This morning, an inexplicable scent lingered in the air.
Oh, it was the smell of gunpowder.
Last night, March 7th had gotten so worked up while arguing with Delta that she blurted out her feelings for Aidan on the spot. Delta, naturally, wasn't about to back down...
In the end, Aidan had to suffer quite a bit to soothe the two young ladies before they finally went back to their rooms to sleep.
A temporary ceasefire.
The matter with Aha was actually overlooked. When they checked the board later, everything seemed fine, leaving Dan Heng wondering if he had simply remembered it wrong.
Today, Aidan was on the Path of [Trailblaze].
It wasn't Erudition's turn to appear. Although Erudition was incredibly powerful, every time it manifested, one had to worry for the safety of the entire universe.
"Yo, hello everyone."
A holographic projection appeared inside the carriage of the Astral Express.
"Members of the Astral Express, I have hijacked your train. Now—how about you all listen to what I have to say?"
Aidan sat up from the sofa, his eyes burning as he stared at Silver Wolf's virtual projection. For some reason, Silver Wolf felt a slight chill down her spine.
Silver Wolf!
You did well, you did so well!
Aidan's praise almost escaped his lips.
Thank you, Silver Wolf, for the rescue!
But on the surface, Aidan still maintained a vigilant posture, his brow furrowed and his gaze sharp.
"Silver Wolf of the Stellaron Hunters, why have you hijacked the Astral Express?"
His attitude was so serious that Dan Heng immediately noticed something was off with Aidan.
But it was fine; at least the cold war was over for now.
"Uh... right! Hijacking the train." She tried to regain some of her composure as a hijacker. "So now, you all have to listen to me, or else I'll—"
"Or else what?"
Silver Wolf froze.
She hadn't actually thought about what would happen if they didn't cooperate. The script only said for her to 'create a little conflict, but cooperate with the Express'; it didn't specify how to create it, and her usual methods seemed a bit inappropriate.
"Anyway! I'm here to—announce something."
"What is it?"
"I've changed your next destination. How about the Xianzhou Luofu?"
"We need to discuss this."
"Fine, go ahead and discuss. Just make it quick, okay?"
Welt's expression looked complicated.
"What do you think, Aidan?"
"Uncle Yang, don't you already have your own thoughts on this?"
"..."
"How could someone with that face be a bad person, right?"
Welt:...
"Ahem, anyway, we still shouldn't judge people by their appearance! That's wrong."
"Wait! That's where you're wrong. Look at Jarilo-VI—there was Seele and Bronya, and then Cocolia and Natasha..."
"Stop, stop right there."
Welt waved his hand.
Just wait until they reached the Xianzhou and he saw Luocha's face; Old Yang would be swinging that cane of his faster than anyone. By then, Welt would definitely be attacking in his 'Cane Maniac' form.
Himeko looked at Silver Wolf.
"Since you went to all the trouble of hacking into the Astral Express's communication system, it surely wasn't just to play a prank on us? What happened on the Xianzhou Luofu that required you to personally point the way?"
"A Stellaron burst is about to occur on the Xianzhou Luofu," Silver Wolf said in a flat tone. "And the situation is urgent."
"A Stellaron crisis?" Himeko frowned. "Aren't the Stellaron Hunters specialized in finding Stellarons? Why didn't you handle it yourselves this time, and instead came to the Express for help?"
"Because the script says this matter has to be resolved by you." Silver Wolf spread her hands in a helpless gesture. "We're just responsible for guiding you to the right future. If you don't go, there will be big trouble on the Xianzhou. People will die, and many of them... It's not me; there's another dangerous fellow who has slipped in."
"A dangerous fellow? More dangerous than the Stellaron Hunters?" March 7th couldn't help but interject, her hands on her hips. "You guys are dangerous criminals wanted throughout the universe. Who could be more of a troublemaker than you?"
"That's hard to say." Silver Wolf chewed her bubblegum and popped a bubble with a loud snap. "Our bounties on the IPC's wanted list are indeed high, but the universe is full of entities far more dangerous than the Stellaron Hunters."
"Aidan, what do you think?" Himeko turned to look at the serious-faced Aidan. "You are on the Path of Trailblaze today. What are your thoughts on this sudden invitation?"
"Let's go! Why wouldn't we? They've delivered the coordinates to our doorstep and told us there's big trouble. As Trailblazers, how could we hear about danger and just pretend we didn't and fly away? Even if this is a trap, we have to go and see for ourselves."
Silver Wolf gave a light chuckle, and the projected image began to show slight static noise. "Since you've decided, then my mission is complete. I've sent the coordinates for the Xianzhou Luofu to the Astral Express's navigation system. Good luck, Trailblazers."
"Hey, wait! Explain yourself first—what does that dangerous fellow look like..."
Before March 7th could finish, Silver Wolf's projection turned into a stream of data and vanished completely from the carriage.
"She ran off fast." March 7th lowered her hand.
"Who ran off? I teleported over."
Silver Wolf's figure officially appeared within the Astral Express.
"Let me introduce myself. Hacker from Punklorde, Stellaron Hunter [Silver Wolf]. I'll be traveling with you for a while."
Her appearing so candidly actually increased the Express crew's trust in her quite a bit.
Especially with that face.
Doesn't look like a bad person at all...
It seemed Uncle Yang's bad habit of judging people by their looks was never going to be cured.
"Where's Sam? Where's Sam?"
Stelle shook Silver Wolf's shoulders.
"Don't shake me, don't shake me! Sam went to carry out a mission."
Silver Wolf was getting a bit dizzy from Stelle's shaking.
"What mission?"
"I can't say." Silver Wolf spread her hands. "Only the person involved knows the details of the script. I won't know what's written until it's over."
Stelle stared at her for a few seconds before finally curling her lip.
"Fine, I'll ask her next time we meet."
Silver Wolf breathed a sigh of relief, her gaze scanning the carriage before finally landing on Aidan.
"So you're the guy who changes his Path every day?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Is that ability to change Paths every day something you can control?"
"No." Aidan shook his head. "It's random. I only know what I am when I open my eyes every morning."
"That's pretty interesting. A daily randomizer."
Silver Wolf rubbed her chin.
Himeko walked up to Silver Wolf. "Since you're here for a ride, the Astral Express naturally welcomes you. However, you still have to follow some basic requirements. At the very least, you cannot modify the Express's systems at will, nor can you interfere with—"
"Fine, fine, I'll listen to you guys. I'm only responsible for being the guide anyway." Silver Wolf agreed readily. "When do we leave? The timing is fairly flexible; we just need to reach the Xianzhou within three days."
"First, let's put Jarilo-VI back into the universe..."