mesbooks Chapter 280 Train Meeting
Chapter 280 Train Meeting
Thus, the feud between Pinocchio and the company came to an end, and Himeko shared the good news with everyone after the meeting.
The Hyperion was originally included in the Emerald plan, a point Toppa mentioned when he contacted Himeko.
The purpose was simple: to use this opportunity to befriend the Hyperion. After all, being an Envoy was enough to justify the company offering such substantial concessions in exchange for her friendship. However, Toppa didn't have Kiana's or the Captain's contact information. The reason he discussed this with Himeko was that he hoped Himeko could introduce them to the rumored Kiana.
Himeko refused. As a navigator of the Star Train who had been traveling in space for many years, Himeko naturally understood what Topa and Emerald were up to.
It's not that Himeko can't help with introductions, but given the nature of the exchange based on mutual benefit, Himeko doesn't believe Kiana would be on good terms with her. Therefore, Himeko thinks it's better to refuse directly, so as not to put Kiana in a difficult position.
Afterwards, when Himeko talked about this with Kiana, Kiana repeatedly agreed with Himeko's idea. After all, with her current strength, there was nothing in this world that she feared except for the Star God. When making friends, she no longer simply cared about the benefits the other party could give her; whether they were sincere was what Kiana cared about most.
Moreover, Kiana herself had a bad impression of the company for some reason. Although the company did help many worlds, this was based on the fact that the other party was under the credit point economic system it launched.
If the other party refuses to join the credit point economy system, the company's market development department will use various methods to forcibly expand its market to them. Moreover, even if you choose to join the credit point economy system, it does not mean that the company will not benefit from it.
The company is like the embodiment of capitalism, plundering all resources and leaving only ruins behind. But who would have thought that the company was originally just an organization of a group of people who followed the Amber King and offered him materials to build the city?
However, in the process of constantly acquiring materials through trade, they unknowingly became a powerful force that the entire universe could not easily ignore, and at the same time, they controlled the trade and economic system in the known universe.
Getting back to the main point, since the company's secret talks with Pinocchio have ended, the only thing left on the Huichangshi is the closing party of the Harmony Ceremony.
With the robin's speech and toast, the revelry officially began. Of course, this did not include Hoshino, who was currently troubled by the 'bomb' left behind by the fireworks.
Just after the robin announced the official start of the carnival, Hanabi suddenly appeared behind Hoshi and pressed the button that Hoshi had been sending out in front of her.
She then disappeared, and immediately afterwards explained the situation to Xing on her phone. Anxious, Xing quickly created a group chat with everyone she could think of who would unconditionally help her, and briefly explained the current situation in the group.
After doing all this, Xing and a few others who had received the message quietly left the scene. Of course, all of this was seen by Kiana and the captain.
In their eyes, Hoshino herself pressed the button and started looking for help on her own. Knowing the script, she must have been mistaking this firework prank for the third death that Firefly was about to experience.
And that's exactly the case. Hanabi was actually invited by Ginrou to help complete the final scene of the script. Ginrou went to great lengths to get Hanabi involved, even handing over his own script to her without reservation.
You see, Eriol's script symbolizes the future direction of this world; everything written in the script will come true at its designated point in time. Eriol had explicitly forbidden them from leaking the script, but Silver Wolf couldn't care less about that in order to prevent Firefly from truly dying, especially since she was already prepared to accept Eriol's punishment.
But little did she know that her every move had already been written into the script by Elio, except that he had not given this part of the script to Silver Wolf or even Firefly, but to Kafka for safekeeping.
Therefore, Silver Wolf did not actually break the script's direction; instead, he followed the script's direction and ultimately delivered a perfect performance.
After all, Silver Wolf entrusted Firefly with the task of surviving Firefly's third death, so the bomb here is not actually a bomb, but a firework.
However, since Hanabi is, after all, a masked fool, with her own aesthetic of pleasure, she naturally wouldn't reveal her plans so easily.
Watching Xing busy herself around was naturally part of her revised script. After all, if she couldn't even enjoy this little bit of fun, wouldn't all her efforts have been in vain?
Finally, Xing saw Firefly and the last so-called 'bomb' at the pool at the stern of the ship. Obviously, the countdown had reached the last thirty seconds, and even Xing could only helplessly watch the 'bomb' gradually heading towards the explosion.
“No, there is another way.” Firefly said, looking at the 'bomb' disguised as a doll in the pool. “Using Firefly-IV, I can take this bomb to the depths of the dream and detonate it there. As long as the bomb detonates there, it will not affect the dream or the people here. In this way, everyone will have a happy ending.”
"But then you'll..."
"Well, it's probably a nine-out-of-ten chance of dying." Liu Ying nodded calmly. "After all, the script says that I will experience three deaths in Pinocchio, and after that, I will understand the meaning of my existence. Understanding the meaning of life and exploring the meaning of my living is also the reason why I joined the Star Core Hunter. Don't worry, I will try my best to live."
After saying that, Firefly ignored Xing's attempts to stop her, grabbed the doll, immediately deployed her armor, and then flew at full speed with maximum output power into the depths of the dream.
Just then, a sudden change occurred. The doll in Liuying's hand detected that it was moving at high speed and instantly accelerated the countdown.
Just three seconds later, the countdown went from fifteen seconds to zero, and then bang!
A beautiful firework burst in the sky, and following this initial burst, various fireworks began to appear around the Huichangshi.
The moment Xing saw the fireworks, a huge weight lifted from her heart, but she still couldn't be sure if Liu Ying was alright.
Just then, Hanabi hopped and skipped up behind Hoshi.
"You care so much about that girl? Why don't you go and check on her safety yourself?"
After saying that, a huge wooden hammer appeared in Hanabi's hand, and she struck Hoshi's back at an extremely fast speed.
Xing was thrown away by the enormous force, and the next second she fell off the Huichangshi. She was then rescued by Liuying who arrived at the scene.
The armor disintegrated in mid-air, and the two, holding each other's hands, slowly descended back onto the deck of the Hueco Marble under the illumination of fireworks.
Seeing that Xing was alright, Xing's companions immediately surrounded Xing and Liuying, while Huahu disappeared without a trace.
And so, the Star Train's journey through Pinocchio officially ended amidst laughter and merriment. After a day of revelry, everyone returned to the train early to rest.
The next day, Xing woke up in her bed full of energy, stretched, and went out to greet Misha and Galah, who had finished washing up.
Then everyone on the train went to the observation car to begin today's meeting.
"I regret to inform you of some bad news. Our train's energy is also running out. If we cannot refuel during the rest of the journey, it is estimated that the train's energy will be completely exhausted after a maximum of two jumps. Therefore, the journey ahead may not be as carefree as before," Himeko said in a deep voice.
"So trains need energy to start? I thought they didn't," March 7 said in surprise.
“After all, it’s a train. Even a creation of the Star God needs energy to start,” Misha explained. “Fortunately, the energy required by the train is not conventional, so replenishing it is relatively simple.”
"What exactly is it?" Dan Heng asked.
“If you want the train to replenish its energy, you just need to explore new planets,” Misha said. “The train can obtain the fuel it needs by exploring unknown planets. Of course, you can also explore planets that have already been explored, but the energy obtained will be much less, and it will easily become a deficit. Based on the current situation of the train, I suggest exploring a planet that has never been set on before.”
“In that case, I do have a good place to recommend. If we can successfully develop it there, I believe the train will not have to worry about energy issues for a long time to come,” Black Swan suggested. “At the same time, it is also the place I want to explore and record my memories. It would be best if we could go there. Of course, I also respect the train’s opinion. You can reject my proposal and choose another planet to develop.”
Himeko and Welt exchanged a glance, then asked Black Swan, "Could you tell us where this is?"
“Of course.” The Black Swan nodded. “That is the world enveloped by the Triple Fate, the Eternal Land—Onfaros.”
Upon hearing this, Xing gasped in astonishment and exclaimed, "Wonpharos is where?"
“The Eternal Land—Onfaros, I’ve heard of that name before,” Himeko said. “It’s said that it’s hidden by three Fates, so conventional methods of observation can’t find Onfaros. Only the Mirror of the Memory Garden of the Flowing Light Memory Garden can reveal its true location. Does that place really exist?”
"Of course it exists. Besides, there are many people in that group chat who can attest to its authenticity."
Indeed, as the Black Swan said, this mysterious group chat revealed a lot, including the existence of Onfaros.
After all, Kevin, whom Kiana originally brought along to support the Star Train, ended up in Onpharos for unknown reasons, and the other world's members had already set off for Onpharos.
However, due to poor health on March 7th, only Dan Heng and Xing's counterpart, Qiong, were able to leave.
What happened after that is unknown, because that's all the information about Onpharos in the group chat. People in the other world who are related to Onpharos have also been silenced, and it seems that the group chat doesn't want to reveal all the secrets of Onpharos right now.
What's intriguing is that Black Tower was among these people. Could it be that the genius was alerted during the subsequent operation?
Although the feeling of being controlled by an invisible hand was uncomfortable, Himeko's curiosity about Onpharos made her ignore those feelings.
Of course, the train is democratic, and as the navigator, Himeko certainly has the right to decide the final destination, but she still hopes to decide the next stop through a vote.
After much deliberation, Himeko offered several locations for everyone to choose from, including Misha's home planet, Lusaka.
Although the train had reached that place many years ago, and Misha joined the Star Train back then, several Amber Ages had passed, and the place had changed drastically.
It is said that the already limited land area has been completely submerged in the ocean after such a long period of time.
Therefore, according to Himeko's estimation, as long as one exploration journey can be completed, a fairly abundant amount of energy can be obtained.
Using these energy sources, it should be no problem to sustain several more leaps. Moreover, as Lusaka has already been explored and linked, choosing it as the destination for the next exploration journey will minimize the unknown troubles encountered.
It could be said to be a very conservative approach, but given Himeko's understanding of everyone's personalities, there is only one answer.
As expected, Black Swan's proposal was unanimously approved, and the next destination was naturally set as Onpharos.
Just as everyone decided on their destination, Kiana arrived with Mei.
"It seems you've already decided on Onfaros as your next stop."
"Kiana, I didn't expect you to come at this time. And who is this person next to you...?" Himeko asked.
"Let me introduce you. This is Mei. She was a very important person in our world. I believe you have heard about her in the group chat."
Everyone nodded, especially Walter and Tesla, whose expressions could only be described as respectful.
"You're exaggerating when you call me a big shot," Mei said modestly.
"So, Kiana brought this Doctor May here for some reason?"
“Just call me Mei.” Mei looked at the somewhat reserved Himeko and said, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes. “I asked Kiana to bring me here because I wanted to ask you to take me to Onpharos. I originally thought I would need to persuade you, but it seems that I don’t need to now.”
"Please allow me to ask a question." Walter stepped forward and looked at May, "Dr. May, did you want to entrust us, to have the Star Train take you to Onfaros, because of Kevin?"
“Yes, that’s right,” Mei readily admitted. “I even prepared the coordinates of Onpharos to show my sincerity, but it seems I won’t need them.”
As Mei spoke, she glanced at the black swan beside her, who also revealed a meaningful smile.
"Interesting. Even the Memory Garden can only observe Onpharos with the help of the Mirror of the Memory Garden. In order to obtain the accurate coordinates, the Memory Garden's Memory Observers spent decades working tirelessly to obtain the coordinates. The manpower and resources consumed were astronomical. I wonder how Dr. Mei obtained them?"