"Bastard! How dare a mere local look down on me!"
The man grabbed the staff member by the collar and, in his furious rage, pulled out a fruit knife and pointed it at the other's neck.
"Give me back my locomotive!"
The staff member showed no fear, maintaining that same look of disdain.
"A failure like you should just stay quietly in the city. Someone like you deserves to become a Train Conductor again? You're nothing but a clown."
The man was quickly subdued by security, but similar incidents were happening everywhere.
In Suoluo City, more and more former Train Conductors who had stayed behind but lived unsatisfactory lives were gathering here.
They sought their former trains, hoping to leave this city.
Without the influence of Peace.
They were complete failures who wanted to return to the endless wasteland, and seizing a locomotive here was their only path forward.
The manager of the trading hall watched the gathering Drifters outside with clenched fists of anger.
"Dammit, what do these worthless trash think they're doing? Where's our backup? Why hasn't it arrived yet?"
"The higher-ups said we need to hold out on our own—they're busy."
"Hold out? Hold out my ass!?"
Ye Qiyan understood perfectly well what was causing all this.
It seemed Zhu Xingshu had successfully obtained that Order Card.
So the feeling of Peace that permeated this city had disappeared, and these dissatisfied former Train Conductors, free from that influence, were reexamining their lives. They realized that rather than being despised beggars, returning to the wasteland as Train Conductors might offer a better chance at survival.
Of course, not everyone felt this way.
After all, entering the wasteland meant constantly facing death, and those who feared death remained the majority.
However, Suoluo City was different from the City of a Thousand Stars—the locals here seemed to look down upon former Train Conductors who had lost their status with even greater contempt, even disdain.
The people outside were growing restless, noticing that the Inspectors who would normally appear quickly were nowhere to be seen, which undoubtedly made everyone even more agitated.
There weren't many security personnel in the trading hall, as under Peace's influence, practically no one would cause trouble in Suoluo City.
The Train Exchange had only a handful of security guards.
Though they were armed with guns, they were completely outmatched by the growing, dark mass of people gathering outside.
The trading hall manager paced back and forth, constantly calling for backup but receiving no response.
If this continued, things would quickly spiral out of control.
Crash—!
The sound of shattering glass echoed.
Someone had thrown a Molotov cocktail into the trading hall.
The spreading flames completely ignited the restless hearts of the crowd.
"Charge in! Give me back my train!"
They stormed inside, instantly overwhelming the few security guards beneath their feet, and began smashing and looting the train trading room.
"Have these people gone mad?"
Zhao Lin, who had already left the Train Exchange, hid behind Ye Qiyan and peeked out at the disastrous scene inside.
They had indeed gone mad.
The train graveyard did contain many trains, but the truly special carriages weren't displayed outside.
These failures knew well that relying solely on a locomotive would make survival in the wasteland difficult. To enter the wasteland, they were no longer satisfied with just seizing trains.
Nearby shops and people became their targets.
Unfortunately, Ye Qiyan became one of them.
"Stop right there! Hand over what you just bought!"
Bang—
One shot, one kill.
Stepping over the corpse, Ye Qiyan snapped his fingers and summoned the demon raven.
It let out a piercing cry, landed on the body, plucked out a blood-stained Train Coin, and returned to Ye Qiyan's shoulder.
"Quite poor, but..."
Ye Qiyan's gaze swept across the surroundings.
"There are plenty of people around."
Raise gun, fire.
The bullets accurately struck these greedy individuals.
The demon raven pecked at their hearts, collecting one blood-stained Train Coin after another.
Twelve lives, sixteen Train Coins.
No wonder they said killing and plundering was the fastest way to get rich—this was equivalent to what an eighth-level treasure chest would yield.
"Hey, scared stiff?"
Ye Qiyan waved his hand in front of Zhao Lin's eyes.
"Ah, n-no, not at all. Brother Qiyan was right to kill them."
Zhao Lin wasn't frightened by Ye Qiyan's killing—it was the demon raven pecking at hearts that shook her.
"Oh? I thought you'd turn into a little saint."
"How could that be? What kind of person does Brother Qiyan think I am?"
"A unlucky fool?"
"That one I can't deny..."
Zhao Lin lowered her head in dejection.
"I'm sorry, Brother Qiyan. We came just to buy carriages, but we ended up in this mess. It must be because of me..."
"Pretty much. After your next lucky platform ends, remember to send me more Train Coins as repayment."
Ye Qiyan nodded, took out a White Forest Fruit, and took a bite.
"Let's go, back we go."
On the return journey, various parts of Suoluo City had descended into chaos of different degrees, yet those Inspectors never appeared.
Returning to the village of broken walls and ruins.
Those green-skinned elves were packing their belongings, apparently preparing to leave this place.
Back at the small station, Menrojina's damaged train had been mostly repaired compared to when they first returned.
Her mask was broken, so she only wore a purple veil.
Seeing the two return, she smiled and said:
"How are things outside?"
"Chaotic. Probably because the Order Card was taken, right?"
Hearing their conversation, Zhao Lin quietly distanced herself without eavesdropping.
"Yes, that Charlatan has already contacted me. They're currently being pursued by a petite Grand Judge, and it seems she's stirred up quite some trouble too. Hehe, Zhu Xingshu is worst at dealing with people like Shaya, and unfortunately for her, Suoluo City's Grand Judge is exactly that type."
Ye Qiyan quietly recalled Zhao Xi, whom he had seen not long ago.
"What happens if they get caught?"
"They'll die, of course. That petite Judge never holds back. Hmm... no, last time she was pursuing me, she suddenly left for some reason. I had prepared some measures to use ritual power to prevent her from interfering with me taking the seal, but her being drawn away made things much easier for me. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have made it back alive—I would have died there."
Menrojina poured Ye Qiyan a cup of tea and made a gesture of invitation.
"This tea comes from leaves I picked from tea trees transplanted from a tea garden station. Try it—I didn't get to drink it last time. This time, don't miss out."
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