The big kerosene lamp on the Third Platform flickered on and off.
The crimson steam that billowed out when the train arrived kicked up a howling gale.
The conductor sounded the warning whistle, and the maintenance workers pulled on their protective gloves and got busy.
The garbage truck rolled slowly off the train and into the sorting gate, leaving behind oil and filth for the cleaners to scrub away.
The attendants blew their whistles loudly alongside the platform managers, urging every worker and passenger to stay alert and keep an eye on the steel behemoth that had just pulled in.
Jiang Xueming silently watched the train--
--the flames of the kerosene lamp and the huge iron wheels, round as a beast's pupils, reflected in his dark brown eyes.
The last time he had come here, he had been in too much of a hurry to take a good look.
Now, as he prepared to board again, he found himself wondering what kind of magnificent engineering marvel it had taken, and how much manpower and resources it had cost, to build this underground railway network.
He had changed into fresh clothes, and his heavy pack was filled with all the essentials for surviving in the wilderness.
He felt both uneasy and excited--
--excited about this unknown journey. Where would the train take him?
Last time, he had set out to save his closest family member.
This time, he was setting out to bring Bu Liuxing back safely.
And he had a long-term plan to see through, too.
According to the manager, many trade transfer stations were still half-abandoned. They were like post stations at major transportation hubs, and it would take a great deal of money to establish a foothold and open a coffee shop in one of them.
Ordinary currency from the mortal world couldn't buy shops or land in the underground world.
Only radiant stone coins or Blood Butterfly Shopping Coupons were worth anything. In more remote parts of the underground world, people probably still traded by bartering.
The railways were like shipping lanes. Newly built stations kept connecting one "island" after another. These "islands" were relatively isolated, where opportunity and danger existed side by side.
Jiang Xueming looked down at his ticket. It still had the orange wheat-ear pattern and the inverted pentagram representing the devil.
[Nine Realms Station]
[HK → DD]
[Platform 3, Car 02, Seat 01A]
There was no other information, no helpful instructions, not even a departure time.
This was the station's usual policy, a precaution against passengers nitpicking and complaining about the information they were given.
When passengers arrived at their designated stations, staff would be there to meet them. By then, it would be too late to change their minds.
If passengers swapped tickets among themselves, the destination codes were simple, and the tickets were hard to confuse. Train staff only needed to take a closer look at the seat numbers to spot a mismatch and send the ticket-swappers back in time.
"Ming Ge."
Bu Liuxing had recovered from the dizziness of his hangover.
He had changed into a passenger's spiritual garment, with a large golden lock concealed among the clasps on his chest and hanging around his neck like a necklace. It was his life-saving talisman.
He leaned on a solid metal cane. Just like last time, he wore flashy boots with oversized heads and golden zippers, along with an ostentatious cowboy hat.
A Xing looked like a cowboy ready to head out exploring the wilderness at any moment.
But when he looked at Jiang Xueming, he suddenly felt like a well-behaved little boy.
--A row of tiny Universal Elixir bottles, each about the size of a No. 12 shotgun shell, hung from the dark, stiff leather chaps Xue Ming wore.
Two sturdy belts crossed over one another in an X. Below them, the crotch of the chaps had been cut away, revealing a pair of tight white quick-dry pants made for ease of movement. They clung to his thighs, and the breathable synthetic fabric quickly absorbed and evaporated his sweat.
If he was wounded, any blood on the white pants would be visible right away.
Bu Liuxing looked up--
--Ming Ge's spiritual garment had been altered into a lightweight jacket. To make it easier to inject Universal Elixir, a heart-shaped opening had been cut into the chest and its raw edges neatly bound with gold thread.
Twelve segmented zippers ran from the left cuff up to the shoulder and down to the right arm, beneath both arms to the waist, and across the back. The garment could be taken apart without undoing its buttons.
Bu Liuxing understood that Ming Ge had done this for safety. After all, last time at Canaan's, it had taken him a lot of effort to cut Ming Ge's clothes open. These zippers would make things much easier.
But this outfit really was--
"This is way too flashy, Ming Ge!" Bu Liuxing cried in exasperation, feeling as if ants were crawling all over him. "Did we really get the same stuff?"
Jiang Xueming explained, "I made a few little alterations."
Bu Liuxing said excitedly, "Make me one too! Make me one too! Do you know you look like someone from a Western movie—"
He couldn't think of the right words and trailed off awkwardly.
Jiang Xueming said, "A stripper?"
"Heh." A Xing scratched his head. That was exactly what he had been going to say, because the jacket looked so easy to take off.
"Think what you want." Jiang Xueming was a practical man and didn't care about flashy descriptions like that.
Just like the jokes his younger sister used to tell.
"Pouring out offal like pouring red wine."
"A firefly in the dark."
"A martini with an olive."
It was all just part of a practical man's earnest approach to living.
If the outfit ever caused unnecessary trouble, he would change it to something else.
But for now, it was the best gear he could have to survive in the underground world.
The vehicle finished its self-check. A Xing stepped onto the metal grating with one foot, leaving the other on the platform.
Just then--
--Xiao Qi came hurrying over.
Like a young intellectual woman chasing love in an old movie from the eighties, she clutched a lunchbox and stumbled along the way.
When she reached Jiang Xueming, she hadn't even gotten into character before the sight of Xue Ming in that outfit made two streams of blood run from her nose.
Still, she forced herself to pull it together and put on a tender, reluctant expression.
"The food on the train is all frozen, so it won't taste good. Xue Ming, I made you a meal. There's an instruction booklet for the life-saving talisman tucked into the lunchbox. Read it carefully after you board."
Jiang Xueming took the lunchbox and nodded.
"Thank you."
Xiao Qi whipped around with a wistful look. "There's no need for you to thank me. If our love is to last forever..."
A cleaner came over and wiped up the nosebleed Xiao Qi had flicked onto the ground when she turned around, completely ruining the mood.
Jiang Xueming pulled out a tissue and wiped the blood from Xiao Qi's nose as if he were cleaning Ming Ge's mouth.
"All right, all right. 'It need not be every day, or every night.' Are you done?"
"Mm!" Xiao Qi brightened at once and took hold of Xue Ming's hand, her eyes sparkling.
Jiang Xueming then asked about the steel rings. "Are you ready?"
Xiao Qi nodded furiously. "I'm ready! I absolutely won't faint again. Sister Yangchun and I practiced it over and over."
Jiang Xueming took out the ring box and prepared to hand it to Xiao Qi.
He repeated himself emphatically. "You're really ready, right? Really? Don't lie to me!"
Xiao Qi looked serious, as though she were about to face the firing squad. "Mm!"
Jiang Xueming added, "This isn't a proposal. Old Lingweng asked me to give you one of these rings. You understand what that means, right? I'm afraid you'll drop dead on the spot, and then I'll have to pay with my life."
"Just give it to me already!" Xiao Qi urged. "Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
Xue Ming didn't open the ring box. He simply handed it to her.
At the corridor window, Zhao Yangchun held a walkie-talkie and watched the pair on the platform.
She issued an order to the various units.
"Medical emergency team, keep a close eye on 9527's condition. If there's any danger, prepare the defibrillator and hyperbaric oxygen equipment. Over."
Xiao Qi took the ring box.
Then she began taking deep breaths, one after another.
Her face was red all the way to the roots of her neck. She looked like a criminal who'd done something terrible and run into the toughest cop in her life.
She wanted to open the jewelry box and take a good look.
Xue Ming stopped Xiao Qi.
Then he leaned close to her ear and whispered.
"This is my life-saving talisman. Don't look at it here. There's too many people around. Take your time when you get back."
"Okay," Xiao Qi replied. She walked toward the corridor, looking back every few steps.
But she hadn't gone far before she ran back.
She shyly tried to remind him, stumbling over her words until they came out incoherently, as if she'd just suffered a tremendous shock. "You have to come back safe. You can't get hurt. You need to ring the bell, the one I gave you."
"This one?" Jiang Xueming pulled the Summoning Bell out of his pack. It was a gift Xiao Qi had given him a long time ago.
"That's right." Xiao Qi finally looked relieved. "The station rules say that if your life is in danger and you ring the bell, we attendants have to come rescue you, no matter where you are. But don't ring it for no reason, or you'll be punished."
"Okay."
Xue Ming tucked the Summoning Bell into an inner pocket close to his body, then boarded the train and headed to his seat.
He sat by the window, shoulder to shoulder with Bu Liuxing. He could still see Xiao Qi in the corridor, waving to him from far, far away.
His senses were exceptionally sharp, so he could see her clearly--
--so, so clearly. Xiao Qi pursed her lips, raised a hand, and mimed gently ringing the bell.
That bold, confident, dashing, flirtatious older sister seemed to have turned back into a woman made of water.
Xue Ming said nothing. He simply raised a hand and gave Xiao Qi a thumbs-up to let her know not to worry.
But at that very moment--
--9527 rushed back through the passage and onto the platform.
At first, she only walked slowly, keeping pace with the train as it moved. She said nothing, just raised her head and looked at Xue Ming.
Jiang Xueming asked, "Aren't you going back?"
Xiao Qi only shook her head, saying nothing.
Jiang Xueming asked again, "I heard from your supervisor that you took more than half a month off. Sorry, I caused you trouble."
Xiao Qi still only shook her head, saying nothing, as she broke into a jog, chin held high.
The train picked up speed.
Hazy mist poured from its smokestack.
Under the golden light reflected off the Lava Lake, it turned pink.
Jiang Xueming called out, "Stop chasing it! Watch your step!"
Xiao Qi didn't listen. She broke into a swift run.
She reached the railing at the edge of the platform and climbed to the outer edge of the cliff. She was just one step away from jumping into the Lava Lake.
She watched the train on the steel bridge carry her employer toward more distant reaches of the underground world.
In the end, she still said nothing, clutching the ring box tightly.
At the newsstand on the Third Platform,
Jason Megan sat on a bench--
--holding up a newspaper to cover his face as he secretly watched the train depart.
He watched the young woman running along the platform, his gaze full of wistfulness.
After a long while, he quietly left the newsstand and hid in the logistics passage where the freight cars ran.
Just then, his little attendant jumped out of a large electrical cabinet.
"Mr. Jason! Did you succeed?"
"No."
"Why not? Weren't you going to make your move today?"
"Today wasn't the right time."
"Hadn't we agreed? The moment you gave the word, I'd cut the power to Platform Three, and then it would be time for your big performance!"
"I wasn't ready. Even if he got lucky, I'll let him go this time. Let's change the plan!"
"So that's why I never got the signal! Don't be discouraged, my dear sir. You'll definitely regain your confidence!"
"Mm."
"Ambitions afar! Ambitions afar!"
"Mm."
As Mr. Megan and his little attendant walked back to the Third Platform through the logistics passage, they happened to run into the elderly station manager.
Two armed employees immediately came over to question them.
"What were you doing just now? Why were you hiding in the logistics passage?"
The old station manager pointed at Megan and the little attendant as he questioned them.
"I heard you! I heard you loud and clear! You were conspiring about something in secret just now—"
"—were you trying to sabotage the station's facilities?"
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