Inside the milk tea shop, upon seeing Himeko's message, Ye Yan jumped to his feet.
Who made their cutest Conductor in the universe so emo?!
Silver Wolf raised his head, and the next second he jumped to his feet. "No way... he got counter-killed in such a short time? Is this hero even playable if he's not nerfed? Do the developers even know how to make heroes?!"
Ye Yan his reasoning mode, first ruling out Xing and his group as the prisoners who caused the Conductor's depression, as they had sufficient alibis.
Then there's Himeko, the train's confidante and Himeko. It's even less likely that Ye Yan would doubt Himeko; she's there specifically to chat with Pom-Pom.
Um...
Wait, isn't he the only suspect left?!
Ye Yan quickly dismissed the idea. No, no, no... it must have been Aha who did it... Oh my god, this [ Elation ] Aha is so bad.
His thoughts drifted back to the past, and he recalled that long-forgotten history.
Astral Express, Parlor Car
"The crimes you have committed are unforgivable, but the Conductor respects everyone's right to perform voluntary labor..." Pom-Pom stood in front of them, looking very angry.
"Sorry."
The blurry, dark figure was the first to back down, thoughtfully handing Pom-Pom a cookie.
"Bribing the Conductor at this time is an even more serious offense!"
Pom-Pom accepted the bribe of snacks and shooed the shadowy figure away. "So, do you, and the other passengers, take responsibility for the following egregious incident—"
"You drove snowmobiles into the Taikiyan Grand Stadium, disrupting the Order and causing the game to be interrupted. This also resulted in twenty Trailblaze working for you and others for three months without pay to repair the severe damage to the arena's exterior!"
"Do you... plead guilty?"
The three dark figures didn't respond. After exchanging glances, they kicked out the most active one.
"He is entirely to blame," two of the shadowy figures said simultaneously.
"Waaaaah~ Is this what betrayal tastes like...?"
The perpetrator of the first heinous crime was apprehended, and Pom-Pom began to explain the second heinous crime:
"You infiltrated the Hayi Aiyi State Zoo and used half Astral Express Crew the Amber Era's budget to buy 250 baby Nasobeme, keeping them in the restrooms to allow them to multiply indefinitely, causing a large amount of sewage to flood the other carriages."
Pom-Pom was visibly angry. "You... do you plead guilty, Pam!"
"Unlimited..."
Without needing his accomplices to identify him, the dark figure stepped forward and took out a few more cookies.
Unfortunately, it still ended in failure; the fair and impartial Conductor wouldn't have any of it.
"You invaded the dining car's kitchen, claiming to everyone that it needed disinfection, causing forty-two fragrant and crispy Pom Pom Pies to disappear, and you also took the last bowl of train pot from the top shelf of the refrigerator, leaving the Conductor hungry!"
"Do you... plead guilty?"
"Ah?"
The three dark figures paused for a second, then the leader spoke first, "You did this yourself, didn't you... but I did take the train pot."
"That's a tacit admission, isn't it? Ahem... Don't get too cocky, I haven't finished listing the dishes yet!"
"[The case of the collective disappearance of Conductor 'Data Bank entries], [the incident of using SoulGlad to water potted plants in the Parlor Car ], [the noise attack on Conductor during rest periods], [the case of the Conductor's private snack vault being hacked], and so on..."
"A total of forty-six serious incidents! Do you admit that you were responsible for them all?"
"I'm sorry... I'm truly the Worst Nameless in the world."
It was a painful memory, but the priority now was to comfort the Conductor. Ye Yan tossed the milk tea shop keys to Silver Wolf.
Meanwhile, inside the Prison of Deep Seclusion
Those who step into this place are either jailers or prisoners.
Which type are you?
Seeing the Luocha suddenly barge in, Jing Yuan crossed his arms over his chest, showing no surprise at his appearance.
"Neither. I am merely a lost traveler."
"What a grand spectacle! Stellaron, Ambrosial Arbor, the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, the Lord Ravager... a series of threats came one after another, almost successfully diverting everyone's attention and making them forget that seemingly insignificant issue."
What is the purpose of the person who brought the [ Stellaron ] into the Xianzhou?
"According to the investigation by the Sky-Faring Commission, you came to Luofu with a merchant caravan and stayed for several days, but did not have any trade dealings with anyone. On the day you were supposed to leave, a calamity broke out."
"Taking advantage of the chaos, he infiltrated the Prison of Deep Seclusion, claiming responsibility for the Stellaron catastrophe and surrendering himself to the authorities."
All of the above signs indicate that the man before them was no ordinary merchant.
"Strange, strange, your behavior is truly unpredictable." He put his hands behind his back, intending to hear how Luocha would explain himself.
The interrogation room was chillingly cold, but Luocha simply raised the corners of her lips, her smile piercing through the frozen air and calmly deflecting the sharpness of the interrogation.
"As a merchant, I was entrusted to transport a [token], unaware of the hidden story behind it. I did enter the Prison of Deep Seclusion with ulterior motives, but now it seems that Luofu does not hold what I seek."
"To confess and submit to the law is out of fear of punishment. The galaxy may be vast, but I am but a mere merchant; I will surely not escape the pursuit of the entire the Alliance."
Jing Yuan turned around. "A mere merchant? Mr. Luocha, you jest. Do I need to recount in detail what you did at Mourning Actors' Castle, and the various past events you left behind in the Veil Nebula?"
"Or do you need me to say that tongue-twisting name?"
Luocha hadn't expected that just a few minutes after he arrived at the Prison of Deep Seclusion, they had already thoroughly investigated his background. He had underestimated the intelligence network of the Xianzhou Alliance.
Wait, could it be that someone is secretly assisting Jing Yuan?
"... Oh, [ Divine General ] truly lives up to his reputation."
"Likewise, I did some research beforehand, otherwise today's conversation would have been quite awkward."
The tense situation dissipated on its own. Luocha seized upon the flaw and retorted to Jing Yuan, "Since the general feels there's something fishy about this, does that mean he wants to defend me and clear my name as the [ Stellaron Suspect]?"
"This matter is not up to me. It concerns a grave crime that could overthrow the Alliance. According to the law, you should be imprisoned on the Xuling Xianzhou to undergo a joint trial by the Ten-Lords Commission and the Seven Arbiter-Generals, and be punished with eternal asceticism."
"So let's be frank." Jing Yuan summoned his weapon, pointing it directly at Luocha: "Surrender, and I might grant you a quick death... You bastard of the Yaoshi."
Luocha's lips curled up at an almost imperceptible angle as she spread her hands out, her back to Jing Yuan.
"General, it is true that my power comes from [ Abundance ]. But like you, I am an enemy of the Yaoshi."
As soon as he finished speaking, the air in the interrogation room suddenly froze, and a bone-chilling cold enveloped him as if it were a tangible thing. On the cold, sharp edge of Jing Yuan's lowered blade, a crystal-clear ice petal quietly settled.
"Yes, Jing Yuan." The white-haired woman, who looked exactly like he Remembrance, walked up to Jing Yuan.
"Don't hinder us. The rebirth of the Ambrosial Arbor is an omen, signifying that the Xianzhou has reached Path juncture."
" The Reignbow Arbiter; the Plagues Author; the Author of the Ember's Desolation... This is a game of chess between gods."
A wisp of frosty white mist escaped from her lips, and the words that followed were as piercing as icicles. "If you're not on the winning side, you're a loser."
"And this time... we must utterly destroy [ Abundance ]."