Inside the milk tea shop, upon seeing the message from Himeko, Adrian shot up from his seat with a whoosh.
Who made their universe's cutest Conductor go emo?!
Silver Wolf raised her head, and in the next second, she also shot up. "No way... I got turned on and killed in such a short time? Is this hero even playable without a nerf? Do the devs know how to balance champions?!"
Adrian activated deduction mode. Regarding the culprit who made the Conductor depressed: First, rule out Stelle and the others; they have solid alibis.
Next is the Express's empathetic big sister and Navigator, Himeko. She is even less likely; Adrian suspected HE couldn't even suspect Himeko, as she was the one who specifically kept Pom-Pom company.
Hmm...
Wait, doesn't that leave only himself as the suspect?!
Adrian quickly dismissed this thought. No, no, no... it must be Aha's doing... Oh my, that [Elation] Aha is too bad.
His thoughts drifted back to the past, recalling those dusty old memories.
Astral Express, Parlor Car
"The crimes you have committed are unforgivable, but the Conductor respects everyone's right to community service..." Pom-Pom stood before them, looking very angry.
"Sorry."
A blurry black shadow was the first to admit defeat, thoughtfully handing a cookie to Pom-Pom.
"Bribing the Conductor at a time like this adds to the crime-pom!"
Pom-Pom took the bribe snack but shooed the shadow back. "Now, do you, and the other passengers, admit responsibility for the following vicious incidents—"
"You drove a snowmobile into the Taikiyan Stadium, disrupting the order of the venue, causing the match to be suspended, and resulting in twenty Trailblazers working unpaid with you for three months to repair the severe damage to the stadium's facade!"
"Do you... plead guilty-pom?"
The three black shadows did not respond. After glancing at each other, they kicked the most active one forward.
"HE is fully responsible." The other two shadows said simultaneously.
"Boohoohoo~ Is this the taste of betrayal..."
With the true culprit of the first vicious incident captured, Pom-Pom began to explain the second:
"You infiltrated the Hayiayi State Zoo, used half an Amber Era's worth of the Express crew's budget to buy two hundred and fifty Snout-nosed Beast cubs, and raised them in the restroom, causing them to multiply infinitely and flooding other carriages with large amounts of sewage."
Pom-Pom was visibly angry. "Do you... plead guilty-pom!"
"Infinite..."
No need for the accomplices to identify him; that black shadow stepped forward voluntarily and took out a few more cookies.
Unfortunately, it ended in failure again. The impartial and selfless Conductor did not buy it.
"You invaded the dining car kitchen, announced to everyone that it needed disinfection, causing forty-two fragrant, crispy, crunchy Pom-Pom Pies to vanish into thin air, and took away the last bowl of Express Hotpot from the top shelf of the freshness preserver, causing the Conductor to go hungry!"
"Do you... plead guilty-pom!"
"Huh?"
The three black shadows froze for a second. The leading shadow spoke first: "You made that yourself, right... but I did take the Express Hotpot."
"Admitted in a roundabout way-pom! Cough cough... Don't get cocky, I haven't finished listing the menu of crimes-pom!"
"[The Case of the Collective Disappearance of Conductor's Databank Entries], [The Incident of Watering Parlor Car Potted Plants with SoulGlad], [Noise Attacks Against the Conductor During Rest Hours], [The Invasion of the Conductor's Private Snack Vault], etc., etc..."
"A total of forty-six vicious incidents! Do you admit that they were all done by you?"
"I'm sorry... I really am the world's worst Nameless."
It was truly a past unbearable to recall, but the primary goal now was to comfort the Conductor. Adrian tossed the milk tea shop keys to Silver Wolf.
...
Meanwhile, inside the Shackling Prison
"Those who step in here are either jailers or prisoners."
"Which one is Your Excellency?"
Seeing Luocha barge in, Jing Yuan crossed his arms over his chest, not surprised by his appearance at all.
"Neither. I am just a lost traveler."
"What a grand array! Stellarons, the Ambrosial Arbor, the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, a Lord Ravager... A series of threats came one after another, almost successfully diverting everyone's attention, making them forget a question that seemed irrelevant."
"What is the intention of the person who brought the [Stellaron] into the Xianzhou?"
"According to the Sky-Faring Commission's investigation, you arrived on the Luofu with a merchant caravan and stayed for several days, yet had no trade dealings with anyone. On the day you were supposed to leave, the Abomination crisis broke out."
"Taking advantage of the chaos to infiltrate the Shackling Prison, claiming you wanted to take responsibility for this Stellaron disaster, and surrendering out of guilt."
All the signs above indicated that the man in front of him was by no means an ordinary [Traveling Merchant].
"Strange, strange. Your Excellency's behavior is truly unfathomable." He clasped his hands behind his back, intending to hear how Luocha would explain.
The chill in the interrogation room condensed like iron, yet Luocha raised the corners of his lips on his own. That smile pierced through the solidified air, calmly brushing aside the sharp edge of the interrogation.
"As a traveling merchant, I was entrusted to deliver an [Item] and did not know the hidden story behind it. I did have a motive for stepping into the Shackling Prison, but it seems now that the Luofu does not have what I seek."
"As for pleading guilty and submitting to the law, it is out of fear of punishment. Although the galaxy is vast, as a mere traveling merchant, I surely cannot escape the pursuit of the entire Alliance."
Jing Yuan turned around. "A mere traveling merchant? Mr. Luocha must be joking. The things you did in the Mourning Citadel, the various pasts left in the Veil Starzone... do you need me to recount them one by one?"
"Or perhaps, you need me to say that tongue-twisting name?"
Luocha hadn't expected that within minutes of reporting to the Shackling Prison, the other party would have already dug up his background. He had underestimated the intelligence network of the Xianzhou Alliance.
Wait, could it be that someone is also assisting Jing Yuan in the dark?
"...Oh, the [Divine Foresight General] truly lives up to his reputation."
"Likewise. Fortunately, I did some homework in advance, otherwise, this conversation today would have been awkward."
The tense situation broke down on its own. Luocha seized the flaw and asked Jing Yuan back: "Since the General feels there is something fishy, are you going to defend me and clear me of the suspicion of being a [Stellaron Suspect]?"
"That is not up to me. Concerning a grave crime of overthrowing the Alliance, according to the law, you should be escorted to the Xianzhou Xuling to undergo a joint trial by the Ten-Lords Commission and the Seven Arbiter-Generals, and receive eternal punishment."
"So we might as well speak plainly." Jing Yuan summoned his weapon, pointing it straight at Luocha: "Surrender, and I might grant you a quick end... Abomination of Yaoshi."
Luocha's mouth corner rose at an imperceptible angle. He spread his hands with his back to Jing Yuan.
"General, it is true that my power comes from [Abundance]. But like you, I am an enemy of Yaoshi."
As soon as the words fell, the air in the interrogation room suddenly froze. A bone-piercing chill wrapped around them like a solid entity. On the cold edge of Jing Yuan's lowered blade, a translucent ice crystal quietly settled.
"Yes, Jing Yuan." A white-haired woman, looking exactly as she did in his memories, walked up to Jing Yuan.
"Don't hinder us. The revival of the Ambrosial Arbor is an omen; it signifies that the Xianzhou has sailed to the moment of choosing a Path."
"The Reignbow Arbiter, the Plaguemark Author, the Ruin Author... this is a chess game of gods confronting each other."
A puff of frosty white mist escaped from between her lips, and the words that followed were sharp as ice shards piercing the bone: "If you don't stand on the winning side, you are a loser."
"And this time... we must put [Abundance] to death."