Rein had no concept of any legion commander's rebellion. That was something only the top nobles needed to worry about; a nobody like him could only listen and leave it at that.
But when he noticed the temperature around them suddenly plummeting, he knew things might not be good.
He had seen this before, when Ymir had scared off the pack of Jackalmen.
Rein vaguely felt that something major had happened and turned to glance at the big shot beside him.
Sure enough, her face was frosty.
Those emerald eyes were cold enough to cut like knives.
After spending the past few days together, he had learned that this big shot always wore an indifferent expression. Even if mountains collapsed and the earth split apart, she would not so much as furrow her brow.
Yet seeing her grave expression now, the situation was likely even more complicated than what they had heard.
Rein figured she definitely knew Baron the Storm General, Baron Askpa.
Or perhaps her true identity was General Baron's daughter?
Paul had no idea where the chill that gave him goosebumps came from. Shivering, he pulled his cashmere coat collar tight, looked up at the sky, and complained, "Damn it, looks like a blizzard is coming."
After a pause, he looked at Rein again and asked, "Doctor, the train is about to depart. Have you made up your mind?"
"This..."
Other than boarding this train, they clearly had no better options now.
Rein pursed his lips and did not answer immediately, instead turning to look at the big shot beside him.
Ymir seemed not to care at all whether they boarded. After thinking for a moment, she asked Paul a rather strange question. "Does your train have a communications radio?"
"Yes."
Paul was baffled by the question.
But he instinctively added, "Though... the usage fee is very expensive."
"Get on."
Hearing that, Ymir said no more and decisively stepped into the carriage.
Rein roughly guessed what she was thinking and followed her aboard.
Paul followed with a suspicious look on his face and shut the carriage door.
The freezing wind outside was instantly cut off, and the carriage was much warmer.
Ymir asked about the communications radio again.
The train attendant thought he had misheard and repeated the question. "You... mean you want to use the train's communications radio?"
Ymir said, "Yes."
"This..."
Paul suddenly could not make sense of Rein and Ymir's identities. Mainly because Ymir's presence was too overwhelming. Even dressed ordinarily, she carried the unquestionable dominance of someone in power.
He could not help switching to honorifics. "You should know that using a Communication Device is very expensive. Even acquaintances of the merchant guild must pay... ten Gold Kron for a single use!"
Wireless communication in this world was still in its infancy. With the mist blocking transmission, long-distance communication required numerous signal base stations and manual relay stations. The equipment was huge and outdated, and communication fees were exorbitant.
As it happened, a large merchant guild like the Thornbird Merchant Guild had one installed on its train.
Ten Gold Kron was one hundred thousand Wan Lisuo.
That was an absolutely staggering price. Saying a single sentence cost as much as an ordinary family's yearly living expenses. It was an outright luxury.
Hearing that, Ymir turned and asked Rein behind her, "Do you have money? Lend me a hundred Gold Kron."
"I do."
Ymir borrowing money from him gave Rein the feeling of Bill Gates asking to borrow five dollars. He agreed without a second thought.
Meanwhile, Paul, the carriage manager, was completely dumbfounded by their conversation.
What kind of family were these two from? They could casually borrow a hundred Gold Kron?
From their calm tone, it sounded as though they were not borrowing one million Wan Lisuo, but a hundred copper coins!
He had thought the young doctor was the one in charge, but it turned out this cold lady was the one calling the shots.
And judging by the situation, it seemed like a noble young lady traveling with her butler.
But their clothing did not look the part!
And she opened her mouth and asked for a hundred Gold Kron. If they were wasteland hunters, they were far too wealthy!
But if they were nobles, why would they leave the city to enjoy themselves and wander around the wastelands for no reason?
Could she be a noble young lady who had eloped with her private doctor?
Yeah, that was probably the only possibility.
At that moment, Paul's imagination ran wild, and the way he looked at Rein and Ymir became rather strange.
Woo! Woo! Woo!
The Steam Boilers rumbled as the train slowly began moving forward, plunging into the misty wasteland.
Because of the war, all thirty-odd carriages were packed with people, and the air was foul.
Sometimes, Rein felt that having an overly sensitive sense of smell was not always a good thing.
There was the stink of sweat, tobacco, food, waste, and a sweet scent.
As an apothecary, Rein could now identify the strawberry-like smell in the carriage. It was called Blue Dreamland, an inferior hallucinogen that induced mental euphoria. It was a byproduct of anesthetic refinement and was popular among hooligans and gangs.
And all those smells mixed together in the carriage were simply unbearable!
Rein tipped Paul two Silver Nar and had him lead them through the ordinary carriages into the business section near the front of the train.
After paying, Ymir entered the communications room alone.
Not long after, she came back out.
All one hundred gold coins Rein had given her had gone into the radio operator's pocket.
Ten Gold Kron per message. No wonder she had borrowed a hundred.
Originally, Paul had wanted to find a doctor for the few commoner carriages under his management, so that sick passengers would not die during the long migration or spread disease to the others aboard the train.
He had assumed Rein was a wasteland doctor forced to travel through the wilderness by poverty. He had never expected him to casually spend a hundred Gold Kron sending telegrams, a move that slapped him right across the face.
Now that he had brought two "suspected nobles" aboard, Paul no longer dared neglect them and became respectful as a servant.
Class divisions in this world were obvious. Nobles truly were a class above everyone else!
After Ymir finished sending her telegrams, Paul came over and reported, "Honored sir, miss, I just asked around for you. A gentleman in the middle carriages is willing to give up a private compartment. It is not very spacious, but it is the best location I could secure. It only costs two Gold Kron..."
Rein said nothing, because he felt that anywhere would do.
With people even sitting on the train roof, having enough room to plant his feet was already good enough. What more could he ask for?
If anything, he thought paying two Gold Kron for a seat was a little expensive. Although he had struck it rich twice, that did not mean money should be wasted like this.
Getting a private compartment was naturally for the sake of the big shot Ymir beside him.
After a moment, Paul saw that neither of them spoke and assumed they were dissatisfied. Nervously, he explained, "You know, the noble lords in the front carriages do not lack money. A place there is probably impossible..."
Before Paul could finish, Ymir nodded. "That will do."
Seeing the big shot make the decision, Rein agreed as well. "Mr. Paul, lead the way."
As he spoke, he handed over another two Gold Kron, along with ten Silver Nar as a tip.
Paul accepted the money with a beaming smile. "Certainly. Please follow me, you two."
Money really did make things easier.
Rein also got to experience the pleasure of throwing money around for convenience. A train ticket that had originally cost one or two thousand Wan Lisuo had cost them nearly ten times that for a room.
Still, compared to Ymir spending a hundred Gold Kron to send ten telegrams, Rein felt like a country bumpkin.
The middle carriages contained private compartments divided by iron sheets, somewhat like the hard sleepers from his previous life.
The room Paul found for them was, as he had said, somewhat cramped.
The entire compartment was less than two meters wide. It contained only a one-meter bed and a passage narrow enough for someone to squeeze through sideways. There were no windows for safety, only a fist-sized ventilation opening. It was as cramped as a sardine tin.
But Rein was quite satisfied. At least it was a separate room, far better than the packed conditions in the ordinary carriages.
Big Shot Ymir said nothing and walked straight inside. Naturally, he eagerly followed after her.
Paul gave them a suggestive smile and said, "Rest well, you two. If you need anything, just come find me. I can more or less help with small matters on the train."
After saying that, he shut the door, immediately blocking out the noise from the carriage corridor.
Ymir said nothing. After entering, she sat cross-legged on the bed and began meditating.
Rein was used to it. He put down his bags, removed his gas mask, and began meditating as well.
After spending the past few days together day and night, they had roughly figured out each other's temperaments and had long grown accustomed to this way of silently keeping company.
Rein knew she was probably in a bad mood, but he did not try to curry favor with her or ask what she had sent in those telegrams.
Following a big shot, he only needed to be a tool in peace.
Meanwhile.
After Rein and the others boarded, several gang thugs on the train began carrying a bounty portrait through the carriages, comparing it against passengers one by one.
"Hey, what kind of person do you think this bounty target is? Someone actually offered a hundred million on the black market to find him?"
"Who knows? Maybe some big noble got cuckolded and was so furious that he put out a bounty to hunt down the adulterer? Otherwise, who has enough money to issue a Wanted Order on the black market? If he were really a criminal, an official warrant would do."
"If we happen to run into him, we'll be set! Tsk, tsk, that's a hundred million Wan Lisuo! If I get that money, I'll spend a whole year in the best tavern in the city, with the best women and the best liquor."
"Could happen! The news is already out, and the entire underworld is looking for him. That guy definitely can't go to the main city, so he can only keep running. For all we know, he might be on this train."
"..."
As they chatted, the thugs rudely forced every passenger in the carriages to remove anything covering their faces for comparison.
If Rein had been there, he would have been utterly miserable.
Because he would have recognized at a glance that the portrait in those gangsters' hands looked exactly like his own face!
People say my chapters are short, and I feel so wronged. I already write nearly 5,500-plus words every day, which is more than many new books. Looking at others who started at the same time, I have unknowingly written ten or twenty thousand more words than them, and that is very unfavorable during the new book period. So I'm shamelessly asking everyone to vote. If it is not too much trouble, a small tip would also help improve the new book's ranking and bring more recommendations. When it goes premium, I will definitely keep up the massive updates for longer. Many thanks!
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