Chapter 72 Tumbleweed (1) They Are All Trying to Attract My Attention…

Chapter 72: Tumbleweed (1) They were all trying to get my attention...

The conductor paused, then glanced back at Yu Xing and her three companions.

A look of exasperation crossed her face. As the first-class cabin attendant, she knew every passenger's identity before boarding. How could there be a fake ticket?

But she was just a conductor and couldn't be overly harsh. So, she offered a standard smile to the woman in sunglasses: "Understood. Your feedback has been noted."

Turning to Yu Xing's group, she offered an apologetic smile. "Ladies, may I see your tickets?"

Miao Yuanjin had never endured such an indignity. She was about to erupt when Zhao Lan gently pressed her hand, shaking her head slightly. "No need to stoop to their level," she whispered.

As they spoke, Yu Xing had already produced her ticket, showing no sign of displeasure, still cheerful and in good spirits.

Seeing Yu Xing's cooperation, the other three followed suit.

The conductor quickly inspected the tickets, then smiled. "All four tickets are valid. Thank you for your cooperation."

She turned back to the woman in sunglasses, maintaining her polite smile. "After verification, these passengers' tickets are genuine. This is a public space, and passengers are free to do as they please as long as they abide by train regulations. I wish everyone a pleasant journey."

With that, the conductor left, leaving the entire cabin in an awkward silence.

Though they couldn't expel Yu Xing's group over ticket issues, the middle-aged man didn't back down. He sneered, "Who knows what means they used to get those tickets."

The woman in sunglasses recalled their earlier conversation. "Enlisting in the army? So young—are they even adults?"

This immediately became ammunition. Other passengers chimed in: "Shouldn't kids this age be in school? Why are they enlisting in the army?"

"Looks like they're joining the overseas deployment—that's dangerous work."

"No family with options would let their kids drop out of school so young."

"With their background, they'd only qualify as cannon fodder anyway."

"How pitiful, tsk tsk..."

"First Class must be the fanciest place they'll ever see in their lives..."

Not everyone in the cabin participated in the mockery. Some disapproved but stayed silent, seeing no reason to waste energy defending strangers.

Miao Yuanjin was on the verge of exploding. Zhao Lan struggled to restrain her while glancing at Yu Xing—only to find her completely calm, even smiling slightly.

Zhao Lan was stunned. What kind of mental resilience was this?

"Yu Xing," Zhao Lan couldn't help asking, "Aren't you angry?"

Yu Xing smiled and shook her head with a detached tone. "Why should I be? They're just doing this to get my attention. If I got angry, wouldn't I be playing into their hands? I won't give them the satisfaction. Let them try hitting me if they dare."

This statement left everyone—mockers, spectators, and her three friends alike—dumbfounded.

What kind of logic was this?

The middle-aged man turned red with rage, pointing at Yu Xing. "What nonsense are you spouting? Who wants your attention?!"

"See?" Yu Xing pointed at him knowingly to her friends. "He's upset. Exposed his true motives, and now he's upset."

The man nearly choked with rage. He wanted to curse but his first instinct was self-defense. "I'm not upset! Not at all! Keep talking nonsense and see what happens!"

"Tsk." Yu Xing sighed regretfully. "You say you're not upset, but your face is red, your veins are popping—who'd believe you? Uncle, this is the modern age. These old-fashioned methods to get girls' attention don't work anymore."

"I—" The man nearly choked on his fury. He wanted to hit Yu Xing, but fighting onboard would get him ejected at the next stop.

"How shameless," the sunglasses woman said coldly. "Is this how commoners turn the tables?"

Yu Xing immediately turned to her with a frown. "Please stop this."

The woman raised an eyebrow, thinking she'd hit the mark—until Yu Xing continued:

"I don't like women. No matter what you do, it's pointless. My preferences are innate and can't be changed."

"......"

The sunglasses woman froze, then exploded with rage. She tore off her glasses, glaring. "Say that again!"

Zhao Lan's group stared at Yu Xing like they were seeing her for the first time.

Zhao Lan especially admired the strategy. Fighting or arguing would be unwise, but swallowing insults hurt too much. Yu Xing's absurd counterattacks were perfect—watching their tormentors fume with rage was deeply satisfying.

"Say it a hundred times—I'll never accept a woman," Yu Xing said solemnly. "Especially someone your age. I'm not even an adult yet—aren't you ashamed to be chasing after someone so young?"

"Pfft—"

The cabin erupted with stifled laughter.

Because this world had no equivalent to the "old cow eating young grass" metaphor. Passengers found it fresh, fitting, and hilariously brutal.

Zhao Lan recalled Fei Mingming mentioning Yu Xing's poetry skills. Clearly, her talent for metaphors extended beyond verse.

"HAHAHA—"

Someone couldn't hold back laughter.

The sunglasses woman's sanity shattered at this Earth saying. She lunged at Yu Xing, ready to tear her poisonous mouth apart even if it meant getting ejected.

The middle-aged man grabbed her. "Don't! You'll be kicked off!"

That's human nature—seeing someone worse off makes one's own suffering seem lighter. The man, previously furious, now felt almost calm seeing the woman's greater humiliation. He even tried to calm her.

But Yu Xing wasn't done. Noticing their clasped hands, she smiled knowingly. "Exactly! You two are perfect for each other—age, looks, gender, everything. Perfectly matched."

"......"

"......"

Other mockers stayed silent, fearing the cutting remarks might spread to them. That girl's mouth was too sharp for them to handle.

The two accusers instinctively looked at each other—and felt deeply offended.

They jerked apart. The man pointed a shaking finger at Yu Xing. "Y-you... just wait! Dare to tell me your name?"

"Sigh." Yu Xing said helplessly. "After I've made myself so clear, still trying to get my info? My name won't do you any good—I already have a boyfriend. Younger, better-looking, and wealthier than you."

The man's breath caught. His eyes rolled back as he collapsed straight backward.

It happened so suddenly no one reacted. He hit the floor hard, his head even bounced once.

The conductor hurried over with medics. After examination, they announced: "Nothing serious—just fainted from sheer rage."

The sunglasses-wearing woman looked at the unconscious middle-aged man on the floor, then at Yu Xing, who was acting completely unbothered. She pointed at Yu Xing and said to the conductor, "Did you hear what she just said? Aren’t you going to intervene? Just let her insult us like this?"

The conductor helped the medical staff lift the middle-aged man onto a seat and replied with a smile, "Madam, I heard everything she said. The insulting nature of her words is far less severe than what you and this gentleman said earlier. So, how exactly would you like me to intervene?"

The woman in sunglasses: "..."

The woman in sunglasses felt faint—not just from anger, but mostly from humiliation. She had been publicly humiliated by two people in succession and was now so ashamed she wished she could jump out the train window.

But that was impossible, as the train windows were sealed shut and couldn’t be opened.

Thus, the First Class cabin was once again graced with blissful silence.

Yu Xing and her three companions sat back in their seats, their moods better than ever—or rather, even brighter than before.

"Xing," Da Ya said, utterly at a loss for how to praise Yu Xing. "You’re just... amazing."

Miao Yuanjin snorted lightly. "You’ve got some cleverness."

Zhao Lan gave Yu Xing a thumbs-up. "Truly worthy of being our leader."

Yu Xing: "?"

What did they mean? Had she done something? Everything she’d said earlier had been completely sincere.

The woman in sunglasses was so furious her blood felt like it was boiling, but she no longer dared to provoke the four girls—especially the black-haired one with the poisonous tongue.

Yet she couldn’t swallow her anger, so she secretly took a photo of Yu Xing, intending to post it online and incite an online hate campaign. If she couldn’t out-insult Yu Xing, surely the vast internet mob could.

Unexpectedly, the photo quickly went viral, but the comments weren’t what she’d anticipated. No one was attacking the four girls—instead, they were being recognized.

[Wait, don’t they look familiar?]

[Holy shit! Isn’t that the Duck Shop Sisters?!]

[It really is them!]

[666 [Chinese internet slang meaning "awesome"], the Duck Shop Sisters are back in action!]

[Our idols have returned!]

[By the way, I went to that duck shop last time—it was pretty great.]

[Ugh, I wish I could visit Seven Cities too...]

[Wait, they’re on a train? Are they leaving Seven Cities to explore duck shops in other cities?]

[Come to City 13! I’ll be your guide—full-service duck shop tour, my treat!]

[I advise the OP not to mess with them. Their fighting prowess is beyond what mere mortals can handle.]

[image.jpg]

The woman in sunglasses squinted at the photo—a grainy scene of four women pinning down over a dozen muscular men. Upon closer inspection, weren’t those the same four girls who had just humiliated her?

The woman in sunglasses: "..."

She put her sunglasses back on and vowed not to speak another word until she got off the train.

The scenery outside, initially fascinating, soon grew monotonous. The land around the tracks had been artificially leveled—not a blade of grass in sight, the terrain perfectly flat. After a while, it became hypnotically dull.

Da Ya was fast asleep, Miao Yuanjin was playing a game, and Zhao Lan seemed deep in contemplation. Remembering the books she’d seen in Miao Yuanjin’s luggage earlier, Yu Xing borrowed them to read.

"These books are out of print," Miao Yuanjin said as she handed them over. "They’re my grandfather’s collection. Be careful with them."

The two science books were titled *The Terror of Deep Space* and *The Peril of Celestial Bodies*. Why would Miao Yuanjin say such books were unavailable elsewhere?

Having time to kill, Yu Xing started reading.

As she read, she noticed that although the authors were different, both books promoted the same philosophy: cosmic dread theory.

The author of *The Terror of Deep Space* argued that the universe was full of unknown dangers and that humanity understood almost nothing about it. The people of the Old Era had foolishly launched probes into space in reckless ventures to explore the cosmos, and the world-ending catastrophe might well have been caused by such reckless behavior.

He maintained that humanity didn’t need to explore the universe. Like all living things, survival should be humanity’s primary concern. In the New Era, all efforts should be directed toward improving human survival rates, not diverted to space exploration.

The author of *The Peril of Celestial Bodies* wasn’t concerned with social commentary. Instead, the entire book exclusively advanced a single hypothesis: the dangers of the universe originated in celestial bodies—and these bodies were sentient.

His evidence was White Moon and Purple Moon. Since White Moon was revered as the deity of salvation and Purple Moon as the evil god, they must possess consciousness. He theorized that among the myriad celestial bodies in the universe, it was improbable that only White Moon and Purple Moon were sentient. More probably, all celestial bodies had consciousness.

Not just moons—other planets, stars, even black holes were sentient.

He also believed celestial bodies competed with one another, much like White Moon and Purple Moon’s conflict. The Old Era had documented stars consuming planets and galaxies merging with others.

But in the end, he raised a fascinating paradox: If celestial bodies were sentient, and the planet humanity inhabited was a celestial body, then logically, it too should have consciousness.

So why had humanity never sensed this planet’s will? When the planet was corrupted by Purple Moon, why hadn’t its will saved humanity? Instead, it was White Moon who intervened.

"Save me..."

"Save me..."

Before her stretched an opaque fog, within which someone seemed to be calling for help. Yu Xing strained to move toward the voice, but the fog seemed infinite, and the cries didn’t grow clearer as she advanced.

"Save me..."

Yu Xing opened her eyes, her neck stiff.

*Thud!* Something fell to the floor.

Rubbing her neck, she looked down and saw the book had slipped from her hands. She must have dozed off while reading.

Picking it up, she stretched her neck and glanced at her friends.

Da Ya and Miao Yuanjin were asleep, while Zhao Lan was absorbed in *The Terror of Deep Space*.

Noticing Yu Xing was awake, Zhao Lan smiled softly. "This book is pretty interesting."

Yu Xing wanted to reply, but her head pounded—probably from the awkward sleeping position. As she rubbed her forehead, she recalled a strange dream. A child... had been begging for help...

Was it a child? She wasn’t sure—she hadn’t actually seen the person.

Still rubbing her head, she looked out the window—and froze.

Several black dots were approaching the speeding train.

As they drew closer, she realized they were enormous birds.

Massive, dwarfing vultures—about the size of an adult woman. But their appearance was grotesque, their bodies covered in dozens of clustered eyes. Just one glance was enough to make one sick to one’s stomach.

"Are those... tainted birds?" Zhao Lan asked curiously, peering out the window.

Yu Xing frowned, a bad feeling settling in her gut.

The train was currently traveling along the tracks, far from both the last city and the next one. If they were attacked here...

Just as the thought crossed her mind, the monstrous birds closed in.

Suddenly, Yu Xing heard a sound above her head—something like the whirring of machinery—followed by the familiar "rat-tat-tat" of gunfire.

Bullets tore into the monstrous birds. The flock resisted for a while but eventually succumbed, shredded into pieces, raining blood and gore.

Inside the city, to avoid contamination, the Divine Chosen Team would avoid using firepower against pollutants whenever possible.

Even if pollutants were blasted to pulp, they could still remain infectious and spread contamination further. Thus, the Divine Chosen Team always focused on keeping pollutants whole to make decontamination easier.

Outside the walls, however, those rules didn’t apply. Beyond the walls, contamination was rampant, so there was no fear of spreading it further. Pollutants were met with brute force, and if that failed, the Divine Chosen would step in to handle the situation.

With the monstrous birds completely eradicated, the noise inside the car stayed low. Miao Yuanjin and Da Ya, still asleep, didn’t even wake.

Yu Xing rubbed her head again, deciding her earlier unease had been unwarranted.

She was getting hungry and was about to ask the conductor for some food when Zhao Lan suddenly spoke up, peering out the window, "Something’s running toward us—mutated beasts?"

Yu Xing turned to look and indeed saw dozens of dark shapes racing across the ground, rapidly approaching.

"Probably," she said, but her dread only deepened.

"Don’t worry," Zhao Lan reassured, noticing Yu Xing’s unease. "Only a few dozen. My mom once said she encountered over a hundred attacking a train. The train’s got this."

Yu Xing was about to nod when her eyes widened in shock. "Wait, those aren’t pollutants... or even beasts."

They pressed their faces against the window, and as the dark specks drew closer, they finally saw what they were—not beasts, but huge clumps of grass, each the size of two people.

"Tumbleweeds?" Yu Xing was stunned. "They have those here too?"

No one could blame her for the comparison—the dozens of rapidly approaching objects looked exactly like the tumbleweeds from Earth. She’d heard they were a pest in places like the U.S., while in her homeland, people often used them to make broomsticks and other goods.

"Clank-clank..."

As the tumbleweeds neared, the sound of machinery whirring came from above again.

"BOOM!!!"

Fire suddenly blasted from the top of the train, a wall of fire that nearly swallowed Yu Xing’s view entirely. The noise startled the other passengers awake.

"Huh...?"

This time, the disturbance was slightly louder. Miao Yuanjin groggily opened her eyes.

Startled by the scene, she gasped, "What’s happening?"

"No big deal," Zhao Lan said. "Just some pollutants getting too close. They’ve got it under control."

Da Ya woke up too. "What kind of pollutants?"

"A plant," Zhao Lan replied with a smile. "Yu Xing dubbed them tumbleweeds."

The flames roared for a solid ten minutes. When they finally stopped, everyone assumed the danger had passed.

"Well, they’re just plants," someone in the carriage remarked. "Plants fear fire."

The passengers chatted excitedly about the incident, marveling at the wonders of modern technology.

Then Yu Xing spoke up, staring out the window, "Uh... is it really over?"

After the flames died down, the aggressive tumbleweeds were gone, leaving only drifting ashes in the air.

Yu Xing pointed at a larger piece of ash outside. "Did that one not burn completely?"

The other three leaned in to look. Indeed, a large clump of ash drifted in the wind, its center still dark—like it hadn’t burned all the way.

"Seems like it," Da Ya said. "But it’s fine. It’s not even as big as my pinky nail."

Just then, a gust of wind blew, pressing the ash against the windowpane.

Miao Yuanjin, her OCD kicking in at the sight of the smudge on the clean window, grimaced. "Ugh... I need a new seat."

No sooner had she spoken than the tiny piece of ash twitched—and from it sprouted a green shoot, thinner than a strand of hair.

Within two seconds, the ash had given rise to a tender sprout. The bright green shoot trembled in the wind, sprouting unnervingly fast.

All four of them gaped in horror. They wanted to destroy the sprout, but the window wouldn’t open. Miao Yuanjin immediately shouted, "Someone! There’s a pollutant here!"

"Crack, crack..."

As the sprout grew, its roots burrowed deep into the window. The supposedly shatterproof glass—something even an adult wielding a hammer couldn’t shatter—split apart before their eyes. The seemingly delicate plant roots had shattered the window with terrifying ease.

They all stumbled backward, yelling in unison, "Pollutant alert!"

Chaos erupted in the carriage. By the time the conductor rushed in, the sprout had already grown into a full plant. She took one look and immediately paled, contacting the train security personnel.

In that time, the plant had rapidly matured into a full-grown tumbleweed. From a distance, it looked like a green tumor had sprouted from the train.

The roots dug into the window, and soon, the tumbleweed was laden with seeds.

A gust of wind blew, and the tumbleweed swayed, spreading its seeds like wildfire.