The High-Sky Express opened after the last rescue-damaged joint passed its test.
The first passenger line included sect elders, merchants, engineers, and ordinary families who had saved for the trip. Li Xiaoyao kept the boarding rules simple. Listen to the crew, wear the provided pressure gear, and do not open anything marked with a red tag.
The elevator climbed through the clouds and into the dark upper sky. At thirty thousand feet, passengers looked for Cerberus Pug’s shelter. He was asleep on his heated bed, with three hard hats hanging above him.
At the summit, the lounge offered tea, large windows, and a clear view of the curved world below. Austin checked the fire extinguisher by the door. “Pressure in the green.” There were no sermons about conquering heaven. Most people spent the first few minutes quietly looking down.
Work release continued out of public view.
Bai Ze served as an escorted records clerk. He compared inspection notes with injury reports and asked more questions than Xiaoyao had time to answer. Xuan Ming cleaned cable housings under Lian’s supervision and had recently been allowed to hold a flaw detector while she took the readings.
The mortal crew still checked every tool he signed out. Xuan no longer called that humiliation. He called it a reasonable response to recent history.
