I, on the Starry Sky Railway, change everything

"I mean I don't have dark circles under my eyes, I've looked in the mirror."

"what?"

The voices of Hiluva and Cocolia could be heard coming from the half-closed room.

It sounded like a conversation between mature women, and Hua Yi didn't intend to join in halfway. She reached out and waved her hand in front of Ling Ke's eyes to bring her back to her senses.

“Your sister is inside. As for Cocolia, she’s no longer the High Guardian; she’s just Hilva’s friend. There’s no need to be overly reserved.”

Now that Belloberg is out of the Star Core Crisis, the girls should also adopt a more relaxed lifestyle.

Even if we don't know the specifics of the novel that Hilva and Cocolia were talking about, since it piqued their interest, it must be a light and enjoyable read. It would be good for Reiko and Pera to learn about it.

I remember that Pella liked "Snow Country Adventure" and she was also Linco's good friend. Was Silva using her sister's story to reminisce with Cocolia about the past?

Later, let Lingke and March 7 get to know each other. They both like taking photos and have similar interests.

Girls tend to be more unrestrained when they're with each other than when they're alone.

He gestured for the girl to knock on the door and go in, then turned and left. Only when they were alone did Hua Yi take out his smart terminal and glance at the social media interface.

No message was sent from that person.

Chapter 252 I dare not owe anyone a favor

It wasn't Estádio; ever since the interstellar communication base station in Belloborg was repaired, Hua Yi had been frequently messaging her.

It wasn't Silver Wolf either; she was now asking herself every day how she was doing, whether there had been any changes in the star core of Yalilo-VI, fearing that the connection would be lost again and her game account would be stuck in safe mode.

Hua Yi opened a chat window with Topa, unrelated to personal relationships; at this moment, she represented the Interstellar Peace Corporation.

Seven hundred years ago, due to the invasion of the antimatter legion, the star core crashed, and various extraterrestrial forces withdrew from Yalilo-VI, including the company.

Before leaving, the company's specialist lent the city builders a large sum of money to build the city walls and develop automated mechs.

The people of Belloberg have forgotten this history; even Bronya and Cocolia, who want to make a living by writing novels, know nothing about it, but Hua Yi is aware of it.

Alisaland, from the lance, also told him the story in detail.

The loan was already overdue, and Belloberg had defaulted. With the effects of the distorted galactic orbit of the star core fading away, Yalilo-VI embraced the starry sky again and returned to the pan-galactic trade system, inevitably coming into the sights of the Interstellar Peace Corporation.

How could anyone in business forget who owes them money?

Coincidentally, Topa was a senior executive in the company's strategic investment department, whose business was related to debt.

According to Hua Yi's estimate, Estád's large-scale purchase of basic supplies, which she planned to transport to Belloberg, would inevitably attract the company's attention, since those were not things that the Black Tower space station needed.

Furthermore, considering that the space station has already issued an internal notice that the station chief will soon lead a team on a business trip to Yalilo-VI, it is impossible to keep it completely secret from Interstellar Peace Corporation.

Has Toppa not received the debt collection assignment yet?

Then I'll just lay my cards on the table.

“Miss Toppa, the Star Train has arrived at Yalilo-VI during its expansion. As far as I know, the company has invested a huge sum of money here.”

Hua Yi received a reply shortly after sending out the straightforward message.

"I didn't expect you to bring up the debt with me—what are your plans?"

It seems Toppa already knows about the existence of Arilo-VI.

It should be.

Belloberg has suffered many misfortunes and lost a lot of historical data, but the Intergalactic Peace Corporation is the absolute hegemon in the pan-galactic trade system. Not to mention a large debt, the company's database probably also contains order records of what Arillow-VI bought in intergalactic trade seven hundred years ago.

Hua Yi was not surprised.

"If there is no better option in the end, I will repay the principal and interest on behalf of Belloberg in accordance with the loan agreement."

"...Is this the answer? I thought you would try to use connections to persuade me to give up on collecting the debt."

"To solve Belloberg's troubles by jeopardizing your career is too much of a favor to be owed carelessly."

“In fact, the company has decided to have me lead the investigation team to Yalilo-VI to resolve this ancient debt. I am the person directly in charge.”

Seemingly surprised by Hua Yi's businesslike approach and direct provision of a guaranteed repayment method, Toppa actually started to think of him.

"Are you sure you don't want to reconsider? I've seen the contract the company has on file. It's a huge amount of credit points. The borrower is Yalilo-VI, not Belloberg. You should be able to tell the difference between the size of a planet and a city."

“You know, with my stake in Caliban and the intellectual property rights of the High-Rank Secret Ritual, I can afford this debt.”

"Of course, if all else fails, there's always Estád. Judging from her demeanor, if the Beloberg problem gives you a headache, she'll quietly settle this debt."

"I don't think I told her about this."

"She asked me to check the information on Yalilo-VI. I looked through the company's database and found the debt records. It was both bad debt and a planet with a bad credit history. Estella even invited me to come to Belloberg on a space station ship. In the video call, she patted her chest and said that problems that can be solved with money are not problems. Just treat it as a vacation."

After reading Toppa's message, Hua Yi could imagine how imposing Estád was at that moment.

The young heiress is indeed incredibly powerful in the credits field.

"I feel like I should transfer the money to you first, so that Estella doesn't secretly pay the bill."

"Don't worry, I won't rush to resolve this debt issue privately. And from what you said before, it seems you have an even better idea?"

"Belloburg is a city of preservation, and it truly lives up to its name. I think Interstellar Peace Corporation can use it as a promotional target. That would be a win-win situation. We can discuss the specific details when we meet."

"~The Milky Way is vast, and not every city can bear the name of [Storage Protection], but since you said it, I'll look forward to it—will it turn into the company having to pay Bellberg for advertising?"

"Isn't Miss Topa doing more than her job by acting as an angel investor while collecting debts?"

On a private ship, Toppa was amused by Hua Yi's reply.

I thought that debt collection would involve people I knew, and there would be all sorts of trouble related to personal relationships, but the reality was quite the opposite.

"Looks like Bellenberg is lucky, and I'm lucky too~"

"Same to me, I feel fortunate too. If I hadn't met Miss Topa and had a different senior executive in charge of debt management, I would have been really worried that a major villain would have emerged, righteously exploiting the remaining value of Belloberg, or even depriving the residents of their personal rights."

"...At least the strategic investment department is not like that."

"Just kidding. You mentioned earlier that Estella invited you to board the same ship. It would be best if you could travel together. With Miss Topa on board, the safety of the voyage will be greatly improved."

"You mean you want me to work part-time as a bodyguard?"

"So, how many credits will it take for Miss Topa to protect Estádio? I'll pay for it!"

"It's not within the scope of business, so we need to calculate it carefully. Considering how much you care about Estella and how much you care about my career, and taking into account our friendship—it'll be free~ I won't bring the other company employees; it'll be easier to travel alone."

It's settled then, just like that.

Hua Yi acted as a safety net, promising Toppa that no matter what, the debt could be resolved.

As for how things will develop, the original repayment date is more than double the expected amount, and whether this will result in substantial late fees depends on the outcome of the negotiations.

Chapter 253 Illustrator, Pera

The others were unaware of the debt and were simply working to increase Belloberg's financial reserves.

As Bronya visited her mother and Natasha came to treat patients, Xing heard that the girls had gathered together and was eager to give a lesson. In addition to bringing Seele along, she didn't forget Clara and Hook, so now everyone was present.

"Pera and Lingbao encountered Hua Yi in the snowfield. He was busy eliminating the frozen Void Soldiers? Why didn't he tell us? ... We are all ready to be deployed at any time."

"And then there were dire wolves trying to attack him? Damn it! I'll immediately gather the Iron Guards to wipe out those beasts."

"Please wait a moment. Lord Hua Yi said that the existence of the direwolf is helpful for studying the snowfield ecology. When the research team from the Black Tower Space Station arrives, they will also be able to discover animals unique to Beloborg."

"You made him a snowfield stew and frosty salmon bread? Let me think carefully—well, Lingbao and Pera's cooking skills are fine, thank goodness."

When Lingke took out the photos she had taken for Huayi, everyone's eyes lit up.

"Wow, this angle, this composition, your photography skills are amazing! It feels like we have a lot in common."

"March 7th, when did it come?"

"With so many people here, I definitely had to come and join in the fun and chat." 670

Meanwhile, the rich aroma of coffee filled the room.

After getting to know Himeko, Bronya and the others were able to determine whether the coffee was good or not just by smelling it.

The navigator is only holding a cup of coffee, yet the aroma is already so strong. That can only mean it's a super concentrated version. An ordinary person would furrow their brow and eyes after just one sip!

Sure enough, the regular-proportion coffee in the museum was a limited edition for Hua Yi. Since he wasn't there, Himeko adhered to the principle that concentrated is the essence.

Even Xing deliberately avoided mentioning coffee, afraid that the navigator might pour her a cup.

Himeko sipped her nearly solidified coffee leisurely, then looked at Cocolia with interest.

"Want a drink?"

"no thank you."

"I remember back in the office, you never refused any of my coffee offers. I thought I'd found a kindred spirit. Why are you refusing so readily now?"

"...I was eroded by the star's core at the time, and I lost my sense of taste."

In the past, Cocolia definitely wouldn't have told the truth.

She would keep many things to herself when facing Hilva and Bronya, so she would undoubtedly be even more reserved when communicating with Himeko, an extraterrestrial who did not belong to Belloberg.

But on the Everwinter Ridge, Hua Yi saved her ideals and life, and then she got a friendly punch from Hilva. Cocolia was reborn and has become a brand new Cocolia who no longer drinks Himeko's coffee!

"If being eroded by a star core allows you to drink the coffee I make, then why does the star always resist it, even though it has an active star core inside it?"

"There are differences between star cores, okay! Hmm, let's not dwell on that. Just now, Ling Ke said that Pera is very good at drawing?"

"Yes, it's a very pretty girly style. I used to take photos while exploring the snowfields and send them to Pera. With that reference, she could quickly draw the sketches, and it wouldn't take her too long to enrich the content and refine the details."

"Wow, Pella is amazing!"

"Some adults should stop talking like children."

"I have less than a year of clear memories; I'm still a child!"

"..."

I can't continue the conversation.

Galaxy Batman truly doesn't care about his image, has a flexible growth curve, and will randomly switch between adult and child roles depending on the actual situation.

"Hey, I have an idea."

She stretched out her finger and started thinking.

Wise Man Mode activated.

"How about Pera illustrates our novel? Some novels already have illustrations, right? We can modify the ebook format a bit and add pictures."

"!"

This time it's truly astonishing wisdom.

After a little thought, Natasha, Shiluva, and the others felt it was feasible.

"Illustrations do increase the sense of immersion and let the people on the space station know a little about Belloberg. Maybe with Pera's help, we can improve our ranking in the essay contest and go beyond just the participation award."

“It seems like there are many benefits, the only problem is whether it will become a burden for Pera.”

"Now that the Rift Monsters have disappeared, my job as an intelligence officer has become quite easy. No problem!"

Pera has an undeniable responsibility to ensure that hobbies enjoyed in one's spare time can contribute to increasing Belloberg's financial income.

"Approximately how many illustrations are needed?"

"Ten illustrations per volume of a light novel is about right, but there are so many of us..."

“A novel can’t be finished in a short time, so Pera doesn’t need to produce too many illustrations in a short period of time. However, in the long run, it is still a considerable amount of work—having photos as references will suffice.”

"I do."

Raise your hand if you love taking photos on March 7th.

Ms. Zhao, feeling like she could be of great help, was beaming with pride.

"Star Train, Black Tower Space Station, Belloberg, you name it!"

"It can't just be scenery; if possible, Lord Hua Yi should be in the picture."

"Yes, yes! That's the one I'm talking about. I took a lot of photos of him."