Astral Express
March 7th lay sprawled over the back of the sofa, her small hands swinging idly.
"Ahhh, so boring. Why does nothing fun ever happen?"
Flip. A page turned. Dan Heng cast a sidelong glance and spoke calmly.
"The Astral Express's rails were heavily disrupted by the Mechanical Catastrophe. The Interastral Peace Corporation is handling the cleanup."
The Astral rails were essential for the Express to reach its destinations.
Once the Express completed its Trailblaze, the rails belonging to it would naturally extend outward.
But they were not immutable. If something like a Stellaron interfered with space itself, the Express would be forced to halt.
Although the Mechanical Catastrophe had been stopped, the debris it left behind was staggering in scale.
"Oh right. The IPC probably wants things restored even more than we do. To them, losing even one second means massive losses."
March 7th nodded solemnly, as if she truly understood. But that just meant…
"Still so boring!" No matter how much she talked around it, the fact remained that she was bored out of her mind.
"Hey, how are you not bored at all?" March suddenly turned her head, looking at Stelle, who was fiddling with something.
"Hm? I'm chatting with Bronya. She seems pretty busy. She said that a lot of people have been going to Jarilo lately for tourism. If we're free, we could go play there too, experience some brand new… uh… local flavor. That's what she said, I think."
"Oh right! Jarilo must be super lively right now. Hey, hey, should we go take a trip? We've got nothing else to do anyway."
The more she spoke, the more excited March became. She suddenly propped herself up on the sofa, kneeling there as she spoke enthusiastically.
"I'm in!" the gray-haired girl shouted, raising both hands at once.
"Heh. I just got here and you're already talking about going out to have fun. Things are lively, as always." Welt walked into the observation car with a gentle smile.
"Hehe, we're just bored. Uncle Yang wants to go too, right? Right? Right?!"
"Hm… there really hasn't been much going on lately. But I need to see." Welt tilted his head slightly, looking thoughtful, his gaze drifting toward March and Stelle, both practically vibrating with excitement, fists clenched to their chests.
His final words lingered unspoken.
At that moment, Himeko approached gracefully, smiling as she spoke.
"Jarilo, huh? That does sound like a good idea. The cosmos's been under high tension recently, so it might be time to take a breather. Besides, after the Mechanical Catastrophe, Jarilo's current situation is anything but ordinary."
Despite the recent disaster, Jarilo-VI had emerged completely unscathed. With Himeko's insight, it was easy to see that Jarilo was likely booked solid right now.
Who knew how many wealthy elites were trying to relocate there.
After all, safety sounded abstract and lofty, but it was something that directly concerned one's own life. Setting aside a handful of idealists, the higher one stood, the more they cherished their own survival.
Bronya was probably having a headache dealing with the endless stream of rich visitors.
"Yay! Himeko's the best!"
"Godzilla, Belobog, here I come!"
With Himeko's approval, the two girls immediately burst into cheers.
Even Dan Heng gave a small nod. Taking a vacation now was not a bad choice.
"Honestly, Pom. We just finished dealing with things, and the astral rails are still a total mess, yet you're already talking about interstellar travel being nice," Pom-Pom muttered.
Still, since the astral rails would be unusable for a while anyway, taking a break and giving themselves a vacation really was a good idea.
As for how to get to Jarilo, that was no problem at all. Anchor teleportation would work just fine.
Just as everyone smiled at the sight of Stelle and March celebrating…
"Ahem. I come by and it's already this lively. Could it be you all foresaw the arrival of this genius? Were you welcoming me on purpose?" A violet-hued figure lightly pinched the brim of her hat, smiling.
"Hi everyone, good afternoon. And you too, little gray hair."
"Herta?"
Himeko and Welt were in front, while behind them were the others, all startled.
And Herta was not alone.
"Ruan Mei." Himeko and Welt exchanged glances. Two geniuses arriving together like this rarely meant anything good.
"Could you at least knock properly, Pom?!" Pom-Pom puffed out their cheeks, glaring at the pair.
"Apologies," Ruan Mei said softly.
"Uhm… it's fine. The Express always welcomes passengers aboard," Pom-Pom scratched their head, polite and earnest, finding her far more agreeable than that pointy-hatted one.
"We were just discussing where to go for vacation. You guys came at the right time," March 7th said.
Himeko followed up, "The cosmos has only just calmed down. Is there something you need help with, coming to the Astral Express at this time?"
Though it sounded like a courtesy, Himeko was well aware of how much trouble these two could cause. When they joined forces, somewhere in the cosmos was bound to suffer.
"I get the feeling you're thinking something unkind," Herta tilted her head, lips curling into a smile, before turning to Ruan Mei. "This is more your field. You speak."
Ruan Mei nodded slightly, looking at the curious crew, and spoke gently.
"We require the Express's assistance."
"What kind of assistance?" Himeko asked, puzzled.
Ruan Mei's request was simple. She only needed the Astral Express to provide some help at an appropriate time. The problem was that both the timing and the task itself were extremely vague.
It gave the impression that even she was not fully prepared yet.
Herta chuckled. "Of course, it's about that one who stole the spotlight recently."
At first, the crew did not quite understand who she meant.
Then it clicked. Godzilla.
Wait. Welt's eyes suddenly widened, his voice tightening.
"You're planning to investigate the existence of Godzilla?!"
"Ta-da. Correct," Herta said cheerfully, nodding.
"If you're going down that path, then you should know what the existence of Godzilla implies." Now even Dan Heng could not stay seated, his expression grave.
Singularity Godzilla. Even thinking about such a being made one's scalp tingle.
It was difficult to imagine that such a description could refer to an entity that might truly exist.
Something that might even surpass Aeons.
Aeons stood at the pinnacle of the cosmos, walking their own Paths and enacting their own philosophies. Records about them were scarce, and true divine wars rarer still.
As for rumors of Aeons falling, there were countless versions. But one thing was certain. Aeons were not omnipotent.
Yet if Singularity Godzilla truly existed, then it would be absolute omnipotence.
"If such an existence truly existed, how could humanity ever observe it?" Dan Heng asked in a low voice.
"That's precisely because it might exist that we must look for it," Herta blinked playfully.
"Based on our deductions, that kind of being simply does not care about human observation. Every piece of information we've obtained points to that conclusion."
Indeed, Godzilla did not care about human attention. Even if human submarines brazenly entered its domain, Godzilla would treat them as oddly shaped little fish. What hunter would get angry over a shrimp wandering in by accident?
At most, it might open its mouth once, kindly delivering the creature straight to its stomach.
But that was Godzilla. The thought of Singularity Godzilla still made Welt uneasy.
If, just if, such a being truly existed, then what role would Aeons play before it? And what would humanity amount to? The answer was obvious.
When something surpassed human imagination, nameless dread would inevitably follow. That was instinctive human fear, fear of things far beyond one's control.
The two exchanged a glance, confirming their thoughts, and were about to refuse when Herta spoke first.
"We only need to borrow the Express's Trailblaze nature. And besides, this Stelle is on such good terms with Godzilla. Would Godzilla really target her?" She glanced at Stelle, who still had not quite processed what was happening.
"Hmph!" Hearing that, Stelle puffed out her chest proudly.
Honestly, if Herta had said anything else, Welt and Himeko could have argued. But when it came to Godzilla's attitude toward Stelle, they truly had nothing to say.
Perhaps it was an elder's indulgent fondness for a child. Godzilla was undeniably lenient toward Stelle.
They had long suspected that if Stelle ever acted cute and asked Godzilla to make a few stars fall, it would only be a matter of time before the entire night sky suffered.
"So? There's no danger at all."
"We can try. But the main work must be handled personally by Lady Herta and Lady Ruan Mei. We won't take part deeply," Welt said.
Welt and Himeko both turned to Pom-Pom.
"Uhm… if there's no danger, then I don't object. But you have to guarantee the Express won't be harmed, Pom!"
When it came to the Express, Pom-Pom's expression turned especially serious.
"We trust both of your abilities completely. If it's only that much, then the Express is willing to help," Himeko said.
With the conductor's approval, the navigator and the passengers naturally had no objections.
"Heh heh. I knew you'd make the correct choice. Relax, just trust us geniuses. We won't disappoint you."
"Bye-bye. We'll be waiting for you on Jarilo."
As she spoke, the two figures dissolved into particles of different colors, fading away. In an instant, only the Express crew remained.
With them gone, Himeko turned to Dan Heng. "Dan Heng, do you have any thoughts?"
"Yeah, Dan Heng. You're usually so cold and quiet. Why were you talking so much today?" March asked curiously.
Dan Heng rarely spoke unless necessary, so his earlier intervention had surprised them.
Facing their questions, Dan Heng explained, "Perhaps our understanding of Singularity Godzilla has caused a distortion. We instinctively fear a being that may exist on a higher level, worrying that even a small step from it could have a massive impact on the Express."
"But from another perspective, would an elephant care about the ants beneath its feet?"
"Yes!" Stelle said seriously, without hesitation.
"…Even if it were curious about ants, that would usually be due to boredom, or the whims of a child. Given Godzilla's status as a long-lived species, it's reasonable to conclude that it does not concern itself with insignificant beings, as long as they do not touch its reverse scale. And the smaller the being, the less likely it is to reach such a place.".
It would only be playful indulgence, like Godzilla's tolerance toward Stelle. During Jarilo and Penacony, Stelle's unrestrained antics had given them quite a headache.
Yet both places Godzilla indulged her behavior. Well, she did have Godzilla backing her.
"Dan Heng makes a lot of sense. So does that mean we don't need to worry?" March nodded thoughtfully.
After a moment of consideration, Himeko spoke.
"Just act normally. If Herta needs our help, we'll assist as best we can. No need to worry about the rest."
Why overthink it? As Herta said, Godzilla's fondness for Stelle was plain to see.
…
"Done!" Herta stretched lazily, her elegant figure arching as she looked excitedly at Ruan Mei. "So, what next? Just so you know, this time it's because you've researched this area more. Let me see what you can do as a genius."
"Do you still remember… Red Dust?"
"Of course. If I remember right, it was some particles in three-dimensional space or something. Anyway, the data said that much."
Herta shrugged.
Few would believe that the esteemed Lady Herta of the Genius Society, along with Ruan Mei, conducted experiments using information gathered from the internet.
Even if they did believe it, they would probably assume it was some special database reserved only for geniuses.
After all, she was just that kind of perfect genius.
The world really was cruel.