Following the plan they had agreed upon yesterday, Wende led Jingliu and Tingyun toward the crossroads marked on the map, where the territories of the Survivor Base, the Scavenger camp, and the Cinder Gang intersected.
Perhaps due to the masked merchant's significant influence over the Survivor Base, the old mayor was keen to be on good terms with the crew. After learning that the trio was heading to that specific location, he specially gave them a pass for the Survivor Base. Although Wende was skeptical about the item's actual usefulness, he naturally wouldn't refuse the old mayor's kind gesture. It would be for the best if it came in handy.
Along the way, Wende kept feeling a sort of resentful gaze from Tingyun behind him, her eyes frequently shifting between him and Jingliu. Meanwhile, Jingliu seemed to be in a remarkably good mood today. While her posture was as steady as ever, the observant Wende could faintly discern something odd about her gait.
Did she injure herself somewhere?
Wende scratched his head in confusion but didn't dwell on it. If she were truly injured, she wouldn't be this happy.
But what's wrong with Tingyun?
Completely unaware that Jingliu was the culprit behind little March's sleepless night, Wende decided to stop thinking about it and focus on the task at hand.
At the very least…
Looking at the checkpoint set up by the people of the Survivor Base ahead, Wende put away his slightly relaxed mood, replacing it with steadiness and solemnity.
Past this point was the junction of the three factions. If they didn't handle it well, a fight would likely be unavoidable…
Although he felt that no one here could beat them—Jingliu alone could probably take on their entire camp by herself—their time was precious and couldn't be wasted on pointless matters.
"Let's go."
He took out the "token" the old mayor had given him. It was a necklace made from a bullet, engraved with the Survivor Base's insignia. On Punklorde, something like a "brass bullet" was an antique that had been obsolete for centuries. Anyone who would use it as a token was either a collector or a junk-picker…
"Stelle, we've already wandered around this whole area. What on earth are you looking for?"
Watching Stelle roam around the Survivor Base, March 7th couldn't help but feel a wave of exhaustion. Their time was tight! If they failed to gather any useful intel, Sister Himeko would get angry, right?
The thought of her future beverages on the Express consisting of nothing but Himeko's coffee sent an involuntary shiver down March's spine.
Too terrifying! Absolutely too terrifying! After eating all that dark cuisine lately, even she was about to develop a resistance to poison!
"Hmm…"
Dan Heng was still engrossed in his game. After the precedent set by the masked merchant yesterday, no one in the entire Survivor Base dared to provoke them now. The locals' reaction to them could even be described as "giving them a wide berth."
It was understandable, though. After all, for that masked merchant to have carved out a position for himself in the treacherous Scrapyard, it wasn't just due to his goods, but also his "procurement methods," which were chilling to think about. According to some rumors they'd overheard outside the inn, the people who had confronted them yesterday had apparently "mysteriously disappeared" from the Survivor Base.
Whether they ran away on their own or it was for some other reason… it didn't matter anymore.
In any case… when he wasn't needed for guard duty, he might as well sneak in a bit of gaming… Speaking of which, why hasn't that guy been online these past few days? Did he get depressed because I flamed him too hard a few days ago?
Dan Heng had no way of knowing and even felt a little regretful. After all, he was short one punching bag.
(Blade: I'll f*ing kill you!)
"Alright, March, let's go find Himeko."
Stelle, having returned from who-knows-where, said to March with a confident smile.
"Huh? We're going back already? You got all the intel?"
March raised an eyebrow, her large pink-and-blue eyes looking at Stelle, full of confusion.
"Of course! I am the Intel Master!" Stelle nodded proudly. She had just learned about the Scavenger camp and the Cinder Gang from the hackers in the Survivor Base. With this information, they could directly enter the Cinder Gang's territory and head straight for the underground reservoir!
"Really?" March crossed her arms, looking skeptically at the confident Stelle.
"Of course. If you doubt me like this, March, I'll be very sad, you know…"
"? What's wrong with you? Do you have a fever?" March looked like she had just seen a ghost.
"Er… It's nothing! Let's hurry and find Himeko!"
Snapping back to her senses, Stelle spoke decisively to March.
"Are you sure you don't have a fever? Maybe we should get Dan Heng to spit some water on you to cool you down?"
"…Leaving aside whether splashing water on her would make a fever worse, what the hell do you mean by asking me to spit water?" Dan Heng retorted under his breath.
"Aah… It's a metaphor! Right, a metaphor! Haha, let's just hurry and find Sister Himeko!"
"..."
Watching March hastily drag Stelle away, Dan Heng's mouth twitched. He just quietly followed along.
"Yes, there is definitely a problem here. The Stellaron's energy seems to have stabilized, but interstellar communications still haven't been restored. That shouldn't be the case, not even if the Star Rail was broken."
Aboard the Astral Express, Welt shook his head at Himeko's projection.
"Is that so… Then it seems what that masked merchant said might be true. The Stellaron on Punklorde is acting so abnormally. If those so-called Legends are really being simulated and controlled by the Fragmentum, it wouldn't be impossible for them to completely block interstellar communications with their methods. But that clearly doesn't feel right."
Himeko shook her head.
"Correct, but we can't rule out the possibility. You should still try to speed things up as much as possible. The sooner you reach the Legendary Tower, the safer Punklorde's situation will be. If it really comes to it…"
Welt paused, then pushed up his glasses.
"If Punklorde truly cannot be saved, you should all use a Realm-Restricting Anchor on the planet to teleport away. Though it may be cruel to Punklorde, the Astral Express cannot halt its journey here."
Welt's tone was very calm, but it was clear he had already prepared for the worst-case scenario.
"Mm… I'll tell them."
Himeko was silent for a long moment before nodding gently.
In the past, to walk the Path of Trailblaze and protect the safety of the Star Rails, they certainly would never have allowed something like this to happen… But now, as the Express and its crew continued to grow, they also had to make trade-offs…
"Okay. Be careful on your way. I will keep a close watch on the Legendary Tower. If any problems arise, I will notify you at once."
Welt nodded.