Illegal entry? This is called Trailblazing!

There was no one else in the carriage, but Pom-Pom still chose to follow procedure and announce their upcoming itinerary.

"Where's our next stop, pom?"

Halfway through the announcement, Pom-Pom finally remembered that apparently no one aboard the entire train had figured out where the heck their next stop was.

Not knowing their destination did not stop Himeko and Pom-Pom from setting off.

"Astral Express, departure!"

The train roared, and tracks of light spread out beneath it, extending into the distance.

Under the effects of the tracks of light, the massive train slowly began moving forward, then picked up speed, trailing a dazzling wake of light as it became a blur and vanished in an instant.

Ten kilometers was nothing to the Astral Express. Even without using its warp capability, traveling on wheels alone took only the blink of an eye.

In the control carriage, Himeko recorded the data from the train's journey.

"Hmm... the first five kilometers were spent accelerating, and the last five decelerating. The journey was too short for the Astral Express to reach its full speed under normal operation."

As the train moved forward, the livestream's view no longer stayed on Himeko. Instead, it switched directly to the outside of the train, letting everyone see the Astral Express's speed clearly.

[What a load of bullshit! It was already leaving afterimages, and that still wasn't full speed?]

[Why do tracks spawn on the ground as it moves forward?! That's not scientific!]

[Everyone else is slogging along on foot, and we're already there. Great job balancing the power levels!]

[Here come the people popping champagne at halftime. Don't forget, Pom-Pom can't leave the train, and Himeko has almost no combat ability right now.]

[What if Himeko's secretly a martial arts master?]

[Master, my ass. A video's already surfaced of her feeding shit into some corporate executive's mouth to get him to transfer her money, then getting thrown out of the corporate building by his bodyguards after he lost his temper.]

[That's not right. Why did I hear a bodyguard who also drank Himeko's coffee say it actually tasted pretty good?]

[Because that bodyguard was sick at the time and had lost his sense of taste.]

After recording the data, Himeko used the knowledge in her head to analyze the Astral Express's current problems. Then she left the control room and opened the carriage door.

The gust from the opening door sent the cape behind her navigator's dress fluttering.

The train had stopped beside the road. Next to where it stopped, a small path branched off the otherwise straight concrete road, stretching toward a fog-shrouded area nearby.

"Himeko! Stay safe, pom!"

Before Himeko stepped through the door, Pom-Pom called out a reminder from inside the carriage. In its current state, it could not leave with Himeko and could only watch her go.

"Don't worry, Pom-Pom. Besides, there are still plenty of places on the train that need repairs. Materials won't appear out of thin air if I stay inside the carriage."

Holding a broom and mop, Pom-Pom watched Himeko leave the train, then began one of its regular duties as Conductor: the train's daily cleaning.

Once Himeko stepped off the train, a notification from the National Fortune Instance appeared before her eyes.

[Huaxia contestant: Himeko has arrived at the first stop, Amusement Park.]

[Communication access unlocked. You may now speak with the livestream's three commentators for ten minutes each day.]

A park of elation? Have I arrived in Hatorepia?

Himeko looked up. The area shrouded in fog moments ago had now revealed itself in full, and at some point, the sky had gone completely dark.

Beneath the fog was a bona fide amusement park. Looking up, Himeko could still see rides running, including a roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, and a pirate ship.

There were only flashing neon lights, but Himeko keenly sensed something unusual about the place.

It was clearly an utterly ordinary place, yet the air was thick with an eerie atmosphere.

[Mission triggered: Put your Trailblazing spirit to work, raise your exploration progress in the Amusement Park above 80%, and obtain this stop's hidden reward!]

As the system's voice rang out, Himeko took a deep breath and slowly walked toward the gate ahead, carrying her briefcase.

When she reached the Amusement Park's entrance, Himeko discovered that a ticket was required to enter. Otherwise, the smart ticket-checking device at the entrance would block her outside. A warning notice was posted beside it.

[The automatic ticket checker will sound an alarm if you enter without having your ticket checked.]

She turned toward the ticket booth. Never mind a person-there was not even a ghost of anyone inside.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Unconvinced, Himeko called out, but no one answered.

She poked her head into the ticket booth.

Since no one was there, she would put her Trailblazing spirit to work and take a ticket herself.

To Himeko's disappointment, the missing ticket seller had not left the tickets anywhere obvious. Without a ticket, Himeko would have to find another way into the Amusement Park.

Like sneaking in without paying. Trailblazers were the last people to follow the beaten path.

If anything, the lack of anyone on guard made Himeko breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, if Himeko really had to pay for a ticket, she could not produce so much as a penny. She would still have to find a way to sneak in.

"Looks like this is the contestants' first test."

As an excellent engineering designer who had only just received her knowledge infusion, Himeko had a head full of interstellar navigation knowledge. That knowledge was meant to come in handy at times like these!

Himeko walked up to the smart ticket checker, pulled a wrench from her briefcase, and casually smashed the machine to pieces with one blow. Then she kicked the gate open and strode inside.

An interstellar navigator absolutely had to understand classical physics.

[Achievement obtained: Open up! Nameless! (Illegal entry? This is called Trailblazing!)]

[Imagenesis Arts unlocked. You may expend your own energy to draw Imagenae.]

Himeko had not expected this system to have an achievement module as well. Still, that was good. She could get some more rewards.

For Himeko as she was now, Imagenesis Technology was an excellent skill to have at her disposal.

After all, a chainsaw could only be used to cut people down. There were plenty of problems it could not solve.

Meanwhile, Himeko's act of breaking into the Amusement Park left many viewers dumbfounded.

[Why does this woman carry such a huge wrench around? And how can she swing it with one hand?]

[What do you mean, she smashed the gate open with one kick?]

[Mom-!]

[Who was it that said Himeko had scrawny arms and legs?]

[Now I know why Pom-Pom can't leave the train.]

[Has nobody noticed the special effects on Himeko? Even her hair is flashing. What's going on?]

The three commentators were also left stunned by Himeko's ferocious behavior.

Even WarGreymon, the most adaptable of them, could not quite wrap his head around it for a moment.

"If I saw that right, Miss Himeko simply raised her leg and kicked that barrier gate open... right?"

"You saw that right. As far as I know, once the smart panel is destroyed, the electronic lock behind the gate automatically locks down, making it difficult to push open. Himeko could have simply climbed over the barrier at that point, but she didn't. That means, in Himeko's eyes, climbing over the barrier was more trouble than kicking the gate open."

All three swallowed in unison.

Himeko had acted so casually, as though that was how she was supposed to enter in the first place.

What did that mean? It meant she was already used to such behavior, that this was how she normally did things!

In other words, even before entering the National Fortune Instance, this woman had taken it for granted that she could kick this lousy gate open.