The Star Train's Journey Through the Heavens

Chapter 96 The Lord of Light and Shadow's Blessing!

Lighthouse Burning Stand.

"Former Hunter Commander Red Hair and warrior Dawn openly defied the Lighthouse Survival Law by engaging in illegal intimate contact. In accordance with the law, they are sentenced to be burned at the stake, to be carried out publicly as a warning to others!"

"The city's defense army commander, Sengge, loudly proclaimed the verdict."

Hongkou and Poxiao, who had been chatting and laughing with the pioneer team just moments before, were now standing on an execution platform, chained up.

"No, it was just intimate contact, and they burned him at the stake? That's outrageous!" March 7th could hardly believe his ears.

She thought Hongkou had made some terrible mistake, but it turns out she just ended up here?
"So this is the former commander of the Hunters. Your Lighthouse is pretty efficient." Meng Huaifeng sneered.

“Intimate contact isn’t the point; the point is that it’s a blatant violation of the rules and has a negative impact on others,” Jing Nan said in a low voice.

“Given Red Hair’s abilities and status, I think it’s just a warning to them and a reminder to others not to break the rules. They probably won’t actually be burned at the stake, right?” Walter said, not entirely sure.

"What are you talking about? This kind of person should be burned at the stake, absolutely!" a blond boy next to him interjected radically.

“Charles, shut up.” Jingnan pulled the boy over.

"Hey, kid, don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. Why does it have to be burned at the stake?" March 7 waved his fist at the blond boy with hostility.

“How could I not understand? I am the chosen one of the Lord of Light and Shadow, the man who will save the world in the future,” Charles said arrogantly.

"Hongkou risked her life to collect so many resources from the ground for your lighthouse and made so many contributions, she will definitely be fine," March 7 said confidently.

She agreed with Uncle Yang's opinion. Hongkou was one of the top combatants in the Lighthouse. What was the most important thing in the apocalypse? It was definitely talent.

How could you possibly kill your own top combatant over such a small problem?

Anyway, I've never seen such an idiotic force on March 7th.

If the lighthouse actually did that, then it deserves to be destroyed.

“What does the collection of supplies have to do with her?” Charles asked.

March 7th stared wide-eyed in disbelief. "Is this child mentally challenged?"

"If it has nothing to do with her, then who does it have to do with? You?"

“It’s all thanks to the protection of the Lord of Light and Shadow. Because of her protection, they were able to successfully collect so many supplies and return safely. It would have been the same no matter who went. It has nothing to do with her,” Charles said.

March 7th's fist hardened. If it weren't for the fact that he was still a child, March 7th would definitely have given him a punch.

Meng Huaifeng couldn't stand it anymore, so he flicked Charles's forehead with his finger.

"boom."

A crisp, clear sound is a good start.

Charles's forehead visibly turned red, and a large bump appeared.

"Waaaah! You...you're bullying me! I'm going to tell my dad!" Charles, no longer the smug man he once was, covered his forehead and burst into tears.

March 7th, hands on hips, said, "Although bullying children is wrong, Huaifeng, this time I support you. It's so satisfying."

"Didn't we say we should abandon the old world's family relationships? This kid says he wants to find his father, openly violating the Lighthouse's survival rules. I suggest he be burned at the stake," Meng Huaifeng said expressionlessly.

"Although this child is annoying, is it really necessary to put him on the fire?" March 7th exclaimed in shock.

“Scare him a little,” Meng Huaifeng replied in a low voice.

Charles abruptly stopped talking, looking at Meng Huaifeng with teary eyes and a hint of fear in his pupils.

Jingnan shielded Charles behind her and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, but children say things without thinking, please don't take it to heart."

Meng Huaifeng remained silent, feeling as if he were still a child. What to do? He wanted to teach this brat a lesson again.

the other side.

"Oil pump started, high temperature preparation." Seng's voice was so loud.

Flames began to appear intermittently around the pyre, which looked terrifying.

"Isn't the lighthouse short of resources? You need to use oil to execute people, isn't that wasteful?" Meng Huaifeng asked in a rather unfriendly tone.

Jingnan lowered his head deeply.

"So Uncle Yang was right, it really was just a scare tactic?" March 7th confirmed.

"Lightning Halberd in position."

Two gravitational beings wielding electric halberds approached and inserted them into the pillars surrounding the pyre.

In an instant, electric current surged forth, forming streaks of red electricity in the air.

The scene became increasingly shocking.

The other onlookers, both upper-class and lower-class citizens, fell silent in fear, while the pioneering team, except for Meng Huaifeng, felt much more at ease.

Victor, the commander-in-chief of the city's defense forces, walked to the pyre.

“Red Hair, Dawn, although you betrayed the Lighthouse, you did fight for it. If you can publicly confess your crimes today and promise never to do it again, the Lighthouse may spare your lives.” Victor turned to the countless people on the Lighthouse and said loudly.

"It was just a scare tactic after all. It's just dating, why make it sound so serious?" March 7th was completely relieved.

However, how can one suppress one's feelings? Meng Huaifeng sighed.

Hongkou and Poxiao remained silent for a long time.

Victor approached the two and whispered, "What time is it? Don't be stupid. Quickly apologize to the city lord."

"Red Hair, what could be more important than living?" Victor asked anxiously, his expression full of confusion.

A gentle breeze blew by, and Hongkou's red hair fluttered slightly.

"I am a soldier. What I fear is not death, but..."

Hongkou turned her head and looked at Po Xiao. Po Xiao looked at Hongkou with tenderness in his eyes and had no regrets.

“I have never truly lived,” Hongkou said slowly.

Asking what love is in the world can teach you how to make love between life and death.

"Why did they refuse? Couldn't they have apologized first and then secretly gotten together? What will happen next?" March 7 asked anxiously. She knew a little about love, but not much.

"Prepare to rescue them," Walter said helplessly, already prepared to break with the lighthouse.

Meng Huaifeng quickly composed a message and sent it to Ji Zi.

[Qingfeng Ruhuai: Sister Jizi, we might be in trouble soon. You should pack your things and get ready to leave.]
[Galaxy Traveler: ? ? ? What are you planning to do?]
[A gentle breeze enters: Saving lives.]
[Galaxy Traveler: Saving people? That's not considered causing trouble, go ahead and do it.]
Red Hair and Dawn clasped hands tightly. Victor sighed, turned away helplessly, and stepped down from the stake.

Lord Morgan glanced at Seng and then turned away.

"Prepare for execution!" Senger shouted upon receiving the signal.

"Are they really going to burn Sister Hongkou alive? No way, I can't stand it! I hate the lighthouse." March 7th couldn't contain herself any longer and was about to rush forward.

"Don't rush." ​​Meng Huaifeng pulled Sanyueqi back and winked at Xing: "Xing!"

"Watch this!" Xing took out the Flame Spear, and protective power surged forth.

"ignition!"

At Sengge's command, flames roared up on the execution platform.

Knowing they were doomed, Hongkou and Poxiao could no longer suppress their feelings of the past few years and embraced each other deeply.

a long time……

Hongkou and Poxiao parted their lips, their eyes filled with confusion.

What's going on? The flames have been burning for so long, why are they still alive?

And there's no pain or even heat at all?

"Red Hair and Dawn seem to be alright."

"How is this possible? How can a person be completely unharmed after being in flames?"

"But this outrageous thing actually happened right in front of everyone!"

Everyone was incredulous and buzzing with discussion.

Lord Morgan, who was leaving, stopped and looked back at the two figures that were faintly visible in the flames.

Sengge's eyes widened in disbelief as he shouted, "This is impossible! Increase the firepower!"

The flames instantly rose three or four meters in height, and the terrifying heat wave caused those nearby to retreat.

However, the two people at the center of the flames were still unharmed!

“Impossible, this is impossible…” Seng murmured, completely unable to comprehend it.

“What’s impossible? They’re unharmed in the flames, which means they were protected by the Lord of Light and Shadow. Don’t you believe in the Lord of Light and Shadow? The Lord of Light and Shadow has personally manifested himself, so why don’t you release them now?” Meng Huaifeng’s voice resounded throughout the entire area.

"Yes, it must be the Lord of Light and Shadow protecting us."

"Besides the Lord of Light and Shadow, who else could do that?"

"But didn't they break the rules? Why would the Lord of Light and Shadow protect them?"

"Could it be that the Lord of Light and Shadow does not recognize the Three Laws of Survival?" The mortals discussed among themselves. Morgan's face turned ashen when he heard this. This was shaking the very foundation of the Beacon's survival!
Sengge looked ferociously in the direction of the sound, but when he saw it was Meng Huaifeng and his group, his expression instantly softened: "Did you do this?"

"Don't talk nonsense, how could we possibly do that? It was the Lord of Light and Shadow who did it." Meng Huaifeng denied it outright.

"Hey, why is the pyre still burning? Isn't that a waste of oil?" Xing reminded him.

"They don't even know how to conserve resources in the apocalypse. I think this beacon is doomed sooner or later." Meng Huaifeng shook his head regretfully.

Morgan waved for the stake to stop, and the flames gradually died down, allowing everyone to see the protective flames that were similar in color to the flames enveloping the two men.

Morgan slowly walked towards Meng Huaifeng and the others, his mind racing.

This further confirms their extraordinary strength. A battle is out of the question, but we cannot let people believe that they are protected by the Lord of Light and Shadow, otherwise the order of the Lighthouse will collapse once again.

"Don't lie to us anymore. It's your superpowers that are protecting Hongkou and the others, right? That's impressive." Morgan chose to reveal the existence of superpowers and flattered them.

This time, Meng Huaifeng did not deny it.

"It's just a relationship. If you don't agree, you don't agree. Is it really necessary to burn someone alive?" March 7th asked resentfully.

"They are blatantly violating the three most crucial survival rules of the Lighthouse. If they are not punished, others will follow suit in secret. How will the Lighthouse be managed? If they attract the Devouring Beasts, the consequences will be unimaginable!" Morgan explained.

"Is this the only kind of emotion that would attract Devouring Beasts? Since the Lighthouse forbids these emotions, I think your faith in the Lord of Light and Shadow is also an emotion, so why don't we ban it too?" Meng Huaifeng said with a half-smile.

“Faith in the Lord of Light and Shadow doesn’t count. The Lord of Light and Shadow will protect us and won’t attract the Devouring Beasts!” Charles jumped out to refute.

Seemingly seeing his father Morgan there, little Charles regained his spirits.

“I don’t believe it,” Meng Huaifeng said.

“If you… don’t believe me, we have light and shadow detection equipment that can detect the danger level of emotions,” Charles said.

"When you pray, do you have your emotional value checked?" Meng Huaifeng asked curiously.

“Although it hasn’t been tested, I’m confident that it’s definitely not above the danger level!” Charles said with great confidence.

“Oh, so it seems you’re not devout enough to the Lord of Light and Shadow,” Meng Huaifeng said.

“No, of course we are very devout to the Lord of Light and Shadow,” Charles hurriedly said.

“That’s definitely beyond the danger level. I suggest we drag all the devout believers to the stake and burn them at the stake to avoid attracting the Devouring Beasts,” Meng Huaifeng said without hesitation.

“I… wait, the followers of the Light and Shadow Society don’t need to go down to the ground, so how could they attract the Devouring Beasts?” Charles panicked.

"Turns out they're just a bunch of parasites who do nothing, they should be burned even more," Meng Huaifeng said disdainfully.

“How could we do nothing! The Light and Shadow Society maintains order at the Lighthouse and prays for the hunters who venture out to the wilderness. It is because of our prayers that the Lord of Light and Shadow protects the hunters and ensures their safe return every time!” Charles retorted loudly.

“I hate lighthouses even more now,” March 7th whispered.

Morgan let Charles and Meng Huaifeng argue; he needed time to consider how to handle the matter.

Pardoning Hongkou and the others is absolutely impossible. When the three survival rules were first promulgated, countless people died in the Lighthouse. If Hongkou and Dawn were pardoned, the Lighthouse's laws would lose their authority.

And will Red Bloom and Dawn really sever ties after being pardoned? It's highly unlikely. As long as they're on the Lighthouse, people's hearts will inevitably waver again, and who knows how many more people will have to die before things calm down.

Moreover, his authority as city lord will be shaken.

However, given their formidable strength, conflict with them is absolutely unacceptable.

When Chuck Jr. was at his wits' end, Morgan finally spoke up: "I'll give you all face and give you another chance. If you're willing to sever ties, I can let you go."

Everyone looked at the couple who were walking down from the pyre, hand in hand.

Red Bloom and Dawn used silence to express their opposition to Morgan's proposal.

“As you’ve seen, they’re incredibly stubborn. If we let them go, how will the Lighthouse manage the others?” Morgan said helplessly. “So…”

A chill emanated from March 7th, and a baseball bat appeared in Xing's hand, eager to try his hand at it.

Morgan quickly changed the subject: "How about this, I'll give you all face again and not execute them, but since they absolutely refuse to sever ties, they absolutely cannot stay on the lighthouse. I will exile them to the ground, and whether they survive or not will be up to them."

“Exiled to the ground? What’s the difference between that and death? It’s just a matter of time.”

"Captain Hongkou is so powerful, maybe she can even do it on the ground..."

"Don't be silly. Do you think exile will give them gravity bodies? Without gravity bodies, no matter how powerful they are, they are no match for Devouring Beasts."

"The three fundamental rules of survival must never be violated."

People around whispered among themselves.

“Thank you so much, my benefactors. This is enough. Our continued presence on the lighthouse would indeed have a negative impact on it. We are already very content to be able to spend a few days with Dawn without any worries before we die.” Red Hair said to the pioneering team with a smile, holding Dawn’s hand.

Indeed, leaving the lighthouse alive was the best outcome for them; otherwise, once the train crew left, as long as they remained together, they would eventually be dealt with.

They could no longer stand on the lighthouse.

"Alright, let's leave it at that," Meng Huaifeng said. The fact that no conflict had occurred was actually beyond his expectations.

"Let's go too, I don't like it here," March 7th whispered.

The lighthouse wasn't very big, and after a day, we had pretty much seen it all, so there was no point in staying any longer.

Walter pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "In that case, Lord Morgan, we shall take our leave."

"Why not stay a few more days?" Morgan suggested, trying to persuade him to stay longer.

"No, thank you." Walter shook his head.

Morgan fell into deep thought.

No conflict occurred, that's good.

News came from the research lab that the optimized design of the power and energy system had been completed, and the data on the gene enhancement fluid had also been obtained. Even if they had better technology, it was unlikely that they would hand it over to the Beacon.

Let him go. It's better that he's gone, so he won't be left on the lighthouse living in fear.

“It’s getting late now, why don’t we leave tomorrow? There’s also Red Hair and Dawn.” Morgan showed the last bit of mercy to Red Hair and Dawn.

“Alright, there are still some things I haven’t done,” Walter agreed.

If Morgan hadn't said that, Walter really was planning to leave immediately.

Since you still have some humanity left, then finish teaching the methods for cultivating life energy before you leave.

It's not about the lighthouse itself, but about the people who survived there.

"Thank you, Lord City Lord," said Hongkou and Poxiao.

The onlookers gradually dispersed.

"Sister, I'm so glad you're alright!" Little Mark ran over and hugged Hongkou, crying his eyes out.

"Didn't you say you wanted to be the leader of the Wilderness Hunters? You can't cry if you want to be the leader." Hongkou squatted down and gently wiped away Mark's tears.

“I…I don’t want to be the leader of the hunters anymore, I want to go with you,” Mark said, choking back tears.

"Don't be silly, you stay on the lighthouse. Your sister and I will be fine on the ground," Dawn said, stroking Mark's hair.

“Listen to me, your sister and Dawn are so powerful, they’ll be fine on the ground. It’s you who will be a burden to us if you go down there.” Hongkou pinched Mark’s cheek.

"Are you kidding me?" Mark asked incredulously.

"Of course not. As long as you're alright and doing well, we'll definitely see each other again in the future," Hongkou assured her confidently.

Little Mark's emotions fluctuated wildly, and he didn't know if any Devouring Beasts on the ground sensed it. He soon fell asleep from exhaustion.

"What are your plans next?" Meng Huaifeng asked.

Hongkou and Poxiao exchanged a glance. Hongkou then looked at the desolate Gobi Desert in the distance and said somewhat blankly, "We don't know either. There are basically no living people left on the ground. Let's just take it one step at a time."

"If our benefactors don't mind, we would like to join your community," Hongkou said, looking at the group with some anticipation.

Meng Huaifeng, March 7th, Xing, and Zhu Zhuqing all looked at Walter.

Walter didn't hesitate. Given their strength, they would probably face death within a few days if they went to the ground.

So he said, "Okay, you can choose to get off the bus when we reach a safe place."

Walter's description of safe places included other planets, but Red and Koko only thought they were other survivor settlements.

"Thank you so much for saving our lives. We have no way to repay you." Hongkou and Poxiao slowly knelt down before the pioneering team, expressing their gratitude.

"Don't be so polite." Walter helped the two of them up.

Walter then created three more vials of gene-enhancing fluid and handed them to the two men.

"Give your brother one injection. You can administer the remaining two tonight. Once the enhancement is complete by tomorrow morning, it will be safer on the surface."

The two of them naturally knew what it was and looked at Walter with gratitude.

Hongkou injected Mark, who was asleep, and carried him back to his room. She and Po Xiao then returned to their respective rooms to pack up some memorable items, and then each of them injected themselves with gene enhancement fluid.

The pioneering team was led by Jingnan to their resting place.

[A gentle breeze enters my embrace: ...]
[Galaxy Traveler: Huaifeng, what's wrong?]
[Gentle Breeze: Well, nothing serious happened, and Morgan Duncan seems to have a pretty good temper.]
[Galaxy Traveler: Don't swear. I've already said goodbye to the researchers here...]
[Gentle Breeze: It's alright, Uncle Yang has already decided to leave tomorrow morning anyway, so he asked me to let you know.]
[Galaxy Traveler: That's alright, there's still some time left. Let's answer their questions a bit more. Their advanced knowledge is truly abysmal; I really don't know how they've managed to keep the lighthouse going.]
[Gentle Breeze: It's been over thirty years since the cataclysm. Those researchers were probably only in their twenties or thirties back then. After the cataclysm, there were simply no opportunities for continued learning. It's already quite an achievement that there have been any improvements.]
[Galaxy Traveler: You're right. By the time this generation of researchers passes away, let alone improve the equipment, they'll be lucky to even maintain it.]
[Gentle Breeze Embraces: With us here, the apocalypse will surely be over by then.]
　The original plot was written in slightly more detail to accommodate readers who haven't read Ling Cage. Please forgive me if you have. Many people stopped reading because they hadn't read Ling Cage, causing a drop in subscriptions. If the explanation is unclear and difficult to understand, even those readers who haven't read Ling Cage but are still reading might leave, causing subscriptions to drop even further. Please forgive me.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)