“…Looks like you guys have figured it out…Who is this little brother?”

“This is Kong. Well, because of our cooperation experience just now, we are discussing letting him and his friends join the train. It just so happens that you are back, and we are still short of one vote from you…”

Dan Heng tried to introduce Kong to Walter, but before he could explain Kong’s identity in detail, Kong exclaimed in disbelief to the very reliable middle-aged man in front of him:

“…Old Yang?”

“Huh? Do you know me?” Walter was stunned. There were only a few people who would call him so affectionately, and most of them didn’t hang around here.

“I am Kong!” Kong’s expression suddenly became full of surprise.

“Ah…Sora??”

Countless question marks popped up in Walter’s head. He had met many seemingly reasonable people since he came to this world, but when Kong reported his name, he reacted immediately.

“You are Captain Sora? You traveled through time as well? How come you have become young again—!”

The image of a steady middle-aged man was gone forever, and the man named Walter opened his eyes wide, as if he wanted to see every detail on Sora’s face clearly.

“No, you changed your body? Wait, I need to confirm it, so as not to make any mistakes – Sora, tell me something that only you and I know!”

“…How can I immediately think of something that only the two of us know?”

Although he was surprised, Kong was left in a state of confusion by Lao Yang’s behavior:

“Let me think about it. Your original name is Joachim. Does that count?”

“Not really. The real Sora should know more—”

Dan Heng was stunned by Lao Yang’s irrational look.

“Before I ran away, you seemed to be working on an animation. Does that count?” Kong thought hard and found something that could hardly be called a secret.

“Not really. When I was making animations, I interacted with a lot of people. Everyone knew that I was pursuing my dream…”

But Lao Yang has begun to waver, because Dan Heng is not a big talker and he will definitely not mention his occasional sentimental past to people he is not familiar with.

“…”

Kong thought about it again, and then his expression became very strange. From Dan Heng’s perspective, he seemed to be blushing.

The impression he gave Danheng was that of a thick-skinned and honest man. What on earth was he thinking that could make him embarrassed?

“…the reason why it is so divine and so superior to other works is that it is like a whirling horse that can fly freely in the sky and has extraordinary steps.”

Sora whispered, “This is the line I came up with for the main character of the anime based on me…”

“…from the Satsuki Poetry Anthology, the first version of the lines that were originally intended to be used in the first episode of the first season of the anime Honkai Impact 3rd…You are indeed Captain Sora.”

The surface of Lao Yang’s glasses began to reflect a strange light: “… Let’s get in the car first and talk in detail. The sound insulation is good. There is no threat from the antimatter army here, right?”

“Jizi just said that there are only a few small fish and shrimps left wandering around in the containment chamber, but we shouldn’t be needed. We just need a break after a big fight. The rest can be left to Heita and the others, uh.”

Old Yang grabbed Kong’s shoulder without saying anything and led him towards the car door.

“Yang, you’re back–?”

Ji Zi put down the cup and was about to say hello to Lao Yang, but she saw that he brought Kong onto the train without asking for the consent of other train passengers.

“…Is it because we both recommended Kong to board the train? Or did they know each other before? He wouldn’t be angry because we didn’t ask for his opinion on recruiting more passengers, right?”

Himeko had never seen Walter like that, and of course, Sora’s expression was a little too weird.

“Clap.”

Holhaiya, who was already annoyed by March 7’s requests for photos, happened to see this scene, and his tail fell down and slapped the ground with a loud noise.

Just now, the doctor was “escorted” by a brown-haired middle-aged man…rubbing his hands and holding his armpits, and was pushed into the car with a shy face? ?

“…Did I see it wrongly?”

She looked back again in confusion, only to see that Eula, who was about to put the cake into her mouth to suppress the bitterness, had also turned into a “plaster sculpture”. This confirmed that the scene she had just seen was not an illusion.

16. Isn’t that good?

“I see. In your subjective time, that much time has passed.”

Lao Yang put down his tea, his face full of emotion:

“Not long after humans and Honkai coexisted, you retired. Many people said that you didn’t want to switch from military to politics, so you chose to retire. But acquaintances on the ship revealed that you left a letter and disappeared out of thin air. The children didn’t have time to say goodbye to you. Well, I didn’t have time to thank you for donating to my animation studio…”

“Dealing with the collapse and preventing the demise of civilization was my main mission at the time… After completing the main mission, I had to leave that world… It seems that you have been successful in pursuing your dream?”

Sora blew gently on the black tea in the cup – this was the tea that the cute creature named Pam had brewed for him.

Even though the other party acted very ferociously when they just got on the bus and even told Kong to be careful not to dirty the carpet, but after Lao Yang said that Kong was his old friend, Pam’s vigilance towards Kong decreased a lot. Although she didn’t give him a good look, this cup of tea alone was enough to show her attitude.

Are all the people on the train like this? Are they all willing to trust their friends’ friends?

Looking closely, Pam looks 90% similar to the ice dolls shot out by March 7th. It seems that he is quite popular in the car.

“It’s so-so, but no matter how bad the economy is, it’s better than fighting the collapse. At least that’s my own dream.” Lao Yang’s voice became more and more relaxed, as if he was back in the studio chatting with his free time.

“Was it the same when you became an unknown guest later?” Sora held the cup with his head tilted back.

In front of Lao Yang, he can act more like his “real age”, after all, the person in front of him is a genuine “old comrade-in-arms”.

The reason why he was particularly happy to see Lao Yang was that he had traveled to so many places before and had never seen any acquaintances from his previous world.

But after coming to this world, one of the “two iron laws of time travel” that Kong was familiar with has been broken, and he doesn’t know when the opportunity to travel back to the world he has visited before will come.

“…You have met Himeko, right? This world is deeply connected to our original world. Not only are some of the rules the same, but there are also many familiar faces.”

Walter folded his hands, rested his chin on the tiger’s mouth, and turned into “Commander Ikari”: “The main reason I boarded the train was for her… I… I failed to protect Himeko before.”

“Well, everyone is like that… But Tesla…”

The cup that Kong had just put to his mouth stopped abruptly when Lao Yang’s expression suddenly tensed up.

“…It was Xukong Wanzang…For some reason, he and I drifted into deep space and didn’t have the chance to say goodbye to Tesla.”

“…That’s right.”

The atmosphere seemed a little heavy, which was mainly due to the two time travelers’ distressing “past life” memories. Paimon hung beside Sora, looking back and forth between the two men in a somewhat overwhelmed manner.

“I feel guilty towards the ‘present’ Himeko. It’s the guilt of an elder towards a younger person… She can probably sense my emotions. Although we are different people, she doesn’t dislike it… So I’m thinking that I should at least take good care of her before reaching the end of the journey.”

Not wanting to infect Sora with his sadness, Lao Yang put his arms away and smiled for the first time since meeting Sora: “You’ve changed a lot too. If it had been earlier, you would have rushed over to Himeko the first time you saw her.”

“When I first boarded the ship, I was not very qualified as a time traveler. There was a process of trial and error. I was indeed not mature enough at that time, but now, it’s hard to say.”

Kong also became happy.

“The more things we go through, the more concerns we have. That’s the case with all of us.”

“That’s the truth… Do you want to get in the car? If you are with me, the safety of those children will be better guaranteed.”

“Well, I’m ready for a new adventure.”

“Haha… Xiao Sanyue and Danheng both like you very much… Then we shouldn’t receive you as a guest. Captain Pam, he is Kong, this is Paimon, and the two outside, Eula and Holhaiya, they all hope to become nameless guests.”

Lao Yang stood up and formally introduced the “Bounty Hunter” group to Pam, who was about to add water to the teapot.

“… Newcomer, I’ve already heard the details from Himeko, but I still have to say something ugly in advance—”

Pam looked at Sora with a somewhat scrutinizing gaze, but it was much friendlier than before: “Since you have chosen to get on this bus, you must abide by the rules here. I heard that you are very powerful, but there are more powerful people here than just you. Remember this.”

It pinched its waist, and that posture did not make Kong feel majestic, but only endlessly cute.

“Yeah, we can still live under someone else’s roof without causing trouble for them.”

Paimon spoke before Sora, laughing sheepishly.

“That’s good. I’m the conductor, Pam. If you encounter any problems on the train, just come to me.”

“Conductor, this is a small gift. Please accept it.”

However, what neither Lao Yang nor Pam expected was that Kong took out a box of cakes from somewhere and presented it to Pam with both hands.

“…I received a meeting gift for the first time…”

Pam couldn’t handle this blatant gift. He gave Lao Yang a questioning and troubled look, as if asking, “Should I accept it?”

Old Yang pushed his glasses and nodded silently.

“You are kind-hearted, but if you want me to treat you extra well or break the rules by giving you a gift, that’s not okay, okay?”

Pam took the pastry with his short hands. He was so elated at receiving the gift from a newlywed for the first time that he didn’t realize that the pastry was just a cheap one made by a pastry machine in the local cafeteria in Heita, and he just picked it up casually.

“As expected of you, Captain Sora.”

Lao Yang’s identification with Kong is not limited to memories of the past, but also includes the “dirty things that only adults understand.”

“No, Comrade Lao Yang, my little tricks are no match for yours.”

Pam looked at the mature and steady train crew seniors laughing so strangely with the newcomers, and always felt that something was wrong, but she couldn’t tell what was wrong.

……

Youla and Holhaiya were both a little worried about Kong’s situation. They stood on the left and right sides of the door of the carriage, like guardians, and took away all of Danheng’s work.

“Kong, are you officially on board?”

“Doctor – well, there is no strange smell on his body, it seems that he has not been abused.”

“? What on earth are you thinking about, Operator Holhayya?”

After confirming that Kong did not engage in any truly dirty deal, Eula and Holhaiya’s small worry was put to rest.

“Old Yang won’t get off the train. He still has equipment to help debug. But the conductor said the train will have to stay for a while for supplies. We can move around freely and go back to the train to rest when we are tired. Now we have only registered our identities as anonymous guests, and we will officially arrange our departure ceremony in a few days.” Kong briefly explained the current situation.

“To be honest, I don’t really like the atmosphere of this large ‘fortress’, and that arrogant little guy over there—”

Eula grumbled uncharacteristically.

“Little guy? Hmm? Who is Himeko talking to? Is Ester here too?”

Originally, I thought that Esta would give priority to comforting the injured clerk, but seeing her helpless smile…could the guy who could make the stationmaster look helpless be Black Tower himself?

Kong prepared to observe the legendary “genius” up close. Speaking of which, when Alan treated her as a member of the company before, her reaction also indirectly proved that the guy had a strong self-esteem, and people who claimed to be geniuses were generally difficult to deal with.

“You guys go get on the train and ask the conductor to arrange accommodation. The space inside this train is quite large, a whole circle larger than it looks from the outside. Just choose a compartment that is closer to me. I’m going to go meet the envoy first.”

“Ah.”

“it is good.”