Chapter 25: I Don’t Understand, Simi Da

"This…"

The entire soul train had been cut apart. Originally twenty carriages long, now only the first seven remained, with clear cut marks at the rear. When touched, the edges were icy cold.

Gu You was astonished. It seemed that something significant had happened in the rear section of the train while he was pretending to sleep, yet he hadn't heard a single sound. Just who had such immense power to take a Federation-registered train, operating on fixed tracks within Shrek City, and transport it into this icy wasteland? And more importantly, it was evident that the train had been moved here without tracks, as if it had been dragged across space.

"So cold!"

"It's freezing!"

Most of the passengers were ordinary people, with only a few soul masters among them. Gu You estimated that the surrounding temperature was around -20°C. Ordinary people wouldn't last more than thirty minutes in such cold before suffering from shock.

The situation was unpredictable. Shrek City was currently in spring, meaning some passengers were dressed warmly while others weren't. Those wearing less had a much higher chance of freezing to death.

Most passengers instinctively retreated back into the train, where at least some warmth remained. But ironically, this made them even more vulnerable.

Someone was approaching…

Dozens of black-clad figures descended from the sky. They wore pitch-black masks adorned with vine-like patterns.

"If you don't want to die, come out now." The leader spoke in an eerie voice, so unsettling that it was impossible to tell if it belonged to a man or a woman.

"Why should we listen to you?" A middle-aged man outside the train retorted.

"Why? Hahaha, because I hold your lives in my hands!"

Five soul rings rose beneath the leader's feet. The other masked figures also released their martial souls—each one of them was a four-ringed soul master.

"How… how is this possible?"

Some passengers collapsed to the ground in fear. Despite the biting cold, more and more people obediently stepped out of the train.

"That's more like it. Obedience means you get to live a little longer. Now hand over all your belongings so we don't have any surprises later."

"I'll fight you! If we're going to die anyway, let's fight back!" A young man shouted. "We soul masters don't have a chance of survival against evil soul masters! Since that's the case, I might as well fulfill my childhood dream of becoming a hero!"

"Yeah! If we're dead either way…" Another three two-ringed soul masters stood beside him.

The blizzard continued to howl, but no one else stepped forward. All that remained was the despair in people's eyes and the cold indifference of reality.

"You're looking for death!"

Strange formations began appearing in the snowy ground around them, glowing faintly with dark energy. Moments later, dozens of undead corpses emerged.

"My precious pets… Don't kill those we need. But the ones who resist—let them be your nourishment for evolution!"

Stone Fortress!

The young soul master's third ring lit up. His martial soul was earth-based, and countless stone walls erupted from the ground, surrounding the group in a defensive barrier.

"Don't give up! The Federation won't abandon us! Hold on just a little longer!" the young man shouted.

The moment he finished speaking, however, his worst nightmare unfolded—the walls began to crack.

A rotting hand reached through the fissure.

Then another.

Then countless more.

"No!"

Two undead creatures pounced on the young soul master, dragging him to the ground. His screams filled the air. The other three soul masters who had dared to resist suffered the same fate, their flesh ripped apart as blood and intestines splattered onto the snow.

"Ahhh!"

People screamed. Those who had lived their entire lives in peace had never witnessed such horrors before.

Even Gu You felt a wave of nausea. While he had the strength to take down the undead creatures, he didn't have enough power left to fight off the evil soul masters outside.

Should he use that move?

Gu You hesitated. Yun Ming had given him a soul tool transmitter. If he forcefully depleted his soul power or absorbed a large amount of dark energy, Yun Ming and Old Madman would be able to sense it and come to his aid, even from miles away.

Forget it. Maybe this was the real test of his strength.

Gu You discarded the thought. He carefully stored all his belongings in his soul storage ring, then placed the ring in his mouth to hide it from the evil soul masters' searches.

Although his voice might sound different, none of these people had ever heard him speak before. As long as he changed his accent, they wouldn't suspect anything.

"Stop! This five thousand Federation coins is my daughter's tuition fee!"

"Get lost, old hag! If it weren't for our boss, I'd have killed you already!"

Gu You looked over and saw the mother of the beautiful girl from earlier. She was now rolling on the ground, wailing like a desperate woman. Her daughter, despite her fear, seemed more curious than anything else…

"You! Hand over your belongings!" A black-clad figure approached Gu You.

"…I don't understand, simida."

Gu You deliberately added a foreign accent to his words.

"What the hell?"

"I'm from Star Luo. I just arrived on the Douluo Continent. Never expected something like this to happen on my train ride. I don't have much money left—just my clothes. You don't believe me? Search me, taikun."

"Star… Star Luo?"

The black-clad man studied Gu You suspiciously.

A foreigner?

These uncultured evil soul masters actually fell for it.

After thoroughly searching Gu You, the man cursed under his breath about how poor foreigners were, then walked away.

Listen… it's snowing…

Thud.

Someone collapsed from exhaustion, but no one paid any attention.

Of the original two hundred passengers, only around thirty remained. Aside from those lost in the cut-off train cars, over a dozen people had already frozen to death along the way.

Gu You's body was strong, so the cold didn't affect him much. He was already nearing 1.7 meters in height. Without checking his bone age, no one would have guessed he was only nine years old.

"You're too slow! Move faster!"

A black whip lashed out, followed by synchronized screams. The long line of prisoners sped up.

"I'm sure you're all wondering how you woke up in this frozen wasteland."

The masked leader spoke once more.

"Well, I've received word from above, so I can tell you now. This is the Northern Frontier, and the city of Nona Linso lies ahead. That is our destination. Once we arrive, you'll all be freed."

Through the blizzard, a city gradually emerged in the distance. It looked prosperous, with towering buildings—a beacon of salvation in this frozen hell.

"As for how we brought you here? It took quite a bit of effort."

The leader chuckled.

"Our boss doesn't like the borderland refugees. Their blood essence is weak, and their strength is pathetic. They're practically useless for cultivation. So, we devised a special plan—to directly hijack city trains and take citizens from the core regions.

"We divided the operation into six phases, hijacking multiple trains and forcibly bringing city dwellers here.

"You might wonder—won't the Federation intervene? Of course, they will! The Federation is strong, but by the time they catch on, we're already at the border cities.

"The most developed cities we've hit were only second-tier ones. We investigated beforehand—second-tier city officials are usually just Soul Emperors. Even if reinforcements come, we have a way to handle them—cutting the train carriages.

"I don't believe they'd abandon the people inside to chase us. And sure enough, reality proved us right.

"Only one train got lucky. A Titled Douluo rescued them. Our men on that mission… never made it back."