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PS: Read the exclusive story behind 《Forty Thousand Years of Cultivation》 and listen to your suggestions for the novel. Follow the official account (add friends on WeChat – add official account – type qdread) and tell me quietly! Waiting Room 8 was not small. Dozens of rows of long iron stools were filled with passengers. The middle aisle was filled with bags of various sizes. The air was filled with the smell of greasy meat buns. It was somewhat unpleasant, but it also brought a trace of warmth.
Li Yao squeezed through the large and small bags with great difficulty and found a seat in the corner. Just as he was about to sit down, he heard a soft voice behind him:
"Jiang Tao, this is the legendary ordinary waiting room. It's really different from the VIP waiting room. There are so many people. It's so lively, but it's a bit smelly."
Following that was a somewhat hoarse voice:
"Gu Lili, I'm really sorry. It's the start of the school season, and there are many workers heading north to the Demon Beast Wasteland to find work. The trains are very tight. These days, I've been relying on my family's connections. Originally, I had already booked a luxury express box the day before yesterday. However, a beast tide broke out at the front line, and the train was temporarily commandeered by the military. I really have no choice but to sit on this worn-out slow train. You have to bear with it, the conditions of the Wasteland are like this."
"It's okay, Jiang Tao. Don't treat me as a delicate young lady. Occasionally riding an ordinary crystal train is also a rare life experience. Although it's a bit dirty and smelly, it's only for a day and a night. Just bear with it and it'll pass. When you think about it in the future, maybe you'll feel that this adventure is quite interesting!" The girl laughed.
"That's good. I was afraid that you wouldn't be happy."
"Why would I be?"
The girl smiled and continued, "In fact, it's quite fun to think about. The two of us are dressed so low-key and mixed in with these poor people. No one knows that my dad owns so many crystal mines, and even less that you, Jiang Tao, are a grand 3rd level Refinement Stage cultivator and a refiner. Furthermore, you're a member of the Jiang Family! Wow, it's just like in a novel, the white dragon takes the bait and plays the pig to eat the tiger! At this time, if a few hooligans come and take liberties with me, then you'll amaze the world with a single brilliant feat. That would be awesome! "
Li Yao couldn't listen any longer, because if he continued to listen, he wouldn't be able to hold back his laughter. He simply found a corner far away and sat down, regardless of whether the ground was dirty or not. Then, he stretched his body contentedly.
Unexpectedly, after a while, the voices of the young man and woman came from behind like shadows.
"Jiang Tao, look at that farmer uncle. He's so funny. Not only did he bring so many sausages with him, he even brought such a big rock!"
Li Yao was stunned for a while before he realized that the "farmer uncle" they were talking about was himself. He looked down at his clothes — his hair was unkempt, his beard was unshaven, and his skin was dark. His clothes and trousers were riddled with holes. On his left was a large bundle filled with rural sausages that the villagers insisted on giving him. The Dark Star Rock was in a big bag on the right.
At first glance, they were indeed very similar to those workers who had gone to the Demon Beast Wasteland to look for gold.
"Jiang Tao" actually had some eyesight and said, "That rock is a meteoric iron. However, there is no spiritual energy surging within it, so it can't be considered a heavenly treasure. In a big city, I estimate that it can be sold for a hundred to two hundred thousand. It seems that this country bumpkin inadvertently found such a rock in a corner. He thought of it as a treasure, so he wanted to drag it to a big city to sell. "
"Then he's quite strong. He dragged such a big rock away! "Gu Lili was speechless.
"He's a farmer, so it's normal for him to have a bit of strength. However, from what I see, he's quite silly. In a while, he won't be able to cry. Such a big rock, and its shape is like a war hammer. It's simply a peerless weapon. How could he bring it onto the crystal train? Look, a patrolling Puji Critter is flying over. As long as it's discovered, he definitely won't be able to bring it onto the train! "
Jiang Tao said with a somewhat mocking smile.
Sure enough, an army-green Puji Critter with a "Train Patrol, Dangerous Goods Prohibited" sign on its body flew straight in front of Li Yao. From the antennae on the top of its head, a green light was emitted, thoroughly scanning the Dark Star Rock from the inside out.
"Beep, dangerous goods confirmed!"
The Puji Critter flew a little lower. The green light turned into a red light as it scanned Li Yao's face.
"Did you see that? Just a moment ago, we only brought a small knife and it was confiscated. How could he possibly bring such a big weapon onto the train?" Jiang Tao smiled.
"Beep, passenger identity confirmed. Dangerous goods allowed on board. I wish you a pleasant journey and a safe journey!"
After confirming Li Yao's identity as a "Class 1 Disabled Serviceman of the Federation", the Puji Critter suddenly changed the topic and said very gently.
It even used its antennae to bend towards Li Yao, as if it was saluting him respectfully.
Class 1 Disabled Servicemen of the Federation were all soldiers who had gone through the test of war. They were loyal and devoted soldiers to the country. Of course, they wouldn't act recklessly on the train. Moreover, if they encountered a demon beast invasion, they might even be relied on to battle.
Not to mention a small Dark Star Rock, even if they openly carried a chainsword, they would still be able to swagger onto the train.
In the Xing Yao Federation, the Disabled Servicemen were this arrogant!
"…" Jiang Tao was dumbfounded.
"Jiang Tao, what's going on? We just brought such a small fruit knife, but it was confiscated. Even my two big bags of makeup water had to be checked. This farmer uncle brought such a big lump of iron. If he were to swing it, it would definitely be able to smash a person's head. Why didn't they ask him to check it? "Gu Lili was at a loss.
"This …" Jiang Tao had a toothache.
Li Yao casually lifted the several hundred pound Dark Star Rock. With half a sausage in his mouth, he expressionlessly walked in front of the two people. He casually glanced at them and discovered that Jiang Tao and Gu Lili could be considered a pair of handsome men and beautiful women. However, their faces were full of immaturity. They were like two flowers that grew up in a greenhouse. Although they were older than him, they looked somewhat childish.
At this moment, the two people were staring at him, dumbstruck. It was as if he was a demon beast draped in human skin. Gu Lili's eyes were full of curiosity. She wanted to ask, but didn't dare to.
Li Yao withdrew his gaze and walked towards the small store at the side of the waiting room.
There was still some time before the train started. It just so happened that he was a bit hungry. Li Yao wasn't prepared to go to the "Old Squad Leader's Gourmet Store" to be ripped off. He might as well just buy instant noodles.
The small store was open. All the goods were displayed on the open shelves. Instant noodles were the most popular goods in the waiting room. Dozens of brands filled the entire three shelves. It was a dazzling line-up.
"Huh? There's actually the shrimp instant noodles produced by the Sea Dragon Sect?"
A smile appeared in Li Yao's eyes. The Sea Dragon Sect was a very small sect. Its strength was mediocre, and it didn't have any well-known large enterprises under its banner.
However, the Sea Dragon Sect had a secret divine ability that was never divulged to outsiders. It could refine an extremely delicious substance from small shrimp, small fish, and kelp. When it was eaten, even one's eyebrows would fall off.
Li Yao liked to eat the shrimp instant noodles produced by the Sea Dragon Sect since he was young. However, the Sea Dragon Sect's management wasn't good, and they suffered losses year after year. In the past few years, it was very difficult to find this sect's refined products in the market. He didn't expect to encounter the last barrel here today.
Li Yao licked his lips and reached out to grab it.
The moment he reached out his hand. A hand also reached out from the side and grabbed the last barrel of shrimp instant noodles. Li Yao wasn't as fast as this person and only touched the back of this person's hand.
"Huh?"
Li Yao and the other person's eyes lit up at the same time. They both felt the strangeness of each other's palms.
The profession of a refiner paid more attention to practical operations than theory. A pair of hands required a lot of effort.
Li Yao first glanced at this person's hands and then looked at this person's appearance. He found that it was an ordinary bald middle-aged man with a mediocre face. His hands seemed to be carved out of jade. They were exquisite to the extreme, faintly surging with warmth.
Obviously, he was a refiner with a superb cultivation base.
The middle-aged man's shock was ten times stronger than Li Yao's.
Although Li Yao's beard was unshaven and his temperament was relatively mature, his eyes were incomparably clear. He looked at most twenty or thirty years old.
His pair of hands seemed to have been immersed in the art of refining for thirty to fifty years, like rubber. Not even half an inch of bone could be felt, but they were extremely tough. It gave people a very contradictory feeling.
The middle-aged man's heart stirred. His five fingers were like five poisonous snakes. They silently swam towards Li Yao's palms.
Li Yao faintly smiled. His five fingers flicked. His fingertips just happened to touch the middle-aged man's five fingertips. The two of them simultaneously let out a "Huh" sound.
Because they found that there were no fingerprints on each other's fingertips.
All the fingerprints had been polished off after thousands of tempering.
This test only took 0.1 seconds. The two people's palms touched and separated. Li Yao made a concession and chose a bowl of braised beef noodles on the side.
Since the other party was an old senior in the refiner's circle, he still had to show some courtesy.
The middle-aged man somewhat embarrassedly smiled and nodded towards Li Yao. He seemed to be expressing his apology and gratitude.
Not far away, two passengers stood up, leaving two empty seats. Li Yao strolled towards them.
The bald middle-aged man hesitated for a moment before following behind him. The two of them sat down side by side.
Li Yao opened the lid of the bowl of instant noodles. Inside, there was a fork, a talisman wrapped in plastic film, and a very greasy yellowish-brown cube.
Li Yao took out the fork and used his teeth to bite open the plastic film wrapping the talisman. He carefully stuck the talisman on the yellowish-brown cube and quietly waited for three seconds.
The red lines on the talisman suddenly flashed, like a burning flame, releasing a large amount of heat.
With a "Bo" sound, the compressed and solidified greasy cube instantly dissolved, turning into a big bowl of fragrant and steaming hot braised beef noodles.
This kind of highly compressed instant noodles actually didn't have much nutrition. Moreover, they were often very greasy.
If one wasn't hungry, they wouldn't be able to eat it.
However, it had a major feature. After it was melted with the talisman, it smelled especially fragrant. Often, the people who ate it didn't feel anything, but the people who smelled it would cry out that they couldn't stand it. They couldn't wait to get a packet to satisfy their craving.
Li Yao took a deep breath and let out a sigh of satisfaction. He picked up the noodles, rubbed the fork on his clothes twice, and started to eat.
Soon, the aroma of fresh shrimp wafted from the side, causing Li Yao to instantly recall his unhappy but unforgettable childhood.
Sniffing, Li Yao forced himself to not look at the shrimp in the bowl of the middle-aged man. He opened a virtual book from his mini crystal processor and concentrated on reading it.
While reading, Li Yao kept thinking about the middle-aged man's appearance.
He suddenly felt that the middle-aged man's plain appearance was somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
After racking his brain for a long time, Li Yao's eyes suddenly lit up. He somewhat couldn't believe it as he turned the virtual book to the title page at the front.
A virtual human figure immediately appeared on the hologram. It was the image of the book's author.
Li Yao raised the hologram. The translucent image of the author overlapped with the middle-aged man beside him. Apart from the difference in their clothes, they actually looked exactly the same.
Li Yao let out an "ah" sound. A strand of noodles was still hanging from the corner of his mouth, but he didn't bother to wipe it away. He asked with extreme excitement:
"Hello, may I ask if you are Master Refiner 'Ding Yin' from Hidden God Valley, Teacher Ding? This book 《Seven Common Patterns of Spiritual Energy and Mechanical Energy Transformation》 is your work, right? "
= = =
Twenty-four hours have passed. Ah, it's very regrettable. The initial order number is roughly 1,800. There's still a long way to go before 2,000.
However, Old Cow knows that his brothers have already done their best, really.
After all, Old Cow is still a "newcomer". Before this, he didn't have any works to prove himself. He only relied on the brothers' unconditional "trust". He couldn't be compared to those great gods who already had numerous excellent works and hardcore fans.
With the current base of his collection, Old Cow is both satisfied and ashamed that so many brothers can support Old Cow like this. Ashamed that the chapters that have already been completed are not perfect yet. Even more so, I feel a heavy responsibility on my shoulders. I feel that I have to do my best to write better for all my brothers, and even better.
Therefore, although I didn't manage to reach 2,000 initial orders, I will still release another chapter to thank everyone for supporting Old Cow. It's a midnight snack for everyone!
In this way, on the first day of publishing, there will be a total of seven chapters, more than 20,000 words. Although it can't be compared to other crazy writers who can easily write thirty to fifty thousand words, Old Cow has really done his best.
During the May Day holiday, the monthly votes will be doubled. On the second and third days, there will still be three chapters. I hope that everyone who still has monthly votes will support me. Old Cow thanks again. (A good activity where a pie falls from the sky. Cool phones are waiting for you! Follow ~ the Chinese website's official account (add a friend on WeChat – add a public account – type qdread) and participate immediately! Everyone has a prize. Follow qdread's official account on WeChat right now!) (To be continued)
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