"That's a thing too? Isn't this just screwing me over?"
Ye Qiyan was somewhat speechless. The extra stopover time that had appeared out of nowhere had both advantages and disadvantages for him.
The advantage was that, at certain resource stations, the longer he stayed, the more resources he could collect.
Conversely, if he encountered an extremely dangerous station, he would have to remain there for a full seven hours before he could leave.
["The interference with the Train System is a system issue. Additional compensation has already been provided. We hope Train Conductor Ye Qiyan will continue to work hard."]
"Forget it. I'll just have to be more careful from now on."
Things had already come to this, and there was nothing else he could do.
Ye Qiyan shook his head, walked straight over to WALL-E, and inserted a coin.
[WALL-E, activate]
He tapped WALL-E's metal head, a smile appearing on his face.
"Do your best, WALL-E. Find a treasure chest at this stop, and I'll install a brain for you."
Watching WALL-E leave the station, Ye Qiyan pressed the door release button as well.
Just as he was about to leave, the sound of hoofbeats caught his attention.
A knight in battered armor was charging toward the train on an old horse so emaciated its ribs protruded, carrying a rusty lance.
"An enemy? This soon? But..."
If this was an enemy, wasn't he a little too... shabby?
After a moment's thought, Ye Qiyan stopped the sentry from opening fire.
This was a Quest Platform. Based on his past experience, the first encounter at this platform would be connected to its quest.
He let the knight approach.
He stepped out of the train, drew his gun, and fired. A bullet struck precisely at the feet of the knight's old horse.
Startled, the old horse wheeled around and threw its rider straight off.
"Ow!"
The knight's helmet fell to one side, exposing its cardboard lining.
So weak.
That was Ye Qiyan's first impression of this knight.
His face was haggard, his skin dark, and his sparse, gray-white beard covered in mud.
His frail body looked as though a mere gust of wind could blow him far away.
Only those eyes were different.
Even from a distance, Ye Qiyan could see the fervor and persistence in them.
"Sir... are you all right?"
He did not know how to address the old man, but judging by his appearance, he should be an actual human.
"I'm fine. Huh? You're human? Why did you walk out of a Dragon's belly? Ah! I understand! Have you already slain that Dragon? Good heavens, you've conquered a Dragon! You're a great Dragon Knight?!"
A Dragon? A Dragon Knight?
What was all this nonsense?
Ye Qiyan was utterly bewildered.
Was he a madman?
"Master, are you all right?!"
From the same direction, a short, fat man riding a gray donkey came bobbing toward them as well.
"Haha, Sancho, it's nothing serious. I offended this lord Dragon Knight. This is fate's arrangement, allowing me to meet a Dragon Knight before I battle the giants!"
Sancho? That name sounded so familiar. Ye Qiyan kept feeling that he had heard it somewhere before.
"Master Don Quixote, what Dragon?"
"That enormous black creature up ahead! Didn't you hear it? The roar of that Dragon! Didn't you see it? It descended from high in the sky!"
Don Quixote?!
Upon hearing that name, Ye Qiyan immediately remembered who the man before him was.
Don Quixote, a knight immersed in ideals and fantasies, the archetype of all the world's failures.
This was actually the world of Don Quixote.
Then the short, fat man beside him was the book's most important supporting character, Don Quixote's servant, Sancho.
So the train's stations could include worlds from stories like this? I never imagined the protagonist of a book I read as a child would appear before me this way.
While Ye Qiyan marveled inwardly, Don Quixote had already climbed to his feet. He brushed the dirt off his armor to make himself look more like an excellent knight.
"Master Don Quixote, that isn't a Dragon. It's, uh... just a row of houses connected together, with strange wheels attached."
"No, that is a Dragon. You are still a novice when it comes to adventures..."
The exchange resembled the one in the book, except the subject of the master and servant's discussion had changed from windmill giants to a train Dragon.
Could he be playing the villain at this Quest Platform?
No. Turning around, Ye Qiyan saw thirty-four windmills in the rice fields ahead.
His sudden arrival had interrupted Don Quixote's first battle.
"My apologies, lord Dragon Knight. There are still Long-Armed Giants ahead awaiting my crusade. Once I have destroyed these giants, I shall return to speak with you."
Don Quixote picked up his lance, mounted his old horse, rode around the train, and headed toward the rice fields once more.
"Master, those really aren't giants! They're windmills, and those long arms are their sails!"
He paid no attention whatsoever to Sancho's cries, charging forward with a shout.
Ye Qiyan stood atop the train, watching the scene unfold. Just as he thought Don Quixote would crash and tumble off his horse as he had in the story, a subtle change suddenly came over the world before him.
Windmills?
No. Giants had appeared in the rice fields.
"?"
Ye Qiyan hurriedly rubbed his eyes. When he looked again, the giants had turned back into windmills?
"What the hell?"
He instantly realized something was wrong and hurried back inside the train.
The power of the Pure Purification Stone soothed the discomfort within him, but the sight from inside the train confirmed one thing.
Those were not windmills in the rice fields.
They were Long-Armed Giants.
Don Quixote was right?
"Why is this happening?"
This world did not seem as simple as it looked. He opened his personal information and saw an unexpected line under the spirit field.
[Spirit: 120 (Witness Truth and Falsehood)]
A mental state he had never seen before.
Just what was the quest at this Quest Platform?
"Looks like I can't underestimate Quest Platforms from now on. Hmm? Is it over?"
In the rice fields, one of the giants casually sent Don Quixote flying.
The moment he fell, the giants turned back into windmills.
"God bless us! Didn't I tell you? Those are windmills! Unless someone has windmills in his head too, how could he refuse to admit they're windmills?"
"Shut up, Sancho!"
As the two bickered, Sancho helped Don Quixote to his feet and back onto his horse. They retraced their steps, preparing to continue toward their destination.
As they passed the train, Ye Qiyan, who had been watching all along, suddenly spoke:
"Don Quixote, are you planning to run away? The giants are still there."
"Don't you want to become a true knight?"
Before you continue