Caelus and March 7th peeked in through the kitchen doorway for less than two minutes before retreating.
They were worried that if they kept watching, they wouldn't be able to eat dinner!
The two turned into the storage area on the other side of the dining car, and Caelus's steps immediately slowed.
Containers of all sizes filled an entire wall—wooden crates, tin boxes, glass jars—stacked from the floor to the top of a chest-high shelf. Caelus did a quick mental count, then glanced at the proficiency for his Support MOD.
[32/200]
If he looted every container here, he'd be able to get his next Support MOD in no time!
"March, can I open these to take a look?"
March 7th tilted her head, then nodded without much hesitation.
"You can, but these containers are all full of food ingredients, packed to the brim. They're not like the trash cans on the space station where you can just pull out all sorts of strange things."
Caelus didn't respond. He walked to the nearest container, lifted the lid, and saw that it was packed tight with layers of vegetables. There wasn't even enough space to fit a finger inside.
But he still managed to smoothly slip his hand in.
March 7th stood a step away, watching as Caelus's hand disappeared into the pile of vegetables. He rummaged around for a moment, then slowly withdrew his hand. In his previously empty palm, there was now a brightly burning torch.
The orange-red flames flickered from the top of the torch, crackling audibly. The wave of heat that washed over March 7th's face confirmed that this bizarre scene was no illusion.
How could someone pull a burning torch out of a container stuffed with vegetables?!
March 7th's mouth fell open, and she couldn't close it for a long time.
Caelus placed the torch into his inventory. Without turning back, he had already moved on to the second container.
The process that followed was identical to his trash can rummaging—lift lid, reach in, search, stand up, move to the next.
Caelus made a full round, picking up a few miscellaneous trinkets: some coal, iron ingots, a few pieces of cobblestone, and a handful of redstone dust, which filled up about half his inventory.
March 7th followed behind him, watching him go through container after container. Her threshold for surprise had been raised considerably, right up until Caelus stuck his hand into a pickle jar.
The mouth of the jar was no more than thirty centimeters in diameter. The next second, Caelus pulled a minecart out of it. He casually placed it on the floor, and the cart, which had been the size of his palm, instantly expanded to be more than ten times the size of the pickle jar. Only then did he seem to realize what he'd done and gave March 7th an embarrassed smile.
"Sorry, force of habit."
Whenever he used to get a minecart from a chest, he would immediately place it down to save inventory space. The action had become pure muscle memory.
March 7th didn't answer. She just stood there, frozen, her powder-blue eyes blinking rapidly.
She stared at the minecart for three seconds, then at the pickle jar for three seconds, then back at Caelus for another three seconds. Her lips moved, but in the end, no words came out. She simply turned her gaze back to the pickle jar, reached out, and felt its rim, confirming that it really was that small.
Caelus picked up the minecart, moved on to the next row of containers, and continued his looting spree.
By the time he had gone through every container in the storage area, Caelus stood up, stretched his wrist, and a number that pleased him greatly popped up in the corner of his vision.
[132/200]
He'd be getting a new mod soon!
At this point, March 7th finally snapped out of the shock induced by the minecart. She patted Caelus on the back and gestured for him to follow her to the other cars.
Caelus followed her. They passed through several cars in succession. March 7th walked in front, occasionally turning back to point out what each area was used for. Her speaking pace was much faster than before; it was clear she was very familiar with every corner of the train.
Their final stop was the passenger car.
Rows of identical doors lined both sides of the corridor. March 7th pointed them out one by one, telling Caelus who occupied each room. Finally, her finger landed on the empty room next to her own.
"Himeko arranged this one for you. Starting today, this is your room."
She pushed the door open. The interior was so simple it could almost be described as a blank slate. A bed, a wardrobe, two sofas, and a table. Nothing else.
Caelus didn't mind in the slightest. No matter how basic the room was, it was still better than a matchbox house he would have built.
His gaze immediately locked onto the bed. He walked over and touched the edge of the mattress.
[Respawn point set]
As his finger left the bed, Caelus visibly relaxed.
A Steve without a bed is incomplete!
March 7th stood at the door, her hands behind her back, poking her head into the room.
"You can decorate the room however you like. If you need a hand, just come find me!" She paused, then added, "But don't worry about that for now. It's almost time for dinner, let's go, let's go."
Caelus nodded. The room could wait until later.
---o---
By the time the two returned to the dining car, the long table had already been set with a tablecloth, cups, and bowls. The sounds of clanging pots and plates could be heard from the kitchen. Before long, Himeko and the others emerged, carrying plates of food.
Caelus and March 7th peeked at the dishes at the same time. They looked good, but neither of them relaxed.
Dan Heng, carrying the last dish to the table, seemed to notice their apprehension and spoke up.
"The conductor made all of it."
Caelus's shoulders slumped in relief, and the tension in March 7th's brow eased.
As long as it wasn't made by Himeko, we're good!
Everyone took their seats. Himeko raised her glass, lightly touched it to her lips, then set it back down, gesturing toward Caelus across the table.
"Welcome to the Astral Express, Caelus. Let's celebrate."
Several glasses clinked together above the table with a crisp sound before everyone drew them back.
Pom-Pom's cooking was in a completely different league from Himeko's. The moment the food entered his mouth, Caelus's eyes darted to his status bar—no poison, no nausea, no blindness. Instead, he was greeted by a brilliant, golden Saturation buff.
He mentally awarded Pom-Pom a gold medal.
Conductor, when it comes to cooking, I dub thee the strongest!
By the end of the meal, Caelus was leaning back in his chair, his hunger bar full, his health slowly regenerating back to its maximum. Himeko had already started clearing the table. As she bent over to stack some plates, she glanced at Caelus.
"Get some rest early tonight. The train is setting off again tomorrow. I guarantee the sights of a warp jump will surprise you."
Caelus grunted in agreement, pushed himself up from his chair, and walked over to help Himeko take the dishes to the kitchen.
After cleaning up, everyone went their separate ways. The sound of footsteps in the corridor gradually faded as doors opened and closed one by one, until only the low hum of the air conditioning remained.
Caelus closed his door but didn't immediately lie down.
He took out his crafting table, placed it on the floor, and got to work. He broke down logs into planks, crafted the planks into chests, and lined an empty wall with them. After making the chests, he made a furnace, tossing in cobblestone—eight blocks at a time—and placed the finished furnace in a corner.
By the time he stood up from the crafting table, the room was filled to the brim with various blocks. A row of chests lined three walls, furnaces were stacked by the head of his bed, and the crafting table was wedged in the gap between the wardrobe and the sofa. The remaining floor space was just enough for him to walk to his bed.
Caelus stood in the center of the room and looked around, nodding in satisfaction.
Now this felt like playing MC.
His work done, Caelus walked to the bed, pulled back the covers, and lay down. To his surprise, however, he didn't fall asleep instantly as he did in MC, where the screen would fade to black. Instead, he was still wide awake, his eyes open.
Is the sleep mechanic not part of the MC traits I inherited?
As he was thinking, a system notification popped up in the corner of his vision.
[You cannot sleep, March 7th is wandering nearby]
Hold on. What do you mean, 'wandering'? March 7th?