Chapter 93: Speedrun Forgotten Hall + Speedrun Stellarons

After Dan Heng left, the vast observation carriage felt a bit lonely with only Gu Tang remaining. He scratched his head and moved to a corner of the carriage. At some point, new potted plants had been placed there; the conductor was indeed diligent. Gu Tang stood in place with his arms crossed, waiting quietly.

Then, a mysterious light began to emerge before him. The lights swirled like countless fireflies, coalescing into a mirror. Gu Tang stood before the mirror but could not see his own reflection. Then, the mirror shattered, and the fragments floated in mid-air as if time itself had become chaotic in this area.

A girl emerged from the mirror. She wore a hood, and her face was obscured by a strange mask, making it difficult to see her features.

"Wow, so this is the Astral Express?" The girl looked around excitedly. Then she noticed Gu Tang standing calmly in front of her.

"Leave," Gu Tang said bluntly.

"Wait, don't be so hasty. Allow me to introduce myself. I am a messenger from the Reminiscence Courtyard, and I'll be staying on your train for a while. Please take care of me!" The messenger hurriedly explained.

Gu Tang: "..."

Seeing no response from Gu Tang, the messenger continued, "Ahem, let me explain. The Reminiscence Courtyard follows the Aeon Fuli, and as messengers of memory, we abandon our physical bodies to travel the universe in the form of memes, to—"

She didn't get to finish her sentence. Gu Tang had already grabbed her slender neck and lifted her up.

"—!!?"

An unfamiliar feeling of suffocation and pain overwhelmed the messenger. As someone who had given up her physical form to become a mnemonic entity, no physical attack should have affected her. But now, she was struggling, gasping for breath like a fragile human.

Her feet flailed in the air, hands gripping Gu Tang's arm, a pained sound escaping her lips. "I'll say it one last time..." Gu Tang raised his other hand, clenched it into a fist, and swung. "Leave."

The fist loomed large in the messenger's eyes. I'm dead! It was the first time she felt death so tangibly approaching. She was certain she would die—absolutely certain, with no escape—death, death, death, death...

Whoosh— The fist missed the messenger's head and instead shattered the mirror behind her. Crash—! The mirror crumbled into pieces, disintegrating into the air. That was the Forgotten Hall, originally used by the messenger to replicate and preserve Stelle's memories. But now, she was just grateful it wasn't her being shattered.

"Hmph." Gu Tang scoffed, tossing the messenger aside. She rolled on the ground a few times, too frightened to stand up, before turning into a stream of light and vanishing. "Alright, that's settled." Gu Tang dusted off his hands and left the observation carriage. He had always been wary of the mysterious workings of the Reminiscence Courtyard. He hoped he wouldn't have to deal with them in future journeys...

...

Leaving the observation carriage, Gu Tang didn't go straight to his room but headed to the train's kitchen instead. He decided to have a midnight snack. Gu Tang entered the empty kitchen, donned an apron, and rolled up his sleeves. Then, he pulled out a Stellaron.

Yes, a Stellaron. As agreed earlier, Himeko and Welt had given him a sealed Stellaron as a reward for this adventure. "Great, great..." Gu Tang placed the Stellaron on the counter. The golden, spherical Stellaron shimmered with a dangerous light.

Now it was time for his recently acquired skill point to shine. These skill points could unconditionally enhance any skill Gu Tang possessed, making them very useful. After all, his skill list already had quite a few handy abilities, and enhancing them would be nearly invincible.

So, with his extraordinary wisdom, Gu Tang chose to enhance... [Skill Enhancement Point Used] [Skill "Master Culinary Arts" Enhancing...] [Master Culinary Arts] [Ding! Skill Enhancement Complete] [Culinary Arts MAX] [Level: 7] [Effect: You can now cook even non-edible items into delicious food.] [Evaluation: Not only must you eat, but you must eat deliciously and healthily.]

Gu Tang sliced the Stellaron into pieces. He set aside about a quarter, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and stored it. Next came the cooking process. First, he marinated the Stellaron slices with various seasonings. Then, he dipped the slices in egg wash, using the egg's stickiness to coat them with breadcrumbs. He placed the Stellaron slices into hot oil, frying them until golden brown. But it wasn't over yet!

After letting the slices sit for a minute, he deep-fried them again, then drained the excess oil with paper towels. A delicious plate of fried Stellaron was ready. "Hmm, not bad, not bad..." Gu Tang placed the fried Stellaron on the table, opened a bottle of cola, and began to eat. The first bite was crispy. However, the interior was unique to the Stellaron—soft, spicy, and scalding. The layers of flavor intertwined in his mouth, like a harmonious symphony, bringing boundless joy and satisfaction. "Delicious..." Gu Tang smiled contentedly.

Paired with cola, he finished the plate of fried Stellaron. "Just right for a midnight snack..." Gu Tang wiped his mouth. Then, in the next instant— He found himself in the vast expanse of the universe. The Aeon of Destruction appeared before him. Black-skinned, white-haired, with sacred golden wounds flowing like magma, the Aeon of Destruction, Nanook, gazed at Gu Tang with its cold, dark golden eyes. It felt like endless flames were burning around them, threatening to consume the entire universe. The air was thick with destruction and annihilation.

But Gu Tang remained expressionless, calmly saying, "Get out of my mind, Nanook." Crack—! Like glass shattering, the illusion disappeared, and he was back in the train's kitchen. "Seriously, can't even have a midnight snack in peace..." Gu Tang stretched and began to wash the dishes. He wasn't affected at all. Gu Tang had two inherent skills, which existed even before he arrived in this universe and acquired the system.

One was [I Think This Can Work]. The other was... [Fools Always Foolish] [Level: ?] [Effect: Immunity to all forms of mental interference.] [Evaluation: Only those with an intelligence score below 5 can possibly acquire this skill] ---------------------------------

Stelle lay on her bed in her pajamas, sinking into the soft mattress. She had no idea that just a few meters away, Gu Tang had done something astonishing. "Hmm... Although the rooms at Goethe Hotel were nice, the bed on the train is still the best..." Stelle muttered as she quickly drifted off to sleep. And then, she had another strange dream.