......
The lobby of Star Track was as deserted as usual. The huge white lobby was empty, with only ticket inspectors guarding the security doors. Since the Charon Rebellion, Wilkin had strictly controlled the number of departures of Star Track, and the few flight tickets were mostly monopolized by Aloi, who only sold them to the privileged class who could afford the high prices. This made the lobby, which was not lively to begin with, even more deserted.
Before going to the security gate, Carly pulled Polys and Pace to a small corner at the edge of the waiting hall, then took off the backpack on her back, opened it, and pulled open a small compartment inside.
"Come on, throw everything in," Carly called the two of them, and then began to take off the five rings on her hands. "This compartment can prevent any form of scanning. Only in this way can you bring your things into the car."
"Okay, it's better than checking the things into their hands." Pace took out his Factor Energy Axe without hesitation and put it into the compartment of Carly's backpack.
"Hmm..." Perlis hesitated for a while before gently taking off the factor bracelet on her left wrist and throwing it into the mezzanine together with the butterfly knife.
"Why? I won't steal it from you. I'll return it to you." Carly looked at the reluctant expression on Perlis's face and was touched by her cuteness.
"Hmm..." Perlis nodded slightly.
After finishing the work, the group set off for the security gate. The case process of [Star Track] is much simpler than other routine inspections. Each passenger only needs to walk through the security gate, and the security inspector can confirm the identity of the ticket holder through iris inspection and check his luggage at the same time.
To be on the safe side, the group decided to go through the same door in order, so that even if something happened, they could take care of each other.
Facing the security door, Perlis was the first to step forward. The security guard beside her bowed respectfully when he saw her:
"Please stand on the steps of the security gate for a while, miss."
Perlis walked slowly to the steps of the security door, and the blue light of factor energy lit up in the white door light, slowly scanning her body.
"No problem, miss, please pass, and have a pleasant journey."
The security officer standing next to the security gate waved his hand and signaled Perlis to pass.
"Done, looks like there's no problem with the ticket." Carly murmured, and slowly walked towards the security gate. Since there were many items in her backpack, the blue light scanning her body took correspondingly longer. However, she did not seem nervous at all, and even made a "Yeah" gesture to Perlis with a grin.
"Please pass, miss, and have a pleasant journey."
Soon, the security officer signaled Carly to pass, completing the security check.
"Phew...Okay, it's my turn."
Pace calmed down and made up his mind, then he stepped onto the steps of the security gate nervously. The flashing blue light in the security gate quickly confirmed his ticket holder's permission, and then scanned his body very quickly. After finding no dangerous objects, the scan ended.
"Ah, great, done!"
Pace breathed a sigh of relief, stepped through the security door, and walked towards Perlis and Carly. At this moment, the security guard reached out to stop him.
"Wait, sir."
Pace shuddered nervously. He met the security officer's glasses and realized that the officer's sharp eyes were slightly narrowed.
"Will you excuse me for asking you a few questions?"
......
2) Fang of the Golden Sand Snake (Part 2)
At the security gate, Pace stared at the security guard who stopped him with great nervousness, his nerves suddenly tensed. Not far away, Perlis and Carly also looked over here vigilantly, paying attention to the accident.
"Hmm." Pace snorted without comment and didn't say another word.
The security inspector stared at Pace for a while before speaking:
"You are from Thebite, aren't you?"
Hearing that the security officer had recognized his true identity, Pace's heart skipped a beat. He subconsciously touched the axe at his waist, only to realize that his axe had long been thrown into Carly's backpack.
"Uh-huh." Pace replied without denying it.
"That's a bit strange, sir," the security inspector suddenly changed his polite attitude and put on an aggressive face, "How can the people of Thebite afford tickets for the Star Track Line? Aren't you barbarians who stay in the mountains to farm?"
Ah... What is this? Racial discrimination? A drop of sweat dripped down Pace's forehead. Logically, he had nothing to fear, but the problem was that he did not buy the ticket.
Seeing that Pace looked guilty, the security inspector continued to ask:
"Stowaway, right?" The security officer smiled disdainfully. "Tell me the truth. Where did you get this ticket? Star Track Line doesn't welcome thieves. I have to call security."
Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Carly subconsciously wanted to open the compartment of her backpack and take out her ring to intervene in the farce, but before she did so, a slender white hand grabbed her.
"Wait, Carly," Perlis grabbed Carly's wrist and said softly, "Let him do it himself."
"Hey, Little White Flower, that Thebit man is no good..." Carly said anxiously, "If something goes wrong with him, then we..."
"I believe him," Perlis said firmly, looking at Pace who looked like he was thinking something, "You have to try to believe him too."
Pace confronted the security inspector. After a while, he looked directly into the security inspector's eyes and slowly said:
"I have Thebitten blood in my veins, sir, but I was born in Wilkin, and I am a Wilkin through and through."
What surprised Carly was that the common language spoken by Pace had a very standard Wilkin accent. Even Prince Aloi might not be able to tell what other impurities were in the accent.
"Ah..." The security officer was stunned for a moment when he heard Pace's authentic accent, and he was still a little hesitant.
"He is with us," Perlis walked slowly behind the security inspector and said indifferently, "Besides, Star Track Line has never said that it will refuse passengers of a certain race from boarding the bus. It seems that I have to confirm with your manager..."
"Oh no, miss! You don't need to bother doing that," the security officer said in a panic, turning to Pace and bowing. "I'm sorry, sir, I was wrong. Judging from your accent, you should be Wilkins."
"Yeah." Pace nodded slightly.
"Please understand that since Charon's rebellion, many mercenaries in the Gravel Hill area have become active again. Every day, people sneak into Wilkin from the transportation line in the Visa Desert, so I..."
"It's good to be vigilant, sir," Pace nodded to the ticket inspector with great dignity, "Don't be so vigilant next time."
"Huh?" The security inspector seemed to feel something was wrong, but he nodded quickly, "Okay, got it sir, I wish you a pleasant journey on the Star Track Line."
......
"That was a close call. We were almost discovered."
After passing through the security gate, the group walked along the corridor towards the location of the rail train. After passing through the security gate, Pace looked frightened.
"I told you, this young master does have some skills." Perlis patted Carly's shoulder. Ever since Pace escaped danger, she has been looking thoughtful.
"Hey, Thebit," Carly suddenly asked Pace, "where did you learn the Wilkin accent?"
"Oh? Just these few days," Pace answered, and thought for a moment, "Let me think about it... It should be the day we went to the city. I suffered a great loss because of my accent before, and almost lost my life, so I paid a little more attention this time."
After saying that, Pace winked at Perlis, and Perlis responded with a faint smile.
Of course she remembered which time it was, when Pace tried to disguise himself as a delivery worker to sneak into the Monarch Mansion and was almost shot in the head because of his accent.
Hmm... This guy is so good at learning, he is really suitable to be a liar. Perlis nodded in a serious manner.
"You're pretending pretty well..." Although Carly was a little unwilling, she still nodded.
"Hehe, thank you for the compliment, Miss Carly!" Pace bowed.
The distance from the security gate to the waiting platform was not far. After taking the escalator, the group soon arrived at the open-air platform on top of the double spheres. At this height, the scorching wind of the Visa Desert could be clearly felt. Looking from the edge of the white platform, the intersection of the desert and the oasis was slowly transformed by ripples formed by a little heat.
Most people on the platform were wearing formal clothes, and seemed to be showing off their prominent status. Most of the Wilkins who went to the Federation at this time were privileged people who were going to watch the [competition]. For them, this was probably an extremely pleasant journey.
Among the sparse crowd, Pace looked at the platform in front of him. What surprised him was that the edge of the platform was empty, with no trace of tracks at all. Looking down from the railing of the platform was the ground several hundred meters high. Instead, there was a huge metal track above the empty gap, which reminded Pace of the tram he had seen in Lorton.
"Miss Carly, I'm asking because I don't understand," Pace said tentatively to Carly beside him, "Is that a track up there?"
"Yeah," Carly replied nonchalantly.
"Uh... That's weird," Pace stared at the track in a daze, "If the track is up there, how do we get up there?"
"Is there a possibility?" Carly made a speechless expression, "...Forget it, just see for yourself..."
"Huh?" Pace scratched his head, not quite understanding, and then continued to ponder in confusion.
Soon, with the sound of a bell, a notice came from the platform broadcast:
"【Star Track Line】Entering the station, please take your seats according to your numbers and pay attention to the gaps between platforms when crossing..."
As the broadcast sounded, a wave of factor energy that cut through the air attacked——
"Rumble--"
In an instant, the silver track hanging on the platform was covered with blue factor energy, making a "sizzling" sound like electric current.
Then, in front of Pace's stunned eyes, a huge silver-white train came at high speed -
"Rumble--"
The Star Track train was running in an incredibly amazing way: its body was suspended in the air, and countless suspension needles like steel claws extended from the roof, firmly grasping the track. The silver-white suspension needles were captured by the blue factor energy on the track and then suspended around the track. If you look closely, you can see that the Star Track train does not actually have any direct contact with the track.
"This is... so cool!" Pace exclaimed in amazement, attracting strange looks from several privileged people.
"Hush, keep your voice down, Thebit," Carly squeezed Pace's arm in dissatisfaction, "Are you afraid of not being discovered?"
"Oh my... OK OK..."
As the storm faded away, the Star Track came to a steady stop between the platforms. After it came to a complete stop, the railings on the edge of the platform slowly opened to where the train door was, connecting with the door, leaving no gap at all between the train and the platform.
After the train stabilized, the people on the platform began to slowly pour into the carriage, talking and laughing, while Pace still stood there in shock.
"Is this... the civilized world?"
"Alright, alright... let's go..." Perlis patted Pace's back speechlessly, looking at him with some disdain, ".. stupid young man..."
"Okay! Let's go!" Pace was the first to rush into the carriage with great excitement. After a while, he stuck his head out and looked at Carly and Perlis awkwardly, "...Wait, where are our seats?"
Carly and Pearlis exchanged a helpless look, then sighed deeply and walked towards the car door.
"This way..."
......
2) Fang of the Golden Sand Snake (Part 3)
"Wow..."
After entering the carriage, Pace couldn't help but admire the scene in front of him.
Unlike the streamlined exterior that exudes the style of a masterpiece of energy technology, the interior decoration of the Star Track train is very luxurious. The walls inside the carriage are all beige in color, and on this basis, golden floral patterns with the heritage of the Oasis Kingdom extend from the walls to the ceiling, making the entire space look like a royal bedroom.
Pace followed the leader Carly and moved slowly forward in the carriage. He looked up at the golden patterns covering the ceiling of the carriage and kept admiring them.
“It looks like it’s worth a lot of money.”
"I think it's quite rustic..." Carly kept looking for a seat, her icy blue eyes looking at the red velvet seat with some boredom, "But this is the best choice for going to the Federation, rustic but very practical."
"Why not go through Grauyard Wasteland?" Pace asked in confusion, "Isn't there a railway in the wasteland?"
"Yes, but the trains on that line are from La Vatino, the [Wasteland Line], which is a little far from Wilkin," Carly said, her eyes quickly scanning the seat numbers around the corridor, "and... La Vatino has never been in good condition. The former Grau Yad king's government there was destroyed a long time ago, and now it seems to be just a shell government controlled by the gangs..."
"La Watino? Is it the last place that the dynasty destroyed in the Academy War went to?" Pace said, "If I remember correctly, it seemed to be a containment area?"
"Yeah..." Carly muttered, "After the battle of Aston Plains, without the [Attack King], the royal government that fled to La Vatino didn't last long at all, and was overthrown by the mob that they had once denounced as criminals... The [Wasteland Line] was also controlled by the gangsters."
"Besides, that route is not safe at all," Perlis, who was walking at the back, suddenly joined the conversation. "The scavenger tribes in the Grau Yad Wasteland are impossible to eliminate. They keep coming one after another."
"Little White Flower was often sent by the Federation to the Gravel Mound area to eliminate scavengers. Even she couldn't wipe out all those guys," Carly smiled gently. She finally found a seat for the group on the side of the corridor. "Okay, the seat is here, please sit down~"
Carly pointed to one side of the corridor. There was a table with exquisite drinks on it. There were four red velvet chairs around the table, which looked very comfortable.
The group sat down, and as usual, Perlis and Carly sat on one side, and Pace sat on the other side alone, looking so lonely...
The other passengers of [Star Track] slowly began to take their seats. Most of them found their seats very calmly and then started to enjoy the drinks on the table. A faint aroma of wine began to fill the air. In this atmosphere, the group of people who did not touch the drinks on the table seemed a little bit like oddities.
"Carly..." Perlis suddenly gently pulled Carly's skirt.
"Huh? What's the matter, little white flower?" Carly turned her head and looked at Pearlis.
"Is there going to be another person sitting here?" Perlis pointed to the empty seat next to Pace.
"Oh, that's right, don't worry," Carly said with a smile, "When I hacked into Aloi's terminal with Rain Barrier, I reserved four seats for Aoi. Who knew she wouldn't come..."
"Oh..." Perlis nodded slightly, looking thoughtful.
"Do you mind sitting with strangers? You haven't changed, little white flower~" Carly said with a smile and reached out to pinch Pearlis' face.
"Well... stop it... Carly..." Perlis was a little shy, "It will... attract other people's attention..."
"What's wrong with pinching your face? You're so sensitive, hahahaha."
Since there were very few people on this train, the seating process was over in a short while. As a special train for the privileged class, once all passengers were seated, the Star Track would depart in advance. So, with a violent "rumbling" sound, the Star Track suspended track train was instantly accelerated in a burst of violent factor potential energy and ran on the track at high speed.
After the train started running, Carly slowly closed her eyes, squinting slightly. Looking at the faint dark circles around her eyes, it was obvious that she had stayed up late again last night. In order to keep the journey as safe as possible, she probably didn't sleep much these days...
Looking at the tired Carly, Pace suddenly felt that he might need to work harder to move towards his goal more calmly.
High in the sky on this suspended track, the view of Wilkin's oasis was clearly displayed in front of every passenger, but after just a glance, the Star Track soon drove into the Visa Desert surrounding Wilkin, and the yellow sand and the scorching sun became the only main colors in this scene.
At first, Pess looked at the scenery outside the window with great curiosity, as if he was a countryman entering the city. However, after the train had been running on the track forty to fifty meters above the ground for more than ten minutes, even Pess felt a little bored with the scenery. The train was going too fast, and he could easily miss the scenery along the way. Compared to watching the scenery on this high-speed train, he began to miss the days when he rode a carriage to the Wanren Mountain.
