Anything with "Car" in Its Name Can Get Summoned?

After defeating the Pig Trotter Rice King, the rewards naturally came from more than just the system. The National Destiny Instance issued rewards as well.

[Defeated special dangerous unit: Pig Trotter Rice King. Gained skill draws ×1]

[Outstanding performance. Additional special Guardian Deity awarded: Pig Trotter Rice Spirit]

[Pig Trotter Rice Spirit: Three-Star Guardian Deity. Can provide the contestant with up to twenty fully loaded servings of pig trotter rice daily.]

[Pig trotter rice distribution points added throughout all regions of Huaxia. Two free servings of pig trotter rice provided daily to every citizen of Huaxia.]

Rewards like these sent shock waves through the people of Huaxia.

[So does that mean we won't starve even if we stop working?]

[It's real. A pig trotter rice distribution point actually appeared downstairs from my place... Can we get something else? I want duck leg rice.]

[You're placing orders now?]

[Screw work! I quit, meow!]

[Just wait. The very existence of something like this disrupts order. Once everyone stops working and society grinds to a halt, we're all screwed.]

[Exactly. I recommend strictly banning all pig trotter rice distribution points. We can't let laziness spread throughout society.]

[You sell pig trotter rice, don't you?]

Outside the Restaurant,

Himeko held the limp Himechi Cat in her arms and looked around for Taco and Washana.

"Lady Himeko, we're over here!"

It was a dark corner, the sort of place rats seemed to love.

Himeko walked over. The young man whose limbs had just been broken had already returned to normal.

Only now did he realize just who stood before him.

"Himeko, that scarlet, bloodthirsty beast!"

"Show some respect!"

Taco kicked him in the kidney.

"He's Weir from the Sun-Setting Empire. He says he was passing by the Restaurant, then lost consciousness. When he opened his eyes again, he discovered we'd kidnapped him."

"What do you mean, kidnapped? We 'rescued' him," Washana said indignantly.

Himeko's attention settled on Weir's identity.

The Sun-Setting Empire? That sounds familiar. Wasn't it one of the twenty-odd countries that tripped me up when I first faced the Rocking Ride?

"Well... Miss Himeko, I can explain."

It took Weir only an instant to make a decision that went against his commentators.

"I had absolutely no idea the Sun-Setting Empire's three commentators had acted against you. If I'd known, I would definitely have stopped them immediately. And I bear you absolutely no ill will, heh heh. If there's nothing else you need, I'll be on my way."

What a joke. Whether the commentators made an enemy of Himeko or not, all they had to do was flap their lips, then wash their hands of it. But what about me?

One wrong move, and I could get beaten to death!

The benefits belong to someone else, but my life is my own. If I die, it's all over.

With his life at stake, Weir naturally had no time to worry about anything else.

"No need to be nervous, Mr. Weir. Your side's unprovoked malice was indeed rather excessive. But the Astral Express is hardly an entirely pure and noble faction either. With disaster upon us, perhaps we can set aside our past grievances and become friends," Himeko said with a smile.

"You mean you can pretend none of it happened? And then invite me to join you?" Weir's voice was full of suspicion.

He had thought that once Himeko learned his identity, that sharp saw blade would come swinging straight at him.

"Of course. However, the conflict between you, Washana, and Taco will need to be properly discussed."

"Although you were the one who attacked, considering the mind control involved, I don't hold your actions against you. Provided you behave yourself and don't even think about doing anything that might threaten us."

Himeko glanced sideways. Why is she so aggressive?

"Wonderful! Lady Himeko, from the very first moment I saw you, I knew I was born to be your foot soldier! From now on, if you tell me to go east, I'll never-"

"There's no need to go that far..."

The corner of Himeko's mouth twitched as she surveyed the three contestants she had connected with in the Amusement Park.

Taco was all bulging muscles, and his thought processes were unusually... unique. Himeko originally had a more direct adjective in mind, but that would have been rather rude.

Washana was extremely aggressive. Right after being rescued, she had passed Taco and even considered casually farming him like a mob. Even now, everything she said to others was barbed.

Their newest addition, Weir, seemed like a chameleon. Himeko's intuition told her he probably wasn't a bad person.

"All right, everyone. Barring any other surprises, the Restaurant should now be completely safe."

Himeko could see that after she dealt with the Pig Trotter Rice King, the park exploration progress had jumped considerably, reaching 30%.

Across both floors, every monster that could move had been lulled to sleep by the power of Trailblaze.

"So next, do we hold the safe Restaurant and lure the other contestants here to kill them?"

A complete plan immediately formed in Weir's mind. He was ready to offer Himeko a strategy that would let her slaughter all the other contestants, leaving him a few scraps.

"You animal." Washana rolled her eyes at him.

"No, Weir. We never need to fight the other contestants to the death."

"Exactly. Otherwise, Miss Himeko would have turned you into a still-warm reward ages ago." Taco nodded in agreement.

Weir was a little disappointed that he couldn't happily play the ghoul.

"So we're just going to hunker down in the Restaurant until the other contestants meet the exploration target? That's fine too. At least there won't be any danger, and we can gather plenty of supplies to take with us."

Himeko merely chuckled.

"Holding this position is certainly a good idea, but the Nameless who Trailblaze aren't content with the status quo."

"So you took this place down just to grab some stuff and leave?"

"What else? Aren't we looting, shooting, and extracting? We can't just loot."

Weir thought that made sense. He looked Himeko's group up and down, examining their outfits.

Apart from the suitcase Himeko carried, they didn't even have backpacks. Everything they gathered had to fit into the little pockets of their clothes and trousers.

"You can't loot much like that!"

"I saw quite a few bags and boxes inside, so gathering supplies shouldn't be a problem. Carrying them will just be a bit inconvenient."

Taco's words brought a crucial question to Himeko's attention.

"Could we perhaps make several trips and move everything we need onto our vehicles bit by bit?"

"..."

"..."

Taco and Washana both fell silent, while Weir looked utterly bewildered.

"Uh... What else would you do? Did you think you couldn't come back after leaving the park?"

Judging by Taco's and Washana's expressions, that was indeed what they had thought.

"In that case, this saves us a lot of trouble."

Afterward, the four of them gathered plenty of useful things in the Restaurant.

Besides the essential food and water, they also found some other things.

[Upgrade core: Provides upgrade experience for trains]

[Modification module: Adds different modules to trains to unlock different functions]

"So this is the stuff for our trains? I thought we'd have to modify them by hand. Turns out we can just upgrade them."

Weir toyed with the core in his hand and let out a sigh of relief.

"From your tone, is there something wrong with your vehicle? Why not tell me? Perhaps I can help."

With her knowledge of interstellar navigation and a train maintenance manual, Himeko didn't believe she would lose to anyone in engineering.

Weir gave a light cough and held out a hand.

The next second, a chess piece appeared in his palm.

The piece was a square pillar topped with a crenellated tower.

[Vehicle: Castle/Chariot]

"..."

Himeko admitted that she really couldn't repair this thing.

Even chess pieces are showing up! So anything with "car" in its name has a chance of being summoned?!

"Look on the bright side. At least we have to park our vehicles somewhere. You can just put yours in your pocket and take it with you, without worrying about other contestants getting aboard and causing trouble while you're away."

"Could it be that we can only see one another once we reach the Amusement Park gates, while each contestant's road exists in a separate space? This place only has four gates. Logically, they should have been packed with parked vehicles by now, but I didn't see a single one on my way here."

"I'm trying to help you save face, okay?"

"It sounds like you're being sarcastic."