Chapter 48
Chapter 48: Windmills in the Paddy Field / Giants?
“There’s even such a thing? Isn’t this purely screwing me over?”
Ye Qiyan was somewhat speechless; the inexplicably added stopping time had both advantages and disadvantages for him.
The advantage was that if it were at certain resource Platforms, the longer the time, the more resources he could collect.
Conversely, if he encountered certain extremely dangerous Platforms, he would have to stop for a full seven hours before leaving.
[“Interference with the Train System is a system issue; the system has already provided additional compensation, and Train Conductor Ye Qiyan is hoped to continue working hard.”]
“Forget it, I’ll just be more careful from now on.”
Things had already reached this point, and there was no other way.
Ye Qiyan shook his head, walked straight up to Wall-E, and inserted a coin.
[Wall-E, activated]
Tapping Wall-E’s iron head, a smile appeared on his face.
“Keep it up, Wall-E. As long as we find a Treasure Chest this stop, I’ll install a brain for you.”
Watching Wall-E leave the station, Ye Qiyan also pressed the door-opening button.
Just as he was about to leave, the sound of horse hooves attracted his attention.
He saw a knight clad in tattered armor, riding a scrawny old horse with protruding ribs, charging toward the Train holding a rusted spear.
“An enemy? So fast, but…”
If this was an enemy? Wasn’t this a bit too… shabby?
Pondering for a moment, Ye Qiyan stopped the sentry from opening fire.
This was a Mission Platform. According to past experience, the first person encountered on this Platform would be related to the mission within it.
He let the knight approach.
He walked out of the Train, drew his gun, and fired. A bullet landed precisely at the feet of the knight’s old horse.
The old horse was startled, flipping over and directly tossing him off.
“Ouch!”
The knight’s helmet fell aside, revealing a cardboard core inside.
So weak.
This was Ye Qiyan’s first impression of this knight.
His face was haggard, his skin dark, and his sparse, grayish-white beard was covered in dirt.
His frail body seemed like it could be blown far away by a random gust of wind.
Only those eyes.
Even from afar, Ye Qiyan could see the fanaticism and persistence revealed in those eyes.
“Um… Are you alright?”
He didn’t know what to call this old man, but judging from his appearance, this should be a real human.
“I’m fine. Huh? You’re a human? Why did you walk out from the giant dragon’s belly? Ah! I understand! Have you already killed that giant dragon?! Good heavens, you conquered the dragon—you are a great Dragon Knight?!”
A giant dragon? A Dragon Knight?
What on earth is all this?
Ye Qiyan only felt baffled.
Could he be a madman?
“Master, are you alright?!”
From the same direction, a short, chubby man sitting on the back of a grey donkey wobbled as he ran over here as well.
“Haha, Sancho, it’s no big deal. It was I who offended this Lord Dragon Knight. This is the arrangement of fate, allowing me to meet a Dragon Knight before fighting the giants!”
Sancho? Such a familiar name; Ye Qiyan always felt he had heard it somewhere before.
“Master Don Quixote, what giant dragon?”
“That huge black fellow up ahead, didn’t you hear it? The roar made by this giant dragon, didn’t you see it? It fell from high in the sky!”
Don Quixote?!
Upon hearing this name, Ye Qiyan immediately remembered who the person in front of him was.
Don Quixote, a knight indulging in ideals and illusions, the archetype of all losers in the world.
This place turned out to be the world of Don Quixote.
Then the short, chubby man beside him must be Sancho, the most important supporting character in that book and Don Quixote’s servant.
“So Train Platforms can even have worlds from such stories; I never expected that the protagonist of a book I read as a child would appear before me in this way.”
Ye Qiyan sighed inwardly. Don Quixote had already climbed up from the ground, patting the dirt off his armor to make himself look more like an excellent knight.
“Master Don Quixote, that’s not a giant dragon; that is, uh… that’s just a row of houses connected together, with strange wheels installed on them.”
“No, that is a giant dragon. When it comes to adventures, you are still a layman…”
It was a dialogue similar to the one in the book, except the subject discussed by the master and servant changed from windmill giants to Train dragons.
Could it be that he was playing the role of a villain in this Mission Platform?
No, turning around to look, Ye Qiyan turned and saw thirty-four windmills in the paddy field ahead.
It was his sudden appearance that interrupted Don Quixote’s first battle.
“Apologies, Lord Dragon Knight. There are still long-armed giants ahead waiting for me to crusade against. Once I eliminate these giants, I will come back to converse with you.”
Don Quixote grasped his long spear, mounted his old horse, bypassed the Train, and headed toward the paddy field once more.
“Master, that really isn’t a giant; those are windmills, and the long arms are their windmill blades!”
He completely ignored Sancho’s shouts, charging forward while yelling.
Standing at the top of the Train, Ye Qiyan watched the scene unfolding before him. Just as he thought Don Quixote would crash and be thrown head over heels just like in the story, the world before his eyes suddenly underwent a subtle change.
Windmills?
No, giants appeared in the paddy field.
“?”
Ye Qiyan quickly rubbed his eyes, and when he looked again, the giants had turned back into windmills?
“What the hell?”
He instantly realized something was wrong and hurried back into the Train.
The power of the pure purification stone calmed the discomfort in his heart, but the scene seen inside the Train made him certain of one thing.
There were no windmills in the paddy field.
There were long-armed giants in the paddy field.
Don Quixote was right?
“Why is this happening?”
This world seemed not as simple as it looked. He pulled up his personal information and saw an unexpected line of text under the Mental Power column.
[Mental Power: 120 (Witnessing Truth and Falsehood)]
A mental state he had never seen before.
What on earth was the mission of this Mission Platform?
“It seems I can’t underestimate Mission Platforms from now on. Hmm? Is it over?”
In the paddy field, Don Quixote was casually flipped away by a giant.
The moment he fell, the giants turned back into windmills.
“God bless! Didn’t I tell you? Those are windmills! Unless someone has windmills in their head too, how could anyone refuse to admit they are windmills?”
“Shut up, Sancho!”
While bickering, Sancho helped Don Quixote stand up and remount his horse. They returned along the original path, preparing to continue toward their goal.
Passing by the Train, Ye Qiyan, who had been acting as a spectator all along, suddenly spoke up:
“Don Quixote, do you plan to run away? The giants are still right there.”
“Don’t you want to become a true knight?”
