"Arondight and Aegis…what the hell are the both of you doing?"
Arondight and Aegis lounged in the couch opposite mine, waving when I glared at them. Arondight shrugged.
"We're just parodying Lu Ming Ze."
"Why?"
"Because we thought it would be funny," Aegis replied. I buried my face in my palm. Sure, I knew seasoned donghua viewers would catch the reference, but I doubted the majority of the readers would appreciate all these Dragon Raja references. First, it was Xyrin Empire. Now it was Dragon Raja. What's next, Versatile Mage?
"Well, it's not funny, so you guys can return. Did you chase away Friedrich Hans? What happened to him?"
"We didn't do anything," Arondight assured me. "We're just appearing in front of you telepathically. When you blink and wake up, everything will return to normal. We'll revert to our portable forms. Don't worry, we will always be by your side, Commander."
"That's reassuring. But why even bother with this farce anyway?" I wanted to throw my hands up into the air. "No, never mind. Don't answer. It's because you want to make a humorous reference to Dragon Raja. I know."
Fortunately, neither of them pressed on the issue and they obediently departed, leaving me to roll my eyes as I reclined in my seat. Suppressing a yawn, I blinked, removed my glasses and rubbed my eyes. When I put my glasses back on and opened my eyes once more, I saw that the lights were back on. Friedrich was still conspicuously missing, though.
"Where did he go?"
"Hey! Look who I found!"
Friedrich Hans strolled from the aisle further up, guiding someone I had never seen before. A student who looked just as lost as I was, nervously glancing around and taking in the sights. Like me, he was from Hua Xia, having black hair and pale skin, but was taller and more muscular. Friedrich grinned and waved at me.
"Another student!"
"Huh? Oh…for Caliban Chao University?"
"Of course! What else can it be? No one else is allowed to this platform, other than students like us."
"Makes sense."
So that was where Friedrich went. He went to pick up the other students who were coming to the central train station to board Galaxy Express 1000.
"Were you worried?" Friedrich chuckled. My concern must have shown on my expression, otherwise he wouldn't have guessed. He placed an arm around my shoulders as he approached. "I told you, didn't I? I volunteered for this as your senior. It's my job to show the new students to this place and make sure they don't miss the train!"
"Thank you, senior," the other student said and took a seat somewhere else. When my gaze followed him, I saw that there were a lot of other students who had gathered and were milling around. Some had dozed off on the luxurious couches. A few had socialized and were making new friends, chatting with each other. Many of these more sociable creatures had bought drinks and snacks from the vending machines and were having some sort of party. Or perhaps they already knew each other from before.
I wasn't jealous. I always looked forward to making new friends. Hell, for some reason, Friedrich lingered around me more than the other new students. Either because I was the first new student he guided here and so he felt more attached to me than the others, or because I had some sort of protagonist aura that would attract pivotal side characters who would play a significant role in the story later.
Okay, okay. I'll stop breaking the fourth wall. For now.
"Wow, that's a lot of students. I didn't expect that."
"What were you expecting?" Friedrich scoffed. "That we would be the only two boarding the train? Because I'm the lowest ranking student in Caliban University, and so the school AI that's running the train will prioritize the high tanking students first?"
"That's…very specific."
"But that's what you thought, right?"
I didn't deny it. Friedrich snorted and shook his head before sighing.
"You watched too much Dragon Raja, bro. Stop mixing up reality with anime. I've seen some Internet people do that, and they end up in jail because they become ruthless edgelords who idolize their favorite cultivation protagonists and go around trying to murder anyone who offends them in real life."
…such things happened? Then again, this was Hua Xia. Anything could happen in this vast land, especially with how many delusional people who was born in this world. No wonder the A Will Eternal donghua had to put a disclaimer at the beginning of every episode begging underaged viewers to not emulate the characters in the show. The fact that they had to do that and people still stupidly ignored such advice meant that there plenty among humanity who were beyond saving.
And no, I didn't think that at all. By this point, though, I doubted anyone would believe me, which was why I didn't bother refuting Friedrich's accusation. I had better things to do with my time, such as catching up on more sleep. I shut my eyes and tried to take another nap, but unfortunately, I couldn't doze off again. It wasn't because Arondight and Aegis haunted my dreams. I probably slept too much earlier. A few hours, given that it was already night.
Speaking of which, how long were we supposed to wait here? Friedrich said it wouldn't take two days and two nights, but it had been a few hours by now. It almost felt like a transit between flights than a train ride.
"It's almost time now," Friedrich said as he glanced at his smartphone less than thirty minutes later. He had returned to his seat after bringing another couple of students through. I sat up, fully awake by now because I couldn't go back to sleep. There was a rustling in the distance, and I could see bright lights dancing across the wall. A sound blared from the tracks, and a highly advanced train rushed into view.
It had this retro aesthetic to it, despite its sleek shape. It didn't look like a bullet train, but more like a more hi-tech version of the old steam trains that used to run in the 19th century, but without the smoke blooming from a stack. The wheels too had been streamlined, though I wondered why it would even need wheels because it appeared to be a maglev train that hovered above the twin magnetized railway tracks that formed the tunnel. I guess the wheels were for show.
"The Galaxy Express 1000, people!" Friedrich was clapping his hands and drawing the attention to the new students who had all stood up from their seats and gathered, dragging their luggage behind them as they watched the newly arrived transport in awe. "All right, line up in an orderly fashion and board one at a time. No rush. The train won't leave any of you behind."
"Damn right we won't." The conductor stepped out of the train and waved a tiny device that appeared to emit a dim light. "Don't worry, I'm just performing biometric scans to ensure that you guys are all registered students. Can't have any stowaways on board, if you know what I'm saying."
"We do, uncle," Friedrich said cheerfully, and the conductor gave him a stare.
"What are you doing here in Hua Xia, Friedrich? Shouldn't you be in Country De?"
"Oh, I followed my parents to Hua Xia for vacation this year. They were invited to a university conference to deliver a presentation on the Frankfurt School of Thought and other discourses on cultural studies."
"Ah, okay. Well, get onboard. Leave the rest to me. New students, form up in a line please. One by one."
There was a door in the front car that slid open. Because I was right next to Friedrich, I had the honor of being the first one to pass the biometric scan and board the train. Also, I was the first student to arrive in this platform alongside Friedrich, so no one complained about me boarding the train ahead of the others.
The interior of the train was just as lavish as the exterior, with polished white walls and couches that were just as comfortable as the ones at the platform. They were far more spacious than the seats available in airplanes, with cushions, the option to recline, much more legroom, and even with entertainment options like holographic monitors. They had power supplies for smartphones and other electronic devices too.
This was the future, huh? Then again, we already had the foundation for so many of these, so it wasn't a surprise. This was probably a couple of decades ahead of time, not centuries. Furthermore, it was pretty expensive…but I suppose Caliban University was not short on cash if it could afford to sponsor the education for psychics.
"It's free seating, so sit wherever you want!" The conductor called out from behind me. I nodded and headed to one of them. Friedrich waved to me and I joined him in one of the massive couches. There was also enough space for me to stack my luggage, a locker like compartment next to the couch where I could lock up my bags without worrying that they would slide out when the train moved or something. And still had easy access to them too.
Hell, the train reminded me of a large-scale limousine for multiple passengers. I was impressed.
"So how are we getting there?" I asked, staring out of the window. Even though we had windows, I couldn't see anything out of it because we were currently in what appeared to be an underground tunnel. "Caliban Chao University is in the United Kingdom, right? How is this train going to get there from Hua Xia? Can it fly or something?"
The idea had occurred to me because Lin Xue's car could transform and fly. I didn't think something as massive as an entire train was capable of the same thing, but it was a possibility. Still, it was highly unlikely and impractical. You might as well put us on a private jet if that was the case.
"No, of course not." Friedrich chuckled and shook his head and leaned back. "The Galaxy Express 1000 makes use of interdimensional travel. Similar to a wormhole. It transcends physical space by diverting us through a separate quantum dimension that will give us a direct route that in less the time it takes for a plane flight."
"That's convenient." I still didn't understand much, but when all of the students were onboard, the train began to move. Colors began shifting outside the windows as the train picked up speed and I felt a slight vibration as the train phased out of the current dimension and into another space.
For a moment, I was stunned when I saw the colors shift and take the form of ethereal plants and a fantastic surrounding that didn't look like anything from Earth. An alien landscape would be the best way to describe it, yet I wasn't sure if that was accurate. When I looked more closely, I could see that they were similar to terrestrial trees and vegetation, but distorted.
"This dimension isn't real, but it seems…composed from our memories and emotions. I'm not sure how to explain it, but apparently this is created by our…souls and thoughts. You ever wonder where all that energy put into brain processes go? They don't just disappear like entropy. They apparently flow into another dimension…this one."
"Huh? Interesting."
I raised an eyebrow incredulously, but I wasn't an expert and I had seen a lot of weird things that couldn't be rationally explained. Something like dark matter or quantum physics. Probably this dimension was a phenomenon that was along those inexplicable lines. They were meant for better minds than mine to think about.
"Still, we can't let our guard down," Friedrich said. "This dimension is still dangerous. We may be protected by the armored hull of the Galaxy Express 1000, but occasionally we would still be attacked by interdimensional inhabitants and predators…"
He hadn't finished his sentence when the train screeched into a sudden halt. Friedrich groaned and smacked his own mouth.
"And I just had to say this out loud…talk about an ill omen."
"What?" I narrowed my eyes. "You're telling me this isn't a scheduled stop?"
"No," Friedrich replied, his words punctuated by an inhuman shriek that echoed outside the train. "The Galaxy Express 1000 is supposed to go straight to Caliban University without stopping. This is an attack."