Star Railway: The Last of the Grammer Riders

Chapter 141 Arrival, the Star of the Event—Pinocconi!
Pinocone, Deep Dreams

Xing woke up in an unfamiliar room.

Xing was puzzled as she looked at the room, which was obviously dark and didn't seem realistic.

She remembered that she had just asked Kevin on the train how to do the 'Heavenly Fire Unleashed' technique.

As a result, I found myself here in the blink of an eye.

"Dude, where did I end up? Is this even a train?" Xing muttered, looking at the design that was completely unlike any of the known rooms on a train.

“Another one… Come with me…” A mature woman with purple hair and a few strands of white hair walked over and said.

"Hmm? Hmm... You are... Mei-neechan? You're here too?" Hoshi asked, looking at the familiar face.

"You...know me?" Huang Quan asked, his voice filled with shock and confusion.

"Huh? Mei-neechan, have you lost your memory?" Hoshi asked, circling around Huang Quan.

"I'm not the person you know. Never mind, come with me, I'll take you home." Huang Quan sighed one last time, left with those words, and then walked away.

"Hey, Mei-neechan, wait for me!" Hoshi immediately followed.

"Sister Mei, where is this place? How did we get here? Weren't we supposed to be going to Pinocchio? This doesn't look like the so-called Dreamland." Hoshi asked as they walked.

However, Huang Quan did not reply at all.

The two arrived at what appeared to be a large hall, where many people were present…

Hmm, a human figure.

There were men and women, some dressed in very flashy clothes, some dressed as if they were from Edo, there were even androids, some with wings on their heads and rings on their heads, and there was one unexpected creature...

Silver Wolf.

"Silver Wolf? She's here too? But she seems to be talking to someone?" Xing murmured in confusion.

Xing curiously leaned closer.

"Hey, why is the Great Demon King suddenly looking for me? Although you've helped me a lot, it doesn't mean I've really forgiven you." Silver Wolf blew bubble gum and spoke to the person she called the 'Great Demon King'.

"Huh? You came to me just for this? Fine, consider it repaying a favor. Don't bother me after this is over, I need to play games with my online friends." Silver Wolf said, looking at the air with a speechless expression.

"So... who exactly was Silver Wolf talking to?" Xing asked, looking at the vanished Silver Wolf with a puzzled expression.

“The stage of the ‘Harmonious Music Festival’ belongs to you, sister.” The man with wings and a halo on his head said to the girl he was imagining.

“But… if I can’t sing… then what’s the point of this stage?” the girl replied, seemingly worried about something.

“No… sister, it’s not that you can’t sing, it’s just that there are too many dissonant notes in the Pinocchio these days… you just need to rearrange those notes, and you can sing again,” the man said gently.

Then the two figures disappeared, just like the silver wolf, or rather, turned into bubbles.

"Memory Master... are you sure you can leave safely?" The girl in red, dressed in what looked like Edo-era clothing, was speaking to a Memory Master.

“I’m sorry. The dancer I’m looking for… I already have someone in mind,” the person who remembered replied.

"Huh? You mean that guy who calls himself the 'Sea Patrol Knight'? In that case... have fun." The girl in red said with a look of confusion and shock on her face, then she showed an expression of anticipation.

As the girl in red walked away, the two figures disappeared as well.

“You damn gambler, what makes you think you can win? With your ‘chips’?” the blue-haired man said.

“That’s right, three ‘chips’ are enough, all or nothing.” The blond man opposite him said with a confident smile.

“But your family already knows about those three ‘chips.’ You no longer have the confidence to gamble with them,” the blue-haired man said.

"Heh, who knows? So what if they know about my three 'chips'? I might still have one more 'chip,' after all, I don't know what it is." The blond man didn't panic when he heard that his family knew about his "chips." Instead, he seemed to expect it and simply flicked one of the chips away.

After landing on the ground, the two figures disappeared.

"Where exactly is this place?" asked a little girl with white hair and red eyes.

"Little friend, are you lost?" a machine said.

"I think I'm really lost. Sister, do you know how to get here?" the little girl asked the omnic, holding a map. "Hmm... it seems like you should keep going in that direction until you reach an intersection, cross the street, turn left, and then go down the stairs," the omnic said after looking at the map.

"Thank you, big sister," the little girl replied politely.

Then the figure also disappeared.

All the people who had been there vanished.

After Huang Quan saw the remaining fragments of memories left behind, he walked into a door on his own.

Xing immediately followed Huang Quan after he left.

However, when she got to the door, she saw a cute little boy with light blue hair standing to the side.

"Welcome to Daydream Hotel! We hope you have an unforgettable vacation experience! To check in, please go straight to the hotel reception..." the little boy said.

Xing looked at the other party with some curiosity, but the other party disappeared like the previous figures before Xing could ask anything.

Seeing this, Xing didn't think much of it and continued walking forward to catch up with Huang Quan.

"Leave this place, wake up as usual, forget this chance encounter, and return to where you came from," Huang Quan said with his back to Xing.

“But before that… I have a request. It may sound strange or rude to you, but I’d like to know… where have we met before?” Huang Quan asked, looking at Xing.

"We've met before? Mei-neechan, didn't we come to Pinocchio together on the train? Have you really lost your memory?" Hoshi asked, her face full of doubt.

“I am not the Mei you know. But you reminded me of someone in that hazy memory, someone who stood beside me but ended up facing me with swords drawn…” Huang Quan said, gripping the “Nothingness” tightly in her hand.

Can I ask you a few more questions?

“Sure, no problem,” Xing replied without hesitation.

"When you woke up in your hotel room, did you murmur a few names? Perhaps they were your partners, family members, or enemies? You have formed unbreakable connections with many people and many things... Would you be afraid of losing those connections?" Huang Quan asked.

“Hmm… I don’t know. I might feel fear, afraid that others will forget me. Or I might be indifferent and continue on my own path.” Hoshino rarely thought about it. “But if I were to leave the train crew without saying goodbye… I might really be afraid.”

"Hmm... If there were a vast dream world, so realistic that it's indistinguishable from reality. There would be no separation of life and death, everyone would receive the happiness and fulfillment they deserve, and live happily ever after. Would you be willing to live there?" Huang Quan nodded and continued to ask.

"A real dream... I don't know." Xing thought for a moment, expressing her confusion about the answer. "Can a false sense of happiness and fulfillment really bring joy?"

"Well... alas... it seems time is running out. This is the last question: if this beautiful dream is destined to shatter, everything will depart: your friends, family, strangers; then the gentle breeze, the soaring birds, the stars... and finally yourself. Everyone, everyone in their memories, those smiles and tears, the promises made and those not made... will all eventually reach their predetermined end. If you knew the destination of this journey from the very beginning... would you still embark on this journey?"

“I will! I will embark on this journey to change this imperfect story!” Xing said firmly.

"I understand. That's the last question. Thank you. We all have our own paths to walk. Farewell," Huang Quan said.

"Huh? How do I leave here?" Xing asked, scratching his head.

"The golden dream is about to begin to stir. In the long night ahead, you may encounter many setbacks and witness numerous tragedies, and in the end... all that remains in your sight is black and white."

But believe me, in that black and white world there will be a fleeting red, but when you make your choice, it will surely reappear…” Huang Quan did not answer her question, but just talked to himself while drawing “Nothingness” from his hand.

At the same time, her hair turned completely white and tears of blood streamed down her face.

"And you, you must carefully consider its meaning—"

then,

"Return to the world of consciousness." Huang Quan used the hilt of "Nothingness" to inflict a severe blow on Xing's abdomen. Immediately, many bubbles burst from Xing's body, and he finally collapsed.

“The messenger of the ‘End’, instead of keeping spying, why don’t you show yourself and have a chat?” Huang Quan said to the shadows.

"Greetings, Mei, the self-destructor of 'Void,' the last survivor of Izumo, the Lightning Guardian of the River of Oblivion. I have no hostile intentions. My purpose in coming here is simply to see my disciple and you," Ye Tianyu said as he stepped forward.

"Is 'The End' also going to get involved in this chaos?" Huang Quan asked.

“No, ‘The End’ has no plans. I came to Pinocchio as an individual, as an anonymous customer. Shall we make a deal?” Ye Tianyu explained, then extended a trade invitation to Huang Quan.

"trade?"

"I can help you suppress the influence of 'Nothingness,' but in exchange, I need you to do me a favor..."

(End of this chapter)