Astral Express.
A brilliant flash, and Yevenko returned to the train with his passengers in tow.
March 7th and Stelle were still happily stuffing themselves with Luofu's special delicacies, back on the Xianzhou.
Yevenko had briefly discussed with his passengers and decided to bring them back first.
Except Jade.
When Yevenko tried to bring Jade back, she clung desperately to a railing, screaming that she wanted to stay and play longer.
She hadn't even fully enjoyed being the glorious top general of the Luofu Night Squad yet.
But Yevenko wasn't an ordinary parent. Even as Jade clutched the railing, he calmly activated teleportation and forcefully transported her back anyway.
"Hmph! Uncle Yevenko, I'm mad at you!"
Jade pouted indignantly, arms crossed, slumping onto the sofa in frustration.
Yet her eyes sparkled mischievously, clearly plotting something in secret.
Tom, meanwhile, was exhausted. Sliding down Yevenko's body as if descending a ladder, he trudged with sagging shoulders toward Yevenko's room, planning to nap comfortably in his cat bed.
However, just as Yevenko saw Tom tiredly entering the room, the very next second Tom emerged stretching dramatically, fully energized and bright-eyed.
Yevenko: "..."
Could my room be some sort of Hyperbolic Time Chamber?
Does time flow differently inside and out?
Jerry, unnoticed, lay horizontally in Yevenko's chest pocket like a sleeping bag, quietly taking a nap.
Raiden stood serenely at Yevenko's side, utterly silent, almost like his shadow.
If Yevenko didn't clearly see Raiden himself, he might've sometimes thought she wasn't there at all.
She walked over to a chair—one perfectly positioned to observe Yevenko clearly.
Gently smoothing her kimono beneath her curves, adjusting the fabric across her pale thighs, she sat elegantly, silently fixing her gaze upon him.
Yevenko quickly moved near the train doors.
With a brief thought, the [Draw] option softly illuminated, opening its detailed interface within his mind.
This time's gains were enormous. Seeing his plentiful draws, Yevenko felt an indescribable satisfaction as a mouse hoarder.
But still, draws were meant to be spent—the thrill of drawing was far superior to mere satisfaction from hoarding.
Simply put, one felt like saving money slowly, the other like spending extravagantly…
"My turn—let's blow it all!"
Purple lights flashed repeatedly. Perhaps because "Tom and Jerry" was his first drawn world, most of the purple flashes came from "Tom and Jerry" related items.
Of course, there were many peaches too, simple restorative items.
With these peaches, Raiden wouldn't need to worry about the power of the Nihility Path affecting her condition.
Yevenko stashed the purple items and some milk into his backpack; the rest scattered onto the floor of the Astral Express.
Tom immediately donned a cleaning bandana and apron, methodically tidying up.
It swiftly stacked the items high into neat piles, rushing around busily.
Then, Tom took out a small box from behind, forcefully shoving everything into it. When the items threatened to burst back out, Tom gritted its teeth and slammed the box shut.
Instantly, the small box became calm again. Tom gracefully placed it into a cabinet, efficiently storing everything.
If not for Tom's absurdly skilled packing technique, Yevenko figured his train wouldn't have room for this haul.
Yevenko drew rapidly, though it felt as though MiHoYo had secretly checked his inventory—seeing his huge exploration points—and purposely pushed him to the 80-draw pity.
Finally, as that brilliant golden light exploded, Yevenko's heart skipped a beat.
A cute, fluffy figure resembling a white cat yet oddly bat-like floated out.
Behind it hovered another similar figure, resembling a black cat, bat-like as well, remaining silent in the background.
To Yevenko, the small black cat appeared more like an upside-down Hyper Zetton.
Why did two characters appear simultaneously?
Confused, Yevenko glanced at the system's popup.
[Vatz]
[From "Gushing Over Magical Girls," a mascot creature who bestows magical-girl powers.]
Yevenko turned his attention toward the small Hyper Zetton figure behind Vatz.
[Venalita]
[From "Gushing Over Magical Girls," mascot (Silver Beast) of the evil villainess...]
[Summoning anomaly!]
[Summoning anomaly!][Summoning anomaly!]
Just as the summoning anomaly appeared, Venalita, who had silently hovered there, suddenly opened a black vortex in front of itself and plunged inside, instantly disappearing.
"Huh?!"
A summoning anomaly meant Venalita wasn't intended to appear this time—it had simply tagged along for some unknown reason.
Yet now it had run off again?
Yevenko vaguely remembered the anime "Gushing Over Magical Girls." It was an ordinary, wholesome anime filled with love and (desire for) peace, full of "justice," entirely suitable for teenagers.
Not much different from other magical girl shows—so long as one's heart or willpower was strong enough, shouting about bonds and such, their power would surge rapidly upwards.
Exactly how high? Nobody knew.
Just that this magical-girl show had a tiny, insignificant hint of suggestiveness added in.
But now, the source of that suggestiveness seemed to have run away.
Probably wouldn't cause too much trouble, right?
But Yevenko wondered if he'd ever have a chance to catch it later.
While Yevenko pondered, Vatz's cute, blank white eyes filled with curiosity. It floated familiarly in front of Yevenko, surveying its surroundings.
"Hey, everyone! I'm Vatz!"
It suddenly floated right in front of Raiden, cheerfully saying:
"Young lady! I see great potential in you to become a magical girl. Do you wish to become a magical girl and save the world?"
Raiden shook her head quietly.
Vatz deflated a little.
"What a pity. Your heart is extraordinarily strong—you could become an incredibly powerful magical girl. With my guidance toward beauty and goodness, perhaps the dazzling brilliance within you could shatter the darkness in your heart~"
Hearing Vatz's last words, subtle ripples broke through Raiden's previously tranquil eyes.
"You can sense my condition?"
Vatz nodded its little head, blank eyes unblinking as it spoke.
"Of course! Before magical girls, evil and darkness have nowhere to hide."
Raiden hesitated slightly at this.
Seeing Raiden considering it, Vatz quickly drifted toward Jade.
"Young lady! I see great potential in you as well. Would you like to become a magical girl and save the world?"
Jade immediately snorted.
"If I save the world, who's going to save me from being locked up here by Uncle Yevenko!"
Clearly, Jade still yearned to continue her adventures on Xianzhou Luofu. It was a brand-new world, after all. Despite her world-saving escapades, she hadn't truly had enough time to relax and enjoy herself before being dragged back here.
Hearing Jade's words, Vatz grinned confidently.
"That's easy—I'll just make Master into a magical girl too!"
"That way, everyone can become magical girls and save the world together!"
Jade's eyes widened immediately, full of doubt.
"But isn't Uncle Yevenko a guy? Can a guy even become a magical girl?"
Jade openly expressed skepticism.
Vatz paused briefly, a brilliant flash of light appearing in its hand, conjuring a book. It quickly flipped through the pages, nodding along.
"No problem. Among other magical-girl cases, like "I'm a Magical Girl" or the variant "I, Will Become a Twintail", there are plenty of precedents of guys transforming. It's just—"
Before Vatz could finish, Jade quickly exclaimed:
"Then I agree!"
Hearing this, Vatz swiftly swallowed back the words "but only if Master agrees." Beneath its blank eyes, a delighted smile appeared.
…
Yevenko was still busy pulling cards!
Flush with riches, he'd grown numb to purple flashes, his eyes now set solely on the golden glow.
Fortunately, this time luck favored him—not even needing to hit the 80-draw guarantee. A golden flash exploded at seventy pulls.
From within that brilliant burst, countless silhouettes surged forth.
More precisely, a pack of cartoonish wolves poured out from the doorway like a flood, pushing Yevenko and everyone else back into the middle of the Astral Express.
Leading them was a thin, gangly wolf standing right before Yevenko, smiling sheepishly.
"Sorry about that, boss!"
It immediately pursed its lips, swiftly licking Yevenko's face with rapid-fire tongue flicks, instantly smearing him in drool.
Then it loudly shouted:
"Alright boys, transform! Show our boss some love!"
In a flash, the entire wolf pack neatly assembled itself, biting teeth-to-tail, rapidly forming into a gigantic heart shape.
Yevenko's thoughts flickered, swiftly pulling up the popup window.
[Wolf Pack]
[From "Storks": Unleash your imagination; within their combined volume, this wolf pack can transform into anything you can think of.]
Yevenko initially thought such a mass summon might be another anomaly, like before.
But surprisingly, these wolves counted as one unit—not an anomaly.
Seeing Yevenko momentarily distracted, the wolves instantly reacted:
Crack—!
The heart split dramatically down the middle, and the wolves sat neatly, looking dejected.
Noticing their disappointed looks, Yevenko's face softened into a gentle smile.
"You've come from far away. You must be thirsty."
"Tom, give them some milk to refresh them."
Tom quickly zipped over, blinked once, and instantly donned a gentlemanly tuxedo. Gracefully, it guided the wolves aside, whipping out stacks of precariously balanced plates.
Casually tossing them, each plate neatly landed before every wolf.
Then, opening a small cupboard, Tom retrieved the tiny box and flipped it open.
Milk erupted forth like a geyser.
Tom leaped upward, grabbing one bottle midair. He squeezed it like rubber, and a high-pressure milk jet instantly filled one plate.
Repeating the trick at blinding speed, Tom rapidly squeezed out bottles of milk one by one.
Noticing one last leftover bottle, a mischievous grin appeared on Tom's face.
Glancing at Jerry—who had quietly woken up and now sat on a nearby table—Tom aimed the bottle at him.
Squirt—!
Jerry instantly got a faceful of white liquid.
Whipping around, Jerry saw Tom clutching his belly, laughing hysterically.
Jerry's lower lip engulfed his upper one, his expression furious. His legs spun like mini-tornadoes as he charged straight at Tom.
Meanwhile, Yevenko kept pulling cards.
Though his specialized tickets still numbered around fifty, he didn't trust his luck, deciding to wait until he guaranteed another rare pull.
But he still had plenty of standard tickets remaining.
Continuing to draw fiercely, Yevenko quickly obtained several [Transformation Stone Injector (Large)] items.
He also pulled multiple bottles of [Tom's Special Milk].
The most common pulls were bottles of [Shrink Milk prepared by Tom and Jerry together]. He now had enough shrink milk to fill sacks—enough to casually drink for fun.
Then, he drew a cartoon goldfish in a bowl. Yevenko recognized it from the "Tom and Jerry" universe—another comedic creature. He placed it on a step by the window, serving as extra defense for the Astral Express.
The next pull yielded a tiny yellow bird in a cage, which Yevenko casually hung on a rail by the window.
Finally, another golden flash burst forth.
A grey-white bulldog wearing a red collar emerged, a huge bone clenched between its teeth.
Upon seeing Yevenko, joy instantly filled the dog's dark eyes. It quickly attempted to swallow the bone sideways in excitement—only to have it get stuck, clearly outlined sideways in its throat.
Unbothered, it sprinted toward Yevenko, wrapping both paws affectionately around his leg, enthusiastically licking him like savoring a tasty bone, nearly pulling Yevenko's flesh upwards.
Mid-licking, it loudly exclaimed in clear speech:
"Oh, Master! I've missed you so much!"
Yevenko didn't even need to open the popup to know exactly who this was…
—Spike!
Just as Yevenko bent down, preparing to affectionately pet Spike—always the loyal protector from "Tom and Jerry"—
BOOM—!
A thunderous crash erupted behind him.
Turning rapidly, Yevenko's pupils shrank sharply, his reaction instantaneous:
"What the hell?!"
"Where did my rear carriage go?!!"
Before his eyes stretched a galaxy brimming with stars—the Astral Express's rear carriage had vanished entirely.
Stuck on Star Rail, home demolished—urgent!
In the very next moment, the Astral Express began plunging downward.
---
T/N: its over, no more train...