Mission and the Past

Just imagining such a scene made his mouth water. If nothing else, all the workshop spiritus constructs left behind by Quicksilver were stored in the cargo bay's vault! As long as Ji Jue could finish repairing the Doomsday Express, he could invest resources at any time to reconstruct them—control sufficient to drive and sustain the cycle of the Border Realms, Sage-grade furnaces and equipment, and the countless techniques and achievements Quicksilver had left behind. With the Myriad Phenomena Engine powering it all, combined with the mobility of the Doomsday Express… What would Ji Jue have to fear then? Even if heaven fell and the earth cracked, the worst he'd have to do was pack up his friends and family and run. And if he ran into that old geezer Kanemoto hauling his workshop everywhere again, Ji Jue could treat him to a game of workshop bumper cars! Though that day was still a long way off… There was no rush. One step at a time. The path was right beneath his feet; that day would come. *Clack!* The successive locked gates swung open before him, granting him direct access to the core as he reached the power compartment. Along the barely connected pipes around him remained the welds and patches Ji Jue had used for makeshift repairs, while even more temporary cables lay scattered across the floor in disarray. Now, with the final lockdown released, slowly rising from the darkness was an iron heart taller than Ji Jue himself—the true core of the train. —The Myriad Phenomena Engine! "Haven't seen you in a few days. How are you holding up?" Ji Jue reached out and placed his hand against the engine's outer casing. He could sense the vast spirit slumbering within, as well as its unreserved affinity and reliance on him. A distant, resonant hum arose from within the engine, echoing out. It was like an eye opening from a drowsy slumber. Gazing. "I found something good for you." Ji Jue gave the ingot of Shoushan copper in his hand a little shake and told it, "I can finally do maintenance on your four reaction chambers. In a moment, I'll take apart the outer sections. Don't be afraid." The engine remained silent, but a sound of friction grinding arose as all outer locks disengaged. Then, beneath Ji Jue's jacket, silver light surged and seeped out, draping over him, falling, and reforming like a long coat of steel. From his back, segment after segment of mechanical arms emerged, taking shape and unfurling one after another, propping up his body and lifting him above the engine. Ji Jue didn't even have to lift a finger. Three reshaped quicksilver construct arms extended, their tips morphing like hydraulic jacks to pry open the seams. Next, a miniature gantry crane formed, hoisting the heavy casing and setting it aside. The intricate interior was exposed. Ji Jue carefully navigated around the complex spiritus formations to avoid damaging them, focusing purely on physical work. Dismantling it layer by layer, he finally revealed the four massive reaction chambers outside the core. This was where the combustion and conversion of fuel took place. However, after centuries of abandonment and past rough handling, the residual grime and wear inside were far too severe, already degrading its operational efficiency. Yet even the ashes and oily sludge left by incomplete combustion were treasures that the current Ji Jue could repurpose. The flowing quicksilver stripped and cleaned every bit of it, preserving it all in separate containers. After only a few minutes, the pitch-black interior of the reaction chambers had been restored to pristine cleanliness, as if washed with water, without leaving behind even a speck of dust. Only then did the brutal extent of the damage meet his eyes. Inside the reaction chambers, the original plating had vanished almost entirely. Vast patches of corroded and pitted metal remained, along with countless hairline fissures. The runaway high temperatures had once come perilously close to leaking out and burning straight through the engine. Examining the marks and calculating the timeline… As the culprit responsible, Ji Jue felt an increasing weight in his chest. The engine said nothing. A faint resonance echoed, like the distant song of a whale, utterly unbothered. "I know, you don't need to comfort me." Ji Jue let out a long sigh, feeling a sliver of relief. Thank goodness he had come sufficiently prepared this time, or he would have embarrassed himself once more. After testing the main structure of the reaction chambers, he found that aside from the corroded and melted sections, it remained steady as a mountain. There was no need to replace it; repairing the damaged portions with materials of adequate grade would suffice. For the entire afternoon, Ji Jue hauled materials back and forth inside and outside the train, even calling for an expedited emergency delivery from the Balance Chamber of Commerce. Over the course of several centuries, materials science had undergone a world-shaking transformation. In terms of heat resistance and stability, there were plenty of new options available. It was merely a matter of spending money, not particularly difficult. All Ji Jue had to do was shape, patch, and relocate or dye the original spiritus constructs to prevent conflicts, working just like a mason. The most critical part was the final plating made of Shoushan copper. Extremely thin and remarkably stable, after Ji Jue processed it nine times, its baseline stability was practically flawless. Heat resistance and corrosion prevention were its natural specialties, and under the refinement of Non-Offensive, it had undergone numerous processes of both Fluid Alchemy and modern alchemy, leaving not a single flaw. Even so, when it came time for the test start, Ji Jue's heart still crept into his throat. Until the low whale song swelled from a faint murmur into a soaring cadence. Singing in joyful excitement! Amidst the chorus of countless metals, he wiped the sweat from his face and took a step back, admiring the sight before him. After investing so much time and resources, this train could finally operate at a baseline level. If it had failed, he wouldn't have possessed enough reserve spiritus or fuel to support another test run. Unfortunately, the spirit of the train remained weak and groggy. It had once crashed and fallen, abandoned for hundreds of years, enduring immense torment and devastation. Even after gaining new life through Ji Jue's hands, its depletion was still far too severe. It could only be slowly healed and repaired once Ji Jue's skills and abilities advanced further. As the engine's test run wound down, that consciousness was about to drift back into a deep, groggy slumber. Before it did, Ji Jue could not resist asking, "Do you know what the situation is inside the Celestial Rail right now?" A faint hum rose once more, carrying a vague reply. It conveyed bewilderment. Following that, visions of the past surfaced in his mind. Amidst endless storm clouds, the Doomsday Express, on the verge of collapse, completely lost power. Riddled with wounds, it could carry on no longer. Amidst fractures and blazing fires, it plummeted. With all its might, it let out one final cry. Yet from the distance, no one answered. Nothing but dead silence. Just like that, smashing through layer upon layer of realm membranes, countless streaming lights scattered, leaving behind only desolation. It fell in solitude, crashing into a narrow Border Realm. Torn apart. Such was the final scene of the Doomsday Express back then. "…" Ji Jue felt the first-person perspective that unfolded in his mind, encompassing the conditions and scenery inside the train, down to the time displayed on the dashboard. More than two hundred years ago… It was only a few months away from the date mentioned in the *Myriad Phenomena General Knowledge* when Celestial Rail Transit went bankrupt and collapsed! Even before then, the Doomsday Express had suffered grievous damage… No, perhaps by that point, the state of the Celestial Rail was already far from optimistic. "Just what happened?" he pressed. The groggy soul turned with great difficulty, and disjointed words surfaced in Ji Jue's mind through the communication of Deus Ex Machina. *Task, duty, mission,* it said. *Must... finish.* Accompanying those stumbling words, countless fragmented images and memories flooded into Ji Jue's mind, dragging him downward—instantly plunging him into an era centuries past. Those records and histories were simply too complex, too vast, and near impossible to piece together. It was not just the Doomsday Express alone; there were even more perspectives, sights witnessed by many different colossal entities. For a brief moment, he saw the vast mortal realm resting beneath his feet, resplendent and radiant, so dazzlingly bright. But immediately afterward, following countless fragments, that clear, expansive world became shrouded in gloom, with innumerable fissures opening across it. Void tracks intertwined like blood vessels, yet those vessels were steadily breaking, snapping, and dissipating into nothingness. Boundless darkness erupted forth. And within that darkness, brilliant flares of light surfaced, shining like stars—including 'himself'! A majestic whale song rose and fell, filling the void and the dark, pervading all things! Once again, it guided countless void tracks into motion. The vision shifted again, giving way to endless falls and ruptures, scenes of desperate repairs, burning buildings, collapsing Border Realms, arguing figures, corpses, ruins, and a barren earth swept by surging flames… Yet no matter how the scene changed, that magnificent whale song never ceased to echo. Only, it gradually shifted from grand to faint, descending from high-pitched brilliance to a low murmur. The responses from its companions grew fewer and further between. The final complete image that emerged was the Doomsday Express galloping across the void, as if racing through the cosmos, yet without a single star in sight. Only eternal emptiness. Trailing behind bursts of searing light that resembled stars, it pulled brilliant, enduring wakes in its path. Precisely because of this, the outlines of a colossal monstrosity rising from the deepest darkness were traced out. Like a blazing sun, it radiated violent flames that warped space itself. Though it burned with such bizarre allure, the light bore no color at all—only a freezing void. That was a nothingness far purer than darkness. Merely perceiving it through memory sent tremors running through Ji Jue's soul, leaving him unable to catch a true glimpse of its form. All he could feel was an unprecedented terror… It was right behind them, relentless in its pursuit! A storm within the void raged and struck, making the outer hull groan beneath unbearable strain as the sounds of fracturing rang out continuously. The noise of shattering realm membranes and annihilating space spread like roars and bellows. Then, Ji Jue suddenly realized… It wasn't pursuing them from behind. Rather, they were dragging *it* forward! The Celestial Rail operated, and countless luminous tracks wrapped tightly around that indescribable star of darkness like chains, like an endless swarm of moths trying to shackle a giant, hurling themselves into the fire in vain. Explosive cracks rang out, never ceasing. Lamentations echoed within the whale song. Yet it continued to haul the chains, unfurling its invisible wings again and again. Amidst the faltering whale song, hundreds of express trains operated at full tilt, singing with dogged persistence. *Must press forward. Cannot stop.* *Mission… must be completed… task… must be completed… world… must be completed!!!* *The Celestial Rail must run, even if it costs everything!* *Until the miracle arrives! Until we turn to ash and smoke!* *Until all is reshaped from the end, and myriad phenomena are reborn at the edge of despair!* They soared through the dark, dragging their chains endlessly. Forward. Until a massive rift opened ahead like a cage, gradually swallowing the star that spewed boundless darkness, steadily closing shut. The mission belonging to it had reached its end. A lonely whale song echoed in the void, met with no answer at all. It watched as the stars left it behind, continuing toward their eternal duty. Amidst utter exhaustion, it began its descent… The memories ended there. Ji Jue opened his eyes, gasping for breath. The engine's final, gentle song echoed by his ears, gradually fading away. *No need to fear. No need to be afraid.* These were merely the memories and duty that had once belonged to it. Yet too many questions remained unexplained, too many puzzles without answers. "I've got a bad feeling that my troubles are only going to multiply in the future…" Ji Jue sighed, slumping into his chair. Still, when troubles pile up, you stop stressing; when you're covered in lice, you stop scratching. Even if trouble was brewing, it was still far too distant. He felt no real sense of urgency. It wasn't nearly as terrifying as the balance in his bank account… With a sigh, he closed his eyes and drifted off into an exhausted sleep. Until the next morning arrived. His phone screen lit up. An incoming call. "Are you done with all your business?" Professor Ye asked bluntly. "Yeah, pretty much." Ji Jue sat up, rubbing his face. "A few loose ends left, but nothing that gets in the way." Then he heard his mentor's voice: "Come to the workshop." The call hung up. Ji Jue snapped wide awake instantly. He scrambled to his feet. A job had come in!