After waking up, Chen Ling glanced at the time; it was roughly what he expected.
He walked on foot to the District Three Law Enforcement Headquarters. Just as he entered the door, he saw a familiar figure walking over.
"Chen Ling? You've finally arrived." Jiang Qin checked the roster. "Now we're all here..."
Chen Ling still had an impression of this Law Enforcer, Jiang Qin. On the night his house was destroyed by the red paper monster, it was Jiang Qin who questioned him, even telling him he could find him anytime if anything came up in the future. He was one of the few Law Enforcers who left a good impression on Chen Ling.
Chen Ling's gaze swept to the side. Aside from himself and Jiang Qin, there were only two other people. They were both from the batch of Reserve Candidates who took the martial exam together, so they looked somewhat familiar.
"Officer Jiang Qin, is it just the few of us going this time?"
Chen Ling and the other two Reserve Candidates were the top three in this term's Law Enforcer exam. According to Han Meng's agreement, they naturally had the qualifications to go to the Ancient Vault of the Military Path. But logically, apart from them, there should also be other veteran Law Enforcers whose three-year term had come up...
"Yeah, just us." Jiang Qin shrugged. "Originally, there were five or six of my peers going together, but a couple of days ago, their collusion with Ma Zhong was exposed, and Brother Meng slaughtered them all..."
Chen Ling: ...
Jiang Qin was quite optimistic. He put away the personnel list and led Chen Ling and the other two straight outside.
"Officer Jiang Qin, how are we getting to the Ancient Vault of the Military Path?" asked a Law Enforcer from the same term as Chen Ling. Chen Ling remembered his name seemed to be Zhong Yaoguang.
"The Ancient Vault of the Military Path is located in the frozen sea on the northern border of the Aurora Domain. If you want to get there, you can only take a boat from the port."
"Winter Harbor? That's so far away..."
"Taking the train over is actually fine."
"A train?"
Chen Ling was startled. He had thought there were no such things as trains in this era, but thinking about it carefully, if it were a steam train, it really wouldn't require too advanced scientific technology... It's just that originally on Frost Street, he had never heard of anyone around him taking one.
"Yeah, Chen Ling, haven't you ridden one?" Zhong Yaoguang's eyes lit up. "If it's your first time seeing it, you'll be quite shocked... That thing is amazing!"
"I've never taken one either... The ticket price for this thing is not cheap," the other peer, who had been silent, finally spoke up.
"Don't worry, Brother Meng is reimbursing the ticket money this time."
Jiang Qin smiled slightly.
The three followed Jiang Qin all the way to the border of District Three. A straight railway track extended from the snowy ground in the distance, and ahead of everyone stood a short and dilapidated platform.
Calling it a platform was just building a large shed on the ground and laying out a few stone steps. Beside it stood a tiny ticket booth with a massive '3' written on it.
For the vast majority of residents in the Aurora Domain, especially those in the Seven Great Districts, there was simply no need to ride a train. They could spend their entire lives within their neighborhoods and had no concept of 'traveling' to the other great districts...
The development of the Seven Great Districts was basically carved from the same mold; it was the same everywhere.
The laying of train tracks was mostly just to facilitate the transport of supplies between the interior of Aurora City and the Seven Great Districts, so it was only natural that the platform and such were set up rather simply.
Jiang Qin walked up to the ticket booth and returned a short while later holding four tickets.
"Let's wait a bit first. The train will arrive in another ten minutes or so."
"Our timing is just about right. This train only runs once a day; if we miss it, we're done for."
The four walked onto the platform. In the vast Wilderness, besides the ticket booth, there were only the four of them freezing in the cold wind.
With the snow just beginning to melt and the platform leaking wind from all sides, everyone silently shrank their necks, gazing eagerly at the end of the tracks, waiting for a train to come and save them.
"How is it, Chen Ling? Are you cold?" Jiang Qin's caring voice sounded from the side. "I see you're wearing very little."
"I'm not cold," Chen Ling shook his head.
"If you are cold, I can get some clothes for you from the suitcase. We still have to train in the Ancient Vault of the Military Path later; you can't catch a cold on the way."
Without waiting for Chen Ling to answer, Jiang Qin crouched down, opened his hard leather suitcase right there, and began rummaging.
"I really don't need it." Chen Ling hurriedly waved his hands. "My constitution is good; I resist the cold..."
Before he could refuse, Jiang Qin pulled out a dark brown overcoat and wrapped it around Chen Ling without a second word.
"This time I'm the team leader for District Three; listen to me." Jiang Qin patted his shoulder. "But even if you do catch a cold on the way, it's fine. I brought four doses of cold medicine before leaving; that should be enough."
"...Thank you."
Wrapped in the thick windproof overcoat, Chen Ling didn't know what to say for a moment.
"No need to thank me." Jiang Qin stood beside him, hesitating for a moment before finally speaking.
"Chen Ling... Some things are actually not what you think... Brother Meng is a very good person; he just has a tough mouth, and when he works, he can be very lacking in human touch. If there are any misunderstandings, he's also too lazy to explain to others..."
"The things Ma Zhong and the other Law Enforcers of District Three were doing, Brother Meng and I noticed long ago, but we didn't have evidence... Not to mention Ma Zhong had backing in Aurora City. Without evidence, Brother Meng simply couldn't touch him."
"About your brother... We are truly, truly sorry."
Jiang Qin looked at him sincerely, his eyes free of any impurity. Chen Ling hadn't expected him to suddenly say these things and fell silent in the cold wind.
"...I guessed as much."
If Ma Zhong didn't have backing, he couldn't have so brazenly developed black industries in District 2 and District Three. And Han Meng was just a Law Enforcer marginalized by Aurora City. It wouldn't be that easy for him to bring down Ma Zhong's massive faction.
"This time it was Ma Zhong actively courting death by attempting to assassinate Brother Meng. Only then was the excuse seized to uproot them completely... But even so, Brother Meng was disciplined by Aurora City."
Jiang Qin let out a long sigh. "Did you know? If it weren't for District Five and District Six suffering a massive Gray Realm Convergence, Brother Meng would have been sent to prison long ago... It's only because Aurora City is currently extremely short on manpower that they haven't dealt with him for the time being. But even so, he has been suspended."
"Prison?" Chen Ling frowned. "Isn't he the victim?"
"There are many people in Aurora City who find Brother Meng displeasing to the eye... In this era, people who are too upright and take things too seriously rarely meet a good end."
Just as Jiang Qin finished speaking, a roar echoed from the distance.
"The train is here!" Zhong Yaoguang immediately spoke up.
"...So fast?" Jiang Qin turned his head, looking at the clock in the middle of the platform. "Ten minutes early?"
As the thunderous rumbling gradually approached, a massive steel beast entirely colored black sped over the snowy tracks, spewing out copious amounts of steam as it slowly drove toward the platform.
Beside him, Zhong Yaoguang nudged Chen Ling with his elbow, winking and grimacing. "How about it? Spectacular, right?"
Chen Ling raised an eyebrow and didn't speak.
"K18 Train... That's right, it's this one." Jiang Qin compared his ticket, glanced at the number on the front of the train, and gave a slight nod. "It seems it really did arrive early."
As the train gradually came to a steady halt, a Train Stewardess opened the door and stepped out, laying a boarding plank between the stone steps and the door.
"Those heading to Winter Harbor, get on the train."
With the Train Stewardess's shout, everyone hesitated no longer and boarded one after another.
As the hum of the whistle sounded once more, the train slowly started along the tracks, gradually disappearing into the end of the snowy white horizon amidst a clattering din...
A few minutes later, a figure walked out of the ticket booth.
He glanced at the empty platform, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. Then, he dragged a blood-stained Cloth Bag from under the booth's counter and walked off into the distance.
Clang—Clang—Clang...
A black steel train passed through the snow and slowly came to a halt at the platform.
A Train Stewardess poked her head out of the train, looked around left and right, and then said, "There's no one at this station, let's go."
The hum of steam sounded again, and the train gradually disappeared at the end of the tracks. On the top of the pitch-black train engine, three large characters spray-painted in red were clearly visible
——K18