319 Act.2 Hands Up

[Part 1: TV Show]

Heading north towards the Twilight Pass, past the highway next to the fossil forest, lies a vast plain stretching as far as the eye can see. Seven hundred kilometers away is one of the entrances to Shambhala.

Medieval sorcerers called it the Gates of Hell, located 20,000 meters below the surface. They explored along the crevices of the cliffs and valleys, eventually reaching the edge of the continental shelf. There, in a volcanic area, they built the city of Eureka, which is the border between the underworld and Shambhala.

Luo Ping'an entered Shambhala from the Himalayas and emerged from Mount Eureka.

At this very moment--

Mr. Ishimura changed his clothes, put on a warm leather jacket, and endured the frost and cold air from the underground condensation to cover the various electronic devices in the car, so that these delicate electronic instruments would not be damaged by the huge artificial sun in the sky.

He drove a large truck, disguised as a logistics company employee, on his way back to Mount Eureka to report for duty.

He casually grabbed a meatball; it was HELLCAT's official payment tool, the Chaos Egg POS machine.

The once round, fleshy ball is now bright red, as if branded by Vita Imprint, and has become a tool of the Red Flash Butterfly.

Mr. Ishimura, holding the Chaos Egg between his fingers, dialed numbers on the digital panel. The Chaos Egg, originally intended as an accounting system, became the encrypted communication tool for the Mercy of Eros.

"Hey, President."

The fossil forest scenery on both sides of the road flashed by, and cold air seeped in through the cracks in the car window. Water droplets, mixed with specks of white dust, stained the seats.

On the other end of the phone, the Mercy Society's response came from the throat of the Chaos Egg.

"Is everything done?"

Ishimura immediately said, "All seventy-seven students have been sent to [KINDOM·Odo]."

President: "It's already been dealt with?"

Ishimura: "It's not that fast. Even if you brought seventy-seven people here and laid them out in front of me to kill without resistance, it would still take me an hour to kill them all, wouldn't it?"

Chairman: "Better safe than sorry, Mr. Ishimura."

Ishimura: "Don't worry, these children are just Galahad's students. I can handle it; it just needs a little time."

President: "Should I make arrangements for the guests in advance?"

"Let's negotiate the price higher." Ishimura grinned, his smile as hearty as a Showa-era man who had just caught a big fish in a stormy seaside town, "The quality of this batch of raw materials is exceptional."

Hang up the phone --

--Ishimura gripped the steering wheel with one hand, occasionally glancing at the passing vehicles in the rearview mirror, while reaching into the glove compartment with the other to find a cigarette, pondering what he could exchange seventy-seven portions of Homo sapiens' flesh and blood for.

With the chairman's abilities, he's sure to find a generous buyer.

Yes, he has a beautiful appearance and a sweet face, appealing to almost both men and women.

There's hardly any business deal he can't close.

--Think about the little babies in [KINDOM·]'s belly.

First, the skin is removed, starting from the heel. Hopefully, the hunters' butchering techniques will be skillful, so as not to damage these expensive human skins. The more intact the skin, the better the spiritual catalyst effect. The murals of Galahad are the highest grade of human skin thangkas, and these tower spirit artworks can sell for astronomical prices.

Unlike that fat boss, whose only valuable possessions are his hair and liver, his soul is worthless and doesn't matter if he's shot dead.

"A genius! Our genius president! Kang Que!"

Ishimura couldn't help but laugh out loud, nodding and swaying his head to the rock music playing from the car stereo.

"Without him, I might still be confused and confused. People like me, with souls like [KINDOM·], might be seen by others as ugly and incompetent, with unclear meanings, right?"

"The Lapis Lazuli Guards and the Nameless One will never guess where these students went. Hehehehehehehehe."

The high-pitched, thin laughter that came from Mr. Ishimura's throat was an uncontrollable ecstasy, a radiant exuberance.

"The student council president is my savior! He always manages to discover more of my talents in unexpected places! He's an angel! Ahhh!~"

The middle-aged man's cheeks were flushed, and hot breath was coming out of his throat.

"I really want to pinch his cheeks! Kang Que! ~ My president, my the Mercy of Eros -- my little Cupid! I want to hold him in my arms and love him dearly!"

Awakening from the wailing and lamenting of the Chaos Egg, Ishimura's expression immediately returned to work mode, transforming him into a calm and composed office worker, no longer acting erratically.

"Who is this?"

"Ahem. Mr. Ishimura?"

The person on the other end of the phone spoke fluent Japanese; it was the secretary of a business manager in Eureka Volcano City.

Ishimura: "Secretary Kong?"

Secretary: "Yes, boss, I wanted to ask you how the preparations for the next TV show are going?"

Ishimura said impatiently, "It's already being recorded, don't rush it."

After saying this, he hung up the phone and tossed the Chaos Egg back into the passenger seat.

He grabbed the ornament from the rearview mirror; the little Cupid doll was exquisitely crafted, fluffy and soft.

Mr. Ishimura tossed away his cigarette butt, then took a deep drag.

"My Kang Que, Kang Que, Kang Que are the light in my life!~"

Meanwhile, far away along the railway line leading from Balason to the Nine Realms.

The Lapis Lazuli Guards, the Guangling Zhixi intelligence agents assisting in the investigation, as well as academics from the university and some members of the public, all gathered by the railway.

The intercity express train has been discontinued. The fifth carriage of the FT488 train, which was traveling from Balason to Nine Realms, has vanished into thin air. It was the very carriage that Bailu, Tang Ning, and the others were riding in.

The dedicated line only has one camera per kilometer for surveillance, so no one knows what happened on this train, and no one knows where the children on the train went.

Jiang Xueming stared at the video recording in Teacher 3301's hand with a solemn expression.

The train suddenly derailed mid-journey. The locomotive was seen speeding forward, passing four carriages, followed by a thick, cherry-colored mist. Then, the sixth carriage activated its braking system due to a power outage. The subsequent alarm signal attracted a drone. Several minutes later, passengers in the rear carriages realized something was wrong. They initially thought it was a temporary track maintenance check, but by the time they noticed the fifth carriage had disappeared, it was too late.

"There are some remnants of spiritual energy left at the scene, probably from when the Soul Power was activated." 3301 said grimly to Jiang Xueming, "Your two students, Mr. Liu Weiqiang, Shao Jinghao, and Jiang Bailu —a total of seventy-seven people are missing."

Jiang Xueming: "Any clues?"

3301 hesitated for a moment, then said gravely, "Nothing yet. The traces of psionic energy at the scene are very weak. We traced it outwards along the train connection, but it disappeared at the dining car location. This shows the enemy's counter-surveillance methods are very sophisticated; he knows how to hide himself, he's a professional assassin."

Jiang Xueming climbed onto the broken part of the train and observed the damage to the frame. The damage looked as if it had been corroded by a strong acid solution, and the wounds looked as if they had been repeatedly gnawed at. Eventually, the sheet metal and rubber became brittle and cracked along with the traction rod and connecting hook.

"Are there any witnesses?" Xue Ming jumped out of the car and asked 3301, "Do you know who did it? This kind of soul power should be very rare."

3301 said helplessly, "The Arcane Library has materials on Flash Butterfly, but that would only be if the Morpho butterfly unit actively cooperated in registering personal information. Apart from a few notorious Red Flash Butterfly, you basically can't find anything."

Xue Ming followed the railway tracks for a long time, from the front to the back of the train. There were no secret passages or doors in the middle of the road. Just as the Lapis Lazuli Guards had said, there was no trace of the students at all, not even a piece of the train's wreckage.

That's a huge train carriage, with over seventy people—where did they all go?

But there's good news--

"--At least they didn't die." Xue Ming murmured, "At least they didn't die on the spot. If they had died, they should have left some traces of psionic energy at the moment of death. Hasben was a Morpho Butterfly; if he had died on the spot, he wouldn't have left no trace at all."

3301: "So, in other words, a Flash Butterfly unit used Soul Might to send the fifth carriage to another location?"

"Lawrence Madison?" Xue Ming immediately thought of the terrifying power of [Heaven's Gate].

3301 shook his head. "No, absolutely not. He's dead. After turning into a roasted blood butterfly, his body rotted. It's being dissected and studied at the research institute. Besides, judging from the wound at the train's break, it wasn't as powerful as the Heaven's Gate."

Meteor leaned closer, looking worried, and said, "What do we do now? Ming Ge? Should we wait?"

The search dogs and Lapis Lazuli Guards sniffed everywhere, but still couldn't find any useful clues.

Two hours later, the search and rescue team of more than 400 people unpacked their rations and prepared to eat.

[Part 2: Don't Get Angry]

A motorcycle carrying two old acquaintances arrived at the scene. As soon as Teacher Victor parked the motorcycle, Mr. Jason on the back seat rushed towards the group of Armadillo Hunters, trying to find something useful among these marginalized people.

Before Xue Ming and Liuxing could even greet each other, Jason strode off with a serious expression, waved, and headed deeper into the group.

"Hey! Isn't that Jason Megan?"

"VIP! Long time no see! I remember last time, you even asked us how to steal logs. How amazing!"

Jason didn't give them a friendly look. These Armadillo Hunters were informants for the Guangling Zhixi intelligence group. Although they hadn't killed anyone and had bullied many new passengers, these old dogs who slaughtered children and blew fish mostly respected VIPs.

Xue Ming waited quietly for Jason's investigation results.

Half an hour later, Jason brought two dejected-looking middle-aged men to Xue Ming.

"They know who kidnapped your sister." Jason grabbed the clothes of the two hunters and Xue Ming, "A middleman who operates in Eureka Volcano City, works with the city's radio and television station, and is also involved with the local Madness Butterfly Sect and the Mercy of Eros —his name is Shi Cun Tuozhen."

Xue Ming: "How can you be sure it's him?"

The hunter on the left looked up, his expression filled with fear and panic, and said, "Believe me! Believe me! I've seen the teeth marks on the train!"

The hunter on the right chimed in, "Yes! Yes, yes, yes! There used to be a lot of robberies in Eureka Volcano City. Logistics trucks would drop off goods at the logistics stations, and when they arrived at their destination, the entire truck would be gone! It's the same kind of teeth marks you see on the train! Exactly the same!"

Xue Ming looked at Jason with a puzzled expression. "Why didn't they speak up at the beginning?"

"Windmill!" Jason called out Soul Might's true name--

--A slender, delicate hand extended from his right arm, and Ms. Wendy slapped the two hunters hard across the face, followed by two pieces of human flesh flying from a distance.

Like broken, scattered building blocks, they surged into the hunter's oversized trench coat, eventually forming the lower body.

Jason: "I had them recall it."

After one of the hunters regained his lower body, he was so terrified by this bizarre superpower that he fainted on the spot. The other hunter remained conscious and was captured by Xue Ming.

Why are there [teeth marks]?

The hunter stammered, "Because... because of the legend in Eureka Volcano City... Zero Platform... the Mercy Society of Zero Platform raised a monster, a monster that no one can see, a monster that no one can see!"

Xue Ming: "A monster?"

The hunter continued, "Anyone who opposes the Mercy Society will be eaten by the monster. The next day, the victim's body will be found on the street, skinned, and its liver will be used to make works of art, such as White Lady products."

Xue Ming: "Have you ever met Shi Cun Tuozhen?"

The hunter's mental state was very unstable, as if he was being suffocated by the spiritual pressure of several VIPs.

Teacher Victor emerged from the darkness, and as he walked to Xue Ming's side—

The hunter immediately cried out, "Victor! Mr. Victor! Help me! I'm so scared! I'm so scared, Victor!"

"Please don't look at me like that." Victor crouched down, his tone gentle and kind. "Just tell me what you know, no one will hurt you. Do you know what Shi Cun Tuozhen looks like? Have you ever seen him?"

"Mr. Victor, you are my idol." The hunter stammered, trembling. "Could you... could you hug me? Could you sign your name on my back? I've prepared a knife and ink. Would you be willing to get me a tattoo, Mr. Victor? If I could get your autograph, I would die without regrets, Victor."

"That's far too noisy." Victor pulled out his pen and summoned his Soul Power: "Hell Highway!"

A vibrant golden-red spirit emerged from Mr. David's back.

"--Remove Shi Cun Tuozhen from his brain!"

The red-skinned imp grinned maliciously, its heart-shaped tail blazing with brilliant flames as it pierced straight into the hunter's skull, yet left no mark.

The target of the attack fell silent, and then Victor picked up his pen and began to draw, writing down all of Shi Cun Tuozhen's memories from the hunter's past in his journal.

No matter how many times she watched it, Xue Ming could feel a powerful sense of oppression when facing the Hell Highway. The same was true for Meteor. When this little devil from hell appeared, Teacher Victor seemed to become the devil's spokesperson, exuding an indescribable evil aura.

Victor tore the logbook out and handed the tattered pages to Xue Ming.

[Shi Cun Tuozhen]

[Gender: Male]

[Actual age: Unknown]

[Appearance age: around 31 to 33 years old]

[Height: 183 cm]

[Weight: Unknown]

[Blood type: Unknown]

[Body scars, burn marks, tattoos: Cupid's arrow tattoo on the right wrist]

[Dominant hand: Right hand]

[Other physical characteristics: Nasal and eye deformities or moles: Three black moles distributed from the left ear root to the neck, without accompanying hair]

[Catchphrase/Habitual Trait: Likes to constantly mention the Mercy Society, whose given name is Kang Que, surname unknown.]

[Family relationships, etc.: Unknown]

[Interpersonal relationships, etc.: Unknown]

[Entanglements and Feuds: Met once on March 17, 2024, while unloading cargo at the Eureka Volcano City dock. He had dealings with the local Fish Head Gang, released an "invisible monster" that devoured four Fish Head Gang sailors, made some threats, and then left. Among his entourage were television producers, presumably discussing their latest TV show. Four days later, the sailors' bodies were found on a crane hook at the dock.]

In addition, there is a realistic portrait.

Jiang Xueming nodded his thanks to the teacher and immediately rang the Summoning Bell.

"Meteor, I'm leaving."

Bu Liuxing: "Should I go with them?"

"No need. You should focus on preparing for the VIP trial mission." Jiang Xueming earnestly instructed, "If you can resolve things with words, don't resort to violence."

Bu Liuxing: "Huh? I have to kiss my enemy?"

Jiang Xueming rolled her eyes; A Xing always managed to be clever in inexplicable ways.

He patted his younger brother on the head, telling him not to worry.

"The enemy's soul power is quite unique. Its destructive force and speed aren't necessarily that strong. Skinning and removing the liver require a high degree of precision. After all, to produce goods, killing one person takes a whole day, and killing four fishermen took four days—their human flesh business is mainly done in Eureka Volcano City. This Shi Cun Tuozhen will definitely send all the goods back."

Meteor stopped pressing for answers and didn't mention his colleague's demands.

"Take care, Ming Ge."

Teacher Victor stood up and Xue Ming had only uttered half a question.

"Gunsmith, if you need anything."

Xue Ming pointed to the shooting star.

"Teacher Victor, he needs you more."

The silence lasted only a few seconds before Xue Ming added.

"My informants and Guangling Zhixi's intelligence team have both been to Eureka Volcano City before. Having too many people would only make things more difficult. Besides, you are renowned; even Armadillo Hunters can recognize your spiritual pressure—not to mention the Mercy Society, those cunning human traffickers."

Jason: "Don't let anger cloud your judgment."

"I'm not angry." Jiang Xueming shook his head. "My sister has been kidnapped, and the students' fates are unknown. Getting angry won't solve anything. I know I'm not angry at all. Where have you seen me angry?"

As she said this, Xue Ming took off her gloves and slipped a Steel Heart onto her ring finger. She then handed the doctor's bag to Jason.

"Please take care of these three little ones for me."

Jason took it and looked at it; he almost had his nose bitten off by the little black wolf.

Xue Ming took off his suit jacket and watch, and handed them to Liuxing.

"Take it back and give it to Red Sister for safekeeping."

He ripped off his tie, took out a razor from his backpack, tidied up his overly long beard and hair, and cut it into a buzz cut.

In just over ten minutes, the roar of motorcycles came from the end of the tunnel.

Xiao Qi slammed on the brakes and blocked Xue Ming's path, tossing aside his waterproof combat wristwatch.

Ming Ge wore it inside his wrist.

Xiao Qi threw the equipment in front of her lover and asked for details.

"How are they? What about my sister-in-law?"

Xue Ming: "Good news, he's not dead."

Xiao Qi: "That's it?"

Xue Ming: "I believe in Hasben and Tang Ning, and I also believe in Bailu and Strong Bro. They won't surrender easily."

Xiao Qi: "What's the bad news?"

Xue Ming up the equipment box and saw the Flash Butterfly Armor, as well as the Hunting Goddess Diwana and Jingguang.

"Our wedding has to be postponed, which is very regrettable."

Xiao Qi rolled her eyes and reached out her hand to her lover.

Xue Ming the ammunition, hung the two weapon boxes on the motorcycle, grabbed Xiao Qi's hand, and when their Steel Heart collided, they shone even brighter.

He climbed onto the back seat of the motorcycle as his lover pulled him up.

Seventh Brother closed his motorcycle helmet and shouted loudly to his friends.

"Let's go! Off on our honeymoon!"

The engine roared, followed by billowing dust and grime from the gravel.

The taillights lit up red and disappeared into the subway.

Xiao Qi: "What are you planning to do? Seventy-seven hostages!"

Xue Ming thought for a moment, and then said.

"If you can solve it with your hands, try not to use your mouth."

Xiao Qi grinned widely, her mouth crooked.

"Just what I wanted."