Abyss Express

After getting in the car, Jiang Xueming found a seat at random and sat down.

He looked at the other passengers in the carriage intentionally or unintentionally, trying to blend into the environment, and gradually relax his tense nerves.

However, I don't know why. The other guests in the carriage left their seats unanimously as if they had seen a plague god, and hurried to other places.

"what happened?"

For a moment, Xue Ming couldn't figure it out, and didn't know what these passengers were afraid of and what they were avoiding.

It's better to be quiet——Thinking of this, he cast his gaze elsewhere to relax his mind.

Counting from the luggage rack at the entrance of the train, there are a total of sixteen rows in a carriage, which is considered a luxurious configuration with ample space.

There are three seats in each row, and the aisle in the middle is wide enough for a dining table.

The windows are open and there is no protective net. Guests can lean on the windows to watch the scenery, and even jump out of the car directly.

Each position is equipped with a work table and a dining table.

Xueming tested the weight and feel of the countertop. It should be high-quality solid wood furniture, repaired and smooth, and the top-notch lacquer and waxing techniques make the board feel like warm jade.

The rugs on the seats and the leather goods of the armrests, the fragrances in every two rows, and the violin music from the invisible speakers hidden in the overhead luggage rack.

These expensive and luxurious materials made Xue Ming feel very strange.

He had never been in such a nice car. He had never seen any hotel with this level of decoration.

There is a long whistle outside the car window, and the air inside the car window is sweet.

He thought, if there is a cup of hot tea at this time.

"Mr. Jiang Xueming. Your afternoon tea is here." Before anyone arrived, the woman's greeting and the hot tea soup arrived first.

Xue Ming looked back and saw a dining car pushed from the aisle and parked beside his seat.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." The woman greeted. She was wearing a wine red suit and had short black hair, exactly the same as the one in the portrait.

Her movements of serving tea and water were casual and natural, her hands and feet were as nimble as a handyman, without any airs.

To be honest, Xue Ming has never seen such a desolate and serious woman.

When she served tea, she stretched her waist gracefully, her face was expressionless, her cheekbones and nose bridge were high, her facial features were very three-dimensional, her eyes were small and sharp.

The bright red tea soup fell into the white porcelain cup quickly and hard without splashing any water.

Xueming wanted to say hello.

But this woman never seemed to take Jiang Xueming seriously.

She just sat at the other end of the table and began to pour herself a drink.

At this moment, a pitch-black cat emerged from the dining car, which was very eye-catching.

After it was on the table, it seemed to be the absolute protagonist, taking all the scenes.

It is like an elegant lady, pacing gently on the table.

Looking at Jiang Xueming curiously, a pair of big green eyes looked like emeralds. Sometimes it becomes a line pupil, and sometimes it is round and perfect, as if it is zooming at any time, trying to see Jiang Xueming clearly from the inside out.

Xue Ming only felt that the little black cat was as clever as a child, and wanted to tease the cat, but the hand he just stretched out froze in the middle of the way—because the cat refused him.

Specifically, it was this black cat, like a human being, with its front paws stretched out, pressing on the back of Xue Ming's hand.

Jiang Xueming only felt embarrassed and laughed a few times.

Listen to a series of soft "booms".

There was the sound of the steel chain noose snapping into the car brake.

The sudden start of the train eased the embarrassment.

He put away his curiosity about the cat, and said hello to the strange woman at the opposite table in a serious manner.

"Hello, boss."

"Hello, Jiang Xueming."

The black cat spoke.

Yes, the black cat opened its mouth.

It sticks out its small pink tongue, revealing its white teeth, and the white hair under its throat trembles with the vocal organs, speaking human words.

Its voice was very weird, exactly the same as the voice from the confidential number that Xue Ming contacted in the hospital.

Xueming looked at the woman, then at the black cat.

Then repeat the process.

Looking at the woman, the woman shrugged indifferently and continued to drink tea.

Looking at the black cat, the black cat pursed its lips and narrowed its eyes, sullen.

Jiang Xueming finally came to his senses, figured it out, and wanted to change his statement.

——Who would have thought that the boss of this station is a cat?

"If my guess is right, the one in front of me is... hiss."

"Majestic." The black cat interrupted: "If you can't find adjectives, I can give you a dictionary, Mr. Jiang Xueming."

"Yes, majestic station master." Jiang Xueming changed his words, following the meaning of the station boss, with a serious expression.

The black cat seemed to be angry. It stood up on its two hind legs, hugged each other with its front legs, and tapped its tail restlessly on the table.

"Just now, did you take her—"

The longest claw popped out of the pad alone, like the index finger of the palm, pointing to the woman behind it.

"—take my servant for the station master? Don't lie to me, no one can fool me at my station."

"I" Xueming explained: "When I saw your portrait for the first time, I really thought so."

"Then you remember it for me, little red guy." The little black cat used its body length of only forty centimeters to speak lines with an aura of four meters high: "I am the BOSS of this station, and I am the boss of that portrait." The main content. The servant behind me, you can think of her as a human cat climbing frame to support me climbing up the main body of the picture."

Xue Ming nodded immediately: "Understood."

The black cat changed its position, sat on the edge of the table with its legs crossed, and sat in front of Xue Ming.

It waved its little paws, shook its head and thought seriously: "You have something to ask of me, and I also have something to do for you—we'll get straight to the point and go straight to the point. Talk about things if you have something to do, and leave if you don't have anything to do."

Xue Ming breathed a sigh of relief: "It couldn't be better, Boss."

Black cat oh no, it should be honored as BOSS now.

The BOSS briefly explained to Xue Ming the main purpose of this journey.

"What you have to do is to follow this bus to the corresponding station. The radio will announce your name and remind you to get off the bus ten minutes before it stops."

Xue Ming: "What are you going to do after getting off the car?"

"To observe, to observe things outside the station with your heart." The BOSS bluntly stated Xue Ming's main task: "Record what you saw and experienced in your passenger log. It should be detailed and appropriate. Don't use it as a travel journal. Write."

"And then?" Jiang Xueming immediately took out the handbook that Xiao Qi stuffed into his clothes, and there was a pen in the folder. He listened and memorized, for fear of missing details.

"I will arrange a comfortable and safe journey for every passenger." Boss went on to say, "For a newcomer like you entering the underground world for the first time, the train ride time should be more than three hours. ——During this period of time, you have to figure out the rules and regulations in the driving logbook. You can ask your predecessors or fellow travelers about their riding experience.”

"What's the name of the place I'm going to? What will I meet? How long will I stay? Is it dangerous?" Jiang Xueming continued to take notes without looking up.

BOSS speaks extremely fast and answers fluently. "The place you're going to is tentatively named SW.

The station has just been built and will be renamed in the future, and there are not many security personnel.

But the concentration of spiritual disasters in that area is not high, and the madness index is also very low. The astral inhabitants in the unknown area are not aggressive, and they still hope to communicate with people from the outside world.

Simply put, it's safe.

According to the information provided by previous passengers, it is a geomantic treasure land suitable for building a transit hub.

After getting off the bus, our security personnel will send you to the nearest supply station to rest. After two days of sightseeing, you can return to the Nine Realms Station and get rewards. "

Xue Ming left scrawled handwriting under the diary and added a few unfamiliar terms.

SW stands for the place name, the tentative name of the station.

Mental disasters and spiritual disaster concentrations represent dangerous disasters.

Unknown areas should refer to places in the underground world that have not yet been discovered.

What the people of the star realm said may be underground creatures, or it may be other things. Put a question mark for now, and I will check the detailed explanation in the log later.

The madness index should be related to the mad butterfly and Vita brand.

What this innocent-looking little black cat said was anything but simple.

This journey is by no means "safe and comfortable" as it says.

Xue Ming understood the logic, and then said: "You want to build the railway to a farther place."

The boss snapped his fingers, and the bullets from his knuckle claws made a crisp sound.

"That's right."

"We passengers can see things that ordinary people can't see, and are very sensitive to unknown dangers and the spiritual disaster you mentioned. We can take part in the troubleshooting work in the construction of the railway."

"That's right! I like you, your understanding ability is good! Very smart!"

"Like the driver's navigator, he will recite the road book for you, record the situation around each station node, and may also come into contact with some unknown creatures, you call them astral citizens——

——It would be best to find out some of the secrets of the unknown areas of the underground world, isn't that right? "

The BOSS nodded in satisfaction: "YES! YES! YES!"

Xue Ming then asked: "In return, will I receive a panacea?"

BOSS beamed and emphasized corrections: "Specifically, it is a complete journey, you provide me with a travel log with clear value——

——And I will give you a panacea for two, which will not only restore your sister to health, but also keep you in good travel condition. "

Xueming was silent for a long time. When he heard this illusory price tag, he felt a faint feeling of uneasiness in his heart.

"Boss, with all due respect, don't take things too seriously.

It's not reciprocal - your employees have always acted according to the rules of fairness and reciprocity. This must be a ritualistic eccentricity imposed by you over and over again.

Writing you a diary to recite the road is only one thing I have done, but you are thinking about it, and you want to give me medicine for two, what are you thinking in your heart? "

"What are you planning? Do you think I'm lying to you? To entrap you?" The little clever BOSS immediately changed his words, and his tone was playful and harsh: "I take back what I said before, I don't like smart people at all— According to what you said, there is nothing to talk about?"

"No, besides the medicine, I have to add more money." Xue Ming immediately increased the price: "Add a lot of money, I am a very realistic person, a timid and lustful layman. I don't know what the panacea you are talking about is It’s not really a cure for all diseases as you said. But the bus tickets you sent me before were all real money.”

The little black cat was lying on the edge of the table, shaking its paws, looking careless. "What do you mean, Mr. Xueming?"

Jiang Xueming closed the diary and put away the pen: "Boss, I can't stay underground for a long time, my sister is still waiting for me to go home. If you think it through clearly, you can also count the money into the equal conditions, give me A more difficult commission."

The little black cat smacked its lips, as if it felt that the man in front of it was very boring.

After a long time, the BOSS seemed to have figured it out. It finally spoke, staring at Jiang Xueming with interest, as if it had discovered a novel toy: "To the station, banknotes in the ordinary world are like waste paper."

It changed face as fast as turning a book, and became serious: "Mr. Jiang Xueming, you are really humble when you talk about money. I don't know what you've been through, and I don't understand you.

There are also other people who have offered even more outrageous conditions with me, all with power, sex and money, and some even want to go to the moon——

——But usually they don't understand what a peer-to-peer transaction is, and they charge outrageous prices for outrageous goods.

I really don't know what equivalent these waste papers can get from you, you kind of gave me a problem——

——This time, even if I made a loss-making business, I won't ask you for anything. "

Jiang Xueming held out his hand and didn't even talk about the amount of money.

"make a deal."

The little black cat laughed comfortably and stretched out its paws.

"make a deal."

When parting, the BOSS bowed gracefully to Jiang Xueming, like a very polite gentleman, and then jumped back into the servant's arms without being a gentleman at all.

"Mr. Xueming, you are very special."

Jiang Xueming raised his eyebrows and asked, "How do you say that?"

The little cat yawned: "Do you know why the other passengers in the carriage saw you as if they were seeing a disaster star, and left as soon as they said they would?"

"Why?" Jiang Xueming was puzzled.

"Because you are like a dangerous element, their [inspiration] is warning them to leave you immediately, and passengers will also rely on this [inspiration] to avoid disaster during their journey."

The little cat patted its paws, pointed to the sky, and described it vividly: "You seem cold and cruel to others. If there is a chance, I must send you to the inspiration review room for a comprehensive security check. Your soul There are probably a lot of contraband in the car, and every newcomer should go through the security check before getting on the car, but unfortunately there is not enough time."

Xue Ming didn't say anything, he just opened the diary and wrote down a few new words familiarly.

It's like the killer is studying the target's behavior pattern and trying to figure out the target's travel habits.

It seemed to him that it was not difficult to understand these things.

It's the same as his usual way of chopping up rotten beef offal and using a knife to deal with hob meat.

This is also a kind of philosophy for a person who sells lo-mei in a subway station and cooks red and white dishes with knives in the back kitchen.

Their complex tendons and bloody clumps often amaze chefs——

——What kind of insane thing did this cow do with this piece of meat before it was alive, so that the connective tissue lymph glands or organs can congest in places that shouldn't be congested, and swell in places that shouldn't be swollen.

It became like a mass of mud stuffed with anaerobic glue. The glue was still dry and twisted into tough and elastic ropes.

It is impossible to separate them clearly with a knife and water, but if you throw them directly into the pot and boil them until they are rotten and then take them out to cut, the trans fatty acids and organ tissue fluid will turn this dish into a horrible dish.

This analogy sounds complicated, but it is actually very simple.

Although it is a piece of beef offal, it is only a cheap product worth more than ten yuan by the catty, and not many people care about its taste.

But Jiang Xueming cared very much.

There are no two identical brains, and no two identical knife lines.

Every day's work is to peel off cocoons, marveling at the large cold storage where animal carcasses are stored, and what kind of top-quality animals have been sent.

Every day, my sanity is on the verge of collapse, curled up in a pigeon cage that is difficult for humans to live in, and I know some monsters and ghosts.

He wrote a suicide note in his diary.

"If I can't come back, please give this diary to my sister. She is in HK Anshan Health Center, bed 405 in the second building of the nursing home, and the attending doctor is Li Kangming."

"Jiang Bailu, brother wants to tell you something."

"Brother is going to a place far, far away, 17,000 meters underground, and I'm going to find a medicine that can cure your illness."

"If my brother dies, he will turn into sand, into soil, follow the clouds, the wind and the sun, into the rain in the sky, into the sea."

"The only thing that won't become a human again—"

"—Don't look for another brother Xueming in your life, that's not me."

"I won't take chances and hope that another Jiang Bailu will appear in my life. That's not you."

"There are no two pieces of offal that taste the same and look the same. They are all unique, like every book I've read, every person I've met, every breath, every blink of an eye."

"Looking at the world with curious eyes like we did when we were young, everything is new. We haven't grown up yet, and it's still early for us to become frowning adults."

"We're being human for the first and last time, and bad things are bound to happen."

"Don't blame yourself for your illness."

"Have a good time."

"I will not leave you."

...

The train runs quietly and smoothly on the railway.

The hanging bridge extends all the way to the deeper abyss.

The scenery outside the window is sometimes bright and sometimes dark, and the open and vast cavities in the ground, various fluorescent plants and electrical pipelines for lighting form a beautiful and beautiful scene.

BOSS leaned against the window, sniffing the smell of sulfur rushing towards him, accompanied by the flames of sparks bursting out when the bubbles in the magma lake exploded.

Its cat face was lazy and at ease, showing an intoxicated expression, it described: "The little man just now is very special, I like it very much, I have to find a way to keep him."

"Are you still thinking about him?" The servant said with a cold face, "It's so strange, you rarely pay attention to a newcomer."

"We have already sent him a lot of tickets, which can be used as money. For us, tickets are waste paper, and we can print as many as we want."

The BOSS raised the goblet, and the golden light of the magma lake was reflected in his green eyes: "But he insists on settling this waste of paper with me."

"Sounds like an honest man." The servant filled the boss's goblet with goat milk.

"No, he's not honest at all." The boss shook his head: "Didn't you hear that? He wants me to be honest."

The servant asked suspiciously, "Then you still like him?"

"He understands my aesthetics, and wants me to do equal transactions honestly." The black cat fiddled with its little tongue, spreading the goat's milk into its mouth little by little, "That's what I like about him."