Chapter 137: Unworthy

“Damn it!!” Zuo Tong saw the crowd on the platform beginning to recede from the corner of his eye and nearly lost his mind.

At the same time, Uncle Zhao’s face turned visibly pale. He caught a glimpse of a young figure being pushed away by the crowd, and a faint, tired smile finally appeared on his face...

His hands went limp, releasing Zuo Tong, and he fell backward onto the ground.

Thirteen crimson wounds covered his body, and the gushing blood had almost turned him into a man of gore. Every last ounce of strength in his aged body had been exhausted.

Zuo Tong, panting heavily, gripped his knife, spat on the ground, and continued to push forward.

Uncle Zhao lay on the ground like a corpse, trampled by the passing crowd. He watched as foot after foot passed over his head. In the sky above, ignored by everyone, the stars twinkled silently, and in his delirium, they seemed to transform into Zhao Yi’s face.

“You brat...” Uncle Zhao’s eyes closed uncontrollably, and he finally stopped breathing.

A figure hunched over, crawling on the ground like a dog between countless legs, finally broke through the crowd and reached Uncle Zhao’s side, pulling him tightly into his arms!

“Dad... Dad!!!” Zhao Yi saw the feet landing on Uncle Zhao’s body, his bloodshot eyes splitting with rage.

He held Uncle Zhao’s body like a lion enraged to the extreme, his hoarse roar sounding as if he wanted to kill!

“Don’t step on my dad!!!!”

“Don’t you fucking step on my dad!! Get lost!!!”

The crowd did not stop because of his roar. Zhao Yi could only use his own back to shield the figure in his arms, letting legs trip over his bandage-wrapped body as blood seeped out once more...

Under the hail of gunfire, a large number of corpses piled up in front of the station, and raging fires spread wildly, blocking the path of the people who kept rushing forward.

A figure in a black and red uniform stumbled out of the fire, rolling and crawling to extinguish the flames on his clothes, while hurriedly speaking:

“Don’t shoot! It’s me!!”

Seeing it was Zuo Tong, the enforcers who were about to pull their triggers instinctively stopped, frowning:

“Why are you only just now arriving?”

“I... sigh.” Zuo Tong’s face looked grim. He hurriedly threw his pack into the carriage and looked at the crowd behind the fire with his knife in hand. “Is there anyone else who hasn’t arrived?”

“Just Tan Ming and Officer Xi. They should be here soon.”

“That Calamity seems to be heading this way... Quick, pull the valves!”

“But there are people blocking the tracks in front!”

“Forget them! Just drive right over!”

An enforcer rushed into the driver’s cabin and pulled the various valves and levers. The needles on the dashboard spun rapidly, and the roar of steam erupted from the front of the train.

*Vroom—!!*

As the transmission rods began to turn, the train started to move slowly with a clanking sound.

Seeing this, the people who had rushed onto the tracks tried to climb onto the train, only to be shot one by one by the enforcers leaning halfway out of the doors. Some tried to block the train with their bodies, but as the engine rolled over them, they were crushed into pulp without exception.

The train drove out of the station with brutal force, breaking free from the blood and fire, and headed firmly along the tracks toward Aurora City!

Seeing this, the many enforcers on the train finally breathed a sigh of relief...

They had escaped.

“I see them! It’s Officer Xi and the others!” The enforcer who had been standing at the rear of the train spoke up immediately upon seeing two figures sprinting from afar.

……

A black trench coat cut through the sea of fire. Seeing the corpses and shell casings covering the ground, an unprecedented rage climbed into his eyes.

“Ho... how could it come to this?!” Tan Ming stared blankly at the chaotic platform, his face deathly pale.

“It’s Officer Xi...”

“Officer Xi!! Are you going to abandon us too?!”

“Please, Officer Xi... I don’t want to die yet! There’s still room on the train... can you take me?”

“If I can’t go, please take my daughter! She’s only two and a half... she won’t take up any space!”

“Traitors!! You enforcers and Enforcement Officers are all traitors!! Where is Han Meng?! Why didn’t he come to save us?!”

“……”

The cries of the masses rose behind him. Xi Renjie’s fists clenched tighter and tighter. He gave no response and did not look back, instead chasing after the train along the tracks alone.

Tan Ming didn’t dare say another word now. He could hear Xi Renjie’s heavy breathing beside him... He knew Brother Jie was truly angry.

Gritting his teeth, he braced himself and followed Xi Renjie toward the train.

As the train pulled away, a large number of people jumped off the platform and followed closely along the tracks... Although they hadn’t made it onto the train, as long as they followed the tracks, they could still reach Aurora City. That was their last hope.

A massive, swarming crowd ran through the dim light. The once noisy station suddenly became empty, leaving only the corpses on the ground and the silent burning of flames.

On the blood-soaked earth, a figure covered in bandages held a blood-stained old man, motionless like a statue.

I don’t know how much time passed before a figure also wearing a black trench coat walked out slowly. He crossed the sea of corpses and shell casings and arrived in front of Zhao Yi.

Zhao Yi looked up with hollow eyes. He saw a familiar face looking at them with a complex expression.

“It seems I’m late.”

Hearing this, Zhao Yi’s body trembled imperceptibly. He held the corpse in his arms tighter and said hoarsely: “It’s you... You’re an Enforcement Officer too, why didn’t you go with them?”

“Unfortunately, I’m also one of the abandoned ones,” Chen Ling answered truthfully.

“You’re not with them?”

“No.”

Chen Ling didn’t offer much explanation, answering with just that one word. Zhao Yi stared at him, his bloodshot eyes unreadable.

“Believe it or not, that’s up to you,” Chen Ling said calmly. “But if you’re still a filial son, you should come with me now.”

“Go... go where?”

“Aurora City.”

Zhao Yi was stunned. He looked at the cold corpse in his arms, his eyes filled with deep sorrow. “I...”

“I promised Uncle Zhao I would look after you. Even though District 3 is gone, I will at least keep you alive,” Chen Ling said slowly. “You can refuse and stay here to die with your father... but you should know what your father truly wanted.”

Zhao Yi’s pupils contracted slightly.

In his mind, Uncle Zhao’s face seemed to come alive again. In his delirium, he saw him holding a stick, guarding the door of the breakfast shop waiting for him to come home; he saw him almost kneeling to arrange a stable job for him; he saw him holding a broom, scolding him to go to the factory to demand his wages; he saw those bloodshot eyes as he wrapped his bandages... Zhao Yi certainly knew what his father wanted... it was for him to live.

“I...” Zhao Yi said hoarsely, “The enforcers are gone... I can’t get into Aurora City.”

“Enforcers?”

Chen Ling gave a cold laugh. His gaze fell on the steam train moving into the distance, his calm tone sounding as if it came from the underworld.

“Some scum... are not worthy of entering Aurora City alive.”