Chapter 305: Chapter 191: Urushibara Ryuri, Reunion, Return
"But...but..." Sun Changkong stammered, his face full of reluctance.
At this moment, Filio, sitting in the corner of the cabin, finally calmed down, his pitch-black pupils no longer alert.
He hugged his shoulders, curled up, and whispered, "I’m sorry, Ji Minghuan, Kong Youling, I should have stayed behind to protect you, putting you in danger."
"It was our collective decision, and in the end, isn’t everyone okay?" Ji Minghuan turned his head to look at him.
Mario said, "Shouldn’t we blame a certain restricted Superpower User for doing nothing?"
Ji Minghuan replied, "Let’s not discuss whether I’m a restricted Superpower User first; why don’t you ask the Mentor to remove my Superpower Inhibitor? Otherwise, how can I show my magic to you all?"
He lowered his voice and sneered, "You want to test my abilities yet don’t want to remove the inhibitor on me. Isn’t that like having a fight within your brain?"
Though he said this, he knew very well in his heart: once the Salvation Society reduced the dosage of the inhibitor, he could completely unleash the potential of all his faculties.
By that time, if he wanted to leave, no one in that underground bar would be able to stop him, but the Salvation Society people were overly cautious and never eased the restrictions on him.
Mario glanced up from his handheld game console at Ji Minghuan, then quickly withdrew his gaze.
He said, "True enough...but I do hope you remain as an ornament, otherwise we wouldn’t have a chance to shine."
"Mario, you’re going too far," Sun Changkong had the Somersault Cloud bump into Mario, making him choke.
Ignoring the two who were fooling around, Ji Minghuan looked up and asked Urushibara Ryuri:
"What do we need to do now?"
"Now..." Urushibara Ryuri thought for a moment, "You just need to take a nap and then go home."
With that, needles suddenly extended from the collars of the five children and injected sedatives into their necks. Soon, they slid down one after another like puppets with their strings cut, and fell asleep in the cabin.
The Somersault Cloud gradually disappeared, transforming into a fleeting red light that fell into Sun Changkong’s chest. Urushibara Ryuri extended her hand to support Sun Changkong’s head, which was about to hit the ground, then placed her back onto the bed, silently returning to sit by the wall.
"White Crow Travel Brigade... was it just a coincidence," Urushibara Ryuri said quietly, her eyes downcast, "Brother, have you come to find me?"
She held the handle of a knife, glanced out at the sky as clear as water through the window.
.....
.....
Meanwhile, in another corner of London.
Inside a pitch-black, gigantic cocoon, Black Cocoon opened his eyes, with Restraint Sensing covering the entire abandoned train station like a sea.
Xia Pingzhou fainted from excessive blood loss, and being immobilized due to sedatives on his main body side, the only controllable entity left was a gluttonous shark and a large fluttering moth.
The urgent task is naturally on Black Cocoon’s side, after all, Ji Minghuan is still waiting to rendezvous with the Ghost Train Corps.
The surroundings were deathly silent, with London’s vibrant side isolated by this desolate roof.
And with each second ticking away in the train station, Ji Minghuan felt apprehensive.
He feared that Ke Qirui and others would be intercepted by the Salvation Society halfway, their last meeting being the one in the underground bar. In such a case, the Red Lantern would also be smoothly reclaimed by the Salvation Society, making this trip entirely in vain.
Fortunately...things did not develop as he feared.
Accompanied by a sound of footsteps, four members of the Ghost Train Corps ascended the stairs and entered the empty Platform 7.
Seeing them enter the detection range of Restraint Sensing, Black Cocoon secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He thought to himself, "Looks like there’s no need to choose a sacrifice in front of the little sister’s grave, saving a penny on diapers."
Ke Qirui, with a pipe in his mouth, took a puff and said, "Let me clarify, my Train Demon only has one or two carriages left, and there’s no sleeper, so we all have to squeeze in once we get on."
"The other carriages of the Train Demon were all messed up by that red-haired little girl?" Lin Zhengquan asked with a frown.
He was busy with the little werewolf at that time, having no leisure to pay attention to the captain’s battlefield.
Ke Qirui nodded, "I truly wonder who these kids are and who the people behind them are from which faction..."
Su Zimai remained silent; after this impactful morning, she had a brand new understanding of Black Cocoon.
He seemed to come from a world entirely different from theirs, where such monsters might just be an everyday occurrence?
"What on earth is this large fluttering moth?" she wondered.
Xu Sanyan put out the cigarette in his hand, "Let’s board first, I have a date this afternoon."
"Another blind date?" Ke Qirui glanced at him.
"Yes, can’t just keep hanging around with you forever," Xu Sanyan replied expressionlessly, "I’ve earned enough money, almost time to retire."
"There it is, a death flag," Su Zimai hugged her shoulders, explaining matter-of-factly, "If you said that before the action started, I’d think you were already dead in the bar."
"Don’t jinx your family..." Lin Zhengquan lifted his hand helplessly, ruffling her hair.
The four members of the Ghost Train Corps shared a chuckle.
Because Black Cocoon warned them in advance, they very tacitly did not mention Black Cocoon’s name from the start of the operation until now, as no one could be sure if the people from the mysterious organization were still using some mysterious means to eavesdrop on them.
"Let’s go...we’ll return to Li Jing, away from this place of trouble," Ke Qirui put away his smoking pipe and turned to Su Zimai, "Your brother should be worried about you too."
"No...my brother didn’t message me," Su Zimai glanced at her phone.
Oh? Her brother didn’t message her, but he messaged me; won, won big, Black Cocoon thought, clenching his fist secretly.
Ke Qirui’s retro-style one-sided mirror flashed, creating a movie screen that brilliantly formed above the mottled tracks, followed by a roaring dark red train emerging, spurting white steam waves that covered all directions.
As the fog cleared, the train that was originally a hundred meters long was now reduced by the Golden Cudgel to just a locomotive and two carriages, appearing quite pitiful like a cat shaved bald.
With chuckles and chatter, four members of the Ghost Train Corps all boarded the carriages one by one.
Black Cocoon also began to move, swinging around the abandoned train station using the restraint belt above his head, then distributing the weight evenly across the belts on his body, landing lightly on one of the carriage tops without a sound.
Perched on the top, Black Cocoon mimicked the move of a Pokémon’s "Leave King," reclining on his side with a hand against the side of his head.
He opened the task panel and claimed the rewards for the corresponding task.
[Main Quest 3 (Phase Four) Completed — Assisted the Ghost Train Corps in capturing the rampaging Evil Exorcist "Red Lantern."]
[Reward Received: 1 Skill Point, 1 Split Point, 1 Attribute Point.]
[Notice: Main Quest 3 (Phase Five) will refresh after some time.]
Black Cocoon raised a finger and closed a series of system panels, then lifted his head to silently watch London’s sky.
He also knew in his heart that only when the Train Demon entered the "Time Rift" could true safety be assured, otherwise, there was still a chance that the Salvation Society’s people might be lurking nearby.
Once exposed, the Mentor’s chain of suspicion would immediately be established, making his situation in the Salvation Society more precarious.
After the four boarded the train, a deafening roar suddenly erupted as the Train Demon charged into the dim tunnel, the sunlight overhead fading away as the world dimmed.
Soon after, a time rift formed in the pitch-black tunnel.
The dark red steel giant beast darted into it, disappearing thereafter.
"Judging by their looks, the Red Lantern should be staying in the Movie World, not taken away," Black Cocoon thought, "So... once the train’s in the tunnel, it’s time to start interrogating the Red Lantern."