"Holy crap, it's already midnight!"
With the reflexes of a man who'd been single for years, the young man immediately clicked the icon in the upper right corner.
Then, fireworks bloomed across the screen, followed by his queue number.
Next to Jing Yuan's illustration was a string of digits: "NO.000114514."
"Uh… this… in less than a second, I'm already over 100,000 places behind? Whatever."
The young man burrowed into his blanket and hit play.
It was the same familiar sight, the same familiar scene, the same familiar train carriage.
—
The screen brightened, revealing Caelus sitting on the sofa.
A broadcast echoed through the carriage—Pom-Pom's voice.
"Testing—testing—"
"Thank you for waiting, passengers! Thanks to the tireless efforts of our three Trailblazers, the Fragmentum's activity has dropped to its lowest level, and the Star Rail's readings have returned to normal!"
"The Express is about to depart Jarilo-VI. Please remain seated and hold on tight—let's say our final goodbyes to this planet!"
Caelus glanced out the window at the ice-covered world and waved.
Then he leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes.
Meanwhile, in the archives,
Dan Heng, deep in slumber, had cold sweat beading on his forehead. His expression twisted, his brows furrowing tightly.
The camera zoomed in on his forehead, slowly delving into his dream.
—
"The Xianzhou Luofu • Shackling Prison."
Blade was escorted by two Cloud Knights to stand before Jing Yuan.
Jing Yuan opened his eyes. "Yanqing."
Yanqing bowed. "Yes, General."
"Later, observe this man closely… Do you remember me?"
Blade's voice was hoarse, like gravel. "There are five people… and three must pay the price. Jing Yuan… you are not one of them."
[He really isn't one of them, Jing Yuan's temper is seriously too good!]
[Didn't expect this season to start with heartache for Jing Yuan already, wuuu…]
[The Xianzhou's ultimate stress absorber!]
In the next moment, the scene cut back to Dan Heng's magnificent face.
He tossed and turned, because in his dream,
Blade swung a shattered Zhilu toward him.
"There are five people… and three must pay the price. You… are one of them."
"Hah… hah… hah…"
Dan Heng jolted awake in terror, his expression shaken.
Just then, a knock at the door pulled him back to reality.
"Wait… I'm coming."
March 7th smirked triumphantly. "Told you, Caelus. He was definitely sleeping in. Pay up, Trailblazer. You're on coffee cup duty this week."
Caelus' face fell into utter despair.
After some idle chatter, the group decided to follow the tradition set by Akivili: "The path of a Nameless shall be chosen by the Nameless themselves."
Before deciding on their next destination, they gathered to cast their votes.
Pom-Pom stood between the four of them. "Passengers! The warp route meeting officially begins! Next, this conductor will announce the name of our next stop—"
Just then, a woman's hologram materialized out of thin air on the train…
"Long time no see, everyone aboard the Astral Express. I'm Kafka."
[Oh, here she comes! Mom's finally here!]
[Why is Mom holding an umbrella? You won't grow tall if you open one indoors!]
[Idiot! This is a train, not indoors.]
[Mom, I missed you so much! You're finally in the main story. Your screentime is criminally low.]
[Mooooom~~~~~~~]
[Mommy, you're finally here!]
—
The camera shifted to a low-angle shot at Kafka's feet.
She strode forward leisurely.
"Ah, perfect timing. Everyone's here—well, almost everyone."
Himeko's eyes flickered with disdain as she looked away.
Meanwhile, Caelus' eyes were wider than usual.
Himeko fiddled with her restless right hand. "You can skip the charming introductions, Stellaron Hunter."
"Himeko, right?" Kafka raised a single finger. "Apologies for interrupting your gathering."
She elegantly spread her hands. "But I believe once you hear my request, you'll understand my intrusion. I'd like you… to change your destination."
[So this is the showdown between birth mom and adoptive mom?]
[The custody battle of the century?]
[Both of them feel murderous.]
[Sorry, but I ship birth mom and adoptive mom.]
[+1.]
[+1.]
—
"'Stellaron Hunter'—I've seen you before, though only on the IPC's wanted list. The bounty on your head is astronomical… and it's dead or alive. Do you even know how much you're worth?"
Himeko's tone remained sharp.
Kafka let out a coy "Hmm," then shook her head. "Not really. The IPC's bounties… rather than infamy, I'd call them praise. The higher the number, the greater the compliment."
Then, Kafka and Himeko locked horns.
The conversation touched on how the Stellaron Hunters, led by Elio, pursued the most dangerous things in the universe—Stellarons.
Just like the Astral Express, they were fundamentally the same kind of people—like light and shadow, brightness and darkness.
Eventually, Kafka steered the topic toward the Luofu.
A master of rhetoric, she draped a lofty mantle over the group:
"Of course, you could stay uninvolved. Activate the warp now, and you can leave for the next world before the Stellaron taints this sector. But in time, this Star Rail will be blocked again.
I can tell you what the future holds: if you don't go to the Luofu, the Stellaron will eventually corrupt the entire Xianzhou ship. Half its inhabitants will perish…
Brave Trailblazers, noble Nameless—I doubt you'd stand by and let that happen."
On screen, Himeko's earlier disdain had faded. "…And your comrade, Blade—he won't be spared either, will he?"
Kafka paused for a few seconds. "That… I can't say.
The coordinates are here. The choice is yours.
Though our goals differ, the paths of the stars will eventually converge. Farewell."
Before anyone else could speak, Kafka's projection vanished.
Himeko exhaled and turned to March 7th. "March, go get Dan Heng."
While March fetched Dan Heng, Caelus had a deep conversation with Welt Yang aboard the train.
Not only did Welt elaborate on the Xianzhou Alliance and the Aeon Lan, The Hunt, but he also revealed the Express's original destination: the Festival Star, Penacony.
After the talk, Caelus noticed March had been gone for ages. Suspicious of her slacking off, he headed to the passenger cabin.
There, March was in the middle of an animated rant.
"I already got him out and told him what happened! Listen, we're all voting no later, got it? No way I'm taking orders from that woman.
Like, what are the odds? A Stellaron erupts, a Stellaron Hunter shows up right near us—no way that's a coincidence.
Ugh, pisses me off! Hijacking our comms, hanging up like she owns the place—so rude! Hey, Trailblazer, I heard you used to know her? Was she always this insufferable?"
Caelus crossed his arms. "A real man keeps his past locked away."
"Wow, picking now to be responsible… Just giving you a heads-up: we're all voting no together!"
"Damn right we are!"