At that moment, the gazes of Himeko, Welt, Dan Heng, and Stelle all fell squarely on March 7th.
Being stared at like that by everyone, March 7th suddenly felt a bit uneasy.
"Everyone, why are you all looking at me like that?"
"March, did you awaken the power of prophecy?" Stelle gestured toward her.
"Same here."
Dan Heng nodded in agreement beside her.
"Hey, what are you two talking about?"
Pom-Pom also stared at March 7th with a puzzled expression, looking left and right, but couldn't find any changes on her.
"Passenger March 7th, how did you seem to know where we're going next in advance?"
Pom-Pom didn't remember mentioning these destinations.
The train meeting had just started today. Could it be that Passenger March had mastered some special ability to steal memories from others' minds?
"Little March, what's going on?" Himeko also wore an expression of helplessness.
"Wait, Pom-Pom, I was just talking nonsense earlier. Did I actually get it all right?"
March 7th's counter-question genuinely left everyone around her baffled.
"What do you mean 'all right'?" Himeko asked, confused.
"Uh..." March roughly understood what was happening and handed over her phone. "Maybe everyone should take a look at this first. I really was just saying random things earlier."
After she spoke, the few people around exchanged glances and then gathered around March 7th's phone.
What was playing on the phone was a live stream, which looked somewhat familiar.
Welt couldn't help but adjust his glasses and narrow his eyes:
"Honkai... Star Rail?"
"How could this..."
...
"How could it be so shocking?!"
"A place even the legendary Akivili never set foot upon, a land where three Paths intertwine, which has birthed three beings comparable to Emanators."
"And it might even have been graced by the presence of an Aeon?"
Having just finished a main story segment, Guinaifen's expression grew two parts more delighted, especially the moment Amphoreus unfolded in animated form.
And this game's Author really has a wild imagination, daring to write something so grand.
Aren't they afraid the plot might collapse under its own weight?
A planet with three Paths, three Emanators, and an Aeon? Who knows what the Author was thinking.
But for some reason, after they agreed to head for Amphoreus, March 7th suddenly felt unwell?
In the end, Guinaifen had no choice but to control Stelle and head there with Dan Heng.
March 7th: "I forgot to tell you something. I just realized a pattern: whether it's Jarilo-VI, the Xianzhou, or Penacony,"
"the first local person we meet always hides some incredible secret!"
"You guys need to be careful..."
Before setting off to find Himeko, Guinaifen had a special conversation with March 7th.
She found those words quite interesting: "The first local we see? Could that be foreshadowing?"
Guinaifen shook her head, silently noted it down, and prepared to officially depart.
For this trip, Pom-Pom specially prepared a train car for them!
Descending onto a planet this way was far too appealing for an ordinary resident of the Xianzhou like Guinaifen!
[We're off! We're off!]
[The characters this game Author created are quite similar to reality, but the main plot feels too fake.]
[A place like Amphoreus, even the Astral Express probably couldn't find it. And three Paths? That's laughable.]
[Really bold fabrication, but since they know about Jarilo-VI, the Xianzhou, and Penacony, they must know quite a bit about the Express. Maybe they're a fan too?]
[Do you think Miss March's earlier words were foreshadowing? The first local we meet?]
[Wait, something's wrong—why is the screen starting to shake—!]
As soon as Guinaifen clicked to interact, the cutscene immediately began.
One moment the live chat was friendly discussion, the next, as the train car entered Amphoreus, everything went dark.
Then, a strange sound suddenly echoed in her ears.
"Mimi?"
Amidst the blur, Guinaifen seemed to hear some noise.
But before she could think much, her surroundings lit up with a red glow the moment she opened her eyes.
Immediately after, a streak of fire flew from somewhere and instantly pierced through the Astral Express car!
"What's happening?!"
[We crashed, holy crap—!]
[This happens right after entering the planet? Does it have to be this intense?]
[Was that an animal cry just now?]
[Man—!]
Boom—!!!
As the screen went black again, Guinaifen was once more dumbfounded.
No way.
Did we really crash?!
The opening CG is this explosive?
She tried feeling around and clicking the screen. Fortunately, the game Author clearly wasn't planning to end things here.
Soon after, Stelle was the first to open her eyes.
"Ugh... Dan, Dan Heng?"
At the same time, Guinaifen and the live chat noticed the entire map had changed!
Ruins, the fires of war, and various ancient Roman-style buildings filled the oppressive and sorrowful scene, rendered so vividly it was as if the Author had personally been there.
Following Stelle's call, she quickly found Dan Heng lying nearby.
[For real, guys? Are we officially on Amphoreus now?]
[This game's map can be this realistic? I thought games like this were mostly just texture packs.]
[Did the Author actually come here?]
[Interesting, really quite interesting. Wait up, guys, I'm gonna download and play it too!]
[Hurry, hurry, Little Guinaifen, keep moving forward! See what's around, can we continue the main story?!]
The live stream's popularity kept rising, reaching four to five thousand concurrent viewers.
And due to the game's quality, it finally attracted its first batch of players.
[Cosmic Fragment +10]
[Cosmic Fragment +10]
[Cosmic Fragment...]
Over on Caelus's side, hearing the sounds echoing in his ears, he couldn't help but wear a satisfied expression.
This was the first bucket of gold coming in.
And with this speed of spread, wasn't it faster than publishing the story of Amphoreus as a book?
Once everyone gets hooked on Rail, wouldn't the Aha Star's ascension and promotion happen in an instant?
He was practically more of a genius than the Genius Society!
Keeping an eye on Little Guinaifen in the live stream, she was also eager to start exploring.
After waking Dan Heng, the two briefly discussed things before their attention was caught by a pink figure.
"It seems we can't contact the Astral Express Crew right now."
"But what's that pink rabbit over there? Let's chase it, folks!"
And so the two gave chase, but the rabbit vanished once they reached the gate.
Guinaifen was full of confusion.
Helpless, the protagonist and Dan Heng could only discuss and step out through the gate.
And just like that, an astonishing sight unfolded!
In the distance beyond the gate, under the night sky, a Titan-like giant bore a sphere. The scarce light became the sole guidepost.
Guinaifen certainly remembered seeing that in the PV.
What was it called again?
"bearer of the world's Titan, Kephale!"
Struck by the scene, Guinaifen unconsciously opened her mouth wide.
But this moment of awe didn't last long, as the game's core gameplay finally went online.
After looking around, Little Guinaifen suddenly heard the sound of a statue shaking.
The moment she turned back, Dan Heng had already assumed a combat stance.
"Not good, be on guard!"
"These statues are inorganic lifeforms. It looks like we have no choice but to fight!"