From Prisoner to Si Chen..

Chapter 389 On the way
As soon as the stained glass wooden door of the VIP carriage was pushed open, the noisy sound suddenly became louder.

Gilan noticed that in the narrow corridor, there were three dark-skinned men surrounding a bodyguard in suits from the envoy group, constantly cursing and threatening in the Doro dialect.

The bodyguard just remained silent and allowed the three men to push him. He did not fight back, but just kept backing away with an unsightly look on his face.

He didn't understand what the other party said, and he didn't dare to fight with him. After all, his duty was to protect the safety of the envoys, not to conflict with outsiders.

This time we are traveling with an envoy group to carry out an important diplomatic mission. A rash conflict might ruin everything.

At this time.

The bodyguard noticed footsteps behind him. He looked back and his expression tensed up. He lowered his head and said hello in a rather ashamed tone:
"Sir..."

"Yeah." Jilan walked over and nodded at him.

Then he looked at the three men calmly, opened his mouth, and said in fluent Doro language:
"My bodyguard doesn't understand Doro language. Is there any misunderstanding?"

Hearing this, the three dark-skinned men cast doubtful glances at the young man with purple eyes and peculiar hair color.

Based on the young man's facial features and skin color, they easily determined that he was an imperial citizen.

"Young man, you can actually speak Doro?"

One of the men had a gloomy look on his face.

"That's good! It saves a lot of trouble! Your bodyguard damaged the valuable collection we bought at the auction with great difficulty. How do you want to solve this problem?"

As he spoke, another man picked up the wooden box on the ground, opened it, and revealed a minotaur clay statue inside.

But the pottery statue had broken at the waist and broke into two pieces.

Gillan glanced at it, then turned his head and whispered to the bodyguard in Bremen:
"Did you break their pottery?"

As he spoke, he added calmly:
"If it's yes, it's yes. If it's no, it's no. Don't hide it. I'll take responsibility if anything happens, but I don't like people lying to me."

“Sir!” The bodyguard’s face turned pale and he quickly explained, “It’s not me!”

"I was just standing by when they got on the bus. They tripped and bumped into me, and that's when..."

"Well, I understand." Ji Lan said calmly, patted the bodyguard's shoulder, and seeing that he looked nervous, he said, "Since it's not your fault, there's no need to feel guilty."

"Yes, sir." The bodyguard lowered his head, feeling quite moved.

The three men looked unfriendly and stared at Jilan.

When they saw that the young man was well-dressed and had an extraordinary temperament, they felt relieved.

"Imperials! This pottery sculpture is a legendary work of art with a history of hundreds of years! It represents the angel Taunus, the great god of war, Gladiator!"

The dark-skinned man widened his eyes and gritted his teeth:
"We went through so much hardship and came to the Bremen Empire just for this! Now it's all destroyed by you!"

Jilan just said calmly:

"My bodyguard told me that you fell down by yourselves..."

"Bullshit!" The three men were immediately furious. "This is what he broke! If you don't give us a satisfactory answer, this matter will not end!"

Gillan chuckled and was about to speak.

At this time, a young woman carrying a travel bag boarded the train. Seeing the crowd confronting each other in the aisle, she hesitated for a moment and then spoke directly:

"I saw it all just now. The three of them dropped the wooden box by accident."

She looked at Gillan and said it first in Doroese, then repeated it in not very standard Bremen.

The woman's appearance was that of a wheat-skinned mixed-race, a type unique to the western countries, with black hair, big eyes, and a high nose bridge, giving her a rather exotic look.

"Little Alida! As a Westerner, why are you helping this Imperial man?!"

The dark-skinned man in the lead shouted angrily.

Jilan narrowed his eyes.

The "Alida" mentioned by the other party is not a woman's name, but a derogatory term for women in the western countries. Its meaning can be extended to "a hybrid black she-cat who steals things."

"This is wrong for you!"

The woman was insulted by the other party, frowned in grievance, bit her lip and spoke loudly in Doro language.

"The western countries have been at war for years, and the people are living in poverty and no one is united. The 'Desert Alliance' has worked tirelessly in the past few years and joined the 'Bickburg' with great difficulty, trying to attract investment, develop the economy, and improve people's lives..."

"But it is because of people like you who frequently go in and out of the border and cause trouble within the empire that the empire has a very bad impression of us!"

"Poverty, barbarism, laziness, lack of culture, ignorance, breaking the law... these are all labels on us! Not only are you not ashamed of this, but you are making it worse and damaging everyone's interests!"

"The Desert Alliance cannot attract any investment because of this, and the western countries are still living in an uncivilized state, with the sky always filled with sand, and always isolated and poor... I hate you pests!"

The woman became more and more excited as she spoke, and her voice became higher.

Gillan noticed that tears were welling up in her eyes and her fists were clenched tightly.

However, after hearing her accusation, the three Westerners remained indifferent and instead sneered.

The leading man looked the woman up and down and said mockingly:

"You must be a woman from Fosaka. Your family seems to be well-off. You can even come to the Empire as an international student... But 'Alida' is 'Alida'. After learning about the Empire for a few days, you were brainwashed by them."

"Don't forget, you have the blood of the desert flowing in your bones! That is the glory of our ancestors! It is the glory of warriors! Don't kneel like a dog in front of these imperial people!"

The other man scolded unceremoniously.

"We are the descendants of the great God of War. The desert is our home and the precious legacy left by God! We don't need those fancy machines and tools of the Imperials. We can still live well!"

Ding ding ding! !

At this time, the sound of platform staff ringing bells was heard outside the train, indicating that the train was about to depart.

Jilan said calmly:

"Are you done?"

When everyone looked over, he shook his head and said:
"I've heard for a long time that outsiders from the western countries often extort money in the border areas, but I didn't expect that they would run into me today."

Hearing this, the young woman who looked like a student looked sad, as if she felt that as a westerner she had lost face as well.

Without waiting for the three men to say anything, Jilan directly instructed the bodyguard beside him:
"Throw all three of them down."

Hearing this, the other party's face changed.

The bodyguard had a stern face and without saying a word, he strode forward and walked in front of them.

"What do you want to do?!"

The dark-skinned men shouted angrily.

The bodyguards couldn't understand what they were saying, nor did they need to.

He just needs to understand what his superiors say.

He was insulted and pushed by these people before, and it was difficult for him to fight back. Although the bodyguard had a strong psychological quality, he was holding his breath. Now he can finally fight back.

Snapped!
He stretched out his hands, pressed down on the shoulders of the two men, and then pushed hard.

The two strong western men had no chance to resist. They flew into the air, out of the carriage door, and fell onto the platform like a rolling gourd, screaming in pain.

The remaining man was no exception. He was kicked in the stomach by the bodyguard's leather shoe. He screamed and flew out holding the wooden box.

After doing all this, the bodyguard turned back to Jilan's side, lowered his head and said nothing, in front of the female student's astonished gaze.

Just at this moment, the copper tube air holes on the outside of the carriage door puffed out white steam, and the whole door closed with a clang.

woo-

The whistle blew.

The train started to move slowly, clanking and moving away from the platform. "What's your name?"

Jilan looked at the young woman from a foreign land and asked in Doro language.

The other party was startled at first, then said nervously:

"Senani... Senani Abate."

"Yes." Gillan smiled politely. "Ms. Senani, thank you for standing up and speaking up for justice just now."

"You're welcome, sir."

Senani bowed to Jilan by lifting her skirt.

This is what she learned from her etiquette teacher during her study abroad in Bremen Empire.

After the ceremony, Senani suddenly thought of something and exclaimed.

"I bought a regular ticket, but this seems to be a VIP compartment..."

She looked back and found that the VIP carriage was located behind the driver's cab, at the front of the train. The seat number on her ticket was at the rear of the train.

Jilan spoke softly to help:
"Ms. Senani, why don't you come with me to the VIP carriage? It takes a day and a night for the train to reach Bickeburg, so it's important to have a quiet and comfortable environment."

"Isn't this...not good?"

The foreign woman looked embarrassed.

Jilan smiled and shook his head, then stretched out his hand and pointed behind him.

"Please go in. I have already booked the VIP carriage. There are no other passengers in it except my men. Don't be nervous."

"Okay, sir." Senani bit her lip and finally nodded. "Thank you."

At Gillan's signal, the bodyguard stepped forward and helped the woman with her luggage, and the latter quickly thanked him.

Walking into the VIP carriage, Senani noticed that it was quite empty, with only about twenty men and women sitting sporadically in the two rows of seats.

But judging from the uniform black uniforms these people wore and their demeanor and temperament, they were definitely not ordinary people.

Especially the purple-eyed young man who was in the lead.

"This must be a great figure in the empire..."

Senani guessed secretly in his heart.

“Could it be a wealthy person doing cross-border trade?”

Thinking of this, she suddenly became enthusiastic.

Just as she had accused the three men before, the Kingdom of Fosaka was too poor and closed!
If we could get this young rich man to invest in the Kingdom of Fosaka, it would definitely be a great thing!

"I studied hard and came to study in the Empire, isn't it just to make Fosaka better..."

Senani cheered herself up in her heart, hoping to leave a better impression on the young rich man.

Not long after.

Jilan invited the woman to sit down and started chatting with her.

Before that, he asked his secretary, Lanise, to call the waiter to bring some food and snacks.

After a brief conversation, Gilan learned that Senani was an international student from the Kingdom of Fosaka, studying at a famous business school in Sayib State (east of Moruo State and west of the capital).

This time I took this cross-border train because the college was on holiday, so I planned to return to my hometown.

"...Mr. Gillan, a big shot like you must be very busy, right?"

Senani picked up the coffee cup stiffly, took a sip, and asked tentatively.

Jilan smiled and said softly:
"It's really busy."

"So you don't have any hobbies for entertainment? It's all work?"

"Not really." Gillan shook his head. "I like watching movies."

"Movies?!" Senani was very surprised and covered her mouth. "But movies are not..."

"Yes, contraband that is expressly prohibited by the Art Order."

Gillan laughed.

He jokingly raised an index finger to indicate that it was a secret.

Senani immediately understood and nodded.

"Don't worry, Mr. Gillan, I will keep this secret."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

During the conversation, Jilan obtained a lot of information about the Kingdom of Fosaka from the other party.

Most of the information is consistent with that recorded in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs documents, but there are some details that are different, such as local public opinion and even the attitude of the people towards the empire.

All of these will be of great help to Gilan's subsequent diplomatic visit.

Bang bang, bang bang...

The train was already traveling in a wasteland environment. Outside the window there was a vast expanse of emptiness, with only scattered cacti and oases standing on the distant horizon.

"Ms. Senani, we're still a long way to Bickburg. You can take a nap."

Gillan spoke up, taking the initiative to end the conversation.

"I have some work to do, so I'll excuse myself now."

"It's okay, sir. Go ahead and do your work. I'll just lie on the sofa for a while and not disturb you."

Senani said, waving her hands quickly.

Gillan nodded, and he and Lanis stood up one after another and went to the seats in the corner at the end of the VIP car.

He took out the information that Ms. Crow had sent to him through the hotline alchemy array the night before his departure and read it again.

"It is indeed as Senani said, the Kingdom of Fosaka is poor and backward. Recently, a group of revolutionary armies have emerged and have repeatedly opposed the Kingdom Army."

Gillan looked thoughtful.

"Also, regarding the target of the request, the real film called "The Legend of the Unbeaten", the scope has been roughly confirmed..."

Intelligence showed that there were nine large business groups in the Kingdom of Fosaka, and the whereabouts of the real film fell into the hands of the leader of one of the groups.

This goal is not small, but it is better than looking for a needle in a haystack. At least it establishes the direction.

Jilan had a plan in mind, so he put the information away.

The train traveled through the wilderness, and the VIP compartment was quite quiet. In this way, time passed quickly until the next morning.

The train finally arrived at its final stop, Bückeburg.

This neutral trading town belongs to the Bremen Empire, but its rulers are elected by the local people of Bückeburg.

Gilan led the envoys down the train and said goodbye to Miss Senani on the platform.

"Mr. Gillan, it is my honor to meet you on this journey... Welcome to my hometown Fosaka, I am happy to be your guide."

Senani laughed.

"must."

Gillan gave her a meaningful look.

(End of this chapter)