Though the meteor Sam Li summoned had struck the Devastator, he knew full well that single blow was nowhere near enough to kill that terrifying entity.
This Devastator was stronger than any opponent he had ever faced—far beyond the Gods of the Archon War era, and even beyond that Sun-Colored Starlight Giant in Hollow Zero...
Sam Li frowned.
"Full speed ahead. Enter Wish Star."
Pom-Pom, however, announced solemnly, "Some propulsion engines are damaged. All passengers, brace for impact. We are about to enter Wish Star's atmosphere and perform an emergency landing on Wish Star—"
Hearing this, March 7th, Dan Heng, Himeko and Welt Yang all rushed over to help, assisting Pom-Pom with the emergency landing.
But at that moment, an immense hand suddenly reached in from behind, trying to seize the Astral Express.
Seeing this, March 7th jumped in fright.
"It's the Devastator! How is it this fast..."
Himeko also cried out, "Not good! Pom-Pom, change our trajectory immediately..."
Pom-Pom replied helplessly, "With some propulsion engines damaged, we can't alter our course. Hold on tight."
At this point, all they could do was push straight ahead and hope to shake off the Devastator's pursuit. At the critical moment, Sam Li summoned a spear of rock to strike the Devastator's hand, then used Geo to wrap the Astral Express in a protective layer. Even so, they still couldn't shake the Devastator.
Just as everyone was straining to hold on, a clear, melodious harp suddenly sounded nearby. It was Venti. He had finally decided to make a move.
As the harp's notes rang out, a massive energy storm suddenly formed in the distant starry sky, packed with countless boulders that swept toward the Devastator.
In an instant, the storm swallowed it whole. Although this attack couldn't seriously injure the Devastator, it was enough to hold him back and buy the group precious time to move forward.
At the same time, an energy storm also rose around the Astral Express, pushing the train onward. With Venti and Sam Li's help, the Astral Express soon surged into a thick, endless fog, as if entering a blank, empty world.
Seeing this, everyone finally let out a sigh of relief.
March 7th hurried to the window and looked back, realizing they had finally escaped the Devastator.
"We're so lucky. Some mysterious energy storm just blew us all the way here..."
"It didn't appear out of nowhere," Himeko replied seriously.
As she spoke, Himeko turned her gaze to Venti beside her. She had always known Sam Li was incredibly strong, but she knew nothing about Venti's true power.
She had thought he was just an ordinary bard, an ordinary drunk, nothing special at all.
Until just now, when Venti stepped in. For the first time, Himeko witnessed Venti's power—the way he could command the energy of the cosmos and conjure a powerful energy storm out of thin air.
From that single move alone, Himeko immediately understood that this seemingly harmless bard was actually a powerhouse on the same level as Sam Li.
Having finally escaped the Antimatter Legion's assault, the group turned their attention to their surroundings. March 7th looked left and right, only to see a boundless stretch of white in every direction. Aside from that pale emptiness, there was nothing—no path ahead, no trace of the road behind them. It felt as though they were stranded in some strange space.
March 7th frowned in confusion.
"What's going on? Look around—this doesn't feel like a normal atmosphere at all..."
With her reminder, everyone quickly noticed the anomaly. The white void around them wasn't an atmosphere at all, but a bizarre scene formed by countless unknown energy bodies gathered together. In a space like this, they couldn't see the way forward, nor did they know how to leave.
"Don't panic," Himeko said calmly. "Let me observe the surrounding environment."
She restarted the observation instruments aboard the Astral Express, but after monitoring for a while, she still couldn't detect anything. Or rather, the observation signals simply couldn't penetrate the energy flooding the surroundings.
Just as everyone was at a loss, Sam Li turned to Venti and said slowly, "In terms of universal rationality, you should know the way ahead, shouldn't you?"
Venti neither admitted nor denied it. He just smiled.
"Hehe, the path is right in front of us, isn't it? If we just keep going, we might find our way out."
Hearing this, Himeko and the Trailblazer immediately understood what they had to do. They couldn't be sure Venti was telling the truth, but they had no choice except to trust him.
With Himeko, the Trailblazer, Dan Heng, and the others working together, the Astral Express surged forward at full speed.
After a long while, March 7th couldn't help but speak up.
"Did we go the wrong way? Why haven't we left this area yet?"
The Trailblazer, Dan Heng, Nicole, Hu Tao, and the others all turned to look at Venti.
Venti gave a little "eh-heh" laugh.
"No way, we couldn't have gone the wrong way... right?"
The Trailblazer was speechless.
"..."
Nicole sighed helplessly.
"..."
It really felt like they had taken the wrong path. They really shouldn't have put their faith in this bard.
Just then, Himeko's voice came from nearby. "I've got a reading. According to the data, the density of the unknown energy ahead is decreasing. Our heading should be correct—we'll be out of this area soon..."
As she said this, March 7th hurried back to the train window. Through the glass, she caught sight of a faint streak of blue ahead.
"Quick, look! What's that?"
"Some kind of... blue thing?"
...
The next instant, as the Astral Express burst out of the mist, the world around them suddenly grew much clearer, and the view before them opened up wide.
Only then did March 7th realize that the blue streak she'd seen was actually a boundless ocean.
They had finally arrived at the Star of Wishes.
March 7th was overjoyed.
"We're finally safe."
But before she could even catch her breath, Pom-Pom's voice rang out again. "Attention, passengers. Due to partial engine failure, the train must complete its emergency landing within half an hour..."
March 7th snapped back to attention.
"Where are we landing?"
She pressed herself against the window and scanned the surroundings. All she could see was endless ocean, not a single island in sight.
Were they really going to make an emergency landing in the sea? She definitely didn't want the Astral Express sinking to the ocean floor.
"Stay calm," Himeko said seriously. "I'm scanning the nearby terrain... Found it. Five hundred li ahead, there's an island with signs of life. We can make our emergency landing there."
They had not only found an island suitable for landing, but had also confirmed the existence of this world's natives.
Everyone immediately let out a collective sigh of relief.