Chapter Summaries

Himeko reunited with Dan Heng and discussed the factions and technology in Los Angeles, while Dan Heng became determined to stop her from serving him her dangerous coffee and cooking. Washana arrived in the city and found the badly injured mobile unit captain, hesitating over whether to kill him as she thought of Himeko.

• Himeko told Dan Heng that March 7th was far away and that Pom-Pom was the only one currently on the Express.
• Dan Heng tried Himechi Cat's coffee and feared Himeko's plans to make him more coffee and pork trotter rice, resolving to replace or destroy her recipe.
• Dan Heng explained the president's body-transfer plan, the third-party faction, and the risks posed by Brain-Computer Interfaces and cybernetic implants in Los Angeles.
• Himeko revealed that she had confirmed the company's president was behind the black market, but suspected he had another plan despite the heir's death.
• Washana entered Los Angeles on the Robot Vacuum and decided to find Himeko before pursuing technology for Bear Country.
• Washana found the badly injured mobile unit captain Dan Heng had sent flying and prepared to kill him, then wondered what Himeko would do.

Washana saved the injured Mobile Team Captain, who repaid her with money and help before taking her to the mobile force. As Dan Heng’s appearance stirred speculation in Huaxia, WarGreymon noticed clues that Himeko and Dan Heng had known each other before boarding the Astral Express and asked the authorities for all information about Himeko.

• Washana brought the unconscious Mobile Team Captain to a legitimate hospital, where staff confirmed his insurance and treated his injuries.
• After recovering, the Mobile Team Captain thanked Washana, gave her money, and offered to help her obtain a Brain-Computer Interface or Military Spine.
• Washana asked to explore Los Angeles, and the Mobile Team Captain took her to the mobile force while warning her about outside travelers and powerful wanted criminals.
• The Mobile Team Captain showed Washana Dan Heng’s photo and described him as a dangerous wanted criminal who had defeated him.
• WarGreymon compared photos of Himeko and Dan Heng, noticed their identical Train Tickets and absolute trust, and asked Chinese authorities for all available information on Himeko.

WarGreymon reviewed evidence suggesting Himeko and the Astral Express had existed before the National Destiny Instance, then chose to ignore the mystery and complained about his exhausting work schedule. In Los Angeles, Himeko and Dan Heng headed toward the Wild Dog Gang to investigate the city's conspiracies, but motorcycle gang members surrounded them.

• WarGreymon learned that Himeko had recently researched trains and tried to acquire one, while records of her earlier life showed no trace of her; he decided not to investigate further.
• WarGreymon proposed changing the guards' schedule from two shifts to three after nearly twenty hours without enough rest.
• Himeko and Dan Heng discussed their weakened abilities, the danger of returning to the Astral Express, and the need to raise Los Angeles's Exploration Progress by uncovering the city's hidden conflicts.
• Himeko and Dan Heng decided to visit the Wild Dog Gang's territory in search of information about the company's factions and the smart-chip crisis.
• A group of armed motorcycle gang members surrounded Himeko, Dan Heng, and Shut Up, mistaking them for wealthy targets without cybernetic implants.

Himeko and Dan Heng used Himeko’s wealth to get past the Wild Dog Gang’s guards and reach the gang’s underground workroom. There, they found Weir of the Sun-Setting Empire strapped to an operating table, and Dan Heng stopped the scalpel before it could cut him.

• Himeko and Dan Heng rode motorcycles toward the eastern city, with Shut Up driving Dan Heng’s bike and Himechi Cat cheering from Himeko’s back.
• The group found the abandoned stadium that served as the entrance to Wild Dog Gang territory, where Himeko paid a guard two hundred thousand to let them pass.
• Himeko and Dan Heng paid their way past more gang members as they headed underground, avoiding a fight while preparing to deal with them later.
• Himeko heard a commotion and followed a gang member into a workroom where the gang was dismantling captives.
• Dan Heng knocked away a scalpel just before it could cut Weir, who was strapped to an operating table and gagged.

Himeko rescued Weir and recruited him into the Astral Express team as they investigated the heir’s death and the crises in Los Angeles. Weir discovered Dan Heng’s extraordinary danger rating, while the Wild Dog Gang plotted to kill Himeko and steal her money.

• Himeko paid to rescue Weir, who met Dan Heng and Shut Up before agreeing to join her team.
• Weir used Box Opening on Dan Heng and learned that he was an SS-ranked wanted criminal classified as a Level Twelve Danger in his normal state.
• Weir told Himeko about his abilities and suggested attacking the Wild Dog Gang, while Himeko explained their investigation into the heir’s death and the threats facing Los Angeles.
• Shut Up revealed that he had planted viruses in the gang members’ Brain-Computer Interfaces, which would overheat their chips once activated.
• As Himeko, Dan Heng, and Weir headed toward the gang’s leaders, several Wild Dog Gang members plotted to separate Himeko from Dan Heng, kill her, and take her money.

Himeko’s group bought its way into the Wild Dog Gang’s upper ranks, while rumors about Dan Heng’s dragon heritage and immortality sparked intense interest in the studio and beyond. Zhang San refused the authorities’ request to probe Himeko about immortality, and the group reached a meeting with four of the gang’s five leaders.

• Himeko’s group browsed the Wild Dog Gang’s residential marketplace, where Shut Up repeated a dubious story about Yaoshi gaining authority over wild dog milk, and Dan Heng denied that the drink could grant immortality or that Vidyadhara nursed their young.
• Himeko took a case of pure wild dog milk to experiment with adding it to coffee after the group moved on.
• Zhang San concluded that Dan Heng belonged to the long-lived Vidyadhara dragon race, then rejected the authorities’ request to question Himeko about immortality rather than spend scarce outside-support resources for others’ selfish desires.
• Himeko’s spending made her a shareholder in the Wild Dog Gang, and several minor bosses escorted her group to the gang’s deepest meeting room.
• Four of the gang’s five leaders gathered to meet Himeko, and the lead man saw her wealth, Dan Heng’s bounty, and her apparent connections as signs of her influence.

Himeko questioned the Wild Dog Gang about the dead company heir and learned of a possible conspiracy involving the company's shares and an illegitimate son. After paying the gang to release its captives and clean up its territory, she sent Dan Heng ahead, only to be surrounded by gang members demanding more money.

• Himeko questioned the Wild Dog Gang executives, who revealed that the company heir had tried to recruit them and that someone had sabotaged his business ventures.
• The executives explained that the President owned 67 percent of the company and that his shares would be distributed among other shareholders if he died without an heir.
• The Wild Dog Gang disclosed that an illegitimate son outside the company had commissioned them to do dirty work.
• Himeko paid the gang tens of millions and ordered it to release its captives and clear its territory of criminal activity.
• Himeko sent Dan Heng ahead and took Weir to a safer spot, where several gang members surrounded her and complained that she had only given them two hundred thousand.

Himeko’s group fought off the Wild Dog Gang with Shut Up’s hacking, then learned that Lin En ran brothels and a business arranging legal killings. They set out to find him and uncover whether he killed the heir and framed Dan Heng.

• Wild Dog Gang members tried to attack Himeko and Weir, but Shut Up activated viruses in their Brain-Computer Interfaces and killed them.
• Weir tried to salvage the gang members’ implants, but Shut Up said they were worth less than selling himself.
• Dan Heng returned and told the group he had cleared out the Wild Dog Gang, though one leader remained missing.
• Himeko revealed that Lin En was the president’s illegitimate son and ran brothels as well as a service arranging paid killings and organ sales.
• Himeko’s group decided to find Lin En, while Himechi Cat charged ahead on Shut Up and Dan Heng wondered whether anyone would rein her in.

Himeko's group disguised themselves and traveled through Los Angeles, where Dan Heng explained the city's corporate-controlled happiness drugs and capsule apartments. They reached a members-only bar, and Himeko secured their entry by transferring five million to a hostess.

• Himeko used clothing from the corpses and coffee beans to disguise the group, while Dan Heng chose to wear a mask.
• Dan Heng explained that Los Angeles could not track them through Brain-Computer Interfaces because none of them had one installed.
• Dan Heng described how the corporation extracted and sold happiness, and explained that capsule apartments let a thousand people live in a building through virtual homes.
• Himeko's group reached a members-only bar, where the hostesses demanded proof of assets exceeding five million.
• Shut Up displayed Himeko's balance, but when the hostess could not verify it, Himeko transferred five million directly to her.

Himeko and her companions entered a Los Angeles club to learn more about its activities, with Himechi Cat curious about the adult entertainment and Himeko bribing a bartender for information. They reached an upper floor that housed a casino and wondered whether the company behind it operated any legitimate businesses.

• Himeko proved she could afford entry to the club, while Himechi Cat and Weir reacted to the hostesses’ advances.
• Himeko, Dan Heng, and Himechi Cat entered the club, where Dan Heng blocked Himechi Cat from watching the adults.
• Himeko bought Himechi Cat a Sprite and paid a bartender, who arranged for a waiter to take the group to other activities.
• The waiter sent them upward in a private room that functioned as an elevator, and Shut Up detected unusually high oxygen levels on the top floor.
• Himeko and her companions found a casino and questioned why the businesses controlled by the bastard son seemed so shady.

Weir took the Astral Express's four hundred million to challenge a casino and draw Lin En's attention, where he faced Duncan. The chapter revealed how Duncan had reached the casino after selling his horse to Lin En and then summoning it back.

• Weir claimed he had exceptional gambling skills, and Himechi Cat gave him the Astral Express's data chip containing over four hundred million.
• Weir took a seat at the gambling table and challenged the gambler opposite him, until Duncan stepped in to play.
• Himeko recognized Duncan as an Amerika contestant and noted that he had a Brain-Computer Interface installed.
• Earlier, Duncan escaped a giant worm with his horse, then decided to sell the horse for starting capital after learning it could be summoned again.
• Duncan led the horse to Lin En's secretary, sold it for five hundred thousand, and then summoned it back, making Lin En look foolish.

Duncan was captured by Lin En and persuaded him that Himeko could provide valuable technological knowledge, earning money and a mission to bring her in. After Duncan beat Himeko’s group at gambling, he agreed to take them to Lin En.

• Lin En’s private troops captured Duncan, and Lin En beat him before offering to forgive him if he shared useful knowledge.
• Duncan falsely claimed that Himeko possessed a weapon capable of bombarding a planet, and Lin En gave him three days to bring her in.
• Lin En gave Duncan a Brain-Computer Interface and chip, transferred him another million, and told his staff to assist him.
• Duncan met Weir at the gambling table, challenged Himeko’s party, and won all of their money.
• Himeko explained that Duncan’s appearance had already achieved their objective, despite the group losing over four hundred million.
• Duncan emerged from the club and offered to take the group to Lin En, claiming the gambling winnings as his commission.

Himeko and her companions met Lin En to discuss cooperation and the dead heir’s case, but Lin En denied killing the heir and said he, too, wanted to know who had done it. He revealed that the heir’s reckless public image had been an act and that he had pursued a secret goal, leaving the group with a new lead.

• Duncan brought Himeko, Himechi Cat, Weir, and Dan Heng to Lin En’s apartment after admitting he had sold information about them to survive.
• Lin En offered to help remove Dan Heng’s wanted notice and provide case files and street rumors in exchange for their advanced technology, but Himeko refused his terms.
• Lin En denied killing the old man’s legitimate heir, and Dan Heng questioned him about the murder.
• Lin En described the heir as a failed businessman who had concealed his ambitions and said the heir would not have died if not for a goal he was pursuing.

Himeko and Dan Heng secured Lin En’s support for their work in Los Angeles, then returned to the Express while Duncan went off on his own. At the Corporation’s headquarters, the Neon contestant Captivity woke under the watch of a frail old man.

• Himeko summoned the Pig Trotter Rice Spirit and explained how she had acquired it, but Lin En rejected it as a purchase.
• Himeko asked why Lin En and his companions were staying in Los Angeles, and he agreed to provide supplies, Mobile Unit assistance, and the forces under his command.
• Lin En warned Himeko that the old man at the Corporation was not as simple as he seemed and gave her access to his account for expenses.
• Himeko and Dan Heng left with Lin En’s data chip, while Himeko told Duncan he could leave but could not join them.
• Himeko and Dan Heng returned to the Express to rest, and Duncan set out to explore on his own.
• Captivity woke at the Corporation’s headquarters and saw a frail old man watching him through bulletproof glass.

After Neon resurrected Inukai, his newfound strength did little to protect him from a missile that pursued and blasted him. The company’s President rescued and rebuilt him with Cybernetic Implants and a Brain-Computer Interface, then introduced himself as Yamada.

• Neon resurrected Inukai, who discovered that the Amusement Park had left him with immense strength and blood energy.
• A missile with arms and legs chased Inukai for twenty kilometers into Los Angeles, where it announced that it wanted to blow him up because it was fun.
• Inukai stood his ground and took the missile’s explosion head-on, surviving with severe burns.
• The company’s people brought Inukai to the medical room, where the President replaced necrotic parts with Cybernetic Implants and installed a three-chip Brain-Computer Interface.
• Inukai woke with a renewed body, met the old man who had saved him, and learned that he was Yamada, the company’s President and controlling shareholder.

Inukai accepted Yamada’s quest to kill Contestants from other countries, but Yamada forced him to leave Los Angeles with only limited assistance. Meanwhile, Dan Heng returned to the Astral Express with Himeko and Weir, and Himeko received a Starblazer blueprint despite lacking the energy to summon the whole vessel.

• Yamada offered Inukai a quest to eliminate Contestants from other countries, and Inukai accepted while asking for additional compensation.
• Yamada caused Inukai intense pain, ordered him to leave Los Angeles, and gave him an address and starting funds.
• Dan Heng returned to the Astral Express with Himeko, and Pom-Pom welcomed him back and worried about the missing passengers.
• Weir boarded the train and struggled unsuccessfully to sit on its sofa while Himechi Cat insulted him.
• Dan Heng found his room and Data Bank damaged, and discovered that his bedding was missing.
• Himeko completed a quest and received increased Roleplay Progress and a Starblazer blueprint, but lacked the energy to summon more than one component.

Himeko’s crew discovered that they and many other Contestants had been declared wanted, then learned that Inukai was hunting Contestants while keeping Himeko occupied. They realized Lin En might be in trouble, and Himeko learned that Inukai had returned after his death through the commentators’ vote.

• Shut Up showed the crew’s wanted notices, including Dan Heng, Himeko, Shut Up, Himechi Cat, and Weir, along with notices for Contestants from other countries.
• Dan Heng questioned why the group had been declared wanted, and Shut Up failed to reach Lin En.
• Himeko concluded that a major development had implicated the Contestants who entered Los Angeles and asked for information about the new notices.
• Weir contacted the Sun-Setting Empire’s commentators, who told Himeko that President Yamada had taken control of Neon’s Inukai and that Inukai was hunting Contestants to keep Himeko from interfering.
• Himeko learned that Inukai had died but had been allowed to continue participating after the commentators voted on his fate.

Dan Heng and Himeko discussed the danger posed by Brain-Computer Interfaces and decided to split up to investigate the conspiracy behind them. Himeko left to confront Inukai and the President, while Dan Heng and Shut Up set out to find Lin En and help Washana.

• The Sun-Setting Empire reported that Taco had defeated Buer but still did not know he was wanted, while Washana had joined the Mobile Team Captain and installed a Brain-Computer Interface.
• Dan Heng worried that Intelligent Chips could control people through their Brain-Computer Interfaces, and Himeko rejected Weir's suggestion that they regroup because the interfaces could reveal their location.
• Dan Heng initially opposed splitting up because Himeko had not regained her strength, but Himeko revealed that she had acquired part of the Starblazer and convinced him to proceed.
• Himeko assigned Dan Heng and Shut Up to find Lin En, try to bring Washana back, and investigate the chip problem, while she planned to deal with Inukai and the President.
• Himeko offered coffee before they left the Astral Express, but everyone refused, and Weir joked that he feared being poisoned by her coffee.

Washana discovered she had been falsely named a wanted criminal, but the Mobile Team Captain believed her and removed her from the list. As he began investigating the case and agreed to search for Himeko, Taco, and Weir, Inukai saw an opportunity to seize Washana.

• Washana saw a wanted notice accusing her of assaulting Lin En, but the Mobile Team Captain believed she had been framed because she had been with him at the time.
• The Mobile Team Captain explained his suspicions about the wanted system and cleared Washana by briefly booking her into a cell before releasing her.
• Washana asked the captain to locate Himeko, Taco, and Weir, and he agreed to send people to search for them.
• Inukai accessed the captain's visual feed and assessed the captain's strength, deciding to avoid confronting Himeko but target Washana instead.
• Inukai planned to use the President's authority to demand that the captain hand Washana over.

Inukai sent the Mobile Unit to hunt down the other Contestants while Himeko, Himechi Cat, and Weir headed to the company to investigate its secrets. They walked into the building unnoticed, and the President ordered his secretary to put the countermeasures in place.

• Inukai ordered the Mobile Unit to search Los Angeles for the other Contestants and checked his exploration progress, which had reached 44%.
• Viewers argued over Inukai's alliance with Neon and the safety of Brain-Computer Interfaces, while Huaxia's viewers watched Himeko's group walk openly through Los Angeles.
• Himeko told Himechi Cat and Weir that they needed to visit the company and meet the President again.
• Himeko, Himechi Cat, and Weir entered the company building without drawing attention from its AI-controlled employees.
• The secretary showed the President surveillance footage of Himeko's group, and he instructed the secretary to put the countermeasures in place.