Xingtetsu: Why is the captain on the train?

"Well, now with your help, we certainly don't have any worries."

Chapter 138: Assigned to Ester

"Lord Extinction, Illusion?" Latio looked the captain up and down, then turned his gaze to ScrewGum, "When did this happen?"

"It happened about eighty system hours ago." ScrewGum turned his head and stared at Latio for a moment, then retracted his gaze and looked at the captain. "Because of your presence, Captain, I believe that [Grand Duke of Hellfire] can't cause much trouble in the space station."

The captain had a strange expression on his face. He looked at Screw, Latio, and finally glanced at Ester who was frowning and thinking. Finally, he just nodded and said, "Okay, I think I understand."

The moment she understood the three words spoken by the captain, Ester suddenly raised her head and looked at the captain with burning eyes, "What do you mean?"

"No, I'm not saying that I solved the whole incident." The captain raised a finger and shook it at Estelle. "I just understand that I have the ability to help you. Of course, I will do my best. After all, the Black Tower has helped me a lot."

Esta showed disappointment and regret, but she soon cheered up. When no one spoke, she looked at the captain and Latio, "I hope that Captain, Miss Yuexia, and Mr. Latio can help to investigate the missing persons."

"Reason?" Latio neither accepted nor rejected the question, but instead asked a question.

"The entire space station is in a state of panic because of the disappearances. It is inconvenient for Mr. Screw and I to go out and visit people." Estelle's words were very clear. "As for the disappearances themselves, there are also staff members involved in the investigation."

"One of the missing persons?" Yuexia suddenly spoke.

"Yes." Estelle nodded with a heavy expression. "Adler, a member of the Strange Objects Department, seems to be involved in the whole thing. It is related to a strange object. It is likely a task assigned by Ms. Black Tower, but he is missing, and Ms. Black Tower has temporarily lost contact..."

"What about the other puppets?" The captain raised an eyebrow. "The puppets are essentially the same..."

Halfway through his words, he noticed Estelle's bitter expression and stopped talking. "Well, the aftermath of 'annihilation' has affected more than just Black Tower himself. Well, let's visit..."

The captain turned his gaze to Latio, "Then let's go?"

Latio nodded. He was very satisfied with the captain's observation and insight, as well as the way he thought and asked questions in this short period of time.

Latio, nicknamed "Doctor of Truth", suffers from "Stupidity", a terminal illness.

Watching the Captain, Yuexia, and Latio walk out of the Black Tower's office, Estelle was filled with worry. She could feel the undercurrent surging beneath the whole thing. The sense of crisis that was suppressed and just waiting to explode was constantly stimulating her nerves.

But...her strength is not only the fighting ability on paper, but also the thinking ability and the ability to unravel the mystery, which are not enough.

It made her feel very powerless.

There are many people she can rely on, such as Screw Goom, Doctor Truth, the Captain, and the Black Tower, but... the only thing is that she is not among them.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine." Screw Gumm patted Ester's shoulder gently.

Ester could only force a smile, but even the omnic, who was not so sensitive to emotions, could sense it.

This little bit of comfort is of no use.

---

"Can you tell me? What are you planning?" In the main control cabin, the captain paused, turned around, and looked at Latio, who stopped almost at the same time as him.

Latio raised an eyebrow.

He did not answer immediately, but fell into a brief silence.

Stupidity can probably be considered a psychological illness, a hatred of stupid behavior that comes from the heart. This hatred is not only reflected in others, but naturally, this hatred also includes oneself.

Therefore, Latio would not play dumb, or in other words... he would not waste such a precious opportunity unless it was truly worth it.

So, is it worth it right now?

"How did you know that?" Latio looked at the captain. From the first moment they met, he began to update the captain's thinking model and personality model again and again.

"I'm not the type of person who's good at planning a game, but I'm really good at breaking it." The captain shrugged, "My way of thinking is actually very simple."

"First, although Black Tower appears indifferent to many things, she is not someone who would be so rude as to let Grand Duke Netherfire hit her in the face."

"She's narrow-minded." The captain shrugged. "She can hide away from the Lord of Extinction, but she can easily afford to offend the Annihilation Gang. Normally, she would never act like a coward."

"You know more about the Black Tower than I thought." Latio nodded, "You even know more about the Black Tower than Estelle."

"Maybe it's because of the different positions we're standing in. Ester always feels like she's looking up at the black tower, so naturally she doesn't dare to guess casually, let alone confirm it after guessing." The captain shrugged.

"And Esta is my second angle of entry."

"I'd like to hear more about it." Latio folded his arms and looked at the captain.

"I know from the Black Tower that Estelle's family is a well-known figure in the company. Not just ordinary people." The captain looked at Latio, "And you, it seems, are also."

After all, she is a super rich woman who could easily agree to send a star destroyer to the Star Core Spirit.

"In terms of identity and background, she is older than me, much older. But in terms of personal value, she is not as good as me, far from it." Latio sneered, as if with a bit of... sarcasm and helplessness.

"You hate her?" The captain was keenly aware of the complexity of Latio's attitude, a complex attitude of being angry at her for not fighting back, grieving her for her misfortune, and hating her for not being able to become as strong as steel.

"I hate stupidity. I want to die when I see it." Latio rolled his eyes.

"So? What's the plan?" The captain chose to skip Latio's personal story and did not go any further.

"There is no plan. The Duke of Hellfire has indeed set his sights on the space station. He has borrowed the power of a rare object and injected the power of the fire demon into the space station in order to cause unrest. This is the task assigned to Ester. All I did was to intervene at the suggestion of the Black Tower and help to support the situation so that no one would actually die. It's that simple."

"So what do we do now?"

"Investigate, and then wait..." Latio suddenly felt annoyed when he saw the captain raised his eyebrows.

He didn't think the captain was stupid, but after the captain suddenly shut down his brain, he felt powerless and helpless, so he could only add the second half of the sentence.

"Wait for Duke Minghuo to make a move, and then we will take advantage of the opportunity to act."

Latio complained in his heart more than once.

Why the human brain does not have overclocking and power-on buttons.

If he had, he could easily get those tired and mediocre people to start up their rusty and broken brains.

Chapter 139: Laughing Out Loud

Visiting is essentially a mechanical and boring activity.

When you ask someone questions, there is a lack of official endorsement and the matter cannot be made public. You have to get information in a roundabout way. If you ask too few questions, you won't get any clues, and if you ask too many questions, you will annoy people.

The clerks are also human beings. Those with good tempers will say a few more words, while those with bad tempers will ignore them.

Latio tried his best at the beginning, but he ran into several snags. He couldn't help but put on a plaster head and hide his face alone. But after all, his Qi-cultivation skills were strong enough. Even though the veins on his sturdy arms were throbbing, he was able to keep his cold voice steady and patiently went on. After talking to a few people, he finally couldn't hold it anymore and let the captain take over.

However, the captain was not very capable. He encountered a few setbacks, but the main problem was that there was a gossiper. The captain didn't ask many questions, but was instead asked a lot of questions by the other side. He stayed in Bengbu, and in the end he could only let Yuexia take over.

All I can say is that pretty girls always get preferential treatment.

And it is probably also related to the fact that he had been running around the space station with the Star Core Elites to gain reputation before. Yuexia didn't encounter many setbacks, and when he encountered things he didn't know, people finally stopped asking too many questions. A few words from Yuexia were able to stop that momentum.

After much stumbling, I was finally able to find enough information.

"Phase Spirit Fire... must be the carrier of the power of Grand Duke Hellfire." Yuexia, the captain, and Latio returned to the main control cabin and found an empty rest area to sit down.

"Adler was assigned by the Black Tower to find the Phase Fire, and he did his best to investigate." Latio leaned half on the back of the sofa, his tone leisurely, "However, Adler didn't know that the power of the Grand Duke of Hellfire had infiltrated the space station. He thought he was chasing the Phase Fire, but in the eyes of the Grand Duke of Hellfire..."

Doctor Zhenli paused for a moment, but his silence spoke louder than words.

In the eyes of Duke Minghuo, there was an incomprehensible weak young man who was following him closely and investigating him.

"He was the first to disappear." The captain suddenly spoke.

"We already know." Latio looked at the captain. He didn't think the captain would say nonsense at this moment, so after saying this, he simply waited for the captain's next words.

To be honest, the way he speaks really deserves a beating.

Only those who can keep up with the speed of his thinking can understand his thoughts and the meaning not expressed in his words.

"The subsequent disappearances only started slowly and became more frequent." The captain raised his hand and tapped his temple gently. "I've said before that I'm not good at planning a game, but I'm good at breaking it. The main reason is that I'm good at figuring out and judging people."

Latio nodded silently.

"The Duke of Hellfire must have changed his way of thinking and mode of thinking in the process of dealing with Adler, which is why he has taken more frequent actions. Otherwise, he would be lurking in the dark and slowly sabotaging, which would be far more in his interest than taking actions like this to alert the enemy." The captain turned his gaze to Latio, "What do you think?"

I feel? How can I feel?

Latio was silent, raised his hand and pinched the corner of his eye. He suddenly felt a little regretful that he did not play dumb in front of the captain at the beginning.

Because the captain's eyes and meaningful words clearly told him to confess himself.

"I do have spatial power. According to the analysis that the Black Tower gave me, my most fundamental power, the one that I should develop the most, is related to space. The upper limit is also high enough. I will probably be able to reach the level of 'phase' in the future."

Phase is the superiority of space. There is a limit to the jump of space. The longer the jump distance, the more events are required. But phase... is a displacement.

Thousands of light years away in the blink of an eye.

"So, I have a question." The captain approached Latio's psychological defense leisurely, "Adler, where did you go?"

"Where did the missing officers go?" The captain tapped his temple and closed his eyes. "The puppets in the Black Tower were [annihilated], but the missing officers are different. Their disappearance did not trigger the same 'perception barrier' as the puppets in the Black Tower."

"In other words, they were not [annihilated], but simply disappeared, and were not killed by the methods of the Underworld Lord."

"You said that you helped support the space station at the suggestion of the Black Tower." The captain thought for a moment, "Then, I boldly guess that after the puppets in the Black Tower were [annihilated], you immediately got the news and knew that it was time for you to play a role. Your role also led to a series of subsequent attacks on the staff by the Duke of Hellfire."

"Are these all speculations you made without any evidence?" Latio stared at the captain with a look of well-concealed shock.

"Hmm...right." The captain smiled. "This is a kind of ability that my old rival helped me cultivate. I can't really say if it's an 'ability' or not. It's very similar to the divination technique of the Xianzhou people."

"But this is purely subjective thinking. I have already formed empiricism. Whenever I have an idea in mind, I will continue to look for evidence and then adjust the overall direction of the events I speculate based on the evidence. I can always complete the whole picture." The captain shrugged, "So I am not good at planning, because I always have countless ways to break through what I have planned, so people like me cannot calculate others."

"Fill the bones with flesh, then paint the skin." Doctor Zhenli stared at the captain. After a brief inner struggle, he sighed helplessly, "Okay, you really surprised me. I admit that you are right. I used the company's magic to block the phase of the entire Black Tower Space Station. Now nothing in this space station can phase jump, and teleportation can only jump inside the space station."

"I really don't know where Duke Hellfire took him, but he must still be in the space station."

"Then, I guess that the Duke of Hellfire's constant attacks on the clerks are not simply for the purpose of attack or to create panic. He is most likely trying to break through your phase blockade of the space station." The captain raised his eyebrows.

Latio nodded. "I believe your guess. A rash attack would only leave traces for us to catch him. The more traces there are, the faster he will be caught by us. He would understand this, but he still did it."

"I can understand his inner anxiety. After all, from the perspective of Duke Hellfire, everything that is happening right now seems like he has been lured into a trap. He is probably still feeling lucky that he only borrowed the phase spirit fire and did not come with his real body." The captain shrugged regretfully.

Doctor Zhenli's brain was quick. After the captain finished speaking, he immediately understood what the captain meant and suddenly couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"That's right. With you, the envoy who will fight against [Lord of Extinction] head-on, if he gets the news, he will probably just be thankful that he was cautious enough."

"But who knows, this is just a coincidence." The captain shrugged helplessly and couldn't help laughing.

Chapter 140: The whereabouts of the clerk

"Captain, Mr. Latio, are we going to look for the missing clerks next?" Holding the black tea brought by the ordering robot, Yuexia looked at the two men with tacit smiles curiously.

"Let's see what Latio is going to do." The captain decided to shut down his brain. Now that he knew that someone would cover everything, he would rather be a pure thug.

After all, a few days ago, he was facing off against the Lord of Extinction. Now, he was facing off against the Duke of Hellfire in the space station. He really couldn't muster the motivation.

In layman's terms, the captain wanted to touch it.

After all, his relationship with Ester is not that close. His relationship with the Black Tower is closer. The current situation in the space station belongs to the Black Tower and Latio, and maybe Screwgoom will be involved. These three famous figures in the universe have given the students of the Black Tower a task together.

There was no need and no reason for him to get involved, so just leave it to Latio.

"Let's go back and report the situation to Ester." Latio stood up, "and get her advice on what to do next."

Latio came forward and brought the information they had found back to the Black Tower's office to find Ester, but...

"The arrangement is a bit superficial." Latio revealed his tone of resentment and helplessness, "Looking for the missing staff and searching for the frequency records of spatial fluctuations. Relying on this method, we can only chase after the Phase Spirit Fire, but we can never catch the culprit."

"Didn't Estelle say that she was going to contact the creator of [Phase Fire]?" The captain chuckled and comforted Latio.

"It can't change the nature of mediocrity." Latio frowned, and some worry seemed to emerge, but he concealed it well.

"Mediocre is the norm of life." The captain shrugged. "The world is dominated by trendsetters, but the waves are driven by countless mediocrity. Without the waves, trendsetters lose their meaning."

“Even if an individual makes a big fuss, he is just a splash of water, not a wave.”

Latio did not speak, but remained silent.

Just like the captain's feelings towards Ester, Latio didn't have a close relationship with the captain. It was a matter of internal affairs of the company, as well as Ester's background and family. He wasn't the kind of fool who would have a superficial relationship with someone who was inappropriate at the time.

If an ordinary person is mediocre, then he is mediocre. As long as he is lucky and lives a life without any troubles, it is also a good thing.

But Esta can't be mediocre, absolutely not.

If she were mediocre, she would surely have a tragic end. The Interstellar Peace Company was not a kind organization where everyone was happy. Internal power struggles were the norm and even the basic rule of survival. The birthplace that Ester had no choice of would become a shackle around her neck over time.

If she didn't have enough strength to break free, or at least widen the gaps in the shackles, she would definitely not have a good ending.

"Forget it, it still has some good points." Latio shook his head helplessly and stopped worrying about it. No matter what happened to Estelle, she still had the Black Tower as her backer. As long as this backer did not fall, Estelle would always have time.

"Having connections, knowing how to use them, and being able to manage interpersonal relationships are all abilities." The captain shrugged.

Latio looked at the captain in surprise.