OBS Chapter 250 Departure for Pinocchio
Chapter 250 Departure for Pinocchio
In the vast expanse of space, a train is parked in this star field; this train is the one that resounds throughout the universe.
It belongs to the deceased star god Archivist, who once traveled the universe on this train, establishing silver tracks to connect various worlds. Those who boarded this train to practice the way of exploration were called nameless travelers.
Unfortunately, due to Akivili's passing, the scene of several trains traveling together in the universe is long gone, and now only one Star Train, led by navigator Himeko, remains active in the universe.
They are now preparing to accept an invitation from their family to attend a grand concert held by the family in a place called Dreamland Pinocene. At this time, they are holding their routine pre-jump meeting.
"Speaking of which, Kiana, are you really coming to Pinocchio with us?" March 7 asked. "Didn't you say you were leaving after the matter on the Celestial Ship was resolved?"
"I'd also like to know on this point: does He really agree to you continuing our journey together?" Walter asked.
"Don't worry, our next destination has been confirmed as Pinocchio," Kiana said, hands on her hips. "So we can naturally continue our journey together."
"I see," Himeko said. "Then what about the others? Aren't they coming with us?"
"The captain and the others have already set off for Pinocchio in the Hyperion. After all, we weren't invited by the family, and if we want to attend the concert, we need to hurry and book rooms."
“But Pinocchio is a world-renowned luxury hotel. Are you sure you can afford the high prices there?” Himeko asked worriedly. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to look down on your financial resources, but the prices there are indeed beyond the reach of ordinary people.”
"You don't need to worry about that. Before we went there, we already arranged with Black Tower to have her fund the money we needed. Consider it payment for the Soul Steel and Honkai Energy I gave her back then."
Hearing this, Himeko couldn't help but smile: "In that case, it's more accurate to say that Aesta sponsored you rather than the Black Tower sponsoring you?"
“That’s not wrong.” Kiana scratched her head. “After all, when I talked to Black Tower about this, she directly gave me Estella’s chat account. And when Estella heard that Black Tower had asked her to do it, she generously gave me over a billion credits, and even said that if it wasn’t enough, I could ask her for more.”
"Over a billion?!" March 7 exclaimed in surprise, then added knowingly, "I have to say, she's truly worthy of her name. She's so generous."
"I kind of regret getting on the bus," Xing said, resting her chin on her hand.
"Hey! Even if our Starry Sky Train isn't that rich, it's still because Está's family is wealthy. Besides, don't you think you're having a great time on the train?"
Dan Heng said wearily, "I have never felt happy."
"So I've decided, I'm leaving the Star Train to become Estádio's most loyal... Ugh!!!"
Before Xing could finish saying "March 7th," she quickly covered Xing's mouth, not wanting to hear any more of Xing's outrageous remarks.
"Himeko, let's hurry to Pinocchio!"
"Alright, I've already covered the precautions, so Pam, let's begin the jump."
"I understand, Pa."
After saying that, Pam went to activate the warp system. Accompanied by a dazzling streak of light, the train arrived near the Asgard system where Pinocchio was located. However, before the train could come to a safe stop, the entire train began to shake violently.
During the shaking, Xing lost consciousness. When she woke up, she found that her surroundings had become strange and her companions were no longer nearby.
The twisted parts and unknown bubbles all around told Xing that this was not the interior of the Starry Sky Train. With a sense of vigilance, Xing pushed open the only door.
After passing through what seemed like an endless corridor, a purple-haired figure appeared ahead of them.
After noticing Xing, she first muttered a complaint under her breath, and then began to introduce Xing to the place.
Simply put, this place is made up of the dreams of many people. In academic terms, this phenomenon is called synesthetic dreaming, which is unique to this galaxy.
Because of the abundance of synesthetic memory, people's dreams are captured and linked together by these memories after they fall asleep. In the past, when Pinocone was still the prison planet owned by the company, the prisoners here used synesthetic dreams to plot the liberation of Pinocone.
However, none of this matters to Xing now. Originally, no one should have come here. It seems that Xing must be the kind of person who is very sensitive to memory, which is why he came here. But there is no need to worry, since this woman has promised to take Xing out safely.
Although Xing didn't completely trust the woman in front of her, there were only the two of them there, and for some reason Xing felt that the woman looked very familiar. Helpless, Xing had no choice but to follow the woman.
Finally, the woman stopped in front of a large door and gestured that reality lay beyond it. At that moment, Xing finally remembered why she felt a strange sense of familiarity with the woman in front of her.
The woman in front of him had appeared in the group chat before, but Xing couldn't quite remember what the list was. Logically, it shouldn't be like that, but that's not important. If Xing remembered correctly, the woman in front of him should be called Huang Quan.
After receiving Huang Quan's affirmative answer, Xing subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. Before parting ways, Huang Quan asked Xing a question.
Although Xing didn't know why Huang Quan was asking these questions, she answered truthfully. Then Huang Quan drew her sword and slashed at Xing. In a burst of pain, Xing's consciousness began to rise.
After breaking through the pitch-black space, Xing opened her eyes and found herself back inside the familiar train, where March 7th was looking at her with a worried expression.
"Are you alright? The train encountered some jolts just now, and you fainted immediately. After we arrived safely in Pinocchio, I called your name for a long time, but you didn't respond. If Kiana hadn't said that you were just unconscious due to the effects of memory and were not seriously injured, I would have told Pam to let it go back and find someone to rescue you!"
"I'm fine," Xing said, covering her head. "I just had a dream."
"A dream?" Kiana stepped forward and asked, "What kind of dream was it? Can you tell us?"
Xing tried hard to recall the contents of the dream, but no matter how hard she tried, the dream was always blurry and she couldn't make sense of it.
"Sorry, I don't remember."
"Let's leave the worries aside for now. Hoshino, there's something I want to confirm with you," Himeko said. "Because of the accident just now, you fell into a coma. For safety reasons, you shouldn't have gotten off the bus in a place like Pinocene, which is full of memory matter. It's good that Danheng can have company, but I still respect your personal wishes. Do you want to end the journey in Pinocene here, or do you want to get off the bus and join us on the next exploration trip?"
After thinking it over for a while, Xing finally decided to get off the bus.
"Since it's your choice, we will naturally respect your decision. So, the team for this pioneering journey will remain the same: me, Walter, March 7th, and Xing will go together, while Danheng will stay on the train. Does anyone have any objections?"
“I have no objection,” Danheng said.
"No!" said March 7th. "Don't worry, Danheng, I will definitely bring you back lots of gifts!"
“I’ll take photos of you every day so you’ll regret giving me this opportunity,” Xing retorted defiantly.
"..."
"Then I'll get off the bus first and meet up with the captain and the others. We'll see you at Pinocchio later."
Kiana waved goodbye to everyone, and after getting off the train, her figure disappeared into the hotel lobby.
When Hoshino and the others arrived at the front desk to check in, Kiana was nowhere to be seen. Just as Hoshino was starting to feel something was off, Himeko's check-in process also ran into problems.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Xing's name is not on our invitation list. There is only one person named Dan Heng on the Starry Sky Train's list," the receptionist apologized.
“I am Dan Heng,” Xing said as he stepped forward.
"Please don't be silly, sir. Our list here includes detailed photos of the invited guests, and Danheng is a man. You are a woman, so you can't possibly be Mr. Danheng, can you?"
"That shouldn't be the case. Our Starry Sky Train was also invited here, so how come we don't have any spots for Stars?" Himeko said, troubled.
"Could it be because Xing hadn't joined the train when we replied?" Walter asked.
“That’s possible,” Himeko said, then she suggested to the receptionist, “How about this, since Dan Heng on the list couldn’t come for personal reasons, could we give his spot to Xing?”
"I'm sorry, we can't make that decision."
At this point, the guests behind them also began to lose patience. Himeko naturally knew that she was in the wrong, so she first apologized to the people behind her and then began to do them a favor.
After all, it is the Star Train. Even though Akivili has passed away, the Star Train, or rather the Nameless One, is still very famous throughout the universe. If one can get the favor owed by the Nameless One, it would certainly be a good option.
But they were just a group of ordinary tourists who came to participate in the music festival, and they didn't have the ability to help solve the problem, so the whole scene was awkward for a while.
In the end, a richly dressed blond man stepped forward and solved the problem. The man claimed that Sand Gold, as the company's representative, was also invited by his family to attend the Xie Le Grand Ceremony.
He also expressed great interest in the rumored legacy of the watchmaker and hoped to discuss it with everyone on the Starry Sky Train later if possible.
However, after being rejected by Himeko, Sand Gold didn't waste any words. After negotiating a solution with the receptionist, he left with his men. Judging from his appearance, he was probably preparing to meet Sunday, the current head of Pinocchio, who was also the patriarch of the Oak family and the brother of the Galactic Giant Robin, just as he had said.
Just as Sand Gold passed by Star, he secretly extended an invitation to her, but Star refused again.
However, Sand Gold was not discouraged. Even though Star had clearly refused, he still said that he would come to see her after he finished dealing with his business.
After a series of twists and turns, the passengers on the Starry Sky Train successfully completed their check-in procedures. However, upon returning to their respective rooms, Xing discovered that someone had already arrived at their room.
Upon closer inspection, it was none other than Sand Gold, whom they had just met in the hall. Sand Gold turned around and looked at Xing with a slight smile on his face.
"What are you doing in my room?" Xing asked.
“It’s simple, because this was my room before the system was running,” Sand Gold replied. “Great! This is my favorite room, after all, a suitable room number can bring me good luck, it’s just a pity that I’m giving it to you now.”
Why is it your room?
“You’re really naive!” Sand Gold laughed. “With the Grand Ceremony of Harmony just around the corner, people all over the universe are paying attention to it. The hotel is packed with people every day, and there are no rooms available at all.”
Since I promised to help you with your hotel accommodations, I naturally have to show my appreciation. So, I guess I'll have to give you my room. How about it? Shouldn't you repay me? Of course, you don't have to repay me; just consider it making friends. I'm always very hospitable to my friends.”
"I have nothing to say to you."
“Don’t be so cold. Oh! I know, it’s because of the Toppa thing, right?” Sand Gold asked.
"Topa? How did you know?"
"After all, I was her colleague, so I naturally know a bit about her affairs. Not to mention, Ariello VI's debt was one of the few tasks she failed to collect, so I naturally have a deep impression of it."
"But don't worry, I'm different from her. I won't say one thing to your face and another behind your back. So, how about we put aside our prejudices against the company and work together to find the watchmaker's legacy?"
Xing didn't speak. To be honest, she had no recollection of the watchmaker's legacy; no one had mentioned it to her, neither on the train nor before she got off.
Seeing that Xing remained silent, Sha Jin smiled and moved closer to Xing, tossing a coin in his hand.
"Let's play a game. We'll bet on this coin. If I win, you'll cooperate with me. If I lose, I'll leave and we'll never discuss cooperation again, okay?"
Xing, sweating profusely, looked at the approaching Sand Gold. Ever since this man uttered the word "gamble," his entire demeanor had changed, and now he exuded an oppressive aura.
Just then, a clear yet familiar voice rang out from the doorway.
What are you doing in my room?
Looking around, Xing saw that the person standing at the door was Huang Quan, whom she had met once before. Sha Jin was taken aback when she saw that it was Huang Quan, but then she smiled and left.
"Looks like someone beat me to it. Let's call it a day then. But as I said before, you're already in the game. If you change your mind, you can come to me anytime. You'll always be my most important partner."
After saying that, he left.