"Thank you, old man!"
Qi Xiao jumped from the Lake Heart Pavilion onto the old man's boat.
"This, how did another Lake Heart Pavilion appear?"
"This old man has been poling a boat here his whole life, but I've never seen a second Lake Heart Pavilion."
"Young man, is it that I'm about to leave, and you've come to pick me up?"
"Oh, old man, your body is still strong, don't think too much."
"This pavilion..." Qi Xiao glanced at the pavilion behind him, "It was newly built last night!"
The old man looked incredulous but didn't ask anything further.
"Young man, are you from out of town? Your clothes and appearance are quite unusual."
"Ah, yes, I just came back from out of town. These are the popular clothes there."
The Black Wind Monster was still swimming in the water, its dog paws scratching at the boat.
Qi Xiao leaned down and lifted it out of the water.
The Black Wind Monster shook wildly, splashing water everywhere.
After shaking itself dry, the Black Wind Monster snuggled up to Qi Xiao and started licking his pant leg.
"Young man, this dog is good. I see its tongue is black; it's a rare five-black dog."
"This dog can ward off evil and protect the home. Back in the day, I also raised one..."
Qi Xiao interrupted the old man's reminiscing:
"Old man, if you like this dog, I'll give it to you! Do me a favor and take me to that Lake Heart Pavilion!"
Qi Xiao pointed to the real Lake Heart Pavilion.
"Absolutely not. This dog has spiritual awareness; it only recognizes one master in its life. It seems very fond of you."
Damn it, this old man is so long-winded.
Qi Xiao picked up the Black Wind Monster and threw it back into the 'Lake Heart Pavilion':
"Stay put! If you come down again, I won't want you anymore!"
The Black Wind Monster seemed to understand Qi Xiao's words, whimpering at the Train door, but this time it didn't jump down.
Qi Xiao turned to the old man and said:
"Then I won't give it to you. Old man, please hurry and take me over."
He glanced at the time, 8:07 AM. He should be able to open the treasure chest before anyone else discovered this place!
After all, only he knew there was a treasure chest here.
"Alright, alright, I'll take you."
The old man truly lived up to his reputation of poling a boat his whole life; his movements were very nimble, and the boat headed towards the Lake Heart Pavilion.
Qi Xiao looked at the Black Wind Monster, afraid it would jump down again, so he voice-controlled the Train door to close.
"Thinking back to when I was young, I would pole the boat like this every day to take my grandson to the private school on the other side. I really miss those days."
"Old man, where is your grandson?"
"The war, he was conscripted. He died last year, and I didn't even see his body."
Qi Xiao was silent for a long time.
"My condolences."
"Life and death, it's normal. I've come to terms with it, but it's a pity I couldn't see my grandson one last time."
"Young man, you bear some resemblance to my grandson."
"When I first saw you, I even thought my grandson had come to pick me up, hahaha."
The old man used laughter to hide the tears in the corners of his eyes.
Ancient clothing and speaking style, war, conscription.
Was this a slice of a certain ancient time, or some film and television work I hadn't seen?
Regardless, Qi Xiao could feel the strong emotions the old man was expressing.
"We're here."
The boat docked at the Lake Heart Pavilion, and Qi Xiao jumped from the boat into the Lake Heart Pavilion.
Qi Xiao picked up a palm-sized wooden box from the ground.
No wonder he hadn't seen it; it turned out this treasure chest was so small.
He had thought they were all those big treasure chests.
Qi Xiao opened the box; inside lay six train coins and a black seed.
After confirming, Qi Xiao closed the lid and put it into his pocket.
"Old man, please trouble you to take me back to the original Lake Heart Pavilion."
Just then, a gunshot rang out from the shore.
Bang!
A bullet grazed Qi Xiao's left arm as it flew past.
Qi Xiao cried out in pain, clutching his arm, and immediately hid behind a pillar of the pavilion.
Gun!
Modern weapon, other people have arrived!
Damn it, how did they get here so fast!
He saw a large patch of blood seeping from the old man's chest. He released the oar, and with a thud, his body fell straight backward into the lake.
The lake surface gradually turned red.
That bullet grazed Qi Xiao's arm and hit the old man's body.
Qi Xiao's eyes widened in fury; the old man had just died like that.
"Looking at your attire, you must be a Train Conductor too."
"If you don't want to die, leave the item and jump into the lake willingly."
The man's voice came from the shore.
"I'll only give you three seconds."
"Three!"
What to do, this pillar won't hide him for long.
"Two!"
Bang!
Another warning shot fired near Qi Xiao.
At a time like this, he couldn't possibly give it to him, because he'd die even if he did!
I also have a gun, but he's got me pinned!
In a gunfight, the most feared thing is being pinned first.
Because then you lose the initiative.
Qi Xiao was currently pinned by the man on the shore, so he appeared very passive.
He was in the open, the enemy was hidden.
No, I need to seize the initiative!
Qi Xiao quietly made preparations while speaking:
"Can you swim?"
"What are you doing? Don't change the subject."
Then, the man saw a hand extend from behind the pillar, holding a wooden box.
A treasure chest!
That's right, that box was the treasure chest!
In just a second, the hand retracted, not giving him a chance to shoot.
"Can you swim?"
"What are you trying to do?!"
The next second, Qi Xiao forcefully threw the box into the river.
With a splash, the box hit the water.
"Damn it! You son of a bitch!"
Confirming that the man's attention was drawn to the box, Qi Xiao immediately flipped out from behind the pillar, his revolver firing continuously with bangs!
The man heard the gunshots and instinctively ducked to avoid them.
But one bullet still grazed his scalp, plowing a shallow furrow across the top of his head.
Now it was Qi Xiao who had the opponent pinned!
"I'm asking you, can you swim or not, speak up!"
"Damn you, I was swimming when you were still drinking milk!"
Qi Xiao quietly shifted his position, moving to another direction.
Two bullets remained in the revolver. He aimed at the man's exposed foot and fired another shot.
Unfortunately, it missed, but it scared the man into quickly retracting his foot.
"Talk nonsense again, and I'll send you back to the amniotic fluid to swim slowly!"
Qi Xiao spoke loudly to intimidate him while secretly reloading the revolver.
The box Qi Xiao had thrown out earlier was, of course, empty.
The train coins and seeds inside had already been taken out and put into his pocket.
But now there was a problem, a stalemate!
The key was that I was in the middle of the lake; the only way to get back to the Train was by boat.
If I don't kill him, I can't leave at all!
And other Train Conductors, hearing the gunshots, were probably already on their way.
The longer this drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for me!
Just then, a huge roaring sound suddenly came from mid-air.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The sudden roar attracted the attention of everyone present.
Passersby also stopped in their tracks, looking at a scene they couldn't comprehend.
A pink Train emerged from the void.
One, two, three... twelve?
Twelve carriages?!
How is that possible? The highest level in this area is only two. Where did this twelve-level Train come from?
People from other areas? Impossible, how could they upgrade so quickly?
That Train was like a giant pink worm with black spots, resting on the surface of Qing Lake.
The Train door slowly opened, and a woman with short hair, wearing a red halter-neck cheongsam, stood at the entrance.
Kong You's right eye glowed blue as she looked towards the Lake Heart Pavilion.
【Footprint comparison complete, overlap: 98%】
"Finally found it."