Monster Dismantling Company

Chapter 27 Jin Gang Zhou

"Li Lin, the departure time has been changed to 15:30 PM." That evening, while Li Lin was examining his eyes, the colonel called. "Bring your men to the station square before 15 PM. I'll issue your tickets there."

"Delayed? What happened?"

"A train derailed on the Yangtze River Bridge, bringing north-south traffic to a standstill." The investigation is ongoing; the Yangtze River Bridge is currently congested and dredging is underway.

"So, can you finish cleaning by tomorrow afternoon?"

"I doubt it will work. So our car will drive to Runzhou first to wait—but the train we're going to take is a direct express train, and it's going to Beijing. So even if we arrive later, we'll still be the first to leave when they let us through."

...

The following afternoon.

Lin Zhiqing arrived at Ningzhou Station with her luggage.

Located in the center of Ningzhou, the station is the largest single building in the entire city. In today's world, where mountains and rivers are physically fragmented, trains have become the lifeline connecting various cities, making the station the most important core of the entire city.

The entire Ningzhou region relies on regular train services for energy, personnel, and communication with the outside world. These trains operate strictly according to schedules, making them one of the few certainties in a world rife with uncertainty.

The timetable is hanging there. She's taking train Z95, which departs at 15:30 PM.

The sign for "[Ningzhou → Jingangzhou]" is hanging on it.

The train came from the south, passing through Ningzhou and Xin'anzhou, and then heading north via Hangzhou, carefully avoiding the miasma-ridden lands along the way. Its final stop was Jingangzhou, located outside Hangu Pass.

Jin Gang Zhou is actually today's Luoyang, just as Shen He Yuan is actually today's Chang'an.

However, the two cities themselves are still submerged in water. Out of respect for history, the coalition government did not use the names of Chang'an and Luoyang to name its cities.

Today, Jin Gang Prefecture serves as the second capital and a fortified city for the coalition government of Guanzhong to advance into Guandong.

The entire city is an extension of the Hangu Pass defense line, heavily protected within it. Railways from all directions will stop here, and the Grand Canal, which will be reopened in the future, will also end at Jin Gang Zhou.

The transportation hub was located outside the pass for security reasons. This ensured that all personnel and goods were inspected and queued before entering Guanzhong (the area inside the pass). Hangu Pass was not open year-round; its opening and closing were planned, typically every three working days. Only when the gates of Hangu Pass were open could personnel and goods move between Guanzhong and the outside.

Guanzhong was thus completely isolated from miasma, allowing the social order of the Golden Age to continue to function in Guanzhong.

For Lin Zhiqing, Jin Gang State was one of her destinations for this trip. A member of the Lin family had previously gone to work for the United Government and was currently serving in Jin Gang State. Although she was away from her family, she had people looking after her there, so it wasn't a big deal.

Right now, not many people are coming to the waiting room to see her off. Only those with tickets are allowed to enter the station; her family, including her brother, can only see her off at the door.

However, a familiar figure appeared not far in front of her.

...

"So why is it a hard seat..." Li Lin stared blankly at the ticket—though he was wearing sunglasses, so his expression was unreadable.

"Never mind," Mr. Wang shook his head. "At least you have a seat, but I don't. I'll have to stand."

Are tickets really that hard to buy?

Mr. Wang said helplessly, "The Z-series trains are direct express trains. No matter what happens, as long as there's a queue, the Z-series trains will go first—actually, we weren't originally going to take this train. But considering the traffic jam on the Yangtze River Bridge and that we needed to get going, they changed all of us to this train. It's all hard seats or no seats, because you can't kick people who already have tickets off the train."

"So you're really going to stand there?"

"Don't worry," Master Wang smiled. "I'll just sit in the dining car, and I can eat whenever I want. Anyway, I've given you the only seat, so just sit here for now. If you need us, come to the dining car."

Sitting in the dining car didn't seem like a difficult thing for him. After all, there was food and drink in the dining car, which was much more comfortable than sitting in the back.

"Is the food cart really that good?"

Upon seeing this, Master Wang immediately grabbed his suitcase—he knew that if Li Lin was interested, he would definitely want to give it a try.

"Hey...hey! Look, isn't that your classmate? Go chat with him. What's the point of hanging out with us old men!"

He pushed Li Lin, along with his suitcase, to the seat next to him.

Next to Lin Zhiqing.

"Ah... what a coincidence." Lin Zhiqing looked at him. "You're taking the train too?"

"That's quite a coincidence... Wait, you're going to Guanzhong for an exam, right? So your ticket is for Jin Gang Prefecture?"

"Is yours too?"

The two compared their tickets—

"Huh??" Lin Zhiqing was taken aback. "Why is it the seat next to me?"

"It's probably because when the tickets were changed, everyone in Ningzhou was changing their tickets at the same time, so they were all changed together."

"That's really... really a coincidence." Besides saying "coincidence," she couldn't say anything else. After all, she had already done what she was supposed to do last night, and Li Lin hadn't reacted at all.

"By the way, would you like something to eat?"

"Okay." Li Lin, as always, did not refuse to be fed.

Lin Zhiqing then took out a... a yellow plastic bag filled with nitrogen from her bag. The bag was lavishly packed with space, only half of which was actually filled with goods.

Judging from the sound, the bag seemed to contain slices of some kind of plant.

pat~

Lin Zhiqing opened the yellow plastic bag and handed it to Li Lin.

"This is?"

"You'll know once you try it; it's something really amazing."

With some skepticism, Li Lin picked out a piece with his hand—

Deep-fried plant tubers

This was food he had never eaten before, and therefore his instincts could not explain it.

Judging from the taste alone, the aroma of the oil seems to have a hint of saltiness, and a touch of the unique fragrance of potatoes.

Li Lin took a bite...

"Delicious!!!" Li Lin's whole demeanor changed, as if he had blossomed into a flower. "What is this?! How can it taste so good?"

【Delicious!!!】Even Aren noticed how delicious it was.

Li Lin's reaction startled Lin Zhiqing; he had never seen Li Lin with such an expression before.

"These are... potato chips? They're potato slices that have been deep-fried."

"Potato chips?! This is pure joy! So incredibly joyful! Absolutely perfect joy."

"This is indeed something to be happy about." Lin Zhiqing nodded. "When I was in Ningzhou, I rarely got to eat this. But why are you so happy?"