Chapter 66: Sampo: Ah, No, It's Coming For Me!
"Oh?"
Himeko paused, her coffee cup hovering just inches from its saucer. Beside her, Welt adjusted his glasses, a rare flicker of surprise crossing his usually stoic features as they both turned to look at Leon.
"You think it would be better if I joined the ground team?" Welt asked, his deep voice tinged with genuine curiosity.
"Absolutely," Leon leaned back into the plush sofa of the parlor car, a knowing, almost mischievous grin playing on his lips. "There are quite a few of your 'old acquaintances' down there, Mr. Yang. It is much better to rip the bandage off and adapt in advance rather than stumble into a sudden, painfully awkward reunion one day..."
Leon chose his words with deliberate tact. He vividly remembered the sheer, unadulterated tension of Welt's encounter with Luocha. Awkward was an understatement. If Welt's internal monologue had been broadcasted that day, it would have been a continuous loop of: That wasn't awkward! Otto, prepare to die!
Of course, on that frozen little ice ball of a planet, there were simply too many faces Mr. Yang would find startlingly familiar. From the Supreme Guardian Cocolia and her adopted daughter Bronya, all the way down to a fierce girl named Seele in the Underworld. Welt would probably suffer a severe case of déjà vu with nearly everyone he crossed paths with.
With a little early exposure, Mr. Yang would likely build up some much-needed immunity to the shock.
"Oh? Old acquaintances?"
Welt instantly straightened up, his posture shifting into a state of sharp alertness.
After all, the elegant navigator sitting across from him—Himeko—was, in a very real sense, an alternate-universe counterpart of the "Murata Himeko" he had known and lost. Upon hearing Leon's casual warning, the seasoned Trailblazer immediately connected the dots: there were likely similar alternate existences waiting for him on Jarilo-VI.
It had to be said that Welt was growing increasingly familiar with Leon and his eccentric personality. The most important factor was that Leon never bothered to hide anything. He was shamelessly, unapologetically candid.
This was precisely why Welt firmly believed Leon was not originally from their universe. If Leon had a secret, he would usually just blurt it out for his own amusement.
"Then do you want to head down with them?" Himeko asked, a warm smile gracing her lips as she looked at Welt.
Since Leon had laid out the reasoning so clearly, Himeko naturally had no reason to deny Welt the opportunity to investigate.
"I'll go take a look," Welt nodded slowly, his expression serious. "But I will try my best not to intervene in their local affairs."
"Alright, it's settled then. However, I suggest you all get some good rest and recharge your energy. We will set off tomorrow morning," Himeko added, her tone carrying the gentle authority of the Express's navigator.
"I have already started organizing the ecological and survey data for Jarilo-VI."
Dan Heng nodded in response, his arms crossed as he prepared for the upcoming expedition. "Preliminary surveys show that only one specific area on the planet's surface maintains relatively normal temperatures."
"But 'normal' is used loosely here. It is only to the extent that humans can barely survive the cold."
"If we need to choose a landing site for the Trailblaze investigation, I strongly suggest starting from that relatively warm coordinate."
"It is always beneficial to gather more concrete intelligence before blindly starting the journey."
Himeko nodded with visible satisfaction. Dan Heng was, as always, the one who worried her the least.
Night fell over the Astral Express. Inside Leon's room, the soft, ambient hum of the engine provided a rhythmic backdrop to the quiet intimacy of the space.
"Are the samples still enough? If not... I have plenty more right here."
Leon spoke with a lazy, teasing smile, leaning back against the edge of his bed.
Hearing this, Ruan Mei paused her movements. She couldn't help but cast a slight, sidelong glance at him, her beautiful eyes shimmering with a complex emotion. Yet, she didn't say a single word to stop him.
Although Ruan Mei hadn't officially registered as a member of the Astral Express, her daily routine felt no different from a resident Trailblazer. Every single night, without fail, Leon would pull her into his room.
By now, the genius scholar had grown somewhat accustomed to this routine. Experimental samples that were originally considered universally priceless and extremely precious were now piled up in such abundance that she truly had more than she could ever use in a lifetime.
"It is just that..." Ruan Mei murmured softly, the corners of her lips unconsciously curling into a faint, breathtakingly beautiful arc. "...I quite like it too."
"By the way, starting from tomorrow, I might not have as much free time to pull you over here," Leon said, his tone shifting slightly.
"Why?" Ruan Mei asked, tilting her head in mild puzzlement.
"Tomorrow, we will officially begin the Trailblaze of the planet right outside that window."
Leon stepped forward, reaching out to pull back the heavy curtains. He gestured for Ruan Mei to look out into the void.
She stepped closer, her slender hands pressing lightly against the cold glass of the window, her face leaning in close. Through the transparent barrier, Ruan Mei quietly gazed at the unfamiliar, sprawling starry sky and the white planet hanging in the distance.
"That little ice ball?"
Ruan Mei's voice was flat, entirely devoid of interest. After all, she was not a starry-eyed traveler walking the Path of Trailblaze. She was a mad scholar, entirely obsessed with the life sciences and the ultimate goal of creating an Aeon.
"Yes, that little ice ball. But on that little ice ball, there is a Stellaron that has actually developed a consciousness. I am not entirely sure if it counts as a true life form yet, but it's fascinating."
Leon spoke with a slow, deliberate smile, knowing exactly what buttons to push.
"Oh?" Hearing the word 'consciousness', Ruan Mei finally showed a spark of genuine interest. She turned her gaze back to the frozen planet.
"I have heard there is a very strong connection between Stellarons and the Path of Destruction. It seems to fit that little fox quite well," Ruan Mei said softly, her mind already spinning with calculations.
"Little fox?" Leon was stunned for a fraction of a second before he burst into a short laugh. "Ah, you mean Tingyun..."
"Um." Ruan Mei nodded gracefully.
"Do you want that Stellaron?" Leon asked, his eyes crinkling with amusement.
"Can I?" Ruan Mei asked back, a rare, playful smile dancing in her eyes.
"Of course you can. But speaking of which, Ruan Mei, you really do seem to have a rather specific hobby of collecting items, don't you?"
"Like Yu Qingtu's poisonous wine, machine oil directly from Screwllum, and... Herta Puppet fragments?"
Leon's tone was entirely relaxed, dripping with a heavy hint of teasing. And of course, he mentally added, his personal samples.
Somewhere in the space station, a certain Herta Puppet was probably cursing this inhumane scientist.
"Where did you hear these ridiculous things from?" Ruan Mei gave him another elegant, exasperated eye-roll.
She did not have such a strange, hoarding habit, nor was she bored enough to collect random junk.
"Well, after all, you do like to collect items... that carry a very personal mark, don't you?" Leon chuckled, his gaze dropping meaningfully.
Yu Qingtu was the 55th member of the Genius Society. A brilliant biologist and pharmacist by profession, she was infamous for concocting lethal poisons and volatile potions disguised as colorful cocktails. Her personality was reclusive and highly eccentric, outright refusing any cooperation with the Interstellar Peace Corporation. Her drinks often contained deadly toxins or bizarre special effects—such as the legendary Curios 'Pink Collision'and'Thaltoxin Flame'.
Yes, those two notoriously dangerous drinks found within the Simulated Universe were both originally concocted by Yu Qingtu's own hands.
"I do not have such a habit..."
Perfectly understanding the shameless double entendre hidden in Leon's words, Ruan Mei rolled her eyes once more, though a faint flush crept up her neck.
The next morning arrived with a flurry of activity. Leon escorted Ruan Mei back to her quarters, freshened himself up, and strolled into the Express's parlor car.
Everyone was already packed, geared up, and gathered in the center of the room.
"Is everyone ready?" Himeko smiled warmly as she looked around at the assembled crew.
"I am ready." Dan Heng gripped the shaft of the Cloud-Piercer, his expression steady and focused.
"I am ready too." Welt pushed up his glasses—which, Leon noted with amusement, still had absolutely no prescription in them.
"We're ready too!" Stelle and Caelus declared in perfect unison, practically vibrating with chaotic confidence.
They had packed their survival gear, but this time, they wouldn't be taking the Cat Cakes down to the surface with them. The squishy little creatures had virtually zero survival capabilities in extreme environments, so it was infinitely safer for them to stay behind and roam the Express.
"Jarilo-VI Trailblaze squad, setting off now!"
March 7th threw her arm into the air, cheering with infectious excitement.
"Go, go, go! Let's head out." Leon nodded, matching her energy with a bright smile.
"Please head to the landing pod. I will send you to the designated coordinates, pom!" Pom-Pom ran over, their long ears flopping as they spoke with absolute professional seriousness.
The Astral Express's landing pod was, in true trailblazing fashion, a specially modified, heavy-duty carriage. It bore a striking resemblance to the armored transport they would eventually use for the Amphoreus route.
The crew piled in, strapping themselves into the crash seats.
"Three, two, one—launch, pom!"
As Pom-Pom's countdown hit zero, the carriage carrying the entire squad shot out from the Express's underbelly with an abrupt, violent jolt. It breached the atmosphere, falling rapidly like a flaming meteor toward the frozen wasteland of Jarilo-VI.
Inside the cockpit, Leon's hands danced across the manual override controls. He had already locked the targeting system onto a very specific, seemingly inconspicuous snow pile down below.
Adjusting the descent posture. Calculating the exact landing point. Preparing for maximum impact—
Off you go!
Down on the blindingly white surface of the snow plains, a certain blue-haired merchant was currently huddled inside what he thought was a perfectly camouflaged snowdrift.
Hearing a deafening roar tearing through the sky, he peeked out. His pupils shrank to tiny pinpricks as he stared at the flaming metal box hurtling directly toward his face.
"Ah?" Sampo Koski shrieked, scrambling backward in the snow, his voice cracking in pure terror. "No, wait—it's coming right for me!"
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