Ophelia walked out of the cabin with extremely fast steps, looking very much like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on.
Even in this moment of intense urgency, she still caught the two figures behind her out of the corner of her eye.
Two members of the Wayland Security Department.
They were like two pieces of sticky plaster that couldn't be shaken off, or two hyenas that had caught the scent of blood.
Ophelia’s mind was in a mess, her palms drenched in cold sweat.
When nature calls, it is an absolute physiological suppression; any willpower must eventually surrender in the face of it.
She could only calculate frantically in her mind.
Once she entered the bathroom, could she find a way to escape?
As for that boss sitting in the first-class cabin...
Ophelia sighed silently in her heart.
Rely on him?
Don't be ridiculous.
How could a capitalist of such noble status go head-to-head with Wayland's security forces for a journalist he didn't even know?
The risk was far too great for him.
If he didn't sell her out for a good price, it would already be considered a sign of a conscience.
...
Krenter Station, the exclusive restroom area for first-class passengers.
When Ophelia first stepped into this area, she even thought she had entered the wrong place.
Was this a restroom?
This was clearly a miniature version of an exclusive Landon club.
The floor was made of white porcelain tiles with gold patterns, polished to a mirror-like shine, while the walls were covered in finely finished marble.
The air was filled with the scent of high-end incense, and clusters of fresh calla lilies served as decoration.
Besides the basic facilities, there were even spacious lounges on the side and a barbershop specifically for gentlemen.
The exquisite wood paneling emitted a warm luster under the gaslights.
Ophelia was completely stunned.
In a somewhat remote transit station like Krenter, the railway company had actually built such a luxurious bathroom for these wealthy people?
Just how extravagant must the first-class lounges in Landon or Hastings Port be?
Compared to the brick-and-stone latrines used by passengers in the ordinary carriages...
However.
This complex terrain did indeed increase her chances of escape by quite a bit.
...
Watching Ophelia dive into that luxurious structure, the two Wayland Security Department members exchanged a look and immediately followed.
Behind them, Elias was leisurely trailing along.
He leaned on The Roaring Cane with one hand and kept the other in his pocket, his posture relaxed.
Except.
Elias’s brow had been slightly furrowed the whole time.
The stinging pain brought by the previous Soul Screams had not yet completely vanished.
What Elias was thinking now was to minimize the use of spells. At this critical juncture where his soul desperately needed repair, every bit of arcane energy had to be rationed.
Therefore.
He planned to step forward in a moment and use simple, unadorned physical strength to “reason” with these two dedicated colleagues.
“Tsk tsk.”
In his mind, Old Ed’s voice echoed eerily.
“I say, kid, look at yourself right now.”
“Sneaking around behind people’s backs.”
“Don’t you think you guys look like a bunch of perverted stalkers right now?”
“And a team-based one at that.”
Elias’s pace nearly faltered.
To be honest.
The way the old man described it, it really did look like that!
“Shut up, old man,” Elias replied irritably in his heart.
“They’re the ones with... wait, they have ill intentions.”
“What am I? I’m a public-spirited Landon citizen performing a courageous act.”
“Heh.”
Old Ed gave a cold laugh of disagreement.
At the corner of the corridor outside the restroom.
Taking advantage of the moment when the two security personnel were focused on their stakeout, confirming Ophelia couldn't escape.
Elias stopped his pace, his gaze narrowing.
A thin layer of moonlight silently covered the surface of his body.
【Moonlight Veil】.
At this moment, Elias’s figure was nearly transparent. His presence was lowered to the freezing point.
For two ordinary people without spirituality, as long as Elias didn't give them a direct slap to the face, they had no way of discovering him.
Elias approached the two of them lightly, like a ghost.
The two security department members were leaning against a magnificent marble pillar, smoking cigarettes.
They clearly felt the matter was settled, and their tone carried a sense of relaxation.
“Hey, after we grab this girl, we should find a place to have a few drinks back home, right?” one of them whispered.
“Definitely. This damn girl was too hard to catch, slippery as an eel,” the other spat out a smoke ring and sneered.
“Could someone who stole classified documents from the board of directors' archive room be simple?”
“If it weren't for our buddies being so capable, we’d probably still be searching blindly at the station.”
“By the way.”
The one who spoke first suddenly leaned closer to his companion, his voice dropping extremely low, carrying a hint of mystery.
“Have you heard?”
“What?”
As soon as these words were spoken, Elias, who had originally intended to charge a punch behind them to solve the problem, suddenly halted his movements.
He tilted his body slightly, almost bringing his head to within three fingers' distance between the two men.
At this almost face-to-face distance, he openly eavesdropped on their secrets.
“Lately, there’s been a lot of movement over at the shipping branch,” the security officer’s voice trembled slightly.
“They’ve diverted many of the ships that were originally running the main routes and sent them all near the center of Moon Bay.”
“Huh? Isn't that place always listed as a dangerous restricted zone?”
“Who knows what the higher-ups are thinking.”
“I heard even the ‘Octowin’ has been sailed over there.”
“What did you say?!”
The cigarette in the other security member's hand nearly fell to the floor.
“The Octowin?”
Elias’s heart skipped a beat.
The Octowin?
The center of Moon Bay?
Just as he wanted to continue listening, the curious security member asked:
“What’s the story with that ship? Isn't it just a bit larger in carrying capacity?”
The other was about to explain, his face showing a hint of disdain for his colleague’s lack of knowledge.
“The Octowin... it was the one that, back then...”
“Was what?”
Elias was listening intently now. Seeing the other person trailing off, he intentionally chimed in right next to the man’s ear.
“...”
The two security personnel seemed to have petrified.
Their originally relaxed expressions collapsed instantly, and cold sweat practically sprayed from their foreheads.
Because they suddenly realized.
The voice that had just joined the conversation did not belong to either of them!
Moreover.
That voice was practically right next to them. It felt like someone was leaning against the base of their necks, breathing on them!
“Who?!”
The two of them spun around violently, their hands reaching for the holsters at their waists like lightning.
They looked around warily.
The tiled floor was empty, and behind the marble pillars were only the shadows of the flowers.
There was no sign of any suspicious person.
“Strange...”
One of the security personnel scratched his head hard, his voice changing pitch.
“You... you heard it just now too?”
“Nonsense! I’m not deaf!”
The other was also confused, his face pale.
“But where’s the person? There isn't even a fly in this place!”
They checked the corridor repeatedly.
At the end of the long hallway, there was only a passerby elegantly adjusting his hat, looking at them with an expression of “sympathy for the mentally challenged.”
After all.
These two were shouting at a pillar, looking quite unintelligent.
“I am the conscience of you both.”
Elias’s voice rang in their ears again.
This time, it carried a hint of the pleasure of a successful prank.
“Holy crap!”
“A ghost!”
The two Wayland lackeys were so terrified they jumped straight into the air from where they stood.
They huddled back-to-back, the sound of their teeth chattering clearly audible.
They flailed their fists in terror, trying to disperse the invisible chill in the air.
“We... we didn't actually run into something unclean, did we!”
“Should we... go get the boss?”
Fearing they had been tainted by some evil curse, their legs went weak, and the thought of running back to the train had already sprouted.
Catching the journalist was important, but staying alive was more important!
Elias stood to the side, watching these two idiots be scared out of their wits, feeling somewhat speechless.
It seemed these two only knew the surface level.
The specific internal core secrets probably weren't accessible to people of their level.
Since no more useful information could be squeezed out...
There was no need to waste time.
Elias deactivated the Moonlight Veil, his figure manifesting from the void without warning before their terrified eyes.
“You... who are you?!”
Before they could shout.
Elias was expressionless as his hands rose and fell.
His movements were extremely fast.
A feint with the left hand, a clenched fist with the right.
“Bang! Bang!”
Two crisp sounds, like muffled thunder, rang out.
Elias was like he was playing a game of Whac-A-Mole.
Before the two security members could react, their skulls were shaken by a massive force.
Their eyes rolled back, and without even letting out a groan, they slumped onto the exquisite tiled floor like limp mud, completely unconscious.
Elias rubbed his knuckles and curled his lip.
“I said I’d give you a sick leave; I’m a man of my word.”
He crouched down and skillfully searched the two of them.
There were only a few Shilling coins smelling of tobacco and a spare set of handcuff keys.
Finally.
From the inner pocket of one of them, he pulled out a newspaper.
Elias frowned and unfolded it.
The front-page headline was printed in exaggerated bold letters:
【Landon Media Visit Day: A competitor hires a commercial spy in an attempt to steal Wayland Capital's core business secrets.】
Rate on N.U.
