Chapter 226: Arriving At The Station

Chen Chuan walked into the carriage. “You’re the one who set up this ritual, then.”

The man turned around and ran in a panic. He grabbed the handle of the door but couldn’t open it, though Chen Chuan wondered if it was because it was locked or because the man was too panicked to use any strength.

The man kept crashing into the door, kicking it, and yanking at it, but he just couldn’t open it. When he was about to try again, a hand appeared in his line of sight. It grabbed his head and slammed it against the door. The person’s face and the array on it were smashed into a bloody mess. Then, he slumped to the floor with a trail of blood behind him.

Chen Chuan cast a glance at his second self. The massive blurring had already cleared. After catching the “ghost,” the catalyst was gone, and the Lost Maze would naturally go back to its original location.

Chen Chuan returned to the third-to-last carriage. Screams came from beyond the carriage, along with the sounds of vomiting. The entire train seemed to tremble.

The passengers had woken up from the ritual. This meant that Lei Guangcheng’s team had also destroyed the catalysts on the outside.

Lindenberg was freed from repeating his lines. When he saw the state of the carriage he was in, he was surprised, but remained calm despite the blood all over the floor. He turned to Chen Chuan. “Sir, was I held hostage?”

Chen Chuan looked at him. “You’re safe now.”

“Are you from the Great Shun Republic?”

Even though he phrased it as a question, Lindenberg was sure of it. He observed Chen Chuan’s clothes and nodded before searching around until he found a hat on the floor. He put it on, climbed up, and patted down the dust on his body. After looking around, he said, “Looks like I got off lucky.”

He was, indeed, lucky. Of the three company representatives held hostage, he was the only one who survived. But his survival wasn’t entirely due to luck. Chen Chuan could see dark-gray bone with an almost metallic hue under the broken skin on his forehead. It was a hardened skull implant.

Lindenberg noticed something. He took two steps forward and opened a bag to reveal red, bound cylindrical objects.

“Ah, yes, Thunderbolt Fire, the Great Shun Republic’s explosives. They’re powerful stuff. Looks like they failed to install them.

“You came on time, Sir. If you had been a step slower, even this hard skull of mine would have been useless.”

He then pointed at his head jokingly.

“I did not come here specifically to save you,” Chen Chuan said.

“Are you here to save the passengers, then? I’m a passenger too, so I still have to thank you,” Lindenberg said.

He removed his hat and placed it over his chest before bowing. “I’m Boswin Lindenberg, representative of Bolun Corporation. Thank you for saving me.”

Chen Chuan gave him a nod and left with his saber in hand. While the passengers regarded him in fear and panic, he paid them no mind as he moved through the carriages. When he reached the front carriage door, he broke the chains over it and went outside.

The sky had become slightly brighter than before, and Chen Chuan could no longer hear gunshots in the mountains. His team members had to have taken down the resistance group members there.

Chen Chuan looked at the sky. The hot-air balloon was drifting away while teetering as if it was about to fall. He raised an eyebrow at that.

That, however, was a matter for Lei Guangcheng. Chen Chuan had already finished his tasks.

Lindenberg followed him out with a briefcase in hand. He stopped not too far away from Chen Chuan and said, “My apologies, but the stench of blood in the train is just too strong.”

Chen Chuan chose not to respond.

The passengers were terrified and didn’t dare to move around. When no one came out to control them and they realized that they could leave the train, they quickly ran out. After all, considering the state of the train, no average person could possibly stay in there without losing their mind.

Chen Chuan heard engines roaring, and he turned around to see the Constabulary’s armored patrol cars.

In order to not attract the resistance group’s suspicion, most of the constables were stationed in the city. Only when Chen Chuan sent a telegram earlier that Guan Yuming sent out a squad he had on standby. The resistance group members who were sent to stop the reinforcements were naturally unable to halt a large group of constables.

When the patrol cars arrived, the constables were shocked to see Chen Chuan, because his mask was just too intimidating. One of the captains stepped forward and asked softly, “Chen Chuan?”

Then, he looked inside the train. “It’s done?”

Chen Chuan nodded and showed them his weapons permit. He had no intention of removing his mask in order to avoid future trouble.

The captain relaxed once he saw it and saluted Chen Chuan. Then, he started arranging for the constables and the coroners to go in and inspect the train.

Chen Chuan gave him a general rundown of the situation. Once the captain heard everything, he sent constables to the mountains on both sides to check the situation. Soon, Wei Changan’s team and Ren Xiaotian’s team came down to meet with him.

They were all relaxed. No one was hurt.

Since Ren Xiaotian’s team had the combat spider with them, the resistance group members couldn’t put up a fight against them.

Wei Changan’s group had a tougher challenge because they had to trek through the mountain. Fortunately, the enemies they faced weren’t large in number. Their members, weapons, and equipment were all worse, so the group didn’t have a hard time taking them down.

The train couldn’t stay for long, but what had happened inside was clear-cut, so the coroners didn’t need to look into the causes of death. After about forty-five minutes, the constables collected all the severed parts and corpses, verified everyone’s identities and tickets, then told the passengers to board again.

Lindenberg went up to Chen Chuan and handed him a business card with both hands.

“I believe this is the part where we part ways. This is my business card. If you’d like to buy Bolun Corporation’s implants, you’re welcome to come and find me in Central City. I can help you get the best prices. Bolun Corporation’s sensory and neural implants have a great reputation in the global market.”

He was smart and did not ask for Chen Chuan’s name. He only handed him a business card.

Chen Chuan didn’t reject him and took the card. While he didn’t need it, he would inevitably have to have some form of contact with the various companies in Central City.

Also, even if he didn’t need implants, the people he knew might.

After watching all the passengers return to the train under the constables’ orders, he said to his team, “We’re done here. Let’s go back.”

***

The constables had already sent a report of the situation back to Guan Yuming via a telegram. Once he received it, his heart eased. Even though most of the foreign company representatives had died, most of the passengers survived.

He immediately called the headquarters. Once the call went through, he told the chief the situation. At the end, he said, “Sir, we could have saved those people before the resistance group captured the train.”

“We could’ve saved them? And who would you like to impress by doing that? We can do stuff like that, sure, but we can’t do it quietly. We have to make people know we did them, especially with some groups of people. We can’t let them think that it’s a given that we save people.”

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

“A lot of the company representatives died.”

“They’re all foreigners and not our people. What do their deaths have to do with us? Did I ask them to come? Without them, Yangzhi City would be more peaceful!”

“Those companies might put pressure on the Department of Administrative Affairs. After all, their representatives died in our territory,” Guan Yuming pointed out gravely.

“Lao Guan, I won’t be staying for much longer in my position. You need to know what the top government officials want,” the chief said meaningfully before hanging up with a click.

***

When Chen Chuan killed all the resistance group members in the train, Lei Guangcheng brought the Cult Investigation Bureau members after the hot-air balloon they had just shot down from the sky.

Unfortunately, the hot-air balloon fell into the mountains. It was not far, but it was a difficult trek. They had to bypass a few slopes too. It took them almost an hour to reach the place where the hot-air balloon had fallen.

By then, no one was there anymore.

A Cult Investigation Bureau member removed his hat and gasped for breath as he said, “Looks like he ran away, Sir.”

Lei Guangcheng checked the traces around them and sank into deep contemplation before saying, “Not necessarily.”

He then turned around and said, “When we return, send a telegram to the Constabulary to inspect all those exiting the train. We must verify everyone’s identities.”

***

After forty-five minutes, the Eternal Shun train finally entered Yangzhi City’s train station. Once it came to a stop, the still terrified passengers ran out like they were fleeing from danger.

A long-haired man walked amidst the crowd. On his back, he carried a canvas. Compared to the passengers running around in a disorderly fashion, he appeared too normal by walking calmly, to the point that he stood out like a sore thumb.

When he left the train station, he stopped in the square and cast a glance at the blinding sun before extending an arm to the right. After a while, a high-end sedan came to a stop beside him.

He went over and opened the door to the back seat. After he shut the door, the driver asked, “Was your art exhibition a success today, Sir?”

In a magnetic voice, the man lamented, “It’s a pity, but I had prepared the exhibition in too much hurry. It had too many flaws. I can’t consider it a successful piece. I think I need to go somewhere new for inspiration.”

“Alright. Where should we go?”

“Central City. I believe a lot of people there crave for new and exciting colors.” The man smiled.

“Understood. Please settle down, Sir.”

The man put a hand on the wound-down car window and gave a wave outside, as if he was saying goodbye to someone invisible. Then, the sedan exited the train station and headed toward the public road.