Star Railway: The Pioneer's Journey

Chapter 33: Finally, we've reached the lower levels.

Sambo said that in all his years as a con artist and all the fun he's had, he's never encountered anything like this... where the show was ruined before it even started.

He had already heard the arrogant laughter of his Lord [Joy].

He wanted to turn things around, but the first order of the [Hunting] made him really cruel.

I'm sorry, brothers and sisters at the tavern, I can't bring you any joy this time.

QAQ.

"By the way, when did you go to the tavern?"

As they walked towards the lower level, Sambo asked curiously, "I don't seem to remember seeing you before?"

"Not long after I parted ways with Arashi, I went to see it with Aha. It was a very interesting place, but that was the only time. It just so happened that you were there too, so I remembered it."

Yun said it without a care.

Sambo blinked: "It was [Joy] who brought you here."

No wonder it happened so quietly that almost no one noticed.

If it was brought by the Star God himself, they would really have a hard time detecting it.

March 7th was a little more sensitive: "Speaking of which, Zhi, you always seem to refer to the [Joy] Star God by her full name."

Mingming, the other Star Gods, except for Lan who was familiar with him, all addressed Yun Zhi with more respect—except for the Pharmacist, of course.

Yunzhi recalled some messy stories from the past, and her head started to ache.

"At first, I addressed him very formally. The people of the Immortal Boat called him Chang Le Tian Jun, and I addressed him properly as well."

"However, I soon discovered that you can't be disciplined by Him at all, otherwise He will try every means to make the other person unruly—didn't Xing see that? When he was simulating the universe, he brought Lan into it."

They're still using such a lame excuse!

Xing's eyes widened slightly as she recalled that incident and couldn't help but laugh.

Indeed, Aha used the tired trope of "stand-in white moonlight" when he called Arashi over, and the key point is that [Hunter] actually came.

Finally, Black Tower and his crew even turned on ambient lighting, and [Memory] even took a picture of it.

I can't help but laugh a little longer, just a little longer.

March 7th and Danheng were unaware of this. They looked at the patriarch and Xinghe Jing with some confusion, wondering what kind of riddle they were playing.

Sangbo looked at Yunzhi's expression, wondering what his master had done.

So he sidled up to him: "Tell me more?" What kind of fun did my master find?

"No further details."

Then, he was firmly rejected by Yun.

That incident has already made Ahha and Liuguang Tianjun Fuli laugh at us, so it's really not appropriate to continue talking about it.

Sangbo turned his gaze away in disappointment—but it didn't matter, Yunzhi wasn't the only one who knew about this.

Isn't there a raccoon on the other side?

That person looks easy to fool.

However, we still need to consider this carefully...

The journey to the lower level was quite long, and during this time, Sambo gave the train crew a brief introduction to the current settlement of the Yalilo-6.

First, there's the major city in the upper district, Belleburg.

That was the spark of Yalilo-6, the protective sanctuary built by the city builders.

Here, the last spark of humanity in Belleburg is preserved, but that's all.

"...Now more than seven hundred years have passed, the rifts are constantly increasing, and the wind and snow are eroding human settlements. No one knows how much longer Beloberg can hold out, does he?"

Sambo commented: "The most terrible despair is a hopeless delay."

March 7th shuddered: "Yeah, just think about it, if someone is even slightly pessimistic, they'll soon choose to leave this world out of despair... How terrifying."

Sambo shrugged: "Moreover, this High Guardian has sealed off the Lower District. Don't look at me, I have my own way of taking you there, but I have a question."

He turned to look at Yunzhi, but his eyes betrayed no joke:

"True Lord, tell me, is the Amber King truly protecting this place?"

If it's been protected, why is the hope for this place becoming increasingly slim?

He asked the question very seriously, but I always felt that there was a sense of joy hidden beneath the seriousness.

After a while...

"It's already a miracle that the old man even bothered to glance at this place; what more do you expect from him?"

Yun Zhi was immune to this kind of question: "Many people ask me why the Star Gods don't look at their followers. Forgive me for speaking frankly, but the Star Gods don't need followers. They are just a highly aggregated philosophical concept, not the gods that people imagine and that need to rely on faith to exist."

He had said this countless times, but no matter how many times he said it, he only had one feeling.

That is fatigue.

"So forget about protection or not. Are there any people in the lower district who know the history of Belleburg?"

Let's change the subject. There's no need to dwell too much on the Star God.

Sambo didn't want to ask any further: "Yes, the lower district has only been sealed off for about ten years. There must be people who know everything about Belloberg, like me. Just ask me and I'll answer. The price is negotiable."

"...I think I'll go ask someone in the lower district."

No matter how much money you have, you shouldn't spend it like this.

I will never be scammed out of money in my lifetime, never.

Sambo was extremely disappointed, and drawled, "Fine, fine, look, that's my secret passage to the lower levels!"

...A very, very well hidden basement?

"That's right, this is the place. Originally, there was a special passage connecting the upper and lower levels. It's a pity that the current Grand Guardian... well, never mind."

Sambo seemed to be lamenting, yet also gloating.

Yunzhi glanced at him, not afraid of his tricks, and jumped into the basement with him. Then she turned around, reached out her hand, and protected the three little ones as they jumped down.

He asked, seemingly casually, "Who is this new Grand Guardian?"

Sambo immediately replied, "Oh, her name is Cocolia. She's incredibly capable, but unfortunately, some of her methods are too extreme..."

Cocolia?

Yunzhi didn't listen to what Sangbo said next.

If it's Cocolia, then the lower levels being sealed off... isn't really that strange.

Ahem, although it's not quite appropriate to apply the setting of Honkai Impact 3rd, it still feels very familiar.

"She probably has a daughter named Bronya, doesn't she?"

"Oh, there really is... How did you know?"

Sangbo looked at Yunzhi in surprise. What happened to him saying he knew nothing about the upper district?

Yun Zhi sighed deeply.

I recalled the game's storyline back then...

"Is there a little girl named Seele with Bronya?"

This time, Sambo shook his head: "Seele is a child from the lower district. What connection does she have with the young ladies from the upper district? Do you know Seele?"

Yeah, we met through a phone screen during Honkai Impact 3rd.

The three little ones also looked at Yunzhi expectantly.

"Zhi, you seem to know a lot," March 7th blinked and asked.

"If you ask Walter, he can give you a general idea."

They're all acquaintances. Yunzhi is quite curious about what Walter's intentions are in coming here.