Chapter 30: Please Hold My Fingertips

There were not many guests during the day. As the four of them walked into the ticketing hall, they could see posters scrolling across a giant screen.

Approaching the automated ticket kiosks, they queued to pay, then registered by placing their wrists near the scanner. A soft 'beep' from the machine signaled that the process was complete.

The wrist bones of Federation citizens are now embedded with microchips, making it convenient to register and process various transactions.

[ "Please Hold My Fingertips"; Ticket Price: 325 Federation Credits; Please Pay ]
[ Payment Complete ]
[ Logging Information... ]
[ Access Granted, Welcome ]

At the sound of the 'beep,' Hersia looked up at the others walking ahead and trotted a few steps to catch up.

Passing through a dim tunnel, the four arrived in a small room containing twelve pods for reclining. The interiors emitted a pale blue halo, which was particularly striking in the dark environment.

Approaching one of the pods, Hersia placed her wrist on the detection platform. Data flashed by rapidly, and then the pod door slowly lifted, releasing a faint chill.

"I'm going in first," one of her companions said, lying down inside.

Hersia stepped on the auxiliary pedal to the side and carefully reclined as well. The transparent metal-glass slowly closed, and countless tiny points of light danced before her vision.

[ Time: 2:42 PM, "Please Hold My Fingertips" ]
[ Film loading, please try to relax. If you experience discomfort, please press the emergency button on your right. ]
[ Phantom Crystal mist releasing, neural connection starting. ]

Lying within the viewing pod, Hersia's field of vision was gradually filled with blue-purple mist. Soon, illusions began to appear, and faint strains of music could be heard in her ears. Knowing this was the prelude to an immersion film, she did her best to relax, ensuring her internal transcendent core and mana would not reject the interference.

[ The immersion film will provide you with a lifelike sensory experience. This is created by T4-level holographic illusions, transmitted directly into your sensory organs via weak signals. The viewing pod will also simulate airflow, temperature changes, vibrations, and thrusts from the film. ]
[ Verified by the Federation Security Agency, the Ethics Committee, and the Supreme Court, this is a T4 safety-level use of transcendent effects. ]
[ If you feel unwell during the viewing, or if you detect illusion signals stronger than T3, please activate your transcendent core immediately and follow the Sisca formula to quickly dispel the illusions and regain consciousness. ]
[ Finally, we wish you a pleasant viewing experience. ]

***

Seagulls glided across the sky, as clear as washed azure, their cries echoing over the water.

Across the boundless, sapphire-colored sea, the breeze blew, bringing with it moist droplets and the faint, briny scent of the ocean.

Her vision followed the wings of a gull as it dove sharply from the sky, slicing through the atmosphere and rapidly closing the distance.

The airflow lifted its fluffy wings; the base of the feathers was white like velvet, while the tips were slightly black, refracting a greasy sheen under the sunlight.

Beneath the radiant sky, a steel dragon about a thousand meters long roared across the surface of the sea. Its ferocious beast-head locomotive vibrated violently on the tracks, surging heat venting backward from pipes along its sides. The long train's scale-like armor reflected golden and silver light under the sun.

The Furnace Train, first introduced by the mega-corporation 'Qiuniu Heavy Industries' in Federation Year 583, is used specifically for long-distance interstellar transport.

Inside the carriages, among luxurious tables and chairs, guests in formal attire held wine glasses and conversed. Though waves surged outside the train, the interior remained stable and quiet.

"This trip will signify the willingness of the Wind Whale Constellation to accept our peace proposal and enter into negotiations with us," said a man in a white suit with gold trim, holding his swaying wine glass high for his companions to hear.

He looked confident, his eyes smiling, possessing a convincing charm. He was a high-ranking Federation senator and the diplomatic representative for these negotiations.

"Long live the Rose Federation! May the Twelve Charters shine forever!" everyone cheered in unison.

Amidst the clinking glasses, a woman in a turquoise dress leaned against the window, resting her cheek on one hand and slowly swirling a glass of wine.

Her gaze was fixed on the sea outside, but her expression seemed lost in memory and contemplation; her attention was not here.

"Teardrop, my dear sister, what are you thinking about?" the blond man who had just finished his speech sat down beside her.

"Nothing, just that this peace talk feels a bit sudden," the woman, who also had blond hair, turned her head.

"Haha, indeed, many people find it unexpected, but—" he shifted his tone.

"According to the information we've received, it is within reason."

...

Ever since the Federation began implementing reforms fifty years ago, internal conflicts had erupted continuously. The reforms shook the interests of many, which some conservatives could not accept. Yet, without reform, the various problems accumulated by the Federation could not be solved—a true dilemma.

The two sides remained at an impasse, eventually leading to a civil war that had continued to this day.

Just as the two were discussing the ultimate direction of the war, the blond woman suddenly looked out the window.

"Is it here?"

"What's here?" The man also looked out the window.

In the distance, massive black sea beasts leaped from the water, splashing waves dozens of meters high. One after another, they appeared, emitting a distinct energy fluctuation; they seemed to be savage creatures of Sequence 5 or higher.

Soon, a broadcast sounded overhead.

"Sea beasts are approaching the train. Sea beasts are approaching the train. Please return to your seats and prepare for impact."

Beneath the azure sky, the ferocious beast-head locomotive vented long white plumes of steam, followed by a long, high-pitched whistle.

On the sea, the dorsal fins and tentacles of those black giants broke the surface, cutting through white foam as they charged toward the speeding steel dragon.

Inside the Furnace locomotive, the massive sixteen-cylinder engine hammered like a pile driver, constantly rising and falling. Countless golden-red particles were compressed, extracted, and detonated. These essence particles of the Dragon Sequence were injected into the massive core in the center, circulating at high speed through complex, iron-like veins and pipes, before being pumped into output lines to flow like blood into the carriages behind.

The whistling, powerful Dragon Sequence particles raced through the pipes. Wherever these particles traveled, the scale-like armor on the outer layer of the carriages lit up with golden veins, and the surface of the scales gradually took on color, as if preparing for the impact.

Afterward—

Amidst the roaring, high-speed run, the tops of the carriages lifted in the gale, revealing twin black gun barrels beneath the scale armor. Guided by the continuous observation and calibration of fire-control radar, the barrels began to aim at the mutated sea beasts attacking them.

Lines of text flashed on small screens within the two gun barrels.

[ Aijeka particles loading... ]
[ Pipelines preheating, selected mode: Brilliant Craft Beta-level ]

The base of the turrets began to gather golden-red particles, which spread along the barrels, and the internal filament arrays gradually lit up.

[ Quadrant sight initialized, beginning target distribution... ]
[ Target distribution complete, beginning targeting... ]

The barrels moved slowly, rotating and adjusting via the dials on the base, aiming step by step at the oncoming black sea beasts.

[ Lock successful, fire! ]

The golden-red particle streams suddenly slashed across the sea, dazzling even in the daylight. The highly compressed, powerful streams flashed and vanished. Great plumes of water and white mist rose from the sea, and the sea beasts that had been charging the train were left with several gruesome, charred holes in their bodies.

These beasts, dying instantly, slowed down, gliding forward for a short distance under their own momentum before slowly sinking into the blue and pitch-black sea. The few remaining beasts, having not been caught in the blast due to their distance, stopped. Watching their dead kin, they let out low cries before slowly disappearing into the horizon.

"Begin the situation report."

In the giant cockpit of the locomotive, the captain frowned, looking at the numerous segmented screens, and spoke loudly into the intercom.

"Radar and quadrant searches are complete. Of the 47 sea beasts that approached, 41 have been eliminated. The remaining 6 escaped the turret attack because they were outside the lock-on range. Currently, those 6 beasts have left for the distance, and the fluctuations emitted by their transcendent cores are gradually weakening."

"Very well."

The train captain nodded slightly, hung up the communication terminal, and sat down.

Seeing the captain's expression remained stern, his deputy had to lean in cautiously to ask.

"What do you think, sir?"

"I am not surprised by the results of the attack. This 'Qiuniu Heavy Industries' Furnace Train is a product designed to deal with sea beast attacks. But what I find shameful is that the sea beasts were only discovered when they were just one kilometer away from the train."

"If it weren't for the fact that we handled it well today, we would have received a mark against us within the corporation. Humph!"

"This is a train carrying diplomatic representatives! There are currently millions of autonomous units facing off in the northern and southern hemispheres, and three starship fleets floating in space, watching like tigers. If there had been an accident, you and I would be going straight to military court."

"Well, sir, there is an inherent delay and distortion in observation and sensing when traveling at high speeds. It's really unavoidable..." The deputy wiped sweat from his forehead as he spoke.

"Heh, you haven't received less in kickbacks from Venus Workshop, have you? Still speaking up for them at a time like this," the captain glanced at his deputy.

"Actually, their observation scanners are of decent quality. Perhaps the vibrating environment of the Furnace Train makes them perform poorly. You know that Dragon Sequence particles aren't very friendly to such precision instruments," the deputy continued trying to explain.

"Forget it, I don't want to hear it," the captain waved his hand.

"Call them. Tell them to replace them with new ones when we arrive at the station. I'll inspect them next time. If they pass, I won't pursue these issues further."

The man stood up and patted the deputy on the shoulder twice, nearly making him lose his balance. But the deputy dared not resist, only watching the captain walk away.

Afterward, the deputy hurried out of the cockpit, and the other crew members began to whisper among themselves.

"Haha, how funny. I've long found him unpleasant; he's finally tripped up."

"For sure. The captain is a veteran from the military. That strong pressure from his Sequence 6 Dragon power is something few people in the corporation can handle. Just him, haha."

"Stop laughing. He's not an ordinary employee like us. They say his uncle is a corporate executive; otherwise, how would he have the opportunity to oversee the replacement of internal equipment?"

...

Even in the midst of war, greed and corruption continued to spread within the Federation. The reformists were no cleaner than the conservatives; in fact, this was why many star systems were unwilling to support the reformists. So-called reform was merely shifting interests from one group of people to another.

Because of this, uprisings and riots occurred in many star systems. They loathed the Federation's governance and no longer believed in any promises made by the top brass. These people hoped to become independent from the Federation—the dissolution of the Federation seemed like the better choice.

This was a rotten, decaying era. There were no longer any shocking or heart-stirring oaths, only the use of hedonism to numb an increasingly empty spiritual world.

...

The scenes flowed on. The heroine, Teardrop, followed her brother to the enemy camp. Along the way, she witnessed the ugliness and conspiracies of both sides in the war and felt deeply disappointed in both. In this state of mind, she met a painter from the enemy camp.

This artist had been sent to the front lines by the enemy's high command to paint. Although the two sides were at war, many wealthy people thought that such a magnificent war must have a scenery on the front lines unlike any other. The beauty bursting from iron, fire, blood, and steel must be rare. Thus, they paid him to go to the dangerous front lines as their eyes, to paint this poignant scenery.

"Why not just take a photograph?" Teardrop asked the man.

"Photography can record the scene, but painting is different. It exists between illusion and reality. It can express the emotions contained in the scene in an ultimate way. This kind of beauty is rare, and it's what those big shots like to see."

"Oh, if they like it so much, why don't they come to the front line?" Teardrop sat beside the painter, watching him paint stroke by stroke, while in the distance, countless artillery fires and light beams pierced the air, the noise of war deafening.

"That's because, of course, they think their own lives are more important," the painter shook his head helplessly, looking at the pure and beautiful woman beside him.

"So, is your life not important?" Teardrop gently lifted her wrist, her fingertips brushing his stubbled chin, her eyes glistening as if with water.

"I am a painter. This is how I make a living, nothing more." He shook his head, no longer looking at the girl beside him, afraid he would never be able to escape those eyes.

"But you could also pursue another dream—for example, taking me away from this disturbing world. I would marry you, and you could paint many, many pictures for me, without restraint..." The woman's voice was like a succubus from mythology, making the painter hesitate and waver.

"Hehe, I'm just joking." With that, Teardrop stood up and looked at the battlefield in the distance.

"I'm going back tomorrow. The negotiations have failed. My brother, as the ambassador, is about to return, and I will be going back with him."

"So, what do you plan to do?" She stood with her back to the painter, her voice lingering, one hand behind her waist, her fingertips gently swaying.

"I think..." The painter seemed to have realized something at this moment.

"I want to hold your fingertips and head to a distant world..."

The film slowly entered its finale. In the end, the two boarded a small spacecraft, fleeing this war-torn star system and heading toward a distant, unknown destination.

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PS: Said I would write about watching a movie, so I really wrote about the movie. 0 0/