After walking out of the lobby of Pier A-17, there was a long walkway. The surface of the walkway was made up of countless small pebbles and painted with a beige paint. The walkway was a little uneven, and Lin Sanjiu was worried that the pebbles would slip and cause her to fall from a height of a few hundred meters. After all, there were no protective measures on either side of the walkway. When she looked down, the pedestrians beneath her feet were like a swarm of ants, moving slowly and densely on the ground.
From this height, Lin Sanjiu could see the waist of the buildings in the Cyber Zone. The grayish-black buildings continued to stretch into the night sky, accompanied by the light that seeped through the windows. It was as if there was no end to them. When Lin Sanjiu looked at them, she couldn't help wondering what the people living on the top floor were going to do.
There were two rows of indicator lights embedded on the ground on both sides of the walkway. The small white light spots extended all the way until they disappeared after a few hundred meters. It was as if they had been swallowed by the gigantic black shadow at the end of the walkway. The gigantic beast floating in the air was the spaceship she was going to board. Lin Sanjiu stopped and took half a step back. She cocked her head and studied the "spaceship".
For a person from Earth, this "spaceship" was similar to most of the man-made buildings in Red Nautilus. It was beyond her imagination. If she didn't know what this thing was, she wouldn't have thought it was a form of transportation.
From afar, the steel platform was at least a few thousand square meters in size. It was as if someone had dug up the entire square and placed it in the air … Just as she thought of this, she suddenly heard light footsteps behind her. Without waiting for the person behind her to urge her, she quickened her pace and walked toward the spaceship.
The walkway was too narrow for two passengers to walk side by side.
Lin Sanjiu quickly arrived at the bottom of the steel platform, as if she was walking on a balance beam in the air.
She didn't know where the main body of the spaceship was or what it looked like. However, other than the spacious platform above her head, she could only see the gigantic "box" hanging under its belly. It was a "box" sealed with layers of steel plates. From a close distance, she couldn't even see the end of the box. There was a gap between two of the steel plates, and a pale light shone from within. She had just walked to the door when a tired young man in overalls did not even lift his eyes. He shouted at the sound of her footsteps, "Zone R on the right. It's the empty space with the door open. Find a place to sit."
Lin Sanjiu purposely made herself look like an experienced passenger as she entered the cabin without making a sound. However, her skeletal wings caused her some trouble. When she crouched down, she lost control of the sharp blades at the end of her wings. He almost cut the young man's face in half, but at least he managed to get in without spilling any blood.
The young man looked at her back for a while with a pale face. Then he suddenly thought of something and shouted, "Be careful. If you damage our goods, you'll have to pay for it!"
At that moment, Lin Sanjiu had already reached the entrance of Area R. She sighed silently when she heard that.
"It's your fault for only being able to afford the cheapest ticket," Mrs. Manas mumbled after a while.
After cursing her skeletal wings again, Lin Sanjiu squeezed them tightly behind her back and carefully squeezed into the narrow entrance of Area R. On both sides of Area R, metal crates the size of warehouses filled every inch of the space. They were stacked all the way to the ceiling. Only the fluorescent lights at the top of the walkway were barely illuminating the area.
Sometimes, when the cargo ship was filled with cargo, it would leave. If there was some empty space, it would sell some tickets at half the price of a normal passenger ship. However, there was no provision of food and water, and there were no seats. Sometimes, the passengers couldn't even stretch their legs, so they had to squeeze together with the cargo crates. Lin Sanjiu felt a little sullen when she recalled how surprised she was when she saw the tickets.
Area R was at most 20 to 30 square meters in size. Compared to the size of the airship, it was pitifully small. Lin Sanjiu didn't know if she should be thankful for her luck since he didn't even waste such a small amount of time. When she walked in, there were already four or five people sitting in the corner. Of course, after seeing her bone wings, they didn't know what to do. Of course, when they saw her skeletal wings, almost all of them showed that they didn't welcome her.
Nevertheless, Lin Sanjiu cheekily found a spot and stood there with her arms crossed. Perhaps it was because Lin Sanjiu looked very fierce when she was expressionless, no one said anything even though she occupied a large space.
The footsteps behind her just now were the same. She arrived at the entrance of Zone R with the same frequency and weight. A young woman peeked her head through the narrow entrance. "What? Lin Sanjiu raised her head instinctively and was shocked. However, before she could let out a cry, it froze in her throat and she swallowed it. Lin Sanjiu watched in shock as the woman walked in. The woman looked around and sat down opposite her.
When Lin Sanjiu first saw the woman, she almost thought that the woman was Sajee.
But on a closer look … Be it hair color, facial features, or height, they were obviously two different people. The reason why Lin Sanjiu almost mistook the woman for Sajee was that the woman also had a pair of black eyes that looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. She also had a thick scarf around her neck.
The woman seemed to have noticed Lin Sanjiu's gaze. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
Even though Lin Sanjiu's heart was racing, she didn't show it on her face. She turned her head away expressionlessly.
The space was only about twenty to thirty square meters, so it wasn't going to sell that many tickets. After the tenth person walked into Area R, the tired young man followed them to the entrance.
"Everyone, listen carefully. We will be flying for five days this time. Disembark at Hubble Harbor and change to another airship." He held the door with one hand and said absent-mindedly, "Follow the walkway and go straight to the other end. You will find the washroom. Before we take off, the entrance you came in from will be locked. Even though you can move around in the walkway, it is best for you to stay in Area R … Sigh, it doesn't matter. You can't open these containers anyway. Don't touch our things and don't fight. Otherwise, someone will be responsible for throwing you out. "
He didn't bother to see their reaction. After he said the last word, he turned around and walked away. Not long after, they heard the sound of metal wheels and locks coming from the direction they came from.
In the tight space, the ten strangers tried their best to maintain the distance between each other and fell into silence.
The silence was soon drowned by the soft roar of the airship's engine. When the sturdy metal thing turned around and took off, it felt very unstable. The steel hull of the airship vibrated for a while. When the trajectory of the airship finally smoothed out, the passengers found a more comfortable spot. Some sat while others lay down. A middle-aged woman with brown hair walked past Lin Sanjiu. She exited Area R and walked into the corridor.
It was only now that she had the time to voice her doubts to Mrs. Manas.
"Was I dreaming or hallucinating?" Or an illusion? "Even now, when she recalled the real world, she would still be in a trance. "It was too realistic. No, I should say that if there weren't any suspicious points, it would be a completely different reality … In comparison, this strange airship and Red Nautilus are more like a dream."
"I'm not sure …" Mrs. Manas said, "This is the first time I've seen something like this. However, the Zhu Mei eyeball and the blue banknotes that you saw were actually my doing. I couldn't wake you up and I couldn't touch you, so I had to create some images and inject them into your mind … If I didn't do that, I guess you would still be in your hometown, living an ordinary life. "
Lin Sanjiu was shocked. She couldn't help shuddering. "No wonder! The others were completely trapped in that layer of hallucination. I couldn't wake them up even if I tried … "
If Mrs. Manas wasn't there, she would probably be lying in a pile of people in the same state a few months later.
"Then, how did you know something was wrong?" Lin Sanjiu asked in her mind. On the surface, she was as calm as still water. It was as if she was resting with her eyes closed. She didn't show any signs that she was talking to anyone.
"I should say that you're lucky." Mrs. Manas sounded a little more relaxed. "The white smoke made you dream about your hometown, so it couldn't be more normal for you. At first, I was in a daze and thought that I was you, living in your body … But soon, I realized that you and I are two different consciousnesses. You don't seem to know my existence at all. It was because I woke up first and recognized my own existence that I realized that your condition was abnormal."
Even though it was a little confusing, Lin Sanjiu had experienced that horrifying and lifelike reality for herself. She quickly understood. At the same time, she couldn't help feeling a little scared.
"Indeed, if I didn't dream about my hometown, but a part of the apocalyptic world … Fighting, surviving, looking for a visa … I'm afraid that neither of us would realize that something was wrong. If that's the case, I really wouldn't be able to sleep —"
Lin Sanjiu choked on her words as a thought struck her like an electric shock.
Her face gradually turned pale.
"Don't tell me you mean..." Mrs. Manas stuttered.
"Was I really awake before I dreamt about my hometown?" Lin Sanjiu asked softly in her heart. It was more like she was forcing herself to find the answer. (To be continued.)
PS:
Thank you book friend 141227233739169 for your two protective talismans, Sakura Unending's sachet, Tao Wu's protective talisman, Uncle Sea's sachet and monthly ticket, Phosphorescent Poplar's protective talisman, Brother T's sachet and monthly ticket, as well as Cat Cat, CTOL, Green Sacrifice, Shen Xiang 3, Lian Xiao An, Dodo Bird's Power, Laierxi Stuttgart, book friend 140320012554191 for your monthly ticket ~ I know I missed out a lot of September and October tickets, so please vote again for me, hehehe!
Recently, I've been reading "Song of Ice and Fire" and I've already reached the second volume. I want to say — it's so damn good!!! It's so well written!!! It's so good that I don't even know how to describe it!! It's so good that when I walk around, I can't help but think about the plot in the novel!! This is what a novel should be like! I'm embarrassed to say that I also write novels!
Sigh, novels should be written this way … But then again, I still can't get over Ned.
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