Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 407 Central Station
Just as the sky was getting light, there was a loud knock on Barron's apartment door. He jumped out of bed and subconsciously reached out to touch the coat hanging on the hanger at the head of the bed.

He had stretched out his hand halfway when he suddenly remembered that from today on, he no longer needed to go to the People's Theater on time to rehearse and perform.

Two weeks ago, Barron had officially resigned from his leading role in the troupe, and now there were two work scheduling documents made of the same material lying on the bedside table - one was a transfer approval from Mr. Ash Lambert, the Minister of Culture, and the other was a new position transfer order issued by the territory's Central City Hall...

The exterior walls of the third-floor apartment building were built very solidly and thickly, keeping out the coldest air of late winter. The thick copper pipes buried in the wall and half exposed continuously spread warmth throughout the room.

The climate in the wilderness is not warm for about half of the year. For most local residents who are used to a hard life, owning a house that is not leaky or water-logged is a rare opportunity - except... it is a little small, only enough for a bachelor like Barron to live in. He is even embarrassed to invite friends to visit, such as Miss Natalie Mills.

Barron opened the door reluctantly, and standing outside was his new colleague Ross, whom he had just met a few days ago. He introduced himself as being from Fengyuan City in the southern border. It was said that the city had just been incorporated into the jurisdiction of the lord, and he did not expect that residents would move there so soon.

"Hi, Ross." Barron leaned over to let the visitor in, but found him frozen in the doorway. "Come in and talk. It's too cold outside."

Ross, a tall, gaunt man with a thin face, frowned and said, "Why are you up just now? Hurry up and grab your luggage and follow me to Grand Central Station. Did you forget to pack last night?"

Barron turned and pointed at the suitcase that had long been packed and placed by the door, wondering, "It's already been packed. According to the instructions on the transfer order... aren't we supposed to leave in the afternoon?"

Ross rolled his eyes, bent down to help his half-orc colleague lift his heavy suitcase, and helplessly urged, "Hurry and get dressed, and don't forget to bring your ID and work documents! Why don't you ask around... Grand Central Station is packed. If you go too late, you might not even be able to get on the train!"

Barron came back to his senses with a start, returned to the bedroom, put on a thick coat, folded all the documents neatly and stuffed them into the inner pocket of his coat, and hurriedly walked with Ross to the east gate of the territory - the newly built central station was located next to the east gate.

When the two of them finally reached the east gate of the territory on foot after half an hour's walk, they found that it was indeed a crowded scene with a huge crowd of people. A large number of territory residents in heavy clothes gathered near the city wall, constantly moving their feet through the city gate to go out of the territory.

"This... is so many people?" Barron was stunned. "I remember the recruitment notice for Dongtuo clearly stated that it would only recruit 2,000 local residents."

Ross sighed, pointed at the many people who were empty-handed and without luggage, and guessed, "It's a train... They're here to see the rumored magical train built by the Lord himself, which can run at high speeds on the rails."

Barron looked at the sky which was now bright, and he finally understood why Ross had urged him to get to Grand Central Station early. It would probably take them several hours just to queue up and squeeze in with the crowd.

……

The entire central station built along the edge of the territory's city wall covers a very large area. Two horizontal and vertical crisscrossing railway tracks pass directly through the huge station and extend straight out in the four directions of east, west, south and north respectively. However, only the tracks in the southeast direction are obviously completed. The two sides are simply fenced off with dense wooden stakes and ropes to prevent people from accidentally stepping onto the tracks.

Dozens of terraced compartments have been built opposite the main station, each with a conspicuous sign for ticket sales and ticket inspection. However, they are not officially open to traffic yet, and there are obviously no staff on duty in the ticket sales and ticket inspection compartments.

It was almost noon when Ross and Barron, sweating profusely, finally reached the ticket booths at the Grand Central Station. Just as they were about to take out their job transfer documents, they turned around and saw a huge sign standing on the side of the huge station hall.

"Pioneer Territory Eastward Expansion Plan... Recruitment Registration Office." While Barron was still squinting to decipher the characters, Ross instantly recognized the sign and dragged Barron toward it. Many other residents, carrying large luggage like them, were also waiting in line under the sign. Their uniforms were clearly those of the City Hall staff. After carefully checking their identification and work documents, they were led to the platform.

The magic-powered train lying quietly on the long railway track immediately shocked the passengers who were about to board it to travel to the eastern basin. In addition to the huge front end with a shape full of the beauty of heavy machinery, there were actually ten huge carriages mounted on the back, with the same mechanical chassis, metal frame and iron sheet outer cover, and the top was tightly covered with tarpaulin, forming the style of an entire closed carriage.

"Ross, we're not the first subjects to ride this new thing, are we?" Baron looked at the huge black metal train on the platform. No matter how he looked at it, it looked like a bunch of war beast vehicles strung together.

The city hall employee who was leading them to the train explained with a smile, "There are two trains to the Eastern Basin. One was already dispatched before you arrived, and it's fully loaded with nearly 500 people!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two people jumped out from the front of the car in the distance and waved quickly to the people who were afraid to move. "Don't dawdle, it's almost time, arrange for this group of people to get on the car!"

Barron and Ross held their luggage tightly in their hands and carefully identified the carriage number seven, which was the same as the one on their tickets. They followed the crowd and carefully boarded the train.

"There are seats!" Barron said in surprise. Although they were just a few rows of long wooden seats simply fixed in the carriage, at least he didn't have to sit on the cold iron floor. The windows on both sides were covered with tarpaulins, so he wouldn't feel too cold as long as he didn't open them.

Not long after, three loud whistle sounds were heard from the front of the train in the distance, and then the carriage suddenly began to vibrate slightly and regularly. The clanging sound of wheels rubbing against rails came from the soles of the feet, and everyone sitting in the carriage immediately felt their bodies shaking.

The train is moving!
Everyone lifted the window tarpaulins beside them and looked out, only to find that everything outside was slowly receding, faster and faster... The train drove out of the central station.

The people who were watching outside the station saw the train leaving again and began to cheer loudly, waving their hands and saying goodbye to the passengers on the train.

Barron also leaned against the window and waved his hands vigorously for a while. After the train clanged away, he sat down with a reluctant look on his face.

"I wonder how long it will take us to reach the Eastern Basin..."

Ross carefully flipped through the work documents and checked them before answering, "The documents say we'll arrive at our destination tomorrow at noon, but there's a train stop along the way, so we'll probably spend the night there..."

Barron then remembered and asked curiously, "Ross, you've only been in the territory for less than a month. How did you get official resident status? And why did you take the initiative to apply to go to the eastern frontier?"

Ross rolled his eyes at him and didn't answer.

When the lord brought him from Fengyuan City to the wilderness, he had already given him the answer he wanted.

"Want to know why my territory is so prosperous and wealthy? Follow my people as they explore and progress, and you will experience the changes and differences firsthand..."

(End of this chapter)