Abyss Express

Pass through the Hung Hom Submarine Tunnel and cross the Ring Expressway.

Volga raced all the way on the bottomless roller avenue, and the radiant road sign safety lights on both sides were like flying comets.

The terrain gradually flattened, and the corridor gradually became brighter.

The scenery outside the car window became both strange and familiar.

After crossing three passes, five cards and two streets, Jiang Xueming returned to the intersection of Moon Lane again.

The street is still so deserted, only a few passers-by stand smoking in front of the simple convenience store, talking about the strange situation in a strange language.

There are also many passengers who came here for the first time, each standing in front of the alley of fate, hesitating, the anxiety in their hearts is written on their faces, holding tickets in their hands, holding their own missions.

The car drove all the way to the bridge lead of the plastic-steel suspension bridge.

This time, Jiang Xueming didn't need to take a long detour, and the three of them went directly to the observatory on the 26th floor of the main hall of the Five Kings Council.

During this journey, none of them spoke——

——Jiang Xueming was curious at first, Brother Seven and A Xing were noisy people.

When they stepped onto the plastic-steel suspension bridge, both of them seemed to zip their mouths shut and never spoke again.

Looking down from this 70-meter-high bridge, there are many people stumbling on the road in the vast abyss of the fountain square.

The fog in the extreme distance on the left and right sides is dyed the same color as the starry sky above.

The scenery along the way made Xueming feel a kind of tranquility and peace in his heart.

When he entered the elevator, he finally broke the silence and curiously asked the seventh brother beside him.

"Why didn't you speak just now?"

Xiao Qi swallowed nervously: "I'm afraid of heights."

"." Xue Ming was surprised by this answer, and turned to A Xing again: "What about you?"

Ah Xing's face was pale, and he covered his mouth. Seventh brother's violent driving made him almost vomit: "I have the burden of being an idol, so I don't talk, I pretend to be a master."

"That's great." Jiang Xueming was ecstatic in his heart. It's a good thing that the two good partners around him have quieted down, at least they seem a lot more reliable: "You have all grown up, and I hope this state can be maintained."

The elevator reached the first floor, and all three of them needed to undergo a thought review. They queued for 20 minutes in the Lingweng Church in the side hall.

Bu Meteor is in very good condition, all the values ​​have returned to the state of half a month ago, and the concentration of spiritual disasters has also dropped back to 31%.

Jiang Xueming's verification results are still the same, but this time, the polarizing sextant seems to be completely broken, not only the mental strength, will to survive and inspiration - even the data of combat skills are not displayed, and they are directly drawn. to the level of [out of specification].

9527 bid farewell to the two passengers at the Lingweng Church. She needs to go to the backstage of the staff for a medical examination.

Before Seventh Brother left, Jiang Xueming took out his notebook and wrote a series of things, asking Seventh Brother to help prepare.

"A close-fitting thermal vest, don't make it too fancy, scratch-resistant and puncture-resistant hiking boots, my feet are size 42, and cowhide pants with crotch pocket tool pockets, one size is fine."

"A set of laboratory measuring tools, five 10ml cylindrical ring needle syringes, short and easy to carry."

"It's these things, Seventh Brother, you will bring them here for me later."

After Jiang Xueming finished writing, he tore off the note and handed it to Xiao Qi.

After finishing these, Xueming and Meteor, the two newcomers who returned to the station, still had three procedures to go according to the regulations of the station.

Under the guidance of the lobby manager, they came to another shining courtyard.

Xueming and Meteor need to receive official passenger safety insurance here.

Its name is written on the gate of the other courtyard.

[Shining Path]

In front of the porch of the other courtyard, there were many passengers with strange expressions and enthusiasm and excitement.

These passengers are like vendors waiting for sales. When they see Xueming and Meteor, they want to come together and say something, as if they are seeing new customers.

The lobby manager said sarcastically, and yelled at these passengers to drive them away: "When these two newcomers get the stones, you can come to rob people and solicit customers."

Bu Meteor felt his stomach churn, resisting the nausea of ​​motion sickness, making the passengers on both sides of the porch stare hairy.

Jiang Xueming was curious, so he asked: "What stone?"

"Don't you know? Didn't you ask other passengers?" The lobby manager looked like a reliable middle-aged uncle, with a serious expression on his face, "It says in the crew manual"

"The new passenger has successfully completed the first trip. If all the data of the body are normal, after dealing with the private affairs of the ordinary world—" Jiang Xueming knew the procedure, so he answered quickly: "——If the new passenger decides to start from the leisurely ordinary world The world returns to the station to continue traveling. The station is obliged to add three additional safety insurances for them. Passenger instructions are written here and there is no more. Is the stone you mentioned one of the safety insurances?"

The manager scratched his head: "I thought the other old passengers in the car would talk to you about these things."

Jiang Xueming: "I scared them all away."

"Ah?" Before the manager could react, he took the two newcomers who had returned to the station into the Path of Glory, explaining as they walked, "You want to get a very important life talisman from Lingweng. In the underground world, Stone is a very important thing, and the jewelry it makes can allow you to travel farther and meet more friends, please keep it safe.”

Jiang Xueming then asked: "Is it pyroxene?"

The lobby manager nodded: "Yes."

At this moment, Bu Liuxing couldn't take it anymore, the sour soup and fat beef in his stomach had already poured into his throat. He whimpered impatiently and asked the lobby manager to take him to the toilet.

The manager politely helped A Xing walk towards the bathroom, then turned around and asked: "Mr. Jiang Xueming, you can go to the Atrium of the Shining Path to meet Lingweng first. The ceremony of conferring stones may take a lot of time, please Don’t worry, the whole process is private—let me say a word, it’s actually not an important matter, but the rules and regulations stipulate that if you get a pyroxene, don’t show it off immediately, different splendor The type of stone, just like a Braille card, is your personal information."

"Understood." Jiang Xueming wanted to ask a few more questions.

There was mystery in the manager's smile, like a friendly blessing, "I wish you all the best, I'll go first."

After saying this, the manager pulled Bu Meteor away in a hurry.

There are many strange-shaped ornamental stones in the courtyard of the atrium, which are divided into various colors and reveal a radiant glow.

A cobbled path leads to the stone monument in the atrium.

Jiang Xueming went all the way, thinking carefully about what he saw and heard along the way.

On the ride log, pyroxene is an energy source.

According to the lobby manager, it is also a security procedure, which seems to be used to protect new passengers.

A pure newcomer who rides for the first time can only be counted as a pilgrim in the temple who asks for a panacea and more tickets.

After the wishes come true, BOSS will not force them to stay at the station—it's just that after the equal deal is over, and there is no reliable after-sales service, the waiters will leave these people and look for new passengers.

Eventually some armed employees are left to protect the newcomers, and maybe for a few months or years, these innocent newbies need to face the threat of armadillo hunters alone.

Pyroxene is a very precious resource in the underground world, and the station will only distribute these things to repeat customers who are willing to return to the station to continue their adventures.

Jiang Xueming became more and more curious, and walked all the way to the monument.

Among the six stone arches stands an exquisite stone sculpture depicting an old man in luxurious clothes.

In addition, there are countless gold, silver, copper, iron, jewelry and jade articles piled up under the statue. These old jewelry have different scars and gaps.

—Among the dilapidated jewellery, there are bracelets, rings, pendants, earrings, arm braces, wrists, fetters, handcuffs, nose rings, finger thimbles, and neck rings.

——These jewelry seem to have received all kinds of injuries, including smoky firing, cracks brittle by cold, severe hammer blows that deformed by blows, and horrific traumas caused by knives and axes.

Jiang Xueming wasn't quite sure——

——There are also a few "new goods" that seem to be freshly unearthed, with a metallic color among the broken copper and iron of Iraqi quality, and seem to have some blood that has not been wiped clean.

When he approached this pile of ornaments, his body began to tremble unconsciously, and the long-sleeping inspiration once again manifested as an actual nerve pain - asking him to put away his offensive thoughts and stay away from this weird pile of gold and silver.

Just when he was about to retreat——

——A gust of warm wind blew in the other courtyard.

This warm wind gathered into a vortex visible to the naked eye, like a thick thick fog gathered into a human form, turning into an old man with long beard and white eyebrows in a cloth robe, exactly the same as the statue on the monument.

The starlight from the dome of the square can directly project to the arches of the other courtyard, and the various light sources from the strange rocks are like rays, penetrating the old man's body.

But in the blink of an eye, the gold objects on the ground began to bounce, as if being pulled by inexplicable gravity, and all of a sudden converged on the old man's illusory spirit body.

After the tinkling noise, a whole human form was condensed from the gold, silver and jewels.

Two pitch-black stones became the eyes of the old man, and all kinds of variegated gold decorations formed the facial features and limbs. They stretched out all the way, turned into an arm, and firmly grasped Jiang Xueming's arm—pulled him to the body The first four eyes are facing each other.

At such a close distance——

——Jiang Xueming also saw Ling Weng's appearance clearly.

The pair of dark eyes revealed the deep blue light of the spirit body, and Jiang Xueming couldn't help but think of the huge animal eyes made up of various surveying and mapping instruments in the polarizing sextant.

Once again, he seemed to be being observed by a superior being, and his inspiration seemed to have been summoned to become quiet and obedient.

There was only a loud call, the sound was like the wind blowing from an iron urn and a silver pot.

"Don't move around, let me take a good look at your fineness! Little guy!"

Jiang Xueming's speech was confused for a while, and he didn't know what to say: "Are you the spirit old man?"

"Otherwise who else could it be? The questions you newcomers ask are getting more and more outrageous." The old spirit babbled, as if he had been poked in a sore spot, "Could it be that you went to the bathroom to have dinner? You came to participate In the stone conferring ceremony, if it wasn’t me, who else would it be?”

"It's just that I only saw your name in the passenger notices, but never your real face." Jiang Xueming explained: "The name of the thinking review room is Lingweng Church, isn't it you who built it?"

"That was my former religious office. As for whether I built it—why do you give that big black cat an opinion? Rename it a public toilet? Build a canteen again?" The golden artifact on the old spirit's face twisted. Transformed, revealing disgust, still holding Jiang Xueming's hand firmly, "Can you go to the toilet to have a meal next time when you do a thought review?"

"Does the name of the Council of Five Kings have anything to do with you?" Jiang Xueming wanted to ask more questions, as he was very interested in the history of the station.

"I'm not a king." The old man lowered his head, widened his eyes, and looked carefully at Jiang Xueming's arm, "It's just a dead soul who stayed at this station, a person who made things for you to protect your life. It’s nothing more than a jeweler of talismans.”

Jiang Xueming was thoughtful——

——This wonderful spirit body in front of me seems to have accompanied the station through countless suns and moons, forging jewelry for passengers as a life-saving talisman.

So what is the boss?

Why is this little black cat the owner of the station?

"About the BOSS, do you know anything?" Jiang Xueming just said——

——The old spirit let go of Xue Ming, then turned around and squatted in front of the dilapidated gold and silver, rummaging through them.

Listen to the old man's casual answer.

"Are you interested in that black cat?"

"I'm just curious."

"Then I can only say that I am also curious."

"Old man, don't you know the origin of BOSS?"

"When I had a human form, and there were a few sexy hot girls wearing grass skirts playing mud, eating, drinking and having fun with me, the BOSS was exploring the underground world with rolling stones and logs to make tools."

"how long ago?"

"It's so long that I can't even remember the year. When I was growing old and about to emerge, I thought it had died, a long, long time ago." Speaking of this, the old spirit sighed, "If it really It would be nice to die, and I don't have to sit in an iron prison here to make jewelry for you."

Jiang Xueming thanked in a good voice: "That's really troublesome for you, thank you for your hard work, thank you."

"You little guy's color is really strange. It's so strange. What kind of jewelry should I match you with? What kind of stone should I add to your jewelry?" : "Oh! You take this thing!"

Suddenly, a square stone flew over.

Jiang Xueming grasped it firmly——

——He saw clearly that it was a Rubik's cube.

A third-order Rubik's cube with six sides and six colors.

"I can't see your fineness, you are like a hard ancient fossil." The old spirit frowned, as if he had encountered a problem, he blew his beard and stared and said, "Now I don't have professional tools at hand, no stone cutting Knife, I have to rely on this thing to identify your color, listen up and do as I tell you."

Jiang Xueming held the Rubik's Cube: "OK"

The old man's body of gold and iron was twisted into a ball, as if sitting with his legs crossed, with a leisurely and contented expression.

"You close your eyes, think about the thing that made you angry the most in your life, and burst out with brave anger."

"The most angry thing?" Jiang Xueming closed his eyes, recalling carefully, ten seconds later, he was still trying to mobilize his emotions.

"Okay! That's enough, you're not qualified!~" The old spirit explained: "Enstatite doesn't like you at all, and rhodonite is also reluctant. They despise you, and it's hard for you to get angry. Climbing to the sky, no way!"

Jiang Xueming was a little disappointed, it seemed that several kinds of pyroxene had given up on him.

On the six-sided Rubik's Cube, the bright red side was still faintly glowing, as if following his emotions would respond differently.

"Use your brain, you have to start thinking, little guy." Lingweng then reminded: "Think about the smartest, darkest and most ruthless time in your life, when you used your brain to do something exquisitely bad Idea, when playing pranks and jokes with your little friends!"

Jiang Xueming went on to recall——

——The blue blocks on the Rubik's Cube start to glow.

Another ten seconds passed.

"No, no, no! Not at all! Silicate and iron pyroxene are not willing to talk to you, and lapis lazuli will make you autistic. These little babies think you are so boring!" The old spirit listened carefully to the stones Answer: "Think again, change your mood, think about the happiest, happiest things in your life, the most exciting, lively memories. Let me see if the golden and orange stones are interested in you. "

Jiang Xueming followed suit——

— but still not working.

"Are you a hollow man?" The old spirit looked at the six-color Rubik's Cube in disbelief: "Think about it carefully, and then think about the time when you were most desperate and frightened."

The Rubik's Cube in Jiang Xueming's hand responded.

A little bit of colorful starlight lit up on the dark side, and then went out immediately.

"Well," the old spirit pondered, "there is one last solution left, you choose them."

Jiang Xueming: "What should I do?"

The old spirit pointed to the Rubik's Cube: "Twist the Rubik's Cube, communicate with it directly, it may not listen to you, it will become very jerky, and it will be very difficult for you to twist - but you can use any means, you can curse It can speak nice words to it, make it happy like a girl, fall in love with it, or simply solve problems with violence, and the side that faces you in the end is the color of your heart."

Jiang Xueming felt uneasy. He remembered that stones are very important to passengers.

The stone in the old man's mouth is a life-saving talisman for passengers.

At this time, he put away all distracting thoughts.

He sorted out his emotions, and his eyes became cold again.

Hold the Rubik's Cube with both hands and start turning it.

There was a soft "click".

The unthinkable happened.

The Rubik's Cube in his hand exploded at once, splitting into twenty-seven smaller square stones.

They are scattered, and the small square stones are like houses, with elves living in them, floating in the air, moving quickly and irregularly, mixing and reorganizing, and then separating again, constantly arranging different colors, constantly changing A combination of color blocks.

Looking at this scene, Jiang Xueming was puzzled, and then asked the old spirit: "Old man, what's going on? Stone responded to me?"

"Well, it's a response." The old spirit showed a strange expression: "It's just that your situation is a little different, little guy."

Jiang Xueming: "What do you mean?"

"There were passengers like you in the past. The stones didn't like them very much. They were all eccentric people." The old spirit made a gesture of twisting the Rubik's cube, with a laborious and exaggerated expression. Slowly twist the Rubik's Cube until it can no longer be twisted, and the stones can only be wronged and pushed out a few unlucky ghosts to deal with it."

"What's going on here?" Jiang Xueming looked at the pieces of the Rubik's Cube dancing and dancing in the air.

"The good news is that they didn't reject you." The old man stretched out his hand and murmured, as if comforting the frightened children: "The bad news is that they are very scared. Okay, okay, don't cry my baby us."

Jiang Xueming was at a loss: "Can I still get my stone? Get the belongings you mentioned? You were going to give me a piece of jewelry. How can I get on the bus without jewelry?"

"Don't worry. Little guy."

The old spirit reached out his hand, and from the twenty-seven cubes, he took off the most stable core, and the other fragments surrounded this transparent and colorless stone.

"Few people can see this stone - there used to be arrogant and frivolous daredevils who cracked the Rubik's cube when they came up, and there was also a grumpy girl who broke the Rubik's cube when the babies didn't listen to her and got This piece of transparent corundum."

The old spirit clapped his hands.

Another "click" was heard——

——The six-color Rubik's Cube returns to its place.

Lingweng threw it back into the pile of jewelry, picked and picked from the body made of gold and iron, and took out two broken and old things, a pair of fingers, each with a colorless and transparent corundum, one of which was cracked, and the other One is full of scars.

"Who did they belong to? I can't remember clearly. It seems to be a well-known warrior and a follower who will never leave. This is their ring."

The old spirit held up the pair of fingers, and blew out raging fire from his mouth. The white flames of thousands of degrees dyed the fingers golden. It was constantly deformed, twisted and changed in size, as if being hit and recast by dozens of invisible hammers. .

The old spirit murmured, and began the stone-giving ceremony.

"Gold to the concubine!"

Under the light of the moon, it seemed that the solid moonlight gathered on the pair of rings, and the cold ring fingers revealed a cool silver luster.

"Silver for the jester!"

Seeing that Lingweng's ten fingers changed, he used a sharp and exquisite knife and pestle to clamp, and took out two old corundum.

The radiance of the stone clumps merged into one place, turning into the color of rose bronze, where the condensed place, the corundum that had been scarred and scarred became clean and clean again.

"Coppers are a trick to fool businessmen!"

While the fingers are still warm——

——Lingweng re-inserted the two stones back.

The last prayer of the ceremony was said.

"Only steel, cold steel, is the king of metals."

All is at peace.

The old spirit held the pair of thick, heavy rings in both hands.

"Little guy, this is your possession, the life-protecting talisman."

Xue Ming stepped forward, received the gift respectfully, and took the couple away.

Completion of the Stone Giving Ceremony——

——The old spirit's body collapsed with a crash, revealing the soul inside.

"Seventeen hundred and seventy-seven grains of steel, that's your cold, hard soul.

Three hundred and twenty-nine grains of silver, that is your noble spirit.

One hundred and seventy-seven grains of transparent corundum, that is your will that is as clear as water.

Three hundred and seventeen grains of soil, burned into pure carbon, is the soul and flesh you will eventually return to the earth. "

The old spirit's body was torn apart, as if his soul had drifted back to its original place.

"With a total gravity of 2,600 grains and a weight of 168 grams, as a ring, you don't think it's heavy—because it needs two people to carry it for a lifetime—the ring will Once handed over to your attendant, share these two stones with her."

Under the statue of the monument, only the lonely shadow of Jiang Xueming remained.

The dilapidated jewelry has been moved to a vacant seat due to the manifestation of the spirit ong, and that vacant seat reveals the monument's speech, which is given to all passengers.

[I am the messenger of iron and flame, a craftsman who shares weal and woe with you, may you become a new legend. ]

[——φαιστο]