Chapter 223: Welcome
Chapter 223: Welcome
In an old residential building in the eastern part of the city, a man with a full beard squatted on the rooftop, observing the direction of the city center through a telescope and occasionally cursing under his breath.
"These damn Grey Dogs have tightened their guard again, making it harder to get the job done," he muttered.
A head popped out of the rooftop entrance, shouting at him, "Brother Tian, the captain's telegram has arrived..."
"What are you shouting about? I heard it," the bearded man interrupted.
He got up, walked back, and took the crumpled and slightly sweaty telegram. After reading it, he suddenly breated a sigh of relief.
"Alright, no need to worry about planting more bombs. Tomorrow, load the remaining explosives into the car and transport them to the area near that department store. With the crowd, we'll set them off together and give them a big fireworks show. Also, inform Li's team to take action simultaneously."
"Brother, is that location far from the city center? Will it be effective?"
The bearded man glared at him and said, "I also want to blow up the city center. Or do you want to go instead?" The team member quickly retracted his head, "Never mind then."
The bearded man hummed, "Just follow the plan. Why so much chatter?"
"I'm just concerned about delaying the captain's favor for you," the team member explained.
"The captain is smarter than you. Do you think he wouldn't have thought of that?"
The bearded man glanced at his watch. It was 3:25 a.m., and in about two hours, the sky would start to brighten. He said, "Get to work. I want to see results before 6 a.m.!"
"Brother, you'll see," the team member assured him.
---
In the wilderness, Chen Chuan and his team had reached the northern side of Xieshan Mountain. There was no direct road connecting the wilderness to the mountain, so they had to stop at the foot of the mountain and traverse the mountain paths arranged by the Inspectorate beforehand. They made their way to the side where they could reach the railway section.
Most of the team members were fighters, and even the minority had years of experience in carrying out commissions. They were full of energy, and despite carrying heavy loads, they moved swiftly along the mountain paths, arriving at the designated location before dawn.
This position was carefully chosen by the Inspectorate, with the cover of trees providing concealment. Even in the dim light, they could vaguely see the railway about half a mile away.
In front of them was a steep slope, approximately 40 to 50 meters above the ground, but this was no challenge for the team. In case of any situation, they could quickly descend using their tools.
Chen Chuan looked towards the east, where the train would pass through a tunnel for over twenty seconds. That section had been frequently attacked. However, a sentry point had been established nearby, and railway security personnel patrolled the area every hour.
He checked his watch.
4:12 a.m.
At this moment, members of the resistance organization might be hiding on a nearby mountain, and the person behind the secret ritual might also have arrived.
The exact effect of the ritual was still unknown.
However, Chen Chuan wasn't worried. Aside from their preparations, Director Lei had informed him during the teaching process. The larger the scale of the ritual, the harder it was to control the details. If something was overlooked, even the orchestrator might lose control.
Therefore, the most significant concern with large-scale rituals was before they were discovered. Once aware, there were ways to counter them.
---
At the same time, about two kilometers away, near a slope on the northern side, Bao Yuan had already arrived with his team.
He, too, checked his watch.
If the train schedule was on time, it would pass by around 6:05 a.m. This section of the railway had enhanced security and patrols, making it nearly impossible to successfully detonate the explosives.
Fortunately, they didn't rely on that this time.
The painter had promised to deliver the results he wanted to see.
Bao Yuan didn't know how the painter would achieve this, but he trusted him. Many of his successful endeavors were made possible with the painter's assistance, despite them never meeting in person.
Moreover, Bao Yuan suspected that the painter was also a member of the organization, sharing the same ideals. This explained the painter's repeated assistance.
Two kilometers away, Director Lei and several members of the Secret Ritual Inspection Bureau hid in a sentry station.
Almost the entire bureau was mobilized for this operation, with more personnel waiting in the outskirts and various hidden locations, equipped with radios for communication. They were ready to respond swiftly at the first sign of movement.
As this might be the bureau's most significant operation in the past decade, the younger team members were both excited and nervous, constantly checking their watches.
Time ticked by, and at 5:12 a.m., as the train was about to approach according to its schedule, a team member suddenly pointed upwards and exclaimed, "Look!"
Everyone looked up and saw a hot air balloon hovering above the mountains.
Director Lei's gaze fixed on the balloon, knowing that the orchestrator of the secret ritual was hiding there.
Using a hot air balloon was indeed a clever strategy, allowing the orchestrator to oversee the entire ritual while keeping themselves at a safe distance.
"Prepare!" Director Lei ordered. "The person should be up there. How will they activate the ritual?"
Before the Secret Ritual required a crucial element to be embedded before it could take effect. An incomplete setup was useless, and it was obvious that the person wouldn't initiate it before the train arrived, but how could they accurately control it from above?
Director Lei had already figured out the person's plan after seeing the hot air balloon. He said, "No need. The train itself will do."
The team members were startled, "The train?"
Director Lei spoke sternly, "If the train has his people on board or if the train itself has been tampered with, then he won't need to control it himself. Once the train arrives, the entire ritual will be activated. Even if it's not like that, he can still descend from the hot air balloon if necessary."
At this moment, he glanced at his watch on his wrist.
6:02.
If the train was on time, it would arrive soon.
Almost simultaneously, Guan Yuming, who was in charge of commanding near the city center, suddenly heard two loud explosions coming from the east and west.
He frowned slightly. Although they had checked as thoroughly as possible, it was impossible to block off the entire city, especially since personnel hiding in small alleys couldn't be taken care of.
Such actions only served to injure ordinary people and create chaos, so they were likely meant to restrain them and prevent them from redeploying their forces elsewhere.
He first dispatched two teams to the incident sites, then turned around and said to the telegraph operator, "Send a telegram: 'Explosive attacks on the outskirts of the city center, be alert.'"
After a while, both Chen Chuan and Director Lei received the telegrams. At this moment, a problem arose in the city, and with the train's imminent arrival, the other party was likely about to take action.
At this very moment, the Changshun Express train was heading towards Yangzhi City along the railway tracks. This train had seventeen carriages in total, all of which were first-class in terms of facilities and interior decoration.
On this train, besides some ordinary passengers, the middle and rear carriages were occupied by foreign company representatives who had come to Yangzhi City for a meeting. Each company occupied one to two carriages, and most of their entourage were armed security personnel. They were allowed to carry firearms and wore stab-resistant vests, with a few of them donning protective armor.
Pollen Corporation's representative, Lindenberg, was looking out the window at this moment. His assistant said, "Sir, the land outside the Duiyi City Center is always desolate and monotonous. The people living in those cities are like animals in a pen, barbaric and stupid. There's nothing worth seeing."
Lindenberg replied, "The world outside the center of every city is like this. Duiyi is like this, and Norland is the same. But Mo Lan Corporation chose to retreat here. This land must have some mysterious qualities that we don't know about."
After giving his evaluation, he stopped looking outside and continued to flip through the materials about Yangzhi City. Originally, he wasn't supposed to be the business representative for this trip. The person assigned was pulled away by higher-ups, so he was arranged to come instead. Since he wasn't familiar with the situation in Yangzhi beforehand, he had to start his research from scratch.
"Hmm..." At this moment, he suddenly lifted his head and took off the tea-colored decorative glasses on his face. His implant eyes instantly enlarged, and he saw a small black dot in the distance. He exclaimed in surprise, "A hot air balloon?" He also noticed a banner hanging below it that read "Welcome Guests from All Countries."
"Is this the Yangzhi government's welcome ceremony? They seem very enthusiastic."
The train had already reached the mountain tunnel section. The train driver was paying close attention, knowing that this section often suffered from attacks. Fortunately, everything seemed normal this time. As he was about to enter the tunnel, he sounded the horn to alert the passengers behind.
As he entered, he glanced to the side and suddenly felt a chill. The folds and wrinkles on the mountain and rocks seemed to form a bizarre smiling face, as if it were laughing at him at this moment. And the tunnel entrance below seemed like a huge mouth.
"Wooo..."
The train rushed into the tunnel, and after twenty-odd seconds, it successfully emerged from the other side, but it slowly came to a stop, with only half of its body outside and the rest still in the tunnel.
The passengers were all sitting in their seats, but they didn't seem to notice the train stopping at all. Each of them continued their original activities.
Pollen Corporation's assistant's voice echoed in this carriage, "Sir, the land outside the Duiyi City Center is always desolate and monotonous. The people living in those cities are like animals in a pen, barbaric and stupid. There's nothing worth seeing."
Lindenberg withdrew his gaze and said, "The world outside the center of every city is like this. Duiyi is like this, and Norland is the same..."
He frowned slightly, feeling that something was off, but he continued, "But Mo Lan Corporation chose to retreat here. This land must have some mysterious qualities that we don't know about..."
He continued to flip through the materials, and after a while, he seemed to have made a discovery. He raised his head and asked, "Is that a hot air balloon?"
"Is this the Yangzhi government's welcome ceremony? They seem very enthusiastic."
...
...
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
