On the moving train, the nobles sat in their respective compartments, enjoying music or tea and snacks.
Phil Gray and the others sat in the compartment behind George, making it convenient for them to intervene should anything happen to the person they were escorting.
But the journey was too peaceful.
They had already passed through three cities of the Church of Life and were about to leave the Church of Life and enter the territory of the Church of Darkness.
“It’s been three or four days already. The Cult of Dawn must have tracked us down by now. We need to stay vigilant,” Phil Gray said in a low voice.
“Hmm, a large number of the Dawn Cult’s chosen ones have come to the Life Diocese these past few days. They must be very curious about why the carriers of the Sun Mark keep changing locations, right? Hmm, they probably have to follow behind us.” Eli said with a smile, while opening today’s Life newspaper, which he had just received before getting on the bus.
The front-page headline was about the progress of the discussions between the Church of Dawn and the Church of Life regarding the missing bishop's body.
It has been determined that the Church of the Dead was responsible, but the whereabouts of the body remain unknown.
Just as Eli was about to say something to Phil Gray, he caught a glimpse of a large headline on another page out of the corner of his eye.
"Population Phil Gray of the Church of Destiny recently announced that he is going on a trip."
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, checked the name again, and confirmed that it was exactly the same as the signature on his employment contract. He then scanned the specific article.
"This news has been confirmed by the pastor of the Church of Life in North City. Pope Phil Gray of the Church of Destiny was captured by a heretic of the church. He was found a few days ago, but the pope claims that he felt the call of the God of Destiny and is determined to spread the holy words of the God of Destiny in the East and West continents. He has left the Church of Destiny recently."
No wonder the name seemed familiar. The Church of Life and the Church of Destiny have a good relationship. Newspapers often mention things about the Church of Destiny, so I must have seen them.
The names are the same, but the experiences seem somewhat different?
He looked at his boss, who was engrossed in reading, placed the newspaper in front of Phil Gray, raised his eyebrows, and said, "Dear boss, I think you owe me an explanation?"
Phil Gray looked up from the book. He had just opened "Tales of the Gods," and the opening left him somewhat bewildered, but then he noticed the newspaper in front of him.
Phil Gray's name was written on it, so prominently.
Traveling on your own?
Wendell had indeed made a good plan. He didn't use the power of the Church of Fate to search for him, but he openly announced that the Pope was going out to train. Wouldn't those hostile forces, such as the Blood Calamity and the Plague Controllers, join the search for and assassination of him?
Phil Gray's expression turned serious, but seeing Eli's probing gaze, he could only say helplessly, "Eli, it's exactly what you think, but it's not convenient to talk about it here. I'll explain it to you when we get back."
Patrick and Ernest, who were standing nearby, also saw the headline in the newspaper and nodded, looking embarrassed.
Eli had only asked tentatively, but he didn't expect his boss to admit it directly. As for his two companions, since they had been following their boss for a long time, it was not surprising that they knew his true identity.
He was still somewhat surprised, and of course, a little angry that they had kept it from him. He stood up, bowed slightly, his lips moved but no sound came out, "Greetings to His Majesty the Pope of the Church of Destiny!"
Before Phil Gray could answer, he turned around, opened the window next to him, and leaned out to admire the view.
With a sigh, Phil Gray walked over to him.
The cold wind blowing into the warm carriage made him shiver.
"My identity puts me in a lot of danger, so it was inconvenient to tell you at first. But I never intended to hide it, since you already know my real name, don't you?"
“That’s true. I’m more surprised than anything else. I never imagined my boss had such a remarkable background.” Eli’s hand reached out the window, as if touching a distant mountain peak.
"This identity only puts me in a dangerous situation. If I had a choice, I would rather not have this identity."
“It seems the boss is also a man with a story, just like me.” Eli took his hand out of the window, unbuttoned his cuffs to reveal his scarred forearms, which were red in the cold wind.
"Are these burn marks?" Phil Gray looked at him in confusion.
“Yes, my destiny was to die, but I chose life,” Eli replied with a smile, but Phil Gray didn’t understand what he meant.
“Perhaps I’ll tell you about my experience later; now is not the time.” Eli turned his head, about to close the window.
The train suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?"
"Why did it stop?"
"We haven't arrived yet."
"It's a wasteland outside. What happened?"
A cacophony of voices rose from each of the private rooms.
Then a loud voice announced, "Passengers, due to unknown reasons, the train's operating energy has suddenly run out. Does any passenger have any blue crystals? We are willing to purchase them with gold coins."
Blue crystals are a higher level of energy and are extremely precious. They can even be considered a higher equivalent than gold coins. The operation of the train relies entirely on the consumption of blue crystals, which is why only nobles can afford the tickets.
“Usually, we would store enough blue crystals in advance to avoid situations like this where we are stopped halfway through. How could they have been used up so suddenly?” Patrick asked curiously.
Other passengers also expressed their dissatisfaction, and the carriage became noisy with people walking around and discussing, probably because some passengers were contributing their blue crystals.
Even passengers carrying blue crystals only brought a few, which was hardly enough to keep up with the train's operation.
After a while, the person maintaining order in the train called out again, "Passengers, please wait patiently. We have notified others to deliver the blue crystal."
"Won't that mean we'll have to wait a long time?" some passengers said angrily. "What's wrong with you guys? Don't you have any more blue crystals on hand?"
“Yes, we’ve taken so many long-haul trains and never encountered anything like this before. It’s ridiculous. Doesn’t the Eternal Church worship the God of Space? Surely they have space to store energy.” This passenger was getting a little too angry and even started openly attacking the Eternal Church.
"This was our mistake. We promise to refund half of the cost once we reach the next city. Please be patient."
Ta-da!
Someone knocked on the partition of Phil Gray's box.
"What's wrong?" Patrick asked, standing up.
"Master George is missing!" it was the servant who said in a panic.
"What? Wasn't he just sitting inside? How did he disappear?" Patrick asked, puzzled.
"No, the train suddenly stopped. The young master happened to have some blue crystals on him, so he asked me to deliver them. I went to the crew room, while he went to the restroom next door on the way."
Then, after I came out, I waited at the door for a long time, but the young master didn't come out. I pushed open the bathroom door, but the young master wasn't inside! I searched other places too, but couldn't find him! The servants were almost crying with anxiety.
“It must have been too noisy just now; we didn’t hear anything coming from their cubicle,” Phil Gray said.
"He's such a grown man, why doesn't he know to call us when he goes out? He's really not afraid of dying," Patrick remarked speechlessly.
“It’s alright, he should have someone protecting him.” Phil Gray recalled the figure who had dealt with the woman for George that day; it couldn’t be an ordinary person.
But with only three carriages, where could he possibly go?
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