Chen Yifei woke up and glanced at the time, which was roughly as expected.
He walked to the headquarters of the Third District Enforcers. Just as he entered, he saw a familiar figure approaching.
"Chen Yifei? You're finally here." Jiang Qin counted the names on the list. "Now we have everyone..."
Chen Yifei still had an impression of this enforcer, Jiang Qin. It was Jiang Qin who spoke to him on the night his house was destroyed by the red paper monsters. Jiang Qin had also said that Chen could always find him if there was anything in the future. He was one of the few enforcers who had left a good impression on Chen Yifei.
Chen Yifei scanned the area and saw only two other people besides himself and Jiang Qin. They were both from the same group of candidates who had taken the martial arts exam and were somewhat familiar to him.
"Officer Jiang Qin, is it just us going this time?"
Chen Yifei and the other two candidates were the top three in this year's enforcer exam. According to Han Meng's agreement, they naturally had the qualification to go to the Ancient Martial Arts Treasury. However, theoretically, there should be other enforcers who had served for three years going as well...
"Yeah, just us." Jiang Qin shrugged. "Originally, there were five or six of my contemporaries going, but two days ago, their collusion with Ma Zhong was exposed, and they were all killed by Meng Ge..."
Chen Yifei: ...
"Our Third District is already doing well... Look at the enforcers from the Fifth and Sixth Districts. They're either dead or disabled. There aren't even five of them who can go in total."
Jiang Qin was quite optimistic. He put away the personnel list and led Chen Yifei and the other two directly outside.
"Officer Jiang Qin, how do we get to the Ancient Martial Arts Treasury?" asked one of Chen Yifei's contemporaries. Chen Yifei remembered his name; it was something like Zhong Yaoguang.
"The Ancient Martial Arts Treasury is in the Frozen Sea on the northern border of the Aurora Territory. To get there, we have to take a boat from the port."
"Lingdong Port? That's really far away..."
"It's actually not too bad if we take the train."
"Train?"
Chen Yifei was startled. He originally thought there were no trains in this era, but upon closer consideration, if it was a steam train, it wouldn't require too advanced technology... It's just that he had never heard anyone around him mention taking a train when he was in Cold Street.
"Yeah, Chen Yifei, have you never taken one?" Zhong Yaoguang's eyes lit up. "You'll be amazed when you see it for the first time... It's incredible!"
"I've never taken one too... The ticket price for this thing isn't cheap," said the other silent contemporary.
"Don't worry, Meng Ge will reimburse us for the ticket this time."
Jiang Qin smiled slightly.
The three of them followed Jiang Qin and walked to the border of the Third District. A straight railway track extended from the snowy land in the distance. Ahead of them stood a small and dilapidated platform.
It was basically just a large shelter built on the ground with a few stone steps. Next to it stood a small ticket booth with a large "3" written on it.
For most residents of the Aurora Territory, especially those in the seven major districts, there was no need to take a train. They could spend their entire lives within the districts without the concept of "traveling" to other districts...
The development of the seven major districts was basically carved from the same mold, so it was the same wherever they were.
The railway tracks were laid mainly for the convenience of transporting goods between Aurora City and the seven major districts. Therefore, it was understandable that the platforms and other facilities were rudimentary.
Jiang Qin walked to the ticket booth and returned with four tickets after a while.
"Wait a moment. The train will arrive in about ten minutes," he said.
"Our timing is just right. This train only runs once a day. We'll miss it if we're late."
The four of them walked to the platform. In the vast wilderness, there was only the ticket booth and the four of them shivering in the cold wind.
As the snow began to melt, and with the platform exposed to the wind from all sides, they silently huddled up, eagerly looking at the end of the railway tracks, waiting for a train to come and save them.
"How are you, Chen Yifei? Are you cold?" Jiang Qin's concerned voice came from beside him. "I see you're not wearing much."
"I'm not cold," Chen Yifei shook his head.
"If you are cold, I can get a coat for you from the box. We still have to go to the Ancient Martial Arts Treasury later. Don't catch a cold on the way."
Before Chen Yifei could reply, Jiang Qin squatted down and opened the hard leather suitcase on the ground, rummaging through it.
"I really don't need it," Chen Yifei quickly waved his hand. "I have a good physique and can withstand the cold..."
Before he could refuse, Jiang Qin pulled out a dark brown coat and wrapped it around Chen Yifei without saying a word.
"I'm the team leader of the Third District this time, so listen to me," Jiang Qin patted his shoulder. "But even if you catch a cold on the way, it's fine. I brought four doses of cold medicine before we left, which should be enough."
"...Thank you."
Wrapped in the thick windbreaker, Chen Yifei didn't know what to say for a moment.
"You're welcome," Jiang Qin stood beside him, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke up,
"Chen Yifei... some things are not what you think... Meng Ge is a good person. He just has a tough mouth and is ruthless when working. He's lazy to explain any misunderstandings to others...
Meng Ge and I have noticed what Ma Zhong and the other enforcement officers in the Third District have been doing, but we didn't have any evidence... Moreover, Ma Zhong has backers in Aurora City. Without evidence, Meng Ge can't do anything to him.
We're really, really sorry about your brother."
Jiang Qin looked at him sincerely, with no trace of impurity in his eyes. Chen Yifei didn't expect him to suddenly say these things and fell silent in the cold wind.
"...I guessed so."
If Ma Zhong didn't have backers, he wouldn't have been able to develop his criminal enterprises so recklessly in the Second and Third Districts. And Han Meng was just an enforcement officer who was excluded by Aurora City. It wouldn't be easy for him to overthrow the powerful Ma Zhong faction.
"This time, Ma Zhong sought his own death by attempting to assassinate Meng Ge, which gave us a reason to eliminate them completely... But even so, Meng Ge was punished by Aurora City."
Jiang Qin sighed, "You know what? If the Fifth and Sixth Districts hadn't encountered a large-scale Gray Realm intersection, Meng Ge would have been in jail long ago... It's just that Aurora City is extremely short of manpower now, so they haven't dealt with him yet. Even so, he's been suspended."
"Jail?" Chen Yifei frowned. "Isn't he the victim?"
"There are many people in Aurora City who don't like Meng Ge... In this era, people who are too upright and serious often don't end well."
As Jiang Qin finished speaking, a rumble came from the distance.
"The train is coming!" Zhong Yaoguang immediately spoke up.
"...So fast?" Jiang Qin turned around and looked at the clock in the center of the platform. "Ten minutes early?"
As the thunderous rumble gradually approached, a black steel beast, emitting a large amount of steam, slowly rolled towards the platform along the snowy railway tracks.
Zhong Yaoguang nudged Chen Yifei with his elbow and winked, "What do you think? Spectacular, right?"
Chen Yifei raised his eyebrows and didn't say anything.
"K18... Yes, this is it," Jiang Qin looked at the train number ahead and nodded slightly, "It seems we did come early."
As the train gradually stabilized, the conductor opened the door and stepped out, placing a plank between the stone steps and the train door.
"Those going to Lingdong Port, get on the train."
At the conductor's call, everyone didn't hesitate and got on the train in order.
As the whistle sounded again, the train slowly started along the railway tracks, gradually disappearing into the snowy horizon with a clang...
A few minutes later, a figure came out of the ticket booth.
He looked at the empty platform, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, then dragged a bloody black cloth bag out from the bottom of the booth counter and walked away.
Clang – clang – clang...
A black steel train crossed the snowy land and slowly stopped at the platform.
A conductor poked his head out of the train, looked around, and then said, "No one is here. Let's go."
The rumble of steam sounded again, and the train gradually disappeared into the end of the railway tracks. On the top of the black train, three large red characters were clearly visible:
——K18