Stellar Train: I Open a Small Shop on the Train-Chapter 148

The Goblin Village Chief came up to Rimuru.

"Lord Rimuru, you're back!"

Rimuru nodded.

"Yeah. These are my friends. They'll be helping us take care of the Direwolves."

The Goblin Chief looked at Stelle and the others and expressed his gratitude.

"Thank you, lords, for being willing to help our small village."

Soon, a series of wolf howls echoed through the forest. A pack of Direwolves appeared on a nearby hillside.

Rimuru turned to Stelle, Kiana, and the others.

"You don't need to fight. Let me handle it. Only jump in if I can't hold them off."

He didn't want them getting hurt—they weren't originally part of this battle.

The others nodded in agreement. Lumine even took out a bag of sunflower seeds and started munching.

The Direwolf leader jumped onto a boulder and howled at the moon.

Seeing the wolves, Stelle unexpectedly thought they looked kind of cool.

"Rimuru, save a few wolf pups for us later."

Kiana looked confused.

"Stelle, why do you want Rimuru to save some wolf pups?"

Stelle grinned.

"Don't you think having a wolf as a mount would be awesome?"

Kiana imagined herself riding a Direwolf, slicing through Honkai beasts on the battlefield.

"So cool!" She gave a big thumbs-up.

Rimuru nodded.

"Got it. Don't worry—I know what I'm doing."

Soon, the Direwolf leader led the charge down the hill with his pack.

But Rimuru had already prepared traps. As expected, the leader fell right into one.

His limbs were bound by spider silk and suspended mid-air. Without a word, Rimuru released a Water Blade, decapitating the leader.

The rest of the wolves were briefly stunned, then attacked in a frenzy to avenge their leader.

Rimuru fired off several more Water Blades, taking down the frontmost wolves with ease.

Then he called out:

"Your leader is dead! Surrender now!"

Some of the Direwolves hesitated, still burning with the urge for revenge.

Sensing this, Rimuru decided to release his full aura.

The Direwolf leader's son felt Rimuru's overwhelming presence and realized he couldn't win.

He let out a howl, signaling the others. One by one, the Direwolves dropped to their knees in submission.

Rimuru let out a sigh of relief and invited them into the goblin village.

With Rimuru there, the Direwolves didn't dare misbehave.

The leader's son approached Rimuru and bowed his head.

Rimuru smiled, satisfied.

"From now on, you're one of my subordinates. Do you have a name?"

The wolf shook his head.

Rimuru thought for a moment.

"Then your name will be Ranga."

As he finished speaking, Ranga suddenly radiated a brilliant light and howled at the sky. A sharp horn grew from his forehead.

Rimuru asked the Great Sage and learned that Ranga had evolved—he was no longer a regular Direwolf, but now a Tempest Wolf.

Along with him, all the Direwolves in his pack had evolved into Tempest Wolves.

Rimuru was overjoyed—his new little brother was turning out to be quite powerful.

He had the goblins and Ranga's pack work together to clean the battlefield.

Then he brought Stelle and the others to see the wolf pups.

"Take a look, Stelle. Pick whichever ones you want."

Stelle rubbed her hands excitedly, her eyes sparkling at the sight of the blue-furred pups with sharp horns.

They were already cool, but now they'd evolved and looked even more amazing.

Ranga walked over, curious.

"Master, what's going on?"

Rimuru replied, "These are my friends. They'd like to adopt a few pups. Are you okay with that?"

Ranga looked at Stelle, Kiana, and the others. He couldn't sense any magic power from them, but since they were his master's friends, he didn't want to refuse.

Noticing Ranga's reluctance, Stelle said:

"So you don't think we're strong enough, huh? How about this—let me punch you once. If you can take it, we'll leave quietly without a word. But if you can't, then each of us gets to take a pup."

Ranga agreed, thinking he had nothing to worry about. No ordinary human could possibly hurt him.

"Bring it on!"

Stelle grinned mischievously, rolled her shoulders, and punched.

Before Ranga could react, he was sent flying, crashing through a dozen trees before slamming into the ground.

Rimuru rushed over, wrapped him up, and healed him with herbs.

Once recovered, Ranga sat there, completely stunned.

He'd just been KO'd by a single punch? And totally lost the ability to fight?

He had just evolved! He was full of power! This couldn't be happening!

No way! That girl must've been hiding her true strength! Humans are so sneaky!

Still not giving up, Ranga growled:

"That doesn't count! I wasn't ready! Let's go again!"

Knowing Stelle's strength, Rimuru tried to persuade him.

"Ranga, maybe just let them take the pups?"

But Ranga turned to Rimuru with determined eyes.

"My lord, I will prevail!"

Stelle gave him a thumbs-up.

"Nice, Ranga! You've got guts. This time let's switch—it's your turn to attack, and I'll defend. Same rules!"

Ranga charged with all his might, turning into a blur of lightning.

Stelle braced herself, planted her feet, and spread her arms, smiling.

Just as Ranga's lightning form was about to hit, Stelle suddenly caught her head in both hands.

It felt to Ranga like his head was trapped under a boulder—completely immobile.

With a cheeky grin, Stelle lifted him and suplexed him into the ground.

A perfect arc later, Ranga was buried headfirst in the dirt.

A few minutes passed.

Ranga sat sulking in the corner, defeated.

Wasn't I supposed to be evolved? How could I lose to a human with no magic?

Meanwhile, Stelle, Kiana, and the others picked out their wolf pups.

Kiana pointed to a particularly calm one.

"Mei, that one looks super chill. Totally suits you."

Mei smiled.

"Okay, I'll go with your choice." She picked up the quietest pup.

Stelle picked the most mischievous-looking one—she figured the wildest one had the most spirit and would be the strongest of the bunch.

March 7th, Firefly, Lumine, and the others all chose their own as well.

Paimon floated over to the pup Lumine had picked and patted its head.

"From now on, you're the third kid in our little family, got it? And when there's yummy food, remember—I get the first bite."

***

After picking their wolf pups, Stelle and the others bid farewell to Rimuru and returned to the train.

Rimuru glanced at Ranga, who was still squatting in the corner, looking dejected, and a drop of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Sigh~ Ranga is still too young, unaware of the cruelty of society.

Rimuru bounced over to the Goblin Village Chief to ask him to arrange a place for the Ranga wolf tribe to stay.

Looking at the village that was even worse than a homeless camp, Rimuru thought for a moment and decided to visit Ye Yun tomorrow to see if he had anything like a one-click house generator.

Back at Ye Yun's shop, Stelle and the others returned with their wolf pups.

The handsome little wolves immediately attracted the attention of the six little ones.

They all gathered around.

"Wow! Puppies! So pretty! Sister Stelle, where did you get these cute puppies? Klee wants to pet them, may I?"

Stelle put her wolf pup on the ground.

"Of course, go ahead."

Klee touched the pup's head — it felt great.

Klee was envious.

"Klee wants a puppy too~"

Liuying crouched down beside her.

"Klee, this isn't a puppy, it's a baby wolf."

Hearing that, Klee wanted it even more.

"A baby wolf? Klee really wants one~"

Ye Yun heard this.

What? Klee wants a baby wolf? Let's do it!

Ye Yun called out to Lios.

"Rios, take the little ones over there and let each pick a baby wolf to bring back."

Rios got up, walked to the teleportation gate, and led the six little ones through the portal to Rimuru's world.

After landing, they found Rimuru.

"Rimuru~ Klee came to see you~"

Rimuru turned around and saw the six little ones running toward him.

"Klee! Bailu! It's you guys — what brings you here?"

Klee replied, "Rimuru~ Klee wants a baby wolf~"

Rimuru guessed they had seen the wolves Stelle brought back and came because of that.

Ranga overheard it — someone else wants a baby wolf?

Ranga turned around fiercely, aura flaring!

"Who wants a baby wolf? The wolf tribe only follows the strong! Beat me first, and you can take one!"

Ranga took a step forward with the posture of a king.

Rios stepped forward and shielded the six little ones behind him.

Rimuru quickly reminded him.

"Take it easy! It's just a friendly match — stop at a point!"

Rios looked back at Rimuru and nodded slightly.

Ranga thought Rimuru was talking to him.

"Understood, master! I'll be careful!"

Ranga roared and charged at Rios.

Ranga began sprinting!

He turned into lightning!

He was about to strike!

And Ranga was down! A wall of fire had bounced him back!

Rios launched a follow-up attack!

Ranga was stunned!

He returned to his "depression corner."

There, Ranga began questioning life.

Rimuru and the Goblin Chief's son looked at the brooding Ranga.

"Is Ranga okay, Lord Rimuru?"

"Should be fine, I think?"

After the six little ones picked their wolves, Rios took them back to the train.

Back in Ye Yun's shop.

The six little ones were playing with their baby wolves.

To prevent any harm, Ye Yun bought six servant contracts from the system shop and had each little one bind their wolf.

Under the power of the contract, the pups would now be completely loyal and never harm their masters.

After playing for a while, Ye Yun called out:

"Klee, Bailu, Hook — time for bed~"

The six little ones obediently carried their pups to their rooms for rest.

Ye Yun looked at their room and thought it was time for an upgrade.

The room was fine for now, but once the pups grew up, it would be cramped.

Ye Yun planned to build a small villa for them in the Realm tomorrow.

In Herta Space Station.

Clara stepped out of the teleportation gate and arrived at Herta's lab.

She looked around but didn't see Herta or even any of her puppets.

Clara left the lab and bumped into Asta.

"Clara? What brings you to the space station?"

Clara, now considered one of Herta's students and thus a fellow disciple with Asta, replied:

"Sister Asta! Clara came to find Teacher Herta — I found a new material and want her to look at it."

Asta replied:

"Madam Herta is probably busy adjusting the Simulated Universe. Might take a while."

She checked the time.

"Come on, Clara. I'll give you a tour of the station — you haven't seen it yet, right?"

Clara nodded.

"Okay~ Thank you, Sister Asta."

Asta took Clara on a tour of Herta Space Station. Along the way, many staff were curious — who was this girl that the station master personally accompanied?

As they wandered, they reached the platform and soon ran into Ruan Mei.

Clara and Asta approached her.

"Good evening, Miss Ruan Mei."

"Good evening, Sister Ruan Mei."

Ruan Mei turned around from admiring the starry sky, holding a piece of cake.

"Oh, it's you two."

Clara asked curiously:

"Sister Ruan Mei, did the World Tree seedling successfully grow?"

Ruan Mei nodded slightly.

"So far, it seems successfully transplanted."

Clara nodded and took out the magic crystal ore she got from Rimuru, wanting Ruan Mei to take a look.

Since both Ruan Mei and Herta were in the Genius Society, it was okay to ask her too.

"Sister Ruan Mei, this is magic crystal ore Clara got from Mr. Rimuru.

I used Teacher Herta's instrument to measure its energy conductivity — it showed 99%. I'd like you to check again. I'm worried I made a mistake."

Ruan Mei, while more interested in biology, had some knowledge of mineral materials.

"Alright, let's go to Herta's lab. I'll do a manual test."

For most people, using machines gives more accurate results.

But for geniuses like Ruan Mei and Herta, manual operation often yields even more precise data.

After all, machines are dead — people are alive.

The three entered the lab.

Ruan Mei operated the instruments to analyze the crystal's properties.

Hardness, conductivity, malleability, etc.

Eventually, Ruan Mei announced the results:

"Hardness: 30.198542Energy conductivity: 99.845126%Excellent malleability, no hazardous substances, not industrially synthesized — it's a natural mineral."

That's the difference between professional and amateur — in science, even a decimal can change everything.

Ruan Mei picked up the ore.

"Clara, who exactly is this Rimuru you mentioned? Does he have more of these ores?"