Chapter 829: Train Conductor

"This matter, we both share half the responsibility," Qi Xia said lightly. "I blame myself for trusting you too much, and I blame you for trusting me too much."

"Hahaha... You brat," Di She said, laughing as he stood up, his expression extraordinarily complex. "Qi Xia, oh Qi Xia, chatting with you, if I'm not careful, every step feels like it's a trap you've carefully set."

"No, this time it's sincere," Qi Xia said. "I bear half the responsibility, so I'll save you."

"The 'save me' you're talking about means having a battered 'Di Ji' level like me turn against 'Tian She' and then against 'Tian Long'," Di She said. "But Qi Xia, do you know what my own demands are?"

"Go ahead."

"It's 'collapse and escape'," Di She said. "How exactly do you plan to convince someone like me here... and ultimately turn me into your pawn?"

"I know you want to become a 'participant' again," Qi Xia nodded. "But that's not realistic. Even if I become a 'participant' now, I'd still be trying to 'collapse and escape'. If we keep going like this, when will it ever end? The upper levels will always be the upper levels, and those enslaved will always be enslaved. How can we make everyone put an end to all this?"

"This..."

"We can escape, but we can't keep escaping forever," Qi Xia said. "Let's find a way to leave this place together. Only then can we truly be free."

"Do you really have confidence in that?" Di She said. "I've suffered too much; I'm barely holding on to consciousness with my last bit of will... If I don't believe in my teacher... do you know what I'd become...?"

Before Qi Xia could answer, he suddenly sensed an unusual aura emanating from Di She.

A few seconds later, a voice came slowly from Chen Jun Nan behind him: "Young master is even more useless than before..."

Qi Xia turned around slowly and saw Chen Jun Nan with a sorrowful expression, looking as if he was about to cry.

Then came Qiao Jia Jin's voice: "I really let down Guan Er Ge..."

"You two..." Qin Ding Dong started to say, trying to console them, but suddenly his eyes reddened, and countless sad memories surfaced like submarines rising from the sea, densely packed.

At that moment, Qi Xia also felt a sharp pain in his brain.

"Qi Xia... if my beliefs completely collapse... things won't end well..." Di She said softly. "I'll amplify the sadness in everyone's heart, and the sadness here is already immense. Just a little push could send everyone into a state of collapse."

After hearing this, Qi Xia turned back and placed his hand on Di She's shoulder. "You know it—the person you trust most has returned. Remember this state; it'll be useful when the time comes."

Di She was silent for a long time before finally retracting his aura.

The three people lost in sorrow then felt their moods lighten a bit.

"I'm a permanent bearer of sadness," Di She said hoarsely. "I hope one day you can liberate me, you brat. I've boarded this pirate ship."

"No, you've always been on it," Qi Xia said. "Are you ready to do what's needed?"

After hearing that, Di She nodded: "I've wanted to do this from the beginning... As long as 'Qing Long' doesn't interfere, I'll personally kill 'Tian She'."

"That's more like it," Qi Xia said with a light laugh.

"I'll cut countless wounds into him, stuff them with countless eyeballs, and then stab them out one by one," Di She said with a laugh. "That'll be satisfying... right?"

"As long as it makes you happy," Qi Xia replied.

"Since we've come this far, I need to tell you a fact," Di She changed the subject. "You brat, 'Tian She' is more important than you imagine."

"How so?"

"His subordinates, those mindless 'Xian Fa Zhe', only obey his commands, and they manage the entire train's operations," Di She said. "Some can produce food, some can cook it, some can create fruits and cakes, and even some can use their beliefs to repair rooms and clean. As long as those most powerful 'Xian Fa Zhe' are around, the train can keep running stably."

Hearing this, fragments of memories flashed through Qi Xia's mind: "Oh?"

"My teacher learned knowledge from somewhere and implanted ideas into many mindless 'Xian Fa Zhe', forming an exceptionally stable assembly line," Di She continued. "Every time the 'Sheng Xiao' go out to work during the day, these 'Xian Fa Zhe' start acting. In just a few hours, they can restore the entire train to its original state and prepare a lot of food waiting for their return. Now, my teacher is considering building hot springs and recreation rooms, but they're still missing a few key 'Xian Fa'."

"This is..." Several images flashed through Qi Xia's mind, as if he was gradually piecing it together.

"My teacher calls this the 'Lei Nier Xiao Ying'," Di She said. "It's aimed at attracting and retaining talent with a friendly cultural atmosphere. No matter what setbacks or hardships the 'Sheng Xiao' face outside, as long as they return to the 'train', they'll always have the best services from the 'End Place' waiting for them. This service even goes beyond the natural realm—if an entire room is destroyed, it'll be restored the next day, not to mention the ever-changing gourmet meals. Once word of this treatment gets out, many people will be willing to become 'Sheng Xiao' and fight for the upper levels."

Qi Xia didn't respond, furrowing his brow in thought. The gourmet meals Di She mentioned gradually took shape in Qi Xia's mind.

Some of those so-called delicacies tasted like chewing wax when eaten, mixed with the unique rotten stench of the 'End Place'.

Others were incredibly delicious, but after swallowing, they provided no sense of fullness at all.

If asked what the best thing Qi Xia had eaten on the train over all this time, he might choose a bag of peanuts.

Di She sighed and asked, "You brat, what about my teacher, the one who's guided me all these years, the old thief I want to kill... isn't he good at management? He even knows some obscure management theories."

"What a shame," Qi Xia said, snapping back to attention. "'Lei Nier Xiao Ying' isn't a management term; it's an economics term. So, I think this effect isn't about managing subordinates better, but making them fight harder. In the end, it's just the leaders' one-sided self-indulgence."

"Is that so...?" Di She said with a bitter smile.

"If you can't provide substantial rewards and just focus on work atmosphere and culture, it's all nonsense," Qi Xia said. "Do they really think they're running a company? Every person here came in with killing intent, desperate to escape; they're not just nine-to-fivers punching a clock for a dead-end salary."