Chapter 307: Returning Along the Way

There were only two goose-yellow night lights on in the duplex suite of the carriage.

Youxi wrapped herself in a thin nightgown, wore soft slippers on her bare feet, and walked lightly up the stairs to the leisure tea bar area on the upper floor.

This area occupied one end of the train carriage, and on one side was a specially enlarged landscape glass window. When sitting on the couch, as long as you turn your head, you can take in the scenery outside the window.

It was five o'clock in the morning - the time displayed on the bracelet dial. She opened the electric curtains and saw that it was still dark outside, and the endless fields outside the window had turned into a deep canyon.

The train tracks were placed on the canyon, a long canyon. From her perspective, she could just put her cheek against the glass and catch a glimpse of the winding tracks ahead.

Two meters to the left of the tracks was a canyon several hundred meters deep. Dense plants and a rushing river could be seen at the bottom of the valley. To the right of the tracks were steep and towering mountain walls.

She had taken such a canyon train with her classmates when she graduated from college.

Sitting quietly here, looking at the scenery outside the window without thinking about anything, she felt dazed, as if she had returned to the original world.

However, it was still dark outside, and everything was dark as far as she could see. But she could still see the scenery outside clearly, and even the splashing water in the river at the bottom of the valley could be seen clearly.

Such super vision is silently reminding her that she is no longer the ordinary girl who just graduated from college, and she is not in her native world.

She is in the world of endless trains. She has passed one station after another. At this moment, the golden train carrying them is heading towards the unknown. And she can't even tell whether the scenery outside the glass is real or fake.

She suddenly wanted to talk to someone, but didn't want to disturb Tang Yatong and You Zhenzhen who were still sleeping, so she tried to call in her mind: Are you awake?

As soon as she finished thinking, Xing Min's voice came into her mind, neutral and slightly cold, completely different from his voice when he spoke, but it was the voice that she was accustomed to and accompanied her through several mission worlds.

[Can't sleep? 】

Youxi: Were you woken up by me, or did you not sleep?

【I slept for a while and woke up. 】

Youxi: Did you see the canyon outside? Although I know that what I see with my eyes is likely to be a virtual picture, I still feel happy in my heart for such a magnificent scenery. You see, there are silent clouds in the sky before dawn, the eastern sky is gradually turning bluish white, the river water splashes beautiful water when it hits the rocks, there are birds circling on the cliffs, and tenacious plants grow obliquely from the cracks in the mountain walls, blooming beautiful flowers... All of this is so moving, if it is just a virtual picture, it would be too real.

【This is what I said before, the difference between the virtual world and the low-latitude world. It makes you feel real, vivid and moving, and it has actually transcended the scope of the virtual world.

Youxi: So you think the scenery outside the window is real? This golden train really travels through these scenes.

Don't worry about it. When the truth or falsehood of a thing cannot hinder you, you can choose to turn a blind eye or immerse yourself in it. No matter where you are, as long as you know the road ahead, what you are doing and what you will do in the future, the rest is not that important...

As he spoke, the train had already sped through the long canyon and broke through the towering cliffs. At the end of the canyon, at the corner of the cliff, the scenery in front of her suddenly became clear.

What appeared in front of her was an endless sea.

The light of sunrise gradually broke through the clouds, and the rails continued to move forward along the winding coastline. Not long after, Tang Yatong also woke up. She saw Youxi sitting in the upper leisure area, putting on her clothes and walking up the stairs.

"How long have you been awake?" Tang Yatong came to her side and reached out to press her hair.

"About an hour."

"Zhenzhen checked the opening hours and specific conditions of the functional carriages on the train through her bracelet last night, and even decided the order of the carriages to go to today..."

Youxi smiled: "Then let's follow her today. Everyone should be very tired these days, let's relax."

Tang Yatong looked down at her. She could probably guess what Youxi was worried about. Leng Mian spent so much effort to send them all into this world and to her side, which also hinted at something.

Everyone has the same goal and has long been prepared for the battle, especially her and Lin Wu. Both of them are taskers of the system tower. Participating in this matter also means that they will confront their own systems, taking greater risks than others, and have already made the worst plan in their hearts.

But they have gone through so many stations and now even boarded the golden train that may lead to the final station. The battle they thought would happen never came.

As the central figure who holds all of them together, she must care more about this matter than they do.

Tang Yatong didn't say much, but pressed her hair again: "Don't think too much, we are all together. You just need to know that this is not only your wish, but also our own wish." "

Yeah." You Xi looked up at each other and put his arm around her waist.

**

You Xi and Tang Yatong called room service through the bracelet, and when the attendant brought breakfast, You Zhenzhen also woke up - she was awakened by the aroma of curry beef vermicelli soup.

Compared to the exquisite and expensive sashimi steaks, large pizzas and burgers, You Zhenzhen actually loves the delicacies and snacks of her own country.

"There are these on the train?" She simply washed up and sat down at the table without even having time to comb her hair.

On the table, in addition to curry beef vermicelli soup, there were also crab meat dumplings, fried dough sticks, tea leaf eggs, hand-pulled pancakes, bubble wontons... and a pyramid-shaped fruit platter.

These foods not only look good, but also taste very authentic.

When they were halfway through breakfast, the doorbell of the duplex suite rang. After Youxi opened the door, Xiyuan, who was standing outside, gave her a hug: "Good morning, Xiaoxi..."

You Zhenzhen, who was standing at the dining table, looked at him with disgust: "Good morning, why do you want to hug her? Did my mother agree that you can hug her?"

"What do you care? I am her person, and her words count." Xiyuan glanced at her, and deliberately put his chin on Youxi's shoulder, hugging her tighter.

"..." Youxi didn't think it was strange, and even got used to it. She reached out and patted his back, "Okay, have you had breakfast? If not, have some more. There is your favorite crab meat cage."

With just one simple sentence, Xiyuan's fur was smoothed out in an instant. He let go of Youxi and happily joined the breakfast ranks.

After Xiyuan left, Youxi saw Xingmin outside the door. He didn't come in right away. His lake-blue eyes were looking at her with a look that she didn't quite understand.

Youxi asked, "You're not coming in?"

She was answered by a man leaning over to hug her. Unlike Xiyuan's hug, Xingmin's movements were more gentle and slow. He pressed the back of her head with his slender fingers, "Good morning."

"..." Youxi was surprised for only a moment before she smiled. She leaned her face against his shoulder and patted him on the back. "The flight attendant brought over a fruit tart. It is said that it uses 18 kinds of fruits from all seasons. Go and have some."

Xingmin walked to the dining table. Before he sat down, he felt Xiyuan's gaze on him. He glanced at him sideways. Xi Yuan sat there with his arms folded, looking at him, his eyes seemed to be filled with dissatisfaction and accusation.

"What's wrong?" Xing Min said lightly.

"...Nothing." Xi Yuan was a little upset. Did he have to say in front of You Xi that the other party was deliberately imitating him to get close to her? Wouldn't this be a confession for someone else? He was not that stupid.

At the door, You Xi looked at Lin Wu, who was the last one to fall behind and seemed hesitant, and joked, "Do you want it?" She made a hugging gesture.

"..." Lin Wu clenched his fists, put them against his lips and coughed softly, his expression looked quite serious, "I just think...it's not good to enter the girls' room." As he spoke, he still walked into the suite.

You Xi:...?

You Zhenzhen, who had been perking up her ears the whole time, couldn't help but burst into laughter: "It's so early in the morning, are you going to make me laugh to death? Hahahaha... What good will it do you if I laugh to death? Hahaha..."

Xiyuan couldn't hold back his expression and stuffed a small cage into her mouth: "Eat yours."

You Zhenzhen: Mmm!

**

They were lucky. On the first day of the Golden Train Tour, the train arrived at the seaside. There is an introduction to this in the bracelet, which means that after the train tracks run along the coastline for several hours, they will enter the underwater transparent tunnel and pass through the sea.

The entire sea tunnel will last for four hours. During this period, several observation cars on the train will be open, and coffee, tea and exquisite afternoon tea will be provided.

Although all suite cars have many large windows, the observation car is different from other cars.

It has large glass windows on the walls, roof and even the bottom of the car. When encountering special scenery, even the parts without glass windows will retract the metal plates, turning the entire car into a full-scale glass car.

The sea tunnel where the rails are located is not an underwater tunnel, but is specially built in the sea area with the most biota in the seawater. The tunnel is wrapped with fully transparent metal glass, and dim lights are embedded at intervals so that passengers on the train can see outside clearly.

When sitting in such a 360-degree car with no blind spots, you can have a glimpse of the underwater world that you have never seen before.

After finishing their breakfast leisurely, they took out new clothes from the closet and put them on. You Zhenzhen chose a famous brand dress, while You Xi and Tang Yatong chose pants and casual sweatshirts, which made You Zhenzhen beside them shout "What a pity!"

They pressed the number of one of the observation cars on the door of the carriage, and then swiped their wristbands. The electronic screen on the door panel showed the waiting time for the door to open. Probably because there were other passengers who were going to this carriage at the same time, they had to queue up for the door to open.

Sure enough, when they opened the door, the observation car in front of them was already occupied by some other passengers.

You Zhenzhen, who had turned the bracelet over and over and studied it several times, told them that for the sake of passenger experience, the functional carriages here have an upper limit on the number of passengers they can accommodate. Once the number of passengers in a functional carriage reaches the upper limit, other passengers will not be able to enter.

Therefore, there are several carriages with the same function in order to meet the same needs of all passengers on the train at the same time.

After listening to this, You Xi focused on other aspects. She checked the number of seats around her, then looked at the total number of observation carriages on the bracelet, and concluded: "So, the upper limit of the number of people this train can carry at the same time is 180 people?"

Others also reacted quickly, and Lin Wu said: "So few? I thought there would be more."

"Yeah, I think it's a bit few too." You Zhenzhen nodded.

But soon, as the lights in the carriage dimmed, all the metal plates on the walls, roof and bottom of the car were removed, and everyone's attention was quickly attracted by the scenery outside.

In the pale blue light, a school of fish was passing by the glass tunnel. Small yellowish fish were swimming rapidly in the sea water, like countless petals floating in the air.

The speed of the train seemed to slow down a bit, as if to allow passengers to appreciate the scenery in the water more clearly. As the train moved forward, there were more and more schools of fish around, including blue-spotted mackerel, tuna, oriental marlin, white marlin, swordfish, sharks, rays... those they had seen or not seen, all appeared in front of them one by one, like a magnificent ocean painting.

Even missionaries like Tang Yatong and Lin Wu who have experienced many worlds, and wanderers like Xiyuan who have traveled through different worlds of the system tower for hundreds of years, were attracted at this moment, not to mention the ordinary passengers in these endless train stations.

They approached the glass one by one, stared at the almost fantastic world outside with wide eyes, and sighed.

The content of their sighs was similar. Along the way, they were always wandering on the edge of life and death, fighting with platform monsters, fighting against station disasters, and fighting with other passengers... They thought that there would be a survival fight on the train to the terminal station, but since they got on the train, everything here surprised them.

Some passengers even sighed and said that compared with the things on this train, life in reality is simply a mess. They have worked so hard to survive in each station, and now this train has everything they need. Do they really have to go to the terminal?

There are too many things that are not satisfactory in reality, such as the boss's face, the hypocrisy and flattery between colleagues in the company, always making the least money and doing the heaviest work... The responsibility of the family is on the shoulders, the children and parents who need to be taken care of all the time, the endless housework, the endless quarrels, the cars and houses that can never be afforded, and the fact that you can never go out and see the beauty of this world...

What's the point of returning to reality?

...

The voices of those people complaining in low voices suddenly stopped. They looked at their bracelets and showed some surprise after a moment.

Then several people from their respective teams gathered together and showed their bracelets to each other.

Youxi heard someone ask in a low voice: "Is it okay now?"

"It seems so."

"Then what are you waiting for, choose..."

"Wait, go back to the room first..."

After all, they were experienced passengers who had been to many stations. They did not reveal any key information in their conversation. They quickly became alert and walked to the door, entered the number of their own compartment, and left.

Youxi glanced at Xingmin, who was also watching those people leave, and then turned back to look at her.

What's going on? What to choose?

**

The same thing happened not only in the observation compartment of the sea tunnel.

You Zhenzhen arranged a very rich day trip for everyone, so they didn't stay in the observation car for too long. After tasting the exquisite afternoon tea, she took them to the music car: while enjoying the train band's songs, they could also sing on stage...

Beauty car: milk bath, sauna, essential oil massage and other services...

Video game car: there are all kinds of game consoles and somatosensory games, multiplayer battles, and prizes. Taste...

Garden Carriage: There are coffee and snacks and beautiful rattan chairs and swings. You can enjoy the beautiful sunset and dusk over the sea in the fragrance of flowers...

Dinner Carriage: A large carriage the size of two carriages, divided into two floors. Senior chefs from different regions cook food on site. Passengers are required to wear evening gowns. Self-service food is available in the carriage. You can get to know different people here, or have a meal with your own team. The lighting of the upper viewing table is very dim, and the full glass roof allows passengers to enjoy the beautiful night sky.

In addition, there are escape room carriages, cinema carriages, musical carriages, swimming pool carriages, and many more that they have not had time to visit.

...

This golden train seems to be a condensed little world, where everything reasonable or unreasonable can be found.

And Youxi, because of what happened in the observation car, had been observing other passengers from the afternoon to the evening. When the atmosphere around her reached a certain perfect peak, she would always feel that someone was making the same exclamation as the passengers in the observation car.

This train is too perfect, so it is not surprising to have such thoughts.

But the strange thing is that after these people had such thoughts and exclamations, they would all look at their bracelets, as if some message appeared there, making them look sideways.

What exactly was the message?

Why didn't they receive it?

Late at night, the six people gathered in the suite of carriage No. 28 and held a small meeting on this issue.

Tang Yatong and her friends also noticed this when they were in other functional carriages, but the passengers were very alert, and they had just boarded the train yesterday and were not familiar with the other passengers on the train, so they had no way of finding out.

Lin Wu analyzed: "The bracelet represents the train, and no matter what the information is, it should be given by the train. I don't think there is a need to rush, because we are also passengers, and it is the same for the train. It should only be a matter of time."

Tang Yatong nodded: "In short, you must be careful before getting off the train. When going to other carriages, don't act alone, at least two people must go together."

"Understood."

In the next few days, they continued to go to other functional carriages of the golden train according to the order planned by You Zhenzhen.

The scenery outside the window was also constantly changing. The train ran along the rails, across the sea, from the sand and desert to the Gobi Desert. After that, the landform changed, and the track meandered all the way up, passing through the continuous snow-capped mountains. The

snow-capped mountain section took a total of one day and one night. Youxi and his team no longer bothered whether the scenery outside the window was real or fake. Everyone had the same ability to feel the beauty of nature.

The vast sky, the magnificent snow-capped mountains, the coniferous forests covered with thick white snow at the foot of the mountain, and the goose-feather-like snowflakes falling from the sky... everything was beautiful.

The train ran for a full seven days. On the afternoon of the eighth day, when they looked out the window again, they saw the looming shadow of a building at the far end of the rails.

After a moment, a soft electronic sound rang out in the carriage.

{Dear guests of the Golden Train, we are about to arrive at the final station of this train. Passengers who need to get off please end the activities in your entertainment carriage and return to your room to pack your belongings. If you have any questions, you can call your exclusive butler. Thank you for taking this train. Countdown to arrival at the station: four hours.}

After the electronic sound was finished, a four-hour countdown popped up on the surface of Youxi's bracelet.

They were originally in the suite that day, and at this moment they looked at each other. Before they could speak, the doorbell rang.

Xiyuan went to open the door, and outside the door stood their train butler, No. 17.

The young attendant, with the same polite smile as on the first day, bowed respectfully to them while standing outside the suite door.

Xiyuan was not polite and said directly: "We didn't call you."

"Yes, we didn't call you. Sorry to disturb you, distinguished guests. The train is about to arrive at the terminal station. Do you need to get off?"

Xiyuan replied: "All six of us are getting off."

"Okay, here are six train opinion forms. Guests who need to get off please fill them out. I will come to collect the filled opinion forms one hour before arriving at the station. The Golden Train adheres to the principle of service first and customer satisfaction. Over the years, it has been working hard to make progress based on the suggestions and opinions of distinguished passengers, so please be sure to fill them out carefully."

No. 17 said, raising the tray in his hand and handing the opinion form on it to Xiyuan.

Xi Yuan looked back at You Xi, and when he saw her nodding at him, he took the stack of letters of opinion.

No. 17 bowed slightly and left Carriage No. 28 through the carriage door.

When Xi Yuan saw the carriage door closed again, he closed the door of the suite and handed the letter of opinion to his companion.

"It looks like there are no problems. They are all very common opinion checkboxes." Lin Wu glanced through it roughly, his eyes slid down to the last question, and then frowned.

The last question: Are you willing to stay and become a permanent passenger of the Golden Train?

You Zhenzhen also saw this question: "Permanent passengers? Does it mean staying on the golden train forever?" She thought of something, "Wait - could it be that the bracelet messages received by the previous passengers were also about the same problem?"

"It's very likely." Xi Yuan agreed, "Those passengers have been between stations for too long, accustomed to life and death fights, accustomed to readily available supplies, and if they were asked to go back to reality and live an ordinary life, many people might not be able to accept it..."

You Zhenzhen found it unbelievable: "But no matter how ordinary reality is, it is still reality. No matter how good this train is, it is just a train. Will anyone really choose to stay forever?"

"It's impossible for everyone to choose to stay, but someone will definitely choose to stay." Tang Yatong took out a pen and began to tick the form of opinion. "The reason why we didn't receive the message from the bracelet may be that we have never considered the issue of staying. However, the train is about to arrive at the terminal today, and all passengers who want to get off will probably face this question. Some people who don't have such strong ideas may change their minds temporarily after seeing this question. To be honest, if I were not a tasker, but an ordinary aboriginal in the reality of this apocalyptic world, and I was alone, I might also choose to stay..."

But now, it is absolutely impossible.

They have a very clear idea of ​​the road ahead of them. No matter how luxurious, beautiful, or dreamy this golden train journey is, they will not choose to stay.

You Xi nodded and chose no firmly.

The train was about to arrive at the terminal station, and they were going to get off and leave this endless train world.

**

hours later, No. 17 knocked on the door again to take the letter of opinion, and then bowed to them respectfully.

When the countdown reached the last ten minutes, the electronic voice on the train sounded again, notifying the passengers who were going to get off to open the door of the suite car. This time, there was no need to enter a number. Between each car, there was a transfer space connecting the cars, and there was a door for getting off.

All their belongings were in the space, and there was nothing to pack or take away. The six people swiped their wristbands, opened car No. 28, and waited in front of the door of the transfer car.

There was a glass window on the door, through which you could see the scenery outside.

As night fell, the train's final stop was at the edge of the city. It was a large station, and the train drove along the rails all the way to the platform.

The platform was also large, with multiple rails and divided into upper and lower floors. It looked very similar to a real station, except that no one else was on the platform at the moment.

The ten-minute countdown ended, and with the electronic announcement, the train door slowly moved away. Youxi and the others stepped out of the train one after another. Almost at the moment they stepped out of the train, a dazzling golden light lit up in front of them.

They subconsciously closed their eyes, and their bodies felt as if they were falling into the void, and their consciousness immediately emptied...

...

After an unknown amount of time, Youxi felt the heaviness of his body again.

She vaguely felt that she seemed to be lying inside something, and her eyelids were as heavy as her body. She tried hard to open her eyes, and at the same time she heard voices beside her ears, and then the sound of tiny footsteps.

"No. 235 is awake!"

"Really?"

"Her body monitoring data has changed, and her eyelids are moving!"

"Is she really awake? Or is it just a conditioned reflex of the body like last time?"

"I think it's true!"

"Quick! Go call Dr. Lou! And the medical team!"

"Okay!"

...

Then, there was another round of panic footsteps.

You Xi used all her strength and finally propped up her heavy eyelids.

There was a dazzling white light in front of her eyes, and she subconsciously closed her eyes. Someone immediately dimmed the lights.