hsntnovel Chapter 129 Next Stop: Ash Fortress
Chapter 129 Next Stop: Ash Fortress
The carriage fell into a deathly silence.
The only sounds were the suppressed breathing of each other and the thumping of hearts hitting their chests.
Ellie huddled in the corner, her hands tightly covering her mouth, her eyes wide open.
As an elf, her senses were far more acute than those of a human.
She could hear countless faint footsteps echoing as the train moved through the dark forest outside the window.
Those things were running right next to the car body, just outside the glass that was only a few millimeters thick.
Just then.
Click.
Suddenly, a crisp sound of a lock turning came from the iron door at the junction of the carriages.
In such a quiet environment, the sound was like a thunderclap right next to your ear.
All the special operations team members instantly turned their guns around, staring intently at the door.
The door opened.
No wind blew in, nor did any monster roar.
The creature that walked in was a humanoid being wearing a dark blue uniform.
He was very tall, at least 2.5 meters, and as thin as a bamboo pole, his uniform hanging loosely on his body.
He was wearing a wide-brimmed hat that was askew, with the brim pulled low over his head.
It held a pair of rusty iron scissors in one hand and a kerosene lamp emitting a faint blue light in the other.
As it stepped into the carriage, the flame of the lamp flickered, illuminating its face.
It was a face without features.
It was as smooth as paper, with only a tear that looked like it had been cut by a blade, which could barely be considered a mouth.
【Faceless Flight Attendant (Lv.20 Elite)】
[Status: Anxious/Greedy]
[Note: Responsible for maintaining order and ticketing on this ghost train. It hates fare evaders and even more so, those fools who make noise in the quiet carriages.]
[Weakness: Even monsters fear losing their jobs.]
Jiang Ming's pupils contracted slightly.
A level 20 elite monster.
If it were a head-on confrontation, in this cramped carriage, with the group of menacing "listeners" outside, even with his current attributes, he would be badly injured.
"ticket……"
The gaping mouth opened, emitting a harsh sound like two pieces of foam rubbing together.
"Check...tickets..."
With each step it took, the floorboards creaked with a sickening sound.
The face without eyeballs swept over everyone, and those "seen" by it felt a chill run from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads.
Chen Qi's palms were sweaty. He wiped them on his trouser leg and looked nervously at Jiang Ming.
ticket?
Where did they get their tickets?
The faceless flight attendant stopped in front of Xiao Zhang.
It bent down, its blank face almost touching Xiao Zhang's nose, and the iron scissors in its hand made two "snip-snip" cuts in the air, the blades still stained with dark red blood from some unknown creature.
"ticket……"
Xiao Zhang froze, looking at Jiang Ming for help, his hand already reaching for the trigger.
If we fire now, the sound will definitely attract attention from outside.
A dead end.
Just as the iron shears were about to touch Xiao Zhang's neck.
A hand reached out and blocked the scissors.
"Do you accept coins only?"
Jiang Ming's voice was steady, even somewhat nonchalant.
He held the bag of soul coins he had stolen from Nak in his hand, the bag open to reveal the dull, metallic sheen inside.
The faceless flight attendant paused.
It slowly straightened up, and its eyeless face turned towards Jiang Ming, seemingly sizing up this ignorant human.
"Soul...coins..."
It stretched out its withered, bony fingers and fiddled with the bag of coins, its gaping mouth seeming to widen even further, revealing a sinister smile.
"Tickets...ten per person."
Ten?
Ellie, hiding in the corner, almost cried out.
The normal fare for the Ghost Train is a maximum of two Soul Coins!
This monster is trying to rip people off!
Jiang Ming narrowed his eyes.
The bag of soul coins in his hand contained only about fifty coins at most.
On their side, including Chen Qi's teammates and Ellie, there were a total of eight people.
not enough.
"Not that much." Jiang Ming pulled the money bag back inside. "Only fifty."
"not enough……"
The faceless flight attendant suddenly opened the iron scissors in her hand, making a piercing metallic scraping sound.
"No ticket... Get off..."
It pointed out the window.
Outside lies a deathly silent, dark forest, where countless "listeners" await their meal.
Being kicked off the bus at this point is no different from feeding a monster.
Chen Qi gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Mr. Jiang, let's fight it! At worst..."
"Why compete? Business is negotiated."
Jiang Ming interrupted him.
He looked at the flight attendant and suddenly smiled.
"Ten pieces are too expensive, can you give me a discount?"
The flight attendant shook her head, her neck cracking loudly. "Rules... are... rules..."
"rule?"
Jiang Ming's smile deepened.
He casually tossed the money bag to Chen Qi, then took out two items from his backpack—or rather, from his storage card.
In his left hand was the newly crafted [Burning Soul - Spotlight Searchlight].
In his right hand was a glass bottle containing a yellow liquid that was still bubbling.
That was a high-concentration acid explosion bottle that he synthesized in the school laboratory.
"Since you're talking about rules, then I'll talk about mine."
Jiang Ming pressed the searchlight switch against the car window, his fingers lightly resting on it.
Jiang Ming pressed the searchlight switch against the car window, his fingers lightly resting on it.
"This is a quiet carriage, right?"
The faceless flight attendant tilted her head, seemingly not understanding what he meant.
"Those things outside are very sensitive to sound, right?"
Jiang Ming shook the acid explosion bottle in his hand.
"Tell me, what if I smash this bottle of acid on the ground right now, then use this searchlight to shatter all the glass, and then have my team fire all their guns into the air..."
He paused, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes.
"Is this commotion enough to attract all the monsters within a ten-mile radius?"
Although the faceless flight attendant's blank face showed no expression, the hand holding the kerosene lamp visibly trembled.
"You... dare..."
"What wouldn't I dare to do?"
Jiang Ming took a step forward, releasing the murderous aura he had cultivated amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood without reservation.
"We're going to die whether we have a ticket or get off the train. Rather than being thrown off to feed the monsters, we might as well all perish together."
"If this train gets overturned by the monster horde, you, as the train attendant, won't have a good chance of explaining it to your superiors, will you?"
This is Jiang Ming's logic.
Those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who wear shoes.
So what if you're a level 20 elite monster?
If you are the one who upholds the rules, then you have a weakness—you are afraid of the rules collapsing.
The atmosphere inside the carriage instantly froze to freezing point.
Chen Qi and Xiao Zhang didn't dare to breathe, their hearts pounding as they watched Jiang Ming threaten a monster like a desperate criminal.
The faceless flight attendant remained silent.
Its gaping mouth opened and closed, as if weighing the pros and cons.
A few seconds later.
It slowly lowered the iron shears in its hand, and the murderous intent it had directed at everyone dissipated considerably.
"madman……"
He forced out two words from his throat, sounding like he was gritting his teeth.
"Fifty pieces...sold..."
It stretched out its hand, meaning it wanted Jiang Ming to pay up and get lost.
Chen Qi breathed a sigh of relief and was about to hand over the money bag.
"Wait a minute."
Jiang Ming suddenly reached out and stopped Chen Qi.
He looked at the flight attendant, his smile growing even brighter and more dangerous.
"That was the price just now."
"Since you call me crazy, then I'll live up to that reputation."
Jiang Ming toyed with the acid-exploding bottle in his hand, speaking casually.
"Now, they won't even give us fifty."
"I want to use this bag of money to buy something else."
If the faceless flight attendant had eyebrows, they would probably be twisted into a pretzel by now.
Having served as a flight attendant for so many years, it has seen people trying to evade fares, people kneeling and begging for mercy, and people attempting to resist only to be cut to pieces.
But I've never seen anything like this before...
They then extort money from it.
"You...you're asking for it..."
The attendant raised the iron shears in her hand again, her uniform fluttering without wind, and a chilling pressure instantly enveloped the entire carriage.
When a level 20 elite monster gets angry, the sense of oppression is no joke.
Chen Qi and the others felt as if a huge rock was pressing on their chests, making it difficult to breathe.
Jiang Ming acted as if nothing had happened, and even moved his face closer.
"Don't scare me."
He pointed out the window.
"Listen, aren't the footsteps outside getting louder? Have they smelled something?"
indeed.
As the standoff dragged on, the rustling sounds outside the car window became increasingly frequent, and one could even hear the sharp sound of fingernails scratching against the glass.
Those who "listen" are gathering.
"As long as I press this switch, or smash this bottle..." Jiang Ming's voice was as gentle as if he were telling a bedtime story, "Bang! We're all finished."
He was betting that the monster wouldn't dare to gamble.
The faceless flight attendant froze.
Its unseen hands gripped the scissors tightly, its knuckles turning white.
It could sense that the human in front of it was not bluffing.
There was no fear in those eyes, only a chilling calmness and calculation.
This person is truly willing to die together with others.
"What...do you...want...to...buy...?"
Finally, it gave in. Its voice was filled with deep resentment and frustration.
The special operations team members in the carriage were so shocked their eyes almost popped out.
done?
Did Brother Jiang really manage to extort money from this monster?
Jiang Ming's lips curled up slightly, and he instantly switched from the desperado to the shrewd businessman mode, abandoning his ferocious demeanor.
"That's right, harmony brings wealth."
He took the money bag from Chen Qi and weighed it in his hand.
"Fifty soul coins, enough for the eight of us to buy train tickets."
"in addition……"
Jiang Ming's gaze fell on the rusty scissors in the flight attendant's hand, then moved to the bunch of keys hanging on her waist, and finally settled on her tattered but uniquely made uniform.
The talent "[Synthesis of All Things]" has been quietly activated.
In my line of sight, a pale golden line appeared between the flight attendant's scissors and the kerosene lamp.
[Rusted Soul Scissors (Blue, Rare)] + [Soul-Guiding Kerosene Lamp (Blue, Rare)] = ? ? ?
interesting.
"I want to buy a train timetable or a map," Jiang Ming demanded, "and I also need to know the final destination of this train."
"impossible……"
The flight attendant flatly refused, "That's...classified..."
"Then there's nothing to talk about?" Jiang Ming pretended to throw the bottle.
"Then there's nothing to talk about?" Jiang Ming pretended to throw the bottle.
"Wait!"
The flight attendant panicked, and a plume of black smoke billowed from its split mouth. "Map...no...timetable...only...next stop..."
Reluctantly, he pulled a crumpled, yellowed piece of paper from his uniform pocket and tossed it to Jiang Ming.
Jiang Ming took it and looked at it.
Next stop: Ash Fortress (Human Settlement/Occupied Zone)
Estimated arrival time: 2 hours later.
[Note: That was the last line of defense for the living, and also the feast for the dead.]
Ash Fortress?
Human settlements?
Jiang Ming's heart stirred.
This was extremely important information to him.
"Okay, consider this a free gift." Jiang Ming stuffed the piece of paper into his pocket and pointed to the scissors in the flight attendant's hand. "Can I borrow these scissors?"
"Borrow?" The flight attendant almost laughed in exasperation. "This is...my...weapon..."
"Just one minute."
Jiang Ming said sincerely, "I see your scissors are all rusted up like this, you probably can't even clip tickets properly, right? I'm a blacksmith, I'll help you maintain them for free."
"In exchange, you give us eight regular train tickets."
This is practically blatant fraud.
But under Jiang Ming's menacing gaze that seemed to say, "If you don't agree, I'll blow up the car," the flight attendant had no choice but to swallow her anger.
It probably felt that as long as the scissors stayed in its sight, this human couldn't do anything fancy.
It handed over the scissors, its movements so stiff it looked like it was cutting its own flesh.
Jiang Ming took the heavy pair of scissors.
It felt cold to the touch and had a strong smell of blood.
【Rusted Soul Scissors (Blue)】
Attack power: 45-60
[Special Feature: Deals additional damage to spirits, with a very high chance of directly severing the soul threads of low-level undead.]
nice one.
"And that lamp, can I borrow a light?" Jiang Ming pointed to the kerosene lamp.
This time, the flight attendant didn't waste any words and directly brought over the light.
Jiang Ming squatted down and placed the scissors and kerosene lamp together, blocking the flight attendant's view.
"Keep an eye on it, this is a unique skill."
He was rambling on, but his right hand was already pressing on two things.
【synthesis】!
A light that only he could see flashed by.
They didn't combine the two things into one; otherwise, the flight attendant would definitely lose her temper and go berserk.
Jiang Ming did "enhancement enchantment".
He secretly took out a small piece of [Cursed Bone Powder] left over from killing the goblin shaman earlier from his storage card and sprinkled it on the scissors.
sizzle-
The rust on the scissors instantly fell off, and a layer of dark blue luster appeared on the originally dull blade, making it look several times sharper.
[Ding! Synthesis successful!]
[Obtained: Sharp Soul-Severing Scissors (Blue, Excellent)]
[New Trait: Sharpness +30%, each attack inflicts a slight Soul Burn.]
Jiang Ming stood up and handed the brand-new scissors back.
"See? Isn't it much easier to use?"
The flight attendant took the scissors and was stunned.
Although it has no eyes, it can clearly sense that the weapon has become stronger.
The scissors felt just as natural as when they were first manufactured, or even better.
Its split mouth moved as if it wanted to say something, but then it held it back.
What on earth is this human doing?