The boy answered, "I have already told you before, idiot. If you want to kill her, go ahead. She'll be resurrected back at the temple." After a brief pause, he added, "But that will also remove the anchor that's holding me back. I can unleash all of my power, turning this entire place into ashes. I resurrect at the temple, and you die. Even if you escape with your life, all deaths that occur will be pinned on you. You and your men will be hunted till death. So, if you have any motive regarding this hijack, go ahead and mind your business. Don't bother us anymore."
"You are bluffing, aren't you?" The villain didn't seem to buy it. He ate the last piece of steak and drank the rest of the wine before turning toward the girl and grabbing her throat.
"Ack…" The girl was struggling, trying to beat his arms to free herself, but the strength in her slowly started slipping away as she was slowly choking to death. She stretched her arm to her brother, asking for help.
However, the boy leaned back to the seat and crossed his legs with a smirk on his face, "Go on; finish your task. Why are you taking so long to kill a weak teenager? You are the one who is bluffing about your strength, aren't you?"
The villain gritted his teeth in rage. Mana surged within his body. It was then that the walkie-talkie beeped, interrupting him. Upon pressing the button, a voice was heard on the walkie-talkie, introducing herself as the official negotiator.
"Damn…" He pushed the girl away and got up, leaving the cabin.
*Cough* Cough* Cough*
As the girl continuously coughed, her brother's gaze changed to one of coldness, "You are really a disgrace to our family, Qin Xinyi. Can't believe we awakened the same Astron spirit."
The girl, taking heavy breaths, replied, "I'm not as talented as you, brother."
"You could have atleast put up some resistance instead of acting like a weak girl," said the boy in a harsh tone before folding his hands to his chest. "Anyway, after reaching the station, our paths will no longer align. Except during holidays, we won't see each other. So, I just had to bear these few hours in patience."
The girl couldn't counter that and stayed silent with her head hanging down and her gaze on the floor.
Meanwhile, on the outside, a tent was set up with various officials and pro heroes listening to the official negotiator, Mirandae Rose, as she was discussing the terms of hostage release with the villain.
"Look, if you know that much, then there is no need to hold so many kids as hostages. Just keep them with you and release the others." The negotiator was trying her best to decrease the number of hostages, but Luther Brain was adamant about not letting anyone go.
"Do you take me for a fool, Ms. Rose? With fewer hostage numbers, it would be easier for your heroes to launch their attacks." Luther Brain sees through her strategy and said, "I'll give you one hour. After that, you would find one dead body every minute."
Everyone around Mirandae went stiff a bit, worrying about the potential losses as they knew the Headquarters would never accept that demand. The negotiator, on the other hand, kept her calm as she spoke, "One hour is impossible. Based on your profile, we have seen that you worked in law enforcement. You should be aware of the complex procedures to release a convict from the maximum security prison. Not to mention, he served 28 years. It will take days."
In response, only one simple sentence came from the villain. "Then, make it possible." The connection was disconnected, leaving the officials in fury.
*
Meanwhile, outside the train;
The highest official in the tent, the deputy police commissioner, addressed the others with his hands pressed on the table, "I was just informed that the headquarters were going to send a rescue team to deal with this situation, in case we cannot get this situation under control. If we allow them to clean up our mess, our reputation will fall and there will be a series of suspensions. Or worse, our department might even get a deduction in funds during the upcoming fiscal year. I'm open to suggestions."
The negotiator also looked at the others to see if anyone had any plan, now that she appeared to have failed in her first attempt of negotiation.
However, her hopes were crushed as she heard a bunch of useless suggestions like…
"How about we threaten him using false charges against his remaining family members?" said the Railroad Police's divisional superintendent.
"Are you serious?" The deputy commissioner sharply gazed at him. It sounded so absurd to him.
A representative from the nation's Federal security then asked, "What if we threaten him with his brother's assassination in prison, then?"
The deputy commissioner couldn't help but go into a rage this time. Getting up on his feet, he shouted at the man, "We are the police, goddamn it. Are you all villains or heroes?"
"What about infiltrating the train? The Pro Hero "Ghost" could pass through the barrier and go in there."
"Nope, he is away on another mission"
"What about offering 100 million zeni, asking him to back off this one time?"
"You arrived late, Mr. Kessinger. You are not aware that our negotiator has already tried that before. Even 500 million didn't move him a bit. It failed."
"How about just adhering to his demand and release the prisoner? Once our hostages are freed, we can arrest him once again, right?"
"Kruger Brain was serving at Federal prison. According to the laws, once released from that place, all of his recorded crimes will be written off and can no longer be used again to arrest him in any of 27 countries in the Federation. There's no way it will be acceptable, unless our President pulls of a favor."
"Hmm… there must be a civilian or Astron warrior with the power of disguise, right? How about we use that person to our advantage? You know, posing as Kruger Brain…"
The piece of advice from the captain of a SWAT team brought hope to the deputy commissioner.
He immediately ordered his subordinates to get to work as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, Mirandae contacted the villain and asked for three hours to fulfill his demand, stating that her higher-ups agreed to it but needed to talk with the Central city's judiciary.
Luther agreed, and the special team filled with hackers started looking for their target.
As if the goddess of luck smiled upon them, they were even able to find an Astron warrior with such abilities in just 15 minutes. He is merely an adventurer who makes money by mining in dungeons.
Half an hour later, a team of five arrived at the location, introducing themselves as the members of Team Centauri, a rescue team sent by the Headquarters. As for the other team that arrived with them, they were kept secret.
Captain Michael Dower, aka the Knight Shield, went on to inform the Deputy Commissioner that they were going to take the mission, but this would be a secret operation, and publicly, it would be labeled as a move from Eclantis Military's special division.
He agreed to their plan, but not abandoning his initial idea as the person was already found and the police are on their way to meet him and convince the fellow to cooperate with them.
Meanwhile, far away from the train, behind the rocks on the cliff, the team of B-class heroes led by an A-classer was observing the situation.
Captain Wave Rider passed the orders to his team, "Okay, our target is in Carriage 4, containing the leader and just two more subordinates. We have five seconds to do this operation. Mary, use your powers to create an earthquake, just enough to disrupt one's attention."
"Understood, boss," nodded the curly haired girl in her jumpsuit.