400: Chapter 400: This is a Countdown (Long Chapter Please Subscribe, Bookmark, and Vote for Monthly Tickets) 400: Chapter 400: This is a Countdown (Long Chapter Please Subscribe, Bookmark, and Vote for Monthly Tickets) The waves carried away the calls of seagulls, and fiery red clouds outlined burning mountains in the distance.
The glow of dawn spread across the entire sky, casting a dim crimson on both the firmant and the sea.
Suddenly, this crimson blaze ignited fiercely, and a spectacular brilliance illuminated the sky and the ocean.
A fiery red sun slowly rose at the intersection of the sky and ocean, behind the mountaintops ford by the clouds.
Its light and warmth lit up the whole world and also enlightened He Ao’s vision.
The speedboat he was piloting gently bobbed with the waves of the sea, casting a long shadow amidst the beautiful sunrise glow.
By now, his clothes had changed: the simple, old-fashioned, and even bloodstained military green T-shirt beca a simple brown short sleeve, and the wide-leg pants with Alano style beca dark denim jeans.
Besides the change in clothes, his body had also transford.
The dry and calloused hands turned into pale and delicate palms, and the thin, sharp face beca slightly wider with a touch of simplicity, complented by a large pair of black-frad glasses.
The power of the Multicolored Ring was to alter clothing.
Gloves and hoods were also considered part of the attire.
The Multicolored Ring did not limit the style of the clothes; He Ao had the freedom to customize them.
Since customization was an option, He Ao could easily mold a hood into soone else’s face and then pull it over his own head.
The appearance he now sported was the result of fiddling in front of a mirror for an entire night.
He was not using Hu Wen’s features, nor his own, but rather randomly chose a lucky individual he had once delivered to prison, and sowhat clumsily crafted this look based on the wanted poster of that person.
Honestly, sculpting a face is truly a technical skill.
The sun at the end of the sky climbed higher and higher.
anwhile, He Ao sat quietly on the boat, gazing into the distance.
At the place where the sun rose, a tiny black dot gradually grew larger.
It was an old-fashioned train, coming from where the sun had risen.
It traveled over the sea as if it were gliding over flat land.
The Vinora.
He Ao touched the earring hanging on his ear.
It was originally Hu Wen’s Transcendent item, the Breath Concealing Earring.
It could hide a person’s entire Qi, making it feel as though the user had already died.
However, this concealnt wasn’t an instantaneous process; it gradually obscured the user’s Qi, simulating a weakening effect until reaching the appearance of death.
Right now, He Ao was using the earring’s ability to gradually conceal his Qi in order to weaken his life force.
He didn’t know what the Vinora’s criteria for selecting ‘passengers’ were, but it surely had so ability to sense life force and would avoid Transcendents of C-level or above.
Therefore, He Ao was attempting to see if by diminishing his own life force he could manage to sneak aboard.
The Vinora was a B-level Transcendent item and seed to have appeared abruptly from the relic without going through the relic passageway.
Not only the Research Institute, but all major forces of the main world should be watching this extraordinary item that traveled from the main world to the relic and then back to the main world.
Perhaps it concealed a thod to directly reach the relic without needing a passageway.
In the upcoming period, this train would beco the center of the main world’s vortex, and those hidden B-levels would likely co out to strategize around this train.
And inside the Vinora train, there was just the right kind of enclosed space.
For He Ao, it was a perfect ‘chessboard’ to carry out the Super mory Advancent Ceremony.
Although Super mory could be brought into the Copy World, where He Ao could complete the ceremony,
the tasks in the Copy World were unknown and dangerous, and there was no guarantee that the environnt would be just right.
Furthermore, it seed that the uncontrollability of Super mory would increase with ti.
He Ao estimated that by the ti the next Copy World opened, he would nearly reach the limit of what he could control.
He Ao could not be sure whether Super mory would undergo any aberrations after entering the Copy World.
Therefore, it would be best if the ceremony could be completed in the main world.
The distant train grew closer and closer, so near that He Ao could already make out the dark green body and the cars, one by one.
If he could get this puppet avatar onto the Vinora, that would be the best scenario.
Maneuvering the puppet to directly enter the fray would not affect He Ao’s identity as the behind-the-scenes operator of the ceremony; it was like in a puppet show, with the puppets under the spotlight and the craftsman controlling the entire story hidden behind thick curtains.
Moreover, He Ao had added another layer over Hu Wen’s puppet.
The speeding train crossed the flat sea surface, gradually approaching the spot where He Ao was waiting.
The location He Ao had chosen was not a coincidence.
According to the pictures circulating online, the Vinora not only appreciated beautiful scenery but also liked to be part of it.
This was a train that loved to be photographed.
The spot where He Ao currently stood was the perfect photo op location.
If soone took a photo from the best vantage point on nearby Noti Island, He Ao, standing here, would blend into the dazzling sunrise where the sea t the sky with perfect proportion.
The train’s rushing whistle reached He Ao’s ears.
As He Ao predicted, the Vinora ca right up to where he was.
Then, the engine swiftly passed by his side.
Not stopping?
The wind raised by the train brushed across He Ao’s cheeks.
If he couldn’t board the train, He Ao could still proceed with subsequent arrangents, but it would be much more troubleso.
Unlike the direct route to the vortex’s center on the train, where one only needed to manage to survive and figure out the rules of this Transcendent item to calmly break the ga.
Of course, He Ao was not a vindictive person.
But if the fight for the train later turned into a lee, it would only be logical for the B-level Miracle ‘Mountain Collapse Tsunami’ from the Miracle Wand to accidentally fall upon this train, wouldn’t it?
“Toot—”
The massive whistle sounded in He Ao’s ears.
The speeding train ca to a fierce halt right in front of He Ao.
The Vinora originally consisted of eighteen cars, but now, the train that stopped in front of He Ao had only five cars and an engine.
Directly in front of He Ao was the rear door of the penultimate car.
If the brakes had been engaged a tad slower, the train would have passed by.
Clack—
Accompanied by a faint sound, the rear door opened.
A service attendant appeared in front of He Ao, dressed in a neat and elegant black and gold uniform, with eyes slightly sunken, a gentle gaze, and a pair of blue eyes.
This service attendant bore the typical look of people from the Western Lands, mainly the capital of the Ankana Kingdom, Vinora, which was the original terminus of the Vinora line.
The attendant glanced at He Ao and asked in fluent Central Earth language, “Sir, would you like to board the train?”
Alive…?
A living person, or so kind of persistence born within a Transcendent item?
He Ao ‘blankly’ scanned his surroundings, then took a close look at the train before him, appearing curious yet sowhat cautious,
“This, can I board?”
“Of course, you can,” the attendant replied still with warmth and politeness, “Vinora welcos passengers from around the world, and it is our honor to serve you.”
“Alright.”
He Ao nodded, looked around, glanced inside the carriage, and carefully stepped onto the train.
Seeing him board, the conductor closed the door, and the train started moving again, with the scenery outside the window beginning to recede rapidly.
He Ao walked into the carriage and looked up towards the depths of the compartnt.
The first thing that caught his eye was a narrow corridor, with large windows reflecting beautiful scenery on one side, and a series of closed compartnts lining the other side.
Before its disappearance, the Vinora had been in operation for many years, which was a common layout for old-fashioned trains.
He Ao counted, there were seven rooms in total, with a tightly shut small door at the end of the corridor, above which was a small red light.
“Hello, your compartnt is number three,”
the attendant handed a key card to He Ao, “The last carriage is the dining car, and the Vinora offers delicacies from around the world to all distinguished guests.
You may order at will, and I wish you a pleasant journey.
“If you need anything, you can press the call bell inside the compartnt.”
He Ao took the key card dubiously, turned his head and glanced at the last carriage, which was blocked by an old-fashioned iron door with a glass window.
Through the glass, he could see a line of exquisitely arranged dining tables.
The light of the morning sun shone through the huge windows onto these tables covered with white cloths, creating a serene and beautiful ambiance.
He Ao withdrew his gaze.
Since he took the key card, the attendant had stood in a corner of the corridor like a soulless entity, silently watching him without moving.
He Ao glanced at him and walked through the corridor from back to front, past each compartnt.
The last one was compartnt number seven, which was different from the other doors; the other compartnts had electronic locks that used key cards, but this one was secured with a huge chanical lock.
He Ao pushed on the doors of compartnts six and five, but they were tightly shut.
Number four was the sa.
He Ao glanced at the key card in his hand, marked with the number three.
Did number three an he was the third passenger to board?
Did that an there were people in compartnts one and two?
He passed by compartnt three and walked straight to the door of number two, ready to knock.
At that mont, an ear-piercing alarm sounded abruptly, and He Ao looked up to see the red light flashing incessantly above the small door at the end of the carriage.
Following that, the attendant’s voice echoed through the carriage,
“The train is about to enter a tunnel; please return to your compartnts.
The train is about to enter a tunnel; please return to your compartnts.”
A tunnel?
Where could there be a tunnel over the open sea?
Or was the term ‘tunnel’ used taphorically, referring actually to the train’s ability to traverse through space?
After pondering for a mont, He Ao decided to comply with the rules of the train first.
He would return to his compartnt to keep observing and see if the train had any other peculiarities.
If compartnt seven, which was locked with a chanical lock, wasn’t ant for boarding, then there were at least three empty spots remaining in this carriage, enough for at least three more passengers.
At the mont, the train seed to possess an eerie ‘normality.’ Would sothing change once all the passengers were aboard?
If the actual He Ao were here, wielding the Miracle Wand, relying on Super mory and Martial Arts, he might attempt to take so risks.
But as a clone puppet, he decided to observe further.
His opportunities were limited, and he couldn’t afford to deplete his strength prematurely.
After all, this was a C-level Transcendent item.
He Ao had seen the difference between C-level and B-level.
He cald himself and walked back to the door of compartnt number three, placing the key card on the electronic lock.
With a soft ‘beep,’ the lock disengaged, and He Ao pushed open the door to the compartnt.
The compartnt’s decor was simple: a refined single bed, a solid wood tea table leaning against the side of the bed, and behind the table, a huge panoramic glass window, now mostly obscured by curtains.
On the other side of the tea table was a small wardrobe, on top of which were a few empty wooden hangers and two robes—a neatly kept silk sleeping gown and a warm-looking leather one.
To the side of the wardrobe was a built-in shelf with various items placed on it.
He Ao retracted his gaze.
With one foot in the compartnt and the other still in the corridor, he watched warily over both the inside and the outside of the compartnt.
The conductor did not stop him but just repeated the warnings.
Through the corridor’s panoramic window, He Ao saw the fiery sunrise had ended and bright light now covered the tranquil sea.
Soon, He Ao felt as if the sky and the sea outside the window had wriggled slightly—or more precisely, the space outside had.
Imdiately after, the calm sky rapidly darkened, as a twisted and eerie force stained the train’s windows.
He Ao felt sothing lift the foot he had placed in the corridor.
Looking down, he saw the corridor’s carpet beginning to undulate as if a giant serpent was slithering beneath it.
Looking up, he saw the pitch-black ceiling caving in, as if sothing were wriggling and tearing through it.
The sinister force on the windows grew stronger, and it seed the whole corridor might soon be wholly swallowed by the encroaching darkness.
Yet on the other side, the inside of the compartnt remained quiet, as if it had been sliced off from the corridor, becoming a separate world altogether—the huge panoramic window also simply faded to dim, as if tunneling into an actual tunnel.
Could this compartnt be so kind of safe house?
In the instant before total darkness descended, He Ao retracted his foot and shut the compartnt door with a bang.
The whole compartnt was pitch black.
He Ao reached out, his hand pressing the switch inside the door, and with a light tap, the dim lights slowly lit up.
As the lights ca on, he first walked to the panoramic window at the far end of the compartnt and drew back the curtains.
Outside, there was nothing but silence and darkness.
He Ao looked at the tea table.
There was a teapot on the table, several delicate crystal cups, and a drawer beneath.
Pulling open the drawer, he found a folded card inside, which turned out to be blank when unfolded, with nothing inside it.
Casually tossing the card back into the drawer, He Ao walked over to the bed and searched it briefly.
The bed was soft and promised a comfortable sleep, but there was nothing special about it.
After confirming there was nothing to find, He Ao left the small bed and approached the wardrobe, rummaging through the two robes.
Ultimately, he found a piece of dry, flattened leaf in the pocket of the leather robe, reminiscent of the leaf bookmarks he used to place in books during his middle school years until they dried completely.
The leaf was slightly yellowed, sowhat like a mulberry leaf, but was more rigid, surrounded by the gingko’s golden color.
He Ao pocketed the leaf and moved towards the shelf.
The items on the shelf were simple: a weathered, slightly yellowed notebook.
He Ao picked up the notebook and flipped through it.
The notebook was also blank, with nothing inside.
He placed the notebook back in its place.
Then he turned to look at the door of the compartnt.
Only now did he notice that embedded behind the compartnt door was a round clock.
This clock was peculiar—the hour hand pointed to 12, the minute hand to 4, and the second hand was rotating counterclockwise.
As the second hand turned, the minute hand too, was slowly rotating counterclockwise.
It was a countdown.
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