Transcendent Dawn

ꨡ[6Ba~oNx3: Chapter 0823: Train (End of Month Request for Monthly Pass) Chapter 823: Chapter 0823: Train (End of Month Request for Monthly Pass) Storm Manor.

In the middle of the night, Mary awoke.

Clang!

Clang!

In the silence, only the long pendulum of the mahogany grandfather clock kept swinging back and forth, emitting a faint sound.

She had grown up on this estate since she was a child and knew her parents were very fond of mechanical items like clocks.

In the estate’s great hall, along the corridors, and within the master’s collection room, what was displayed were not precious antiques, but various mechanical artifacts.

And of all things, mechanical clocks were this couple’s favorite.

Ding Dong!

The sound of the clock striking twelve echoed.

“Nanny!

Nanny!”

Mary called out several times, but no one answered.

She got up, still in her nightgown, rubbing her eyes.

Outside the crack of the door, the orange glow of the candlelight shone through.

The little girl, holding her teddy bear, sneaked out of the bedroom—perhaps for a novel adventure or simply an unconscious stroll.

“The nannies, maids, manservants, and butler in the manor… they’ve all been acting rather odd lately…”

Mary thought to herself as she turned a corner.@@novelbin@@

She saw the butler, Bob, slumped over there, expressionless, his eyes wide open as if he were a puppet.

The little girl was instantly petrified.

After a long while, she gritted her teeth and pushed Bob’s shoulder.

Crack!

With that push, Bob’s head simply fell off, gears and springs popping out from his neck joint.

“Ah!”

Mary was terrified and ran quickly down the long corridor, trying to find her parents.

“Miss…”

On the way, she encountered a maid.

Her movements were abnormally mechanical, as if she were just a wind-up doll, with creaking noises in her joints: “Night wandering is not befitting of a lady.”

She stretched out her hand as if intending to grab Mary.

“No!”

Mary deftly dodged her and scurried up the stairs.

“I must find Mom and Dad…”

Her eyes brimmed with tears as she reached the outside of her parents’ bedroom.

The door was not locked and swung open easily.

Mary stared blankly at the scene inside, the toy bear falling to the floor from her hand.

Her father, with a wrench in hand, was repairing a huge mechanical doll.

It was made entirely of metal rods and gears, sized like an adult, and next to it on the table lay the head of an elderly woman.

“Oh?

Mary, are you looking for your nanny?

Sorry…

she will be fixed soon.”

Mary’s father turned around, greeting her stiffly.

His expression was wooden, his face as if frozen, emitting mechanical sounds.

“No!!!!!”

The little girl’s shrill voice echoed through the manor.

…

Clang clang… clank clang…

The steam train swept along the rails, sending out a unique sound of steel collisions, occasionally accompanied by the prolonged whistle of its steam horn.

Jenny trembled, seeming to have just awakened from a nightmare.

The dim light, the dark night outside the window, and the dozy passengers around her all clearly indicated that she was on an overnight steam train—a recent invention that had only risen to prominence in the past few years.

Storm Manor was situated in the countryside, a six to seven-hour train ride from Xilan City.

Upon arrival, one had to transfer to a horse carriage.

Jenny was on her way there.

‘Did I really fall asleep…

Have I been too tired lately?’

She smiled self-deprecatingly and massaged her temples, her expression growing solemn, ‘I have already reached the Fourth Level of Apostleship…

was that sudden jolt of awakening a warning from my Spirituality?’

‘I’ve obtained many ancient documents through adventure, and with my own understanding and experience, I have deduced a plan to integrate into Fifth Level…

Why do I still feel uneasy?’

Normally, according to the orthodox approach of the Freedom City-States Federation, after perfecting the Spider Saint Marks, the next step would be to elevate the Spider’s Bloodline into an even more powerful ancient Beast.

But Jenny, whose Bloodline was already mixed with Strange elements, couldn’t follow this path.

With the passage of time, she increasingly felt the influence of that one eye.

It was a growing madness and chaos, even carrying the risk of a split personality.

Only by continuously advancing her level could she slightly suppress it, even so, there were already rumors in academic circles that the inventor of the Jenny Steam Engine was a woman full of eccentricities and unpredictable moods.

‘This time…

I must succeed in acquiring a suitable Beast Bloodline!’

Jenny made up her mind.

What she didn’t know was that just a moment ago, two white men in their thirties wearing trench coats had walked past her to another section of the train.

“The Freest Kingdom has changed a lot…

But, the most advanced steam trains and the railways are still ours, in the Talin Kingdom,”

Feiqi said proudly.

“All that is meaningless…”

Varen retorted indifferently, “Don’t forget our purpose here.”

Unlike Feiqi, who was a foreigner to begin with, Varen, having been labeled a ‘traitor,’ was very low-key, “This time…

it’s rare to hear of a mechanical Marvel, we can’t let it slip by!”

“What a pity it’s not in our Kingdom, otherwise it would be much easier to mobilize manpower…

Even in the Freedom City-States Federation, there wouldn’t be a need for a great Scientist like you to take risks.”

Feiqi assured, “But once we’re there, a small team of ‘Combat Scholars’ will come to support us.”

“I requested this myself.

After all…

the materials are very precious and worth studying,”

Varen said dismissively, “Besides…

I am not weak.”

An owl spread its wings across his chest, clearly fully formed.

“But…

you need to promise me that you’ve given up that crazy idea!”

Feiqi suddenly became solemn, “After completing the Saint Marks, isn’t it better to follow the orthodox path?

Integrating an ancient Beast’s Bloodline is already crazy enough, don’t think about Deceivers!”

“But…

the abilities of some Deceivers are indeed very tempting, hmm…

alright, I promise you, I have given up on the idea…”

Varen raised his hands, appearing resigned.

…

As the dense morning mist gradually lifted, the steam train also pulled into a small town’s station, greeting the morning sun.

“Welcome to Storm Town!”

A huge banner hung over the platform.

A few passengers disembarked from the train.

Jenny, carrying her suitcase, prepared to exit the train station and hail a public horse carriage, when suddenly, she caught sight of Varen.

Although he was somewhat disguised, he was still recognized by her, after all, he was the man her teacher had specially warned her about, the very inventor of the steam train, hence a lasting impression.

‘Why is he here?’

Jenny naturally shifted her gaze away.

At that moment, Varen also looked over, but of course, he didn’t notice Jenny in her ‘Deceiver’ disguise; following Feiqi, they boarded a carriage.