Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 136 - 56: The Peach Oil Number

Chapter 136: Chapter 56: The Peach Oil Number

Accompanied by steam whistles and roaring, the Peach Blossom train pulled into the station platform.

It was a train with a retro design, and also the first train built by the people of this world after the Extraterrestrials shared their technology. Though it had gone through several updates over generations, it had always retained the Peach Blossom’s original appearance.

There were very few passengers waiting, and Duan Mingyuan’s group of three were among the first to board the Peach Blossom train.

The ticket-checking process was exceptionally smooth, and the uniformed staff members even smiled as they wished them a pleasant journey.

This couldn’t help but make Duan Mingyuan worry about the security situation within the Imperial Court.

Just moments ago, the friendly staff lady had personally allowed the most notorious fugitive of the Star Zone to board the train.

Their carriage was at the very front of the train, reserved exclusively for members of the Royal Family and Extraterrestrial envoys visiting. The carriage even had a liquor cabinet installed, placed with bottles of wine that clearly looked very expensive.

This spacious environment elicited a sigh from Ning Ruyue.

When she left the Imperial Court, she hadn’t ridden a train with such luxurious decor but instead wrapped in blankets, moved from place to place until she finally managed to escape the Imperial Court without drawing attention.

Jiuyue, on the other hand, didn’t feel the slightest discomfort. After arranging her luggage and choosing a bunk, she began to study the menu on the table. The train provided three meals a day, and to accommodate the dietary habits of people from different planets, the food on the Peach Blossom train was reputed to come directly from a Cosmic Level catering company.

And it was all free of charge.

As a little fox who came from deep in the mountains, Jiuyue had never enjoyed such royal treatment.

She held great respect for the words "free of charge."

Duan Mingyuan then began to study the passenger manual.

The journey was to last one day and one night.

Gauging by the Peach Blossom’s travel speed, it actually wouldn’t take that long, but to ensure the secrecy of the trip, the duration of each journey was personally decided by the train conductor, with a minimum of two hours and a maximum of one day and one night. Only after the passengers checked in and boarded could they learn the exact duration of that trip.

This time, they had randomly been allocated the longest duration.

After boarding the train, all communication devices of the passengers were cut off. The train was equipped with a secure internal network system for passengers to handle business affairs.

"It is said that this is to prevent assassins from knowing the duration in advance and setting up ambushes along the way."

Ning Ruyue also picked up the passenger manual in imitation and pressed a button near the window according to the manual’s instructions. Instantly, the view outside the window turned into a starry sky, another press and it became the seabed, and after switching back and forth a few times, she finally settled on a winding mountain road, which reminded her of her time at the academy.

"The environment outside the window is a virtual image, and passengers can’t actually see the outside scenery. The interior of the carriage is completely enclosed. It’s said that many famous people have been assassinated on the Peach Blossom train ..."

"To be precise, there were 67 people, including two executive directors of the Universe Company."

The voice, as it entered the carriage, brought a strong odor of gunpowder. The newcomer was over two meters tall and had to turn sideways to enter the door.

His style of dress seemed also to come from another era, a heavy black leather coat, white silk gloves, and a predatory gaze that swept over the three of them before extending his right hand to Ning Ruyue and saying, "One-Eye, the 41st conductor of the Peach Blossom train."

"Both your eyes are still there, why are you called One-Eye?"

Jiuyue raised her hand politely to ask.

"This was the nickname of the first conductor, who lost his left eye in an explosion. Subsequent conductors have all inherited his nickname."

The "Conductor’s Curse (or Blessing)"

Ning Ruyue flipped to a page in the train manual and, like a student making a small gesture in class, quietly handed it to Jiuyue.

This page recorded the strange tales associated with the Peach Blossom train.

Out of the subsequent 40 conductors, 37 had lost an eye for various reasons, leading some to believe it was a curse left by the first conductor on the Peach Blossom train, while others considered it a blessing since, no matter what perilous situation they encountered, each conductor survived all the way to retirement, and even to their dying day.

The one-eyed man noticed the subtle interaction between the two and said, "There are 13 years and 42 days until my retirement."

He still had plenty of time to lose an eye in some attack.

"Uh, I’m not cursing you."

Ning Ruyue felt somewhat guilty.

This was an odd anecdote about the Yu Tao Hao train, but it wasn’t funny for the conductor who was likely to lose an eye in the future.

The one-eyed man didn’t mind and continued the conversation, "Each conductor is carefully selected. To date, the Yu Tao Hao has seen 317 assassination attempts, been blown up 5 times, and has had 17 cosmic level fugitives born from it."

"... You’re basically running a murder train, aren’t you?"

Jiuyue muttered under her breath.

Ning Ruyue awkwardly tried to smooth things over, "But most of those happened right after the Imperial Court was established, right? It’s much safer now."

She had heard stories about the Yu Tao Hao train when she was a child.

There were historical reasons for this; the war had just ended, and the political situation in the Imperial Court was not yet stable. Many assassins from the civilian population refused to submit to the Imperial Court, planning one assassination attempt after another.

The targets were often high-profile individuals in the Imperial Court who appeared submissive to the Extraterrestrials, including visiting staff from Universe Company.

But the one-eyed man didn’t take her cue, "This is just as dangerous as a murder train. Especially for you, Elder Princess. There are no shortage of people who want to assassinate you, but I can assure you that as long as you strictly follow the guidelines in the manual, you are safe until you get off the train."

"Huh? Are you saying that a killer has boarded the train?"

"We can’t dismiss that possibility, even within the boundaries of the Imperial Court one cannot let their guard down."

The one-eyed man said, "Among the guards escorting you away, one is a close friend of mine. I originally suggested that you leave the Imperial Court via the Yu Tao Hao, but you refused."

Ning Ruyue was at a loss for words.

The guards who had escorted her away from the Imperial Court had all sacrificed themselves, and the incident was so long ago that she couldn’t remember their names.

"It’s Wangxu."

The one-eyed man said, "We’ve received intelligence that members of the Wangxu have been trying to infiltrate the Imperial Court, and they might already be on this train."

After explaining the potential threat, the one-eyed man turned and left, his departure dashing.

It seemed this was his style; direct and decisive, but he often left a poor first impression.

Ning Ruyue was anxious but, turning her head, she saw Jiuyue and Duan Mingyuan acting as if nothing was amiss.

"Teacher..."

She was anxious, "The conductor said there might be members of Wangxu mixed in with the passengers on the train."

"Hmm, I heard him,"

Jiuyue replied without lifting her head, having made an important discovery.

People in the universe actually eat chicken.

This fully demonstrated the potential for chicken to become a universal commodity.

"It’s a Wangxu assassin!"

Seeing that Jiuyue didn’t seem to grasp the gravity of the situation, Ning Ruyue emphasized, "They are cosmic-level fugitives with bounties of over seven figures from the Company!"