"Alright, it seems that kind of authority really is expensive. Huh, but you mentioned selling all authority earlier... hehe, you wouldn't sell your own control authority too, would you?"
["......I would."]
Ye Qiyan blinked, somewhat surprised by the System's response after that silence.
"You actually sell it? Huh? Have you ever sold it before?"
["That authority is one of a kind... currently, and in the future, no Train Conductor has the qualifications to purchase it. Moreover, it cannot be sold."]
"Oh? You just said you would sell it, but now you're saying it can't be sold? Isn't that a contradiction? And you're even including the future? Are you that certain?"
["Your authority level is insufficient... Please refrain from further inquiries."]
["Ding-dong, Train Conductor Ye Qiyan, please choose whether to proceed with [Station Strategy]?"]
The System changed the subject, and Ye Qiyan didn't intend to keep pressing either.
The System's authority really could be bought, after all.
"How interesting. Of course I'll choose to continue taking risks. After all, there are things in that city I still want to know and obtain. And, as promised, I need to go watch that Guild Tournament with someone else."
He made his choice.
The System's Light Screen transformed at that moment.
[Ding-dong! Returning to your Forty-Seventh Station! [Nation on Ships]]
[Exclusive Module·Crossroads of Fate triggered!]
[Please choose between the following two docking locations!]
[Station One: Alphart Core Tower]
[Station Two: Miatila·Ultra Void!]
[Please, choose your direction!]
"I choose Station Two, Miatila·Ultra Void."
Excitement flickered in Ye Qiyan's eyes.
He was curious.
Curiosity drives humanity to keep exploring, no matter how dangerous the future they face.
But to satisfy that curiosity, humans willingly step into danger.
"Let me see what exactly this thing everyone wants so badly really is!"
A distorted void gate unfolded ahead.
Blue smoke crackling with electric sparks rolled across its surface.
ZZZZZT—!
The moment the train touched the door, time seemed to slow down.
The sound of electricity scraping against the train's coating rang incessantly.
Until, finally, it truly entered.
All sound vanished.
Gurgle, gurgle...
Ye Qiyan heard the sound of water.
When the last carriage entered this space, the train gradually came to a stop in this dark space where there was clearly no light source, yet everything could be seen clearly.
"Is this... Miatila?"
He stepped off the train.
Beneath his feet was a cold, thin layer of water.
He reached out to touch it—it was just ordinary water.
The surrounding space had no visible boundaries.
The Honeycomb Carriage opened, and Ye Qiyan dispatched the Nano-Bee Swarm to explore outward.
They began their exploration.
But the directions they could normally distinguish were lost in this space.
The swarm couldn't move—as soon as they flew any distance, they fell into a dazed state.
"A strange space. Has the concept of direction been altered?"
The Queen Bee reported the situation to him. Ye Qiyan thought briefly, then issued a new command.
"If the swarm can't explore..."
"Augustine!"
The Armament Hangar opened.
Led by Augustine, the mech-soldiers shot out in all directions.
"Overlord."
The mech-soldiers knelt on one knee before Ye Qiyan, and Augustine spoke in a gentle voice.
"Spread out, keep moving forward. If you find anything special, report back."
"Yes."
Ye Qiyan didn't just release the mech-soldiers; he also sent out Goshawk and the Demon Ravens.
There was no direction, and the Sand Table wasn't responding.
So he simply sat on top of the train car, waiting quietly for news to come back.
[It's so quiet...]
As the mech-soldiers gradually moved farther away.
This space seemed to become the quietest room in the world.
Thump, thump...
He could hear his own heartbeat.
He could also hear the cores spinning inside Lisette and Eve.
No sound, no wind, no movement, nothing at all.
This space, everything here—whether the train, the people, or anything else—seemed... as if it didn't exist at all.
Didn't exist?
No, how could it not exist?
Wasn't he, Ye Qiyan, standing right here?
Lisette, Eve, WALL-E, Red Tears...
They were all here.
Ye Qiyan opened his eyes.
A faint azure glimmer appeared in his gaze.
He looked back—Eve and even The Hunt had fallen into slumber.
Even the mech-soldiers he had sent out had somehow returned, also fast asleep.
Only Lisette remained, still gently following behind him, silently watching him, a faint smile on her face.
"How long was I asleep?"
The maid extended a finger~
"One second~"
"Jeez, I thought I'd slept for an entire day. Sending the mech-soldiers to search elsewhere was my mistake. I never expected the target was right in front of me."
The azure in his eyes gradually shifted to dark gold.
The next instant, the sky in this space was no longer pure darkness. Instead, countless streams of light streaked across it like shooting stars, brilliant and dazzling.
These streams of light gathered in the sky, forming a river.
The brilliant river fell at its end, cascading downward.
A pillar of multicolored light descended from the heavens, striking the ground.
The mech-soldiers woke up.
They hadn't been negatively affected by the external environment.
In fact, neither had Ye Qiyan.
All this space had brought them was pure silence.
Silence pushed to its absolute extreme becomes a spiritual baptism of the self.
If one was influenced by this ultimate stillness and conceived the thought of giving up on moving forward...
Then they wouldn't wake up at all.
This was a selection.
A selection to determine whether those entering this space possessed the will to move forward.
Clearly, Ye Qiyan had passed the selection.
Or rather, it was impossible for him not to.
But surprisingly, Lisette hadn't been affected at all.
No, it seemed she wasn't the only one unaffected.
Ye Qiyan's gaze fell to the side.
Red Tears was sitting not far away, staring straight at him, still silent.
"Alright, now it's time to see the true form of this Miatila. Let me take a look—just what kind of thing you really are."
He jumped off the train and walked forward along the path of light cast on the water by the brilliant streams.
His demons and machines followed closely behind him.
Until he finally reached where the pillar of light had landed. A massive, transparent door appeared within the light pillar, blocking his way.
And inside the door, stored away, was a huge, elliptical, pure-white mechanical device.
That was Miatila.
[Ding-dong!]
The System's voice rang out at that moment.
[Hidden Quest Triggered]
[Miatila·Ultra Void!]
[Please activate it. After activation, pass Miatila's trial and deliver it to the System.]
[Quest Completion Reward: ???]
[Quest Difficulty: ???]
[Note: ......]
"So... you want this?"
Ye Qiyan asked.
["...Yes."]
The System replied.
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