The Astral Express!

The light gradually faded, and Himeko slowly descended onto solid ground.

The information appearing in her mind also told her what her current situation was.

[Welcome to National Destiny Train Survival.]

[Upon entering Train Survival, each contestant will awaken a train exclusively their own.]

[As the train moves forward, it will pass through different stations. Contestants must disembark to collect fuel, supplies for strengthening themselves, and survival necessities. The supplies contestants gather will be returned to their respective countries at a set ratio. The damage they suffer will also be returned to their respective countries at a set ratio.]

[The road ahead is fraught with danger. At various stations, you may encounter hitchhikers, whom you can invite aboard your train to help you.]

[After boarding the train, you can draw a guardian deity to protect you along the way.]

[All contestant actions will be livestreamed to their respective countries.]

[Three eligible citizens will be randomly selected from each contestant's country to provide outside assistance.]

[The selected citizens will have a total of three opportunities to intervene in Train Survival. By spending these opportunities, they can inflict various disruptions on contestants from other countries.]

[Disruptions include but are not limited to: deploying stronger enemies, smashing tracks, clogging train toilets, spoiling food, and inflicting negative status effects on contestants.]

On Blue Star, everyone's attention was drawn to the anomalies that had suddenly appeared. For a time, all sorts of forums and websites filled with discussions about the National Destiny Train.

"What, so it's just the end of the world? I thought the world was ending."

"Great, a livestream that doesn't use up data! I hope our streamer can put on a good show."

"A livestream? Then we've got to get our Brother Hu in on this!"

A separate livestream window appeared on everyone's phones, computers, and other devices.

In Huaxia's livestream, Himeko finished receiving the information and began surveying her surroundings with interest.

Looking around, Himeko found herself on a grassland, surrounded by grass half a person's height. No one knew what might be crouching in it.

There might even be a few burly men waiting with their skills ready.

Himeko stood on a narrow concrete road with a stop sign, which looked like a one-way street. Could an ordinary train really travel through a place without so much as railway tracks?

Once everyone had accepted this so-called National Destiny world, people gradually began sending comments.

[It's actually a redheaded older beauty... why's her face black?]

[Whoa, our contestant is actually Black! Huaxia might as well call it quits now.]

[What an incredible figure.]

[I know this lady. I saw her getting thrown out of the railway bureau a while ago.]

[I was there. I was the security guard.]

[I was there. I was the streetlight.]

[Those clothes look really well made. They don't look like everyday clothes. Is she cosplaying?]

[Any experts around to tell us what character this is?]

[I've been an anime fan for thirty years, and I can tell you with complete confidence that I have no idea.]

[The rules said this place is full of danger. Her limbs look so slender. She looks like the kind of weakling who wouldn't get back up after being hit by a Dayun truck.]

[If you could get back up after being hit by a Dayun truck, I'd have to call the police.]

Out on the grassland, Himeko knew nothing about the comments. She only felt as though something inside her was about to emerge.

[Drawing the contestant's vehicle...]

Sensing something, Himeko held out her hand. Brilliant light flashed, and the next moment, a steam train with several cars came rushing down from high above.

"This is..."

The train arriving from the stars was none other than the Astral Express that Himeko knew so well.

As someone who had played since launch, Himeko was all too familiar with this thing, not to mention that it had knocked her straight into the anime world.

Accompanied by a ding-ding and the roar of its whistle, the Astral Express slowly came to a stop on the concrete road.

"A little uncanny, but very much in the spirit of the Trailblaze."

A track of light beneath the Astral Express supported it steadily, allowing it to travel unimpeded.

Himeko approached the door of one of the cars. As though sensing her arrival, the exquisite, old-fashioned door slowly opened. Himeko stepped inside, entering the Observation Car that every Trailblazer knew so well.

The song "Take the Journey" played from the phonograph, soothing and pleasant to the ear.

Across from the phonograph, the Omni-Synthesizer hovered quietly to one side, two points of starlight circling it as it waited for the Nameless to use it.

Looking up, she could see a space-whale-shaped chandelier on the ceiling, casting a gentle glow that illuminated the entire car.

Along both sides of the car were sofas so comfortable that one could hardly resist sinking into them. These sofas weren't particularly receptive to seating anyone other than the Nameless.

If there was any drawback to speak of, it was that the sofas that weren't fixed in place were rather untidily arranged.

Pieces lay scattered across the chessboard, and a few business cards were strewn beside the visitor register on the small stand.

Of course, the Astral Express wasn't without its problems.

For instance, plants that stayed green year-round had yellowed, dust had settled in places, a malfunctioning floor lamp flickered, and the door to the Party Car wouldn't open. All of this proved that this train wasn't fresh out of the factory.

It was a little run-down, but she was home at last. A faint smile appeared on Himeko's face.

"Ah... the Astral Express."

As she sighed those words, the system in her mind sounded a notification.

[Mission: Get the Astral Express running again, completed. Rewards: briefcase, introductory knowledge of Interstellar Navigation, Astral Express maintenance knowledge.]

[Briefcase: A briefcase that can hold anything. Through the power of the Trailblaze, it is much larger on the inside than on the outside, larger than an ordinary person could imagine. It could hold, for example, an orbital cannon, a huge pile of coffee beans, maintenance tools, a polymer saw, or even a gigantic Starblazer.]

The briefcase appeared on a small square table nearby. Himeko picked it up, and a familiar sensation spread through her body.

In an instant, Himeko understood how to use the briefcase. She could also freely store it in the small space she carried with her, so its size wouldn't make it difficult to carry around.

Wait, putting one storage container inside another was actually allowed? The power of the Trailblaze really was amazing.

[New mission issued: Maintain the train.]

[Maintain the train: Although you have boarded the Astral Express again, you can see that this train still has many problems, such as missing crew members, a Conductor whose whereabouts are unknown, and all manner of issues, large and small... too many to list. As the navigator, the burden of resolving these problems naturally falls on you.]

Even without this mission, Himeko would have set about resolving the Astral Express's problems one by one. She wouldn't leave them unattended.

She passed through the Observation Car and arrived at the passenger cabin car.

On her left was a small open area where a round-bottomed Warp Trotter would normally lie. It was empty now. Even the picture on the wall had vanished, waiting for Himeko to replace it.

Himeko opened the door to the data bank. The equipment responsible for monitoring and recording data had all shut down, and Dan Heng's floor bedding and suitcase were nowhere to be seen.

March 7th's room was the same. There were no cute decorations, no photo wall she loved so much, nothing at all, as though no one had ever lived here.

Welt's room was in the same state. Even Himeko's own room had little more furniture than that.

A bed, a desk, a coffee machine. The various jars and containers used to hold coffee were empty, too.

The all-in-one computer on the desk, manufactured by the Interastral Peace Corporation, wouldn't turn on either, due to insufficient power.

Himeko went to the bathroom and washed her face, which had been blackened by the engine malfunction. After briefly cleaning the stains on her clothes as well, she came back out.

Once she had washed her face clean, Himeko's features, brimming with mature charm, immediately caught the commenters' attention.

[My apologies, ma'am. I didn't realize you were this beautiful.]

[Mommy.]

[Don't you have your own mommy? This one's mine.]

[This train is unbelievably big. Did it look this spacious from outside?]

[The room sizes don't match up either. They look tiny from outside, but they're really spacious inside.]

[Maybe the blue-staining mushrooms I had for lunch were undercooked, and I'm hallucinating.]

[The contestants from other countries have summoned their own trains too... can those things really count as trains? Never mind the train part, whether they're even vehicles is another question.]