Chapter 168 Train
In the afternoon, on the vast central plains of the Put Kingdom, long railway tracks crisscrossed the endless fields. Steel behemoths drove steel wheels, spewing thick smoke and roaring Mercedes-Benzes on the tracks, speeding towards the distance.
Carrying a full load of passengers, the long train was moving at high speed along the track, running from one end of the country to the other.
In a nicely decorated single room in the first-class carriage near the front of the train, Dorothy sat on a soft sofa, sipping coffee while looking out the window at the fields passing by, a hint of boredom flashing across her face.
"Aaaaah... We've already been up there for a day and a half. It'll probably take another day to get to the station. We'll have to endure for a while..."
Sitting in her seat, Dorothy yawned as she stirred the coffee in front of her with a spoon. Igwinter was located in the southwest of the main island of the kingdom, and Tivian was located in the east of the main island of the kingdom, facing the sea. Therefore, the train Dorothy took basically spanned the entire main island of Putt from the starting station to the terminal station. The straight-line distance alone was more than 8,000 kilometers.
Because the trains of that era were not very fast, and the tracks were very winding due to the terrain, plus the long stops required for refueling and mechanical inspections, it took Dorothy nearly three days to reach Tivian, and this was already her second day on the train.
In order to cope with the boring journey, Dorothy originally prepared some books to read slowly in the carriage, but she failed because, as an all-knowing person, her reading speed was too fast. After arriving in the compartment, she finished all the prepared books in a short while. Then, she could only stare at the scenery outside the window in a daze for the rest of the time.
"It's such a boring journey, but at least this private room has a nice environment, with a sofa, a table and a bed. If it was just a seat, it would be too uncomfortable."
Dorothy thought so. There were three types of carriages on this train. The first-class carriage like the one Dorothy was in had a separate compartment with complete facilities. The second-class carriage had long rows of hard seats, with many people sitting side by side. A carriage could accommodate many people. The third-class carriage simply had no seats at all. It was just an empty carriage with some hay and rags as mats. The most people were crowded in this carriage. The environment was very bad, just a few large shacks.
The ticket price of a first-class carriage is ten times that of a second-class carriage, and dozens of times that of a third-class carriage. It costs three or four pounds, and not many people can afford it. Usually, the vacancy rate is very high. For Dorothy's safety, Greg also gritted his teeth and bought a first-class carriage for Dorothy. His monthly salary is only 23 pounds, and this ticket price is not small for him who usually concentrates on saving money to buy a house.
Although this amount of ticket money was just a drop in the bucket for Dorothy, she did not offer to pay for it when Greg gritted his teeth to buy the ticket, because she couldn't explain where the money came from.
Just as Dorothy was sitting in her compartment in a daze, the conductor's loud voice came from the aisle outside the carriage.
"Ulster! Ulster is coming soon! Ladies who are getting off at Ulster, please get off first and get ready! Pack your belongings! Ulster, Ulster is coming soon! Please..."
"Ulster?"
Inside the compartment, Dorothy was startled when she heard the conductor's call in the aisle. Then she tilted her head slightly and thought about the place name. She remembered that she had read about it in a book. It was a city in the east-central part of the Kingdom of Put, and it was said to be larger than Igwinter.
"We have already reached Ulster, which means we are not too far from Tivian. We should get some sleep tonight and arrive tomorrow morning or noon."
Dorothy thought so as she recalled the map she had seen before, and then began to look out the window curiously, looking at the buildings gradually increasing above the fields that were rapidly passing by, waiting to see the city that was about to arrive.
…
Aalst is a city in the central-eastern part of the main island of the Kingdom of Puttes. It is bordered by mountains in the south and plains in the north. It has large-scale agriculture and forestry, providing food and timber to other areas of Puttes. It is a relatively important city in central Puttes.
At dusk, on the platform of Ulster Railway Station, a large number of people were standing here, quietly waiting for the arrival of a train from afar. Most of them were heading to the capital, Tivian.
Among the crowd, there was a man who looked to be in his twenties or nearly thirty years old, with a clean face and no stubble. He was wearing a dark blue shirt, grey trousers, and a short hat. He was carrying a solid wooden suitcase with a ton lock. He was looking at his watch while gazing towards the direction of the approaching train on the track, waiting for the train to arrive. His gaze towards the distance on the track was full of spirit, as if he could see the billowing smoke in the distance.
The man's name is Thordod, and he is affiliated with the Ulster Security Bureau. He is an extraordinary person. He is currently carrying out a mission, a transportation mission to Tivian, so he is about to board the upcoming train to Tivian.
Time passed, and soon the whistle of a steam train could be heard coming from far away. The steel behemoth, which had already begun to slow down, slowly drove into the station and stopped in front of the platform.
After the train stopped, the doors of each carriage opened one by one, and the passengers whose destination was Ulster got off the train one after another. After getting off, the passengers who had been waiting for a long time on the platform began to check their tickets and board the train at the doors of each carriage.
Just as Thordod was about to get on the bus, suddenly, he seemed to feel someone staring at him. Thordod immediately turned his head and looked in the direction where the sense of surveillance came from, but he didn't see anything except the surging flow of people.
"An illusion?"
Muttering something, Sodod didn't think much about it, but took the ticket and continued walking towards the parked carriage. After the conductor checked the ticket, Sodod got into the train carriage smoothly.
For safety reasons, Sodod bought a first-class ticket. After getting on the train, with the warm hospitality and guidance of the conductor, Sodod came to his own private room.
"Sir, it's almost time for dinner. Do you want to eat in the dining car? Or do you want to order food in your own car?"
After guiding Sodod into the compartment, the conductor spoke. Sodod put his coat, hat and luggage on the sofa in the compartment and thought for a moment before speaking.
"I'll go to the dining car. Please lead the way."
"Damn."
After saying that, Sodod left the compartment under the guidance of the conductor. Not long after they left, a dark-skinned hand mysteriously emerged from the wall of the compartment and slowly touched the locked suitcase placed on the sofa.
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