Starry Sky Railway, starting with a single draw of the Underworld

Liu Ying was quite familiar with the various facilities in the dream world. After she said that, there was no danger. Qiong couldn't help but wonder if Sha Jin was going to invite her to a movie?

The six of them quickly arrived at their destination. Although there was no gold dust there, he had the large screen there painted with his favorite pattern: green, representing gold dust, and the face of a spade card.

"We've come to an appointment, Mr. Gold Dust. Etiquette dictates that you show up."

Himeko spoke to the big screen, saying that what was certain was that the gold dust was definitely here, and it was unlikely that they would come all this way only to meet in different places, which would be a lack of coordination.

"Of course I will, but before that, I'd like to give a proper introduction to tonight's main character."

Sand Gold answered quickly, without any delay, and as he spoke, a spotlight fell on Qiong.

"Please give a round of applause to Mr. Star Core!"

"Hey, I'm the lead actor? Really?"

Qiong pointed to herself and asked with a surprised expression, as if it were the first time she had ever known what she was.

"Don't act like you've forgotten who you are, you Star Core Spirit."

March 7th muttered to himself, "Everyone on the train knows that Qiong is a Star Core Spirit, but there seems to be an exception." Little March glanced at Firefly, wanting to know how this woman would react, but March 7th found that Firefly was even calmer than herself, as if she already knew.

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Chapter 97: Scheming from head to toe

"What do you intend to do to Sora?"

Liu Ying stared straight at the screen in front of her and said that she didn't care what happened to her, but she couldn't bear to see Qiong threatened. Since he was already a wanted criminal in the company, she didn't mind killing a few more people from the company.

"Ugh."

March 7th showed a pained expression. These were the words she was supposed to say. After going through so much with Qiong, she was, after all, Qiong's confidante. But now she had to take it from her.

"Why should I go to great lengths to gain your trust and invite you all here?"

Sand Gold began to ask and answer his own questions, and no one interrupted him; they were all waiting for him to deliver his pre-war declaration.

"Because he is the only eyewitness who witnessed three murders, he is the best candidate to prove that the idea that there are no casualties in dreams is just empty talk!"

"Three times?"

Himeko asked in confusion. All she knew was that the robin had been killed. She would believe it if someone else had died in an unknown place, but she hadn't expected that Sora had already seen it three times.

"Yes, madam, the first was a robin, the second was himself, and now, the third murder is about to happen, right here!"

Sand Gold spoke very politely, and to everyone's surprise, he turned his attention to Qiong.

"Everyone will die, and it's all because of you, Star Core Spirit!"

Qiong realized he was being targeted. Although he didn't care what men thought of him, he still needed to defend himself.

“Old Sha, there might be some misunderstanding between us. When we first met, didn’t I tell you that I’m Toppa’s husband? Our cooperation has been very pleasant since then. We clearly have a good relationship, so why are you saying this about me?”

Qiong said to Shajin with a sad expression. Shajin was speechless. Although he had not been tricked by Qiong on the surface, he was deeply hurt behind the scenes.

"What's good about it!"

March 7 and Sand Gold said at the same time that March 7 felt that since the other party had specifically asked to kill Qiong, they were still talking about having a good relationship.

"Uh cough, don't worry about the details. In short, the murder I'm talking about is about detonating the star core inside you and creating a small accident here."

Sand Gold coughed, regaining his boss-like demeanor. All the spade cards on the screen pointed at Qiong. This was no longer a simple matter of killing her; it was a matter of mutual destruction.

"Bang! The whole paradise will turn into a shattered dream. Then, I will become the pilot of the company's fleet before the family can react."

Sand Gold's voice carried a hint of excitement. In the train crew's understanding, he intended to use the explosion of the star core to shatter the dream, and then launch a massive fleet attack to take down Pinocene in one fell swoop.

Walter and Himeko both felt something was off. After all, there were distinguished guests in the dream. Wouldn't Sand Gold's actions offend countless people for the company? Unless he blamed the star core explosion on the family, saying that the family was hoarding star cores, then that would be feasible.

"You can't do it."

Huang Quan said that no matter what Sha Jin does, Qiong is the person she wants to protect. As long as she is alive, nothing can happen to Qiong.

"Of course I can do it, it's just another gamble. Remember, I didn't win by chance, I've never lost."

Sand Gold's tone remained confident, showing no fear despite facing an envoy. As he spoke, he descended from the sky, now wearing a long robe resembling armor, unlike his previous luxurious attire. A broken, pale green stone was held between his sharp fingers.

"Aventurine? Why is it in his hands?"

Walter clearly felt the immense power emanating from the cornerstone, a power that was no less than that of the Commander. At this moment, the gold dust had undoubtedly received the power bestowed by the Amber King.

"The first and second ones were both lies to Sunday. Did he bring three cornerstones from the beginning? The strategic investment department should advance and retreat together. By the way, Toppa clearly reminded me."

Qiong's face also showed surprise. He had talked to Topa about the cornerstones before, and now he thought that Topa was probably giving him a subtle hint. But Qiong couldn't think that way, and he didn't blame Topa for being vague. The three cornerstones were definitely a company secret. Even if the two of them really got married and became husband and wife, Topa would not tell him the truth.

Qiong felt inexplicably sorry for her brother-in-law. He had been completely outmaneuvered by Sand Gold. On Sunday, he saw through Sand Gold's scheme of hiding Topaz in a Keystone Box and then in Sand Goldstone in a suitcase. He had seen through Sand Gold twice already, so he must have won, right? Who would have thought that Sand Gold had brought three Keystones with him?

If he were here on Sunday, he might complain, "Why didn't you bring all ten cornerstones to trap me?"

"Let me share a proverb with you: Sleep is a rehearsal for death. Why does life sleep? Because we are not ready to face death."

Sand Gold had now gained the ability to fly. His body floated in mid-air, and he pointed to the sky as he spoke.

The situation is now clear: Sand Gold is preparing to violently detonate the star core inside Qiong's body. The train crew absolutely must take on this battle, or Qiong will die. Everyone takes out their weapons to fight back, and Qiong also takes out the Builder's Lance he obtained.

"The inferior stones used by the city builders are not worth mentioning."

Sand Gold looked at the lance in Qiong's hand and scoffed. The reason why the tip of the lance could catch fire was because it contained components similar to the foundation stone. Of course, it was only similar; its function was completely incomparable. Qiong showed a dissatisfied expression. This guy was trying to provoke her. Qiong noticed this, so she didn't take it to heart.

"I place my bets, I gamble, I win, all for... the Amber King!"

As Sand Gold spoke, he crushed the sand gold stone in his hand. Toppa had said before that when the foundation stone was broken by the will, the holder would gain the power of the messenger. Sand Gold was now undoubtedly a messenger of the guardian.

After Sand Gold obtained the power of the Commander, the first thing he did was to set up an eggshell-shaped domain around the area, covering buildings within a one-kilometer radius, to prevent Qiong and the others from leaving, all for the purpose of a deadly battle.

Sand Gold threw dice at Qiong and the others. Each of these dice was the size of an adult. After landing, they spun like tops and flew towards Qiong. Of course, the others would not let this happen and protected Qiong behind them.

Huang Quan smashed the dice with her scabbard. The dice spun on the ground and stopped, revealing a 3. A spatial rift opened above Huang Quan's head, and 3x3 gold chips fell out of the rift and hit her. The damage to Huang Quan was not high, but her body felt a little heavier.

Chapter 98 A Single Slash Shatters the Envoy's Dream

Huang Quan quickly realized that these chips were adding to her burden; if she continued to be hit by them, her body would soon become so heavy that she could no longer control it.

The others were in a similar situation. They were witnessing the power of the Guardian for the first time. It was full of the personal style of Sand Gold, gradually increasing the stakes until the prey was unable to move and was harvested by him, while the number of dice was still increasing.

At this point, Qiong had already bet 36 points, so heavy that he couldn't even lift his lance. Seeing more chips falling on his head, March 7 hurriedly thickened his shield, but there was nothing he could do. These things weren't physical damage; even March 7's shield could increase in weight. It was simply an unreasonable ability.

boom!

Crimson flames burned over Qiong's head, melting and burning all the gold chips into gas and disappearing. A silver figure appeared before Qiong's eyes. It was tall and mighty, with the power furnace on its back spreading out and spewing flames, like a pair of fiery wings.

"Sam, what brings you here?"

Qiong asked in surprise. He never thought that the Star Core Hunter Sam would be the one to save him. It felt like his mother had asked someone to take care of him. After all, Sam was Kafka's colleague, and he understood.

"Play your strong hand slowly and deliberately, just to put on a show."

When Sha Jin saw that Qiong had escaped danger, he also expressed his anger. He raised his finger and pointed at Huang Quan, making it very clear that Huang Quan, the envoy, had no intention of drawing her sword. She could have used her full strength, but he didn't know what she was hesitating for.

"I admit, you've made me anxious."

As Sand Gold spoke, he floated above the city and exerted his full protective power within the domain he had constructed. The sky instantly turned golden, and within that golden light, countless gold chips fell like a meteor shower that would destroy the world. This was the full power of the Commander. Once these chips fell, all the people and buildings within the domain would be crushed.

Qiong looked at Huang Quan. He didn't know what she was thinking. If she didn't want to take action, no one would force her. They could just work together to find a way to get through this difficult time.

As if telepathically connected, Huang Quan glanced back at Qiong, then looked away and stepped forward. The ground beneath his feet instantly turned into rippling black water, and a black and white domain appeared around him. This domain clashed with the domain created by the sand gold, quickly turning the golden domain black and white.

This was the first time Liu Ying had seen Huang Quan make a move. She stared in astonishment at the woman whose aura had completely changed. Her hair had turned pure white from the inside out, and a tear of blood fell from her right eye, leaving a beautiful mark on her cheek.

"I wish to mourn for the deceased, my tears falling like rain, filling the river."

"Like a tide, it will lead you home."

Huang Quan slowly drew his katana from its sheath. The originally black blade had turned blood red. He slashed upwards with a red light, which pierced through the black and white chips falling from the sky and grazed Sand Gold's body without any obstruction, splitting the domain behind him in two.

After slicing through the area, the blade continued its momentum, tearing apart Pinocchio's dreamlike sky as well, before finally falling into the pitch-black void.

“Huh…”

Sand Gold took a deep breath and looked at the huge black hole and black sea in front of him. When he saw Huang Quan slash out with that sword, he knew he had won his gamble. But the scene in front of him was unexpected. He had never seen anything like it before.

"I'm sorry, this isn't the place you were looking for. 6柒尔玐咝似紦Q*UN"

Huang Quan's voice came from behind. Sha Jin turned around and saw Huang Quan and Qiong standing behind him, as if they were guides to the afterlife.

"Nothingness...is that it?"

Sand Gold now understood who Huang Quan was. He had guessed she was a messenger before, but he never thought she was a messenger of nothingness. This was truly an eye-opener.

"Perhaps in your eyes I am a messenger hiding my identity, but the slumbering formless one never glances at anyone. He has no appearance, no form, and no will, and nothingness envelops everyone equally. It's just that some people go further in His shadow and become more tainted by nothingness, that's all."

Huang Quan said calmly, while Sha Jin's expression was somewhat strange. Although his plan had succeeded, it was still a trial card for the Envoy. However, before he could even enjoy it for a while, Huang Quan shattered his Envoy Dream with a single slash.

"That's all, my friend. I don't know what else to say."

Sand Gold shrugged and said that the difference between the two envoys was too great, so great that he even doubted that he was an imposter. No wonder the Void Star God was recognized as the strongest and also the most desireless.

"My Huangquan is occasionally a bit Versailles, don't take it too seriously."

Qiong, holding Huang Quan's right hand which had turned red, said, and Sha Jin's eyebrows twitched twice. He now knew why Qiong was so hated but hadn't been killed. Walking in this universe, with a girlfriend who was a Void Commander protecting him, he could do whatever he wanted.

"So...this is my final destination, the afterlife?"

Sand Gold asked with a smile, feeling that his physical body was already dead, and only his soul had been pulled here by the power of nothingness, just waiting to be scattered.

"I didn't cut your body, I just grazed past it. This is just a fleeting dream, one of the myriad manifestations of IX. Under the witness of nothingness, we pause here briefly, and then go our separate ways."

Huang Quan began to explain. Sha Jin remained silent for a while. The blade had almost killed the toughest guardian when it grazed him. He dared not think about what would happen if it actually struck him.

"Old Sha, what's bothering you? Why did you have to provoke Huang Quan?"

Qiong asked from the side, "Sajin's behavior is strange in every way. Toppa warned him to be careful of Sajin, but who would have thought that Sajin would be so erratic?"

"I said I was going to detonate you, and you're not angry?" Sand Gold asked curiously.

"Hey, we're like family. I'm Toppa's husband. How could I possibly get angry with you? Otherwise, my wife would say I'm petty."

Qiong raised his hand and patted Shajin on the shoulder, showing his magnanimity. Shajin was speechless. He and Topa were comrades-in-arms, and he felt strange being spoken to like that by Qiong.

Yin Qiliu Yishan (II) Erjiu Erqun "My purpose is not to detonate you, but to use my death to put the company at the negotiating table."

Sand Gold began to reveal his purpose. Qiong looked at him in surprise. When talking about death, Sand Gold was very calm. This was not a pretense, but he was really prepared to use his death to exchange for the company's benefits.

“As you know, no one dies in dreams. This is a promise made by the family. If the envoy representing the company dies in a dream, especially one of the ten Stonehearts, the family will definitely face the company’s wrath. As for what will happen next, I don’t know. I’m only responsible for bringing both sides to the negotiating table. After that, it’s a matter of Toppa and Emerald.”

Sand Gold detailed his methods, explaining that the claims about catching the murderer for the family and being controlled by Sunday were all fabricated. He didn't care about those things at all. Sand Gold's goal from beginning to end was simply to bring the family to the negotiating table, even if it meant risking their lives. That was all.

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"You're a madman."

Qiong gave his assessment: Sand Gold didn't seem to be the kind of person who would work desperately for tens of millions of credits a month. Having reached his position in the company, he was already financially independent. He seemed to be demonstrating his value.

"This is a reasonable assessment of gamblers."

Sand Gold smiled and readily accepted Qiong's evaluation.

“But you’re not dead yet, so we can be more honest,” Huang Quan said.

"What do you mean?"

Sand Gold's smile vanished. A man who wasn't even afraid of death felt inexplicably guilty under Huang Quan's gaze. This woman seemed to have a godlike perspective, able to see through everything.

"Your performance at the park was brilliant, a bluff... a simple but effective technique that fooled almost everyone."

Huang Quan said calmly. Qiong was confused, but she nodded in agreement, indicating that she was one of the few people like Huang Quan who had not been deceived.

"No one would have imagined that you would go to such lengths, even risking your own life, just to reaffirm a seemingly long-denied fact: there is no real death in Pinocchio's dreams."

Huang Quan's words were a bit convoluted, but Qiong, who was standing nearby, understood them. She meant that because of the robin and the other previous victims, many people who knew the secret believed that people could die in dreams, but in reality, no one could die in dreams.

"What reason would I have to do this?" Sand Gold said noncommittally.

"Because only in this way can you touch that secret that is even more unspeakable than the serial murders, only in this way can you go there through death in your dreams, to that promised land that people are always seeking in this grand event... the watchmaker's legacy, the real Pinocchio."

Huang Quan answered Sand Gold's question, and Qiong was quite surprised. After Huang Quan had slept for so long, her wisdom had really improved significantly, and she could actually think of so many things.

"How did you find it?" Sand Gold asked.

"I never expected that something I learned by chance would become the key to connecting everything."

As Huang Quan spoke, she looked at Qiong, who proudly put his hands on his hips. Although he had not told Huang Quan about Liumeng Reef, he had been killed and then resurrected, which happened right before Huang Quan's eyes, so of course she remembered it.

Sand Gold nodded, his gaze falling on Qiong, and began to speak his mind.

"This beautiful dream is not the sea, but a deserted island. The family used [Harmony] to build dikes and high walls, isolating it from the outside world and protecting people from drowning in the sea. At the same time, they used this barrier against death to bury unknown secrets deep in the sea. In this beautiful dream without pain and injury, those secrets will never see the light of day. Unless..."

"Unless someone can go to the other side of the wall and come back alive."