Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 718 An unexpected discovery?

Some people once said that there was another city hidden under Lunwitting, where countless treasures, cultural relics and a huge secret that revealed human history were buried. The city government built an underground railway that runs through the entire urban area of ​​Lunwitting, not to facilitate the transportation of citizens, but to dig a road to that city. Later, some underground people who lived in the dark for thirty years and finally returned to the world because they could not bear the loneliness said that sometimes they could see white ghosts floating underground near the Roald District, asking every living creature: "Do you know where my home is?"

There are countless legends like these, which together form the dark and mysterious impression of the underground world among the citizens of Lunwitin. The subway itself has also been transformed from a means of transportation into a strange image, as if these giant steel snakes roaring past fifty meters below the feet are actually messengers from another world, which will take the selected passengers to a distant unknown city at a specific time.

A hundred years later, the first group of elderly people who witnessed the opening of the subway and were trembling with fear have long passed away, but similar rumors are still circulating in the streets and can be heard from time to time.

The mist was obscure and the lights were dim. Walking on the abandoned railway tracks at the North Rolde subway station platform, feeling the mildew and sour smell emitted by the rotten sleepers and rusted rails, Olvera finally understood the feelings of the citizens of Renwittin who were keen on such rumors.

The roaring and roaring giant steel snake symbolizes the supreme masterpiece of modern industrial technology and has a shocking power. It is said that when the Morians first saw the train passing through the wilderness, they mistakenly thought that it was a giant snake from disaster that had come to the world and would devour all the houses and fields. Later, the expansion of railway tracks and the abandonment of suburban villages undoubtedly confirmed their prediction.

When such a huge snake is moving 50 meters underground, and you can vaguely feel the ground shaking violently due to its movement, but you can't see its figure, you will naturally feel awe in your heart. This has nothing to do with superstition or ignorance, but is the instinct flowing in human blood: awe of the dark underground, awe of the unknown world, awe of the cold, hard and emotionless steel giant that can reach any city in Lenwitting within half an hour by swallowing hot water, coal and steam... Together, they shaped the origin of the legend.

They feared the power of industry, were amazed at how those ordinary things could destroy the old world and create a new one, and felt that they were about to be eliminated by this era, so they didn't know what to do. When the passengers stood on the platform of North Roald Station waiting for the subway to enter, were they riding a new means of transportation, or were they prepared to sacrifice their lives and squeeze into the mouth of this giant steel snake that symbolized the direction of the times?

With these thoughts in mind, she gradually became intoxicated by the bizarre scenes described by Woolf Gates in "Underworld". Sometimes, the interruption of the railway reminded her of Myerson Kenny King's description of the emergency braking of the subway in "The Dark Visitor", describing it as a stranding of a giant whale, causing the small fish in the dark deep sea to swing their tails restlessly, "feeling that they were about to be swallowed up."

The abandoned subway, full of images of desolation, depression and decay, can undoubtedly inspire the imagination of the literary girl, allowing her to connect similar descriptions in every book she has read with the scene in front of her, thus giving rise to a more mysterious throbbing. This is the romance of the old times and the unique charm of urban history, which makes the princess of Berman wander here and can't help herself.

It was not until Rorona, who was sitting in a wheelchair, whispered a reminder to her that she realized that she seemed to have left her companions behind for some distance.

The princess felt that she was pushing the wheelchair neither too fast nor too slow, but it was actually an illusion. She was walking too fast and too focused, and did not notice that her companions had disappeared from the lighted area. She could only vaguely hear Sister Livia calling out. Under Rorona's half-smiley gaze, Olvera blushed slightly, and without making excuses, she obediently stopped and waited for her companions to catch up.

The first person to catch up was Metien, and the little elf Shemi above her head.

"Hoo, hoo! Sister Olvera, you're walking too fast!"

The pink-haired girl panted and said that the abandoned railway, which was full of rubble and broken sleepers, was not friendly to her short legs. Then two more people broke into the area covered by the lights. They were Sister Livia, who looked worried, and Leticia, who was flying in the air with her two bat wings. The latter was a dark vampire, and she was like a fish in water in this dark environment, and she did not show any discomfort.

"Sorry." Olvera looked a little embarrassed. "I, I was so engrossed in watching that I didn't notice you. Metien, are you okay? Do you want to take a rest first?"

Sister Livia answered on behalf of the little girl: "You can take a break first. We are still halfway to the next platform to return to the ground. There is no rush." ​​The pink-haired little girl actually wanted to take a break a long time ago, but was too embarrassed to say it out loud. She nodded her head in agreement and almost threw Shemi off her head. Leticia, who landed on the ground, looked at the little fairy with disdain and muttered: "You only know how to sit on Metien's head and never walk by yourself. In the end, you are still a lazy dog!"

Xie Mi snorted twice, and was proud of it: "Not convinced? If you are not convinced, you can sit up!"

“Uh, this…hahaha.”

Medien laughed dryly, thinking that he probably couldn't bear the weight of Leticia, so he brushed off the topic and quickly moved on to the next one: "By the way, Sister Olvera, what were you looking at just now? Why were you so engrossed?"

"Ah? Oh, I'm looking at this railway." Olvera, who had already sat on a big rock to rest, replied, "Although it has been abandoned for a long time, there are still some traces that show its original construction and operation status. Look, there is still a section of sleeper here. I don't know how it got to this place. Was it moved here by someone, or was it the work of water?"

Metien tilted her head, not quite understanding what he said, but she thought, "You look like Ling Ge when you were in school, Sister Avra."

Avella was stunned for a moment: "Is that so?"

"Yeah." Metien nodded. "When Lingge was still in college, he often took me to the floating ruins on the outskirts of the city during holidays. He also told me about the history of Marshal Napoleon and the origin of the ruins. He seemed to like these things very much."

After hearing her words, Ovilla remembered that Lingge was actually a college student majoring in history.

Had she become a bit like him? Was it natural, or was it influenced by him? The princess couldn't help but hold her chin in her hand, lost in thought.

Rorona pushed her wheelchair and wandered around leisurely. She was not afraid of the darkness, but was wondering if she could find some materials suitable for alchemy. Leticia and Shemi were staring at each other because of a small quarrel just now, and Sister Livia was trying to persuade them with a helpless look on her face. As for Metien, she seemed to have developed some interest in the subway ruins nearby because of what Olvera said, so she curiously followed the direction of the railway track and began to search, but of course, she didn't run too far.

After about ten minutes, everyone felt that their strength had recovered. Sister Livia, who had finally calmed down the two problem children, clapped her hands and attracted the attention of others: "Okay, everyone, it's almost time, let's move on..."

Before he finished speaking, Metien's surprised voice suddenly came from the front: "Huh?"

"Come and have a look, there seems to be something here."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)