Chapter 315: Chapter 314: Rocky’s Galactic Leap of Faith
The starship instantly located Lesley's position, dropping Rocky directly onto the vessel she was aboard. After that, in the blink of an eye, the colossal Star Destroyer returned to its original trajectory.
Its sudden appearance caused a wave of panic among the crew. The sheer size and abruptness of its arrival were overwhelming.
"What just happened?" The captain muttered, scratching his head. "Did I hallucinate? Everything seems fine on the instruments... Who'd be crazy enough to use a behemoth like that just for fun?"
While the captain pondered, inside the ship, a young woman named Lesley stared at her communicator, biting her lip nervously.
Moments ago, she had accepted Rocky's confession. She liked him—this goofy, dedicated man who showed unwavering determination and resilience in the face of adversity. His knowledge of his field was profound, and the gift he had given her…
Thinking about him filled her with a deep, inner joy. She wanted to complete her current exploration quickly and reunite with him; she even considered taking him along on her next expedition!
Although the Herta Space Station had many restrictions, Asta was known for her understanding nature. If a staff member wished to leave the station, she would allow it. In some cases, she even used her connections to find them suitable roles elsewhere.
Despite her carefree appearance, Asta held an astonishing level of control over the station.
As thoughts of Rocky swirled in her mind, Lesley couldn't help but feel a surge of happiness. The very thought of him gave her the motivation to tackle her work.
"If only I could see him, even just for a moment…"
Lost in her musings, Lesley suddenly froze, her eyes widening in disbelief. Rocky was standing right in front of her.
"No way... I must be imagining things from missing him too much. Right! Gotta focus and push through!"
She gave herself a pep talk, but her hand instinctively reached out toward the vision. Even if it was a hallucination, she wanted to touch him. But the moment her fingers brushed against him, she realized something shocking—this wasn't an illusion. It was real.
Rocky was equally stunned, standing there with his jaw slack. He remembered Pei Guang saying, "Mission complete," followed by the cryptic warning, "Miracles and magic are never free." The next thing he knew, he had been tossed into some strange facility, only to be kicked out moments later.
Yes, kicked. Rocky could still feel the boot mark on his backside.
But none of that mattered now. What mattered was that he was standing right in front of Lesley.
"Lesley? Is that really you?"
"Rocky???"
For a moment, silence hung between them, as the sheer absurdity of the situation rendered them speechless. But the very next second, they were in each other's arms.
For Rocky, who had steeled himself to spend a lifetime chasing time and searching for Lesley, this was nothing short of a miracle.
For Lesley, who had dreamed of seeing Rocky again, marrying him, and exploring the universe together, his sudden appearance felt like a divine blessing.
"Oh, Amber Lord above! The Aeons must truly be watching over us!" she thought as she clung tightly to him.
For the two of them, this moment was the happiest in their lives. Of course, simply teleporting them together would have made Pei Guang seem irresponsible.
Silver Wolf, however, went a step further. She used Aether Editing to record the scenes of Rocky's despair, resolve, and final declaration to chase time. She sent this recording to Lesley, leaving their future entirely in their own hands.
Having sent the message, Silver Wolf let out a satisfied breath. "Perfect~ Another task completed. There might not be a reward, but this task made me really happy."
Right now, she was in high spirits. Unlike her previous missions, which often involved combat, survival, or just personal amusement, this task struck a different chord. If it had been left solely to her, she likely wouldn't have had the time or energy to help a stranger chase love.
But Pei Guang was entirely different. This journey also showed her what set her apart from a true player. She was sure that even without the Star Destroyer, he would have poured everything into completing this task—finding a ship for Rocky, solving other issues along the way—and would have made it work.
And now... so could she.
Silver Wolf felt her determination reignite. Echoing Elio's words, she thought of herself as a 50% pure gamer. But after following Pei Guang's lead, she truly understood the full intensity of what it meant to be a player.
Day after day, Pei Guang had been tackling challenges at breakneck speed—taking down a Lord Ravager, aiding in retrieving vital data, and sending off the Stellaron Hunters. The tight pace and constant sense of progress left her invigorated.
Meanwhile, Stelle looked at Silver Wolf with a smug expression. "See? That's where you fall short. Ah Guang told me once that certain items unlock specific quests. So obviously, the fact that we could accept this mission means we were meant to help him find his love. Right, Ah Guang?"
Pei Guang nodded. "Classic mechanics. But I didn't expect you to actually remember, Stelle."
Stelle crossed her arms proudly. "Of course! I remember everything you say, Ah Guang."
March 7th chimed in, "Hah, so do I!"
While the four of them were bantering, Bernard—still groggy from the sleep-inducing coffee Stelle had given him—slowly woke up.
"Huh... what's going on?"
Pei Guang turned to him with a kind smile. "Old man, I've got great news for you. Rocky's gone to find his girlfriend."
"What?"
In that instant, Bernard, whose mind had been blank just moments ago, felt completely dumbfounded.
"What did you say? That idiot...?"
Pei Guang raised his voice. "I said, great news—Rocky's gone to find his girlfriend!"
Bernard scowled, "Keep it down! I'm not deaf, just... stunned. Damn it, you lot—ah!"
He let out a heavy sigh. He knew his stubborn student's personality all too well. That's why he'd spent so much effort trying to make him give up; only those who had experienced such pain themselves would understand how much it hurt.
But now that he knew Rocky's choice, Bernard sighed even deeper. He realized that his foolish student had found his purpose in life along this journey: in the future, he might regret many things, but the one thing he would never regret was deciding to search for her today.
However, Bernard suddenly realized something. "He just left like that? Without even reporting it?"
Pei Guang responded, "Reporting? Don't worry, I'll contact Asta and Herta. You don't need to concern yourself with the details."
As the saying goes, if you're helping someone, see it through to the end. Since he had accepted the task, he decided to handle it flawlessly. Without delay, he headed straight to find Asta.