Later
"..." Dan Heng blinks in genuine confusion as he sees his Trailblazing companion donning a full winter gear.
Being a fellow Nameless, he knows how the Path of Trailblaze's blessing works for their Pathstrider. Seeing Zhi Jiang and Stelle wearing them is normal, as there's a possibility that no one has ever told them. He feels slightly guilty for not telling the newcomers, but in his defense, he assumed Miss Himeko or March had told them about it, given how the newcomers spend more time with them.
But that still doesn't explain why March had joined in.
Zhi Jiang had donned a dark-blue knitted cap with light grey winter furcoat, a pair of winter gloves and dark-brown winter boots, and a white-and-blue scarf. March had donned a pink winter jacket with a long-sleeved blue shirt underneath, a blue skirt, a pair of white winter boots with furs covering the top, and a pair of winter earmuffs. Stelle dons a dark brown long coat with a fluffy hood, a pair of bright yellow winter boots (Dan Heng thought those looked more like a pair of rain boots), a pair of black-and-yellow winter gloves, a pair of winter trousers, and a red scarf covering the lower half of her face.
"...why are you all dressing like that?" Dan Heng can't help but ask in disbelief.
"Oh, Dan Heng, you're here!" March exclaims as she waves at him. "Himeko said we're going to be doing this Trailblazing Expedition as a team!"
"...that doesn't explain the get-ups," Dan Heng says in a dry tone. "Both Zhi Jiang and Stelle might not know what kind of blessings the Trailblaze could grant their Pathstriders, but I expect you to tell them, March."
"Oh, we know," Zhi Jiang responds, which made Dan Heng even more confused.
"Then why?" Dan Heng asks again.
"Remember in our previous expedition where a planet's residences discriminate us just because we're from another planet, and we had to save their planet to change their mind?" March asks as Dan Heng can't help but flinch before nodding. "Or the time when our 'appearances' had made the residents of another, another planet believe we're being disrespectful because of our clothes?"
"...I thought we all agreed we never spoke about that again?" Dan Heng can't help but shiver as he remembers that moment.
"Sorry, but you can see my point," March says sheepishly. "Besides, wouldn't the residences questioned us for wearing light clothing despite all the snow? I remember during our visit to a desert planet, where the residents-!"
"I...get it," Dan Heng stops her as March gives him a triumphant look. "But, there's an issue. I...have no other clothes."
"...I beg you pardon?" Zhi Jiang can't help but ask in disbelief. Is he implying that Dan Heng has been wearing the same clothes forever!?!
"I mean, I only have copies of this set of clothes," Dan Heng immediately responds upon noticing Zhi Jiang's face slowly morph into disgust.
"That's what happened when you keep avoiding us when we go shopping," March huffs as Dan Heng gives her a dry stare.
"I am not willing to torture myself by going shopping with you for hours," Dan Heng says as March looks a bit insulted. Is he implying that going shopping with her is torturous!?
"Here," Zhi Jiang says as he gives Dan Heng a spare winter outfit, much to Dan Heng's surprise. "We're gonna get some more clothes when we get a chance."
"Um...sure," Dan Heng merely nods before he looks at Zhi Jiang's clothes, and he is honestly surprised by how big he is.
Now that he thinks about it, Zhi Jiang is a head taller than March and a few inches taller than him and Stelle. He wonders why he never noticed.
"... these clothes are too big..." Dan Heng mutters, but no one seems to hear him as the rest of the group has prepared themselves. Dan Heng could only sigh and walk to his room to change.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Later
Jarilo-VI
"I look ridiculous," Dan Heng says in a deadpan manner. He is now donning a forest-green longcoat with a fluffy hood, a pair of dark-green earmuffs, a pair of winter gloves, and a pair of black winter boots.
Because of the size of the outfits, the coat looks almost like a dress, the hood covers almost his entire vision, and the boots keep getting taken off unintentionally every time it gets stuck in the snow.
"Sorry, but if you wear Mr. Welt's, it'll be much bigger. I doubt you could or even wanted to wear Stelle's or March's clothes." Zhi Jiang says as he scratches his head.
"You're right..." Dan Heng sighs. He honestly wasn't expecting to wear other kinds of clothes due to the Path of Trailblaze, but after he and March went through some of their Trailblazing expedition, he should've come prepared, but alas, the fear of getting dragged by women for shopping got the better of him.
At first, it was just his instinct screaming at him to avoid March and Himeko whenever they went shopping, and after seeing Zhi Jiang return from one of their shopping trip, it's safe to say that Dan Heng believed that his instinct was right.
"I am surprised by the Path of Trailblaze. I didn't feel the cold from the wind, nor do I feel any warmth coming from my outfits." Zhi Jiang mutters as he glances at his gloves and looks at Dan Heng, who got his boots stuck in the snow.
Dan Heng simply stands in silence before returning them to Zhi Jiang without a word. March and Stelle can't help but hold their giggles while Dan Heng sighs as Zhi Jiang stores the boots back into the Pass.
"...you said that the entire planet's temperature is very low, and this particular area is the only one with a temperature that is just about allows for human survival. Just how low are they?" Zhi Jiang asks.
"Around minus 20 to 30," Dan Heng responds as Zhi Jiang tilts his head.
"Celsius?" Zhi Jiang can't help but ask as Dan Heng turns to face him.
"Yes, what else?" Dan Heng asks in confusion as Zhi Jiang shakes his head.
"Never mind," Zhi Jiang mutters. "So, our destination is just right up ahead, right?"
"Yes," Dan Heng nods.
"I honestly wasn't expecting to hike," Stelle says honestly. "Thankfully, I wear my pair of winter boots."
"I...am not sure your winter boots are perfect for hiking, but okay..." Zhi Jiang sweatdrops.
"Oouu, if only we had a snowmobile. We never get to bring anything cool from the Express," March grumbles.
"Do you remember what you did to our last snowmobile?" Dan Heng asks in a deadpan manner, causing March to flinch before looking away.
"A-anyways, moving on," March stutters, refusing to answer the question.
"Do you know what happened to their last snowmobile?" Stelle leans closer to Zhi Jiang and whispers. Zhi Jiang simply shakes his head.
"Remember, we should stay vigilant. We know very little about this world." Dan Heng warns.
"Calm down, between the four of us, nothing will stand in our way!" March exclaims proudly. "I mean, come on, Stelle has her Stellaron, I have my Six-Phased Ice powers, Dan Heng...Uhh, he got that mysterious past thing going for him, and Zhi Jiang..."
Everyone immediately turns and faces Zhi Jiang while remembering how he could easily beat the Antimatter Legion's Voidrangers despite recovering from malnourishment, and how he one-shotted a Trampler back in the Space Station.
"...your mysterious super-powered body, yeah! So, if people start creating trouble for us, they're gonna regret it." March exclaims as Zhi Jiang scratches his head.
"Let's...not get ahead of ourselves," Zhi Jiang says.
"Yeah, let's make sure we're not the ones causing trouble as well," Stelle adds as March chuckles nervously, trying to avoid Dan Heng's accusing stare.
"L-let's go, braving the unknown! That's the spirit of Trailblazing!" With that, the quartet moves forward through the snowy path. Along their journey, they encounter the Fragmentum monsters. Zhi Jiang can't help but grimace at their appearance as he could see a hint of flesh under all the crystallized body.
Dealing with those creatures is far easier than he expected as he swings his energy spear, the tip of the blade easily pierces the monster's body like a hot knife through butter. The others also handle the creatures easily. Stelle casually smashing their crystallized body like shattering glasses, March casually freezes them and shatters them into pieces, and Dan Heng beats them easily as well, albeit he did it with far more elegance.
They also encountered a Calyx, in which Welt explained how they're a strange entity born from a phenomenon of space distortion. Zhi Jiang wonders how they are classified as an entity when they look like an overgrown, withered flower.
As they walk, Zhi Jiang can't help but hear a faint sound of someone taking a shaky breath. He stops before glancing around, trying to find the source of the voice.
"Is something wrong, Zhi Jiang?" Dan Heng asks as Zhi Jiang continues to glance around.
"I...heard someone is shivering..." Zhi Jiang mutters as they all look confused and tries to hear the sound, but they hear nothing.
"Um...are you sure you hear them?" March asks as Zhi Jiang nods.
"I did." Zhi Jiang tries to listen one more time, and he can make out where the voice comes from. "They're just right up ahead."
"I suppose we could check it out," Dan Heng mutters. He hadn't heard anything so far, but after spending time with Zhi Jiang for a while, Dan Heng could safely say he doesn't seem to be a person who would waste their time.
As they continue their journey, they notice a suspiciously large pile of snow, and they all can hear the shaky breath clearly. This makes Stelle and March look at Zhi Jiang in surprise.
"How could you hear that noise so far away? Sure, it was just a few minutes' walk, but the winds make it harder to hear anything," March asks as Zhi Jiang scratches his head.
"Well, when you had to survive for years, you tend to pay a lot of attention to your surroundings, for finding prey or avoiding deadly predators..." Zhi Jiang says with a grimace while rubbing his right shoulder. They all fell silent, except for whoever is under the pile of snow.
"Ah..." March merely nods before looking at the snow pile. "Hey, get out of there, or you'll shiver to death!"
All they got was silence, like literally. The person under the snow had chosen to hold their breath.
"Holding your breath won't help either," March deadpans as Zhi Jiang simply digs his hand into the snow and pulls the person out. The person yelps as Zhi Jiang pulls him by his pants before he starts flailing.
"H-hey, let go of me!" The person exclaims, but Zhi Jiang gently puts him down.
"You really shouldn't stay under the snow. What if you got hypothermia?" Zhi Jiang says in concern, which surprises the man at how genuine he sounds before he clears his throat.
"W-well, you have nothing to worry about. I am clearly fine," The man says casually, earning a deadpan stare from the Trailblazing team.
"Your shaky breath says otherwise," Zhi Jiang points out as the man clears his throat and looks away. The man has a messy dark blue hair with bright green eyes, he wears a long-sleeved purple jacket with a white shirt underneath with their sleeves rolled up, a pair of dark blue trousers, a pair of leather shoes, and a pair of black gloves. Some part of his outfit clearly exposes his skin, making Zhi Jiang wonder why he wears those clothes despite the cold weather.
He ruled out the idea of him able to handle the cold, especially when he's clearly breathing shakily earlier.
"Why are you even hiding?" Dan Heng asks as he crosses his arms.
"...well, there are no laws that say hiding under the snow is illegal," The man says as March gives the man a flat stare. "...anyways, is Captain Gepard around? H-he's an old buddy of mine..."
'A buddy that made you hide under the snow with those clothes. With that kind of friends, who needs enemies...' Zhi Jiang sweatdrops at his obvious lies, especially when he stutters when mentioning this 'Captain Gepard' being his 'old buddy'.
"Who?" March asks in confusion.
"...wait, you're not the Silvermane Guards? Well, why didn't you say so? Turns out we're on the same side after all," The man exclaims before he gives them a bow. "Pleasure to meet you, the name's Sampo Koski."
'Yeah, he's a criminal,' Zhi Jiang deadpans. The obvious clues were there. The man had introduced himself as Sampo Koski, and he had provided some intel regarding this planet. A huge settlement called Belobog, being the only settlement left in this world fighting against the Eternal Freeze, which is what they call the massive shift of the ecosystem caused by Stellaron. And apparently, these 'Silvermane Guards' are from that city, with Sampo calling them 'inflexible' towards people in his line of work.
Somehow, Sampo thinks the Astral Express crew is like him, which Zhi Jiang finds a bit insulting. March had asked Sampo to guide them to the city. At first, he had refused until Dan Heng glared at him and tapped the spear into the snowy ground, instantly changing the man's mind. Zhi Jiang is glad that Dan Heng seems to keep his guard up against this man.
It didn't take long for the group to encounter the 'Silvermane Guards', a group of men in blue uniforms holding a glaive and having their faces covered with a bucket-shaped helmet. They had assumed the Astral Express Crew to be Sampo's accomplices. Zhi Jiang was honestly surprised at how Sampo's words were true. The guards were very inflexible and instantly resorted to violence as they charged at them and refused to hear them out.
Zhi Jiang had honestly believed he might be struggling against them, but to his surprise, he easily beat some of the men and disarmed them. March had attempted to freeze the guards, but suddenly, a person jumped right in front of them and casually blocked March's freezing arrows. Zhi Jiang is shocked that the person didn't get frozen by March's freezing arrows, especially when he saw how easy her arrow froze enemies earlier.
The man who had casually blocked March's attack is a tall blonde man with bright blue eyes, wearing a full white military uniform with silver and blue armor covering it. On his right arm, he holds something reminiscent of a giant guitar case.
The man didn't say a word and immediately charged at the Astral Express crew, who raised their weapons to guard against the mysterious man.
To be Continued