"Everyone sit down! No standing up!"
Unaware that the Sky Clipper he hijacked had two VIP passengers on board, the skinny, tall bandit wielded a nail gun he somehow managed to bring aboard, gesturing with it as he shouted:
"You’re all my hostages now! Someone immediately change the course of this skyship, or else I’ll..."
At this point, the bandit hesitated briefly, glancing around at the positions in the VIP cabin before naturally aiming the gun at Leon, who was wearing a luxurious outfit, seated with a beautiful companion by his side in the best spot, and threatened harshly:
"Or else I’ll shoot him!"
I knew I’d be the one he’d target...
Looking at the dark barrel pointed at him, Leon was silent for a moment before sighing inwardly.
He wasn’t afraid. Not to mention, sitting beside him was Nicole. The Sky Clipper had just left the Royal Capital’s vicinity not too long ago, so his Undying Body was still effective. Even if he took a bullet, it wouldn’t matter.
What was truly frustrating was his unfortunate tendency to get into trouble, which was as consistent as ever.
According to Senior Tom, the reason for his bad luck was that the will of this world had deemed him a "harmful" existence, always wanting to eliminate him.
But the world’s way of dealing with him wasn’t a meteor falling from the sky, but arranging such a hijacking and sending a bandit with a homemade nail gun—this was quite humorous...
Seemingly convinced that Leon was the most important person in the VIP cabin, the bandit, whose hand trembled, placed his finger on the trigger, sweat covering his forehead as he angrily threatened:
"If you don’t want to die, have your people go to the control room and steer the skyship in the direction I say!"
Seeing the bandit in front of him, visibly tense and sliding facecloth due to sweat, Leon couldn’t help but find it amusing. With a kind expression, he reminded him:
"Your facecloth is slipping, you should pull it up."
Hearing Leon’s words, the bandit instinctively adjusted his soaked facecloth and even politely thanked him.
However, the next second, realizing his foolishness, the bandit’s forehead visible outside the facecloth turned visibly red, as he angrily asked:
"Are you messing with me?"
"I’m not messing with you; just offering a kind reminder."
As a fellow skyship hijacker, Leon couldn’t help but criticize, observing the bandit displaying some "immature" techniques:
"When choosing a facecloth, what were you thinking? Why pick one that’s not breathable? It’s covering your mouth and nose so thoroughly, and you’re stuck with it for hours. Don’t you feel stifled?"
"Moreover, your facecloth is made of thick gauze. Once soaked with sweat, it loosens, even if you tie a knot at the back of your head; it’ll still slip down, requiring constant adjustment. If you’re serious about masking up, going to a department store to buy thick stockings would be more suitable."
Wait... are you insane or something?
Observing Leon, who despite having been held at gunpoint by the bandit, was neither panicking nor sending someone to take over the skyship control room, but instead was teaching him how to mask up, the humorous bandit became enraged:
"Stop talking nonsense! Get your people to the control room! Steer the skyship as I demand, or I’ll shoot you!"
Giving a gesture to the female journalist to remain still, Leon, who had just decided to use brains more than brawn, raised his hands in a surrender gesture, then curiously asked:
"I bet you haven’t been to the skyship control room, have you?"
The bandit hesitated slightly before cautiously retorting:
Leon explained amusedly:
"Because if you had been, you’d know that the main work of those in the skyship control room is actually weather recording. This thing is automatically steered; they don’t manage the steering at all."
Befuddled by Leon’s response, the bandit beneath the facecloth opened and closed his mouth slightly, momentarily at a loss for words.
If this thing is automatically steered, then what exactly have I hijacked?
"Moreover, if you don’t mind, may I ask?"
Seeing the bandit’s confused expression, Leon inquired calmly:
"What is your purpose in hijacking this skyship? Could you explain?"
"It’s okay, just say it. Your purpose won’t be achieved after hijacking since you can’t change the course.
Well... even if you don’t want to tell, I can guess myself.
Given that you don’t know the people in the VIP cabin, it probably isn’t to hold them for ransom, so who are you threatening with this skyship? Or are you planning to crash it somewhere?"
After hearing Leon’s words, the disillusioned masked bandit was silent for a while, then lowered the nail gun weakly, his voice somber:
"I wanted revenge on Crolock Kingdom, using this skyship to crash into Crolock Kingdom’s palace..."
Looking at the bandit who originally intended to pull the catch, Leon raised an eyebrow, then inquired puzzledly:
"Then how exactly were you planning to escape from the skyship at the start? Parachuting ahead of time? Aren’t you afraid someone would change the course after you jump?"
"I wasn’t planning to run!"
Upon hearing Leon’s words, the masked bandit, seemingly provoked into recalling painful memories, gritted his teeth and said:
"Since boarding this skyship, I hadn’t planned on getting off. Trading my life for the entire royal family of Crolock Kingdom was worth it!"
"Mm-hmm, the spirit’s commendable, but there’s something I don’t understand."
Leon nodded slightly, then curiously asked:
"Since you weren’t planning to live, why the mask then?"
Right, I was planning to die, so why mask up?
Awakened by Leon’s words, the masked bandit finally realized, tore off his soaked facecloth, tossed it aside, then crouched powerlessly, covering his face as he began to sob.
Honestly, you’re quite a talent.
Watching the bandit cry beside his seat due to his own stupidity, Leon patted him on the shoulder, then shook his head and sighed:
"One can’t act solely based on passion; even as a bandit, you should learn well and remember to use your brain.
Moreover, although you probably don’t know, I’ll still ask... do you even know where Crolock Kingdom’s palace is?"
"Where’s the palace?"
Upon hearing Leon’s questioning, the bandit halted his sobbing, then said blankly:
"Does it need finding? Isn’t it generally the tallest and most beautiful structure in the middle of a kingdom, the palace?"
Good, indeed I didn’t overestimate your intelligence.