"How is that possible! Someone must have hit you!"
March 7th put her hands on her hips and declared confidently, "Teacher Danheng must have hit you because you were snoring too loud and disturbing his reading late at night!"
Xing refuted expressionlessly: "I don't snore. And Danheng wouldn't use such a physical method to tell someone to shut up."
"Then was it Uncle Yang? Did you sneakily eat the snacks he hid in the archives?"
"...Uncle Yang wouldn't be that childish."
"Could Auntie Himeko's coffee have gained sentience and attacked you?"
"...March, your imagination doesn't need to be this excessive."
After discussing it for a long time, they couldn't figure out the reason.
"Never mind, the swelling is almost gone anyway."
March 7th shook her head, discarding the bizarre conjectures, and yawned. "Go to sleep quickly. We have to help Pom-Pom clean the Astral Express tomorrow. Don't fall out of bed again!"
"Don't worry," Xing said, lying back down confidently in a 'big' character pose, "Since I have a bed this time, I'll be absolutely solid as a rock!"
The lights went out.
The only sounds left in the room were the steady breathing of the two girls and the occasional rustle caused by Xing turning over due to her restless sleeping position.
[Astral Express - Party Car]
Unlike the quiet rest area, the Party Car was currently immersed in a lazy and comfortable atmosphere.
The lights were dimmed, leaving only the soft, warm glow of the bar and booth areas, while soothing background music with a hint of Space Jazz flowed through the air.
Black Herta, the system puppet, and Baiheng, who had followed them in looking bewildered, were sitting in a booth with an excellent view.
"Madam, this is this carriage's seasonal special, 'starry sea slumber'."
"shut up" placed three drinks of dreamy colors in front of them.
Its movements were smooth and standard, but faint streaks of purplish-black patterns were visible on its surface.
Baiheng's attention was instantly captured by the drinks in front of her.
The cup of "starry sea slumber" displayed a deep blue-purple gradient. Fine, fragmented silver light seemed to slowly swirl upwards from the bottom of the glass, resembling an inverted Miniature Galaxy. The rim was also decorated with a transparent sugar wafer carved into the Astral Express logo.
"So, so beautiful!" Baiheng exclaimed, her azure eyes reflecting the starlight in the cup. Most of her previous nervousness was replaced by novelty.
She carefully picked up the glass and sniffed it, detecting a cool scent mixed with berries, mint, and some other crisp aroma.
"Collection procedure is ready, establishing low-power link."
The system puppet sat upright, not having touched the drink in front of her. Data streams flickered slightly in her eyes as she reported softly to Black Herta.
"Target has entered deep sleep. Physiological signals are stable, brainwave activity is active, suitable for non-invasive background data collection."
Black Herta nodded slightly, elegantly picking up her own cup of "starry sea slumber." Her purplish-black eyes looked through the swirling liquid toward the endlessly flowing nebulae outside the Observation Window.
Her plan advanced silently, while on the surface, they were just a group of travelers (?) enjoying a moment of peace on the late-night Astral Express.
"Don't just look at it, taste it."
Black Herta said to Baiheng, who was still gazing at the cup with starry eyes, her tone slightly softer than usual. "'shut up's' Bartending Skills are decent."
Baiheng nodded vigorously and eagerly took a small sip.
The icy, sweet, and slightly effervescent liquid slipped down her throat, followed by a strange sense of tranquility that spread through her, causing her to comfortably squint her eyes. Her white Fox Ears also twitched contentedly.
"It tastes great! It feels... it feels like swimming in a sea of stars!"
She evaluated excitedly, then looked curiously at Black Herta and the system puppet. "Master, aren't you going to drink?"
system puppet: "This unit does not require the intake of organic nutrients."
Black Herta simply waved her hand, then checked the time.
"Time's up."
She stood up, her skirt brushing the seat surface without a sound.
Baiheng immediately put down the juice glass, her snowy white Fox Ears perked up alertly, showing a hint of eager nervousness. "Master, are we going to...?"
Black Herta glanced over her and pondered briefly.
Taking Baiheng might help her integrate faster, but the risks also needed to be managed.
She raised her hand, and the air above her palm slightly twisted, causing an Eye Mask to materialize out of thin air.
It was not made of ordinary cloth, but some kind of matte black material, with simple and smooth silver-white patterns outlining the edges. Its design was unique, even carrying a sense of fashion.
"Put this on."
Black Herta handed over the Eye Mask, her voice leaving no room for doubt. "During the process, you are not allowed to speak."
Baiheng blinked. Although full of questions, she obediently took it.
The moment her fingertips touched the Eye Mask, she felt a sensation that was smooth like jade yet slightly cool.
She put on the Eye Mask as instructed. She expected to be plunged into darkness, but was surprised to find her vision completely unobstructed. In fact, she could see even more clearly than usual; every detail inside the carriage, including tiny dust particles in the air, was perfectly visible.
Even more miraculously, she felt that her presence seemed to merge with the surrounding environment, and her sense of existence became extremely faint.
"This..."
She couldn't help but gasp softly, then remembered Black Herta's prohibition and quickly covered her mouth.
The system puppet explained nearby in her flat electronic voice: "Cognitive Interference Auxiliary Equipment. The principle is to weaken the wearer's trace of existence in the observer's consciousness through Micro-Concept Distortion. Simply put, it's like blurring existence with a mosaic. By the way, why does an eye mask never get lost? Because it always follows the 'eye' sight!"
Baiheng: "..."
She decided to ignore the bad joke and instead curiously observed the world through the Eye Mask.
Black Herta neither confirmed nor denied the system's "supplementary explanation," merely nodding slightly.
"Keep up."
She led the way toward the partition door of the Observation Car.
[Astral Express - Near March 7th's Room]
The three passed through the quiet corridor like ghosts, causing almost no disturbance.
They easily reached the door, opened March 7th's unlocked room door, and slipped inside.
The room was filled with the fresh, unique scent of a young girl.
The walls were covered with many instant photos, and the corners were piled with cute dolls and unfinished handicrafts, full of vitality and life.
March 7th and Xing were lying side-by-side on the bed, covered by soft blankets, their breathing steady.
Black Herta walked directly to the bedside, her purplish-black eyes calmly sweeping over the two sleeping girls, finally focusing on March 7th.
She raised her right hand, which was covered by a Black Lace Glove, palm down, hovering about an inch in front of March 7th's forehead.
There was no great burst of light, only a thread of almost imperceptible purplish-black data flow, like living fine sand, slowly overflowing from her palm. It gently reached out toward March 7th like a tentacle, silently beginning to collect "data" related to her.
Baiheng dared not speak according to the command, but curiosity drove her to cautiously examine the room.
This was the first time she had entered the private space of a true Astral Express member.
Curiously, she touched the frame of a photo on the wall, then leaned closer to look at a small Nebula Model on the table, and her fingertips gently brushed a pot of Star-Shaped Plants on the windowsill that emitted a faint glow.
All of this felt incredibly novel to her. Was this the daily life of the Trailblazers?
However, just as she was trying to study a strangely shaped ornament, her elbow accidentally bumped a small shelf holding several bottles of nail polish nearby.
A bottle of Ice-Blue Nail Polish wobbled, about to fall!
Baiheng was startled. She quickly tried to catch it, and although her fingertips touched the bottle in time, saving it from shattering, the collision between the nail polish bottle and the shelf still produced a faint "click" sound.
The sound was remarkably clear in the utterly silent room.
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!