Steel steam and flame

The trains are full of minerals, most of which have only undergone rudimentary refining and contain many impurities. A very small part is refined and then melted and solidified into blocks. Such minerals are placed inside the carriage on a solid iron frame, one by one, leaving a little space between the roof and the car.

The four of them, Kasia and Lina, climbed onto the train. Now in such a space, they were only allowed to barely bend over, but could not stand upright at all.

Silla sighed on the side, and there was no way she could avoid bumps and bumps when she got inside the carriage. The inconvenience of her feet greatly increased the risk factor for the entire team. She propped herself up and leaned to the side. There were no windows or basic lamps. Only the skylight opened by Cassia let in a dull light, allowing the surrounding scenery to be barely visible. Delya and Linna also followed Silla's example and leaned against each other, breathing the silent air and resting.

Cassia was lying alone on the side, her physical fatigue and injuries quickly cured under the effects of a few tubes of sedatives. The original injury was not serious, but he experienced a series of things in the dragon's stomach. After his body and spirit calmed down, Cassia's internal organs and tissues also completely changed irreversibly. Everything was going in the right direction, the feeling in his body told him so. But I don’t know if it’s a good thing. As our understanding of surgery continues to deepen, we don’t need to go through the fifth stage. Maybe on the way, whether it is a giant whale strange person or a dragon-like surgeon, they will have escaped the category of human beings. Bar. He was afraid that he would turn into a monster. Seeing a dragon that looked like that in the underground square was indeed powerful, but maybe no one would feel yearning for it in their hearts.

Perhaps it was not that she was afraid that she would become a monster, Cassia opened her eyes and blinked, but that she was afraid that once she changed, she would never be able to go back again. He thought this way, looking at the gray sky outside through the gap in the skylight. The speed of this loaded train would reach the gray area in four or five days. After dealing with Lina and Silla's affairs there, he would take a few days' airship ride back to Manoma and return to the military school again.

There is another thing that needs to be dealt with before going back to school, which is about Delya. Cassia needs to find a place to put her, or to be precise, find something for her to do.

The night after Silla woke up, Cassia and Lina discussed and decided to accept Delya into the "team". Lina won't stay in the gray area for long. After finding a mechanic to make prosthetic limbs for Sheila's feet, she will go back to the Flame Alliance and start development from scratch. The chaos in the gray zone does bring many opportunities to people, but it is also followed by many times more destruction.

Delya does not understand the language of the Flame Alliance and has no intention of going to countries outside the empire. So I could only follow Cassia. It's unclear that this was her original plan.

Cassia didn't know how to deal with it yet. She originally wanted to hand over Delya to Ye Jielin after returning to Manoma. After thinking about it for a long time, I gave up the idea. He has the idea of ​​forming his own force, but just like when he wanted to build a steam processing factory of his own in the small town, these are definitely in their infancy. Of course, knights are also a good choice. In many large companies or noble families, their successors will have loyal knights who follow them. But that kind of knighthood has changed its flavor. In other words, it is called a private army, which may be more in line with the nature of most knighthoods now. The kind of knighthood that adheres to the inherited spirit of chivalry and brings everyone together for something to develop together is no longer common in a soil like the Empire.

It’s never too late to think about it when you get to Manoma. This problem gives Cassia a headache, and after this mission, a lot of agreements may have to be signed. The advanced theoretical courses that Coach Bei has been talking about should also be available. The people selected from the two missions are enough. While the empire needs high-quality students, it must also ensure a basic number.

Not long after I returned, the winter vacation, which only comes once a year, was coming. Cassia took a deep breath, suddenly came out of her thoughts, and looked to her side. Lina and the others had fallen asleep in the cradle caused by the slight shaking of the train. He exhaled, and until Lina woke up from her rest, she stared at the ceiling in trance.

"Have you always been in such good spirits?" Linna moved and stretched out her hands. The soft curves of her body seemed to have the characteristics of curvature, which were fully revealed in the dim and gradually brightening light. The train was indeed moving forward, leaving the rolling mountains shrouded in drizzle.

Cassia shook her head and sighed.

"We still have a few days to go to the gray area, and no one is chasing us. Most of the time I can stand guard and you can rest peacefully."

"That's enough. Not all the injuries on the body can be recovered by closing the eyes, right?" Lina also followed Cassia's example and sighed, exhaling all the breath in her chest, and her body was indeed relaxed. " Has anyone told you?"

Linna asked: "You seem to be too gentle. You will regard other people's trust in you as a responsibility and place it on yourself, and the weight will be doubled unknowingly, and the rewards you give to others will not be considered at all. "

Cassia turned her head and looked at Lina's beautiful face.

"But even so, I still like it very much!" Lina smiled, intertwined the fingers of her hands, placed them on her lap, and stared at Cassia, "A rare and scarce thing that can be seen, and that person with skin so white that women can't Compared with the envious man and the woman with the bronze dagger, there may be no difference in strength, just a little better. But in terms of thinking, you are far behind. This cannot continue, and your body can't stop it. Bullet, not everyone will pay for your tenderness."

"I know too..." Cassia wanted to retort.

"I said it!" Lina slightly increased her tone. Delya and Silla, who were sleeping next to them, moved their bodies at this time, but did not wake up.

Cassia and Lina temporarily stopped talking as if they were holding their breath. When the sound of steady breathing sounded in the car again, Lina continued what she had just said, but her tone had lowered.

"Let me tell you, knowing is not enough at all. Everyone knows that a bullet through the head will kill you, and many, many protective measures have been taken, but how many people are shot through the head every day? There are people like you in the Flame Alliance. In the school, everyone is a genius selected from a large area. They all know all aspects of knowledge, skills, insider information, potential rules, etc. Just like the school you are in, these people are now selected from all over the country. How many people are still alive? Knowing and acting on what you know are different things. They are different things. We weirdos are not ordinary people!" Lina emphasized again.

"The people and forces we are in contact with now may not do anything to you because of your gentleness, because they are all in the beginning, and the interests they hold are completely dispensable. But in the future, when the interests gradually become bigger, a little bit It can start a fight between big forces. You will definitely die on the way as you are now." Lina's voice became sharp, and she spoke the last few words one by one.

Cassia lowered her head, touched her wet hair that was not yet dry from the rain, and remained silent.

"But no matter what, thank you, about Silla." The time between the two froze for a while, and Lina's tone returned to softness.

"No need..." Cassia said. The wind blew in from the skylight, but he still felt that the air around him was stuffy.

"Actually, I should apologize to you for Silla's feet. It was not an accident caused by Hai, it was the result I expected." Cassia looked at Lina, who had closed her eyes and rested. Of course, these words were not spoken out loud. Like most of the words in the past, and most of the words in the future, they will completely rot in the stomach until they rot and are covered with black mold.

The speed of the loaded train has been maintained, and there is no station for it to stop in the rolling mountains. The super vapor compression device on the body is also the last generation developed by the Avalon Empire. The water loss rate is not as terrible as that of an airship, and there is no need to stop to replenish water along the way.

In the afternoon of the next day, it finally cleared up, and the golden sunlight falling through the skylight was quite heavy. The four of us huddled together and took a corner, enjoying the rare warmth in the light.

The weather continued in the next few days. The sky at night was wide open and as bright as one could reach out. The moon in one corner was as clear as being soaked in water. Full of stars, the gray-white Milky Way spreads out, as delicate as gathered quicksand, flowing slowly.