Abyss Express

Walk through the porch passage.

Walking more than a hundred meters to the entrance of the hall, after passing the red doors of the eight large banquet halls, Jiang Xueming came to the first courtyard of the welcome hall.

He saw the red pine forest in the courtyard, surrounded by sixteen large terraces, and behind the terraces were the living areas—dining room, bathhouse, entertainment room and gymnasium.

Enter the largest internal building of the welcome hall through the main road of the first courtyard.

On the wall of the corridor of the archway, he also saw the name of this place written on the road sign - called [Five Kings Council].

Going tens of meters into the wide arched corridor and walking more than a hundred meters, you will come to the central office.

On both sides are magnificent relief walls and colorful paintings.

Five gold-edged oil paintings hang high in the hall, facing all the guests.

The lobby of the office was crowded with people, but it was unusually quiet. I saw waiters taking their passengers back and forth to each counter to do business.

From Xue Ming's point of view, these passengers had no particularly obvious characteristics, and there were all healthy, disabled, men, women, and children. The age distribution is also quite random.

He wanted to stop for a few minutes, but he saw something strange, but Xiao Qi dragged him to the elevator by the arm.

"Don't I have to go through those procedures?" He stood in front of the elevator door, staring at the brass pipes and the pure black iron door, looking at the lines on the door.

Xiao Qi replied casually: "No, you are in a hurry. It's okay to make up for it later."

"Oh." He suddenly became nervous: "Is it because of Bai Lu's condition?"

Xiaoqi nodded: "That's right, your sister's illness is very special."

Xueming asked: "Are you clear? Seventh brother, can you explain to me?"

Before the words fell, the elevator door opened. Get out of the hasty travelers.

Most of them were wearing long clothes to keep out the cold, with a strange smell of rust on their bodies, and their expressions were sad, as if they had just received bad news.

As they got closer, one of the passengers walked past Xue Ming.

At that moment, Jiang Xueming clearly caught the clue.

He could see very clearly that the tall traveler who had just passed him was watching from the gap between the high-necked long coat and the hood.

Hiding in the shadows, the neck and nose are tinged with scarlet.

Xueming will never forget that color in his life.

That is the disease that tortured my sister.

He murmured, "They."

Before he finished speaking, Xiao Qi pulled Xue Ming into the elevator, "Shh, don't ask too many questions."

There are only Xue Ming and Xiao Qi in the elevator.

Swipe the elevator magnetic card over the sensor once, and the button on the 51st floor will light up.

Then, there is a long wait.

There was no one around, Xue Ming finally asked tentatively.

"Those passengers just now... I saw that one of them also had red spots on his face. It is very similar to the strange disease on my sister."

"Yes, they have the same disease." Xiao Qi hugged each other with a serious expression, without any intention of joking: "That's why we arranged for you to meet the boss in advance."

Xue Ming was worried: "Are many people suffering from this disease? Can it be saved?"

Xiao Qi: "Of course it can be saved, but this is the first time we have discovered [Vita Brand] in the world of ordinary people."

Xue Ming: "Weta Brand?"

"Yes, the name of this disease is Vita branding. I originally thought that when you knew the secret of those two tickets, you should have been mentally prepared." Xiaoqi turned his head to the side and looked into Jiang Xueming's eyes : "We are not ordinary people. We can see abnormalities in the ordinary world, things that are imperceptible to ordinary people. Or the money in their eyes becomes a ticket in our eyes. Have you ever thought about it? Eyes and heads, our bodies and souls, are beyond common sense."

Xueming nodded——

——Xiao Qi continued.

"The history of this station is very old. According to the grandfather of the station administrator, this station has been in operation for a long time when he was young."

Xueming asked again: "What are these passengers traveling by car for?"

"I'm new here, and I don't know too well, but the BOSS and us migrant workers have told us not to ask guests about their personal affairs. I think it must be very important, just like you came here for your sister. Just like the train station, other passengers also have things they must do and reasons they must go, so they got on this train.” Xiao Qi pondered: “One thing is certain, I have seen with my own eyes that most of the passengers come to After riding here, the brand of Vita will appear on the body."

Xue Ming swallowed his saliva and became nervous, "Will I get this disease too? Vita brand?"

"Not at first." Xiaoqi comforted Xueming: "Only passengers who have traveled many times, traveled too far in the underground world, and stayed in other places for too long, will this red spot appear on their bodies."

Xue Ming asked eagerly: "Does it have any other symptoms? If it is cured, will there be any sequelae? Does this name have any meaning?"

"At first it was very similar to the symptoms of lupus erythematosus." Xiaoqi carefully recalled the notes in the employee handbook: "The patient's skin will appear large patches of pimples, which will later evolve into fatty nodules, accompanied by angina and lung cancer. capillary embolism."

The number of elevators goes up a little bit.

Xueming's mind sank a little bit.

"This process will be very slow and last for ten months, just like pregnancy. It will be accompanied by great pain." Xiao Qi's tone became colder and colder: "When the patient's skin is completely red, other pathogenic microorganisms They will swarm in when the immune system collapses. For example, various cytomegaloviruses and common hepatitis viruses. At this time, patients will start to have nightmares——

——The patient's lungs and kidneys are the first to fail in the later stage, accompanied by large areas of organ inflammation. At this time, the patient will start to suffer from hysteria.

——Then a deep red butterfly mark will appear on the surface of the skin. When heart failure occurs, the spiritual world will also collapse, and the patient will completely fall into madness.

——When the gate of death is reached, the digestive tract of almost all patients will stop working, and the fluid in the chest and lung diaphragm will be transferred to the dead lower body. Like a pregnant woman waiting to give birth. "

Just hearing these adjectives and thinking about his sister's miserable condition on the hospital bed made his teeth chatter and sweat drenched.

Xiao Qi tried hard to recall, trying to explain every detail in the employee handbook.

"Finally, the umbilical cord we were born with—at the navel, the high pressure from the fatty fluid in that part can burst the skin and muscles, tearing open the patient.

There will be necrotic 'contents' pouring out of it, as well as groups of parasites that live in symbiosis with the human body. The patient's body is like a nutrient-rich petri dish, which gave birth to these lives during the ten months. There are two types of insects that are more common.

One of them, we call it Mrs. Bai, is a larva, but the size of a grain of rice and shaped like a gourd.

The other is the adult body of Mrs. Bai, we call it the crazy butterfly. Its eye pattern is very similar to that of a morpho, but all morpho are blue—this red morpho was born from the brand of Vita and came to this world with the virus.

After Madam Bai left the patient's body, she would die within a few seconds in the blink of an eye. But the Crazy Butterfly will fly farther away, as if the deeper part of the underground world is its destination. The scale powder on its body, including itself, is also the source of the Vita brand. As for the name of this disease."

Xiao Qi stroked her chin and thought about it for a long time.

"Vita. Vita is right, it comes from the Latin family, and it represents the meaning of life. It should be called the imprint of life in translation."

"This strange disease has such a name?" Xue Ming clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, thinking that his sister was still suffering terribly under the torment of the disease.

"For those bugs." Xiao Qi patted Xue Ming on the shoulder, telling him to be calm: "It is a symbol of life."

"You told me before that there is a special medicine for this disease." Xue Ming pressed aggressively: "As long as I get on the train as agreed and return to the station, the special medicine will be given to me? Is it true?"

"That's right, Mr. Jiang Xueming." Xiao Qi showed a friendly and pleasant smile: "Many of our passengers have already used this special medicine, and it has cured the Vita brand on their bodies. There is no sequelae left. However."

The friendly and pleasant smile turned into a terrifying sneer.

"I don't know if you can accept it, but I still want to remind you, sir. The main extract of this medicine comes from the larvae of the mad butterfly. We use Mrs. Bai to make it. Its medicinal effect is very miraculous. It can almost cure you. Any disease within the known range—as long as it is an amniote in nature, whether it is a man or an animal, this panacea will work on them or them.”

These words made Jiang Xueming's scalp tingle.

If it is said that the special medicine is made from the larvae branded by Vita.

The petri dish in which the larvae are grown.

"I know what you are worried about." Xiao Qi grinned like a witch who can read minds: "All the staff at Nine Worlds Station, including the pharmaceutical unit, will cherish the life of every natural person in the world. Most of the cure-alls you get are manufactured by other methods in the pharmaceutical workshop of the factory."

The elevator door opened.

The two went out.

Jiang Xueming didn't know whether what this woman said was true or not.

But does he have other options?

"What should I do?" Jiang Xueming calmed down——

——There was only one thing on his mind, to get the medicine and save Bai Lu.

"We understand that your family's situation is quite special." Xiaoqi led the way ahead: "So I directly arranged another bus for you, and I can leave at any time."

In the corridor outside the elevator, outside the window are the rails suspended at a height of more than 200 meters.

Xueming saw it——

—he saw the red and black steam train.

"After getting on the bus, the BOSS will come to see you in person and tell you what you need to do during this journey." Coming to the platform tower, Xiao Qi said while taking a whole set of warm clothes from the locker hanger New clothes, put on Xueming.

When he put on his clothes, they felt very close, as if they were tailor-made for him.

He asked, "What does the boss look like?"

"You look up to the middle of the second platform and the third platform, above the tallest tower." Xiaoqi pointed to somewhere.

Responding to Seventh Brother's hand, behind a towering tower surrounded by red mist. In the center of the four platforms, there is a portrait under the clock dial of the tallest tower.

In the portrait, a young woman in a burgundy suit is depicted.

She sat in the study, behind the old shutters. The desk next to him was full of documents, as if he had acted as a temporary model for a painter at work. He looked very hasty, and his short black hair that reached the ear was not taken care of.

There are no accessories, necklaces, rings or earrings, very simple.

She looks very ordinary, without makeup. There was not much blood on his face. It looked lifeless in the light of moonlight and kerosene headlamps.

It is worth mentioning that she is holding a black cat in her arms. Like a frivolous, dissolute and arrogant naughty ghost, he turned towards his master and showed his claws, and grinned at the painter, as if he was grinning.

"This is the owner of this station?" Xue Ming was surprised by this ordinary woman.

Because Xiaoqi complained repeatedly before, the boss here is very artificial, and the series of welcome arrangements reveal a kind of cumbersome and complicated, maddening sense of injustice.

"Yes." Xiao Qi stuffed the thick note, which was no more than the size of a palm, into Mr. Xue Ming's pocket, "Mr. Xue Ming, it's time for you to get in the car."

They stood by the boarding gate and heard the railway workers knocking on the rails, checking the movement of the pipelines and hubs.

There was a loud whistle from the administrator's old man in the distance.

All this is like a dream to Xue Ming——

——From an ordinary person to a traveler in the underground world, he is about to embark on an unknown journey.

He just took a step towards the iron mesh steps at the boarding gate. He also asked Xiaoqi to tear it off.

"Wait! Wait, wait!" Xiao Qi shouted.

He looked at Xiaoqi suspiciously: "What's the matter? Is there anything else I need to order? It's best to make it clear at once - you said you are a newcomer, this matter is related to my sister's life, brother Qi. I... "

"Yes, what I told you is correct." Xiao Qi was a little flustered, and she didn't know why, holding a handkerchief in her hand: "Come over here, there are some things that are inconvenient for me to say in front of these staff."

Xue Ming leaned forward and put his ear to Brother Seven's mouth.

"What I'm going to say is just my guess. You don't have to take it too seriously."

Xiaoqi whispered softly:

"The brand of Vita is a gift from this underground world to us extraordinary beings.

It's so terrifying and so fascinating—

——Crazy butterflies can kill, and panacea can save lives.

——There will be no pies in the sky, BOSS will never do business that loses money, she arranges the journey for the passengers, and the passengers get treasures at the end of the journey, all of these are probably equal.

—Mr. Xueming, you have to be careful, as I told you at the beginning. You and I are in an equal employment relationship. I don't want to have only one encounter with my first guest. "

Immediately afterwards, another lipstick mark appeared on Jiang Xueming's face.

Contrary to the previous position, left and right are equal.

Xiaoqi wiped it clean again.

"I hope you can return safely."

This scene moved Xue Ming a little.

To be honest, Brother Seven, he thinks he can get along with him.

Not to mention the difference between men and women, this was the first person he met who cared so much about him after leaving his hometown.

It's just that after he got in the car, he heard Seventh Brother screaming and laughing strangely from a distance, and saw her cheering, jumping, jumping and running wildly towards the aisle of the room department.

Along the way, she waved her small fists, as if she had won a boxing match, crumpled up Xue Ming's old clothes, and shot a three-pointer into the laundry basket.

"YAHOOOOOOOOOOO! I'm kissing again! Earned it!~"

This scene made Jiang Xueming look strange. The friendship boat that had just been brewed in his heart fell into a strange vortex before he drifted far in the boundless sea of ​​suffering. He didn't know what expression to make.