Even Himechi Cat Has Videos Now?

Duncan's reason for wanting to do this was simple.

He believed that, with Himeko's abilities, she could not reliably complete the hidden quest.

From the two of them, Himeko also learned exactly what the unannounced quest hidden in the Wax Museum was.

[Hidden quest: Amusement Park Secrets]

[Quest locations: Wax Museum first floor, Wax Museum second floor, Wax Museum ???]

[Although this is an activity venue prepared specifically for contestants, does no one really find the atmosphere here a little eerie? Milk tea with ice still in it, knives and forks still holding a trace of warmth-as though, just a second ago, visitors were still streaming through.]

[Quest objective: Investigate the whereabouts of the amusement park's other, non-contestant visitors.]

[Quest rewards: Guardian Deity draws ×1, train level +2, attribute points ×500, essential survival supplies ×10]

[Every contestant who accepts the quest will receive a unique clue.]

According to the two men, accepting the hidden quest required going to a certain darkroom in the Wax Museum.

They had stumbled into that darkroom while the Wax Figure chased them like a pair of stray dogs, and accepted the hidden quest in the process.

The quest rewards even included a Guardian Deity!

If they happened to draw a Five-Star Guardian God, wouldn't their strength reach a whole new level?!

There were also things among the rewards they had never seen before, so of course they had to put their minds to figuring out how to complete it.

For the sake of this hidden quest, Inukai had even neglected his other quest.

"To be honest, Miss Himeko, there's something else I need your help with."

When Inukai spoke up, Himeko was naturally happy to hear him out. Seeing her interest, Inukai hurriedly explained his quest requirements, then thumped his chest and promised her,

"Miss Himeko, as long as you help me complete this quest, I'll be your staunchest ally from then on!"

Inukai had assumed that someone as calculating as Himeko would consider him a worthwhile investment.

Her help would be the resources she invested, and his allegiance would be her return. To his surprise, Himeko rejected him without the slightest hesitation.

"I'm afraid I must refuse. When contestants fight one another over their interests, I won't interfere much, even if someone dies. But I cannot actively hurt other contestants for your benefit. If you take the initiative to hurt someone with good intentions, I will stop you, too."

Himeko had been very clear about this from the beginning.

If those people wanted to fight over resources, she would let them. Even if the casualties were heavy, Himeko would only sigh over it.

As for those who had unintentionally sparked a dispute, or momentarily lost their heads, Himeko would lend a hand if she saw them, and see whether she could gain another ally for the Astral Express in the process.

As for exchanging other contestants' lives for a subordinate who obeyed the Astral Express,

that was rather unnecessary, and it did not suit the way Himeko did things.

So she refused Inukai's request.

[I get all that, but why doesn't Himeko just kill Inukai outright? He's going to attack other contestants anyway. What's the difference between killing him then and killing him now?]

[Isn't it obvious? Inukai still has some use, so she's keeping him alive for now. She can throw him out to take the fall later. Saying that also builds her good-person image. Several birds with one stone.]

[I thought she was going to play savior.]

[Mysterious red kitty *% wild $ sexy # videos, DM me.]

[? Even Himechi Cat has videos now?]

[Don't believe it. I paid fifty bucks, and he sent me Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit.]

In the studio,

the three commentators had worked out a plan. From now on, the studio would operate on two shifts, with only two of the three appearing at a time to provide regular commentary.

Otherwise, with a twenty-four-hour livestream, the commentators could hardly go without sleep for twenty-four hours, too.

At the moment, only Wang Wu and WarGreymon were in the studio.

"WarGreymon, a lot of people in the chat think Himeko has made another mistake. Why do you think she didn't simply get rid of Neon's Inukai?"

"Is that so hard to figure out? You can't just look at someone and arbitrarily decide what they're going to do. Sure, that little Neon bastard Inukai will most likely do something Himeko can't stand later, and she'll stab him dead with her spear, but until then, not only will Himeko not attack him, she might even lend him a hand if a monster attacks him."

WarGreymon offered his analysis while scrolling through a food delivery app.

Wang Wu pressed him again,

"Then could we say Himeko is leaving a potential threat for herself? As the saying goes, a skilled warrior wins without spectacular feats, yet Himeko is allowing danger to take root. Isn't that a little irrational?"

"When someone assumes you're going to commit a crime and decides to stab you to death before you can do it, if you can still say that, I'll have to admire you. Your commitment to your convictions would be no weaker than Himeko's commitment to hers. I'd accept getting flamed online by people like that."

"But the fact remains that Himeko has ignored a potential danger, and this concerns everyone in Huaxia."

"So what? Who hasn't clicked 'ignore risks and install' when installing some unauthorized software? If she can do that, it means she's confident enough to handle anything. We've all seen Himeko's strength. No one doubts it, do they?"

"What if something happens that even Himeko's strength can't contend with?"

"Just arguing for the sake of it, huh?"

WarGreymon shrugged. Although he and Wang Wu appeared to be taking opposing sides, while they parried each other's arguments, they were also discussing something else over an internal channel the audience could not see.

"Should we order Kenty's or McD's?"

"Forget the food for a second. I'm running out of lines. Check the chat for someone else stirring things up so I can repeat what they say."

Yes, their exchanges were not nearly as heated as they appeared. In private, they actually got along quite well.

Wang Wu likewise saw nothing wrong with Himeko's actions, but the growing tide of online opinion could not be ignored.

They simply used this approach to address the chat's objections one by one, flattering Himeko along the way and building her image as someone powerful and dependable, thereby easing the public's stress.

With Himeko's fists and the commentators' management, the national stress level had indeed dropped considerably. Allied countries such as the Sun-Setting Empire and Bear Country were also relaxed and cheerful.

But energy was conserved. As the stress in those countries dropped, the other countries, whose stress had skyrocketed because of Himeko's strength, were having a hard time.

People across those countries angrily denounced their contestants as incompetent and their commentators as useless freeloaders. Some had even begun targeting the contestants' and commentators' families, pointing fingers when they went outside, smashing their windows, and throwing dead rats onto their doorsteps.

At first, some people in Huaxia had also wanted to throw dead rats onto Himeko's doorstep, but after searching for ages, all they could find was a spot under a bridge.

When the first person to throw a dead rat arrived and saw the ground covered with dead rats, they thought they had come late.

At the Wax Museum,

guided by Inukai and Duncan, Himeko arrived at the museum's darkroom.

Upon entering, Himeko also accepted the hidden quest.

But at that moment, her attention was no longer on the hidden quest at all.

The darkroom was filled with something familiar to Himeko.

Six-Phased Ice.

More precisely, it was an enormous, constantly beating heart that had fused with Six-Phased Ice.