Yan Qing leaned back in his chair and released his Martial Soul, spreading his spiritual power in fine, silken threads.
He knew a group of Evil Soul Masters was bound to appear on this train, so it was necessary to pinpoint their general location.
Otherwise, if some guy beside him suddenly jumped up and riddled him with shots, who could he complain to?
Before long, Yan Qing's expression darkened. He could sense the signs of life in the carriages ahead rapidly dwindling.
Yan Qing grabbed the attendant beside him. Four Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet as he simultaneously produced his identification.
"Take me to your conductor. Quickly!"
At any time, the identity of a Soul Master carried considerable weight with ordinary people.
Inside the duty office, a short-haired woman of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight was handling affairs efficiently.
She was Mo Lan, the conductor of this train.
Seeing Yan Qing stride over with a grave expression and a train attendant beside him, Mo Lan stood up as well.
"What is it, young man? Don't panic."
"Conductor, I'm a Shrek student. Here's my identification. I have an emergency to report."
Yan Qing raised his hand, and a badge representing Shrek appeared in his palm.
Although the academy had confiscated everything, with Simulation at his disposal, Yan Qing could conjure whatever he wanted.
Seeing the words "Shrek Academy" on the badge, Mo Lan immediately took him seriously.
With the cultivation of a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor, he had to be at least an inner court disciple. Something major must have happened to make him so anxious.
Before she could respond, Yan Qing quickly explained:
"My Martial Soul is my eyes. Just now, I activated it and saw at least nine criminals carrying prohibited items such as Soul Guidance Rays. They've already taken control of the first five carriages."
After hearing Yan Qing's report, Mo Lan's expression grew grave. Nine people hijacking a train-this was a vicious incident seen only once in a century.
She immediately pulled up the soul tool surveillance footage from the first five carriages and activated the train's highest-level alert.
"All train attendants, attention. This is the conductor. Criminals are attempting to hijack the train. I repeat, criminals are attempting to hijack the train!
"All train attendants, open the emergency armories and assemble in the duty office!"
Inside carriage five, six criminals had already taken the passengers hostage.
Seeing the soul tool surveillance camera turn toward them, they knew their hijacking of the carriage had clearly been discovered.
The six criminals made no attempt to hide, even making an insulting gesture at the screen.
Mo Lan pressed her lips together, striving to remain calm. She was the conductor, and her decisions affected the lives and safety of everyone aboard the train.
"All train attendants, follow me to carriage five."
After issuing the order, she handed control of the train over to the driver and instructed him.
"The moment I step into carriage five, detach carriage six and every carriage behind it."
Detaching the carriages from the sixth onward meant that Mo Lan would live or die with the first five carriages.
Having arranged everything, Mo Lan turned around, intending to thank Yan Qing.
But the Shrek student who had come to deliver the information had long since vanished.
Inside carriage five, dozens of train attendants faced off against the six criminals across an aisle.
Strictly speaking, the train's side did not have the advantage. The criminals carried officially prohibited soul weapons, whose destructive power far exceeded the standard-issue weapons in the attendants' hands.
Not to mention that the other side also held a large number of hostages.
Seeing Mo Lan approach, the attendants made way for her.
Mo Lan walked to the front of the group, holding an Amplifying Soul Tool, and called out toward the criminals.
"Listen, everyone inside. I'm the conductor. Whatever your objective, please don't hurt the hostages!
"If you have demands, tell us. We'll do everything we can to meet them."
Upon hearing that Mo Lan was the conductor, someone in carriage five finally responded.
"Heh heh. Have the Federation immediately release the people arrested twenty days ago. You just need to pass on the message. They'll know what to do."
"You have only half an hour. Make no mistake, we've packed all five carriages with soul cluster bombs. If they haven't been released when time's up, you can all wait to be blown sky-high together."
Mo Lan briefly conferred with the security captain beside her, then called back inside:
"We need time. Half an hour is too short!
"I've already passed on your demands. Please don't do anything rash. Can you extend the time to an hour?"
Carriage five fell silent for a moment before a low, muffled voice rang out.
"Fine."
About a quarter of an hour later, the same voice came again.
"We also need one million Federation Coins, in cash. Throw it into the carriage within fifteen minutes."
Hearing this demand, Mo Lan and the train attendants were baffled.
These criminals were all utterly vicious. Given the number of people they had taken hostage, even demanding a hundred million would not have been excessive. Why ask for only one million?
A lion opening its mouth just a crack?
She and a dozen or so attendants pooled their money, easily gathering one million. Soon, a case filled with banknotes was thrown into the carriage.
The Federation Coins vanished without a trace the instant they passed through the carriage door.
"We've met your demand. Let's discuss the terms again!"
Realizing that the other side did not intend to perish together with them, Mo Lan tried to continue negotiating.
"Until our people are released, you're not worthy of negotiating any terms with us!"
"Our patience is limited. After half an hour, for every extra ten minutes, hehehe, we'll close out five people's accounts."
The criminals inside did not rein themselves in after receiving the Federation Coins. Instead, their attitude became even worse.
Seeing the lives of the hostages inside under threat, Mo Lan gritted her teeth and called out:
"Let's make a deal!"
"Exchange me for the elderly, women, and children in the first five carriages."
"I'm the daughter of Mo Wu, Heaven Dou City's administrator and a councilor. You can connect to the soul network and search for it. I alone am worth far more than they are!"
After confirming Mo Lan's identity, the criminals inside promptly agreed.
With a councilor's daughter in their hands, they could make even more limitless demands.
As a group of elderly people, women, and children were released, Mo Lan walked into carriage five with her hands raised.
Whether as the train's conductor or out of the pure kindness in her heart, Mo Lan could not shirk her responsibility in this exchange.
She bit her lip, trying hard not to let her tears fall.
She still had a daughter at home who had only recently turned a month old. Going in, she would most likely meet with disaster rather than good fortune.
"You're a bunch of real animals, huh? Picking on a woman?"
Inside the carriage, an ethereal voice rang out without warning.
"Who? Who's talking?!"
The leader of the criminals jumped in fright, grabbing his weapon and pointing it at everyone present in turn.
Everyone's mouth was closed. No one had spoken at all.
"You only just mounted me up here, and you've already forgotten me. What a faithless man!"
The criminals' leader looked toward the source of the voice.
At some point, the soul cluster bomb mounted on the wall had grown a face, and it was now speaking with haughty petulance.
What the fuck? How could a soul cluster bomb talk?!