The Star Train's Journey Through the Heavens

Chapter 93 Dawn Hall and Red Hair

"Please excuse my rudeness. The person just now was the engineer in charge of our Lighthouse's power and energy. He's been working on optimizing energy consumption and circulation. He probably had some ideas after seeing your train's journey, which is why he came to discuss it with me. But rest assured, our Lighthouse has absolutely no ill intentions," Morgan said with a smile.

Looking at these people's calm and composed demeanor, and the extraordinary aura emanating from their very bones, they were so similar to that person.

Knowing how powerful that woman was, he dared not have any other thoughts and could only try to maintain the appearance of a normal life by subtly hinting at things.

They didn't know that the Star Train didn't use fuel in the ordinary sense, so it was completely irrelevant.

However, Himeko does possess relevant technology, and even a small amount of it could allow their related technologies to develop rapidly.

"It's alright. People are all different. As long as they haven't really done anything wrong, we won't care," Himeko said magnanimously.

“Speaking of which, decades ago, I also met a superhuman like you, named Bai Yuekui.” Morgan looked at the group’s expressions without any change.

It seems they probably don't know each other and aren't from the same group.

“We’ve never heard of the person the city lord is talking about,” Himeko said regretfully.

"Haha, that was decades ago. Maybe that person is already dead. It's normal not to recognize them. Senger, you can go out now. I have something to discuss with our distinguished guests." Morgan breathed a sigh of relief, which made the other possibility seem more likely.

"March, Star, Wind, Bamboo, do you want to stay and listen together or go out and have fun?" Himeko looked at the four of them.

March 7th said without hesitation, "Let's go out. Talking to important people is so boring."

“Yes, we might as well go for a stroll around the lighthouse,” Meng Huaifeng agreed, as he also found dealing with those old foxes annoying.

"Then you guys go out and have fun. Welt and I will take care of things here." Himeko smiled indulgently.

“Jingnan, you should go out too and show our distinguished guests around the lighthouse,” Morgan said to Jingnan.

“But, Lord City Lord…” Jing Nan’s face showed a hint of worry.

“Go ahead, I know what I’m doing.” Morgan waved his hand.

The news that Sengge, despite being equipped with a gravity suit, could lose his balance with a light tap from any one of them had already been quietly reported. Facing such a group of superhumans, any precautions would be futile.

For the time being, this group seems to be very friendly. Since he has already taken the risk of agreeing to let them board the lighthouse, he doesn't mind being a little bolder in order to achieve his goal.

“Yes, gentlemen, please follow me.” Jing Nan said as he walked to the four of them.

The four of them followed Jingnan out of the command center, leaving only Walter, Himeko, and Morgan inside talking.

Jingnan led the four on a tour of several important buildings that were not critical to the lighthouse, including the medical room, the clock tower, and the light and shadow hall...

"This is the Hall of Dawn, a sacred place where humanity casts aside selfish desires and perpetuates the human race. The Lighthouse uses the gene matching formula of the Old World as an important way to optimize the population, arranging for eligible citizens to carry out breeding tasks, passing on superior genes, and replenishing the Lighthouse's population."

"The children born will be divided into Upper People and Dust People based on their genes. The Upper People will be cared for and raised by the Lighthouse, learning various skills, and will become the pillars of the Lighthouse when they grow up."

The five of them entered a golden hall, and Jingnan introduced himself to the other four.

"Is it too rigid to determine a person's future solely based on genes? Genes can indeed roughly express a person's future physical qualities and strength, but intelligence shouldn't be something that genes can detect, right?"

Meng Huaifeng asked, but he felt no ripples in his heart regarding the Dawn Hall. He only felt that kind of thing with someone he liked.

“But people with superior genes are much more likely to be intelligent than people with inferior genes. Since our resources are limited, we naturally have to choose the one with the higher probability,” Jing Nan said.

"You just said that you would arrange for eligible upper-class citizens to carry out breeding tasks, but what about the lower-class citizens?" March 7 asked, frowning.

"Dust people are forbidden to have offspring," Jingnan replied calmly.

"Huh? This is too much!" March 7th exclaimed.

“The Dust People have inferior genes, so the probability of giving birth to children with superior genes is even lower. As I said before, our resources are limited, and the number of people we can support is finite. In order for the Lighthouse to have more outstanding talents in the future, it is the best choice to only let the Upper People undertake the breeding task,” Jing Nan said.

"What if a commoner gets pregnant? Should they have an abortion?" March 7th asked.

"No, the first of the three survival rules is to abandon outdated ideas and prohibit the formation of families, kinship, love, marriage, and other such behaviors. If someone becomes pregnant in secret, it means they have violated the first rule and will be severely punished," Jingnan said.

"How serious is it?" Zhu Zhuqing asked.

“Fate,” Jingnan said succinctly.

Zhu Zhuqing shrank her neck. Good heavens, this was countless times worse than her situation back then.

"What kind of ridiculous rule is this? It's utterly inhumane," March 7th complained.

"If I were a citizen of the Lighthouse, I would show them what rules are—rules are meant to be broken!" Xing conjured a baseball bat out of thin air and swung it twice.

Jingnan stared intently at the baseball bat in Xing's hand. Where did it come from? Is this a superpower?
"If you were a Lighthouse Dustman, you wouldn't have the power you have now. In that case, forget about breaking the rules, Ah Xing, your life would be in danger," Meng Huaifeng said sarcastically.

"Don't sabotage me, you jerk." Xing looked at Meng Huaifeng with dissatisfaction.

“If Miss Xing were to join the Lighthouse, she would certainly not become a commoner, but an upper-class citizen,” Jing Nan said.

"That makes sense." Xing nodded in satisfaction.

"So, you're here to visit the Dawn Hall, aren't you, sir?" Meng Huaifeng teased.

Xingwei paused for a moment, then raised her bat again and shouted, "Rules are meant to be broken!"

"Don't break it, there are still people at the lighthouse." March 7th tugged at the star.

Jingnan gave an awkward yet polite smile. These people seemed quite dissatisfied with the rules of the lighthouse; he should try to calm them down.

"There's a reason why this law is ranked first among the three laws of survival," Jing Nan changed the subject. "The Devouring Beasts can sense human emotions, and the stronger the emotion, the more attention it will attract. Therefore, for safety's sake, we must suppress our own emotions."

“But emotions are not limited to just romantic love and familial affection.” Meng Huaifeng disagreed with Jing Nan’s words.

“But these two emotions are the easiest to control, and this regulation is also beneficial to the gene optimization program. If forming families is allowed, would people still be willing to go to the Hall of Dawn and perform reproductive tasks with another person?” Jing Nan asked rhetorically.

“What you said makes some sense, but we still don’t agree. I’ve always believed that human emotions are the brightest light when facing dire situations. Many miracles are created by emotions,” Meng Huaifeng said.

Perhaps I'm not from this world, nor have I truly lived in the apocalypse, so I can't empathize with them and therefore can't understand their rules and regulations. The Lighthouse system might temporarily attract seemingly talented individuals, but without the bonds of family, love, or friendship, can they truly be relied upon in a crisis, relying solely on rules and orders?

Meng Huaifeng was skeptical.

An army without willpower is no match for an army with unwavering willpower, no matter how impressive their statistics on paper may be.

This event is also recorded in the history of Meng Huaifeng's original world.

“That’s right. It was because of his will to survive that Belloborg was able to hold on until we arrived. If he had acted like you guys, which is so inhumane, he probably would have been buried by the snow long ago,” March 7th agreed.

Meng Huaifeng rubbed his forehead. This silly girl, she's exposed herself again.

Fortunately, Jingnan didn't ask any more questions, assuming it was just a small settlement on the ground that they had rescued while passing by.

“I can’t convince you, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the Lighthouse’s survival rules. Everything is just for the better survival in the apocalypse,” Jingnan said somewhat sadly.

Strong emotions may create miracles, but they will also attract more Devouring Beasts. What kind of miracle can offset those more Devouring Beasts?

This is a problem.

The atmosphere between the two sides was somewhat silent as Jingnan led the four people to the next location.

Just then, a deafening cheer erupted from below, and the pioneering team curiously leaned over the railing of the passageway to look down.

More than a dozen armored vehicles loaded with supplies slowly drove up from the platform. The previously busy Dust People stopped what they were doing, made way, and offered their blessings to the dozens of soldiers on the armored vehicles. Dust People from other places also kept coming over to warmly welcome their return.

The fully armed soldiers on the armored vehicles had cold expressions on their faces, while others waved their hands incessantly. On the armored vehicle at the very front, a heroic female soldier with a ponytail that was slightly reddish in the sunlight occasionally tossed some food to the children among the dusters. Beside her, a soldier with a scar on his right eye watched her actions with tenderness.

"This is the Lighthouse's Hunter Team. They've returned from collecting supplies on the ground. The Lighthouse can barely be self-sufficient in some supplies, but for others, the Hunters have to collect them entirely on the ground," Jing Nan explained before Meng Huaifeng and the others could ask.

"The woman at the very front is the current captain of the Wilderness Hunters, Red Hair, and also the most outstanding Wilderness Hunter commander in the Lighthouse to date. Since she took over as captain, the casualties of the Wilderness Hunters have been greatly reduced, and every time they go to the ground, they return fully loaded with a large amount of supplies."

“It’s clear that those people admire her a lot,” Meng Huaifeng said, looking at the excited Dust People.

"How impressive!" Xing said enviously.

"Didn't you receive the same treatment in Belleburg?" March 7 asked, puzzled.

"Of course, the more attention you get, the better," Xing said matter-of-factly. What, would anyone complain about having too much?
"So, I'll leave this one to you too?" Meng Huaifeng glanced at Xing.

"No problem!" Xing rubbed his hands together eagerly.

"What are you saying?" Jingnan asked curiously.

“Tell us the source of the end times.” March 7th remained as carefree as ever.

Jingnan looked surprised: "What is it?"

"Well, we don't know yet," March 7th said with a scratch on his head and an embarrassed smile. "But Huaifeng will find out soon."

Jing Nan was slightly speechless. Talking about solving it when you don't even know anything about it is just wishful thinking on the part of a young person.

However, Jingnan could understand, because she often fantasized about solving the apocalypse and restoring the world to its former state.

The convoy quickly passed through the corridor, and Jingnan left the railing.

"The convoy will go to the supplies distribution room to unload the trucks next. Come on, I'll take you to see it."

When the five people arrived at the supplies distribution room, the truck had already been half unloaded, and it was bustling with people coming and going.

Several gravity objects were parked on one side of the hall, and the drivers of some of them had already left.

"Can I try this?" Xing touched the gravity object and looked at Jingnan expectantly.

I often see Uncle Yang driving his mecha around. Is it really that fun?

“You do not have operating privileges and cannot drive,” Jingnan said, shaking his head.

Xing was a little disappointed, but she still used her hands to lift the limbs of the gravity body and did a few simple movements.

Watching Xing casually manipulate the gravity object, Jing Nan's eyes twitched wildly. Could this really be done by a human?
Meng Huaifeng walked to the armored vehicle, looked at the supply boxes on it, and asked curiously, "It's been more than 30 years since the apocalypse. After all this time, haven't the things on the ground deteriorated yet?"

"Apart from canned goods and compressed biscuits, most of the food has indeed spoiled. We mainly collect energy supplies, followed by urgently needed materials. Even if some are damaged, they can still be used after some cleaning," Jingnan said.

"More than thirty years ago, the canned food and compressed biscuits must have expired long ago, right?" March 7th exclaimed in surprise.

"Little girl, even if it's expired, it's still good stuff now. As long as you can eat it, it's fine." A clear voice suddenly came from behind the group.

“Captain Hongkou,” Jingnan said to the newcomer.

It's actually the captain of the Hunters?
The four turned to look at the newcomer. He had a neat ponytail, slightly reddish hair, and a determined look on his handsome face. He was dashing and charming, a man who could charm both men and women.

"What a cool girl!" Xing exclaimed, staring intently.

Hongkou paused for a moment, then smiled generously and said, "Thank you, young lady. You're very handsome too. However, I don't think I've ever seen you before."

There are over 10,000 people on the lighthouse. Even if you don't know them all, you can at least recognize most of them. These few people are so conspicuous, it's impossible for me not to remember them.

“They are survivors from a train, and they were just discovered today,” Jingnan said.

"Oh, there are still living people on the ground, that's incredible." Hongkou exclaimed in surprise. "Welcome to the Lighthouse. I am Hongkou, the captain of the Hunters. From now on, you can live a more stable life."

"Well, we're not part of the Lighthouse; we just came up for a visit," Meng Huaifeng said.

"A visit? The city lord actually allowed it?" Hongkou looked at Jingnan in disbelief.

“They are not ordinary people,” Jing Nan confirmed.

"It seems you've managed to survive on the ground until now; you must have some skill. So, shall we get to know each other?" Hongkou extended her right hand to the group.

　Speechless. Luck really is conserved. I snagged a bargain on Sanjiang last week, and I've already given it all back this month. My grandpa and mom were both hospitalized and getting IV drips, my dad was caught driving under the influence on the same day, and today my partner has a high fever. I'm so busy, it's unbearable.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)