Steel steam and flame

"What's your name?" Another day passed, and today was Cassia's twenty-fourth day on the Imperial List. He looked at the little girl sitting next to him and asked again.

The girl sat very upright, with her back straight, and she never put down the hat she was wearing. There was darkness under the brim of the hat, and in the darkness were black eyes that were becoming more and more radiant.

"Noer." The girl's answer was very brief, repeating these two words forever.

"Where is your mother or father? Are they in the car?" Cassia still had a glimmer of hope in his heart, and he regretted what he had done out of sympathy. I went to Manoma to go to school and to look for opportunities to earn titles and money. He doesn't have much money on him, and he can barely provide food and other things for the little girl now, but if he really gets to Manoma, how should the little girl be accommodated?

When I go to Imperial Heavy Industries, I can only live in a low-cost campus dormitory, which is the kind where a few people share a room. If the little girl follows him, not only accommodation will be a problem, but also various living expenses. Cassia felt her head swell all of a sudden, and it hurt with worry.

"Are you going to abandon Nuoer too?" The girl's feeling was as sharp as a beast and as sensitive as a hunter. She felt the troubles entangled in Cassia and the regret that involved her.

Cassia's pupils were constricted, and her mouth was slightly opened to express surprise and unspeakable words. How could a kitten that loves to bask in the sun be a tiger that decisively kills its prey? He thought of his sister Lilia again, and the tenderness in his heart seemed to overflow again. His clenched fists slowly unclenched, and the hesitation in his eyes finally disappeared. At this moment, he made a decision.

"No way, believe me." Cassia tried her best to give the girl Nuoer a mature, steady and confident smile, but in Nuoer's eyes, it was just a face that was uglier than crying.

"No'er believes in you." The girl's words warmed Kasia's heart, which had been cold for several days. He gently rubbed No'er's head, and began to calculate various plans in his mind when he arrived in Manoma.

Children who are capable of assembling mechanical watches such as perpetual calendars not only need excellent eyesight, but patience and care are also key. The installation sequence and installation steps of each gear require careful thinking to memorize and adjust.

Cassia is very good at this. Once she makes up her mind, even if she still regrets it in her heart, she has already begun to consider various situations in her mind, although this kind of thinking is still very immature.

There was nothing to do all day long. Nuo'er had been sleeping and looked very tired. The time he could talk to Cassia was very limited.

Cassia took out the theology and history books in the suitcase to read when the light was sufficient.

There are several pages with serious signs of being read. These pages read:

In the year 0 of the Holy Calendar, the Astus family took control of the Kingdom of Mano. After the core of the first-generation analytical machine was transported to Manoma by train, the Kingdom of Mano was renamed the Saint Dorag Empire. Relying on the excellent computing power of the Analytical Machine, the Saint Dorag Empire has made great progress in the development of its industrial base and technological innovation. The birth of the Analytical Engine made the Saint Dorag Empire become another emerging overlord on the Later Phase Continent in just a dozen years, and the "Creation War" broke out. None of the dozens of surrounding countries were spared from the iron war machine of the Saint Dorag Empire.

The Creation War subsided, and the empire spent hundreds of years recuperating its strength. Its ambitions expanded again, and the war started again. Countless small countries without any support were destroyed, and when the empire's flag seemed to be taking over the entire Houxiang Continent, the rolling wheel of advancement was blocked in the far sea common country in the west, and stopped at the border of the Flame Alliance in the south.

What was supposed to be an all-out battle turned into a cross-century tug-of-war. Hope that the war will stop has consumed the lifespan of several generations, but this long-term tug-of-war that spans centuries has continued to this day, and there is still no sign that it will stop...

Cassia looked at the densely packed small words in the book. The dim environment made her eyes sore quickly, and the quiet environment around her became a good catalyst. His eyelids felt heavy, and the words on the book began to become blurry. Although I tried my best to cheer myself up, I was really nervous because of Nuoer's incident in the past two days, and I didn't pay much attention to my sleep.

Not long ago, Nuo'er's matter was finally decided, and the tense nerves in his body suddenly relaxed, and exhaustion enveloped him like a dark night. Cassia closed her eyes and the book fell on Noel. They both fell asleep quietly.

Cassia only felt that as soon as she closed her eyes, she fell into a deep and deep sleep, her mind was blank, she was not thinking about anything, it was just a simple and quick rest for her brain.

It wasn't until he subconsciously felt someone dragging his legs that his consciousness suddenly returned. His whole body was covered with a thin layer of cold sweat, and his eyes suddenly opened. His left hand, still holding the book, was placed on Nuo'er's weak body, while his right hand subconsciously touched the high-alloy dagger left behind him.

No!

Cassia's heart seemed to have been pinched hard, and his heart suddenly "thumped" in his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe. In a short period of time, his hazy sleepy eyes had adapted to the dim environment, and the first sight that caught his eyes was the dozens of pale and twisted faces surrounding him greedily looking at him.

The second picture shows two people half-kneeling at their feet. They are pulling hard on the suitcases fixed under their knees. Because Cassia did not find someone who could look after each other, but tied one end of the thick rope on the luggage to her feet during the rest. The suitcase made of hard leather had several scratches from sharp objects, but fortunately the leather was of good quality and was not scratched. The two people who were half-kneeling were trying hard to pull out the seal of the suitcase tied with a thick rope. One of them was holding a short sword in his hand, which was the one Cassia lost.

In the blink of an eye, the thick rope had been cut.

Cassia's clear eyes were also discovered by the dozen or so people surrounding her.

"Wake up! Wake up!" The scream was as hoarse as an old hen that had lost all its feathers.

The air suddenly solidified at this moment, and then like ignited gunpowder, restlessness broke out in an instant.

"What are you doing!" Cassia was frightened in his heart. He shouted this sentence with almost all his strength. He was afraid in his heart. He had long heard that some people were robbing other people's things, and some people would steal other people's luggage while they were sleeping. Although I knew in my heart that something like this happened, when it happened to me, the feeling of fear and helplessness was stronger than ever.

How can a thief do anything without the courage? Moreover, the object of their robbery was only a seventeen-year-old boy, and they had not eaten anything for several days. Their survival instinct led them to find Cassia, a child who felt harmless to humans and animals.

The roaring voice did not have the deterrence effect that Cassia wanted. Instead, the theft was discovered, and the theft immediately turned into a blatant robbery.

They are a group of greedy robbers.

The suitcase was suddenly pulled by the two people. It had no weight in the first place, and was suddenly dragged up by the huge force. The thick rope that was cut could no longer play a binding role, and all the contents in the suitcase fell out. .

Several thick books and several spare sets of clothes, including a black dress that Cassia's mother stayed up late to make for him to wear on formal occasions, two pairs of shoes, pencils and pens scattered on the floor, and a fragile black ink bottle Incomparably, the cracking sound was crisp and clear, and a black flower bloomed on the steel plate. Several pieces of fragrant bread wrapped in khaki oil paper also rolled to the ground. Finally, there was an admission notice written in gold foil, and a simple graffiti that said "Brother Cassia" floating in the air and slowly falling to the ground.

"Mine! Mine! It's all mine!"

The aroma of the food and the cold wind caused this small makeshift group to disband in an instant, and more than a dozen people huddled together and started grabbing frantically.

Cassia put the awakened Nuoer on the wooden board of the cargo box behind her, squeezed her strong body into the crowd, and pushed away these crazy-looking robbers with great strength.

"Get out!" Cassia almost pushed the woman in front of him away with one palm. His mind was in chaos and he couldn't think about anything.

But he suddenly felt a tingling sensation on his neck. When he woke up, he saw a cold light flashing in the dim environment, and a short sword with a sharp edge was quickly retracted. Then the tingling sensation on the left mandible where it connected to the earlobe turned into a bone-chilling pain. The feeling of a cut made by a dagger there was extremely strong. Hot liquid flowed out from the wound and suddenly filled the entire left side of the neck. .

Cassia subconsciously touched her left arm, her eyes reflecting the bright red blood on her hand. He was inexplicably flustered, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and a bone-penetrating coldness came from everywhere in his body. Ignoring the pain, he quickly covered the wound with his hands to prevent more blood from flowing out.

Just holding her wound and looking at the crowd still looting in front of her, Cassia no longer had the courage to take another step. He stood in front of them blankly, his whole body trembling with fear, but there was no strength in his strong body at this moment.

Cassia just watched as all her clothes and shoes were taken away, and the bread that fell on the ground was eaten away with the joyful expressions on the pale faces of those people. Just books and pens, no one to care about.

The blood had begun to coagulate at the wound covered by his left hand. Fortunately, it was only a skin injury and no nerve tissue was damaged. Cassia originally thought that this group of bandits would leave like this, but when the owners of the things scattered on the ground were forced to decide, they stood there with more confidence. The leader was the man holding a dagger. . Cassia stood in front of them like a docile lamb that couldn't resist and was waiting to be slaughtered.

"Money, we want money, your money. Give us your money..." The hoarse voice was filled with the joy of victory and unconcealed pride, and of course, overflowing impatience.

"Hurry up and hand over the money! You have money to buy this little girl, why don't you save us. Bread is a million times cheaper than a girl!"

"I'm so hungry, I want money!" There was a distorted voice in the crowd.

"She was originally my sister." Cassia's lips turned white and trembled. This sentence was uttered word by word with a trembling voice.

The leading man seemed to be losing his patience, and the success of the first step made his arrogance rise.

"Don't lie to us! You don't look alike at all. Her hair is blond and your hair is black. You weren't even around her a few days ago! Give us the money and get it out! Quick! We want money!" "

"Quick! Take out the money!"

“Just take out the money and we’ll let you go!”

"Yes, I'll let you go after I take the money!"

"Quick! Money! Money! All the money!"

Suddenly someone couldn't hold it anymore and stepped forward to pull Cassia's clothes. Several others walked around him and stretched out their stained hands to grab Nuo, who was hiding behind Cassia with his eyes wide open quietly. Son.

Cassia felt the power of Noer's hands tightly grasping the hem of his clothes, and he didn't know where the courage and strength came from. He punched with both hands, and all the people who were coming were pushed away, and the condensed wounds were torn apart again. It cracked and blood flowed out again.

Back in the steam factory, he started out as the lowest-level coolie, carrying pieces of steel parts every day, and his strength was also forcibly developed at that time. Even underage, his strength is much greater than that of an average adult male.

The dozen or so people in front of them suddenly became excited, and they became angry, as if they were watching their docile children suddenly dare to jump up and hit themselves on the knee. They pushed each other over and grabbed the young man's resolute and pale face with their hands.

Cassia waved his tightly clenched fists and struck forward randomly. From the corner of his eye, he saw the leading man swinging a sharp dagger and slashing at his chest. Cassia quickly took a step back to avoid the sword. , but it also caused a big hole in the clothes on the chest, revealing the pure white cotton inside.

Even though he didn't cut it, it still made the skin there feel like it was frozen by ice.

"He wants to kill me!" The cold air that escaped the young man's body suddenly disappeared.

"roll!"

"roll!"

"roll!"

The seventeen-year-old boy could no longer contain the fear in his heart, and then the fear instantly turned into silent anger. At this moment, all the fear, all the weakness, all the tolerance, and all the acquiescence turned into the burning anger. After applying the agent, his body seemed to be gushing with heat, like a completely irritated kitten with explosive hair, revealing its sharp claws hidden under the fine hair.

He took out the revolver from his arms, with a black body, a barrel more than ten centimeters long, and a caliber as thick as a thumb. There is a spiral called the "Death Spiral" in the black muzzle. Deep in the barrel, it seems that a black dragon covered with scales will stretch out its majestic and ferocious head at any time, breathing bright red and hot flames!

The air thickened at this moment and then froze. The faces of the group of people in front of them became frozen, and their twisted faces were full of fear as they looked at the muzzle of the gun. Their arrogance instantly dissipated without a trace, their confidence disappeared in an instant, their bodies became weak again, their pride turned into panic, and their joy turned into a terrible nightmare that they couldn't get rid of.

"You dare to shoot..." The words of the leading man were his declaration of death, and his smug face was blown into pieces flying in the air by the .10-caliber revolver.

The black dragon breathed out without any hesitation. He didn't want to see any more triumphant faces, nor did he want to hear any syllables that screamed like a dying crow.

The bright red flame illuminated the dim carriage like lightning, illuminating the trembling and frightened faces of the others who were breathing cold air. It was also like the sound of thunder announcing the coming of the black storm.

The golden bullet exploded a man's head. It still had great power and shot into the steam pipe in the corner of the cargo compartment, making a clear sound of gold and iron striking.

The corpse collapsed with blood gushing out, and thick steam spurted out from the metal pipes, moistening the extremely dry air of the entire carriage. The boy's eyes were bloodshot, and blood oozed from his clenched lips. The finger holding the trigger of the pistol in his right hand was still exerting great force. The smoke rising from the revolver had not completely dissipated, and the air was quickly diluting the smell of gunpowder. . The remaining people had already crawled away from this oppressive prison, and from this young man who suddenly transformed from a kitten into a vicious wolf in front of their eyes.

The young man gritted his teeth to prevent the feeling in his heart that he had suddenly lost something from moistening the corners of his eyes. He stepped forward resolutely, leaning down to pick up the books he cherished, the pencils and pens he cherished, the precious graffiti given to him by his sister, and the golden admission notice stained red by the blood flowing from his jaw. Book.

Cassia sat quietly beside Noer, her tall figure blocking the view of the fallen body. He put the pistol aside and covered the re-opened wound with his left hand, but did not dare to look at Noer. He didn't know what his image would look like in the eyes of girls, but he could imagine that it must be very bad. Normally, her younger sister Lilia would be frightened and cry when she saw a little blood. To let such a scene unfold in front of a six or seven-year-old girl, he was really an incompetent brother.

Cassia sighed in her heart, and was throbbing with inexplicable emotions. He stared blankly at the milky white steam that continued to spew out. He didn't notice Nuoer's face, which had remained calm from beginning to end, and the brilliance in her eyes was even brighter than before.

The people who were cleaning the carriage had already finished leaving and were hiding far away. It was so quiet that the two of them could hear their own steady or rapid breathing.

The silence was broken only when the unique sound of shoes stepping on the steel plate came.

Seven or eight men wearing gray overalls or black management uniforms walked into the carriage connection. The leading man had a smile on his face.