A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 205: Back To Planet Waste
Chapter 205: Back To Planet Waste

With little time on hand, Arix quickly took the Deanna siblings home for a short visit, then they left promptly, nudged along by Fleur’s reminders.

They boarded a spaceship bound for Planet Waste and arrived just before sunset.

As they stepped out of the transportation hall, Arix stood still, taking in the surrounding buildings with a bit of shock.

She remembered the first time she traveled to this spot, piles of garbage were everywhere, even near the hall.

But now, those stinky garbage mountains were gone, replaced by gleaming high-rise buildings.

”Arix, what’s up?” Deanna asked, noticing Arix lost in thought.

”Nothing, just blown away by the changes. I remember garbage mountains here,” Arix replied, scanning the area with a strange mix of nostalgia and surprise. It felt like coming home to a fully renovated house, almost making her think she was in the wrong place.

”Seriously, if you hadn’t said this was Planet Waste, I’d have thought it was a tourist spot,” Deanna said, equally amazed.

”I might know why,” Drexel said with a sly, proud smile.

”Hmm?” Everyone, even the usually indifferent Marceau, turned to look at Drexel.

”This planet’s transformation has a lot to do with you, Arix,” Drexel said, smiling at her.

”What?” Arix was baffled. ”What does this have to do with me?”

With everyone’s curious eyes on him, Drexel’s smile widened. Without dragging it out, he explained, ”Arix, you often underestimate yourself. You might not know it, but you’re a pretty big deal on this planet.”

Arix felt goosebumps at the compliment. ”I like praise, but can we keep it real?”

Deanna, however, was all ears. ”Drexel, go on.”

Feeling slightly indignant that his sister doubted him, Drexel continued, ”I’m not exaggerating. First, you got into the military academy, then you created the psychic power healing potion. The key part is you stayed on this planet. So, some folks think this planet is lucky and decided to move here. As more people came, Planet Waste’s economy boomed, turning it into what you see now.”

Arix thought Drexel’s explanation made some sense but still eyed him skeptically. ”Why do I feel like you’re spinning a tale?”

Drexel pretended to be helpless, spreading his hands and shrugging, ”Arix, whether you buy it or not, as your brother, I suggest you leave here right now.”

”What do you mean?” Arix asked, puzzled.

But in the next second, Arix understood Drexel’s warning. The crowd around them, who had been sneakily watching, seemed to confirm something and started to buzz with excitement.

”Isn’t that Arix?”

”It’s her, definitely her. She looks just like on the interstellarnet.”

”Arix is so beautiful, I want her autograph!”

The noise from the crowd swelled, and they closed in on Arix, almost engulfing her. Shivering with fear, she quickly activated the invisibility mode on her bracelet, disappearing from sight.

”Hey, where did she go?”

”Arix is gone!!”

”Head to Sister Gwen’s orphanage! Arix will definitely go there.”

With this suggestion, the entire spaceship hall emptied out in seconds, leaving only Deanna, Marceau, and Drexel behind, their clothes disheveled from the chaos.

Deanna tidied her hair and sighed, ”Looks like Arix is really popular.”

Drexel laughed, ”You better get used to it. My sister is a star everywhere she goes.”

Deanna rolled her eyes at him and clung to Marceau’s arm. Drexel’s nonchalance about Arix’s sudden disappearance irked her. ’How can he be laughing at a time like this?’

Worried about Arix, Deanna asked, ”Do you think Arix will be safe alone?”

Marceau furrowed his brows in concern, but Drexel seemed unfazed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, fluffy ball.

”What’s that?” Deanna and her siblings stared at the little ball in confusion.

”This,” Drexel said, rubbing his cheek against the small tiger, ”is my sister!”

Arix, in her tiger form, let out a little roar, pushing Drexel’s face away with her paw.

The two siblings were astonished.

With a face now marked by tiny tiger scratches, Drexel grinned and pulled out a Lev. Leading the group, he said, ”Let’s head to the orphanage.”

Inside the Lev, Deanna gently cradled Arix, her eyes sparkling with delight. ”Arix, you look so cute like this.”

The little tiger lifted her chin proudly and let out a tiny roar. Deanna didn’t understand what Arix was saying but was completely charmed by her cuteness.

From the front seat, Drexel glanced back and said, ”Arix, you’re cute, but not the cutest in the world.”

Arix glared at Drexel with her round tiger eyes, her little fangs showing in anger.

Deanna glared at Drexel too. ”Arix is the cutest! The cutest in the world!”

Seeing he had upset both of them, Drexel sighed and conceded, ”Alright, alright, she is the cutest in the world.”

”Hmph!” Both Arix and Deanna huffed in satisfaction, continuing to shower each other with praise.

Drexel, shaking his head with a smile, focused on driving as the two girls chatted happily despite the language barrier.

Not long after, they arrived at their destination.

Drexel surveyed the dense crowd outside and didn’t open the car door right away. Instead, he turned to Arix and the others. ”Should we disguise ourselves before getting out to avoid being recognized?”

Deanna and Marceau exchanged a glance, still feeling uneasy. They looked back at Drexel and nodded in agreement.

”Arf?” Arix lifted a paw, questioning.

Drexel patted Arix’s small head. ”You don’t need a disguise. Just stay in this form for now.”

”Arf,” Arix nodded obediently.

Soon, the three of them, wrapped up tightly and wearing large sunglasses, got out of the car, holding the small tiger.

Drexel put away the Lev and motioned for them to move forward.

Deanna and Marceau followed Drexel quietly to the entrance. Their suspicious behavior caught the attention of others, who thought it might be Arix. But when they realized there was no Arix, someone rolled their eyes. ”Why dress like that in broad daylight? I thought the Arix was here.”

”Maybe they’re dressing like that to get Arix’s attention,” a nearby lady said disdainfully.

”Darn it! So cunning,” others around them said jealously.

Amid the disdain of a group of Arix’s enthusiastic fans, Drexel and the others finally reached the orphanage entrance.

The guard, assuming they were more fans looking for Arix, waved them off impatiently. ”I’ve told you, Miss Arix isn’t here. How many times do I have to say it?”

”Yes, yes, we know. We believe you,” Drexel nodded agreeably.

The guard, surprised by Drexel’s compliance, looked at him more closely. ”Then why are you here? Let me make it clear, I won’t let you in.”

”No need, we’re here to see Sister Gwen. We can go in ourselves,” Drexel said while using Arix’s opticomputer to scan at the gate. The system recognized it, and the door opened, surprising the guard.

Drexel nodded politely to the guard and led his companions inside.

The guard, bewildered, watched them go in. To be sure, he quickly pulled up the entry records on his opticomputer. What he saw was Arix’s name and photo.

”So, it was them,” the guard muttered, putting away his opticomputer. He recalled that one of the wrapped figures seemed to be a girl, possibly Arix.

Before the guard could think more, the crowd outside, seeing Drexel and the others enter, erupted.

”Why can they go in, but we can’t?”

”Yeah, they were dressed all sneaky too.”

”We’re all fans. Why the special treatment?”

Seeing the fans starting to make noise again, the guard picked up a megaphone and shouted impatiently, ”Silence, silence! What are you yelling about? You still don’t get it? The one who just went in was Miss Arix. You can’t even recognize your own idol?”

As soon as the guard finished speaking, the crowd fell into a dead silence. Then, exclamations of surprise erupted.

Inside the orphanage, Drexel led everyone to the director’s office and gently knocked on the door.

”Come in,” a gentle and kind voice called out.

With a click, the door opened softly. Arix, nestled in Deanna’s arms, looked up excitedly. Sure enough, she saw Sister Gwen inside the room.