by <unknown>
There were nearly a thousand mountains of bones, with the first among them having been started to be built 500 years ago. The bones had already decomposed, becoming one with the land. Only by the virtue of the enchantments from the mysterious glyph arrays were they not destroyed by the fierce winds.
The most recent one had just started to be built. At the top of the tower, one could see the remains of flesh and blood as well as the blood that continually dripped onto the ground.
Witnessing this, Li Yao was horrified. He could even vaguely hear the blood-curdling screams of the demon beasts coming from these bones.
In these five hundred years, a total of seven great expeditions had been carried out by the federations, right here, from the Giant Edge Pass.
Before the Great Expedition, the Demon Beast Wasteland was the paradise of Demon Beasts and was also known to have "36 Demon Countries, 72 Demon Cities, 108 Demon Kings".
After the seventh expedition, all the Demon Countries and all the Demon Villages had all been completely destroyed, and the 108 Demon Kings had been beheaded in succession, with not a single one having been left off. All of their head were now displayed in these "War Trophies". The Demon Beast Wasteland had been completely conquered by the federation and became the fertile ground of humans!
Even now, the Demon Beast Wasteland was still not peaceful. From time to time, a large number of demon beasts and members of the Demon Clan, both of which coming from the "Blood Demon Sector", would invade from the rifts in space and wreak havoc in the human populated towns. However, not even once had they been able to successfully gain a firm footing; every time, they would withdraw to the Blood Demon Sector after paying a heavy price.
"Mankind is the strongest battle race in the endless sea of stars!"
It was not that mankind was boasting. However, all the demon beasts who had doubted this sentence were, at this moment, buried and put on display in these mountains of bones—the proof was made at the expense of their lives!
Li Yao slowly walked in between these towers of bones. From time to time, he would stop in front of one or two particularly majestic mountain of corpses, beholding the bizarre demon beast bones and gasping in admiration.
Only after spending more than three hours did he finish walking on this road of glory and thus arriving before the Giant Edge Pass.
Because the Demon Beast Wasteland had already been incorporated into the federation territory, the front line to the north had been greatly extended and today's Giant Edge Pass didn't hold much of a military value.
Like the Distance Expanse floating above Devil Flood Dragon Island, a majority of the fortress had been transformed into a war museum which was visited by many primary and secondary students for sightseeing and learning under the guidance of their teachers.
Following a group of primary school students, Li Yao made his way into the Giant Edge Pass.
Just past the fortress entrance, the first thing that filled his vision was a huge, transparent glass box which encased a lump of fossil-like object.
Upon looking carefully, it was a pile of ancient ash accompanied with some broken bone fragments.
Beside the glass casing was a glyph array which projected a 3D-hologram, sketching out a scene from millions of years ago.
The scene inside the hologram outlined a dark and narrow cave, within the depths of which were a few hunching apeman covered in long black hair sitting next to a fire as they cooked meat.
"Students, please look. These are the remains which were unearthed from the ruins of a civilization in the depths of the wasteland. According to experts’ research, as early as 3.7 million years ago, a race of very intelligent ancient apes who knew how to use tools and survive lived in the depths of the wasteland. And the experts, upon extracting a trace of soul markers from the fossils of ancient apes, discovered that there was actually 0.000001% similarity with ours, humankind’s, soul markers. You can say that these ancient apes were our distant relatives! So—"
The female teacher leading the primary student looked weak, but she spoke in a resolute and decisive tone, with each word weighing a thousand kilograms:
"Since ancient times, the wasteland has been our, humankind’s, territory. We must use our lives to protect it! Even an inch of land can not be allowed to be snatched away by the demon beasts!"
"A true hooligan, but I like it!"
Li Yao secretly gasped in admiration. Parting with the primary students that came to tour the war museum, he walked towards the other side of the Giant Edge Pass.
The buildings to the left side of the military fortress of Giant Edge Pass had been renovated into a war museum, while the right side had been renovated into a huge crystal train station.
The Demon Beast Wasteland stretched across a vast area, and demon beasts from the other sectors would cause trouble from time to time. Not only did ordinary people like Li Yao not dare to travel alone on this road, even cultivators with ordinary cultivation could not easily ride their flying swords in the Demon Beast Wasteland—it was equal to putting themselves in the sight of countless hunters; it was a very dangerous behavior.
Even if it was Fiend Blade Peng Hai, a Foundation Building Expert who possessed the powerful support-class magical equipment known as the Mystic Bird Battle Shuttle, would not dare to venture out alone. For sure, ordinary demon beasts would be helpless against them; however, if a one in a million chance occurred where they ran out of luck and encountered a “Beast Tide”, an event where hordes of demon beasts invaded through a wormhole, then even if they were the lowest of demon beasts, thousands upon thousands of tide-like surging demon beasts could still swallow powerful cultivators.
So, in the Demon Beast Wasteland, humans lived inside heavily guarded towns.
Surrounding these towns were a large number of military fortresses, forming an impregnable defensive system, and crystal trains were used to travel between these towns.
The crystal trains in the Demon Beast Wasteland were completely different from the crystal trains in the inlands. Perhaps they might not be as luxurious, comfortable, or as fast as the “Ultra-High Speed Crystal Train”, and the condition was a little bad...
But, the crystal trains here had multiple defensive arrays installed within them and even had armored compartments installed, stationed inside which were an army of "Train Soldiers", who would safeguard the passengers.
Three days ago, Li Yao had bought a train ticket through the spirit net. But as it was the season when schools opened, many inland students had to leave for the various major universities of Demon Beast Wasteland, and then there were the new soldiers that were going to enlist in the army, who had temporarily requisitioned a part of crystal rail lines, thus the train tickets were short in supply. Li Yao was only able to buy a slow, third-class ticket.
If he as so much wishes, Li Yao could also use the identity of "Federation Disabled Servicemen" and directly take a seat in the VIP carriage, enjoying the best treatment.
But, Li Yao always had a knot in his heart. He believed that he was not really injured and felt that he did not deserve the "Class-1 Disabled Servicemen” treatment. If possible, he wanted to take advantage of it as little as possible; otherwise, he would always feel apologetic for the truly disabled veterans.
Anyway, he had spent a majority of his life in the Magical Equipment Graveyard, so how could there be a place that was even dirtier to sleep at? In comparison, the conditions of the third-class compartment were already pretty good.
Waiting for the train, he might as well close his eyes and sink his spirit into the depths of his brain so that he could assimilate the memory fragments of Ou Yezi. Whatever was happening outside had no relation to him.
Thinking like this, Li Yao walked into the waiting hall.
The season when schools opened was the time of peak passenger flow; the huge waiting hall was bustling with people, the majority of which were young students traveling to the universities in the Demon Beast Wasteland.
Many
of the students had left their homes and were going so far away for the first time in their lives. They were all dancing in joy and chirping in happiness. They were all excited to travel to the thrilling and dangerous "Wasteland" from legends; the waiting room was wrapped in a cheerful atmosphere.
Li Yao took a look around, walked up to an automatic ticket machine, and from the mini crystal processor on his wrist, transferred his purchased ticket spirit code into the automatic ticket machine to scan. "Ding!" A thin train ticket was thrown out from the mouth of the ticket machine.
Just as Li Yao was about to reach out, the ticket, without any implication of wind, moved by itself and unexpectedly folded itself into a paper crane. The paper crane started circling Li Yao’s head and had even made chirping sounds akin to a bird.
"Hello passenger, I am your train ticket. Your train will leave in 1 hour 32 minutes, so you can go to the waiting room No. 8 to wait. But, our 'Old Squad Leaders' Smoked Chicken Leg' of Giant Edge Pass is very famous and is on sale in the 'Veteran Gourmet Restaurant'. As there is still time, how about you give it try? The Boss used to be the cooking squad leader in the federation army, and the chicken leg is big and far, it’s very delicious!"
"No need, I'm not hungry." Li Yao was speechless. This year, advertisements were truly everywhere!
"If you are not hungry, that's alright. In my array glyphs, there are still 15 telepathic thoughts. They can provide the information of the 1,372 products available in the vicinity of the train station. How about you take a look?" the paper crane dancing around his head said in anticipation.
"There is really no need. Can't we directly go to the waiting room?"
"Oh..."
The paper crane said in aggrievance. Fluttering its little wings, it twisted in the front as it led Li Yao to waiting room No. 8. With a very sad “Humph!”, it unfolded itself before reverting back into a thin train ticket which fell into Li Yao’s hand.
It made Li Yao a little embarrassed. He thought that by not going to the “Old Squad Leader’s Gourmet Shop” to give it a try, it was a little unfair to it.
Chapter 104: Meeting with an Old Senior |
Waiting room No. 8 was huge; dozens of rows of long iron aisles were filled with passengers, and the center of these aisles was packed with large and small bags. The fragrance of greasy meat buns filled the air, and although it smelled awful, it also brought a sliver of warmth.
Pushing the large and small bags to the side, Li Yao somehow managed to find some space in a corner, and just as he was about to sit, he heard some whispers coming from behind:
"Jiang Tao, so this is the so-called ordinary waiting room. Wow! It really is different from the VIP waiting room. There are so many people, it’s so lively, and it’s a little stinky too!"
Which was then followed by a somewhat husky voice:
"Gu Lili, I'm truly embarrassed! Currently, it just so happens that schools are about to open and there are many workers heading north to look for work in the Demon Beast Wasteland, not to mention the trains are short in supply as well. With the help of many family connections, I had originally already booked a special compartment in a deluxe express the day before yesterday, but who would have known that beast tide would break out on the front lines. Because of this, the army had temporarily requisitioned that train. I can't do anything other than to take a seat in this rotten, slow express. You’ll just have to bear with it. What can we do? This is just how the wasteland is."
"It's alright, Jiang Tao. You don't have to treat me as some delicate miss. Occasionally traveling on an ordinary crystal train is also a rare life experience. Although it smells a little bad, it will only last a day and night. Thinking back in the future, maybe I will think of this as an interesting adventure trip!" the girl said with a laugh.
"That's good, but I'm afraid you will be disappointed."
"How so?"
The girl with a smile on her face continued, "In fact, I think it will be rather interesting. The two of us are dressed so low-key and are mixed among the poor, so who would know that my dad has so many crystal mines? And even more so you, Jiang Tao, who would expect that you are a 3rd level Refinement Stage cultivator, as well as a refiner, and even a member of the Jiang Family?! Wow, it is simply a plot of a novel—a white dragon disguised as a fish, playing pig to eat the tiger! If a few ignorant rogues molest me, then you can amaze the whole world in a single brilliant feat. That's so awesome!"
Li Yao could no longer go on listening. If he continued listening, he would not be able to endure and would burst into laughter. He simply found a corner far away, and disregarding whether the ground was dirty or not, he sat down and very comfortably stretched his tired waist.
Unexpectedly, after a moment, the voices of the young boy and the young girl, like his shadow, floated from behind:
"Jiang Tao, check that farmer uncle out. He is so funny! Excluding the fact that he had brought so many sausages with him to travel, he had also brought such a big stone!"
Li Yao was stunned for a while before he realized that the "farmer uncle" in their conversation was none other than him. Lowering his head, he looked at how he was dressed—his hair was a mess, he had grown a beard, his skin was tanned, and his shirt and pants were riddled with holes. In left hand was a large package wrapped in cloth, inside of which were homemade sausages that the villagers insisted for him to take, while in his right hand was similarly a large package which carried the Dark Star Rock.
At a first glance, he very much so held the appearances of those workers who left for the Demon Beast Wasteland to make money.
"Jiang Tao", who surprisingly had good eyesight, said, "That stone is a meteorite, but it is not surging with any spiritual energy, so it is not some heaven and earth material. In a big city, I estimate that it could be sold for 100,000-200,000 bucks. I think that this villager must have inadvertently found this big stone in some nook or cranny and thought of it as a treasure, so I’m guessing that he is bringing it to a big city to sell."
"I guess he is a little strong if he can carry such a big stone with him!" Gu Lili said in wonder.
"Well, he is a farmer, so it is normal for him to be a little strong. However, the way I see it, he is stupid. Wait a while. In just a bit, he will want to cry but won’t be able to. Such a big stone that’s shaped like a war hammer is simply no different than a peerless weapon, so how could he be allowed to bring it on the crystal train? You see that? A patrolling Puji Critter is flying over. As long as it discovers the stone, he will certainly not be allowed to carry it on the train!"
Jiang Tao said as he laughed. A tinge of mockery could be heard in his laugh.
Sure enough, an army-green Puji Critter which carried a "Train inspection, prohibited to carry dangerous goods" sign flew straight in front of Li Yao and shot a green light from the antennae above its head, completely scanning the Dark Star Rock from inside out.
"Beep! Dangerous item confirmed!"
The Puji Critter flew down a little as the green light turned red and scanned Li Yao.
"See? Just a while ago, they didn’t even allow us to carry a small knife and had even confiscated it, so how could they allow him to carry such a big weapon on the train?" Jian Tao smiled.
"Ding! The passenger's identity has been confirmed. You are allowed to carry dangerous items on the train. I wish you a pleasant journey!"
After Li Yao's status as a "Class-1 Federation's Disabled Serviceman" was confirmed, the Puji Critter suddenly changed the topic and spoke very gently.
It also bent its antennae towards Li Yao, seemingly giving him a respectful salute.
Class-1 Federation's Disabled Servicemen had all been forged in the crucible of war. They were the loyal warriors of the country, so it was obvious that they would not cause any trouble on the trains. Not to mention, if they encountered a demon beast invasion, they could perhaps rely on them to fight as well.
Let alone such a small Dark Star Rock, they could even openly carry a chainsaw sword on their
shoulder and could still imposingly board the train.
In the Star Glory Federation, disabled soldiers were precisely so unbridled!
"..." Jiang Tao dumbfoundedly stared.
"Jiang Tao, what is going on? Just a moment ago, such a small fruit knife had been confiscated from us, and even my two makeup bags were checked. That farmer uncle is carrying such a big lump of iron—if he waved it, he could absolutely smash someone's brain! So why are they not checking him?" Gu Lili was puzzled.
"This—" Jiang Tao had a toothache.
With half a sausage dangling in his mouth, Li Yao casually picked up the few hundred kilogram Dark Star Rock and expressionlessly walked before the two. As he took an arbitrary glance, he discovered that Jiang Tao and Gu Lili could be regarded as a handsome and beautiful couple; however, their faces were overflowing in innocence, much like two pretty flowers grown in a greenhouse. Although they were older than him, they looked a bit naive.
At this moment, the two dumbfoundedly looked at him. It seemed as if he was a demon beast wearing human skin. Gu Lili's eyes were filled with curiosity; she wanted to ask but dared not to.
Withdrawing his gaze, Li Yao walked to the canteen on the side of the waiting room.
There was still some time before the train departs, and he was a little hungry. Li Yao was not ready to go to "Old Squad Leader's Gourmet Restaurant" to be ripped off, so he simply thought of buying instant noodles instead.
The canteen was an open-type, so all the goods were placed on the open shelves. Instant noodles were the most popular product in the waiting room, where dozens of brands filled the three shelves completely. It was simply a feast for the eyes.
"Hey, there is actually shrimp instant noodles manufactured by the Sea Dragon Sect?"
A smile seemed to appear in Li Yao’s eyes. Sea Dragon Sect was a very small sect with mediocre strength, and it also didn't have any well-known, big companies under it.
However, Sea Dragon Sect had an absolutely secretive mysterious method which could be used to produce a kind of delicious product with shrimp, fish, and kelp. When it entered your mouth, it would still be extremely fresh and delicious.
