51: Ximen Chuifeng's little notebook, Xiong Mao, the third in command of the Axe Gang

Lin Feng saw that a passenger wanted to get on the train, so he naturally wouldn't refuse. He stopped moving forward, and the simple text reappeared on the train body:

"Need a ride?"

"Yes, of course, I do." Ximen Chuifeng didn't say another word, directly opened the door and got on the train.

The tin train looked ordinary from the outside, and after entering... well, it was also ordinary.

The space inside wasn't large; there was a small empty area and four plastic seats.

Anyway, it looked very cheap.

He found a seat and sat down. Just as he was about to look towards the driver's seat, a line of text appeared before his eyes:

"Welcome to this train. Please sit tight and hold on. Please purchase a ticket upon boarding. The fare is one hundred and twenty low-grade spirit stones."

Ximen Chuifeng: ? ? !

Good heavens, it turns out it still costs money.

This was the first time he felt that those Crimson Flame Ants and ordinary ants were so unreliable, failing to even find out that he needed to pay to get on the train.

Fortunately, he had spirit stones with him, otherwise, he would have had to sheepishly get off the train.

"Here, one hundred and twenty spirit stones."

Ximen Chuifeng took out one hundred and twenty spirit stones from his storage bag, placed them on the seat, and then watched as the spirit stones suddenly disappeared, turning into a thin train ticket.

"This is so magical?!"

Ximen Chuifeng's eyes widened. Could the driver of this train be an Esper, capable of moving objects from a distance?

He looked towards the driver's seat but couldn't see anything clearly.

This further solidified Ximen Chuifeng's idea that the driver was an Esper.

Martial Artists and Beast Tamers couldn't do this, but Espers perhaps could.

So Ximen Chuifeng recorded in his small notebook: "Mysterious train in the forest, the driver might be an Esper, and very likely a high-level Esper, possessing two or more abilities."

Ximen Chuifeng picked up the ticket and looked at it, his eyes widening even more because his name was actually written on it.

"Passenger Name: Ximen Chuifeng

Time of Ride: May, 308th year of the Apocalypse

Number: 073"

Could the driver of this train really have three different abilities?

But that would be too incredible!

As far as he knew, Espers themselves were extremely rare; there wasn't even one Esper in the entire 155 Fortress, and people with two abilities at the same time were even rarer, almost extinct.

Someone with three abilities at the same time... well, he had never even heard of such a person.

To better investigate the secrets within this train, Ximen Chuifeng released his contracted fierce beast, the Crimson Flame Ant.

The moment the Crimson Flame Ant landed, a line of text appeared before both their eyes:

"Welcome to this train. Please sit tight and hold on. Please purchase a ticket upon boarding. The fare is one hundred and twenty low-grade spirit stones."

Ximen Chuifeng: ? ? ?

Crimson Flame Ant: ... Ximen Chuifeng then added two words to the "tin train features" column in his small notebook: "money-grubber."

After paying another fare, the Crimson Flame Ant finally sat down. The seat was nothing special, but the Crimson Flame Ant felt the rich spiritual energy surrounding it.

The Crimson Flame Ant's senses were very keen, so even before it started cultivating, it noticed that the spiritual energy in the train was unusual. It then told Ximen Chuifeng about its feeling, and Ximen Chuifeng's eyes cunningly darted around, thinking that this might also be a mystery of the tin train.

"Try cultivating," he said.

The man and the beast both closed their eyes and entered a state of cultivation.

In just one second, Ximen Chuifeng clearly felt the abundant spiritual energy around him.

A Beast Tamer's cultivation method is somewhat different from a Martial Artist's, but both require absorbing spiritual energy. There was so much spiritual energy in the train that even Ximen Chuifeng disregarded caution and absorbed it frantically.

The Crimson Flame Ant was the same; it had never seen such rich spiritual energy. It was usually too difficult to absorb even a little spiritual energy, otherwise, it would have upgraded long ago.

As Ximen Chuifeng absorbed spiritual energy, he thought that he would have to make another note in his small notebook later.

No wonder those ants said that people who got off the train were very happy. After absorbing so much spiritual energy, how could they not be happy?

He was also ecstatic!

The main reason he worked as an information broker was that his strength was too low.

If he could absorb spiritual energy in this train a few more times, would he still be afraid of not improving his strength?

Just as he was thinking this, another person suddenly got on the train.

"What a broken-down train, so bad?" The person who got on was a sturdy-looking man, possibly dark-skinned from long-term sun exposure, with muscular arms and a knife on his back. His expression looked fierce.

Ximen Chuifeng heard the man's voice but did not open his eyes.

His attitude seemed to anger the sturdy man. The sturdy man walked towards him, stood in front of him, drew his knife, and said, "Hey, you, get down."

This seat was one that Xiong Mao had set his eyes on. If someone was on it, he would drive him off.

Ximen Chuifeng frowned but still didn't open his eyes.

"Damn it, kid, are you going to move or not? Haven't you heard of my Xiong Mao's reputation or something?"

Xiong Mao was accustomed to being arrogant in his area. He was the third-in-command of the Axe Gang, and his Martial Artist level was only two levels lower than the gang leader's; he was a Level 5 Martial Artist.

Normally, if he wanted something, no one dared to refuse, because those who refused were killed by him.

Upon hearing the man call himself Xiong Mao, Ximen Chuifeng understood. He certainly knew of Xiong Mao, the third-in-command of the Axe Gang, known for his unruly temperament, often beating people indiscriminately. Many who were oppressed by him dared not seek revenge due to their fear of the Axe Gang, only able to swallow their anger.

Ximen Chuifeng was a person who valued his life and was also afraid of getting beaten, so he prepared to open his eyes and give up the seat, as there were still two other seats available.

However, just as he opened his eyes and before he could speak, the familiar text that Ximen Chuifeng knew appeared before Xiong Mao's eyes:

"Welcome to this train. Please stand firm and hold on. Please purchase a ticket upon boarding. The fare is one hundred and twenty low-grade spirit stones."

However, Xiong Mao went berserk.

"What? Asking me, Xiong Mao, for money? Hahaha, what a huge joke! When have I, Xiong Mao, ever paid for a train ride??"

"Such a broken-down train, with only four seats inside, and it still sways when it moves, yet it dares to ask for so many spirit stones?!"

Lin Feng: ... Although he felt a bit insulted, the second part of what he said was indeed correct.

He was just an old and ugly tin train, with only four plastic seats inside. For someone who values aesthetics, it was simply a disaster.

But not buying a ticket was definitely not an option.

"Please purchase a ticket upon boarding. Those without a ticket, please alight."

Lin Feng's attitude was firm; whether you were from the Axe Gang or the Iron Head Gang, you had to buy a ticket to get on. If you didn't buy one, you had to get off.