Translator: AnubisTL
Everything was prepared.
Today's mission: explore the temporal rift!
But first...
Before entering, they needed to conduct a small experiment to determine the exact flow of time within the rift. Was it three seconds outside for thirty years inside, or did thirty years always pass within the rift regardless of how long they stayed outside?
If it was the latter...
They couldn't stay inside for even a minute. Who knew how many years would pass? The steel cable would have long turned to dust, and the train would be lost forever within the temporal rift.
Soon—
Everything was ready.
Zhang Yi, piloting his mecha and holding the steel cable with a heavy weight attached to the other end, hurled the cable into the temporal rift ten meters away. This time, he waited a full minute before retrieving it.
"..."
Chen Mang, inside the locomotive cabin, examined the steel cable Zhang Yi handed him. Comparing it closely to the previous one, he found almost no difference. Did this mean that even though a minute had passed outside, thirty years had still passed within the temporal rift?
"Is this right?"
He frowned slightly, momentarily confused by the temporal rift's mechanics. But at least it proved the former scenario was true. Li Shiji and the others could safely stay within the space-time tunnel for a full minute without any adverse effects.
"Have the subject and Li Shiji prepare to depart."
"And Xiao Ai, send a body in to assess the situation."
"Yes, sir!"
One minute later.
With a sudden jerk of the steel cable, a Tier 1 locomotive was pulled from the temporal rift. The rift itself was nearly invisible to the naked eye, making it appear as if the locomotive had simply materialized out of thin air.
The scene was utterly science fiction.
As soon as the train was pulled back, Xiao Ai, standing inside, spoke up. "Lord Mang, my body didn't bring back any information. The database is completely empty, with no traces of erasure. It's as if it was never even recorded."
"Hmm."
Shortly after, Li Shiji pushed open the locomotive cabin door and entered the second level, making his way to Chen Mang standing at the control panel. His voice was hoarse with a mixture of seriousness and awe as he spoke.
"Lord Mang!"
"That time tunnel... as he said, it truly possesses a vastness beyond comprehension. I'd estimate it's at least tens of billions of kilometers wide. humans have no concept of such distances, yet it feels as if it's right at our fingertips."
"Without a precise reference point, it's impossible to determine the tunnel's true width. All I can say is that it's immense."
"Both sides of the tunnel are lined with flowing light."
"The strange thing is..."
"The light flows at an incredibly slow pace, like a river."
Li Shiji glanced around, picked up a flashlight from a nearby table, aimed it at the ground, and turned it on before continuing. "See? The moment I turn on the flashlight, the beam instantly reaches the ground. You can't see the light's trajectory at all, right? That's the speed of light."
"But in that tunnel..."
"You could clearly see the beam flowing forward like water from a spring."
"The entire tunnel was empty except for our train. Behind us, there was only half a steel cable, with no sign of any portal or anything like that."
As he spoke, he used his finger to draw on a nearby screen, quickly stopping his hand. "Lord Mang, that's roughly what it looked like inside."
...
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes, gazing at the image of the time tunnel on the screen. To be honest, he really wanted to see that grand spectacle for himself, but the Stellaris was simply too large to enter the temporal rift.
"Did you see the telescope I threw into the temporal rift earlier?"
"No."
Li Shiji shook his head. "Although our Tier 1 Train can't fly, inside the tunnel, it was suspended in mid-air, with a faint sense of propulsion. If that steel cable hadn't been pulling us, we would have kept traveling through the space-time tunnel until we reached the end."
"At the end of the space-time tunnel, there might be another world."
"Or we could appear directly in the cosmos."
Chen Mang remained silent, though he desperately wanted to see what lay at the end of the time tunnel. However, it was clearly impractical. The Solar Energy Panel was a non-removable accessory and couldn't be brought along.
There was, in fact, a way to discover what awaited at the tunnel's end.
But it was risky.
The Goblin Ticket.
Theoretically, according to the accessory's panel information, it could teleport its user back to the train from anywhere.
It was far superior to the Train Tickets used by humans, with no distance limit and virtually no chance of being blocked. Train Tickets could sometimes be blocked, preventing return, but in all this time, no Goblin Ticket had ever been blocked.
However, the entire goblin race of over a hundred individuals were essentially living dead, lacking independent thought or the ability to communicate. Only Mundo and Doba possessed the capacity for thought and conversation.
Both were crucial to the Stellaris. Mundo, in particular, was someone Chen Mang hoped to reform, encouraging him to abandon his petty thievery and instead distribute Neon City Free Entry Tickets like a proper flyer.
The latter absolutely could not die.
The entire goblin race could only understand Doba's words. If Doba died, the goblins wouldn't understand a thing he said.
Now that they'd all run into the time tunnel, would their Goblin Tickets still work?
While these goblins could be revived after death, who knew where they'd respawn? And what if they didn't die at the end of the time tunnel, but were simply trapped? That would be a complete disaster.
"Forget it."
Chen Mang shook his head, abandoning the idea. He wouldn't explore the temporal rift for now. When the train's tier increased, there would surely be better ways to explore it.
Just then—
The locomotive cabin door suddenly swung open.
Doba strode in with Mundo, his expression serious as he said in a deep voice, "Lord Mang, I heard you were exploring the temporal rift. I believe the goblin race can be of assistance!"
Chen Mang frowned slightly. He hadn't told anyone about his idea of using the Goblin Tickets; it had only flashed through his mind. How did Doba know?
"Lord Mang, you may not be aware," Doba continued. "In the cosmos, there are countless races, each with its own unique racial talent. Our goblin race's talent is immunity to the Distorted Temporal Magnetic Field—in other words, we can ignore temporal rifts."
"Let me go," Doba said with unwavering resolve. "If something goes wrong and I'm reborn in another zone after death, I'll find a way to contact the Stellaris and return home!"
"I haven't recovered much of my memory," he continued. "But the moment I saw the temporal rift, fragments of the past suddenly resurfaced."
Hearing Doba's resolute courage, Chen Mang paused before turning to Xiao Ai. "Check the surveillance footage from Carriage 11 during that thirty-minute period."
He wanted to know if the goblins had been frozen in time during the half-hour of Space Stasis.
"I can't. Train Conductor, didn't you permanently delete the footage from that time?"
"Oh, right. Never mind then."
Chen Mang didn't press the matter further. Instead, he turned to Doba. "No need to rush. First, send a member of your tribe to the time tunnel. Tell them to crush their Goblin Ticket one second after entering."
"Let's see if the Goblin Ticket works inside the time tunnel."
"Yes!"
On the train's roof, Zhang Yi, piloting the Pope Mecha, swung the steel cable again, hurling the green-skinned goblin into the time tunnel. After a second, he yanked the cable back, only to find it empty. The other end of the cable was completely bare—the goblin had vanished.
Moments later, the goblin reappeared on the train.
"Good, good," Chen Mang repeated twice in the locomotive cabin after hearing the news. A flicker of anticipation returned to his eyes. If the Goblin Ticket could be used, perhaps Doba could indeed try it.
The Mechanical Eye had failed. The one that had entered earlier hadn't returned any information or images, only static noise.
But...
This Goblin Ticket was far superior to the Train Ticket!
The Train Ticket would never have allowed them to return in this situation!
"In that case, Doba, you should try it. If you happen to die and revive in another zone, I'll issue a bounty and search for you in every zone possible."
"Yes, Lord Mang. The great goblin race fears no unknown risks. If everyone were afraid of the unknown, our civilization would stagnate forever. There must always be Pioneers to shoulder this responsibility."
Doba's expression was extremely serious. He pulled a white cloth from his pocket and tied it around his pointed ears before striding out of the locomotive cabin.
As for the goblin who had entered the space-time tunnel naked earlier, there were indeed no signs of aging on his body. Goblins were truly born with the ability to ignore the effects of temporal rifts.
It was a racial talent.
"Why don't humans have a similar racial talent?"
Chen Mang murmured to himself before turning to Li Shiji, who stood beside him. "When your train entered the tunnel the second time, what happened to the old man tied to the outside?"
"He turned to ash. The instant we entered, he became a skeleton, then visibly turned to dust and vanished into the tunnel."
Doba wasn't controlling any train or holding any weapon.
He was covered in Space Pouches, each filled with a Goblin Ticket. He even had one stuffed in his mouth, ready to bite through it in case of an emergency, even if he were severely injured.
"Brother, you're braver than I am."
Zhang Yi's buzzing voice came from the Pope Mecha's speakers. "Whether you make it back alive or not, Zhang Yi will always admire you. Third Sister told me you're arrogant and always claim to be the greatest goblin."
"I agreed with her at the time."
"But now I think she was wrong. You truly are a great goblin."
"I'll never eat goblins again."
Doba, standing in the mecha's palm and taking deep breaths to calm his nerves, was taken aback. He turned his head in disbelief to look at Zhang Yi in the cockpit and shouted angrily, "You motherfucker, have you eaten goblins?"
"Of course not."
Zhang Yi grinned, his right hand cocked back in a shot-put stance. "Just a little humor to ease your nerves. Ready to go?"
The next moment—
Doba was hurled directly into the temporal rift, vanishing into thin air.
"How could anyone eat green meat?"
Sitting in the mecha's cockpit, Zhang Yi picked up a meat sandwich and stuffed it into his mouth, his words muffled. "That Doba, he's got guts."
Inside the temporal rift—
The scene before Doba's eyes instantly shifted from the desolate city ruins to a space-time tunnel composed of countless flowing strands of light.
Feeling the faint pull ahead, a flicker of fear crept into Doba's eyes. Overwhelming loneliness and helplessness washed over him. Turning back, he could no longer see the Stellaris train, as if he'd been cast adrift in the middle of the night ocean, clinging to a piece of driftwood for survival.
The sensation of impending death quickened his breathing.
He wasn't as brave as he pretended to be.
Goblins are indeed immune to the effects of the Distorted Temporal Magnetic Field. Legend has it that after the apocalypse, the Goblin Civilization discovered this racial talent through experimentation.
But...
He had never used this ability before. Back in the goblin clan, he was just an ordinary goblin. Now that he was king, he had to show the courage of a ruler.
There are only kings who die in battle, not kings who fear death.
Perhaps the words "King of the Goblins" rekindled his courage. Doba's breathing gradually steadied as he began to observe his surroundings. Without any reference points, he couldn't tell how fast he was moving.
Only a growing tightness in his chest remained.
His speed seemed to match the flow of light beams around him.
There was no sound.
Utter silence.
He could even hear the blood flowing through his veins, and the pounding of his heart echoed like thunder, incredibly clear. Yet he wasn't short of oxygen.
He drifted on and on, drifting endlessly through the space-time tunnel.
His initial fear had given way to calm, which had now morphed into a dazed bewilderment.
He had no idea how long he had been drifting.
It felt like an eternity—a month? Two months? Perhaps even longer.
He glanced down at the Goblin Ticket in his Space Pouch, remembering his experiences on the Stellaris. A powerful longing for home surged through him once more. He wanted to go home, but... his mission wasn't complete.
He still hadn't seen the end of the space-time tunnel.
Time might have passed much longer than he realized.
In his mind, Lord Mang's features had begun to blur slightly, but he vividly remembered the moment in the Doomsday Abyss when Lord Mang had declared with unwavering conviction that he would become the king of the goblins and help him rebuild Goblin Civilization.
He had believed it then.
And he still believed it now.
He had never doubted it.
Goblins never lied, except for black market merchants.
A sudden wave of regret washed over him. He should have bought a game console from the resident store before entering the tunnel. It might have helped pass the time during this endless journey.
He opened his mouth to speak, but realized he hadn't spoken in so long that he'd almost forgotten how. The journey had lasted far longer than he'd anticipated. When he finally emerged, would the Stellaris train have already reached Tier 20 or even Tier 30?
Without him, would his people still listen to Lord Mang?
Just then—
The beams of light that had been flowing steadily around the space-time tunnel suddenly began to swirl chaotically, becoming utterly chaotic. Before he could react, a massive temporal rift appeared at the tunnel's end.
His body was pulled toward it uncontrollably.
The scene shifted.
Doba's body crashed heavily onto the ground, the first time in ages he'd felt the solid, grounding weight of reality beneath his feet. The sharp sting of pain jolted his near-dormant mind back to life!
"W-wow... ah... Lord Mang... Lord Mang... Doba... the Great Goblin!"
Doba stood in place, his voice strained as he struggled to form words. After his long-unused language skills finally returned, he quickly scanned his surroundings. He was in a city ruin, standing in... a junkyard?
This city ruin was nestled within a massive cavern.
Above him, instead of blue sky, was only earth.
It looked somewhat like the abandoned Mechanical City from the "Geocore Nuke" fortuitous encounter map in Zombie Basin, but it was different—much smaller.
After stretching his limbs, he pulled out a Goblin Ticket from his Space Pouch and clutched it tightly. He began exploring the junkyard, which contained no food waste, only scrap metal.
Just as he was about to investigate further, he heard footsteps nearby. His expression shifted, and he quickly flipped over and buried himself in a pile of waste, concealing himself completely. Peering through a gap, he saw a middle-aged man accompanied by three or four burly men approaching the junkyard, cursing as they walked.
"What a useless fortuitous encounter map! No missions, no rewards!"
"They're still letting one train in, and the map automatically disappears in 24 hours. I thought there might be something good here, but after searching the city ruins for so long, we haven't found a thing. The only place left to search is this trash heap, but what good could possibly be in a pile of garbage?"
"Three minutes left."
"Let's just do a quick sweep. Consider this trip a waste of time. We're heading back."
After muttering a few more disgruntled curses, the middle-aged man pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and stuck it in his mouth. He sat on a nearby stone, puffing away, but then he suddenly seemed to notice something and looked down at his feet.
"A telescope?"
He picked up the old, battered telescope and was about to say something when his eyes widened in shock. "A Tier 10 telescope?"
"Are you kidding me?!"
"What idiot used eight Murphy Stones to enhance a telescope? Are they out of their mind?!"
Despite his outrage, the man carefully wiped the dust off the telescope with his clothes. It wasn't the telescope itself he was worried about; it was the eight Murphy Stones, a complete waste!
After testing the telescope, the man started laughing again.
"Not bad, not a wasted trip. At least we got something."
"Search carefully, everyone! Two minutes left! Hurry up! There might still be other good stuff here."
"Damn it!"
"If I'd known, I'd have come straight to the junkyard in the first place. What was the point of going to those city ruins?"
Two minutes passed quickly.
Having found nothing else, the middle-aged man spat out a thick wad of phlegm, cursing under his breath. But he didn't dare linger. He immediately led his burly companions back the way they'd come. Only after hearing the outside fall silent did Doba emerge from his hiding place.
He shook the waste from his clothes and scanned the surroundings. Without hesitation, he stuffed everything he could see—anything of suitable size—into his Space Pouch. He didn't know what use any of it might be, but Lord Mang might find a use for it later.
Five minutes later, he suddenly heard a crisp cracking sound in his ear.
He instinctively looked up.
A fissure had appeared in the sky above the city—not a crack in the roof of a cave, but a spatial rift?
The rift rapidly expanded at a visible rate, spreading like a Spiderweb across the entire sky.
Boom!
A fragment fell away, revealing a pitch-black black hole, faint starlight twinkling within.
"..."
Doba's expression shifted slightly. He knew this must be what the man had meant by the map collapsing. Without wasting a moment, he stuffed the last item in his hand into his Space Pouch and quickly crushed the Goblin Ticket in his hand.
But...
Nothing happened.
It was over.
Despair flashed in his eyes. He wouldn't be able to return to the Stellaris. It might be a very long time before he could find it again. But then, a sudden thought struck him, and he turned to look behind him.
Upon closer inspection, a section of space seemed to be warped and distorted as if scorched by flames.
It was the temporal rift he had come through.
The rift was rapidly spreading throughout the cavern, even reaching the waste dump. The entire fortuitous encounter map was on the verge of complete collapse. Without time to think further, Doba roared and unleashed all the power within him, charging toward the temporal rift.
The next moment!
Doba vanished from where he stood. Simultaneously, the rift completely consumed the cavern. The entire city, including the waste dump, seemed to have a detonator pressed. A massive black hole instantly swallowed everything, leaving not a trace behind. Even the temporal rift itself slowly diminished as it was consumed.
Doba, now back in the space-time tunnel, gazed at the rapidly shrinking tunnel around him. A faint glimmer of hope flickered in his eyes as he pulled out another Goblin Ticket. His hands trembled as he crushed it.
A flash of white light filled his vision, and the scene around him instantly changed. He found himself back in the locomotive cabin. Lord Mang stood alone in the vast space, while Biaozi and the others watched him from the side.
Doba froze, a mix of emotions surging through him. His legs buckled, and he sank to his knees, suddenly overcome by a wave of self-pity. He burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Lord Mang... I thought I'd never see you again. I was starting to forget what you even looked like..."
"Lord Mang..."
Stellaris, Locomotive Cabin
Chen Mang watched Doba gulp down water frantically, gently patting his back. "Take it slow, don't rush. Finish drinking first, then tell us what happened."
After downing two bottles of mineral water in one go, Doba burped contentedly. Remembering that so many people had witnessed his earlier breakdown, he mumbled in embarrassment, "I don't know why, but even though months have passed, I haven't felt hungry at all. Just really thirsty."
"Lord Mang, have you all been waiting here for me the whole time?"
(End of the Chapter)
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