"I don’t know anything!" Jello insisted.
Evil Spirit glanced at Jello with doubt, then used Jello’s clothes to carefully wipe the bloodstains off the Sheep Horn Hammer and continued speaking.
"I’m actually quite reasonable," Evil Spirit said earnestly, "I don’t like solving problems with violence."
Jello glared at him fiercely, even though fear radiated from the terrifying mask, he still mustered the strength to glare back.
Doesn’t like solving problems with violence?
Jello still remembered the cold and efficient moves, Evil Spirit had brutally broken his arm and shin, and now he was saying he didn’t like violence.
If it were an ordinary person, the moment Evil Spirit appeared, they would probably spill all their secrets. In fact, Jello did too, but he couldn’t speak. Once he let those secrets slip, he would no longer have a foothold in the Wandering Crossroads.
To him, that was no different than being dead.
"Alright, if you don’t want to talk, so be it," Evil Spirit said, standing up as if ignoring Jello and addressed the black hood next to him, "Any plans after work?"
"Does going to a club for a drink count?"
"I don’t think so, and it’s not even the weekend tomorrow. Getting wasted would make you unfit for duty."
The two casually chatted, leaving Jello aside. He couldn’t understand these two people, let alone this strange Evil Spirit.
In Will’s legend, he was so sinister, but when he appeared before him, there wasn’t much to worry about.
A slight tremor shattered Jello’s thoughts. He slowly moved his gaze, eyes trailing along the tracks, and at the blurred end, a steel beast surged forth.
"Oh... by the way, a new store opened next door."
The two stood outside the tracks, continuing their chat, as if it all had nothing to do with them.
In an instant, Jello understood, Evil Spirit really wouldn’t use violence to interrogate him, because there was something even more violent barreling down the path, it would crush him into pieces.
Jello’s eyes were bloodshot; he wriggled his body desperately, managing to move away from the tracks, only to be kicked back by Evil Spirit.
This bastard was even humming a tune, as if he’d just kicked away a soda can.
"Are you crazy?" Jello screamed, "If I die, you’ll get nothing."
"This guy’s logic is a bit flawed, as if if he were alive, we’d get something," Evil Spirit shrugged at the black hood.
"Yeah, and he doesn’t want to talk, can’t really force someone, right?" the black hood nodded.
Jello struggled harder, but the intense pain throughout his body rendered him powerless to resist. Even if he moved, Evil Spirit would kick him back instantly.
The tremor of the tracks grew increasingly intense, to the point where it matched the rapid beating of Jello’s heart, repeatedly striking his nerves. The train was now in sight, rumbling forward with the chill of death.
Jello gasped for air. The more critical the moment, the more he couldn’t panic. He knew these two were gambling on his courage.
The train drew nearer, and the two kept chatting. Jello held his breath, and at the brink of life and death, Evil Spirit suddenly lifted his foot and kicked him off the tracks.
He had bet right. These people needed the secrets in his head; they wouldn’t kill him.
Indeed, these so-called Evil Spirits were nothing much.
Jello’s upper body was off the tracks, but his lower body remained. At this moment, Evil Spirit paused, and Jello didn’t understand what he was going to do, when Evil Spirit spoke.
"See, this way, it’ll only crush his legs; the upper body can be crushed again later."
"Oh, really? So you can crush him twice," the black hood responded in a deliberately childlike tone.
Jello was stunned for a second, then cursed loudly.
"You perverts! Madmen! Murderers!"
He used the most vicious words he could think of to curse them, but the two didn’t care at all, instead, they laughed heartily.
"Thank you for acknowledging our role as villains."
Evil Spirit even bowed respectfully, as if Jello were an appraiser who just gave them a favorable review, and indeed, for a villain, the best appraisal might just be those vicious words.
The vibrating tracks kept urging Jello’s nerves. He widened his eyes, blood vessels spreading across the whites, then focused intently on his legs.
He wouldn’t die, but his lower life might be bound to a wheelchair.
"I’ll tell! It’s those merchants! They’ve returned!" Jello screamed.
"See, I said this middleman must know something," the black hood boasted to Evil Spirit, "Didn’t think we’d actually get those ’Gray Trade Association’ people to surface."
Jello was dumbfounded, then a great sense of humiliation washed over him. These two were tricking him, these damn bastards were tricking him, but he had no time to reprimand them; he shouted.
The two exchanged glances and laughed again.
"I told you this guy’s logic is flawed. You telling us what you know and us letting you down, what direct connection is there?" the black hood said, even kicking Jello’s face.
Jello broke down into tears. He realized that myths have their credibility; Evil Spirit wasn’t a monster, but rather a downright psychopathic killer. Comparatively, being straightforwardly killed might have been a relief.
"Please! Spare me! I’ll tell everything I know!"
Jello made this final struggle, but the two didn’t care at all. Evil Spirit hummed a tune, looking at the sky, while the black hood went to a parked sidecar motorcycle nearby.
"Yes! It’s those Gray Trade Association people! They brought a lot of goods to the Wandering Crossroads! Rumor has it they also brought a mysterious item, but I don’t know any more than that!"
Jello nearly shouted these words. He had many other messy secrets in his mind, but he thought this would be the most persuasive to the two.
The train thundered past, Jello was being dangled by Evil Spirit. He looked coldly at the rushing train, just a bit more and he would’ve been crushed.
Jello stared blankly forward, his emotions completely numb. At this moment, Evil Spirit’s voice sounded again, no longer with a hint of humor, but in a chilling tone.
"So, are you now willing to cooperate with our work, Jello?"
Jello nodded numbly, his mind shattered by the capricious Evil Spirit.
"Wow! I kind of wanted to see the train run over him," the black hood revved the engine, the motorcycle rumbling below.
"We are law-abiding citizens, don’t trouble the railway operations."
Dragging the battered and fractured Jello, Evil Spirit righteously addressed the black hood.