275: Chapter 275 The sand dunes rise and fall, blocking the way!

Legends about the Kingdom of Heze had already spread throughout the entire Astral Express as early as yesterday, when Xiao Ba unfurled that massive oil painting.

A ten-thousand-meter cloud ring surrounded by twelve rainbows.

An infinite wilderness of evergreen seasons.

A watery realm carved out of emerald plains by crisscrossing rivers.

At that time, the spectating passengers used screenshots and verbal descriptions for secondary creations, which fermented into countless versions within a single day.

Now that the pyramid-shaped building had revealed its tip from the yellow sands, everyone assumed it was a ruin of the Kingdom of Heze.

Discovering a ruin meant finding treasure.

Yesterday, someone had dropped a Curio worth one million stardust in the Rift Space, and the heat of that news had yet to fade.

Now, a ruin full of infinite possibilities stood right in people's line of sight.

Consequently, the content of most people's discussions shifted from open-air garden pools to wild treasure-hunting fantasies.

Lin Xiao closed the chat channel interface.

Leaning against the railing, his gaze pierced through the remaining dust to land on the hazy silhouette of the pyramid.

It was a good thing for the passengers to have fanatical emotions.

However, when people used their imagination to fill in the blanks in the absence of sufficient information, things would get more and more outrageous as they spread.

If the ruins weren't the legendary treasury but a trap instead...

That psychological gap would likely deal a severe blow to their enthusiasm.

“Brother Lin!”

Two different shouts came from the same direction.

Fang Yuan walked at the front, his horse-slaying saber slung horizontally behind his waist.

As he moved through the crowd, the people around him yielded half a step one after another.

Sergei followed closely behind.

The Russian brute had removed the shoulder plates of his Bio-Armor and was wearing only a linen shirt bought from Xiao Ba’s stall.

But even so, his frame remained tall and burly.

The two walked one after the other, neither looking at the other, but their paces were extremely tight, as if they were competing even while walking.

Fang Yuan spoke first: “Brother Lin, should we organize some people to go down and explore that ruin?”

“Lin, I’ll lead the team!” Sergei took a step forward, pushing Fang Yuan away from the spot directly in front of Lin Xiao, his grayish-blue eyes burning with a surging fire, “I guarantee the mission will be completed!”

Not to be outdone, Fang Yuan unfastened the horse-slaying saber from behind his waist.

He thumped the hilt onto the ground, producing a dull thud. “I’ve already reached the fifth floor of the Rift Space; my record can be checked!”

Sergei swept a glance over him from head to toe and let out a very faint, mocking snort from his nostrils: “If you’ve got the guts, let’s compare solo clearing speeds!”

Lin Xiao was beyond surprised.

These people were really...

Grinding group dungeons day and night was already hard enough, and now they were actually starting a solo clearing speed-run competition.

Weren't they trying to out-compete the other passengers to death?

“What’s going on with you two?”

Lin Xiao asked with an indifferent expression, his gaze traveling back and forth between the two.

Fang Yuan and Sergei snorted at the same time and turned their heads away simultaneously, showing quite a bit of tacit understanding.

“Brother Lin, ignore them!”

Zhou Jun squeezed out from the crowd, the vines on his wrists not yet fully retracted; he had clearly been grinding in the Rift just now and exited immediately upon receiving the news.

He walked to Lin Xiao's side and explained the cause in a low voice.

The matter was actually quite simple.

Chen Pingan and Liu Bi had each been leading a team, pushing through the Rift Space since yesterday.

Both had reached the seventh floor, their progress neck and neck.

Yesterday, while queuing to enter the Rift Space, Fang Yuan said, 'Pingan is the second strongest combatant on the Astral Express.'

As a result, Sergei was very unconvinced, saying that the team Liu Bi led had generally lower combat power but still reached the seventh floor, which proved Liu Bi’s raw strength made him the number one person below the Train Conductor!

Neither was convinced by the other's argument, so they went back and forth until they were completely at loggerheads.

After listening, Lin Xiao frowned slightly. “We’re all brothers; what’s there to argue about?”

Chen Pingan was the ultimate single-target specialist, while Liu Bi was invincible in group battles.

The two were core combatants in different directions to begin with; there was simply nothing to compare.

“Exactly, how childish!” Zhou Jun echoed.

Fang Yuan’s lips moved, but he didn't respond.

Sergei scratched his beard and turned his face away.

“Back to the main topic.” Lin Xiao stopped the side talk and turned toward the pyramid still looming in the dust.

“The Astral Express's trajectory doesn't align with the direction of the ruins. If the train doesn't stop, we can't explore it at all.”

Zhou Jun nodded and couldn't help but sigh, “If only it could slow down.”

“Even slowing down won't work,” Lin Xiao said deeply. “We aren't in the deep-sea zone anymore. The Bio-Armor no longer provides a movement speed bonus. Once we leave the Astral Express, it’ll be hard to catch up.”

“Furthermore, look at the desert terrain.”

He raised his hand and pointed at the undulating dunes, layer upon layer, pushing all the way to the end of the horizon.

“Dunes will drastically slow down travel speed. Even if the train slows down, by the time we walk to the ruins, we won't even be halfway there before the train has already traveled dozens of kilometers away!”

“Then what should we do?” Zhou Jun scratched his head, sighing repeatedly. “Are we just going to watch such a good opportunity slip away from right under our noses?”

“Do you need our help?”

A soft voice came from behind the crowd, the tone carrying a bit of hesitation.

Lin Xiao turned around.

Ruan Li walked through the crowd to his side.

She had changed into a light linen dress, likely also scavenged from Xiao Ba’s stall.

Hao Ke followed behind her; the boy wasn't large, but his shoulders leaned forward slightly as he walked, like a small dog protecting its food. Anyone who came within two steps of Ruan Li would receive a warning glare from him.

“Do you have a good idea?” Lin Xiao didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point.

“I remember Miss Ruan has a flying skill, right?” Zhou Jun pointed at the distant pyramid and suggested, “How about letting her fly over to investigate?”

Before he could finish, the expression on Ruan Li's face instantly became panicked.

She subconsciously took half a step back, her left foot tripping on a plank at the edge of the pool, causing her body to sway.

Hao Ke grabbed her arm to steady her, then turned around.

The boy's face was flushed red, and the veins on his temples bulged out: “Hey, what are you saying? Believe it or not, I’ll make you fly too!”

His fists had already smashed together.

The sound of the knuckles colliding was exceptionally crisp.

Zhou Jun quickly raised both hands, took two steps back, and apologized with a smile: “Sorry, I misspoke.”

While speaking, several thin vines had already spread silently from beneath his feet.

The vines crawled unhurriedly along the ground for a few rounds, their tips curving up slightly.

Zhou Jun's expression remained gentle, but the path of those vines had already completely blocked Hao Ke's lines of advance and retreat.

If a fight really broke out, Hao Ke might not necessarily be a match for Zhou Jun.

Lin Xiao flipped his hand and took out the [terminator] from his backpack.

The blade of the level-five giant battle axe reflected a piercing cold light under the desert sun.

He gripped the axe handle with one hand and thumped it flatly onto the floor.

A dull impact sound exploded, even causing ripples to surge across the surface of the pool water.

The surrounding passengers were so shaken they covered their ears and instinctively retreated a few steps.

Hao Ke's fist stopped mid-air, and the silhouette of his back, which had been gradually expanding, quickly shrunk back.

The vines around Zhou Jun also began to quietly retract, disappearing beneath his feet.

“Miss Ruan Li is the only healer on our Astral Express.” Lin Xiao's voice carried a hint of coldness as it clearly reached everyone's ears. “I wouldn't have the heart to let her take risks alone.”

Ruan Li quickly pulled on Hao Ke's sleeve, dragging him back behind her: “Thank you for your concern, Train Conductor.”

Ruan Li took a deep breath, then raised her head again, a calm smile on her lips: “We happened to overhear the discussion between the Train Conductor and Captain Zhou just now.

Since Xiao Ke is the captain of Car 10, he should also share the Train Conductor's burdens!”

She signaled the surrounding crowd to make some space.

With a flick of her wrist, an object resembling an assault boat landed in the center of the crowd.

No engine, no propeller, just a bare, damaged hull.

Eight small holes were evenly distributed along the bottom of the hull, and the crystals embedded inside were mostly dim and shattered.

“This is?” Lin Xiao sized it up and asked.

“This is a vehicle unique to Sky Island, a flying shuttle,” Ruan Li introduced. “After charging it by consuming stardust, it can hover and fly.”

“But...” She paused and continued, “It was severely damaged during a battle with Calamity Creatures on Sky Island. If any of you can repair it, you can pilot this ship to explore the desert ruins.”

“A flying vehicle?”

A flash of surprise and joy crossed Lin Xiao's eyes as he stepped closer to observe it carefully.