Chapter 280

Pom-Pom: "That's right, Pom."

Pom-Pom: "So... if we don't replenish the fuel, we won't be able to go anywhere..."

The video continues.

【It's okay, cry it all out, Pom-Pom.】

【Everyone, can you go to the next carriage to rest for a while?】

【Don't worry, I'll be here to keep it company.】

Himeko comforted Pom-Pom,

and then said to everyone.

【But...】

【Let's go, March.】

March 7th was a bit hesitant,

but was persuaded away by Dan Heng.

Subsequently,

they all came to the guest carriage next door.

【I didn't expect Pom-Pom's reaction to be so big...】

March 7th recalled Pom-Pom's sad appearance,

feeling a bit emotional.

【Those three Nameless must have been very important companions to it.】

Dan Heng pondered for a moment and said.

【No one knows when Pom-Pom boarded the train, but it's conceivable that it must have experienced many meetings and partings along the way that we can't imagine.】

【The fact that it can have a good cry like this is actually a good thing in my opinion.】

【It proves that Pom-Pom hasn't been worn down by the long passage of time; it still deeply cherishes every Nameless who has boarded the train and every journey it has experienced with them.】

【Leave the comforting work to Himeko; after all, no one on this train is better at guiding others than she is.】

Stelle: "Speaking of which... strictly speaking."

Stelle: "Is the conductor also a long-lived monster?"

March 7th: "Don't say it, you really shouldn't say it!"

March 7th: "The conductor doesn't even know how many passengers it has stayed with."

March 7th: "Doing a little math, I'm afraid it must be a few thousand years old, right?"

Stelle: "That's conservative; I think at least ten thousand years old!"

Stelle: "Maybe, when the Aeon of Trailblaze was still around, Pom-Pom already existed?"

Paimon: "A few thousand or ten thousand years old??"

Paimon: "Oh my god, the conductor is actually a living legend!"

Zhongli: "To have lived for such a long time and still maintain one's original intention."

Zhongli: "There must be something about the conductor that we can learn from."

Venti: "Ehe, it seems the conductor has no erosion at all."

Furina: "Speaking of which, the conductor's background is so mysterious, has everyone on the train crew ever doubted its true identity?"

Stelle: "Of course I've doubted it!"

Stelle: "I think the conductor might be a hidden Emanator of Trailblaze!"

Stelle: "When our train really encounters a crisis and is about to kick the bucket, the conductor will stop hiding and reveal its powerful aura that shakes the universe!"

Stelle: "At that time, all living beings in the universe will gasp in unison, and then exclaim: 'Hiss! An Emanator of Trailblaze, so terrifying!'"

Pom-Pom: "Passenger Stelle, don't randomly create fake identities for the conductor, hey!"

Pom-Pom: "What kind of Emanator of Trailblaze am I, Pom!"

Pom-Pom: "I'm just an ordinary conductor!"

Lumine: "Just living for such a long time makes Conductor Pom-Pom not ordinary at all."

Boothill: "Ha, even a pig living for ten thousand years could damn well become a god-pig."

Boothill: "Let alone the conductor of the Astral Express?"

(Nuo Qian Zhao) The video continues.

【Pom-Pom said the fuel is about to run out...】

【Is it true?】

Stelle scratched her head,

and asked this key question.

【Although Pom-Pom was mostly venting its emotions at the time... but what it said was indeed correct.】

【With Stelle's joining as a node, the train spent longer than expected at every stop afterward.】

【To ensure everyone was together, Pom-Pom had to repeatedly postpone the jump schedule.】

Welt explained a few things to everyone about this matter.

【So that's how it is... no wonder I often heard Pom-Pom pacing anxiously in the corridor.】

Dan Heng was a bit enlightened,

understanding why Pom-Pom was often anxious.

【So the conductor has also been silently paying for us all along...】

Stelle: "With me joining as a node?"

Stelle: "Got it!"

Stelle: "It was me who slowed down the train's speed!"

Stelle: "I'm proud!"

March 7th: "This isn't your fault either, after all..."

March 7th: "Eh??"

March 7th: "I thought you were going to say something depressing, and I wanted to comfort you."

March 7th: "Why don't you play by the rules!"

Sparkle: "Because rules are meant to be broken~"

Stelle: "No big deal, it's just out of fuel, just fill it up!"

Furina: "The question is, what is the train's fuel?"

The video continues.

【Unlike ordinary vehicles, the Astral Express converts each Trailblazing journey into energy to maintain operation.】

【In an ideal state, as long as the Trailblazing journey is not interrupted, the train can obtain a steady stream of power, moving forward continuously like a perpetual motion machine.】

【But because of previous encounters... the fuel consumption was faster than expected; two more jumps might be the limit.】

Welt continued to add.

【Two... isn't that already very dangerous?】

【Eww, I don't want to turn back into an ice cube drifting in space!】

"Ugh, I certainly don't want to turn back into an ice cube drifting in space!"

Stelle: "Ah? So that's how the train's energy comes from."

Furina: "Keep trailblazing, and you can keep the energy sufficient..."

Furina: "That's quite amazing."

March 7th: "I didn't expect the train's energy to only be enough for two jumps now?"

March 7th: "Then what if the next two jumps don't meet the standards of Trailblazing? Won't the train really be drifting in space?"

Stelle: "March, when that time comes, seal me into the ice cube with you."

Stelle: "I'm afraid of the dark, I don't want to drift alone as an ice cube in space!"

Himeko: "Everyone be optimistic, we still have two jump opportunities now."

Himeko: "There are still many choices."

Himeko: "No need to worry."

Himeko: "At most, the next itinerary needs to be carefully considered."

The video continues.

【It's a beautiful girl ice cube!】

After March 7th finished speaking, Stelle emphasized it.

【Now that you mention it, it doesn't seem that bleak anymore?】

【Eww, I don't want to turn back into a *beautiful girl ice cube* drifting in space!】

Miss Qingque: "Beautiful girl ice cube?"

Miss Qingque: "There's such a thing?"

Guinaifen: "Makes sense, ice freezing a beautiful girl is a beautiful girl ice cube!"

Miss Sushang: "Uh... but a beautiful girl ice cube is still an ice cube."

Miss Sushang: "It's not good to turn into an ice cube for no reason."

March 7th: "Who says it isn't!"

March 7th: "I never want to turn into an ice cube and drift alone in space again!"

March 7th: "A beautiful girl ice cube won't do either!"

The video continues.

【In other words, this point must be considered when choosing the next destination.】

Dan Heng nodded and pondered.

【Correct. I have already checked the star map; the worlds closer to us are the ocean planet Lusaka and the agate world Melustine.】

【As for which one to choose as our destination, it still needs to be voted on...】

Stelle: "Speaking of which, when I was holding the train itinerary meeting in the Dream of Taiyi, didn't I mention a world invaded by the Antimatter Legion?"

Stelle: "Is it gone now?"

March 7th: "You know it was a dream, so it definitely has nothing to do with reality!"

March 7th: "After all, when we were in that dream before, we didn't hear that the train was running out of energy!"

Furina: "So the Astral Express's next destination can only be chosen from these two closest places?"

Furina: "I feel like the difficulty of choosing has suddenly decreased!"

Paimon: "Hmm... very curious which planet everyone will choose as the destination."

Stelle: "I'm interested in Lusaka!"

Stelle: "Because that's Senior Mikhail's homeland!"

March 7th: "I'm also interested in Lusaka, an ocean planet, I don't know what it looks like."

March 7th: "But, I think this agate world is also very attractive!"

March 7th: "After all, just hearing the name, I know this world must have a lot of beautiful agate stones!"

March 7th: "Oh no, it's over, I'm so conflicted!"

March 7th: "My choice paralysis is acting up again!!"

Lumine: "It seems... even if there are only two worlds, it's quite hard to choose!"

Aventurine: "Don't panic when you encounter choice paralysis."

Aventurine: "Take out a coin, heads for 1, tails for 2."

Mualani: "What if the coin stands up?"

Aventurine: "Ahem... then abstain!!"

Hu Tao: "Mm, that's a good method."

Hu Tao: "At least you don't have to be conflicted."

The video continues.

【Hehe... or, you can also listen to my suggestion.】

Just after Welt finished speaking,

in the carriage,

someone else's voice rang out.

Everyone looked at the sound,

and discovered the figure of Black Swan,

who had appeared.

【We meet again, everyone.】

Black Swan smiled,

and greeted them.

【It, it's you?! How could you come out of my room...】

Stelle: "Damn, Black Swan actually popped out of March's room!"

Stelle: "Is our train's protection so fragile now?"

Dan Heng: "......."

Dan Heng: "The train's security really needs to be strengthened."

March 7th: "This isn't the Dream of Taiyi anymore, how did Miss Black Swan get on the train again?"

Black Swan: "Of course... to help you solve the energy problem."

Furina: "So that's where Miss Black Swan was."

Furina: "No wonder Miss Stelle didn't see Miss Black Swan when she said her final goodbyes."

The video continues.

【A very cute room, Miss March—just like you.】

Black Swan teased.

【I said someone was missing when we said goodbye...】

Stelle said belatedly.

【Memokeeper.... regardless of how you avoided our eyes and ears to board the train, the suggestion you just mentioned...】

Welt asked about the suggestion Black Swan mentioned.

【I accidentally heard about the way the train obtains fuel.】

【I originally just wanted to come and chat with everyone to see if we could reach a cooperation—now it seems, my suggestion might also be a life-saving straw for you.】

Black Swan was still playing hard to get.

【Speak your mind.】

【Depending on the content, we might also ask you to get off the train.】

Dan Heng said with a cold expression.

【A descendant of the Permanence... what a charming little dragon, especially that murky memory of yours.】

Stelle: "Hahahahahaha."

Stelle: "A charming... little dragon!"

Stelle: "It sounds like Dan Heng is some kind of baby dragon, it's killing me."

Dan Heng: "....."

March 7th: "Eh, compared to his lifespan, maybe he really is a young little dragon now?"

General Feixiao: "No matter what, he was a High-Elder in his past life, so 'little dragon' is a bit much, right?"

General Feixiao: "Seriously, I wonder how much of Imbibitor Lunae's strength this Mr. Dan Heng still retains?"

Stelle: "Don't know, except for fighting Phantylia on the Luofu last time, I basically haven't seen him use that power."

Stelle: "This time in Penacony, except for seeing him use it in the fake Dream of Taiyi."

Stelle: "But in the real reality, he still didn't use it."

March 7th: "In short, he was just slacking off the whole time."

March 7th: "Got it!"

March 7th: "It means we haven't encountered any major crisis yet."

March 7th: "Otherwise, he would definitely have exploded with power!"

Stelle: "I think so too."

Stelle: "Himeko's orbital cannon, Mr. Yang's black hole, Dan Heng's dragon form—none of them were used."