"What's the matter?"

Asaka was quite young, about eighteen or nineteen years old, but according to her, she had already been working on this Dragon Soaring Armor Type Flying Ship for five years.

She truthfully informed them of the message's content, "Just received information that a group of stowaways bypassed the regulations and boarded this flying ship. To screen these stowaways, the ship's Scripture Officers will verify the tickets of each passenger. Please don't leave your quarters from now until 5:00 AM tomorrow. If you need to go out, please inform me in advance."

Stowaways?

Even a major power like Changyun Passenger Transport has to deal with such things?

However, considering the ticket costs as high as four hundred middle-grade Spirit Stones per seat... taking such risks to smuggle is unsurprising.

As Asaka said, most stowaways are those who have made enemies, are wanted by cultivation forces, and are being hunted. Unable to survive locally, they choose to take risks. The presence of such people on the flying ship is a potential threat, and therefore they are always severely dealt with.

"Okay, we will cooperate," Fan Wubing said.

The three of them had no compelling reason to go out.

...

Flying ship control layer, steering room.

Pang Xiangming frowned tightly, pacing back and forth. His restlessness was visible to the naked eye.

A person hurriedly walked in, bowed, and said, "Captain Pang, all Scripture Officers in the passenger area have been notified. Currently, all 4,872 passengers with boarding records are under control, and the officers are conducting the Demon-Suppressing tests on them."

Pang Xiangming quickly said, "Good, if there's any abnormal response, don't alarm them, notify me immediately!"

"Understood!" After reporting, the person withdrew.

Pang Xiangming then opened a door inside the steering room and stepped in. The interior was very simple, with no other facilities, just a half-human tall yellow bell hanging by thick black chains. Next to the yellow bell stood an elder.

At this moment, the yellow bell was trembling, its sound akin to someone weeping.

Pang Xiangming stepped forward, "Elder Ruan, the Demon-Suppressing test has begun."

Ruan Shu said gravely, "Judging by the Demon-Suppressing Bell's reaction, there are more than just one Demon Cultivator."

Pang Xiangming nervously asked, "Approximately how many?"

"This reaction... either it's because of an extremely fierce Great Demon or over a hundred Demon Cultivators."

"Great Demon! Over a hundred!" Either scenario made Pang Xiangming extremely frightened. He said with a long face, "How could this happen? At takeoff, the Demon-Suppressing Bell showed no reaction, why suddenly this tremor?"

"Probably due to sophisticated concealment techniques," Ruan Shu said, "Captain Pang, my suggestion is to return immediately and minimize the risk."

"Return!" Pang Xiangming's voice suddenly rose.

He immediately began to calculate in his heart. Each takeoff of a large passenger flying ship requires huge expenditures, and after landing, it needs comprehensive maintenance. Therefore, returning requires sufficiently justified reasons; otherwise, the costs of takeoff preparation and full maintenance will be borne directly by the captain.

Changyun Passenger Transport's flying ship captaincy is not subcontracted, but dual-based.

The revenue generated by the flying ship, after deducting the costs, about ten percent goes directly into the captain's pocket.

Like the Dragon Soaring Armor Type flying ship, a trip from Little South Continent to Changsheng Continent generates at least four to five thousand high-grade Spirit Stones in revenue. Half of that is four to five hundred high-grade Spirit Stones.

All this four to five hundred high-grade Spirit Stones belong to the captain alone.

And a trip takes roughly a month.

To earn four to five hundred high-grade Spirit Stones per month... that's a considerable income. Many senior elders of major sects in Changsheng Continent have an annual salary that's no more than this.

So, it's a lucrative job, but correspondingly, it comes with many responsibilities.

Pang Xiangming did the math. A Demon Cultivator appearing on the flying ship is definitely not a legitimate reason, and it amounts to a serious dereliction of duty. Such a return would surely make him bear all the costs of takeoff preparation and comprehensive maintenance, and he would also be dismissed by Changyun Passenger Transport without any chance of recovery, possibly even directly handed over to the Great Li Dynasty headquarters for investigation.

Find another reason?

That's wishful thinking. If a return occurs, Changyun Passenger Transport would certainly conduct a full investigation. And he knew, with Changyun Passenger Transport's capabilities, they could easily verify whether the reason for the return was true or fabricated.

Most importantly... this captaincy was obtained by "offering" to the upper echelons of Changyun Passenger Transport. Simply put, it was bribery. He had offered a lot to establish connections and had even taken out a significant loan from Heaven and Earth Bank, hoping to earn it back with this position.

But this was only the second trip, and such an incident happened.

The consequences of returning were unbearable for him. Losing all his savings could be endured with gritted teeth, but if he couldn't repay the Heaven and Earth Bank loan...

He dared not imagine how his life would be in the latter half.

Perhaps... he would be sold to the Fallen Immortal Land to make up for the gaps in heaven and earth. If that happened, life truly would be worse than death.

After weighing the options, he gritted his teeth and thought, under no circumstances could they return!

The only way was to silently... handle the Demon Cultivators on the flying ship and act as if nothing ever happened.

He slightly cupped his hands and hid his face in the shadows, "Elder Ruan, returning would cause unnecessary panic and directly result in great losses to Changyun Passenger Transport, and their reputation would be affected as well. So, let's forget about returning. As for the Demon Cultivators, we can find them and discreetly take care of them."

Ruan Shu frowned and said, "Captain Pang, the matter of Demon Cultivators is no trivial matter! We must return."

"Elder Ruan, I am the captain of the flying ship," Pang Xiangming stated.

Ruan Shu paused, then sighed, "Captain Pang, I hope you can bear this responsibility."

"No need for Elder Ruan to worry."

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