Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 6: Will I travel through time while playing games?
After leaving the Parish Council's office building, Linger stopped by Fleet Street and bought two milk puddings from a street vendor for 5 pence, intending to use Metine's favorite little dessert to make her feel better and forget the unpleasantness caused by the previous dispute.

He realized long ago that there were limits to what a person could do. In the face of the Religious Decree, he could only actively cooperate and strive for better conditions from Mr. Ronning; similarly, in the face of the loss and even disappointment of his relatives, he could only comfort them in such a painless way.

The dusk was dim, the setting sun was bloodshot, and the shadows of pedestrians were divided into large and small pieces by the edges of the buildings, and sprinkled on the old-fashioned streets or mottled walls. The gloomy clouds that always lingered over the city seemed to fall into silence as the night fell. But the "humming" sound of the steam train was even more abrupt. It would run until midnight before it stopped. This was the regulation when the kingdom formulated the "Tramway Transportation Law". It was said that the religious association was behind it, aiming to provide convenient public life services for citizens.

But it was of no use, because the homeless, beggars or lepers who roamed the streets and alleys at midnight could not afford the fare and could only watch numbly as the empty carriage sped past in the dark, leaving them far behind.

Ling once witnessed it with his own eyes. In his eyes, those people, that train, and even the city itself were like wild beasts wandering in the wilderness. The roar of the steam engine was the low and miserable whimper in its trachea, and the boiling smoke was the burning blood in its body.

How can the beast avoid being beaten and fleeing when faced with the cruel reality?

Staring at the shaking buildings outside the window, abandoning thoughts, he felt like he was sinking into the abyss. Half an hour later, the train stopped at the No. 7 public transportation stop on time. Lingge returned to Songshi Street and walked towards his church.

He would nod and greet everyone he met on the road and exchange a few words with them in a polite tone. He was familiar with the faces of every resident and could even recall that they had come to the church on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year to attend the seven-day ceremony presided over by him, but that was not because they wanted to listen to the gospel of the goddess, but because the church would distribute free food on that day.

This was a practice started by Mr. Yanke, the first resident pastor of the church and Lingge's father. He once said: To be comforted is to believe. There is no difference between psychological comfort and real comfort. Lingge firmly believes this. He also believes that when the relief center of the grass garden is opened in the Holy Cross District and the white citizen district, those who whispered the glory of the goddess in the chapel will flock there without hesitation, receive free food and free treatment, and call themselves believers of the hermit.

Because to be comforted is faith, and they need faith.

It seems that the closure of Tianxin Church may not be a bad thing for these residents. After all, Lingge's financial resources cannot be compared with those of the church alliance. There was even an incident where he was unable to purchase the free food and had to interrupt the seven-day ceremony.

"I feel that way." Barton said seriously, "You are different from usual. Are you worried about the Religious Decree? Don't worry, Mr. Ling. I said that good people will have good luck..."

He added silently in his heart, and then lightly pressed the brim of his hat: "I have something else to do. Excuse me first, Mr. Patton. I wish you a smooth patrol mission tonight."

Ling Ge came back to his senses and found that the person standing in front of him was Patton, the patrol officer who had delivered the notice to him in the morning. He still squinted his eyes and had a friendly smile, but his round face was a little ruddy and he faintly smelled of alcohol. According to regulations, police officers are not allowed to drink when performing patrol duties. Ling Ge frowned slightly and took a half step back imperceptibly, avoiding the range of the alcohol smell: "I'm fine, thank you for your concern, Mr. Patton."

Although he thought so, Ling'er suddenly saw the stubborn face of Metien when he was arguing with him. He was dazed and his pace slowed down subconsciously. At this time, a familiar figure came from the other side of the street and asked with concern: "Mr. Ling, are you okay?"

They have gained a more secure faith, and nothing is more important than this.

Ling'er frowned even deeper: "Me? In a bad mood?"

Also, good people don't necessarily have good luck.

"Really?" Barton laughed and said, "I saw that you were in a bad mood, so I asked you a question. I must have seen it wrong, please don't take it to heart."

"That matter has been resolved." Ling Ge interrupted him, his eyes serious, his tone light but firm: "So I am in a good mood now, that is indeed your illusion."

Then he walked past the police officer and headed towards his own church, leaving Barton standing there in a daze, muttering, "Solved? So quickly?"

Why did Pastor Lingge sound so relaxed?
But he heard that other churches in Linville were still in turmoil.

It's really confusing. ***
Standing in front of the church door, Lingge did not push the door open immediately because he found that he was in a very uneasy mood and needed some time to calm down. Perhaps it was because Officer Patton's words "Good people will have good luck" stimulated him and reminded him of his father, or to be more precise, his adoptive father, a truly good man.

If good people have good luck, then what is Mr. Yang Ke’s case?
The world is more absurd than you can imagine.

He didn't want to go home and face his sister in this mood, so he took off his hat and stood outside the door, intending to come back after he recovered. But suddenly Lingge realized that something was wrong: there was the sound of people talking behind the door.

Because it needs to take into account the duties of a residential building, the specifications of Tianxin Church are very simple. The first door is the chapel, and the back is separated by a corridor to form a narrow kitchen. The second floor is the room of Lingge and Metien, as well as the bathroom and utility room. Usually, only Lingge would use the chapel and kitchen on the first floor. Metien would stay in her room to prepare for the exam and only go downstairs for meals or when going out.

But now, Linger was sure that he recognized the voice of Metien from the two people talking behind the door. He could not have heard it wrong after spending so much time with them. As for the other voice, it was also a young girl, but more lively and vivid, like the afternoon sunshine, full of vigor and vitality.

The content of the conversation between the two gave people a... messy feeling.

A spirited girl's voice: "...So, I was lucky enough to win a limited edition game console and cartridge, and I was planning to play this so-called cross-era game masterpiece, "Alice Game", to see if it is as awesome as the advertisements say! But as soon as I logged into the game, I found myself here. Here, let me show you the logo of the game company. Isn't it awesome? Ah, it's stuck here again, move, move the progress bar!"

Boom boom, the sound of something smashing.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Calm down, Sister Alice." This was Metien's voice. She tried to divert the other person's attention: "By the way, this... game you mentioned is exactly the same as your name, right?"

A triumphant girl's voice: "That's right, when I won the prize, the employees of the game command company were just as surprised as you! This is such a coincidence, the player with the same name as the game just happened to win the world's limited edition, one-of-a-kind game console and cartridge. Hehe, it's no exaggeration to say that this is the choice of fate!"

Fate? Lingge's pupils shrank slightly outside the door.

On the other side of the door, Metien asked in confusion: "Game Command Company? What is that?"

The girl's voice rose: "Game Instruction Company, that is, Game Instruction Company, referred to as GI, is the studio that developed this game. It has a great background. Don't be surprised when I tell you: it is a studio jointly funded by Nintendo, Sony, Ubisoft, Microsoft, EA, SE and other game companies. The purpose of its establishment is to develop the first fully immersive virtual online game in human history. It combines multiple game types such as role-playing, exploration and decryption, action-adventure, racing shooting, card battles, traditional turn-based, real-time combat, etc. The world view is grand, and the holographic degree reaches an astonishing 99%! What does 99% mean? It's just like the real world... Huh?"

The girl suddenly realized: "I thought of a possibility. I mean maybe. Do you think it's possible? I'm in the game now? And you are the NPC responsible for guiding me?"

Metien laughed awkwardly: "Uh, hahaha, I, I don't understand what it means at all, but it sounds very impressive. The names of those companies, and this... game you mentioned?"

"Of course, after all, it is a groundbreaking game masterpiece, and it is jointly produced by so many big companies. When the news came out, the Nintendo and Sogou in the forum went crazy, but I don't think they are good people, huh!"

An indignant girl said: "I just posted a question asking why there is no Blizzard, and they called me a forum pet and hung me up and scolded me for half a year. Half of the people who replied below called me a Blizzard fan, and the other half called me a Blizzard hater. Ah! I am so angry!"

The sound of banging the table.

"..."

There was no more sound from Metien, perhaps she was too frightened to speak.

(End of this chapter)