Chapter 139: Can You Stop Him?

*Rustle, rustle.*

Just then, an extremely faint sound came from the very back of the carriage.

Xi Renjie frowned and turned to look. At the back of the carriage, several storage compartments were stacked together. Some were open, revealing cleaning supplies the attendants hadn’t had time to take, but most were still closed. The sound had come from one of the bottom compartments.

The sound was so faint that only Xi Renjie, sitting in the back row, could hear it. He stood up, walked to the compartment, and pulled the bottom door open with force!

Behind the dim, cramped door, a five or six-year-old girl was curled into a ball, looking at him in terror.

Xi Renjie was stunned.

He didn’t know where the girl came from. She had likely snuck in during the chaos before the train started, and because of her small size, she hadn’t been discovered... but perhaps she had been curled up for too long and couldn’t help but move, which was how she made the sound he heard.

The girl’s face was deathly pale. She was like a wounded dove, shrinking back into the compartment, her eyes filled with fear and despair as she looked at Xi Renjie.

“Officer Xi? What are you doing?” An enforcer caught a glimpse of Xi Renjie standing at the back of the carriage and asked, puzzled.

“Nothing, just looking around.”

Xi Renjie looked at the girl in the cabinet, closed the door behind him, and replied calmly.

The enforcer wanted to say something else, but the train suddenly jolted violently. Blinding sparks flew from the tracks, and as the speed slowed drastically, everyone lost their balance and fell forward amidst the screeching brakes!

“What happened?!” Xi Renjie steadied himself and spoke immediately. “Why the sudden braking?”

“I... I didn’t brake!”

A bewildered voice came from the driver’s cabin. “I don’t know what happened, the train malfunctioned on its own!”

“How could it malfunction for no reason?!”

Xi Renjie and the others immediately poked their heads out the window to see what was going on.

*Screech—!*

Amidst the shower of sparks, the train’s speed slowed rapidly. In the darkness torn apart by the train’s headlights, the silhouette of a trench coat standing in the night was outlined.

The figure stood on the tracks, calmly watching the train roaring toward him like an out-of-control beast. The wild wind blew his coat, and amidst the drifting snow and mist, his figure stood as immovable as a mountain.

[Audience Expectation +3]

[Current Expectation: 63%]

The train’s speed plummeted, slowing to a halt, and finally, the massive engine came to a steady stop right in front of him.

“A person?” An enforcer squinted, trying to see the man’s face.

“Is it a civilian here to block the train?”

“No, that’s not right... that trench coat...”

“Is it an Enforcement Officer? Wait... it’s Chen Ling!!”

“How is that possible? Didn’t he die?!”

In the silent night, the figure slowly raised his face. The moment he saw that familiar face, Xi Renjie’s mood became incredibly complex...

“Good evening, everyone.” Chen Ling toyed with the control lever he had swapped from the engine and said faintly.

“It’s so late, where are you all in such a hurry to go?”

The enforcers all looked at Xi Renjie. After all, Chen Ling was an Enforcement Officer, and the only one who could contend with him was Xi Renjie, also an Enforcement Officer... The latter was silent for a moment before walking off the train.

He stepped through the snow on the wasteland and walked forward slowly.

“The dosage I prepared for you should have been enough to keep you asleep until the next morning... How did you do it?”

“Thanks for the hospitality, Officer Xi.” Chen Ling met his gaze calmly. “Your wine tasted good. If it hadn’t been spiked, I would have been happy to have a few more drinks.”

Xi Renjie was slightly stunned. He looked at Chen Ling in amazement. “You didn’t drink it at all? Impossible... I watched you drink it.”

Chen Ling stood there quietly without answering. At this point, explaining it was meaningless.

“So... you heard everything I said.”

“I heard it.”

Xi Renjie stopped in front of the train engine. The headlights tore through a corner of the night. Two black trench coats stood on the tracks, watching each other in silence.

I don’t know how much time passed before Xi Renjie spoke with a complex expression:

“Chen Ling... you shouldn’t have come.”

Back at headquarters, it was just him and Chen Ling. He could have secretly defied Aurora City’s orders and let Chen Ling live... But now that Chen Ling had appeared in front of everyone, Xi Renjie was forced to carry out his orders. If Chen Ling didn’t die now, he wouldn’t be able to answer for it once he entered Aurora City.

“Are you really planning to bring this scum into Aurora City?” Chen Ling looked at the enforcers on the train behind him, carrying their bags. “This isn’t like you.”

Xi Renjie’s eyes trembled slightly, but he still said:

“This is an order from Aurora City.”

“Aurora City?” Chen Ling sneered. “You do whatever Aurora City tells you to do? Are the people in Aurora City gods?”

“Chen Ling, you and Han Meng are both geniuses. You have the pride to look down on Aurora City,” Xi Renjie frowned. “But for me, the orders of Aurora City are above all else.”

Chen Ling didn’t dwell on this issue, instead speaking directly:

“You defied Aurora City’s orders to let me go once. This time, I won’t kill you either... You go. I only want the lives of those people behind you, and this train.”

Hearing this, the expressions of the people on the train changed instantly. They looked at Chen Ling in fear and spoke hurriedly:

“Officer Xi!! You can’t kill us! He’s the heretic Aurora City wants dead!”

“Officer Xi! We can’t delay any longer... Kill him quickly!”

“Yeah, if we wait any longer, the people behind will catch up...”

“Aurora City wants Chen Ling dead. If he doesn’t die, how will we explain it when we get to Aurora City?”

“……”

The noisy voices rose from behind. Xi Renjie didn’t hesitate much before shaking his head: “They are the people Aurora City wants. If you want to kill them, I cannot stand by and watch.”

Everyone felt relieved. Although Chen Ling was an Enforcement Officer, he was only Tier 1. As long as Xi Renjie was determined to protect them, Chen Ling could do nothing to them.

“Is that so?” Chen Ling narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Then I’m going to kill them anyway... Can you stop me?”

As the words fell, Chen Ling’s figure turned into a blur and vanished from where he stood!

Chen Ling’s speed was too fast. Even Xi Renjie didn’t react in time. By the time he caught Chen Ling’s trajectory, the black trench coat had already crashed into the carriage behind him!