novelraw Chapter 295
Chapter 295
Outside the train, the platform that should have been intact was now… shattered!
No matter how old or dimly lit the previous platforms had been, at least they had remained whole. But now, the ground and walls of the platform were completely fractured, broken apart like floating planks on water, drifting in the darkness beyond the train.
Between each “floating plank” was an abyss of endless blackness. Someone, thinking they might be seeing things, casually pulled a cup from their inventory and let it drop.
The cup fell into the darkness beyond the train, disappearing without a trace, without even making a sound.
“What the hell is this? Where’s the arrival hall?” someone couldn’t help but complain.
Another person pulled out binoculars, calmly examining the fractured platform. They quickly spotted their destination—except the usual exit hall, which was always adjacent to the platform, now seemed to be floating in another space, about a hundred meters away in the darkness.
From Yu Xi’s position, they could see the exit hall’s double doors wide open, dim yellow light spilling from within, and a horizontal rectangular platform in front of it. However, the entire hall was suspended in mid-air, and the only way to reach it was by navigating the shattered pieces of the platform’s ground and walls.
Ya Tong took a deep breath as she looked at the platform fragments, swaying slightly in various directions. “Did this station break?”
Lin Wu shook his head. “If a station breaks, the train wouldn’t stop. This must be part of the platform’s challenge.”
“Doesn’t this remind you of a video game?” Yu Zhenzhen frowned, as if trying to recall a game’s name. Xi Yuan chuckled at the sight of the floating platform pieces. “It’s not just one game—there are tons like this, just with different graphics and mechanics.”
“How are we supposed to get across?” Yu Zhenzhen hesitated. Some platform fragments were close enough, but others were far apart, with steep height differences. They weren’t game characters with supernatural jumping abilities.
These platform fragments might be floating, but other objects weren’t. From what they had seen with the dropped cup, anyone who fell would experience freefall—straight into the bottomless abyss below.
“I’ll go first,” Yu Xi said as she silently retrieved a bundle of climbing ropes and gear from her inventory, securing one end to herself. “I have over nine times the jumping ability of a normal person. I’ll go ahead first. There are plenty of vines growing on the platform pieces—we can use them for climbing and swinging. I’ll throw the vines to you, and you can either grab on and jump or climb across. The rope will act as a safety line—everyone will be linked, so if anyone slips, the others can pull them up.”
“You leading alone will be too slow. We only have a little over eight minutes left.” Xing Min took another climbing rope, securing one end to himself. “I’ll go with you in the lead. If we split into two groups, we can move faster and spread the burden.”
Yu Xi didn’t question him. If Xing Min spoke up, it meant he was confident in his abilities.
They quickly divided into two teams: Yu Xi, Ya Tong, and Lin Wu in one; Xing Min, Yu Zhenzhen, and Xi Yuan in the other.
Just before Yu Xi leaped from the train with the rope tied around her waist, Xi Yuan reached out and ruffled her hair. “Be careful!”
Yu Xi gave him a nod, then looked at the others and repeated, “Be careful.” She turned to Xing Min. “I’ll jump first—you follow.”
The nearest platform fragment was a meter away, about a meter lower than the train door. The pieces closest to the train weren’t too difficult to reach, mostly testing their mental resolve.
All travelers with spatial storage had put away their belongings. Those without space relied on their teammates to store their gear, or they strapped items tightly to their bodies.
Yu Xi leaped lightly, landing effortlessly on the first platform fragment. Xing Min followed right after, landing beside her.
The fragment was about a square meter in size. They tested it carefully—it didn’t shift under their weight. It seemed to follow a fixed trajectory, only making slight, controlled movements.
The first members of both teams reached the platform. With no time to waste, Yu Xi and Xing Min quickly moved forward, heading toward the next platform fragment.
Other travelers also began to move. The platform’s time limit was strict—staying here meant certain death. The fragmented pathway, though terrifying, at least provided a chance for survival.
Some teams, noticing how Yu Xi’s group had secured themselves with safety ropes, quickly imitated their method.
A few travelers were lucky enough to have items suited for this challenge, like spring-loaded jumping shoes or extendable mechanical arms, allowing them to move rapidly across the floating platforms.
Others relied on more primitive methods, using grappling hooks and chains to navigate as quickly as possible.
Yu Xi and Xing Min weren’t slow either. No matter how far apart or how high the gaps between the fragments were, they posed no challenge to her.
Xing Min’s body, while healthy, didn’t have the enhanced physique of a mission traveler. Yu Xi had been slightly concerned at first, staying alert in case she needed to jump over and help him.
However, his mental resilience far exceeded his physical capabilities, allowing him to navigate the path steadily and without hesitation.
As they reached the middle section of the floating platform field, the next fragment ahead had a massive height difference compared to the one they were on. Yu Xi could still jump across, but Xing Min definitely couldn’t make it.
Time was running out. She turned around, took a few steps back to build up momentum, and reached out her hand toward him. “Come on, hold onto me tight!”
Xi Yuan, Yu Zhenzhen, Lin Wu, and Ya Tong: …!!
Xing Min hesitated for a second, the tips of his ears quickly turning red.
“What’s wrong?” Yu Xi had already grabbed his arm and was guiding it around her waist when she noticed his pause. “Do you not want to hold me like this? You can also choose for me to carry you princess-style, or I can piggyback you?”
The next second, her waist was tightly wrapped in his embrace.
He was much taller than her, and at that moment, he lowered his head, sighing softly by her ear. “I’m ready.”
“Alright! Here we go!” Yu Xi gripped his waist firmly, lifted him slightly off the ground, and then, with a powerful burst of strength, sprinted forward.
She reached the edge of the platform in just a few steps and leaped into the air.
In the dark void filled with floating platform fragments, she held him as they soared through the air, swiftly heading toward a platform four to five meters away and two meters higher.
His fingertips released tiny, shimmering golden light particles, scattering along their path like stardust, illuminating the way forward.
Behind them, Yu Zhenzhen couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wow, why does this look so beautiful!”
“Whoa!” Ya Tong whistled. “My girl Yu Xi is really something! Impressive!”
Xi Yuan, feeling left out, protested, “Why don’t you carry me?! I can lead the charge too! I can go first too—wahhh!”
Lin Wu, growing slightly exasperated, pressed a hand to Xi Yuan’s shoulder. “If you jump now, you’ll just drag them down with you. Wait until they get across first…”
Moments later, on the previous platform, the remaining four were swiftly carried up to the next platform by their “brute force captain” Yu Xi, without even needing to climb.
Xi Yuan complained about the process, grumbling that he felt like a baby chick being plucked up and that it was anything but elegant.
Fortunately, after overcoming this particularly difficult platform, the rest of the journey became smoother.
Though Xi Yuan talked a lot, he wasn’t slow. He stayed at the back to keep an eye on Yu Zhenzhen. Despite their constant bickering, in crucial moments like this, Yu Zhenzhen had a clear head.
With help from Yu Xi and Xing Min, and in turn assisting Xi Yuan, the entire team worked together and finally landed safely on the rectangular platform in front of the exit hall with four minutes left on the countdown.
Behind them, other travelers were still struggling through the fragmented platform passage.
Some, exhausted from excessive climbing, leaned against a platform fragment, gasping for breath, while their teammates—already two platforms ahead—seemed to be debating whether to abandon them.
Other teams, bound by strong camaraderie, resembled Yu Xi’s group, refusing to leave anyone behind no matter how difficult it was. They gritted their teeth and pulled their teammates up from dangling vines, determined not to lose a single member.
“Let’s go,” Ya Tong patted Yu Xi’s shoulder.
As she turned to follow the others into the exit hall, Yu Xi caught a glimpse of a lone figure at the edge of the platform passage.
The figure was a solo traveler, but she seemed to possess a remarkable jumping ability, just like Yu Xi. She was advancing at an incredible speed from the far end of the train.
That girl… seemed to be the one who had previously tried to join their team—Meng Sha.
Location: Devourer’s Domain (A-Level)
Stay Duration: 44 days
Identity Status: Enabled
Unlimited Currency: Disabled
Ticket: Unexpired (1 station remaining)
Golden Team Ticket: None
Prompt: Find the hidden departure station within 44 days, confirm the station (two attempts), and board the train.
Time Remaining: 43 days, 23 hours, 58 minutes, 33 seconds
Inventory Slots (Limit: 10): Full (10)
Skill (Limit: 1): Space (450 cubic meters, active)
Teammates: Lin Xiang, Yu Qi, Yu Meixi, Xi Yuan, Xing Min
Team Status: Active
Team Permissions (Enabled): Damage Immunity, Messaging, Station Arrival (Optional), Prompts (Optional)
Friends: Xing Min (at this station), Lu Yong (not at this station)
Easter Egg (Activated): Fragment Collection Rate (80%), No fragments found at this station.
Yu Xi had long since adapted to the experience of stepping out of the exit hall and finding herself completely alone. However, as she surveyed her surroundings this time, she was still momentarily stunned.
She had assumed that Devourer’s Domain would be similar to Desolate Lands—a place with extreme environmental conditions and scarce resources. But now, she realized she was standing inside a massive city-state.
It seemed like she had just exited a vertical lift positioned along the roadside. Behind her, a wide cross street stretched out, lined with towering buildings and green landscaped areas on the opposite side.
Not far ahead, a strip of greenery separated her from a long walkway enclosed by glass railings.
She felt the wind whipping against her face, strong and relentless, as if she were at a significant height.
When she stepped past the vegetation and reached the glass railing, she finally understood—this wasn’t an illusion.
She was indeed hundreds of meters above the ground.
The street she was on wasn’t built on solid earth; instead, it was a massive suspended pathway hanging in midair.
It felt like standing on an elevated highway in her original world—except this one was ten or even twenty times wider. Yet, despite its size, it was still a passageway, extending in a long and narrow stretch from one end of the city to the other.
As long as she didn’t look down, she wouldn’t even notice she was floating in midair.
People bustled along the street, restaurants and shopping malls lined the sides, and the atmosphere was lively and bustling—almost indistinguishable from the world she once knew.
And this wasn’t the only elevated section of the city. Many more such floating zones stretched across different heights and districts, crisscrossing above one another, nearly obscuring the original ground level entirely.
Aside from these suspended platforms of varying altitudes, the city was dominated by towering buildings that shot up into the sky. Their exterior walls were all the same metallic gray, their footprints massive, and their heights surpassing even the highest of the floating streets.
It was dusk now.
As the sky darkened, the glass railings before her lit up with a soft glow.
Other suspended pathways followed suit, their guardrails lighting up one after another. Neon signs flickered on the towering buildings, illuminating the cityscape.
The entire floating street began to resemble a galaxy stretched across the sky.
Once again, she had entered a world that defied everything she knew.
Yu Xi’s phone vibrated.
Ya Tong was the first to send a message in the group chat.
Ya Tong: holy crap! I just arrived and ran straight into a car accident. Out of curiosity, I stopped to watch. Guess what? The guy who got hit stood right up like nothing happened—even though his arm was completely severed! He was even looking around for his own missing limb! Then I realized—his severed arm wasn’t bleeding. Instead, this brownish liquid leaked out of it, and it smelled like gasoline! Guys—this dude’s a robot! A humanoid robot!
Xi Yuan: ha! You’re freaking out over seeing a robot? The moment I arrived at this station, I became one. …
Yu Xi: ???