Finally, under the action of feeble gravity, the party drew beautiful arcs in the air, and then landed safely. They did not dare to look back, and in fact it was right to do so -- the skeleton at the top of the tower flew into a rage, searching for them everywhere. The compass told them that as long as he did not see them within an hour, they would be safe for the time being. And they were told there was a good hiding place about three kilometers ahead.

"But what could be there?" Rebecca asked curiously.

"Better than Black Tower, anyway." William's legs were weak, "I'll never go to a place like that again."

"Me too." Ranran replied feebly, "So I suggest we get there quickly."

Though still frightened, they reached their next destination as fast as they could. During this time they passed Checkpoint 28 and charged by 1.5% of the energy. The computer showed that there was also Checkpoint 29 inside that destination.

Collins Locomotive Works has been reached. The destination is on the left side of the current road. This navigation is complete. The destination includes Checkpoint 29. Would you like to start navigating here now?

William clicked "Yes" and a route was generated on the computer screen. After a brief analysis, they did not hesitate to open the door of Collins Locomotive Works and enter.

There were lights on and parked locomotives of all shapes and sizes. William was happy to see the old steam locomotives, but the party were surprised that they did not sit on the tracks. Instead, they were on the floor.

"Why is that?" Ranran asked, puzzled.

"That's because the wheels on these trains are all made of composite material, which allows them to travel on ordinary roads." A voice rang out in the hall. The party, which had been frightened out of their wits, became frightened again.

"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." The party looked to where the sound was coming from and saw a little ghost. However, he tried to keep a smile on his face to make him look less intimidating.

William had not quite let his guard down. "Really?" He asked.

The ghost took off his white coat and revealed himself as he was: a small boy. "Now do you believe I won't hurt you?" He asked.

"Yes," Said Photon, completely disarming. But William didn't, because he wanted to check it out with the compass. The compass showed,

It's safe here.

Everyone was completely relaxed. Rebecca approached him and asked, "Who are you? Why are you wearing this ghost costume in this locomotive works?"

The little boy replied, "I am the master here. We have a custom of wearing such clothes on this day of the year."

"How many days is a year here? And how many hours are there in a day?" Ranran asked.

"100 days a year and 15 hours a day."

"Oh! It's really fast. I wonder if it's because the planet is tidally locked."

"Yes, a day is very fast, but a year is a little slower."

"Then does it have some memorial significance that you wear this kind of clothes?" William asked.

"Well, not really. We just like it." The boy smiled, "Yes, you are the first customers to visit the factory this year. This factory is very large. You can visit freely first. I'll show you something wonderful later."

"All right." Answered Rebecca, and they began to examine the great beasts. They would have thought the beasts were made of steel if William had not touched an electric locomotive. "What material is this?" Asked William, puzzled, "It doesn't feel like metal at all."

"It's a polycarbonate composite." The little boy replied, "It is lighter than steel, so trains can go faster."

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"Oh! Then there are no railways on this planet?"

"Why do you say 'this planet'? Are you an alien?"

"Yes. On my planet, such trains would run on railways. So I thought it was weird."

"OK, I see. We don't have railways here. These trains can run directly on paved or unpaved roads, and they can also go quite fast with the help of composite tires."

This surprised William. "This is incredible," He marveled.

Before they knew it, they passed Checkpoint 29 and gained 1% of the energy for the energy core. "Wow!" Rebecca exclaimed every time she saw a new locomotive. She said to the boy heartily, "This is wonderful! I have never seen this new type of transportation, because almost all the work on my planet can be done by airplanes."

"Ha ha, so which one do you think is better?" The little boy joked. "That depends," Replied Rebecca. The party laughed.

"We not only produce locomotives, but also multiple-unit trains." Said the boy, pointing to a streamlined carriage. It stood still, but with a force ready to run. The red paint was glaring in the light, and the tires were huge, their diameters close to William's height. William noticed what looked like a camera at the front of the carriage. "What's that?" He asked.

"Oh, that's a high-speed camera." The little boy replied, "Maybe you weren't watching carefully. Every locomotive we build has two of these cameras, which helps the driver see in front of or behind the train, eliminating the need for cockpit glass."

Ranran clapped her hands and praised. "The design is really good. I guess it's also for higher speed?" She asked.

The little boy replied, "That's right! Safety is the first principle, and for us, speed is the second. We want to get passengers and goods to the destination as quickly as possible. So in addition to keeping drivers, crew members and passengers safe in most situations -- of course, goods is more likely to get damaged -- our trains are able to run at an average speed close to the current record on every mission."

William was impressed by the locomotive works. He had thought it was like a locomotive works on Earth, but it turned out to be a much better place.

"Come on, let me show you our latest product." The boy took William to another garage. What greeted them was a large, streamlined gold "steam locomotive", because it wasn't really a steam locomotive, as the little boy would explain.

"What do you think this is? A steam locomotive?" The little boy asked, and the party all nodded.

"That's wrong! This is not a steam locomotive, but a gas turbine electric drive locomotive. Look, inside the 'boiler' is a large gas turbine." He grabbed a blueprint from a nearby table and showed it to them. He continued, "Through this section we can see that the gas turbine, not the steam engine, is the source of power. The advantage of this powertrain is that the gas turbine can be combined with the electric drive system to keep it running at the most efficient speed range. Certainly, fuel saving and more power are undoubtedly its great advantages. But the downsides are obvious too: they are slightly more complicated and expensive to maintain than steam engines. However, early experiments have shown that the powertrain is a suitable replacement for the steam locomotives in operation today."

They approached the giant beast. William saw the 4-6-4 wheel type of classic steam locomotives, but there was no steel inside. It had the biggest tires of all the locomotives in the factory. The diameters of the leading wheels and the trailing wheels were 1 meter, and the driving wheels had a diameter of 2.5 meters. Since it was electric, the three wheels on each side were not connected by connecting rods. In the front of the top of the locomotive stood a large chimney. It was divided into three small chimneys that emitted gas from the turbine. Just below the chimney was a lightning sign and a huge high-speed camera. At the rear of the locomotive was the cab, which had a large screen for showing images from the camera, as well as other car-like parts.

The locomotive towed a detachable fuel cart, which was filled with the same fuel as Photon's recommended fuel. Burning a load of fuel was enough to make it cover 20,000 kilometers. The fuel cart had six load-bearing shafts, and the type of tires was the same as that of leading and trailing wheels: the wheels were painted gold, without any pattern. The driving wheels, in addition to the gold paint, also had three patterns similar to the Yin Yang Fish of Tai Chi.

"Come on, let's go inside the cab." The boy led the others to the left side of the locomotive and came up to a round cover. He pressed, and the hatch dropped, revealing the ladder. It was kind of like an airplane. When they were all inside, the hatch rose automatically and closed. At the same time, the lights of the cab lit up.

They all had a clear view of a steering wheel and three pedals on the console. "The pedal on the far left is called the power switch and must be pressed to start the powertrain and switch gears forward and backward. The middle pedal is braking, and the far right pedal is of course gas." Said the little boy. With his introduction, William felt that the locomotive borrowed from the designs of the automobiles and the airplanes. "That's wonderful," He thought.

"Besides, as you are the first customers, and in order to make the new locomotive serve better, I will take one out of the warehouse for you right now."

William said yes without hesitation. "I will install the AI system for you. In this way, it is not only a locomotive, but also a robot." Said the little boy.

The little boy told the party to wait outside the door for a moment. In a few moments he did come out in the same locomotive. "Do you want a name for it?" Asked the little boy.

"Let's call it Aria." Ranran said, and the others agreed. So the little boy picked up the engraving machine in his hand and carved the word "ARIA" on the front. "Well, she's yours now. Thank you for coming!"

"You're welcome. Collins Locomotive Works is really a wonderful place!" Cried Rebecca excitedly.

"Thanks! If you have any questions, you can always come to me. I'll do my best to solve it for you. Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!" The party watched the little boy back to the locomotive works.