Chapter 86 The fragrance of the building
The whistling wind blew the curtains, and the hot wind in the wilderness brought the smell of dead grass and dryness. Even with the heat, the body was still refreshed because of the fast flow of air.
Taking the high-speed train to other districts again, Heshia looked at the scenery outside the window. The desolate land reflected white light under the scorching sun. The gray Gobi and gravel stretched to the distance. Only the faint mountains could be seen on the horizon, which were like giant stairs on the land, stacked layer by layer.
Every time she went out, she would be shocked by the magnificent scenery on this planet. The girl couldn't help shaking her head, feeling that Arpeggio City was a small place after all.
Because it was a train to the North Second District, there were few passengers in the carriage. There was no one next to Heshia and in front of her. Only the wind rolled up the curtains and the cloth on the back of the chair from time to time, making a whirring sound.
She looked up and looked around. This train should have been running for decades. It has a strong industrial and rough style. Some steel rivet structures can be seen directly inside, and the ground is also a steel structure with twill.
A large number of structures are made of steel, which saves some complex and beautified decorations, greatly reducing the cost and time of manufacturing. As for the passengers' perception, the use of soft sponge cloth pads is the greatest kindness and consideration.
The stainless steel tabletop feels warm under the hot wind and sunshine. The girl flips through the bag beside her hand and finds the picture album introducing Jielou City. This is what she got from a travel agency in Arpeggio City. However, she did not travel with a group because many things would be unfree.
The train passed through the vast wilderness and headed north. The hot wind blowing by the window gradually turned cooler, and the hot summer gradually retreated.
After that, the train drove towards the rising mountain steps, as if it was getting closer and closer to the sky, the front was getting brighter, and the land behind became distant and low, like standing on a tall building overlooking the ground below.
After a few more breaths, the front of the train gradually leveled off and stopped climbing upwards. In front of it was a vast wilderness, where towering high-rise buildings stood like mountains, some tens of meters high and some hundreds of meters high, with their tops deep in the clouds and mist, and were barely visible.
[We are about to arrive at North District 2, Jieloucheng Station, please pay attention to get off the train.]
The AI broadcast came from the carriage, and two semicircular autonomous units also drove through the carriage passage to check if there were any sleeping or unwell passengers.
When the train drove into the mountains, the sky seemed to darken, and the induction lights in the carriage turned on in time, and a bright yellow V-shaped guidance icon appeared on the ground.
Sitting in the carriage, Heshia looked up at the high-rise buildings that passed by. They were almost all abandoned, and the outer walls could be seen peeling and exposed. Some windows and rooftop spaceship entrances were also covered with moss and had rust-like water marks.
The originally beautiful layers of golden eaves were gray and covered with dust, and some tiles were peeling off, revealing the concrete and steel structure inside. The huge windows showed broken and broken green glass, reflecting the light of the sky, which looked extremely lonely.
The train slowly passed under the shadows of the tall buildings, and then a huge river beach suddenly appeared in front of us. The river water had long been dry, and the riverbed, which was several kilometers wide, was cracked and broken. A long track went through the riverbed and reached the ancient city on the other side with buildings like sails.
When the train tilted downward, Heshia saw a huge broken bridge from the window on the other side. The bridge was nearly 300 meters high and extremely wide. It stretched out from the side of Jielou City. When it crossed the river in the air, it broke in the middle, exposing the hideous steel bars inside that were like bones. The bridge at the other end had already collapsed, and the ruins of steel and concrete were scattered all over the riverbed. Its shape and temperament reminded people of the broken head of a giant dragon, leaving only half of its body standing alone on the dry river surface.
After passing through the long riverbed, the train climbed up again, rising from the riverbed and entering the plain inside the Jielou City.
Compared with the desolate world outside, there are a little more people inside. The girl can see that some abandoned and damaged buildings are still inhabited. They cover the windows with simple plastic and nail wooden boards, leaving only small vents. Through the gaps between the plastic and the wooden boards, you can see the messy things hanging in the room.
Gradually, some vendors pushing carts can be seen in the ruined streets, selling simple food to residents. Most of these foods are made by themselves, mainly fried in oil, and occasionally there are one or two vendors who use steam to heat snacks.
Because it is located on a plateau, the boiling point of water here is only about 85℃. Ordinary boiling water cannot heat food well, so frying is more common.
The train slowly drove into the city, and the speed gradually slowed down. Shuttled through the high-rise city like a forest, the windows on both sides of the carriage changed light and dark. Until it finally stopped slowly.
[Jielou City]
[Arrival]
[Jielou City]
…
The yellow display board in the carriage kept showing these two eye-catching lines alternately, and then the steam dissipated, the door slowly opened, and a few passengers got off the train.
Stepping on the slightly cool ground, Heshia felt that the air was a little cool, not as hot as Arpeggio City.
Soon, a group of people from travel agencies gathered in front of the station, and Heshia followed them to understand their general itinerary and direction for the time being.
"In the middle of July, the Liuhuo Festival will last for seven days, and the entire Jielou City will hold a grand parade. At that time, there will be seven processes: burning incense, calling gods, circling the city, shocking dance, offering voices, sending off the dead, and withdrawing troops..." The tour guide of the travel agency introduced the subsequent plan to the passengers, and Heshia also listened to part of it.
After that, she left the tourist groups, left the station by herself, and walked into this vast steel jungle.
Many of the high-rise buildings on the roadside have been abandoned, but the bottom 1-3 floors are still in use. Many shops are open for business, and the floating neon tube signs are particularly conspicuous and full of vitality in the gray cement and steel around them.
There was a misty rain in the sky. Although it was not heavy, it made Heshia's hair slightly wet. She walked through the spacious street a little faster and came to a shop opposite.
This small shop was full of hand-carved ornaments, including jade, bloodstone, agate, and even some special coal stones. There was only one boss in the shop, sitting in the corner and still busy with his carving work. He just shouted when he heard the footsteps: "If you want to buy, look at it yourself first, and then come to me to pay."
Then he didn't even raise his head and continued to work on the unfinished ornaments in his hand.
Heshia looked around. In this small shop of less than 20 square meters, there were pendants hung with red ropes. When they were blown slightly, they collided with each other and made a crisp sound.
The pendants are engraved with animals, letters, planetary symbols, movie and TV characters, and short texts, which makes people marvel at the wide variety of carvings and it seems that there is no need that cannot be met.
Standing in this small shop, the girl looked carefully and occasionally felt the big spider rubbing against her ankle. Fortunately, it did not show up at this time and no one noticed.
"How much is this?"
Although she might not wear it, Heshia still wanted to buy some to take home as a souvenir. She carefully took off a turquoise pendant carved with flowers and plants and walked inside.
The boss finally put down his work and high-light glasses, then looked up at Heshia.
"This is 45 federal coins." It's a very cheap price, not even enough to buy a delicious meal.
The girl was slightly surprised, and then asked how to pay.
"Pay, it seems you are not a local." He shook his head, then found an old cash register box in the corner and set the amount.
"If you use this, it will be 100 federal coins." He explained and handed the box over.
"Why is it so expensive?" Heshia was puzzled, but the other party shook his head and was too lazy to explain.
Heshia, who had hit a soft nail, had to use this to pay. Although 100 federal coins were not a lot, she was still a little unhappy.
Seeing that the girl was about to leave after paying, the uncle said to her behind, "If you are here for tourism, you can find a local to exchange for a local card. This will be convenient and save a lot of money."
After saying this, he waved his hand, asking Heshia not to disturb him anymore, and then continued to work.
Walking on the street, Heshia continued to look around the shops and attractions. In addition to selling some daily necessities, there are also many local specialty shops that sell some jade jewelry, classical dresses, incense burners, painted fans, etc. Occasionally, the girl can also see some stores selling cold weapons.
In the interstellar era where automated weapons are popular, cold weapons have mostly lost their function, but there are still many enthusiasts who keep them. Some energy lightsabers or special weapons in the Federation are also based on cold weapons, so some people use them to practice.
Walking into the shops, Heshia saw many handmade things made by local residents, from wooden combs and folding fans to furniture and statues. Some bamboo woven objects also attracted the attention of foreign tourists.
Looking at the strange and familiar things one by one, the girl remembered that her mother seemed to have tried to make these when she was a child, but her mother was obviously spoiled and was not good at this kind of handwork. She was laughed at by her father several times, and then she simply stopped doing it.
Following the tourists who arrived in Jielou City, Heshia toured along the main street, walked through the cold and wet streets, and unknowingly it was about 2 pm, and she was a little hungry.
Let's find a place to eat, she said in a low voice, touching the big spider hidden on the side with her ankle, and then walked to a place that was obviously a restaurant.
There was a vertical sign that extended into the sky above the street, with a few large characters displayed in neon lights, which looked very tacky. There were many signs like this on both sides of the street and above it.
Some small AI autonomous units also floated above the street, transporting various small objects. These autonomous units looked old, with orange and black paint on the outside. Some parts were directly exposed, and even the structure and tiny sparks could be seen.
It is estimated that only the ground city would have so many small floating autonomous units. Compared with Arpeggio City, because it is underground and the space is tight, it is impossible to free up such a large space for these scattered autonomous units to fly around, which would block the passage of the floating car. Therefore, express delivery in the city mostly uses vehicles or ground-based AI autonomous units.
Walking towards the restaurant, Heshia was soon attracted by a snack bar on the street.
The pastry chef inside used a robotic arm to quickly rotate the dough with one hand, and then continued to add various spices and seasonings to the dough with the other hand. Then the dough was thrown up and fell on the chopping board. The robotic arm in his right hand changed again, becoming a knife shape, cutting and chopping continuously to divide the dough into small uniform pieces.
After the square and uniform small pieces were formed, there was a burst of cheers from inside and outside the store. Most of the onlookers were tourists from other places. They looked at this ancient handicraft curiously and looked forward to the next move of the pastry chef.
The robotic arm in the right hand of the pastry chef changed again, rolling and flattening the dough in front of him, and then sticking the dough on the dark red big toad burning on the side.
The big toad made of special metal was covered with dough on its back, like ancient coins. Then, because of the heat from the toad, the dough quickly became cooked, slightly raised, and the edges were browned. The flour and sesame in it exuded an attractive roasted aroma.
Then, relying on the robotic arm that was not afraid of heat, the pastry chef took the dough one by one, stacked it on the table, and put a small sign on it.
[Golden Toad Noodles, 80 Federation Coins each]
Well, this price is not cheap, but considering that it is rare to travel, there are still many tourists who pay to buy cakes.
Following the crowd, Heshia also queued up and squeezed over to buy a piece of cake.
After taking a small bite, the hot fragrance inside immediately filled her mouth, but because the cake was too hot, Heshia had to stick out her tongue to let it cool down quickly.
Because she was tired, Heshia was not in a hurry to go to the restaurant at this time, so she found a relatively clean stone pier on the street and sat down. While eating the cake, she occasionally tore off a small piece and threw it to the greedy spider in the shadow beside her. It accepted everyone and did not dislike it as a vegetarian.
In the gray sky, a low roar came, and a large spaceship slowly fell from the cumulus clouds, slowly landing in the city of Jielou with smoke and water vapor. It should be carrying passengers from the alien domain.
The city gradually became lively, and bursts of distant bells came from afar.
In a place that Heshia couldn't see, this was the center of Jielou City. Red banners were hanging down, with some kind of blessing words written in black handwriting. They were densely arranged and hung above the streets and alleys. The moist breeze blew, like a red ocean swaying constantly.
Under the layers of red banners, there were local residents standing, about half a million of them, each wearing a tall hat, and there were long red ribbons fluttering on the top of the hat.
These local residents looked solemn, like countless concentric circles, looking at the high altar in the middle. There were three large tripods in the high altar, and long incense sticks as thick as arms were inserted into them. The priests dressed in red, green, yellow, black, white, and five-color costumes knelt on the ground with long silks full of prayers in their hands, chanting loudly, and then the long silks slowly floated up, burned in the air, turned into dust, and floated away.
"It's time to light the incense!"
"Hah!"
Outside the high altar, one by one, the 'divine generals' with flags on their backs, wearing brightly colored armor, and painted in red and blue stood up from a half-squatting position. Some of them held long halberds, some held broadswords, and some wielded double maces. When they moved, the metal scales and pendants hanging on their bodies collided with each other, making a sound like the swaying of wind chimes.
A series of floating autonomous units led and cleared the way in mid-air. These 'divine generals' holding various weapons and wearing brightly colored armor protected the sedan chair covered with layers of red gauze and began to walk towards the main street.
Along the way, a small incense burner was placed in front of each household, and the smoke curled around the street. Some residents stood in front of their homes, and some stood in front of the windows, praying devoutly to the passing team, and these 'divine generals' with painted red and blue paint on their faces took three steps at a time, like heavenly soldiers marching in formation.
Thanks to Yu, Gokou Ruri, Flag 12, Prayer for a Good Year__,
Rewards from book friends such as Bei Yi Qiu, Can Feng Qiu Ye, Hua Kai Yun Yan Shu, Destroying Angel, Yin Feng Ting Xue, Li Lie, Salted Fish Cuisine, and Archbishop Lilina~
(End of this chapter)
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