Mind Your Manners

The Japanese commentator explained the current situation to Inukai as quickly as possible.

"Jibber jabber... blah blah blah..."

"Nani!?"

Inukai, who had just arrived at the stop after a long trek, pushing his cart and leading his fox, felt as though he had been struck by lightning.

"All contestants get rewards for killing other people, and you even struck first, attacking the Huaxia contestant you thought was an easy target, only to get killed by her instead. Then you discovered she wasn't ordinary, with a danger level of five at a stop where the highest danger level was three, and now she's waiting inside for me?"

"And this danger-level-five Chinese contestant recruited a muscleman who can crush people's heads at the wax museum, and also brought along a danger-level-three monster that obeys her?"

"There are also several warmongers in the amusement park who got a head start, found weapons, and acquired skills, and they're hunting other contestants inside?"

Of the ten minutes they had to communicate, Inukai spent half just taking all of this in.

"Yes, that's exactly right."

"Is there a button to quit life?" Inukai asked.

"No, but don't panic. Our intelligence was mistaken. Himeko isn't the vicious monster we initially thought she was. Quite the opposite-she's a good person."

"How so?"

Hearing that there was a way out, Inukai finally stopped looking as miserable as if his parents had died.

"Although Himeko possesses methods we haven't been able to analyze, our observations suggest that she's actually a kindhearted person. If you go and explain things properly, not only will you avoid making an enemy of her, you could also gain a powerful ally."

"As far as we know, Himeko is of mixed heritage, and there are no other Huaxia people in this entire national destiny instance. If you approach her, you might even be able to establish a connection."

Inukai nodded.

If things really were as they said, with the other contestants giving her a wide berth, approaching Himeko would not only earn him her protection, but also let him use her fearsome reputation to keep the other contestants away.

"In that case, it shouldn't be much of a problem."

Inukai rallied himself and glanced at the Nine-Tailed Fox beside him, which did not even reach his calves.

"Then let's go! To the wax museum!"

His ticket was checked, and he entered, only for another notification to appear.

[Five-star contestant detected: Inukai has entered. Issuing mission.]

[As the owner of a Five-Star Guardian God, you are different from the rest. Even as a newcomer, you must make a spectacular debut!]

[Mission objective: Kill at least three contestants in the amusement park. Mission rewards: Guardian deity draws +1, train upgrades +2, one additional skill draw, Nine-Tailed Fox level +1.]

The sudden notification startled Inukai.

Then came wild delight.

To think the owner of a Five-Star Guardian God could receive additional missions! And such generous rewards, too!

"Himeko is out of the question. I can't beat her. But I could team up with her to hunt some of the weaker contestants."

Inukai did not know which other contestants were in the amusement park, but according to the commentator's information, he was the only one with a five-star guardian deity!

Pom-Pom? That could wait until it could get off the train. Right now, he was the only one!

He beckoned to the Nine-Tailed Fox, and it followed him.

"I wonder what level I'm at now, and whether I can handle the other contestants."

On the way here, Inukai had tested the Nine-Tailed Fox's strength. He judged that no other animal on all of Blue Star could match it at the same size.

As a guardian deity, the Nine-Tailed Fox had more than brute strength. It also had an overpowered set of abilities, capable of actively unleashing mental interference and firing blasts from its mouth.

Inukai himself was no longer the same as before, either.

His physical fitness had increased dramatically, and his reflexes had improved as well.

It was all these changes that made him feel he could handle the other contestants apart from Himeko, and even some of the dangers in the park.

He had also picked up a map from the newsstand, learning his own location and the direction of the wax museum.

He could see the amusement park's exploration progress in his field of vision.

[Amusement park exploration progress: 7%. The route out can be unlocked at 50%.]

"Only 7%? After all this time, I thought it would be at least thirty or forty. But that's good, too. It means plenty of supplies in the amusement park haven't been taken!"

In fact, apart from places like the haunted house and wax museum, which practically advertised how dangerous they were, the convenience store, restaurant, and some of the milder areas had all received at least a few visitors.

At the restaurant, contestants were being chased by an enormous plate of Pig Trotter Rice. They all ran very fast. The slow ones had become part of the Pig Trotter Rice.

"Do Huaxia people have to fight this thing every time they eat?!"

At the convenience store, someone was being chased and bombarded by a giant cola cannon. One careless move, and the carbonic acid in the soda would corrode them completely.

"Why are you different from the cola I usually drink?"

At the bumper cars, four bumper cars were kicking a contestant's head around like a ball.

Even after escaping the Amusement Park Monster's attacks, there were still other contestants playing dirty, suddenly emerging from the shadows to stab people clean through.

As Inukai walked along, he had already spotted several corpses beside the path.

Some had died of knife wounds, some had been shot in vital areas, and some were even missing half their bodies, with the other half probably already in someone's stomach.

A faint smell of blood hung in the air. The sight of those corpses made Inukai's stomach churn, and he vomited all over the roadside.

Before he could recover, a Black man covered in blood emerged from the shadows, holding a kitchen knife.

Unable to understand each other, they spent a while talking at cross-purposes before inevitably coming to blows.

With his Five-Star Guardian God, he easily turned the tables and killed the Black man, then took his weapon and cautiously entered the wax museum.

The wax museum had two floors. The workroom where Himeko had used Imagenesis technology to create Himechi Cat was on the second floor.

Only after confirming that there were no flaws in Himechi Cat did Himeko take her and Taco to continue exploring the wax museum.

With a place this big, Himeko believed there had to be something good hidden inside.

"Perhaps we could check the staff lounge for instant coffee or something? I've been looking forward to coffee from another world."

"Sounds good. How about checking out the gym afterward? I'll get some equipment. There might even be protein powder and cutting meals someone left behind."

"Protein powder... I wonder if I could add it to coffee."

Listening to Himeko and Taco's conversation, Himechi Cat lamented the Astral Express's bleak future.

"Is this a conversation humans should be having? Why does it sound so weird?"

"Perhaps I should have used Imagenesis to give you the appearance of a Baseball Bat Raccoon or a March 7th Hare instead."

Himeko realized her mistake. Himechi Cat had none of the original character's elegance. Instead, her offhand snark and fondness for saying strange things made her very much like certain children on the train.

"But I am you... Fine, not entirely. Cut me some slack. I'm just a kid who was born less than four hours ago."

"Aren't you going to give her some muscle? She looks so ugly like this."

"Do you really have human aesthetic standards? This appearance was created by the famous Teacher Ma."

"Himechi Cat, mind your manners."