---o---
Dan Heng grabbed Fu Zhu's wrist, frowning as he carefully took his pulse while asking, "To think you'd actually miss Himeko's coffee... you didn't get cursed out there, did you?"
Welt nodded sagely beside him. "Indeed. Fu Zhu, did you run into some trouble?"
March 7th and Xing, however, were trying to stifle their laughter. They had a different theory; they simply thought Fu Zhu enjoyed the 'abuse' from Himeko's coffee. After all, a coffee capable of inflicting physical damage was a one-of-a-kind treasure in the entire universe!
"Strange, there's nothing wrong with his body." Dan Heng finished his examination. He couldn't find any signs of injury on Fu Zhu. Instead, he detected a faint reaction from the Path of [Finality] within him.
But he didn't press the matter. When Himeko had returned from Jarilo-VI, she had already shared the good news of Fu Zhu becoming an Envoy of Finality with both him and Welt.
Fu Zhu impatiently pulled his hand back from Dan Heng's grasp. "Of course I'm fine. I already told you, I just miss Ms. Himeko's coffee. It feels weird not to have a cup before starting a trailblazing journey."
After the last few times, he'd come to believe Himeko's coffee was quite magical.
If he drank a cup before setting out and suffered no negative effects, it meant the journey would be smooth sailing. If he did, however, it would be fraught with difficulty.
Seeing that Fu Zhu was unharmed, Welt relaxed and gestured for everyone to take a seat on the nearby sofa.
"Let's sit down and rest for a bit. Once Himeko and the Conductor get back, we should be ready to depart."
A moment later, Himeko and Pom-Pom entered from another carriage, followed by a tall, imposing Iron Golem.
"Huh?" Fu Zhu's face lit up with surprise when he saw it. "Iron Golem, you're on the Express too?"
For some reason, Fu Zhu felt the Iron Golem's gaze was a bit resentful. Was it because the blessings of [Preservation] and [Erudition] had granted it sentience?
Sitting to Fu Zhu's left, Xing teased him with a pointed remark. "Old Bro, you made that poor thing and then just abandoned it. It was loyal and protected its master, and what was its reward? You left it all alone on the Luofu! Uncle Yang had to go through a ton of trouble to bring it back!"
"Yeah, yeah!" March 7th, on his right, pointed a finger at the doors connecting the carriages. "Didn't you notice these doors are much bigger now? That's because Uncle Yang and Dan Heng had them specially modified so the Iron Golem could move around freely!"
Dan Heng added from the side, "Beyond that, the Express has undergone some other upgrades. We commissioned artisans on the Luofu to create a dedicated deployment bay for the Iron Golem. In the future, it can be deployed at any time to support us during ground operations."
"That's great," Fu Zhu exclaimed with admiration. The Iron Golem was slow, but like him, it wielded the power of multiple Paths. It was an excellent fighter and guardian, more than capable of protecting Xing and the others from any enemy below the rank of an Envoy. Even if an Envoy did show up, it could help them hold the line for a while.
"Alright, let's get down to business," Himeko said, placing a tray on the coffee table. She served drinks to everyone—coffee for herself and Fu Zhu, and tea or juice for the others.
"Thanks, Himeko (Sis)!" ×N
Everyone picked up their respective drinks and took a sip.
Fu Zhu tilted his head back and downed the entire cup of coffee in one go.
[Hunger II: 0:01]
"Oh, a Hunger debuff this time? Looks like the upcoming journey will have some troubles, but nothing dangerous," Fu Zhu mused. Thanks to the blessings he carried, the Hunger debuff was cleansed in an instant.
"Hm? What are you muttering about, Fu Zhu?" March 7th asked curiously, holding her glass of juice. Fu Zhu just shook his head.
"Nothing, just talking to myself."
Fu Zhu set his empty cup down and looked at Himeko, waiting for her to brief them on Penacony.
Himeko waited until everyone had taken a few sips of their drinks before she began to explain the plan for the trip.
"This time, our trip to Penacony is to fulfill an invitation. Therefore, all of us will be going."
As soon as Himeko finished speaking, Dan Heng raised his hand. "Himeko, the Express needs someone on duty. I'll stay behind this time."
Himeko frowned slightly. "Are you sure?"
Dan Heng nodded. "It's a good opportunity for me to organize the data bank. It's fine."
"Alright, then."
Though everyone was a little disappointed they wouldn't be traveling as a full team, what Dan Heng said made sense. The Express was their home, and a home needs someone to watch over it.
Himeko then turned her head to the rest of the group. "Aside from the personnel arrangements, the Conductor has a few words for everyone."
Fu Zhu and the others turned their attention to Pom-Pom. It was rare for the Conductor to have extra things to say before a departure, so this must be something important.
Pom-Pom trotted forward with small steps and looked up at the crew.
"Esteemed passengers, this time, besides answering the invitation, Pom-Pom hopes you can help look for information about a few Nameless who previously disembarked at Penacony, Pom."
"Nameless?" Fu Zhu's brow furrowed in surprise. "There were Nameless who got off at Penacony before? Did they run into some kind of accident?"
"No, Pom." Seeing that Fu Zhu had jumped to the wrong conclusion, Pom-Pom explained with a smile. "The Express never refuses anyone who wishes to board or leave. Every journey has an end, so it's quite normal for a Nameless to disembark. But even so, Pom-Pom believes their trailblazing journey hasn't stopped. This time, I'm asking you all to find out what those few Nameless have been up to since getting off on Penacony. Think of it as a way of saying hello. And if you're lucky, you might even meet their descendants, Pom!"
Hearing Pom-Pom's explanation, Fu Zhu felt a sense of relief. He had genuinely worried that some Nameless had been killed on Penacony. If that had been the case, he would have had to re-evaluate his coffee-based divination from earlier.
"Alright." Seeing that all matters had been addressed, Pom-Pom spoke again in a formal tone.
"Esteemed passengers, please take your seats and hold on tight—especially you, March 7th! Our destination is Penacony!"