area51novel Chapter 278 Pickpocket
Chapter 278 Pickpocket
Chapter 278 Pickpocket
It's absolutely impossible not to be nervous.
Even though Qin Nan is a legitimate Yellow-rank magical girl at this time, it does not change the fact that this is her first time entering the surface world (excluding the surface world that has been corrupted by shadows).
"It's a pity. If I had been able to successfully break through to the Green level before, I wouldn't be so constrained." Qin Nan pursed her lips and shook her head helplessly. Then she looked at Little Grey. "Keep an eye on things for me. I'll see if I can find any clues."
"Leave it to me." Little Grey landed on the back of the seat and opened his "demon-hunting vision."
With the help of his innate magic, Little Grey could sense that the atmosphere around him was a bit strange. Although he couldn't see anything, he could see the movement of the air, and it felt like, like many people were breathing.
These "people" sat in the carriage, motionless, without a heartbeat; only their faint breathing stirred the surrounding air.
If Little Grey hadn't been so observant, he wouldn't have noticed at all.
With a slight change in expression, Xiao Hui turned its gaze towards Qin Nan.
At this moment, Qin Nan was casually walking towards the next seat. She tried to touch the suitcase on the shelf, wanting to see if there was any noteworthy information or other rules inside.
Right there on the seat under the suitcase, Xiao Hui could clearly feel a faint air movement, and with each breath, there was a "person" there.
But the next moment, Qin Nan stepped directly onto the seat and quickly took the suitcase off the shelf.
The entire movement was fluid and seamless, without any hesitation or obstruction.
The breath remained on the seat, completely undisturbed by Qin Nan's actions, even though Qin Nan's movements had clearly occupied the other's 'space,' but the thing still didn't react at all.
"Sure enough, these 'passengers' were invisible and untouchable before they broke the rules; in fact, they didn't even exist."
"What did you say?" Qin Nan asked, not having heard Xiao Hui's mutterings clearly.
"Nothing much, I just saw something interesting. After learning about the existence of rules in the surface world, I suddenly found this place quite interesting." Little Grey flapped its wings and then asked, "Did you find anything?"
"I'm watching."
Qin Nan didn't even turn her head, casually rummaging through the clothes in the box.
These clothes are products of the last century, both in terms of style and quality, and they are filled with an unpleasant odor, not the smell of sweat or fish, but the smell of mold.
As Qin Nan flipped through the pages, her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Found it!"
"Really? Really? You found a new rule?" Little Grey asked curiously upon hearing this.
Immediately afterwards, Qin Nan was seen holding a shiny object tightly in both hands, showing it off as if to flaunt it.
"Little Grey, look! A vintage pocket watch!"
1
2
Little Grey's face stiffened.
"...What exactly are you looking for, sir?"
"What do you know? I've been looking forward to this treasure hunt for ages." Qin Nan snorted, then excitedly examined the pocket watch in his hand. "Clearing the watch world is just a pretext; finding the treasure to sell is the real priority."
"Speaking of which, Tang Zijun isn't short of money. You can just ask him for whatever you want to buy. Besides, didn't he give you a raise?" Xiao Hui couldn't help but mutter.
"What do you know?"
Qin Nan stood up and said seriously,
"I originally wanted to take some things from the Reverse World to sell, but I found out that everything there was a mirror image. Later, I asked Tang Zijun to make some gold for me as a bonus, but as you can see, the price of gold plummeted. For the sake of more people's hearts, Tang Zijun advised me to give up on trying to enter the stock market."
"But things are different now. The surface world is a treasure trove for us. It's not like the textured scenes in low-quality games. Everything here can be sold for money."
"Asking for things doesn't reflect my value at all. Only by making money on my own can I spend it with a clear conscience."
Xiao Hui's eyes twitched as he listened to Qin Nan's long-winded explanation.
"What you said makes sense, but you seem to have forgotten that our current goal is to find other train rules. You know, there's still a Dominator locked up in the restroom over there in Tangcao."
"Okay, you have a point." Qin Nan shrugged and then put the pocket watch into his pocket.
The moment the pocket watch disappeared into his pocket, the atmosphere in the entire carriage suddenly changed dramatically.
Little Grey was the first to notice this. In an instant, he felt that the originally faint breathing sounds had become heavy, like those of a wild beast.
Immediately afterwards, the lights inside the carriage began to dim, and the entire carriage visibly became dark.
Qin Nan's expression changed slightly. She then turned around abruptly and saw a huge humanoid creature, so large it almost filled the aisle, walking out from behind the closed door at the end of the carriage.
Before Qin Nan and Xiao Hui had much time to react, the burly giant pulled out a menacing spiked club.
"Thief! Pickpocket on the train!!"
"Oh."
Little Grey's eyes looked a little strange.
"Boss, it seems you broke those rules before you even found the others."
"Nonsense, I can see that!" Before he could finish speaking, the spiked club came crashing down on Qin Nan's small, thin body.
Qin Nan took a step and calmly retreated out of the cramped carriage, narrowly avoiding the opponent's attack.
With a loud "boom," the spiked club slammed heavily onto the floor, causing the entire carriage to tremble. The sharp barbs became deeply embedded in the floor.
Seeing that his attack had missed, the burly man roared and charged again, swinging his spiked club.
"Big sister, I strongly suggest you return the pocket watch. After all, in this environment, if you rashly fight the Dominator, you might break even more rules."
"Nonsense! You expect me to spit out what's already in my pocket?!"
Qin Nan darted forward to meet the spiked club, leaping high into the air and bracing himself on the opponent's shoulder with one hand, easily dodging the attack and creating distance between them.
She landed steadily on the other side, and Qin Nan turned around gracefully.
Then, from the shadows of the train, figures began to take shape, and the appearance of those humanoid creatures gradually became clear, as if they had been rendered with layers.
"Catch the thief..."
"Damn thief."
"We can't let her get away with this..."
A series of dreamlike whispers rang out, and the 'passengers' who had gained physical form stood up unsteadily.
No more, no less, exactly nine.
"It seems that as long as the rules are violated even slightly, these 'passengers' will reveal their physical form and launch an attack. These guys have probably been holding back for a while now," Little Gray said, flying onto Qin Nan's shoulder.
"Hmph, so what?" Qin Nan smirked. "If they hadn't come out, I would have been in a real bind. Now that they've materialized, it's avoided some trouble."
As she spoke, Qin Nan gently flicked her earring.
"Respond to my call—"
A burst of blue light erupted, instantly illuminating the dimly lit carriage.
"Bloom!!"
Just as Qin Nan was preparing to seriously deal with the ruler in front of him, Tang Zijun was also fighting with all her might in another carriage.
In the dimly lit carriage, the dining car had already overturned. In the corner of the carriage, a standing figure could be vaguely seen, tightly gripping another figure in its hand.
"To sell or not to sell?"
"To sell or not to sell?"
"To sell or not to sell?"
6f
Each time he asked, he could hear the dull thud of a fist striking his face.
With one hand holding the "flight attendant" by the collar, Tang Zijun raised the other hand high and then brought it down with a thud.
"Give me a straight answer: are you going to sell or not?"
The flight attendant stared blankly at the ceiling, her mouth agape, looking completely dazed.
Seeing his expression, Tang Zijun also looked a little embarrassed.
"I told you not to be so easily startled. I'm a bit of a scaredy-cat, but look at you, you insisted on hitting me, and now look what you've done..."
Shaking her head slightly, Tang Zijun slowly turned around, her gaze sweeping across the entire carriage behind her.
Its eerie green pupils, like those of a wolf in the dead of night, instantly unleashed a terrifying aura that enveloped the entire carriage.
Wherever Tang Zijun's gaze fell, the breathing in the air became quiet, as if everyone was holding their breath and not daring to breathe.
After staring at Zhengzheng for a while, Tang Zijun finally looked away.
He had actually sensed the presence of these "passengers" long ago; even when he wasn't transformed, he could clearly hear their breathing.
However, since the other party has no physical form, it's useless to even be aware of their existence. Tang Zijun originally thought that the carriage would become lively the moment she made her move.
Surprisingly, these guys were all so quiet, and they didn't even dare to look in my direction.
Refocusing his attention on the 'flight attendant' in his hands, Tang Zijun began to strip off the clothes without saying a word. Without any objection from the person in question, he quickly took off the jacket that symbolized the flight attendant.
The moment the clothes left her body, the 'flight attendant' deflated like a punctured balloon.
Tang Zijun was startled and let go of the 'flight attendant', which immediately fell into thin air and disappeared without a trace.
At the same time, in newspapers that nobody paid attention to.
[Rule (6): This train has train attendants. If you see anyone wearing a train attendant's uniform, please ask them for help.]
He will guide you in the direction to leave...