Chapter 312

She suddenly jumped onto Araragi Koyomi's back, her cold chin rubbing his hot ear: "In my opinion, maybe they're playing a 'kill with a borrowed knife' trick~"

"Hey hey!" Araragi Koyomi shook his body, but couldn't shake off this piece of sticky candy, "Little Shinobu, you're thinking too deviously! Moreover, the Duke of Netherfire looks more dangerous than a blade—who's killing whom is still uncertain."

"Alas, you're still too naïve." Shinobu Oshino flipped and landed, sighing, "Superficial threats are often not real threats; true threats never reveal their fangs prematurely."

——

"Star suddenly received a message in the train group chat; Pam said the train's jump drive was ready, and they could head to the next station right away. However, before departure there will be a small train meeting, hoping everyone gathers in the observation car."

"Upon entering the car, March 7, Dan Heng, and the others had already arrived; Pam was the last to arrive, indicating there were some important matters to prepare."

""Ladies and gentlemen, you should already know, Pam? The destination of this train journey is '【Star of Celebration】 Pinokangni'. Although the train conductor also knows, everyone has long been looking forward to that famed cosmic star hotel, but before departure, there are three things I need to remind everyone of.""

""First, Asudenna, where Pinokangni is located, is a star system brimming with memory substance; historically it was one of the great voids where the memory domain leaked. Although thousands of years have passed, the memory substance concentration ahead remains above average.""

""Usually there won't be any serious problems, but everyone's physical condition differs; if dizziness, hallucinations, or memory disorders occur, they must not be taken lightly!""

""Second, Pinokangni is the territory of the Harmony family; this is also the first time the family has publicly extended an invitation to other factions. Remember, the train is invited as a guest, so the etiquette that must be observed must be observed.""

""Lastly, the third point—rather than a demand, Pam wishes to make an awkward request of you all. If possible—hope you can, aside from your vacation, spare some time to help inquire about the whereabouts of a few nameless guests.""

Himeko explained that Pinokangni used to be the company's frontier prison thousands of years ago; it was opened up and connected to Qianxing, and the Astral Express had visited then—just as journeys have gatherings and partings, a few nameless guests chose to stay, making Pinokangni their final stop.

——

Marvel Universe.

On the terrace of Wakanda's royal palace, the sunset dyed the vibranium-forged spire gold. Steve had just lifted his teacup when he nearly choked on Pam's remark.

""He was saying… the whole planet is a hotel?" His voice carried a hint of disbelief, as if he had to turn the word over in his mouth before daring to utter it."

Bucky leaned against the nearby railing, his metal arm reflecting the sunset's afterglow. Watching Steve's exaggerated gesture, he raised an eyebrow, his expression caught between stifled laughter and outright laughter: 'Honestly, the world inside the dome has refreshed our cognition many times over—do you still find it strange?'

""Of course it's strange." King T'Challa walked over from behind, a faint smile on his lips: "According to our earthly understanding, hotels are usually tied to tourism, but if an entire planet is a hotel, what would its inhabitants sightsee? Would they just spend all day fooling around inside the hotel?""

""Perhaps it's for interstellar tourism?" Bucky guessed."

""I think your ideas should be bolder." T'Challa gently shook his head: "Just now that plush rabbit mentioned memory substance; combined with the methods of Luminous Memory Garden, I believe the family could have turned 'memory' into a tourism item.""

""Can memory also be a tourism?""

Steve and Bucky exchanged a glance, each seeing in the other's eyes that bewilderment typical of 'Brooklyn kids'.

""T'Challa didn't answer directly, but instead asked back: 'Do you still remember March 7 and Fu Xun retrieving their memories? If you could immerse yourselves in others' memories, experiencing events they once lived through, wouldn't that be quite novel and fun?'"

""The key is that traveling in memory isn't inferior to reality; even the most splendid scenery in reality can grow stale one day, but the universe holds so many memories that there's always something more novel waiting for you.""

——

""According to the crew roster, the three passengers who disembarked back then were named Tiru Nan, Ragwok, and Lazalina, having served as the train's guard, mechanic, and surveyor. Aside from that, there is no other information.""

March 7 wore a troubled expression, scratching her head: 'Just names and occupations? They might not even be real names… Isn't this like searching for a needle in a haystack?'

Himeko smiled gently: 'Just go with the flow. Considering the diversity of the nameless guests… we might even find their descendants, and with an extremely small probability—perhaps even meet the persons themselves.'

The meeting ends here; there's still some time before departure, so everyone can first pack their bags.

Suddenly Star saw the latest update from the Stellar Peace broadcast and decided to listen to it to pass the time.

""The Stellar Peace Company and the Xianzhou League have again signed a mutual trade agreement, beneficial to both economies. At the signing site, the spokesperson from Stellar Peace's Development Department and Miss Yuko of the Luofu Heavenly Shipping Directorate exchanged views amicably and reached consensus on many issues.""

""For ages, Emperor Rupert I has left numerous terrifying relics in the universe, among which the 【Machina Emperor's Tomb】 has attracted widespread attention since its discovery. Initiated by Allen One-Armed Jones, chief scholar of the Archaeology Division of the Scholarly Society, with crew member Screw Gum from the Genius Club participating, the excavation of this steel relic, preliminarily assessed as a Ω-level hazard, has formally begun, unveiling its mysterious veil.""

The Scholarly Society's spokesperson said: 'We cannot know what astonishing discovery Professor Jones will make, but we hope his findings will let us understand the Emperor better and prevent the universe from again suffering the horror he brought upon his arrival.'

——

Dragon Clan.

""If I'm not mistaken, Emperor Rupert is a member of the Genius Club, right?" Caesar vaguely recalled hearing that name somewhere, but couldn't quite recall the details."

""Yes, though he seems to have passed away; like Screw Gum, he is an inorganic life form." Chisu Hang said."

""Why do I get the impression from the company's tone that this genius isn't a good person?" Caesar felt this genius was not of 【Wisdom】 but of 【Destruction】; not only does the company wary of him threefold, even the inorganic lifeform Screw Gum dare not be lax."

""Geniuses aren't necessarily on the side of justice and reason, right?" Chisu Hang said indifferently, "The Scholarly Society's Wisdom Venerable Selector doesn't consider moral standing either; as long as one reaches His standard on the path of wisdom, He will cast His gaze upon them—regardless of whether they have brought great disaster upon the universe.""

""You speak of disaster—how disastrous could it be?" Caesar furrowed his brows, "Could it be worse than a universal locust plague?""