Bai Tang: Poker face JPG.

What a land of ice and snow.

March 7th's clothes were so skimpy that Bai Tang shivered just looking at her. She didn't actually feel cold, but she pulled her own clothes tighter anyway.

Why were she and her companions walking on this snowball? That story began a few hours ago.

She'd keep it short.

The jump had succeeded, but unexpectedly, there was a Stellaron on this supposedly lush planet, and it had sent the Astral Express crashing down. As this was the newbie village, the four youngsters had been sent out by their elders to Trailblaze on their own.

Which was why they were now freezing in the snow.

Thinking about things up to this point, Bai Tang felt all right. The two elders could still back them up, but the Trailblazing ahead made everything go dark before her eyes. First came the Lord Ravager Phantylia, then the half-step Aeon Sunday, and then Iron Tomb, Phainon, and Lian of Fuli, courtesy of the first genius.

Hahahahahahaha.

Fortunately, the UR card had come out.

Bai Tang fixed her vacant gaze on Stelle, feeling that the more she looked at her, the prettier she got.

"Don't worry! With the four of us here, what problem can't we solve?

"Stelle has a Stellaron in her body, I have one-of-a-kind Six-Phased Ice, Bai Tang has super powerful healing abilities, and Dan Heng has... uh, a mysterious past that I don't know anything about.

"Anyone who dares give us trouble is just asking for it!"

Stelle said, "They're asking for it!"

March 7th gave her a half-lidded stare. "...How long have you had these repeating symptoms?"

The group walked onward, chatting as they went.

Stelle didn't like reading, and with her memories gone, her head was empty. She didn't know anything, yet she had plunged into Trailblazing completely bewildered.

So they were mostly explaining things to Stelle.

"The people here believe in Preservation. According to the Data Bank, this place should have had cutting-edge technology. It shouldn't have been destroyed so easily by a Stellaron."

Dan Heng had some doubts. What had happened here to bring a planet with cutting-edge technology to ruin in an instant, without even giving it time to call for help?

Stelle tilted her head in confusion. "Preservation?"

March 7th explained naturally, "It's a Path, just like Destruction. Counting the Paths whose Aeons have fallen but which still exist, there are... there are..."

Dan Heng picked up where she left off. "Seventeen."

"Right, seventeen. You'd better ask Professor Dan Heng about that. I don't know much."

March 7th scratched her head sheepishly. She didn't like spending time in the Data Bank either; Dan Heng was the only one who practically lived in the archives.

"You know the Interastral Peace Corporation, right? They believe in Preservation."

It was hard to imagine that the Interastral Peace Corporation had originally been established to deliver building materials to the Amber Lord.

"The Xianzhou Alliance believes in The Hunt, and the Genius Society represents Erudition. Basically, every Path has its own followers. Just remember it that way, and whenever you're on someone else's turf, always say their local faith is great."

Bai Tang knew all this. She had read the game's text who knew how many times...

There were only fifteen in the game's Data Bank. If Finality, Permanence, and Order were included, there should have been eighteen, so the records were probably incomplete and had left one out.

Stelle scratched her head. Erudition blew through her mind like a breeze, without lingering for a moment.

The four stopped beside a Shivering Snow Pile. Bai Tang looked at this attempt to lure others in by hiding, only to make it obvious for fear that no one would notice, and fell into thought.

"He's cold."

As she spoke, Bai Tang pulled a Flamethrower out of nowhere, aimed it at the snow pile, and fired.

"Yow!"

A man with dark blue hair leaped up and plunged into the snow to put out the fire.

Excellent, Dan Heng's spear was safe! Leaving aside the fact that Sampo came out unharmed after being stabbed with a spear forged by Yingxing, just seeing that he hadn't been hurt annoyed her!

Ugh, this guy had tricked the protagonist's group early on in the story! His intentions were good, and he was basically doing good things, but seeing his shifty, obnoxious face while he tricked people just made her want to beat him up!

In any case, that fire would only make Sampo look a little disheveled at most. It couldn't hurt him.

Sampo wasn't hurt now either, but half his clothes were blackened, making him look utterly ridiculous.

"Come on, buddy, was that really necessary? Hiding in the snow isn't a serious offense. You didn't have to set me on fire, did you?"

She'd leave the negotiations to Dan Heng. Bai Tang had already accomplished her goal and stepped back, but the next second, her expression changed slightly.

She had forgotten something!

Sampo was a Masked Fool!

Crap, Aha would catch the scent and come running.

"Stelle."

Dan Heng was negotiating with Sampo, and she wasn't quite comfortable entrusting this to Little March, so she'd tell Stelle instead. In this situation, Stelle was more reliable.

"If I suddenly... disappear, don't worry."

Stelle didn't know why Bai Tang would say that, but she agreed in a very quiet voice. After that, she kept an eye on Bai Tang.

Then, after Sampo ran away and they were inexplicably surrounded by the Silvermane Guards, who were about to take them alive, Stelle noticed that Bai Tang had vanished without a sound.

It was a strange disappearance, as if she had vanished into thin air rather than slipped away, since Stelle had been watching her the whole time.

"Dan Heng, March, Bai Tang knew she was going to disappear, and now she's gone, just like that—biu."

Dan Heng hadn't even begun to panic before Stelle's words stopped him. Had Bai Tang gone after Sampo?

March 7th patted her chest. "You scared me to death. I thought Sampo had kidnapped her to sell her off."

Since she had said so in advance, she must have been prepared.

Bai Tang, who had neither gone after Sampo nor been kidnapped by him to be sold off, was currently in Path Space. She had merely been spirited away by Aha.

Bai Tang: Cold face JPG.

[Aha, look who I found!]

A red mask flew in front of Bai Tang, its mouth split wide in a laugh and facing her as it made a sound that made people want to laugh along.

Bai Tang: Poker face JPG.

[I didn't expect to meet you here. I thought you'd disappeared.]

Aha began circling Bai Tang, looking extraordinarily affectionate.

Bai Tang: Come on, man, Aha being affectionate isn't a good thing! Help, help, help, help me!

[Look at you now. Aha wants to be a Nameless too.]

Bai Tang said, "Don't mess with... the Express."

Her speech was still coming out in fits and starts. She was so done with this.

[My Akivili, They abandoned me. No, my Akivili is coming back.]

Bai Tang: Wait, it still hasn't been definitively confirmed whether Stelle is Akivili or not. Even if there's a ninety-nine percent chance she is, there's still a one percent chance she isn't! Old Mi might stab us in the back!

Bai Tang: No, wait. How much of what Aha says can be trusted? Just listen and leave it at that. Even if everything he says is true, who knows what he's hiding to mislead people? So it's best to act as if he said nothing.

Soon, another Aeon appeared, with a human face, a horse's body, and a bow and arrows in hand.

It was the Reignbow Arbiter!

He made no sound, merely aimed his bow at Aha.

[Hahahahaha, The Hunt is hostile toward Aha. Aha has really lost face!]

[The little fox doesn't belong to The Hunt now. Aha wants the little fox!]

Bai Tang said, "I'm not yours! I'm... myself!"

Afraid? Afraid my ass! Either way, the blade would fall. If she died, she died; if she didn't, so be it. When had she ever had a good temper? Right now, only her speech was holding her back. Once she had practiced enough, she'd curse you to death—except on the Express!