Steel steam and flame

The clear whistle sounded louder and louder, echoing in the slightly cloudy sky, as if it could tear the sky. The huge shaking stopped after a few minutes, and the imperial train officially stopped.

At this time, everyone in the small factory put down their work, ran out of the factory gate, and hurried to the station to watch the excitement.

Of course, Cassia was no exception. After simply clearing away the utensils on the table, he followed the crowd and jogged to the station.

Although I have been here in the small town at the foot of Nalilac Mountain for five years and am no stranger to imperial trains, I still see the nearly six-meter-high body again every year, a steel rail that is comparable to the size of a light truck, connecting them The huge and heavy alloy axle, the careful and ingenious braking device, and the countless tangled steam metal pipes that are as rough as raging animal blood vessels are directly exposed, combined with the carefully welded 15mm steel pipes on the car. Specially made black iron steel plates, everything is covered with traces of erosion by various natural forces.

The entire train was like a sleeping black-scaled dragon, and the thick column of steam that was still spewing from the front was his breath. At this moment, it was parked quietly beside the pitifully small platform in the small town, and the tens of thousands of tons of iron were like No matter how many times you see the long dragon lined up on one side, the strong, rough, thick, simple, direct and shocking feeling will never change.

This is because since the development of industry, countless scientists in the empire have participated in the invention of the innovative technology - super vapor compression device, and then combined with the emerging energy sources of electricity, this great achievement can be accomplished.

Cassia's heart was filled with excitement and uncontrollable yearning. In a few days, he will take such a giant train to the Imperial Heavy Industry School. Imagining that such a great machine would most likely have the fruits of his own labor in the future, Cassia was not only filled with unspeakable excitement, but also overflowing with impatience.

It was a strong sense of urgency. The seventeen-year-old boy longed to go to more prosperous areas, see more unexpected and strange things, and get to know more people with different personalities and talents. He was also eager to find a well-paying job through the Imperial Heavy Industries brand. His mother and sister are almost everything in his life now, and the seventeen-year-old boy longs to carry a warm place that can accommodate them on his shoulders.

It wasn't until dusk began to fall that everyone began to disperse.

The station was brightly lit all night, and all kinds of textile and industrial goods that had been stored for more than half a year had to be liquidated in just a few days when the imperial train was parked, and then exchanged for cheaper raw materials, and also There are huge profits among them.

In the past few days, the workers who have been busy for a year can finally shake their shoulders and take a relaxing break. The ones who should be very busy at this time are the nobles who have been enjoying themselves all year long. How many levels are involved in the division of interests, including the price of goods, the price of raw materials, heavy handling costs, the amount of insurance on the car, the amount of protective measures, etc.

In the school where Cassia attended, the theology teacher once said: "As long as interests are involved, everyone can become ugly."

Let these bitter businessmen and mean aristocrats take care of the matter of fussing and not giving in.

Children of the same age as Cassia in the small town took advantage of the rare free time in these few days to finally feel the warmth of family and relatives.

Kasia also stays at home every day, and the work in the textile mills and factories has temporarily come to an end. Her mother and sister have stayed at home with Kasia these days, helping to pack all kinds of luggage.

Cassia is also actively preparing. If she goes to Imperial Heavy Industries and can find a good job immediately while studying there, it will make this aspect of the family much easier.

My younger sister, Lilia, is six years old and is about to go to school. Tuition fees are not a small expense.

Before going to school, Cassia had already checked the information about Imperial Heavy Industries School. If he could get the annual student award from Imperial Heavy Industries, these problems would be greatly improved.

The annual student reward of the Imperial Heavy Industry School is 350,000 holy coins. More importantly, these rewarded students also have the opportunity to enter the Saint Dorag Military School.

The two schools, which are the highest institutions in the empire, receive additional generous monthly subsidies. If I can go in, it will be a huge help to my mother and my sister. Cassia secretly has a plan in mind.

Five days later, my sister Lilia was holding a pencil in her hand and was writing awkwardly and laboriously on the paper with extremely non-standard fonts. Cassia sat next to her sister, gently rubbing Lilia's head with one hand, holding Lilia's slender little hand with the other, and slowly corrected the writing of each font.

Lilia studied very seriously, but as a child who sometimes still has a runny nose, her learning progress cannot be complimented.

"Brother,,,,ka,,xi,,ya,,"

Next to the white paper is a graffiti, which simply depicts a little man with a round head and a smiling face. Lilia is writing the little man's name below one stroke at a time.

Cassia just watched quietly from the side, and her heart was extremely calm.

There is one more day like this left.

As soon as it got dark the next day, the early morning silence of the small town was broken by the deafening sound of the whistle.

Cassia dragged her luggage from the bed. After a final hesitation, she carefully came to the bedside and took out a simple wooden box from under the bed. Inside was a brand new high-strength alloy steel sword with a black hilt and a snow-white blade. sword. This was specially made for Cassia by Vixie, the head of the factory, using scraps of parts a few days ago.

"The outside world is far more chaotic than the frontiers in the empire's rear. The war never shows signs of stopping. It is best for you to hold this short sword for self-defense." Vixey had been wandering outside for a long time earlier. When he was middle-aged, he came to live in the small town at the foot of Mount Lilac in despair.

After cleaning up, his mother and sister were already waiting for him outside.

We walked together on the wide streets, surrounded by neat bungalows. There were other families on the road sending their children to the direction of the empire, but most of them were people who went to work in various parts of the empire. People of the same age like Cassia, There are nearly thirty in the entire town, but among them there are only three from civilian backgrounds, including Cassia. Most of the empire's resources were controlled by a small number of nobles.

Moreover, Cassia is not yet an orthodox civilian. His father was a second-class warrant officer and had the lowest baron title, but with his father's death, all of this has passed.

The long black dragon has awakened, and several columns of steam and thick black smoke shoot straight into the sky like twin dragons.

The side of the train is full of garbage left behind by moving goods these past few days and has not yet been cleaned up. The platform was full of people, all waiting to board the train.

"Cassia, here, here."

Cassia walked into the platform and heard someone calling him.

That was one of the three civilians, named Luo Wei. There was a pretty girl standing in front of Luo Wei. At this time, she nodded gently to Cassia. She was the last of the three civilians, named Irene.

Although the three of them went to different schools, traveling to various parts of the empire was the best means of transportation.

The conductor in work clothes at the front began to let people carrying heavy luggage board the train one after another.

Although there were many people with civilian backgrounds, they were squeezed into the narrow side of the platform when they boarded the train. On the other side is a passage specially opened for nobles, and the other twenty or so students are also among them. They wear gorgeous clothes, and both the workmanship and the fabrics are of the best quality. The boots were polished to a shiny finish, and even the suitcase seemed to exude the light of high-end goods.

On the other hand, Cassia had prepared a good set of clothes, but she was reluctant to wear them. The shoes must be cheap canvas shoes with rubber soles, and the suitcase is also made of rolled hard leather and closed with a thick rope.

The most important thing is that the noble passage opened is for serious passenger cars, but Cassia and the others are on cargo boxes.

That's right, they couldn't afford real passenger carriage tickets, so they had to live with some cargo in simple cargo boxes. And the fare is calculated based on the price of the goods. The price of twenty-two holy coins per pound is the price for ordinary humans.

Although I felt somewhat uncomfortable, I could only accept it. Soon, these people in the cargo box will know that this price is not only useful when taking the imperial train, but in any region of the empire and in all walks of life, this is a standard price, a price for human beings .

"Brother, you must come back." Lilia's eyes were firm and filled with tears.

While Cassia was amused by these tragic words, she touched Lilia's head and said goodbye to them.

Walking into the cargo box, until the heavy steel-framed iron door was closed, and the faces of her mother and sister were obscured by black metal, Kasia suddenly felt unbearable in her heart.

Shaking her head vigorously to get rid of this uncomfortable mood, Cassia found a nearby place to sit down.

The huge cargo box is divided into three levels. They are on the top floor. There is a lot of space here, and there are many goods that have been packed and sealed. Cassia and the others sat on these wooden boxes in twos and threes.

There were several large vents on the top of the cargo box, and the cold winter wind blew inside, causing papers to fly.

Luo Wei used his hands and feet to pick up a lot of waste paper at once. It was really uncomfortable to sit on the bare board, so it would be good to use these waste papers as a cushion.

Everyone followed suit, and when Cassia finished doing this, the last long-lasting whistle sounded, and the entire cargo box began to shake slowly.

The imperial heavy train left the station.

The train car shook steadily, and the metal equipment on the two floors below made collision sounds from time to time. Rowe and Irene sat on Cassia's side. Although the light near the vent on the roof of the carriage was good, the three of them were not in the mood to read. As the imperial rearrangement swayed for a while, they fell asleep one after another.

The rest of the journey is like this. Every day when I have time, I read the books in my suitcase. When I feel hungry, I go to the food storage box to buy some cheap food.

Luo Wei got off the bus on the twelfth day and wanted to transfer to other areas. In the next two days, Erin also got out of the car and went to a nearby city where her school was located.

The people in the car got off one by one and got on again. The passengers changed one after another, and Cassia was the only one who looked at her luggage quietly and always sat in the same position.

It’s really lonely, or lonely, or dull. There were no windows around, just the unchanging view from the roof vents. The people in the carriage had no idea where they had passed. Only by stopping and walking did I know that I had arrived at another station, and then there were noisy sounds outside. Occasionally, the carriage I was in would be opened, and I could see various station structures. Sometimes the light at the vent dims, and you know that you have entered a dark tunnel again. If you are bored, you can count to see how long the tunnel is.

When the Imperial Recruitment moved at full speed, you could hear the harsh sound of the wind blowing against the iron sheets outside. When encountering heavy rain, you can also listen to the sound of raindrops hitting the iron sheet and wait for the bursts of thunder.

The journey was absolutely boring. Most of the people in the carriage did not know each other. Everyone was like bamboo shoots that had not been moistened by the spring rain. They were all bored in the soil and did not want to say a word.

The harsh sound of metal friction came out from below again, and the speed of the imperial train gradually slowed down. Several whistles sounded regularly, and then faint cheers mixed with the overwhelming noise spread into the carriage from a long distance. It was loud and crowded.

Then there was a sudden roar like a wild beast, reprimands, insults, and finally the intimidating bursts of several hive revolvers. So except for the sound of the train, the station suddenly became quiet. After a moment, more roars, insults, screams, wailings and the crackling of gunshots all broke out in an instant.

Cassia put her luggage tightly under her feet, put one hand on her leg, and held the high-alloy dagger behind her with the other hand. Like everyone else in the carriage, she waited quietly for the train to stop at the station.

As Vixey said, even if Cassia didn't see the outside world, she knew that it was indeed a mess.