As a vital transport gateway, the huge steel platform was busy and crowded, with all sorts of machinery and locomotives and wagons to be assembled, and even the crooked caretaker's tin house at the edge of the platform looked as if it was about to be squeezed down. Busy workers running from equipment to equipment to prepare for the next departure, or busy repairing machinery that had been damaged by magical radiation, and there was little time to pay attention to the uninvited guests who suddenly appeared on the platform, because a few overseers with full faces stood on the tower, and any laziness could not escape the eyes of these guys, and a group of strange-dressed people who suddenly appeared were nothing compared to the money they earned after work.

Hao Ren and his entourage walked through the busy and cluttered platform under the leadership of Wendell, and walked towards the caretaker's tin house not far away. A boiler under repair rumbled not far away, and the pungent smell of engine oil accompanied by the sound of steam permeated Lily: the Twilight City made a very bad first impression on the husky girl, and the pungent smell here was a kind of torment for her.

As a last resort, she had to put on her life support collar again, which she had taken off after entering the Twilight Barrier.

"Every ten hours two locomotives depart at the same time, from here to the quarries in the wilderness," Wendell said, pointing to the rough steam locomotives, "to send a group of numb miners, to bring back a group of tired miners and freshly dug ore, which is then sent to the great forge to become the city's building materials and repair materials." There are several more such stations in the Outer Rim, each connecting to several other mines in the Dark Wilderness. If you have the chance, you can go and see the mines, you have amazing ancient technology. I really hope you'll be willing to put these techniques ...... Forget it, we'll talk about that later. ”

The Keeper's Tin House is as old and dirty as the rest of the platform. The only thing that sets it apart is that the blackened iron house has a striking red-painted roof, which makes it stand out against the dreary station buildings. No one was looking for trouble along the way, and Wendell led the group straight to the tin house, and then pushed open the rusty door.

A rough and angry voice came from inside, which had been sealed off from the door: "...... You idiots with your brains choked in engine oil! I want you to check every gear, every bolt, every one, listen up, every one! Instead of taking a nap around the machine. Then come back and write a 'everything is fine' waste paper for Lao Tzu! Do you know what it means to have a locomotive shut down in the dark? That means it's almost forever there! Unless I kick you scum out of the barrier and fix the machines in the dark with your blisters all over your body! You know there's been a hapless guy who did that, and now his bones are still hanging out! A bunch of garbage ......"

There was a "pop" sound from inside the room, as if something had been slammed on the table, and then the gruff voice shouted again: "Now get out of here!" Go inspect the machine, inspect the boiler, inspect every rivet and shaft! Otherwise, sooner or later, you will be kicked out of the barrier by me! ”

There was a rush of panicked footsteps, and five or six men in coarse overalls ran out of the tin hut as if fleeing for their lives, and one of them almost ran into Wendell. The locomotive mechanics, who had just finished being reprimanded (presumably this position), noticed a stranger standing in the doorway. But they barely dared to stop to take another look, and before the voices in the room could roar again, they fled in a puff of smoke.

Hao Ren and the others looked at each other for a moment, and then followed Wendell into the house.

There was a huge desk in the tin room. The table was littered with messes, and a stout red-nosed man was "piled up" with them: he sat indecently curled up in a wide chair, his scruffy clothes almost as cluttered as his desk. The red-nosed man had his hands in his arms. Biting a small stick in his mouth, he chewed as if he wanted to relieve his hatred: "The new technicians are all a bunch of wine bags and rice bags. No sense of responsibility, no more than no ...... Who let you in? I'm not saying...... Wendell?! ”

The red-nosed man finally noticed the group of people standing in front of him. And seeing a familiar face in the group, he jumped up almost as if frightened, and made a gesture that did not match his appearance at all: he pinched his thigh hard, and then grinned in pain.

"Wendell! Old stuff! You came back alive?! Ancestor apparition, is this true in front of you? I haven't started drinking it yet!! ”

Wendell greeted the old friend, and although the two of them looked more than a generation apart in age, they hugged each other tightly like best friends for many years: "Boken, you big voice, I can hear your furious voice outside the door!" ”

"Nonsense, this door has always been soundproofed!" The red-nosed Boken yelled as he pushed Wendell away, looking up and down as if he were looking at a rare creature, "You're really back, you're really back, and you're not covered in sores, and you're not shrunken and dead anywhere...... You old fellow was really blessed by the ancestors, and you were able to come back alive twice! ”

"Ancestor bless," Wendell smiled softly, squeezing the fingers that Boken was clutching at his arm, "be careful, I'm old enough to stand up to a few slaps." ”

Boken finally calmed down a little from his excitement, and he exhaled: "You are such a terrible old fellow, you dare to participate in the Light Seeker twice in a row, I am not as crazy as you when I drink high...... Are you coming back alone? ”

Wendell's eyelids drooped, and there was a gloomy look on his face: "There are not many people who can return from the night. ”

"May they rest in the eternal kingdom," Boken gestured a few prayer gestures to his chest, his crumpled clothes and casual tone made the prayer sound insincere, and then he finally turned his gaze to Hao Ren and his party, who had been standing next to him for a long time, "What is the matter with these people...... Looking at what they are wearing, how many of them are from Uptown? ”

"No," Wendell suddenly laughed mysteriously, trying to control his expression to look serious and mysterious, but the excitement from his heart made his smile more and more obvious, "They're from outside. ”

"Oh, outside, that's a long way away......" Boken waved his hand casually, and didn't react for a moment, but after a moment his movements froze suddenly, his eyes widened wider and wider, and he let out a few strange screams in his throat, and suddenly jumped up, "From outside!" ”

His voice almost shook his ears.

Wendell grabbed Boken's shoulder and pressed it hard: "Be quiet, and you'll knock the whole station down." That's right, it's from outside, outside the Twilight Barrier, outside the Twilight Capital! They are from Asgard. ”

"Asgard, Asgard......" Boken repeated several times in confusion, "Oh, I have learned, the Ancient Kingdom, where it is said that the gods themselves ruled there before...... Oh my god, old man, you've really made it this far?! No, no, it's definitely not, you're here to amuse me...... You've burned your brain out of the darkness outside, or I've been infected by the toxins you're carrying......"

Wendell patted Boken the shoulder: "It's not like you, when did you become so rigid?" ”

Boken's face drooped: "Is this true?" ”

"It's true, and it's not only true, these emissaries from Asgard still have something for you to help with," Wendell pointed to Hao Ren and the party, "I'm going to take these people to the Lightseeker headquarters, they're in a hurry, and the most convenient means of transportation I can find is your locomotive." ”

Boken touched his nose: "Hitchhiking? That's fine, but I'll have to send you to Uptown, and I'm not in charge of the shafts from Uptown to Downtown, you'll have to deal with the people of the Steam Council, but if you get entangled in those bureaucrats, I guess you'll have to go through a lot of formalities with your friends. Their identity is too ...... It's special. ”

Lily rolled her eyes when she heard this, "Aren't the people of the Steam Council happy to see other survivors in this world?" Will they make trouble? ”

"It's not troublemaking, the people of the Steam Council are human beings, and of course they'd love to know that there are other areas outside of Twilight," Boken said, spreading his hands, "but bureaucrats are bureaucrats, and those of us who live in the Outer Rim don't really deal with them." ”

"Take us wherever you can," Galadrow waved his hand indifferently, "and the rest will depend on the situation." ”

(Anyway, there is a Dragon Boat Festival event on the YY channel on June 10 54631703 The time is 8 o'clock in the evening, and everyone is interested in joining in the fun. (To be continued.) )