Chapter 4: The Enemy in the Shadows
The steam train sped along at high speed. Su Xiao would arrive at the Parliament Building in 1 hour and 19 minutes. The Parliament Building was located in a city at the center of the continent, a city that served as the hub of trade.
The four great kingdoms could not conduct trade with each other. During the war, hatred between them had become deeply ingrained in the hearts of the people. Commoners had lost husbands, children, and parents to the war. The mutual hatred between the citizens of the four nations had reached an extreme, even leading to trade boycotts.
This gave the four kings and the Parliament Building a major headache. They couldn't force the commoners to buy goods. So, the four great kingdoms and the Parliament Building came up with a compromise: centralize all goods in 'Angor City,' where the Parliament Building was located, and make it the trade center.
All steam train lines from the four great kingdoms led to 'Angor City' at the continent's center, using it as the trade hub. Regardless of which kingdom the goods came from, once they arrived here, they were stamped with the Parliament Building's seal. This partially calmed the commoners' resistance. Although it increased transportation costs, the advantage was stable prices.
This prosperous trade center inadvertently attracted Mystic Arts practitioners and Alchemists. This resulted in a large number of Mystic Arts users within the city where the Parliament Building was located, and various supernatural items were also gathered here through various channels.
Su Xiao opened his task list and checked his main mission, which was also his barrier breakthrough mission.
[Main Mission: The Watcher in the Dark (First Ring)]
Difficulty Level: Lv.60
Mission Info: The Hunter must find the person behind the train hijacking within 8 natural days, and obtain information for the next ring of the mission through that person.
Tip: The final ring of the main mission is the Attribute Barrier Breakthrough Mission.
Mission Time Limit: 8 days.
Mission Reward: Random Passive Skill Scroll (Seventh Rank)
Mission Penalty: Forced Execution.
...
The first ring of the mission was already at Seventh Rank difficulty. The good news was that the main mission was merged with the barrier breakthrough assessment. The final ring of the main mission was the barrier breakthrough assessment itself.
Based on Su Xiao's previous deductions, the person who orchestrated this steam train hijacking was likely inside the Parliament Building. They were in charge of Mystic Arts matters. More importantly, they were clearly colluding with the Hyena Wolf Clan.
If the collusion with the Hyena Wolf Clan was exposed, unless the person was a king or a councilor, they would be dead for sure. Therefore, they had brought in such a weak group of Hyena Wolves to avoid involving too many people and leaving clues. The stronger the Hyena Wolves, the more famous they were, and the more trouble they would cause.
Another clever move by this person was that the Hyena Wolves they found were polite throughout the process, only trying to forcibly take Su Xiao away at the very end.
Su Xiao checked the prompt records. Killing these dozen or so Hyena Wolves had earned him 0.17% of the World Source. This indicated both the weakness of the enemies and the difficulty of obtaining World Source in this world. Achieving an A+ comprehensive rating was not easy, and reaching an S rating was even more difficult.
Hasty footsteps sounded. The front door of the carriage was kicked open with a bang. Several panicked security officers rushed into the carriage.
"Mr. White Night, we're here, ugh~"
The voice of the slightly overweight security officer in the lead grew quieter. Seeing the severed limbs and broken bodies inside the carriage, he felt a surge of acid rising from his stomach, almost making him vomit.
Clearly, the security on the steam train was quite good. This thing was different from ordinary trains. Its carriage was a full seven meters wide, making it look like a steel beast. Once it picked up speed, even if a mountain was placed on the tracks, it might smash the mountain to pieces.
The main job of the train security officers was to prevent passengers from arguing or fighting. In special situations, the Mystic Arts practitioner traveling on the train would handle it.
An old man leaning on a cane walked past the security officers. After surveying the situation in the carriage, his expression wasn't good.
"Mr. White Night, regarding this incident, on behalf of the Chidorman Company, I apologize to you. We will compensate you with a certain amount of condolence money afterward. Please don't refuse; this is our duty."
The old man with the cane was the Mystic Arts practitioner accompanying the train. When the fight broke out earlier, he had already reached the front carriage, but he didn't come in. This was somewhat abnormal.
"Mm. I will explain the situation to the Parliament Building."
Su Xiao didn't plan to look for clues on this train. Everything was prearranged. Actually, he had another thought: the person behind this had formed a community of interests with the Hyena Wolf Clan. An old Hyena Wolf was in a very bad state, and to prolong his life, he had orchestrated the train hijacking.
If that was the case, many things made sense. As an Alchemy Master recognized by both the four great kingdoms and the Parliament Building, Su Xiao would never help a Hyena Wolf sustain its life, no matter how you looked at it.
If this deduction was correct, then there was no rescuer. Some of his earlier guesses were wrong, but the general direction was right.
"Thank you for your understanding. The wealth of an Alchemy Master is enviable, but our Chidorman Company is equally wealthy."
The old man with the cane smiled and nodded, clearly indicating that the 'Chidorman Company' was willing to pay a large sum as compensation for mental distress. As for why he hadn't come to help earlier, that was dereliction of duty. The old man with the cane didn't want to risk his life. Even though he received a large sum of money from the 'Chidorman Company,' he wasn't willing to take risks.
Bang.
A dull gunshot rang out. A large cloud of steam mixed with sparks surged out from the rear carriage.
Blood sprayed. Half of the old man with the cane's body slammed into the front door of the carriage with a thud. The nearby security officers were almost scared into collapsing.
After a clatter of metal, a young girl with a ponytail and blue-purple hair ran over. She stopped beside Su Xiao's seat, faced him, struck her chest with one hand, and held the other behind her back.
"Rayman Kingdom, Third Class Private, Nancy Erna, reporting to you."
Nancy Erna stood straight. Behind her was a high-pressure steam sniper rifle nearly two meters long. Her gaze was exceptionally firm.
"The enemy has been eliminated."
This sentence added by Nancy Erna could only be described as: sometimes, being afraid of death can make you die very unjustly.
Su Xiao rubbed his forehead. This group of escorts was amateurish to the extreme. More importantly, aside from the dozen or so newly promoted Mystic Arts practitioners escorting him and the attacking Hyena Wolves, no one else was deliberately arranged.
If it were Su Xiao, he would also choose this steam train as the hijacking site.
"That was the Chidorman Company's Mystic Arts practitioner."
Su Xiao leaned back in his seat. A gold coin flipped between his fingers.
"Mr. White Night, please don't make such jokes. I beg you!"
Nancy Erna's expression showed no change. Her mission was a secret escort, but unfortunately, she had lost her ticket. This rookie mistake made her slap herself hard, then buy a new ticket. She only managed to get a ticket for the rear carriage.
As long as Su Xiao arrived at 'Angor City,' Nancy Erna's escort mission would be successfully completed, and she would return to the Rayman Kingdom.
When she heard the fight in the front carriage, she was also attacked. Nancy Erna was sometimes a bit scatterbrained, but her combat ability was very strong. Using her nearly two-meter-long high-pressure steam sniper rifle, she killed the attackers at close range.
When Nancy Erna arrived, she happened to see the old man with the cane bowing. The smile on his lips made Nancy Erna certain that this must be a bad guy. She decisively acted, eliminating the enemy in a hardcore manner. In reality, the old man with the cane was smiling like that because he had successfully shifted the blame.
Half an hour later, escorted by several security officers, Su Xiao entered the front carriage. The passengers here were arranged to move to other carriages. As for Nancy Erna, she was handcuffed with iron shackles, muttering things like 'it must be a mistake.'
The steam train continued its journey. It was expected to arrive at the city where the Parliament Building was located in 50 minutes, which was 'Angor City.' This was the most prosperous city on the continent, the birthplace of supernatural steam technology.
Bang!
A heavy object crashed onto the roof of the carriage. Su Xiao didn't need to think to know that the second wave of hijackers had arrived. The enemy had made thorough arrangements. If the plan succeeded, the second wave would be responsible for silencing everyone. If it failed, the second wave would continue trying to hijack him.
Nancy Erna pulled her arms apart. The thumb-thick iron chain snapped with a crack. She snatched the high-pressure steam sniper rifle from the security officer's arms. This weapon was very bulky, especially the steam core part. Nancy Erna was trying to salvage her career.
Su Xiao looked out the window. In this game of chess, as long as he reached 'Angor City' and entered the Parliament Building, he would have a temporary victory. His opponent was an old schemer. Su Xiao's short-term goal was to drag this guy out.
PS: (Forcibly adjusting the time difference, updating early to salvage my integrity.)