This delivery of goods did not seem to be going as smoothly as the previous ones.
For some unknown reason, Philip and the porters waited on the platform for about an hour before they finally received the goods shipped from the factory and loaded them onto the locomotive together with the other side's people.
Once the loading was complete, the engine at the rear of the locomotive started up and left the valley in reverse. Under the Locomotive Chief's instructions, it headed north along a route it had never traveled before.
After quite some time, the locomotive reached the second stop of this journey—the Bai Dak Military Factory.
In Philip's view, the Bai Dak Military Factory was nowhere near as imposing as the Solidification Factory. It lacked the towering cylinders that pierced the sky, and there were only a few dozen Stone Towers.
But by comparison, security at this factory was exceptionally tight. The moment they entered within five kilometers of it, they were stopped for inspection.
Even after passing the inspection and being allowed through, it was far from over. Before reaching the factory platform, they were inspected three more times by different people.
At last, they arrived at the platform, and the locomotive came to a complete stop. A man in a black uniform stood on the platform to receive them.
The Locomotive Chief, who rarely got off the train, suddenly became somewhat nervous. After fussing with his clothes for quite a while, he stepped down and negotiated with the other man.
A few minutes later, after the discussion was over, Philip saw the man in black wave toward the side.
"Bzz!"
Without anyone doing anything visible, a section of open ground beside the platform suddenly lifted up, revealing a downward-sloping passage more than three meters wide and