Mr. Yang lifted a hand to adjust his glasses and said to Himeko beside him, "Looks like Nero is quite a lively kid too. But compared to March's kind of wild imagination, this kid seems to be lively in a more practical way?"
Himeko smiled and said, "It's good for young people to be energetic."
After speaking, Himeko walked toward Nero and the other two.
"Looks like you all got along quite well with Pom Pom!"
"Mm." Nero stood up from the floor, showing that Pom Pom was very nice to touch.
Himeko nodded. "Right, you two should go choose a room for yourselves first. Sleeping on the sofa isn't very good."
"I'll do it!" March 7 shouted. "You two follow me, I'll give you a tour of the train along the way!"
Then March 7 led Stelle and Nero out of the observation car and toward the guest compartments inside.
The three first visited Dan Heng's archive room where he lived.
It was very simple, so simple that, from the perspective of being a bedroom, it could even be considered completely bare.
After all, only a single floor bedding lay flattened all alone on the wave-like floor.
But as a study, this place was extremely luxurious, since the train's databank was located here.
Dan Heng quietly read various materials in the room, enriching his knowledge, clearly not intending to pay attention to the three.
Inside the archive room, the three didn't make trouble either. They glanced around casually and then left.
Next was March 7's own room.
The moment the door opened, a wave of "pretty-girl scent" hit them in the face.
Light pink decor, simple potted plants, a full-body mirror in the corner, a gorgeous photo wall, a whole collection of plush toys led by Pom Pom dolls, cameras of different styles, a wardrobe filled to the brim, a big pink bed, all sorts of little snacks, and of course a computer…
Compared to Dan Heng's archive room, March 7's room was so luxurious it was almost unbelievable.
"How is it? This is a pretty girl's room!"
March 7 led the two inside, brimming with excitement.
And the pretty girl happily accepted the praise from the two.
Finally, they went to look at the standard guest rooms.
There wasn't much difference between the regular guest rooms. They were quite empty, with only a bed, a wardrobe, a small table, and pillows and blankets.
Nero ended up choosing the second guest room, right next to March 7. Stelle took the third room, right next to Nero.
Now that this wasn't a game, of course Nero and Stelle could have their own rooms, instead of waiting for miHoYo to implement that in some future update.
After they chose rooms, Pom Pom's voice suddenly came from the broadcast.
"Hello, hello hello. Attention all passengers, attention all passengers.
"The train is about to jump. Please proceed to the train hall immediately."
"Repeating. The train is about to jump. All passengers please proceed to the train hall immediately!"
Hearing Pom Pom's announcement, March said to Nero and Stelle, "Let's go!"
Nero and Stelle nodded.
After the tour earlier, March 7 had already taken them around almost the entire train.
Very soon, the three returned to the train hall.
The moment they entered the hall, Nero's nose twitched slightly. He smelled the fragrance of coffee.
To speak the truth, Nero had already been a person who would die without coffee before he transmigrated.
Although later he switched over to the yogurt league, he still missed the taste of coffee quite a bit.
Sniffing the aroma and shaking his head, Nero quickly found the source of the coffee smell, Himeko was sitting on the sofa brewing coffee on the table in front of her.
Nero immediately ran over.
Stelle went to find Dan Heng instead. She looked around the hall but didn't see Dan Heng.
Himeko noticed Nero running over. She lifted her head and saw the longing in the boy's eyes.
"Nero wants some coffee?"
"Can I?" Nero looked hopeful.
"Of course. I'm very happy to share with you."
Himeko smiled gently and pushed the cup full of coffee on the table toward Nero.
Nero reached out to pick up the coffee and was about to drink it, but just as he saw what was inside the cup, he suddenly stopped.
Inside the cup, the coffee (?) was still steaming…
But right now, no matter how he looked at that steam, it seemed like the sinister aura of some indescribable monster.
Nero gently swirled the cup, watching the dark semi-solid inside roll around…
'Is this really coffee?'
Although he had long known Himeko's brewed coffee was shocking, making something this semi-solid was a bit too outrageous, it looked like a lump of agar.
It was hard to imagine what coffee like this would even taste like.
But… as someone who had eaten over-90%-pure dark chocolate in his previous life, Nero still drank the cup of coffee.
The flavor of that dark chocolate still haunted him to this day, it had that "chewing acetaminophen tablets" kind of charm. This coffee couldn't possibly be harder to accept than that.
Nero closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and gulped down several big mouthfuls as if he were drinking aloe juice.
The bitterness of this overwhelmingly strong coffee wrapped around the boy's tongue, numbing even his usually sensitive, heat-averse "cat tongue."
Finally, Nero finished the coffee and set the cup on the table.
"How was the taste?" Himeko looked at Nero.
She was very curious about his opinion, after all, everyone on the train always politely avoided her coffee.
"Goo… good!"
Nero trembled as he answered. He felt like his tongue was tied into knots.
"Very pure… the taste of coffee… original and authentic… ugh…"
Nero closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and collapsed onto the sofa.
A peaceful expression appeared on the fair and delicate face of the boy, as if a soul were drifting out of this body and ascending to heaven.
A few seconds later, Nero came back to his senses. He didn't say anything, only silently gave Himeko a thumbs-up.
The train was about to begin its jump. Stelle had finished talking with Pom Pom and sat down next to Nero.
March also came over, and Mr. Yang sat alone on the opposite side.
Nero looked around, stood up, and went to sit beside Mr. Yang.
Mr. Yang saw Nero's action and nodded.
Though he didn't say anything, he felt that this kid was really a good one.
March and Stelle chatted across from them. March told Stelle about the strange sights she had seen on the train and also described how she first boarded it.
At this moment, Pom Pom walked over. It glanced at Nero, then silently turned around and went to March and Stelle, loudly reminding them that the jump was about to begin, to sit tight, hold the handrails, and not run around.
In the end, March still chose to stand in the train hall, once again challenging herself not to fall over during the jump.
Even Stelle felt helpless at the girl's quirky behavior.
As the navigator, Himeko said to the two new passengers, Nero and Stelle, "Our next destination is a very small planet, designated 'Jarilo-VI.'
"The last time the train went there was several thousand years ago. According to the databank, it used to be a lush and very beautiful planet.
"But… after so many long years… perhaps earth-shaking changes have already taken place."
Finally, the last moments of waiting passed, and Pom Pom's voice sounded once again.
"Everyone return to your seats, the jump is about to begin. Please be prepared!"
March stood in the hall, constantly psyching herself up.
"I won't fall, I won't fall, I won't fall…"
The chessboard and chess pieces on the table began to gently shake, and Pom Pom began counting down.
"5. 4. 3. 2. 1!"
With Pom Pom's countdown, the stars began to recede around the Astral Express. A burst of light swept through, and the train seemed to enter a quantum state at this moment.
An invisible tunnel unfolded among the surrounding stars, and the Astral Express sped forward at full force, rushing deep into the tunnel.
Light flickered, the train disappeared.
It was as if a ripple spread across the sea of stars, and in the end, only the vast, boundless darkness of space remained.
At the same time, in another star system, or perhaps in another universe?
A path paved with stars opened and extended, and the Astral Express burst out from within.
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