Chapter 717: Forty-Eighth Station - Lord of Chalk - Eternal City

"Oh? Now that's a rare sight. Usually, Station One used to have a lower difficulty level most of the time, but this time, it's actually Station Two that's lower in difficulty."

Ye Qiyan let out a soft laugh.

Without any hesitation, he directly chose the first option.

"Ascension Station... so that means there's a certain chance of encountering False Gods? Upgrading from Level 9 to Level 10? Now that's interesting."

[Station Selection Complete!]

[Please sit tight and hold on. The train is about to arrive at your Forty-Eighth Station.]

[Lord of Chalk - Eternal City]

"Toot!!"

The steam whistle sounded once again.

The tracks extended, and the void materialized.

The train gradually accelerated.

Heading toward the next station belonging to Ye Qiyan.

Crossing through the void!

The scenery outside the train window began to change.

But the one thing that remained constant was the icy rain still beating against the Wealth Protective Barrier.

For the first time in a while, the weather in the Wasteland had synchronized with that of a Station World.

[Arrived at your Forty-Eighth Station - Lord of Chalk - Eternal City]

[This Station: Slightly Dangerous?]

[This is an Advanced Station with no time limit on stops.]

[Current Departure Methods: Spend 300 Train Coins / Complete this Station's Objective / Find the Departure Coordinates of this World]

[Wishing you a pleasant exploration.]

[Miatira's Special Note: Divinity exists within this Station.]

"Oh ho? You actually have some use after all. Not bad, you finally annotated some useful information."

Ye Qiyan pushed the Light Screen aside.

Then, he bent down and gently patted WALL-E, who was practically vibrating with eagerness to move.

"Like I said before, stay safe. The moment you find something, tell me immediately."

"~~!"

WALL-E squinted his eyes happily, grabbed his owner's petting hand, then stretched out two fingers toward him in a "peace" sign.

Then, it crossed through the small door that had always existed at the edge of the train, now decorated to look like a treasure hunt route. Its treads crunched over the icy rain as it entered this world, beginning its search for treasures on Ye Qiyan's behalf.

From this moment on, Ye Qiyan's exploration and adventure within this station had truly begun.

"Phew~ Speaking of which, it feels like I've been using coordinates and stuff for several stations now. A Station World like this one, without coordinates and entered randomly, is honestly a long-lost experience."

Ye Qiyan twisted his wrists before finally looking at the surrounding scenery.

This place was a forest.

The sky was shrouded in dark clouds, making it impossible to tell whether it was day or night.

Ye Qiyan took out his [Forever Accurate Pocket Watch] and checked the time.

In the Wasteland, it was still early morning, but within this Station World, it had already reached nighttime.

The icy rain falling through the forest at night carried a strange sense of loneliness.

Lisette was organizing all the necessary equipment for the expedition.

The Honeycomb Carriage opened.

The Nano-Bee Swarm spread out in all directions, beginning to gather intelligence for him.

The Sky-Resonant Thunder Eagle and Demon Ravens soared high into the sky.

They carried cameras, scanning the surroundings for signs of life.

Ye Qiyan walked over to the Sand Table.

This thing, which had been integrated with the Climate-Controlled Carriage, hadn't really shown its effectiveness for quite a while now.

Its capabilities seemed to have somewhat fallen behind the current Station Worlds.

But this time, there was a surprise.

A red dot had appeared on it.

That was the location of this station's most powerful enemy.

He made a mental note of it for now.

Ye Qiyan then turned his gaze outward.

At this moment, within the forest.

Eve's Targeting Ring was constantly flickering across different positions.

In fact, ever since entering this station.

She had already detected the presence of nearby entities.

However, since they didn't harbor any malice, she hadn't opened fire directly.

"Eve, grab one."

The command was issued.

Eve, who had been sitting on top of the train, instantly shot into the air.

Her rabbit ears twitched slightly.

From her weapon slots, she retrieved a net launcher gun specifically designed for restraint.

She transformed into a blue comet of light, erupting with astonishing speed. Using the net launcher, she locked onto a figure that kept fleeing but could never escape the Targeting Ring, forcefully binding them.

"Damn it! Forget about me! You guys get out of here!"

The figure gritted their teeth, raised a broken dagger, and tried to commit suicide on the spot.

Eve's gaze sharpened.

Her master had said to bring them back.

Although he hadn't specified whether they needed to be alive, the condition they were in when she caught them should be the same condition they were in when they arrived.

Wanting to die?

Not allowed.

Eve casually pulled out a firearm. Instead of firing it, she simply hurled it directly at the figure.

Bang!

The gun stock slammed into the person's hand, instantly shattering their arm.

"Damn knights! Just kill me!"

The other locked-down units all redirected their targets and charged toward this shadowy figure.

"Save him!!!"

One of them shouted as they attacked Eve.

But the attacks they unleashed simply couldn't keep up with Eve's speed.

All they could do was watch helplessly as she took the figure away.

"Damn it! Chase after them! We have to save the captain!"

And so, enduring their locked status, they pursued the blue comet Eve had become through this icy rainy night.

Ye Qiyan, who had been taking in the entire scene, opened his eyes.

Fiddling with [Arrogance], he raised an eyebrow slightly.

He looked at the figure Eve had dragged all the way back.

A Nano Giant Sting Bee landed on the figure.

The System had also completed its appraisal of the target at that moment.

[Assassin]

[Race: Human]

This thing... was a human?

It wasn't that Ye Qiyan was confused for no reason.

Because inside the locking net.

Was a bizarre being with a slender, elongated body, wearing a skull mask, with arms that were as thick as two average adult males combined.

Even its entire body was a pure, ashen black.

Ye Qiyan took out the [Pure Cleansing Stone] and walked outside the train.

A gentle radiance illuminated the space.

The target's determined and furious expression was now clearly visible to Ye Qiyan.

"Kill me! You knights of the Eternal City! You won't get a single piece of information out of me!"

"Knights?"

Was that an identity in this world?

No, it didn't sound like it.

A playful smile curled at the corner of Ye Qiyan's mouth.

The [Arrogance] in his hand was replaced by [Bewitchment].

The demon was whispering~

"Tell me your name."

"...I... my name is... Martin... an Assassin... chosen from among the Ancients."

Martin spoke these words in terror.

In fact, from the moment he uttered the first syllable, he had already realized that he could no longer control his own mouth.

He couldn't even bite off his own tongue.

Ye Qiyan snapped his fingers.

Eve released the net, letting the assassin Martin down.

"You?"

"Don't misunderstand. I'm not one of your Eternal City knights. I'm just an Adventurer passing through here. Oh, right, your arm is injured. You probably need treatment, don't you?"

[Bewitchment] returned to the Void Card Repository, replaced in Ye Qiyan's hand by [Salvation].

"If you're willing, could you tell me about the Eternal City while I treat you?"