Collapse Iron: As the Balance Envoy, I've joined the chat group

Pam twisted her body and walked toward the kitchen.

Zhongheng finally had the chance to properly see a viewing carriage that he hadn't seen for many years and that was no longer the same as the one in his memory.

The past was far, far away, long enough to be back nine hundred and ninety-nine Amber Ages ago, during the first flourishing of the Star Train, when hundreds of trains raced side by side through the sea of ​​stars, heading toward the same pioneering goal.

Now, only this one train, which is not even fully intact, remains in the world, embarking on its journey once again in solitude.

After all, it was Himeko who repaired the train bit by bit, so the interior decoration was naturally decorated according to her preferences, which is normal since it is different from the past.

The other passengers on the train did not disturb Zhongheng's recollection.

During this time, Walter also composed himself and came out of the room.

With a long sigh of relief, Zhong Heng began to recount his past with Akivili:

"The isolated world of Pegana, I believe that even if you have never been there, you have heard of it. It is the hometown of Akivili and the starting point of his pioneering work."

"That is a world... located at the center of a massive void, a void with a diameter of billions of light-years, where only the world of Pegana possesses life."

"Perhaps... it was precisely because of the peculiar location of Pegana and the bizarre civilization that Archivist, the pioneering star god, was born."

At that time, Zhong Heng had been away from Aha's side for a long time, during which time he had witnessed the birth of some star gods and possessed the power to protect himself in the universe.

One day, while wandering aimlessly through the universe, I stepped into the void where Pegana was located. After traveling for a very long time, I finally discovered that Pegana was a planet with life.

For most civilizations in the universe, stepping out of the cradle that nurtured their civilization into the vastness of space is already an extremely difficult task.

For those who go even further, reaching the level of a spacefaring civilization is already quite an achievement.

Not to mention, developing civilization's technology to the point of traversing a void billions of light-years away to search for other worlds with civilizations.

Upon arriving in Peigana, Zhong Heng quickly discovered Akivili, who was still a boy at the time and behaved in a way that was quite different from others.

At that time, Zhong Heng did not know that the boy in front of him was the future pioneering star god. He simply followed him on the journey out of curiosity.

That's when the two met.

Many interesting things happened during that time.

For example, once during their journey, the two saw an old man who had been cleaning the railway tracks for fifty years, from his youth to old age without stopping.

When Akivili, who was passing by, asked him why, the old man simply said it was his job.

After graduation, he joined the railway company, which assigned him the task of cleaning up abandoned railway tracks that might be usable, in case of emergency.

So from that day on, the old man began wiping the rails as he walked along them.

But the railway tracks seemed to have no end, and for a full 50 years no one told him to stop.

The old man had no choice but to persevere for the sake of his wife and son.

The elderly man sometimes wonders if his salary is being sent home, and how his wife and son are doing.

Upon hearing this, Akivili told the old man a story.

I once traveled through a country where, due to its highly advanced technology, people did not need to work at all; all production was done by machines.

But people would gather inside the building and do something to the machines in front of them.

At that time, Akivili couldn't understand the people's behavior, so he found a man and asked them what they were doing.

"I'm working," the man said casually.

Work...?

But this country clearly states that there's no need for people to work, so why do people still do this?

The man explained that they were sitting there to check if the data calculated by the machine was correct.

The machine calculates too fast; one day of machine work is equivalent to more than a year of human work, so the workload keeps increasing.

If they find that the result is incorrect, they will recalculate, because the machine will not make mistakes, and they will not stop until they calculate the same result as the machine.

"Humans cannot simply live an easy life. If they do not endure a certain degree of hardship every day, they will become decadent and lose their will to live, becoming useless people. People must do something in life, and that is work."

"I see..." Akivili seemed to understand at that time.

The old man believed that the people in Akivili's story were out of their minds to choose such meaningless work.

Finally, Akivili asked the old man a question: how long did he plan to continue doing this job?

The elderly person wasn't sure either; they might wait for notification from the railway company, or it might continue until the end of the railway line...

Afterwards, Zhongheng and Akivili once again traveled on the abandoned railway tracks, constantly pondering the old man's problem.

But ahead, the railway tracks had disappeared, and another old man appeared, dismantling the tracks.

The old man claimed that he joined the railway company at the age of 16, and dismantling the railway tracks was a job assigned to him by the company.

The old man has five younger brothers and relies on this job to support them. No one told him to stop, so like the previous old man, he has been working hard for fifty years.

The old man hadn't met travelers like Akivili and Zhong Heng in a long time, and asked them to tell him about their journey.

So Akivili told the old man exactly what happened, about the country where no one needed to work.

In his final moments, the old man told Akivili that if he lived in such a country, he would never go to work.

But before the two had walked far, they discovered that new railway tracks had appeared in front of them, laid by yet another old man.

He did this job for about 50 years. He joined the railway company at the age of 15, and his supervisor assigned him to lay railway tracks, saying that one day he might need them.

So the old man spent a full 50 years repairing it.

New materials would appear before each section of track was repaired, which he assumed were continuously delivered by the company.

The elderly woman has persevered until today because of her seriously ill mother.

Both of them understood, but this time Akivili didn't tell the story or the truth, because he was afraid of disturbing the workers' normal lives.

Just like the man in the story he had asked, the man didn't smile at all when he learned that he would have to repeat such meaningless work every day.

In contrast, the three elderly people we met earlier were proud that their jobs were able to support their families.

It's just a slight difference in mindset; although it can't change the outcome, it can bring a sense of happiness.

The same applies to Akivili's journey.

Although the flowers, plants, and trees in the forest may temporarily disorient him, as long as he keeps following the railway tracks, he will be able to find the final destination of his life's journey.

......

(Some content in this chapter references the anime "Kino's Journey". Those interested can check it out!)