The Star Train's Journey Through the Heavens

Chapter 194 Daily Life, Scenery on the Red Line

Upon reaching the summit, a strange balance was temporarily achieved at the confluence of the four ascending waterways.

All four sides are steep cliffs, except for the southeast cliff which is split in two to form a strait.

The seawater flows continuously in a southeast direction, and the closer it gets to the narrow pass, the faster the current becomes. It is the only waterway leading to the Grand Line.

"Going down from there leads to the first half of the Grand Line. If we just climb over this mountain, will we reach the end of the second half?" Xing asked, looking at the rock wall facing the strait.

“That’s right, but apart from top experts and some people with special abilities, it’s impossible to get over this world. Climbing up is easier, but you still have to figure out how to safely get down from a cliff tens of thousands of meters high, not to mention you need a boat after you get down,” Meng Huaifeng said.

Himeko steered the boat away from the descending channel, and together they climbed the cliff face.

Standing on the red earth continent, tens of thousands of meters high, and looking towards the latter half of the Grand Line, even with their amazing eyesight, their view was still obscured by layers of clouds.

Dan Heng waved his hand, and the clouds quickly dispersed, revealing a clear blue sky and the vast blue sea.

On one side is the West Sea, and on the other side is the North Sea.

Between the Western Sea and the Northern Sea are two calm belts.

The sea in the doldrums was completely still and lifeless, a stark contrast to the seas of the West Sea and the North Sea.

The area between the two calm belts is the latter half of the Grand Line.

The oceans of the Grand Line are significantly more turbulent than those of the West Blue and North Blue, as if all the changes in the two calm seas have been transferred to the Grand Line.

Due to the curvature of the planet, even with the best visibility, the train crew could only see a small portion of the latter half of the Grand Line.

This is because the red earth continent is high enough, allowing one to see far from a high vantage point.

"Is that island Laugh Tale? If we jump down now, will we become the Pirate King?" Hoshino asked excitedly as she spotted the island closest to the back of Reverse Mountain.

"Uh, if it were that easy to find, there wouldn't have been only one pirate crew that arrived there over the past few hundred years. I think it must be Water Star Island," Meng Huaifeng said uncertainly.

Himeko did not have a map of the Grand Line, nor could she determine whether the island was the Water First Star Island.

"Isn't Laugh Tale supposed to be the final island of the Grand Line? If it's Water First Star Island, then which one is Laugh Tale? There aren't any islands any closer." Star covered his eyes with his right hand and carefully scanned the sea between the island and Reverse Mountain once more.

"Could it be in another dimension? If it really is on the ocean, even if the World Government conducted a thorough search, it would have found it long ago, even after decades or centuries, not to mention there's a Devil Fruit user who can fly." March 7th had a flash of inspiration.

"It shouldn't be another space. Perhaps it's underwater, or hidden by special abilities, and can only be seen when you enter a certain range?" Meng Huaifeng speculated. If it were another space, the permanent record pointer probably wouldn't be able to point the way, right?

Unless the permanent record pointer to Laugh Tale that appears in the story is a hoax.

“There are humans living on that island,” Himeko said.

“Then it definitely isn’t Laugh Tale.” Meng Huaifeng clapped his hands.

"Isn't that even better? Suspenseful adventures are more interesting and challenging." Xing raised an eyebrow.

"We can't take any risks at all. Who on this planet could pose a danger to us?" Meng Huaifeng complained.

"You must remain vigilant and humble during the exploration process, and never underestimate any world. What if there is a powerful being hidden outside the information you have?" Himeko gently cautioned.

Although she didn't believe anyone on this planet could threaten everyone's safety, she couldn't let people develop arrogance because of it.

"Sister Ji is right," Meng Huaifeng said, feigning surrender.

"Hey, look! There's suddenly a huge shadow over there!" March 7th patted Meng Huaifeng and pointed to a spot in the windless zone.

Meng Huaifeng looked closely and saw that there was indeed a shadow tens of thousands of meters in size in the doldrums, comparable to many islands.

The shadows grew more pronounced, and the calm sea surface in the windless zone began to churn violently.

An octopus-like sea monster, tens of thousands of meters long, emerged from the sea, its countless enormous tentacles slapping everywhere, stirring up huge waves.

After moving around for more than ten minutes, the giant sea monster finally dived back into the sea.

The scenery above the Red Earth Continent was beautiful, and everyone set up a stove on the cliff edge and had a picnic with various foods.

On March 7th, I fixed the camera, set the timer, and took a happy photo.

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone lay down in twos and threes on the grass, enjoying the mountain breeze, or sat on the edge of the cliff to admire the scenery.

On March 7th, full of energy, he dragged Meng Huaifeng around taking pictures all over the Red Earth Continent.

Meng Huaifeng pointed his camera at the confluence of the four seas, and suddenly his expression changed.

"Oh no, a group of pirates is heading straight for our ship."

"It's not a big problem. Everyone packed up their things before entering the Reverse Mountain, and there's nothing of value on the ship," Himeko said calmly.

"But we can't let these pirates run around and cause chaos." March 7th pouted and was about to go down.

“Leave it to us,” Hongkou said.

The Immortal Ship and the Super God World are ridiculously strong, leaving them no room to maneuver. This world is finally a place where they can finally shine.

"Well, that's fine. We need to let the newcomers grow and show their skills," said the senior member of the March 7th group, feigning maturity.

Hongkou and Poxiao instantly possessed the gravity body and leaped down from the mountain.

Su Xiaoli ran quickly down the rock wall.

Yan, completely oblivious to being a newcomer, crossed his arms and looked down with great interest.

Although Zhu Zhuqing appears to be the youngest, she has already defeated Garp, one of the world's top combatants, and feels that she can no longer be considered a newcomer.

The Mad Wolf Pirates were the most prominent pirate crew in the West Blue that year. Their captain was a jackal who had eaten the Zoan-type Wolf-Wolf Fruit, and his nickname was Mad Wolf.

Mad Wolf was not content with ruling the West Blue; he wanted to pursue the One Piece that Pirate King Roger had mentioned.

So, after finding a reliable navigator, they couldn't wait to rush into the Grand Line.

The navigator was indeed reliable. Although the ship was somewhat damaged, it successfully passed through the ascent channel and reached the top of the mountain.

"Captain, there's a ship to our northeast!" a pirate said.

"Oh? Which pirate crew?" Mad Wolf asked.

"It doesn't fly a pirate flag, and it doesn't look like a merchant ship; it looks more like a noble's sightseeing boat," the pirate replied.

"A noble sightseeing ship? Nobles are great. They are weak in combat, carry a lot of money, and don't have to work hard to sell their goods or dispose of stolen goods. They are also good-looking. Even the young male nobles are prettier than the commoner girls."

"I didn't expect to run into such a fat sheep before even entering the Grand Line. They're unlucky to have met us. Men, move the ship closer!" Mad Wolf grinned bloodthirstyly.

"Oh!"

The pirates cheered and turned the wind around, heading towards the Skyfall Justice.

"Captain, there seems to be no one on that ship."

The pirate ship was getting closer and closer, but the Justice Ship from the sky didn't react at all.

"They must have known of the captain's reputation; they were so frightened by our pirate flag that they hid in the cabin!" someone flattered.

"But it's not like there isn't a single guard. Those nobles are very protective of their lives."

"Who cares? We'll find out once we get on the ship. Where can we hide here?"

One grappling hook after another was thrown onto the Skyfall Justice, locking the two ships together.

Having some skill, the cadre, showing off his technique, swung himself across the rope.

The person was in mid-air, holding the knife in their mouth, and making strange noises.

"Oh oh oh~"

"boom!"

Several bullets rained down from the sky, accurately striking several pirates who were flying through the air, causing violent explosions.

Dawn's life-source ability, Explosion, allows him to detonate his own attacks.

Before the pirates could even reach the Skyfall Justice, they were blasted into the sea below by the explosion.

"Who goes there?" Mad Wolf roared, looking up.

Two robots descended from the sky at an incredible speed, then burst into blue flames from their feet and backs, instantly stopping their descent and hovering in the air, watching them.

"What is this thing?" Mad Wolf's expression changed.

Whatever it is, anything that can fly is difficult to deal with. Did we run into a brick wall this time?
"What kind of pirate crew are you, and what do you want to do to our ship?" Red Hair asked, opening her mask.

"I am the captain of the Mad Wolf Pirates. It's all a misunderstanding. It's rare that we entered the Grand Line together at the same time. I just wanted to get to know you all," Mad Wolf said with a forced smile. He wanted to lure them down first; he couldn't fly, after all.

Hongkou glanced at the grappling hook connecting the two ships and said, "You said this is a misunderstanding and you want to get to know it?"
You can't fool a fool like that, can you?
At dawn, the database on the gravity body was searched, and the database already contained news reports from all over the world over the past few years.

Dawn has been handling all the logistical work for the two of them.

"The Mad Wolf Pirates are typical pirates in the conventional sense. They commit all sorts of atrocities, including burning, killing, and looting. In order to become the pirate with the highest bounty in the West Blue, they completely slaughtered an entire town," Dawn said coldly.

A small town may have more people than a lighthouse.

"Then there's nothing more to say."

Hongkou drew her greatsword, swooped down, and activated her supernatural power at the same time.

Body Enhancement!

A faint glow appeared on the gravity body.

"Roar!"

The mad wolf's size instantly increased, transforming into a jackal-man over three meters tall, and it swung its claws at Hong Kou.

"laugh!"

Before the mad wolf's claws could even touch Red Hair, Red Hair's greatsword had already slashed across the mad wolf's body.

"No...it's impossible. I'm a pirate with a staggering 70 million...million..."

After saying that, the mad wolf split in two and completely lost its breath.

"The...the captain is dead!"

"He died in one hit!"

"The Grand Line is too scary, Mom, I want to go home!"

"Sir, spare your life!"

"..."

The pirates were instantly thrown into panic. Some knelt down and begged for mercy, some jumped into the sea, and some even fired at Red Hair.

"Wait for me!"

Su Xiaoli, who hadn't yet rushed down, shouted anxiously.

It stomped hard on the rock wall and was launched onto the Skyfall Justice.

A shimmering pearl was tossed from Su Xiaoli's hand, passing through the pirates who were still putting up a last-ditch resistance.

The pirates who were pierced by the orb had no wounds on their bodies, but they instantly collapsed to the ground and became vegetative. Their souls were directly shattered by the orb.

"What should we do with them?" Hongkou frowned as she looked at the pirates kneeling and begging for mercy.

“Except for that navigator and the few slaves in the cabin, they all deserved to die.” Yan’s voice reached her ears.

Hongkou is no longer conflicted.

After untying the slaves, Dawn began searching for the treasure of the Mad Wolf Pirates.

Having grown up in a wasteland, the two are equally adept at scavenging, no less so than Xing.

Stars are just doing it out of hobby, but they're doing it for a living.

All the hidden treasures were discovered by Dawn.

A large amount of pesos, a small amount of gold jewelry, some valuable goods that had not yet been sold, and a precious sword.

Unfortunately, it doesn't have a Devil Fruit.

"You shouldn't have killed him. He was a Devil Fruit user. The seniors could have extracted his Devil Fruit powers," Dawn said regretfully.

"I didn't expect this guy to be so weak. Besides, Himeko can create Devil Fruits, so a Zoan-type Wolf Fruit shouldn't be of much use to her, right?" said Hongkou.

"The Shanks and Garp who fought us when we first arrived are already among the world's top fighters," Su Xiaoli said.

After this incident, the train crew had rested enough and flew back from the mountaintop.

"Well done. If we encounter pirates again, we'll leave it to you. Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?" Xing said with the air of a leader scrutinizing him.

“Sure, we’re always relying on our seniors to protect us from the wind and rain. We’re happy to do something small for them,” Hongkou replied with a smile.

"So all I have to do is eat, drink, and have fun?" March 7th blinked and asked.

"With two mecha guards, it really feels like a luxury sightseeing cruise ship," Meng Huaifeng said.

“That’s called enjoying life,” Xing said.

"If you don't like fighting, you don't have to take action. Just enjoy the journey of exploration," Himeko said, looking at Su Xiaoli, who seemed uninterested.

"Huh? I... I can too..." Su Xiaoli blushed slightly as she tried to explain.

Hongkou put her arm around Su Xiaoli's shoulder and said, "It's okay, don't force yourself. Po Xiao and I were born in the post-apocalyptic world, so we're used to it. You're different from us; you were born in a wonderful modern society."

"Nothing particularly wonderful happened..." Su Xiaoli said, recalling her experiences.

“You don’t have to worry about not having food, no one will dare to bully you, and there’s so much entertainment. Isn’t that wonderful?” Hongkou asked.

He wasn't drafted into the Star Train before the first alien invasion, and he joined the Star Train before the second invasion.

"Thank you everyone," Su Xiaoli said shyly.

She's definitely not interested in fighting and killing, but she really enjoys traveling with her crush.

"What are you planning to do next?" Meng Huaifeng asked the navigator.

"I don't know either. We can only take it one step at a time. If the next island is suitable for survival, we'll stay there and start a new life," the navigator said with a bitter face.

Don't you want to go back to your hometown?

"I want to, but going back isn't that easy," the navigator said.

“I can send you back to the Western Sea,” Dan Heng said.

"Oh? Really? This...won't it be too much trouble for you?" The navigator was both expectant and apprehensive.

"I will only take you to the West Sea. Will you, along with the others you rescued, be able to return to your hometown?" Dan Heng asked.

“Yes! Of course! These men are enough to control the ship!” The navigator and the rescued crew nodded repeatedly.

“Then get ready,” Dan Heng said.

"Take these Berries." Dawn left the Berries from the Mad Wolf Pirates that he had found with these people.

The navigator and several slaves stood nervously on the ship, while Dan Heng used the Cloud Chant technique.

"rise!"

A giant water dragon smoothly lifted the pirate ship, traversing hundreds of miles of ascending waterways, and transported it to the entrance of the Grand Line in the West Blue.

"God God……"

The navigators and slaves knelt down involuntarily.

After a long while, under the navigator's command, the group took down their pirate flags and sailed towards their respective hometowns.

"The West Sea seems much more chaotic than the East Sea. Will they be able to get back safely?" Meng Huaifeng asked.

"Don't worry, I've reserved some power on the ship. The ocean will help it move forward. With the shipbuilding technology of this world, no pirate ship can catch up with them."

"I doubt they would actively approach a pirate ship," Dan Heng said.

“Then let’s continue. Our destination: Laugh Tale,” Xing said.

"As required, we need to find four historical texts first. I roughly know the locations of three of them, and I know where the last one used to be," Meng Huaifeng said.

"Rules are meant to be broken, and I'm going to find it without looking at the historical text!"

"I'd like to see what the Poneglyphs are like. They destroyed an island just to bury history," Himeko said.

　The Grand Line is completely isolated by the Calm Belt and the Red Line, with only one entrance at Reverse Mountain. However, judging from that absurd ascent channel, it's a one-way street, meaning you can only enter but not exit. I've never understood how those ordinary pirate crews who failed in their attempts to conquer the Grand Line managed to leave.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)