Hook, standing nearby, smiled and chimed in.
"Having a Daddy is Hook's greatest fortune!"
Fersman burst into hearty laughter at her words, clearly delighted.
Ye Yun spent some time playing with the four little ones. At Fersman's insistence, Ye Yun, along with Klee, Bailu, and Diona, stayed to have lunch at his home.
Fersman was in a good mood today. He'd gone to the supermarket Bronya had established and bought a piece of pork, which he used to cook a dish of pickled cabbage stew with meat.
Though his cooking skills were average, everyone ate happily. The atmosphere was warm and cozy.
After lunch, Ye Yun took the four little ones to visit the orphanage established by Cocolia.
Knowing the weight of her past sins, Cocolia had founded the orphanage to care for homeless children.
She taught them knowledge and life lessons, helping them grow into capable individuals.
Under her care, the children were living far better lives than they'd ever imagined.
They had clean, bright rooms to live in, beautiful clothes to wear, and tasty meat to eat.
Supplies for the orphanage were provided by Bronya, who highly valued nurturing the next generation and gave generous support.
Upon arriving at the orphanage—
As soon as Hook stepped inside, she spotted Julian playing on a slide in the distance.
"Julian! The great and dark Hook has returned!"
Julian jumped with joy at the sound of Hook's voice.
"Everyone, look! The boss is back!"
The other members of the Moles Party were thrilled to see Hook and came running toward her.
A group of children surrounded Hook, chirping and chattering cheerfully.
Ye Yun clapped his hands and took out two large bags of candy, handing them to Hook.
"Hook, share these candies with your little buddies."
Hook beamed and, hugging the candy bags, led the group of kids along with Bailu, Diona, and Klee to an open space nearby to distribute the treats.
Ye Yun, meanwhile, walked over to the corridor of the courtyard, where Cocolia stood holding a baby.
"Mr. Ye Yun, long time no see."
Ye Yun noticed that Cocolia seemed in better shape than before.
Nowadays, she poured her heart into running the orphanage and taking care of the children diligently.
Ye Yun smiled.
"Long time no see. I didn't expect you to open an orphanage here."
Cocolia gave a soft smile.
"These children are all orphans with no one to care for them. I have the time and energy, so I decided to take care of them.
In a way, it's how I atone for the sins I once committed."
Ye Yun nodded thoughtfully.
"How many children are here in the orphanage?"
Cocolia replied:
"There are 1,369 children and 67 staff members.
Speaking of which, I really have to thank you, Ye Yun. It's because of the goods Bronya bought from you that Belobog is enjoying its current peace and prosperity.
Last time, during the debt crisis, it was also thanks to your connections that we managed to resolve it."
Ye Yun chuckled.
"No worries. Bronya and I are friends—mutual support is only natural. Besides, when they buy stuff, I make money too, don't I?"
Cocolia laughed gently.
"That's true."
The two of them continued chatting in the courtyard.
Meanwhile, the four little ones played games with the children in the yard.
The children's laughter and cheer filled the whole space, and Cocolia found joy in scenes like this.
A child's smile is hope.
After the visit to the orphanage, Ye Yun took the little ones to tour the Icefield Deer Ranch.
The Icefield Deer were lively and bounded across the tundra.
The caretakers were preparing food for them, all natural plants from the icy region.
These plants made the venison taste even better.
After the visit, Ye Yun and the little ones returned to rest at the shop.
They had played all day and were exhausted. After washing up, they collapsed into bed and fell fast asleep.
Incidentally, the room they were staying in used to belong to March 7th.
Now, March and Stelle were forced to sleep on the floor in Himeko's room.
Originally, Himeko planned to clear out another train car to give them a proper room, but the two found it too much trouble.
Eventually, they got used to crashing on the floor in Himeko's room—and surprisingly, they slept quite well.
At dinner time, Ye Yun and Xiangling casually made some food.
There weren't many people eating tonight—Stelle and the others had stayed up all night gaming and were still sleeping.
The dinner table was only occupied by Ye Yun, Dan Heng, Topaz, Welt, Zhongli, Venti, Noelle, Xiangling, Clara, and Himeko.
Himeko looked at the table, which was full despite many being absent, and felt deeply gratified.
Ever since Ye Yun boarded the train, it had become so lively.
In the past, it was just herself, March 7th, Welt, Dan Heng, and Pom-Pom—so quiet and lonely.
Now, the train was filled with laughter and cheer.
Stelle and the other girls would occasionally go wild, chasing each other through the train.
Welt, Zhongli, Ye Yun, and Jing Yuan would gather for tea and chats.
Clara often worked with Himeko in the lab. In the past, Himeko had always worked alone, but now she had a partner to help and talk with.
Himeko said:
"The train is so lively now—it's starting to feel like the golden age of exploration again."
Just then, a masked figure suddenly appeared at the dinner table.
That's right—Aha had returned to the train.
"Hahaha~ Indeed, this is the fun kind of train! Hahahaha!"
Everyone turned to look at Aha. When Himeko and Welt recognized him, their expressions instantly tensed.
The Aeon of Elation! Why is he here?!
Aha plopped down into a seat, shouting for Ye Yun.
"Ye Yun! Aha is hungry! Aha wants food!"
Ye Yun rolled his eyes.
"Go get your own bowl from the kitchen."
Aha burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Aha has no dignity!"
If it were any other Aeon, Ye Yun might've been more polite. But with Aha? No need.
The more polite you were, the more likely Aha would mess with you.
So Aha happily scampered off to the kitchen to get tableware.
Suddenly, a scream rang out from the kitchen.
"Oww! Aha's is hurt!"
Everyone looked over and saw Pom-Pom headbutting Aha right in the stomach.
Pom-Pom pointed angrily at him.
"You horrible Nameless! Pom! How dare you come back?! Pom! Get out! Pom!"
Aha fled in a panic.
Himeko and Welt were dumbfounded by the scene. Pom-Pom… knew Aha?
Ye Yun chuckled and explained:
"Don't be surprised—they've known each other for a while.
To be precise, Aha is actually your senior. He was once a member of the Nameless too.
Relax. Aha won't do anything to you. He's already visited once before."
***
Himeko and Welt hearing that Aha was their senior felt like listening to nonsense—how do those words even fit together?
Aha, the Aeon of Elation.
Nameless, a pathwalker of the Trailblaze.
These aren't even on the same level, right?
How could that possibly connect?
Pom-Pom stomped angrily.
"Although this guy is really annoying, he is a Nameless! The worst Nameless!"
Aha cheerfully got up from the floor and hugged Pom-Pom.
"Conductor, long time no see. Aha missed you."
Pom-Pom's earlier headbutt had pretty much dispelled all his anger.
"You actually remember to come back?"
Aha stuck out their tongue playfully.
"Aha was off looking for fun~ But now Aha is back, right?"
Pom-Pom asked:
"Did you come back for something this time?"
Aha nodded.
"The Stellar Jade Aha bought last time are all used up! Came back to buy some more—Aha loves Stellar Jade, they bring so much joy~"
Hearing this, Pom-Pom was shocked. What! You were back last time and didn't even say hi?
"Aha! Eat another headbutt from me!"
Aha screamed and was sent flying.
Welt and Himeko watched the scene in disbelief.
What they didn't expect was that Aha really was a Nameless, and their senior.
Ye Yun smiled at the sight and sat back down at the table.
"Alright, stop staring and get back to eating."
Everyone returned to their seats, though they kept sneaking glances to the side.
Pom-Pom was still grabbing Aha by the collar, scolding them while Aha just listened obediently.
The scene looked just like it did years ago—Aha and Akivili being scolded by Pom-Pom, both too scared to fight back, only able to hang their heads and listen.
Before long, Pom-Pom brought Aha back to the table for dinner.
After eating, Aha bought another 20 Stellar Jade, and before leaving the train, left behind 10,000 star credits for Pom-Pom.
Pom-Pom looked at the credits and said:
"These 10,000 star credits will go toward train maintenance. Himeko, let's check out the freight car behind Ye Yun's shop—we'll convert a few more rooms."
Himeko agreed and followed Pom-Pom toward the car behind Ye Yun's shop.
Topaz, having finished her meal, returned to her post and reported everything she saw to Jade.
The next day on the train—
Everyone who knew about Ye Yun's shop gathered inside.
Today was a special day—the second lottery drawing was about to begin.
This time, the grand prize was Ye Yun's personal "Sword Control Technique."
There were 43 people in total, each having bought a few tickets.
Since witnessing Ye Yun use the technique in front of Stelle, Stelle went all-in and bought ten numbers at once.
Who could blame her? The swordplay was just too cool!
Stelle was already fantasizing—if she won, she'd start every battle with Judgment of Shamash, then finish with Ten Thousand Swords Return, effortlessly stylish!
Yanqing clutched his ticket nervously.
A sword technique! And from a powerful world! He really wanted it.
But General Jing Yuan didn't have many credits left, so each person only got one ticket.
Qingque walked over from the little bar, having just finished copying today's list of 100 product entries.
Fu Xuan handed her the ticket.
"Qingque, this is the one the General bought for you."
Qingque was delighted.
"Oh? Even I get one? The General is the best~ Now I have two!"
Fu Xuan looked puzzled.
"Qingque, where did you get the credits for the first ticket?"
Qingque flipped her two tickets.
"I won it playing Calestial Jade game with Stelle and the others."
Fu Xuan crossed her arms.
"Qingque! You had time to play Calestial Jade game? Looks like I haven't given you enough work. From now on, double the daily transcription tasks. Decision made."
Qingque instantly turned to stone.
What? She had just gotten an easy gig!
She wanted to slap her past self—why mention the game?! Now look what happened! Ugh, double the workload!
Meanwhile, Zhongli was asking Jing Yuan about unclaimed planets.
"General Jing Yuan, do you know of any unowned planets?"
Jing Yuan smiled.
"There are many, but most are uninhabitable."
Zhongli replied,
"That's fine. We'll modify them."
Jing Yuan nodded thoughtfully.
"Then it's simple. Just ask Miss Topaz to check which ones are unowned."
Zhongli did just that.
Topaz quickly found one—only 34 million square kilometers, but close to Belobog, just one star system away.
After pondering a bit, Zhongli decided on behalf of Celestia to claim this planet.
Topaz, taking the opportunity to earn favor, registered the planet under Zhongli's name.
Registered planets won't be bothered by the company's expansion team, and will be acknowledged as legal by major cosmic powers.
Back with Ye Yun—
He looked at the room full of people and checked his system interface.
[Mission: Serve 50 unique customers.]Current Progress: 43/50Reward: Dungeon Portal
[Mission: Reach 10 million in sales.]Current Progress: 218,000/10,000,000. Reward: Peak Emanator-level strength
His shop was about to unlock something new—a dungeon portal. He wondered if it would be like the ones from online games in his past life.
No point overthinking—he'd see when it happens.
Just six more people. Should be done tomorrow.
Tomorrow, teams from Yaoqing and Zhuming ships would arrive for the Luofu Martial Arts Ceremony.
More customers!
This time, the event came earlier than in the original timeline. Ye Yun suspected it was a cover.
Most likely, the upper echelons of the Xianzhou Alliance already knew about the Qingling Pill Bai Lu made.
Officially it was for the competition, but unofficially they were sending people to protect Bailu.
Ye Yun was confident: nothing would happen to Bailu under his protection.