I'm Himeko, navigator of the Astral Express

The silver-white saw blade traced a perfect arc through the air, blocking the path in front of the wailing contestant.

The high-strength monomolecular saw did not even suffer a scratch under the red-nosed doctor's full-force attack.

"Are you all right?"

Holding the saw in one hand, Himeko reached out to the contestant on the floor and pulled her up.

"Get behind me. Leave this to me."

Once pulled to her feet, the contestant ran straight toward safety without looking back. Himeko raised her head and met the red-nosed doctor's gaze.

The red-nosed doctor wore a clown mask. An enormous red nose, trailing blood vessels, had forcibly taken root where his nose should have been.

A closer look revealed one eyeball-like blackhead after another on the fist-sized red nose.

"You don't seem to pay much attention to facial hygiene."

When facing an enemy, Himeko always had just one response.

The red-nosed doctor roared, aiming his blood-filled syringe at Himeko. A stream of scarlet, foul-smelling blood shot toward her.

The blood traveled no slower than the jet from a high-pressure hose. Himeko remained composed and easily dodged the attack.

The monomolecular saw roared in her hand. Even in high heels, Himeko ran as easily as if she were on level ground.

Bean AI, built into the smart glasses, had certified Himeko's strength at a full level five! By contrast, the small mountain of a red-nosed doctor before her was merely level two.

After a few exchanges, Himeko swept past him at incredible speed with her large electric saw, leaving several cuts across his body.

The monomolecular saw was so sharp that the red-nosed doctor initially noticed nothing wrong. Only after he charged two steps toward Himeko did the severed parts begin separating from his body and crashing to the floor.

As his body fell to pieces, the red-nosed doctor stopped moving entirely.

[Level-two threat killed: red-nosed doctor. Obtained emergency medical kit ×3, panacea ×1. Huaxia's medical standards increased by 10%.]

[Panacea: headaches and fevers, athlete's foot and impotence, insomnia and broken bones-just drink it. Guaranteed to cure what ails you.]

Himeko took out the panacea. It was a tiny glass test tube containing a liquid as clear as water, colorless and odorless when she sniffed it.

Wasn't this medicine a little too potent?

Surprised by the effects of the little vial in her hand, Himeko did not linger. Instead, she entered the infirmary and quickly searched for medicine that could treat Taco.

Invincible Greymon-the name sounded anything but serious, yet Himeko did not think he had been lying.

If ordinary medicine could cure Taco, there was no need to use something better. The better medicine could be saved for the next time ordinary medicine would not work. The infirmary held plenty of medicine, and Himeko picked up two bottles without difficulty.

[Contestant obtained emergency medicine for the first time. Huaxia's medical standards increased by 1%.]

There were still many places worth exploring in the infirmary, but Himeko did not linger. She had not forgotten that she had brought along an injured man who needed treatment.

The safe place the contestant Himeko had just rescued fled toward was precisely where Taco and Himechi Cat were.

She had been fleeing, but the sight of Taco with his bandaged arm and Himechi Cat beside him calmed her down.

That redhead just now seemed to be the Crimson Beast the authorities had so urgently told her about, someone capable of tearing monsters apart with her bare hands.

"Are you all right?"

Though injured himself, Taco still chose to ask about her injuries first. Fortunately, she understood English, allowing them to communicate easily.

"I'm fine. What happened to you?"

"A fracture. Nothing serious."

The female contestant nodded in understanding, her mind racing.

A burly man, but badly injured. The fox beside him should be his guardian deity.

According to the information the authorities provided earlier, Himeko's five-star guardian deity couldn't leave the train. Neon's guardian deity was also a fox, but it had nine tails. This man looked like he was from the Americas, too.

In other words, his guardian deity was level four at most! And mine was level four as well! He looked big and brawny, but he was actually badly injured-an easy target!

Kill him, and I could get a reward!

At that thought, the contestant Himeko had just rescued brazenly attacked. A sharp knife slipped from her sleeve, heading straight for Taco's throat.

"What?"

Taco instinctively raised his right arm. The pain made him bare his teeth, but he blocked her knife.

Himechi Cat did not stand idle either. Leaping up, she swept her suitcase sideways, wrapped in a surge of flame, and smashed it straight into the contestant's kidney.

"Aaagh-"

The attacking contestant went flying and slammed heavily into the wall. With his fractured arm now stabbed as well, Taco's eyes turned bloodshot. Panting like an ox, adrenaline surging, he huffed as he strode toward the contestant groaning on the floor.

His only remaining hand, his left, seized her collar and lifted her like a chick.

"What are you trying to do!"

"Cough, cough... Your fox... is actually this strong..."

"I'm Himechi Cat of the Astral Express. A cat. Do you know what a cat is?"

Just emerging from the infirmary, Himeko looked up and discovered that the contestant she had just rescued had gotten into a conflict with the contestant she was about to treat. At this rate, Mr. All Muscle would probably slam her to the floor and stomp on her head the very next second.

Himeko hurried over, handed Taco the medicine she had just found, and disarmed the female contestant.

"Could someone tell me what happened here?"

Seeing Himeko arrive, Taco indignantly set down the person in his grip and opened the medicine bottle Himeko had handed him with one hand.

[Emergency medicine: extremely effective against internal and external injuries. It appears capable of healing your fracture.]

After a scan from his smart glasses confirmed there was nothing wrong with the medicine, he tipped his head back and swallowed a pill.

His bones began to make noises. After a sound every bit as grating as nails scraping a chalkboard, the broken bones actually joined back together.

The knife wound remained, however, deep enough to expose the bone.

"It didn't heal? Must not be enough medicine."

Taco's thinking was extremely simple. He swallowed another pill, and the knife wound on his arm healed just as he had expected.

Seeing that the medicine worked, Himeko turned her attention back to the contestant Himechi Cat had nearly finished off.

"If I'm not mistaken, you saw that he was injured and decided to attack him for a reward?"

She coughed twice. Clearly, Himechi Cat had hit hard. "Cough... what else?"

"The rules here say that once exploration progress meets the requirement, everyone can leave," Himeko said with a smile.

"What do you mean?"

Himeko did not bring up her conflict with Taco just now.

"I mean, perhaps we shouldn't turn our weapons on each other for those benefits. Joining forces, helping one another, and dealing with those troublesome monsters together might be the right path."

The contestant was quite dismissive of Himeko's words.

"Trust each other in a place full of hidden dangers, where you don't know whether someone will shove you out as bait the next second?"

Himeko nodded. "That's right."

"Naive. Everyone schemes against each other and fights to the death to grow stronger and get more supplies. Look at the corpses everywhere. You think anyone here would spare a thought for others?"

"Of course someone would."

Himeko smiled calmly and held out her hand.

"When darkness falls, people may lose their reason out of fear and become selfish. But I believe that as long as they can see a light shining in the darkness, most people will still hold on to the kindness in their hearts."

As she spoke, Himeko's eyes were sincere and ardent. Meeting her gaze, the contestant could see not a trace of hypocrisy.

Her words, too, were like a meteor cutting through the darkness, soothing the panic and tension within.

Her gentle voice reached the contestant's ears once more.

"I'm Himeko, navigator of the Astral Express. Would you be willing to join us and bring more warmth and peace to the people of this world?"