inside had been destroyed.

He checked his phone—no signal.

At this point, the only option was to explore the surrounding area and see if they could find someone who could lead them to a settlement.

"Stelle, let's go this way," Dan Heng said.

Stelle nodded.

"Okay."

As the two walked forward, Stelle started feeling something was off.

In her vision, the surrounding scenery kept shifting—at one moment a brand-new city, the next a gloomy ruin.

She also saw a small pink thing flying ahead.

Stelle told Dan Heng what she saw.

Dan Heng thought for a moment.

"Which way did the pink thing go?"

Stelle pointed to a passage. Dan Heng said:

"Let's follow it."

They walked in the direction Stelle had pointed, and before long, they came across some locals.

However, the locals looked troubled, sighing one after another.

Stelle and Dan Heng approached and asked what was wrong. They learned that the locals' homeland had been invaded by something called the Scion of the Conflict Titan or some such.

As they spoke, a scream came from behind them.

"Run! It's coming! Everyone run!"

Stelle and Dan Heng turned to see dozens of massive statues attacking nearby civilians.

Stelle pulled out Judgment of Shamash, slung it over her shoulder, and charged forward, instantly slicing several statues.

Dan Heng summoned a water dragon with the Aqua Pearl, which swept through and destroyed the remaining statues.

At that moment, a white-haired man descended from the sky, turning and rushing toward Stelle, stopping beside her.

"You're carrying something very interesting," he said.

The white-haired man reached for the Judgment of Shamash in Stelle's hands.

Confidently, he turned to run, but his body was suddenly pulled back as if tethered.

Turning, he saw Stelle glaring at him angrily. She was gripping the weapon tightly—he hadn't been able to snatch it away.

"What are you doing? Robbing someone in broad daylight?" Stelle asked.

With a slight effort, she broke free of the man's grip.

The man was about to rise when three water dragons materialized around him, summoned by Dan Heng, who landed nearby.

"Speak! Who are you, and why did you attack us?" Dan Heng demanded.

The man smiled awkwardly and was about to explain when a voice came from the distance.

"Phainon! You're messing around again! Rushing off like that and causing trouble!"

A little girl with short red hair, wearing a white dress and tiny wings on her back, came running over.

She scolded the man, saying, "Phainon! Why do you always attack strangers? Have you forgotten what I taught you about manners?"

After her lecture, she turned to Stelle and Dan Heng.

"To our new friends, please relax. We mean no harm. Phainon was just worried you might be dangerous since you fell from the sky."

"I'm Tribbie from Janusopolis, and this is Phainoni."

"Phainon, apologize!"

The man quickly apologized.

"Sorry, you landed in a dangerous area in a very unusual way—I was being overly cautious."

Dan Heng dismissed the water dragons.

"Understandable. We're trailblazers from beyond the sky."

Stelle widened her eyes at Dan Heng.

"Dan Heng, are you serious? Telling strangers who we really are?"

"Let me handle this."

Ahem.

"Hello, I'm the Galactic Fire Hero. Pleased to meet you."

Dan Heng didn't argue further.

Phainon responded, "So you're not from the sky—but from beyond it?"

Tribbie added with wonder, "Wow! From beyond the sky! It's a good thing you met us—we won't harm you. If it had been someone else..."

Stelle kicked a shattered statue at her feet.

"You mean this? Honestly, nothing special. Pretty weak."

Tribbie was impressed by Stelle's confidence.

"Amazing! But these are just one kind. Let's talk somewhere safer. This is the wild—we might run into more trouble."

Stelle and Dan Heng exchanged a look and agreed.

They followed Tribbie into an abandoned temple.

There, Tribbie explained their current situation: they were trying to evacuate refugees from Janusopolis.

However, a priest refused to leave his homeland.

With Tribbie's, Stelle's, and Dan Heng's help, the priest eventually agreed.

After defeating a wave of monsters, a herd of Dromas arrived to carry the refugees.

Stelle ran to one of the beasts, looked up in awe, and said:

"Wow! That big?"

She eagerly climbed up, but the beast shook her off.

"Ouch—what's its problem? Doesn't know me well?"

Phainon shook his head.

"You stepped on its reverse scale. Try a different spot."

Stelle dusted herself off and climbed up again—this time successfully reaching the saddle.

Sitting atop the Dromas, Stelle marveled at the view.

She patted the beast.

"Giddy-up! Let's go!"

The Dromas glanced back at her and began walking.

Over an hour later...

Stelle, Dan Heng, and the others arrived at the "Eternal Holy City" Okhema.

Just as they arrived, the city came under attack by more Scions of the Conflict.

Phainon rushed ahead to help.

Stelle and Dan Heng looked at each other and urged their beast to speed up.

***

Meanwhile...

On the Astral Express.

Ye Yun was helping Ayaka with her shopping.

Ayaka had saved up 10,000 star coins and wanted to buy something.

She hadn't spent anything in Ye Yun's shop yet—all the Primogems from Inazuma had been handed over to Makoto and Ei.

The star coins in Ayaka's hands were earned from participating in dungeon games.

"Is there anything in particular you want to buy, Ayaka? Something to improve your strength?" Ye Yun asked.

Ayaka shook her head and typed a few characters into the touchscreen. A few product listings popped up.

Ye Yun leaned in to take a look.

[Item: Enchanting Singing Voice] Description: A special item. Grants the user a beautiful singing voice. Price: 10,000 star coins

"Why do you want to buy this?" Ye Yun asked, puzzled.

Ayaka replied,"I want to earn credit points through my own efforts, just like Furina and Barbara, to help Inazuma develop."

Ye Yun nodded in understanding. So Ayaka wanted to become a pop idol to earn credit points.

That was a solid idea. Credit points could be used to purchase lots of building materials from the Company.

Ye Yun looked at Ayaka, realizing something—he had never heard her sing before.

"Ayaka, to be honest, I've never heard you sing.Noelle, bring over the mobile karaoke."

Noelle ran off and dragged the mobile karaoke machine over.

Ye Yun handed the microphone to Ayaka.

"Here, give it a try. Honestly, I have this idea—what if you formed a girl group with Barbara and Nilou from Sumeru?"

Ayaka was taken aback."Eh? Is that really okay?"

She took the mic, and Ye Yun picked a random song for her to try out, just to test her voice.

The music started, and Ayaka began singing along, a bit shy and hesitant.

By the end of the song, Ye Yun had figured out her issue.

Her voice was great—the only problem was that she was too shy to sing confidently.

"Ayaka, your voice is really nice. You're just too nervous."

Ayaka blushed slightly at the compliment."R-Really?"

Ye Yun nodded."Of course. Want to join the girl group I'm putting together?"

Ayaka thought for a moment."Sure! I'll join."

Ye Yun clapped his hands—nice! The first member of the Teyvat girl group was locked in.

"Great. Wait here—I'll call Barbara and Nilou."

Ayaka nodded and sat quietly to the side.

Ye Yun first called Jean to tell her about the girl group idea.

Jean responded,"Alright. I'll ask Barbara and get back to you."

After hanging up with Jean, Ye Yun called Nahida and asked her to send someone to check if Nilou would be interested.

At the Grand Bazaar...

Nilou was in the middle of dance rehearsal. Ever since Nahida and the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had come to power, the bazaar had returned to its former glory.

Most of the entertainment venues in Sumeru City were now located there, and Nilou was thrilled—she practiced her dance daily.

While she was on stage rehearsing, Alhaitham walked over.

"Nilou."

She paused and looked over. "Grand Sage!"

Alhaitham no longer flinched at that title. In fact, he rather enjoyed it.

He only had to handle government work four hours a day. Unless Nahida or the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata assigned him something extra, the rest of the time was his own.

Plus, being Grand Sage meant he could pursue any academic research he wanted—as long as he reported it to Nahida or the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.

He led Nilou to a quiet spot.

"Nilou, I'm here on behalf of the Lesser Lord Kusanali to ask you something."

Nilou perked up at the mention of Nahida. "Ask away—if I know the answer, I'll tell you."

Alhaitham explained, "Mr. Ye Yun wants to form a Teyvat girl group, and he'd like to invite you to join. Are you interested?"

Nilou's head filled with question marks. "Teyvat girl group? What's that?"

Alhaitham replied, "It means you and a few other girls would form a performance group and appear in Ye Yun's world. I personally recommend joining. You'll be well-paid for performing. For example, Lady Furina from Fontaine has already built up a reputation there. Thanks to the money she earned, New Fontaine was able to purchase lots of advanced tech and develop rapidly."

Nilou fell into thought, then nodded. "Alright, I'll join."

She had considered it—performing over there was still performing, and if it could help Sumeru, why not?

Alhaitham wasn't surprised by her answer. Nilou was deeply loyal to Sumeru—if it helped the nation, she'd definitely do it.

"Then come with me. I'll take you to meet Mr. Ye Yun."

Nilou followed Alhaitham to the Sanctuary of Surasthana, stepped through the portal, and arrived in Ye Yun's shop.

Barbara had already been there for a while and had agreed to join the Teyvat girl group. She was chatting with Ayaka.

Ye Yun smiled when he saw Nilou arrive."Great. Everyone's here."

Nilou stepped forward with a warm smile."Long time no see, Mr. Ye Yun."

Ye Yun gave a slight nod in return."So you've agreed to join?Let me introduce your fellow members.

From the Kamisato Clan of Inazuma, Kamisato Ayaka.From Mondstadt's church, Sister Barbara.

Ayaka, Barbara—this is Nilou, a famous dancer from Sumeru."

Ye Yun helped the three of them get acquainted.

Nilou looked at Ayaka and Barbara."Nice to meet you both. I'm Nilou. Let's work well together."

Ayaka and Barbara each greeted Nilou in turn.

Ye Yun then said,"Alright, ladies—let me take you somewhere nice."

He led them into a part of his serenitea realm.

Next to the treehouse where Stelle and the others lived, Ye Yun had developed another large tree.

Like Stelle's treehouse, this one had a spiral staircase leading upward.

Inside, to the right was a 300-square-meter dance studio. On the left, a recording booth where Topaz was lounging and playing on her phone.

Topaz saw Ye Yun walk in and waved."Yo~ Finally! These three are your idol group?"

Ye Yun nodded."That's right."

Topaz was a little surprised to see Barbara—she had already released songs in this universe.

Still, that wasn't really a problem. It's not like anyone said you couldn't join a group if you'd already gone solo.

"Nice to meet you all. I'll be in charge of producing, releasing, and promoting your songs from now on."