Pushing open the door of the carriage serving as a temporary bedroom, Philip stepped out into another long, narrow carriage.
Several tables stood inside the narrow carriage, arranged much like an office. Behind one of them sat a square-faced man in his forties, dark-skinned and stern-looking, as if he never smiled.
He was Kent Bob, the highest authority on the entire locomotive. Seeing him, Philip quickly greeted him, "Good morning, Locomotive Chief."
Bob glanced over and gave a slight nod. "Mm." Then he asked, "Rest well?"
"Yes," Philip answered honestly.
"That's good." Bob said, "Get ready. We'll reach the Wandering Energy Element Solidification Factory shortly. We have quite a lot of cargo to load this time, and the porters on the train might not be enough. Give them a hand."
"Oh, I understand." Philip answered and nodded. This was part of his job, so naturally he had no reason to refuse.
As he spoke, he glanced out the carriage window and happened to see the locomotive reaching the edge of Red Stone City, nearing the Energy Shield. The next moment, as though it had crashed into a waterfall, the locomotive passed through the Energy Shield and entered the area beyond the city, heading into the vast wilderness ahead.
"Clack, clack..."
The sound of the locomotive rolling onward echoed continuously. Philip blinked, only then belatedly realizing something. He looked back at Bob and asked, "Locomotive Chief, is the factory we're going to this time outside the city?"
"That's right, outside the city." Bob replied. "This trip, we'll be traveling to three places outside the city to haul cargo. The Wandering Energy Element Solidification Factory is the first, and there are two more after that. Speaking of which, it's a fairly long trip, and the roads aren't easy to travel. It might