Chapter 123: The Four Geniuses Of The Train Crew
Not wanting to walk, Xing directly used the Realm Anchor to teleport to the Starcrane Celestial Nexus, arriving in front of Meng Huaifeng in a little over ten minutes.
“Huaifeng, what’s fun?” Xing asked excitedly.
“Spirit Exploration, are you interested?” Meng Huaifeng said.
“Of course.” Xing’s eyes lit up; it was something she had never experienced before.
“This is the famous streamer from Luofu, Gui Naifen, Little Guizi, and this is our companion…” Meng Huaifeng introduced.
“Nameless Xing, I’ve heard so much about you, so much!” Gui Naifen said enthusiastically.
Meeting another Nameless! This was all about reputation, and her follower count had increased so much these past few days because of it. Gui Naifen’s heart bloomed with joy.
“You can also call me Galaxy Bat Man. Hello, when are we going Spirit Exploring?” Xing said, puffing out her chest.
“Spirit Exploration, of course, is best done in the dead of night. I’ll treat everyone to dinner in Golden Lane first. I have a friend who should be off duty around this time, so let’s get acquainted first,” Gui Naifen said.
“Golden Lane? I just came from there,” Xing said, scratching her head.
Gui Naifen hailed a Star-Skiff, and they all boarded, flying towards Golden Lane.
“A Xing, how is that Chamber of Commerce you’ve been helping recently?” Meng Huaifeng asked on the Star-Skiff.
“Of course, it’s thriving and getting better and better. Now it basically operates normally without me needing to manage it, and paying the rent at the end of the month won’t be a problem,” Xing said proudly.
“Huh, A Xing, you know how to do business now?” March 7th asked in surprise.
“March, don’t underestimate me. I’ve discovered I’m an absolute business genius. If I joined The Company, I’d be on equal footing with Topaz in no time, believe it or not?” Xing said confidently.
“I don’t believe it. I think within a year, you’ll be hanging from a lamppost,” March 7th pouted.
“Damn it, you don’t believe me.” Xing glared indignantly at March 7th’s swordsman uniform and provoked, “March, you should just give up practicing swordsmanship. I don’t think you have the talent for it.”
“What did you say? Master Jingliu said I have a Sincere Heart!” March 7th glared at Xing.
“Only those foolish protagonists in novels get praised with a Sincere Heart.”
“No way!”
March 7th and Xing bumped foreheads, refusing to yield to each other like sparring bulls.
“Alright, alright.” Meng Huaifeng stepped between them, separating them. “You’re a business genius, she’s a sword technique genius, and I’m a hacker genius. From now on, we’ll be the three prodigies of the Train Crew!”
“What about Dan Heng?” March 7th asked.
“In what aspect do you think Dan Heng excels?” Meng Huaifeng asked.
“…He excels in everything?” March 7th pondered for a long time, unsure.
“That won’t do. You must have one area that’s exceptionally outstanding compared to others to be called a prodigy,” Xing said.
“Huh? Is that so?” March 7th was doubtful.
“That’s right, Dan Heng can’t be considered a prodigy,” Xing said.
“Ahem, I don’t think we should isolate Dan Heng. Although Dan Heng isn’t a prodigy, he’s still a genius, wouldn’t you say?” March 7th said with reluctance.
“March is right. Then it’s decided, from now on, we’ll be the four prodigies of the Train Crew!” Meng Huaifeng agreed.
（Dan Heng: ???）
Gui Naifen said cautiously, “Um, doesn’t ‘genius’ sound more impressive than ‘prodigy’?”
“That’s not important!” Meng Huaifeng, March 7th, and Xing said in unison.
Half an hour later, the Star-Skiff arrived at Golden Lane, and they disembarked at the entrance.
Entering the night market, led by Gui Naifen, they arrived at a restaurant called Shang Zi Wei. The decor was quite luxurious, showing Gui Naifen had spared no expense to entertain the Nameless of the Stellar Train.
At the entrance of the restaurant, a girl in yellow was looking around.
“Shang Shang!”
Gui Naifen waved from afar, ran over, and the two girls hugged happily.
“Huh, Sushang?” Xing said in surprise.
“Xing?” Sushang was also surprised.
“You two know each other? What a coincidence,” Gui Naifen said happily.
“Yes, some people from The Company were too aggressive before, and I couldn’t stand it. I made a bet with them. Thanks to Xing’s help, otherwise I would have lost and embarrassed the Cloud Cavalry,” Sushang said gratefully.
“It’s still too early to say if I won or lost,” Xing said humbly, but the upturned corners of her mouth showed she was already in control.
“I just checked the Chamber of Commerce, and it’s much better than before at least,” Sushang said. “Oh, the Money Tree at the entrance of the Chamber of Commerce looks a bit wilted. I remember it was very lush before.”
“Yo yo yo, look who I found? A Nameless and that wild girl.” A guy in a Company uniform took off his sunglasses with one hand, scanning them up and down before speaking sarcastically.
“Who is this guy? I don’t know why, but I feel an urge to beat him up when I see him,” March 7th whispered curiously.
“Probably has the innate ‘born-to-be-beaten’ physique,” Meng Huaifeng said.
“Scott? What are you doing here?” Xing asked with a frown of displeasure.
“What a joke, is Golden Lane your family’s property? I can go wherever I want, what business is it of yours?” Scott said.
“Of course, it’s none of my business. Have you prepared to apologize loudly and bark like a dog?” Xing said with a cold smile.
“Heh, don’t get cocky. We don’t know who will be barking like a dog yet. Our competition has just begun. In a few days, you’ll know how formidable I am,” Scott said, hands on his hips, gloating.
“The ‘formidable’ you’re talking about is bribing workers to destroy transported goods, leaving tons of negative reviews for shops, and hiring people to impersonate Cloud Cavalry to cause trouble?” Xing said dismissively, arms crossed. These issues had been resolved by Zhu Zhuqing, Hong Kou, and Po Xiao.
“Of course not. Those childish tricks, I stopped playing them long ago! I now have more unsolvable, more terrifying, and more insidious methods!” Scott said proudly.
“Oh, what are they?” March 7th couldn’t help but ask. She thought what Xing mentioned was already despicable, but could there be even more despicable methods?
“Of course it’s… *cough* What am I telling you guys this for? Anyway, wait for my move, wild girl. Go back and practice barking better, you’ll definitely need it.” Scott coughed, barely stopping himself. The powerful had reminded him, otherwise he would have revealed too much and they would have been prepared.
“Hey, can’t you speak properly?” Sushang drew out the Xuanyuan Sword, ready to strike.
“You… What do you want? The Cloud Cavalry is killing people!” Scott shrieked, backing away several steps.
“Shang Shang, don’t be impulsive,” Gui Naifen quickly held Sushang back.
“Don’t bother with people like him. Bring out whatever methods you have. We Nameless will face them,” Meng Huaifeng said confidently.
Scott left for the moment. Gui Naifen led everyone into Shang Zi Wei and ordered a lavish meal.
After eating their fill, there was still some time before midnight, the hour when Suiyuan’s Yin energy was strongest. They strolled through Golden Lane.
“Boss, I want five skewers of Qiong Shi Bird skewers,” March 7th said at a stall.
“Wait, I’ll buy them all!” Scott appeared from nowhere and said to the boss.
“Yes, yes, I’ll serve this young lady first,” the boss said happily.
“Hey, ‘buy them all’ includes these five skewers. If you sell them to her, I won’t buy anything,” Scott said arrogantly.
“You really are a persistent annoyance,” Sushang said irritably.
“Heh, if I can make you unhappy, I’m happy.” Scott said smugly. He had disliked the Nameless for a long time. He was perfectly happy as the Person in Charge of the Interstellar Peace Corporation’s Luofu Branch, but if they hadn’t pioneered some damned new world, he wouldn’t be in such a bad state.
He definitely couldn’t beat them, but making them unhappy was a way to vent his anger.
As for whether he would be in danger? Ha! Who didn’t know the Nameless were a bunch of soft-hearted good people?
Had he killed anyone? Had he disregarded human lives?
No!
So what was there to be afraid of!
“This…” The boss looked at March 7th hesitantly.
“You!” March 7th glared at Scott.
“What, don’t like it? Pay more. If you don’t have money, get lost, pauper,” Scott taunted.
March 7th clenched her fists, desperately wanting to punch the guy.
“I’ll pay double the price,” Meng Huaifeng said.
“Double!” Scott shouted.
“You win.” Meng Huaifeng turned and left.
“Hey? No way, I’ll pay triple!” March 7th said defiantly, as if she had money to spare.
“March, don’t be impulsive.” Meng Huaifeng quickly pulled March 7th a little further away and whispered in her ear, “Don’t bleed him too dry. If you bleed him too dry, he’ll react quickly. Let’s slowly drain him…”
March 7th’s eyes gradually lit up.
“Boss, I want Ming Ou Gao,” March 7th went to another vendor.
“Deliver it to the Interstellar Peace Corporation!” Scott hurriedly paid, instructed, and then rushed to the stall where March 7th was. “I’ll buy it all!”
“One fold.”
“Two fold!”
March 7th pretended to glare at him with dissatisfaction and moved on to the next vendor.
“Boss, I want hot Fu Yang milk.”
“I’ll buy it all!”
…
After Scott had bought out a third of the street, seeing Scott hesitating, Meng Huaifeng and Xing exchanged a look. They couldn’t let him have free time.
They also went to find vendors to buy things.
“You want me to be unable to split my attention? With me here, you won’t be eating anything today. I’m a professional at sabotage!” Scott, without thinking, darted between Meng Huaifeng, March 7th, and Xing.
To make it easier for Scott not to run around, the three of them deliberately chose vendors that were not too far apart.
An hour later, they had toured the entire food street in Golden Lane, and all the vendors’ food had been sold.
The vendors whose goods were bought out at the beginning had already delivered them to the entrance of the Company branch and were returning one after another.
“Thank you so much! Thanks to you, I sold twice as much and could close early,” an old woman said, grabbing March 7th’s hand in gratitude.
“Yeah, what I earned today is equivalent to four or five days’ normal earnings.”
“We can’t calculate it like that. The extra twice the amount had no cost, so it’s at least equivalent to a month’s earnings.”
“Yes, yes, thank you so much.”
…
“Huff, huff.” Scott bent over, hands on his knees, panting like a dog.
Watching the vendors thank Meng Huaifeng and the others, he finally started to understand.
“You… you… tricked… tricked me?” Scott asked haltingly.
“Not at all. We really wanted to try the local snacks here,” Meng Huaifeng said innocently.
“Ah, what a shame, I didn’t get to taste anything,” March 7th said regretfully.
Scott’s expression improved slightly. Although he felt a bit tricked, his objective had been achieved.
“Idiot, idiot! I told you not to fall for it, not to fall for it, why didn’t you listen?” The powerful entity possessing Scott said angrily.
“I’ve already spent so much money. If I had stopped halfway and let them eat, it would have been a complete failure – both money spent and objective not achieved. Now, even though I spent a bit more money, at least the objective has been achieved!” Scott felt this wasn’t a total loss.
“If you want to eat, we can come again tomorrow,” Meng Huaifeng suggested.
“If you come tomorrow, this old woman will treat you for free.”
“Yes, yes, we can treat you the day after tomorrow, or the day after that.”
The beneficiaries, the vendors, all expressed their gratitude.
Scott’s vision went black, and he collapsed onto the ground.
“Oh my, it’s the first time I’ve closed shop so early. I don’t know what to do now,” an auntie lamented.
Meng Huaifeng glanced at Gui Naifen. “Little Guizi, aren’t you a master of street performance art? Why don’t you put on a show for everyone?”
“Brother Huaifeng, great idea!” Gui Naifen gave Meng Huaifeng a thumbs-up and produced a broken gong from somewhere.
“Clang, clang, clang.”
Three gongs sounded.
“Come one, come all! If you don’t see the acrobatics today, you’ll regret it for a thousand lifetimes! Fire breathing, sword swallowing, dragon and fish dances, lion dances with bowls on their heads, human pyramids, swallowing fireballs, stepping on hot coals, the flying trapeze artist is praised by all! Friends from all directions, come and watch, everyone says—watching Gui Naifen’s acrobatics is priceless!”
Following Gui Naifen’s opening poem, she performed a set of martial arts with great vigor.
“Yay!” March 7th clapped her hands enthusiastically.
The idle vendors and tourists voluntarily cleared a space.
The vendors had sold all their snacks, and the tourists had nothing to see, so they could only watch Gui Naifen’s acrobatic performance.
“Golden spear through the throat!”
“Sword swallowing through the spine!”
“Catching bullets with bare hands!”
“Amazing!”
One thrilling performance after another unfolded, and the crowd applauded and cheered.
“Crushing a large stone on the chest! Are there any enthusiastic audience members who can help Little Guizi complete this performance?”
Gui Naifen lay on the ground, with a large bluestone placed on her chest.
“I will!”
Xing eagerly stepped forward.
“Should I smash it down with force?” Xing asked, holding a hammer beside Gui Naifen.
“Family, lighter… lighter,” Gui Naifen said with a slight stutter, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead, her eyes filled with a desperate desire to live.
Xing swung the hammer, frowning. “It’s not as handy as my baseball bat.”
Xing raised the hammer high.
“Wait! Actually, I’m better at smashing the bluestone down so that the person underneath is completely unharmed!” Gui Naifen suddenly shouted.
“Really? I don’t believe it! Let me try being underneath,” Scott, who had recovered, stepped forward.
He had seen this performance by Gui Naifen before, and she was quite skilled; she definitely wouldn’t hurt him.
But!
Hmph, as soon as your hammer comes down, whether you get hurt or not won’t be up to you! I’ll immediately spit out blood and pretend to be injured, waiting for compensation!
“Okay, no problem! Please, just watch!” Gui Naifen joyfully lifted the bluestone and enthusiastically guided Scott to lie down.
The large bluestone was placed on Scott, and he felt slightly breathless.
“I’ll do it, I’ll do it.” Gui Naifen carefully took the hammer from Xing’s hand.
“Little Guizi, let me!” Sushang stepped forward, looking at Scott with eager eyes.
“Uh… Shang Shang, you can’t control the force, let me do it,” Gui Naifen said, feeling uneasy.
“Huaifeng said that no matter if you can control the force or not, this guy will definitely pretend to be injured. So, it’s better if I do it, to vent some anger. This way, he was beaten by me, and it won’t affect your future performances,” Sushang whispered to Gui Naifen.
Scott’s eyes twitched wildly. This wild girl might actually do it!
“Move the stone away. I’ve changed my mind, I’m not doing it,” Scott said urgently.
“Don’t! Lie down, lie down, I’ll be very serious.” Sushang pressed down on the Large Bluestone, and under Sushang’s immense strength, Scott was completely unable to move.
Seeing Sushang’s kind smile, Scott’s face turned pale with fright. You’ll be very serious about smashing me to death, won’t you?
“Let me go! Someone’s trying to kill me, help! Help!” Scott shouted for help.
“Coward, you’re so timid, then don’t go up there. It’s truly embarrassing,” Meng Huaifeng jeered from the crowd.
“Exactly, so timid.”
“Truly useless.”
“So embarrassing.”
“…”
Scott cursed inwardly, is this a problem of being timid? This guy might actually cripple me!
Seeing that Sushang had already raised her Hammer, Scott shouted, “If you dare to smash me, I’ll report you to the Bureau of Operations. You’re forcing people to perform dangerous acts!”
Gui Naifen quickly stopped Sushang.
“We’ll let you go, and you won’t report us?” Gui Naifen asked, still a little wary of the Bureau of Operations.
“No problem, of course no problem. As long as you let me go, I absolutely won’t report you, I promise!” Scott was overjoyed.
Gui Naifen hesitated. This guy doesn’t look like a Good Person, will he really not report us?
If he’s going to report us whether we smash him or not, we might as well vent our anger first. At worst, we’ll be banned from performing for half a year.
Gui Naifen looked to Meng Huaifeng for help.
Meng Huaifeng nodded and opened his mouth three times.
Gui Naifen understood: “Alright then, remember your promise. Shang, let go.”
“Oh.” Sushang regretfully removed her foot from the Large Bluestone.
Amidst the boos and contemptuous glances of the onlookers, Scott fled in disarray.
The performance continued, with Xing replacing Scott.
Gui Naifen had to admit, this was the most satisfying smash she’d ever done. Truly worthy of the Nameless known throughout the Universe!
Gui Naifen’s stunts were limited, even including biting a lighter. After an hour, she had finally exhausted all her tricks.
Meng Huaifeng looked at the still-eager crowd and took Gui Naifen’s place.
“Everyone, please step back a bit!”
“Those who don’t like dancing, please move further back!”
People have a herd mentality. Seeing that no one else was retreating, they didn’t retreat either.
“Now, let’s get hyped! Music!” Meng Huaifeng reached his hand towards the sky.
“I feel like it’s going to explode!”
A spark of fervent fire ignited in everyone’s eyes, and they began to dance to the music.
When one person goes crazy, it’s madness. When a group of people go crazy, it’s a carnival!
Pioneer Protocol Four: Under normal circumstances, do not sell large-scale, high-yield lethal weapons to the New World.
