Himeko generously shared the upgrade cores and modification modules she had collected with the other three.
"The Astral Express has no use for them. Better to give them to people who need them."
The Astral Express could no longer level up, and for the moment at least, these items were barely any different from crumpled paper in a wastebasket as far as the train was concerned.
What the train needed was to have its battered floors repaired, its missing furniture recovered, and its energy reserves replenished.
Unsure whether the power of Imagenesis would still work after leaving the National Destiny Instance, Himeko decided to use Imagenesis Technology as a stopgap for now.
If that failed, she could simply buy new replacements after leaving.
The three accepted the materials Himeko handed over and divided them up, a piece for each of them.
"Miss Himeko, what do we do next?"
"Move the supplies out first... Can your vehicles actually carry cargo?"
After learning about them in detail, Himeko decided she had better clarify that first.
For someone like Weir, who held a chess piece and insisted it was a rook-a vehicle-giving him several crates of supplies to carry away would be nothing but making things difficult for him.
"Mine is a... robot vacuum."
"Yours doesn't have anything to do with a vehicle anymore, does it?"
"It has wheels. Five of them, in fact. It's also big enough to ride on, and its speed is... faster than walking."
Himeko held her forehead. This world's criteria really were arbitrary.
If its name meant a vehicle, it counted as a vehicle. If its name did not mean a vehicle but it had wheels, that counted too.
"So I'm the only one with something relatively normal?"
By comparison, Taco finally realized how lucky he was to have a vehicle that needed no fuel and came equipped with an engine.
"Still, mine can't carry much either. I'll probably have to upgrade it first. As for supplies, I think we should prepare storage at the next stop before gathering them in bulk."
Himeko nodded.
"Next, I plan to check out the haunted house. It has the highest danger level in the Amusement Park. If there's something dangerous like that Pig Trotter Rice King there too, I estimate its danger level will be around four or five."
Unless necessary, Himeko did not plan to visit places that were too safe.
Places with danger levels of only one or two could be left to the other contestants.
There was really no need to compete with the other contestants for their share, and visiting every location herself would be rather a waste of time.
She might as well deal with the most dangerous place directly, then fill in her progress at places the other contestants had not fully explored, and finally achieve full exploration.
She might even earn an achievement and pick up some extra rewards.
"The haunted house... Isn't that a little dangerous?"
"Exactly. Miss Himeko, it's not that I doubt your abilities, but if we run into danger there and other countries interfere, things could become very difficult to handle."
According to Taco's official AI assessment, Himeko's strength was level five danger, but after being weakened, it had plummeted to level three. Against the Pig Trotter Rice King, who was also level three danger, she had clearly been at a disadvantage.
Washana was truly worried that Himeko would encounter something troublesome in the haunted house, the most dangerous area.
"What's there to fear? There are three of us-oh, four now. Besides, the commentators backing us aren't dead. If they see us in trouble, they'll definitely fight back too."
Taco, however, was unconcerned. Himeko was level five danger and had Himechi Cat, a level three danger, with her. As long as the other countries had any sense, they could go wherever they pleased in the Amusement Park.
As for anyone foolish enough to attack Himeko, they probably would not meet a good end. Unless their contestant was as perceptive as Weir.
"I have no objections."
Weir was a fence-sitter who listened to whoever had the biggest fist.
Of everyone present, Himeko had the biggest fist.
Seeing Washana's concern, Himeko offered a compromise.
"How about Himechi Cat stays here with you?"
"No, Miss Himeko. Himechi Cat is much more helpful to you than we are."
"Than you are. I provide information. Do you know how important information and intelligence are to a team?" Taco suddenly interrupted, stressing his indispensable role in the team.
That was indeed true. Taco's glasses really had provided a great deal of important information.
"Then you can take off your glasses and give them to Miss Himeko."
"What, is Himeko some kind of robber?"
Himeko could tell that Washana was worried about holding her back. However, Himeko did not consider bringing along three burdens a mistaken choice.
"Don't worry. Since we've decided to form an alliance, there's no need to worry about whether you'll cause trouble for the others."
She smiled.
"When you're weak, you can accept help from the strong without reservation. There's absolutely nothing shameful about that. In turn, when you're strong, I believe you'll also be willing to lend the weak a hand."
"She stabbed me an hour ago. I was missing a hand then, so I definitely counted as weak."
"Dude, your emotional intelligence is lower than that bowl of pig trotter rice." Weir stepped on Taco's foot, signaling him to shut up.
Washana fell silent for a while, seemingly considering Himeko's words.
Himeko was in no hurry either, simply waiting for Washana's answer. After a long time, Washana finally took a deep breath and looked up.
"Miss Himeko, thank you for trusting me."
"I know it's a little rude to interrupt at a moment like this, but Himeko, I'm getting stiff."
The flattened Himechi Cat wriggled in Himeko's arms, signaling her to hurry up and knead him back into shape.
[Hard to imagine this girl was planning to scoop everyone else up like roadside treasure chests just an hour ago.]
[Talk-no-jutsu! It's talk-no-jutsu!]
[Does Himeko have some kind of magic? Why have most of the people she's met teamed up with her? There's even an Amusement Park Monster on the team.]
[Maybe because everyone who didn't team up died?]
[Now that I think about it, that's true.]
[So the Trailblaze Spirit Himeko talks about means beating everyone unwilling to submit to death?]
[Then the Sun-Setting Empire was among the best at Trailblazing.]
Only WarGreymon remained in the studio.
The other two had quietly begun a small meeting with the commentators for the other three members of Himeko's team.
Thanks to Himeko not making enemies everywhere and killing everyone she saw for rewards, Huaxia had easily formed an alliance outside the instance with Samba Country, Bear Country, and the Sun-Setting Empire.
They all signed an agreement and issued an announcement: from now on, anyone who dared attack an allied country would learn what it meant to be ganged up on.
As for other countries wishing to join, their contestants would first have to earn Himeko's approval.
Inside the Amusement Park, Himeko had already planned her next moves.
Besides the exploration requirement, Himeko's mission also included obtaining the hidden reward in the park.
Himeko felt that the Wax Museum, whose danger level was a question mark, definitely had something to do with the hidden reward. At the very least, it would contain clues to it.
That made their next itinerary clear. They would head to the haunted house first, then visit the Wax Museum after exploring it.
The Wax Museum reflected the contestants' inner selves and created wax figures.
Himeko's wax figure had become Himechi Cat, while Taco's had become a pile of poop. With the four of them entering, they would only need to deal with two weak wax figures. For now, there seemed to be little danger.
But with a hidden reward, having a hidden boss tucked away would be perfectly reasonable.
With her three followers in tow, Himeko swaggered toward the haunted house.
Meanwhile, the Wax Museum was in utter chaos.
Inukai and Duncan were each running for their lives when they met again at a corridor junction.
"Freeze! Are you Duncan?"
"Stop asking and run!"
The two scrambled away, with a five-times-stronger Duncan behind them.
"You idiot! Aren't wax figures supposed to be as strong as the original? Why aren't you that strong?"
"How was I supposed to know my enhancement would expire but its wouldn't? You've got some nerve talking about me. Your wax figure's stronger than you too!" Duncan snapped furiously.
"What could I do about that? I came in enhanced! Who knew it could stack another enhancement on top of its enhanced state? Why can't I do that?"
The two contestants and their two wax figures knocked the other wax figures throughout the Wax Museum every which way. Fortunately, under normal circumstances, wax figures could not leave the Wax Museum, allowing them to rush outside for a breather when they exhausted themselves.
Even though they were being chased around like dogs inside the Wax Museum, neither showed the slightest intention of leaving it.
Before you continue