Alice in the Land of Steam

Isn’t Chapter 73 the same person?
On November 1855, 11, a train departed from the New Queen Square Station in Linville City and headed for the "prosperous city" of Rostin in the northern border of the kingdom. Linger, along with his sister Metine and maid Alice, mixed in the crowded and noisy crowd and embarked on the first journey of his life.

The Dawn train, with 30 carriages and a total length of about 350 yards, is jointly operated by the City Transportation Bureau and the Linville Rail Transit Company, and receives hundreds of thousands of passengers each quarter. When this huge train ferociously crawls on the rails that run through the fields and the earth, anyone can feel the shocking power of steel and steam from the low roar.

Red-hot coal was fed into the boiler, and thick black smoke spewed out from the chimney on top of the train, raising a large cloud of gloomy fog. The window glass crackled as the train swayed, and the fields, villages, and woods outside the window...all passed quickly under the gray haze sky, leaving blurry afterimages.

Once upon a time, the wandering Moruoyans saw trains coming from the end of the earth and believed that they were giant snakes crawling out of the ground, which would destroy human civilization and swallow up houses and streets. A hundred years later, the old sites of villages that were forced to move due to the construction of railways still stand alone in the wilderness, listening to the whimpering of the snakes, like the sad bagpipes of the Moruoyans, and those empty and dilapidated houses, once again confirming their prophecy.

Alice, who was riding on a steam train for the first time, excitedly pressed her face against the glass, holding on to the window sill with both hands. She ignored the bumps in the carriage and stared at the scenery outside. She turned a blind eye to the strange looks from other passengers because she was a person who did her own thing and always lived in her own world.

Metien was also very happy, but at least she knew how to restrain herself. She reached out and tugged at the corner of the maid's clothes, and whispered to her, "Hurry up and sit down, Sister Alice! This is too dangerous!"

"Ah?" The maid turned around and asked in confusion, "Where is the danger?"

I'm just looking at the scenery. Could a rock suddenly fly over and hit me on the head?
"In 1769, when the Dawn train was just put into operation," Linger, who was sitting opposite, suddenly spoke up, his eyes still fixed on the book in his hand. He said without raising his head, "A passenger who was riding a train for the first time was as excited as you and made a similar move. As a result, the train failed to slow down successfully due to a malfunction of the emergency brake device when turning. Under the huge kinetic energy impact, the passenger was thrown out of the window directly - while the other passengers just hit the wall."

"This incident was once reported on the headlines of major newspapers in the kingdom. The Linville City Rail Transit Company, which was responsible for the operation of the train, had to compensate the passenger's relatives with 10,000 gold pounds and spent a huge amount of money to improve the Dawn's various infrastructure before the situation was barely calmed down."

He paused for a moment, and then said, "If you are willing to make some insignificant contributions to me and Metien, I actually have no objection to your current behavior."

……

Alice, a black household with no relatives, has no other relatives in this world. If something happens to her, who will get the compensation? There is no need to elaborate, right?

Alice didn't react for a moment, but this example was indeed quite scary. The golden-haired maid imagined the scene of being thrown out of the car window, and she shuddered. She quickly climbed back to her seat, sat upright, and behaved more obediently than a first-grade student at St. Lowood National School.

Linville and Rostin are both located in the northern border of the kingdom, but they are far apart. It takes two days and one night to travel by train, and they will pass through Bruthers, the "City of Gold Hill", Ethel, the "City of Aries", Anchor Mountain, the "City of Coal", and other cities. Linger bought a Class A ticket that does not transfer or stop. In other words, they have to spend the two days and one night in the carriage.

Traveling is boring most of the time...

Alice glanced out the window and suddenly, as if she had discovered a new world, she pointed at the scenery that was flying across the field in amazement and asked, "What is that?"

"Pfft!" After understanding these words, Metien couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The maid then said: "Taking a train is really a dangerous thing."

"Is this true?" she asked Metien in a low voice.

Her surprise successfully attracted Ling's attention. The young man raised his head and looked in the direction of her finger, and saw a large group of white buildings. They were elegant in shape and simple in style. The surface of the stone carvings was covered with traces of years of wear and tear, like ruins left over from the previous era, full of antiquity and mystery.

Alice now finds it fresh and interesting, and has the energy to chat with Metien, but given her personality, she will probably get bored soon.

The pink-haired girl suppressed her laughter and nodded vigorously.

"what?"

What is particularly eye-catching is that this complex of buildings, whether it is the arches wrapped with green vines, the courtyards overgrown with weeds and wild flowers, the dilapidated white tower, the broken walls covered with mosses... are all supported by towering round arched stone pillars. These stone pillars tightly entangled by vines are like silent giants, supporting the cracked and mottled stone bricks, the huge buttresses worn by the wind, and even the solemn and dignified church made of wood and stone in the center.

This ancient building complex is supported by stone pillars and connected to each other by suspended stone steps. At first glance, it looks like ancient ruins floating in the sky. It does not seem to be built by mortals, but rather a work of nature, giving people a sense of grandeur, solemnity and vicissitudes.

The winding stairs spiral upward around these round arched stone pillars, reaching the height of the floating ruins through the ground. Standing on the edge, you can see the lush vegetation and ancient trees, and the pedestrians walking back and forth on the earth, as small as ants.

"This is a wonder!" Alice exclaimed, "The Hanging Gardens of Babylon?" Lingge didn't know what the Hanging Gardens were, but he knew the origin of this complex of buildings very clearly, or rather, every Linweier should know it.

"That's the floating ruins of the Tanteville Plains," he said. "It was built by a group of religious orders in the middle of the 17th century. It was said that it was to suppress the ghosts that roamed the plains. But it was also because of its construction that the ghost legend of the Tanteville Plains became widely known, to the point where almost everyone knew about it."

"There is also a statue of Marshal Napoleon in front of the Central Cathedral. You should be able to see it from here."

Alice quickly moved closer and put her face against the glass again, opening her eyes wide to observe. Sure enough, she saw a statue of a man on horseback standing in front of the solemn and dignified church in the center. He was wearing a military uniform and holding a sword. From this angle, only his profile could be seen, but his eyes were very bright. In his resolute expression, there was confidence and heroism. He was worthy of being the man who brought the Kingdom of Brittany from the quagmire of war to the top of the world.

The only problem is...

"It's so tall." Alice asked in confusion, "It must be at least 1.8 meters tall? Who made this statue? Even if it wanted to express respect for Na Shuai, it shouldn't be so outrageous, right?"

Metien was even more confused than her: "What's wrong, Sister Alice?"

"That is to say, the height doesn't match at all. Isn't Na Shuai only 1.6 meters tall?"

"..."

Metien and his brother looked at each other and saw the confusion in each other's eyes.

"Who told you that Na Shuai was only 1.6 meters tall?" Linger frowned slightly. "Whether it was recorded in history books or told by the soldiers who followed Na Shuai, they all said that he was a great man with an imposing manner, who often led the troops in battle and killed the enemy. If someone thought he was a butcher, it could be said that they had different opinions; but if someone said he was only 1.6 meters tall, it was undoubtedly slander."

"..."

Now it was Alice's turn to be silent.

She leaned closer, almost pressing her entire face against the glass, and took advantage of the gap between the trains passing by to capture the face of the statue of Na Shuai, and then she discovered something that shocked her:

Nothing like it!

Compared with the classic image of Marshal Napoleon in my memory, there is no similarity at all!

Is this the difference between the other world and the earth world, or is it that the two sides only have the same name but are two completely different people?

Alice was in a state of confusion.

***
At the same time, in the office on the third floor of the Linville Parish Council, Tribune Langning Laville was looking at a letter of transfer in front of him in silence.

"To Mr. Ronning Lavelle"

"In view of your outstanding performance in the A-1855-229 incident, which successfully prevented a super-large-scale hazardous incident from happening, and promoted the enforcement of the "Religious Decree" in the secular world, the Supreme Council has decided to transfer your position to the core combat agency - the Investigation and Arbitration Bureau, and serve as the fourth ship officer of the Earth Witch - Scarlet Night Gate. Your official identity is the deputy director of the "First Division of Truth" of the Folk Customs Countermeasures Bureau of the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Kingdom of Great Britta. The relevant procedures have been completed. Please report to the Scarlet Night Gate within thirty days after receiving this letter."

"Attached is a message from Lord Fei'er: The coordinates of the Celestial Eater's lair have been cracked, and the Feiyemente is on its way to carry out the Judgment mission. If you hurry up, you may still be able to catch up. Thank you for your hard work."

The signature is: "Resource Integration Agency - Human Resources Management Bureau"

Date: November 1855, 11

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)