SEE YOU TOMORROW

"Astral Express?"

Ye Qiong stood up with a start.

He looked around; the Parlor Car was completely empty.

There was no Pom-Pom, no March 7th, and none of the others from the Astral Express.

The entire carriage was eerily quiet.

"Are they in their rooms?"

Ye Qiong frowned and began walking toward the passenger cabins.

Upon arriving at the passenger cabins, he first knocked on Dan Heng's door.

There was no answer.

Ye Qiong pushed the door open, only to find the room furnished with excessive simplicity and completely devoid of anyone.

"Not here?"

Ye Qiong backed out of the room and closed the door.

He lifted his feet and headed toward the next room.

Arriving in front of March 7th's door, Ye Qiong knocked again.

Still, there was no answer.

Ye Qiong pushed the door open and stepped inside. The large, girlish room was just like Dan Heng's—empty of March 7th's presence.

"March isn't here either?"

Ye Qiong's brow furrowed even deeper.

He continued to inspect the other rooms, only to find that everyone was gone.

Thus, Ye Qiong walked to the end of the corridor, sat down on a seat, and stared ahead with a frown.

"Is everyone gone?"

Oh right, perhaps they were in the party car?

Thinking of this, Ye Qiong immediately stood up and went to the party car, but it was also completely deserted. Even the robot Shut Up, which usually made people want to tell it to be quiet, was nowhere to be found.

"What on earth is going on?"

Ye Qiong rubbed his forehead. Had he seen a ghost?

Suddenly, he remembered that he had entered the Simulation Realm.

Wasn't it normal for there to be no one here?

Thinking of this, Ye Qiong smiled in relief.

It wasn't strange at all; it wasn't strange at all.

However, since it was a simulated train environment, he naturally wanted to experience it for himself.

He walked up the stairs to the second floor.

On the second floor was a room exclusive to the Pathfinder.

This room was very large and decorated in a unique and comfortable way.

Ye Qiong walked around the room and discovered that it was exactly the same as how he had decorated it in the game in his past life.

This made him click his tongue in amazement: "Truly worthy of being my room."

A place that should only exist in the heavens, yet here it was, making reality look like a blind dream.

Ye Qiong went to the desk by the bed and sat down.

The items on the desk were identical to those in the game from his past life.

The exact same computer, the exact same potted plant.

The exact same...

"As I Wrote?!!"

Ye Qiong stared at the blue book on the desk for several seconds.

He reached out his hand, intending to pick it up.

However, the moment his fingertips touched the book, a sharp, sudden pain exploded in his mind without warning.

In the next second, countless images flooded into his mind like a bursting dam.

The Flame-Chasers are a journey of constant loss, within which life is of little consequence.

I shall complete my conquest in the Sea of the Boundary between Heaven and Earth, and sleep forever amidst the sound of the waves.

I shall sleep forever amidst the sound of the waves, having completed my conquest in the Sea of the Boundary between Heaven and Earth.

I shall dig my own grave, to be consumed in the furnace of rebellion.

I shall shatter into a thousand pieces, withering in the soil of a foreign land.

"If I can truly break through the deepest darkness of this world, let us reunite at the end of the West Wind, where the flowers bloom in fragrance."

One day, I shall die with wounds upon my back.

"Son of Gorgo, bathe in blood to claim the crown!"

I shall wither, allowing the dead to sprout from the remnants, and the fire that died with them to be reborn.

At the end of the sea of flowers, the souls of the living shall warm your fingertips; after our embrace, there shall be an eternal parting.

"May I borrow your warmth, just one more time?"

"This brief moment of embrace is the proof that I have lived."

I shall transcend to the ultimate purity, only to return to the rot of bitter black.

"Be glad, Sersis, for I shall use your soul to sow the seeds of doubt for the new world!"

I shall walk with greed, and I shall perish for a single cent.

"If there were a lie so brilliant it could deceive everyone, would it not then become the truth?"

At the end of the Rainbow Bridge, the Child of the Sky shall stitch together the dawn and the dusk.

"I have walked the path of my ancestors after all, returning to the sky, but even so, I have realized my own ideals."

I shall bathe one last time in the warm, dazzling gold.

"The reason the light departs is that it is waiting for a sun to rise. One day, you will no longer take steps out of fear, but to return the dawn to the world."

I shall shoulder the scorching sun until the gray dawn becomes manifest.

"They say that if suffering reaches its end, I shall be the savior, but why is it that now, behind me, there is nothing at all?"

"As long as we are not extinguished, the Flame-Chasers will never end..."

I shall conclude at the moment of blooming, just as the end gives birth to the beginning.

"This must be a romance story unlike any other... You think so too... don't you?"

All sounds were extinguished in the same instant, as if someone had choked the life out of them.

Ye Qiong snapped his eyes open, gasping for air.

Yet he saw light, sky, ocean, wheat fields, birds in flight...

These beautiful sights reflected in his eyes.

He stared blankly at the scene before him.

A sense of familiarity surged into his heart.

"This is... Ailimixie?"

He had actually come to Ailimixie?

Right! Xilian!

Ye Qiong exerted a sudden force, attempting to stand, but the moment he straightened his body, that intense pain struck him once more.

It was even more violent than the last time.

Ye Qiong clutched his head with both hands, curling up into the wheat field.

Images flashed through his mind, one after another.

Meeting Xilian for the first time at Omphalos, playing together, adventuring together, and recording the stories of every one of the Golden Descendants.

Reuniting with Xilian at Ailimixie, watching the scenery together, taking photos, fishing, listening to her tell stories, watching her on the swing, and teasing the little sprites in the Lost Maze together...

Finally, overcoming countless difficulties with Xilian, and through pioneering, writing a new chapter for this romantic story.

They defeated the Lord of Extinction, Iron Curtain, but in the end...

The crowd parted ways with one person, and only that person became the tomorrow of yesterday.

"Smile for me, will you?"

"I still have so many, many things I want to tell you, but..."

"Partner, you must always remember this day."

"I will be waiting for you in the past."

"...-.-----..----------.-..-.---.--"

"...-.-----..-.---..-..-."

Ye Qiong opened his mouth, but found he could not make a sound.

He lowered his head, remaining silent, his heart filled with profound melancholy.

Yet just then, he suddenly felt a warm hand gently brush against his cheek.

The sensation was vivid, not like a hallucination.

It was also very familiar.

This caused Ye Qiong to snap his eyes open.

However, there was no one in his field of vision.

His expression panicked, and he hurriedly looked all around.

He seemed to catch a glimpse of a pink figure from behind.

But in an instant, it vanished, leaving nothing behind.

Ye Qiong knelt powerlessly in the wheat field, his hands pressed against the ground, his knuckles turning white from the force.

He kept his head bowed, his chest heaving violently.

All that remained around him was the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the wheat.

It was only after a long while that he slowly stood up.

Recalling what had just happened, he touched his face, where a faint, lingering warmth still remained.

"So, it was just a hallucination..."

Ye Qiong sat back down on the ground and let out a deep sigh.

He began to organize the memories that had been flooding into his mind.

However, after sorting through all the information, Ye Qiong fell silent.

He looked down at his own hands:

"So... I really am the Pathfinder."