Unfortunately, times were advancing

Himeko's attack could only be described as world-shattering.

Everyone was stunned speechless by what Himeko had done.

[I'm too shocked to speak, but I can still type.]

[What the hell did she put in that case?]

[Unless I'm seeing things, that's a mushroom cloud.]

[No wonder Himeko thought having teammates around held her back. Its range was that huge?]

[Is her case some kind of extradimensional space? How does everything fit inside?]

[Pay attention. She just said she started making it when she came in. She didn't bring it inside at all. She built it right there.]

[Are you kidding? I never even saw her do anything, and she didn't have any materials. How did she make it? This makes no sense!]

[And her making Himechi Cat by hand earlier made sense?]

In the studio, WarGreymon was just as baffled.

When exactly had Himeko made that enormous nuclear bomb?

He had watched closely the entire time without missing a thing, yet there had been no footage of Himeko creating that cannon barrel.

WarGreymon had already firmly believed that Himeko had superpowers, and this only cemented that belief.

She had made it so obvious. Couldn't the Chinese authorities just openly give him the information?

After all, the National Destiny Instance had verified him as one of their own. If they couldn't even trust him this much, weren't they taking secrecy a little too far?

He knew perfectly well what was going on, but he still had to cooperate with Huaxia and conceal its superpowered individuals.

"There's nothing strange about this. It's perfectly normal for people from Huaxia to fly, let alone carry a cannon around."

WarGreymon came up with a relatively plausible explanation.

"Never mind what Himeko said about making it on-site. I suspect this is an external weapons system for the Astral Express. After all, it's perfectly normal for a train to have some defensive measures."

He had lost count of how many times he had stubbornly insisted that something abnormal was normal. Would anyone really believe this once it aired?

[Makes sense.]

[Meanwhile, where nobody's looking, your girl Himeko took a hit from her own cannon, got knocked over, and climbed back up with nothing but a slightly dirty hem.]

[That much destructive power, and it barely affected Himeko herself? Is she Superman?]

[Maybe the cannon doesn't have friendly fire.]

[Doesn't it, though? Himechi Cat is practically melting beside her.]

[All that noise, and it only blew up the Haunted House? Isn't that a bit ridiculous? The shock wave didn't affect the surroundings at all.]

[That just proves Himeko doesn't damage public property. She's a good person.]

At the Amusement Park,

the rising mushroom cloud and deafening explosion drew everyone's attention.

"What's going on?"

"Did someone drop a nuke?"

"This is the enemy we have to face? Well, it's been a good life."

Even Taco and the others, hiding in the Restaurant, sucked in sharp breaths at the distant blaze.

"Was that... Himeko?"

"No question. Definitely."

"Did she have a missile in that case?"

"Still want to go with Himeko and see if you can help her out now?"

The distant mushroom cloud lingered, and Washana began to worry about Himeko.

"With an explosion that big, won't she get hurt?"

Taco thought for a moment, pointed at the hole by the nearby wall, then pointed at the several Pig Trotter Rice corpses on the floor.

"Don't forget, the Pig Trotter Rice King embedded Himeko in the wall who knows how many times. She climbed out herself every time, perfectly fine. She didn't even take any medicine."

"Don't worry. I can still contact Himeko. She's fine."

Weir ended the call and assured the other two that she was safe. Taco shrugged.

"Of course she is."

"Come on, let's take a look. By the time we get there, Himeko should have recovered."

"Is she made of nanomaterials? How do her injuries heal so fast?"

"Injuries? She said she wasn't hurt. But judging by her voice, I'd say she's probably feeling about how an ordinary person would after a sprint. A few breaths and she'll be full of energy again."

The three set off toward the Haunted House.

At the entrance to the Haunted House, Himeko received a string of notifications after firing her ultra-budget Railgun.

Most were rewards for killing Amusement Park Monsters, with a few other rewards from her own system, along with the news that she had cleared the Haunted House.

[Achievement obtained: Haunted House Cutter]

[Amazingly, you actually managed to create a Railgun with your meager knowledge alone. Even more amazingly, you actually used it to kill the park's boss before any of the monsters could defend themselves.]

[Rewards obtained: Roleplay Progress +5%, Imagenesis ability enhanced, maximum energy storage increased.]

[Roleplay Progress requirement met. New weapon unlocked.]

[Current Roleplay Progress: 14%. At 20% Roleplay Progress, the Starblazer blueprints will be unlocked.]

Himeko was very satisfied with the system's rewards, especially the Starblazer.

As part of Pegana's legacy, the Starblazer's power was beyond question.

Frail humans had built the Starblazer, gaining the ability to race through the galaxy, blaze trails across the cosmos, and reach for the stars and moon.

But if it was only a set of blueprints...

Himeko patted her filthy hem.

The Railgun had come from blueprints too, and it had ended up like this. Reproducing the Starblazer would probably take quite a bit of work.

Besides her system, the National Destiny Instance had also given her a string of rewards.

[Amusement Park Monster killed. Reward: upgrade core]

[Amusement Park Monster killed. Reward: enhancement potion]

[Amusement Park Monster killed. Reward: ...]

The long string of rewards consisted entirely of things that offered little value but felt wasteful to throw away.

Himeko had little use for these things, and the Astral Express couldn't be fitted with those so-called upgrade cores either.

She might as well give them to people who needed them.

The rewards from the small fry were all much the same, leaving Himeko utterly uninterested.

Fortunately, among the string of minions were two different notifications.

[Level Three Danger killed: serpentfolk. Rewards: skill draw ×1, train level +1]

[Train detected at maximum level. Train level increase replaced with rewards matching the contestant's inner wishes: one can of coffee beans from a mysterious world, multifunction coffee machine set ×1]

Himeko's eyes lit up, but that was all.

"These are nice, but they aren't what I need most."

[Level Four Danger killed: Life Giant Tree.]

[Life Giant Tree: In theory, its vitality is exceptionally tenacious, approaching immortality. Its fruits nurture one monster after another that lives by feeding on human souls.

On this foundation, it grew into a haunted house. Mortal heroes would find themselves at a definite disadvantage in close combat. Unfortunately, times were advancing. When the wheels of technology roll over you, they leave you no time to prepare.]

[Rewards: Guardian Deity draw ×1. Train level +1]

[Train level reward now replaced with a reward matching the contestant's inner wishes: a map marked with a mysterious route.]

The Life Giant Tree had actually been a Level Four Danger? She really hadn't been able to tell.

The power of technology certainly was useful.

Himeko took out the map marked with a mysterious route. It was made of papyrus, crudely produced, and didn't feel particularly good to the touch.

But what was drawn on the map brought delight to Himeko's eyes.

Simple routes were drawn on it, with a blue-and-pink dotted line linking several circles. Beneath the foremost circle, three characters were clearly written.

[Amusement Park]

At the end of the pink dotted line was the four-leaf clover ornament March 7th often wore.

"March has actually gone that far."

To Himeko, this news carried more weight than all the other rewards.

"Now I have news of March. I wonder how everyone else is doing, and where they are now."