Chapter 17: Chapter 17: March 7th's Gift
Seeing the notification that the mod was installed, Fu Zhu suddenly felt his hands itch. If he weren't currently on the Express, he really wanted to whip out his iron pickaxe and test the power of Vein Miner right away.
Fu Zhu took out the iron pickaxe and swung it through the air a couple of times, satisfying the urge slightly, before turning his attention back to his room.
"Since this will be my little home from now on, I should decorate it properly."
Following his usual gaming habits, Fu Zhu placed the crafting table next to his bed, where it could also serve as a nightstand. Then, he used the crafting table to make a furnace and placed it on the other side.
How could a cozy little home be complete without a furnace for cooking things? Although he currently had the Saturation effect and wouldn't feel hungry, he still needed to satisfy his cravings occasionally.
After arranging these, Fu Zhu didn't have much else to add to the room. He sat casually on the bed for a while to pass the time, then decided to go out for a stroll and familiarize himself with the various cars on the Express.
Fu Zhu passed through the passenger cabin car back to the observation car, just in time to see Xing and March 7th pushing open the Express door and walking in, their faces covered in soot.
Despite the dirt on their faces, the smiles couldn't be suppressed, clearly indicating they had thoroughly bullied all the remaining Voidrangers on Herta Space Station.
"Big Bro!" Xing spotted Fu Zhu first and approached him with a grin. March 7th followed closely behind.
As soon as the two girls came over, they grabbed Fu Zhu's hands, one on each side, shaking them vigorously. Their voices turned syrupy sweet.
"Good Big Bro~ Do you have any more amazing little gadgets?"
"Fu Zhu, Fu Zhu, do you have anything more fun, as magical as this wooden boat!"
Fu Zhu felt a bit helpless being shaken by the two. He pulled out two stone pickaxes from his pocket. "Here, pickaxes. They let you mine stone more easily, and you get a whole cubic meter with each swing, perfectly neat."
Xing accepted the stone pickaxe enthusiastically, but March 7th seemed a bit disdainful. "You want a naturally beautiful girl like me to go mining? I'd rather go fishing!"
March 7th's words seemed to spark an idea in Xing. Rubbing her chin, she couldn't help muttering, "Fishing... that's right! I don't see a pond on the Express. Why don't we catch a few fish to keep!"
Xing's words sounded like a question, but she delivered them as a statement. As soon as she finished speaking, she gripped her iron pickaxe and dashed out excitedly.
Fu Zhu couldn't help but sigh and facepalm. With a younger sister like this, his future days probably wouldn't be boring.
"Hey~ Fu Zhu."
Fu Zhu turned his head quizzically towards March 7th, who hadn't left his side, and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? Aren't you going to play with Xing?"
"It'll be the same later~" March 7th waved her hand dismissively with a grin. Then, she reached into her pocket, fumbled around, and finally pulled out a black phone, handing it to Fu Zhu.
"Here! Welcome to the Astral Express! This is my gift to you!"
Fu Zhu looked at the phone March 7th offered, stunned for a moment. "Why are you giving me a phone?"
Logically, a welcoming gift from March 7th and the others should be something like a charm or a decoration. Why a phone?
March 7th forcefully shoved the phone into Fu Zhu's hand, putting her hands behind her back and pouting playfully. "This is a phone this young lady carefully picked out for you! Although I don't know what color you like, you're not allowed to dislike black, okay! As for the reason... humph humph, this young lady is the number one detective on the Astral Express!
"I noticed earlier that when you and Xing wanted to check the time, you didn't look at a watch or pull out a phone, but checked the clocks on the space station instead. From that, I could determine you either didn't have a phone or lost yours. What do you think? Aren't I smart?"
A warmth spread through Fu Zhu's heart. Encountering such an observant companion right after arriving was truly his greatest fortune.
"Thank you, I'll treasure it."
March 7th nodded with a cheerful smile, very satisfied with Fu Zhu's attitude. Then, as if remembering something, she suddenly looped her arm through Fu Zhu's.
"Come on, let's take a picture together! You just joined the Astral Express, this is a moment most worthy of recording! Too bad Xing ran off somewhere, so it'll just be the two of us for now!"
March 7th urged Fu Zhu to turn on the phone and use its camera, while constantly signaling him to get closer. After all, the phone camera lens was small, and the field of view was limited; they wouldn't both fit if they weren't close.
Fu Zhu turned on the phone's camera while tilting his head slightly towards March 7th.
"Cheese!"
Click.
Fu Zhu looked at the photo on the phone, a slight smile touching his lips. He rarely took photos with people; in his past life, he only had a few with his family. Maybe he should get Himeko and the others together for a group photo later. Just like March 7th said, this moment was worth recording.
"Wow, you took it from a really good angle!" March 7th leaned her head over to look at the photo on the phone as well, nodding in satisfaction.
"From now on, I'll call you when I want to take pictures! Oh, right, right, add me as a friend, I'll pull you into the 'Loving Family' group chat, and remember to send me a copy of the photo too!"
"Okay."
The two huddled together, chuckling as they added each other as friends and shared the photo.
But just as the atmosphere between them grew harmonious, Pom-Pom's heart-wrenching cry came over the Express's broadcast system.
"Passenger Fu Zhu, come get your sister quickly! She's about to dig through the floor of the Express!"
March 7th and Fu Zhu couldn't help but look up at each other, seeing the helplessness reflected in each other's eyes.
"Let's go."
The two walked side-by-side to the parlor car. The floor of the originally bar-styled parlor car now had a four-meter pit dug into it, deep enough to see the armor plating on the underside of the Express.
And Xing was standing by the wall, pouting, holding buckets full of water in both hands. Pom-Pom stood before her, lecturing her nonstop.
"Conductor." Fu Zhu quickly walked over, glancing at the pit Xing had dug. Fortunately, she had used the stone pickaxe he gave her, so the dropped blocks could be picked up and put back.
Fu Zhu hurriedly went into the pit, picked up the dropped blocks, and then refilled the hole in the ground. "Conductor, it's back to normal now. Sorry, Xing caused you trouble."
Pom-Pom looked back, confirmed the floor was repaired, and finally sighed. "Actually, if Passenger Xing wanted a fish pond, she could have just said so, pa! There was no need to dig up the floor. Why couldn't she just build a wall directly on the floor?"
Xing had a sudden realization: "Oh yeah!"
Fu Zhu and March 7th looked exasperated. So she just hadn't thought of that!
"Hehe, you young folks have gotten acquainted so quickly. That puts my mind at ease."
Just then, Himeko, Welt, and Dan Heng also walked into the parlor car. The latter two sat down at the bar counter, while Himeko went behind the bar and waved to Fu Zhu and the others.
"Come on over. It's perfect timing for us to have a small meeting. Besides, you must be thirsty after playing all day, right? Come and try my specialty coffee."