Chapter 154: Sprint

After saying those things to the residents of the Third District, Chen Ling never returned to the carriage. He needed to let their despair continue to ferment.

"Chen Ling, there seem to be scattered refugees ahead..." Zhao Yi said uncertainly.

"If there are, stop the train. Don't miss anyone we see on the road."

Chen Ling said without hesitation.

Under Zhao Yi’s control, the train stopped beside those refugees who were reaching their limits. This train, capable of speeding off the tracks, startled them all, but when they saw that there were already many Third District residents in the carriages, they were overjoyed to be taken aboard.

These people were in twos and threes, all of whom hadn't followed the tracks or had gotten lost in the wind and snow. Unfortunately, even if they were all added together, there were only a dozen or so. Counting the batch already picked up in the carriage, there were a total of sixty "audience members."

These sixty people were probably the last survivors of the Third District.

"Chen Ling, the road ahead is all in the reflections... No matter which direction we drive, it seems we will enter the Gray Realm." Zhao Yi looked at the vast white ice field ahead and frowned.

"The two worlds are about to merge completely. It’s impossible to find a completely normal road now."

Chen Ling looked at the road ahead and sighed in his heart...

There couldn't be any more Third District survivors ahead, which meant the "audience" he could prepare outside Aurora City was only sixty, still quite a bit short of the performance goal of at least a hundred... Now he could only find a way to mobilize the "audience" inside Aurora City.

"Then what should we do?"

"How much further to Aurora City?"

Zhao Yi looked at the map next to the dashboard and answered, "If we go at full speed... ten minutes."

"There’s no other way. Let’s break through at full speed." Chen Ling spoke slowly. "Aurora City has the protection of the aurora, so the Gray Realm intersection must stop there. As long as we can pass through this Gray Realm ahead, we can return to the real world and arrive at the gates of Aurora City."

"Force our way through..." Zhao Yi licked his cracked lips, a look of determination appearing in his eyes.

"Then you’d better hold on tight."

His ten fingers instantly locked onto the withered hand on the dashboard, pushing forward with all his might. The flames in the boiler became bright to the extreme, a thunderous roar came from the chimney, and thick white steam erupted toward the sky like a torch!

Everyone on the train felt a thrust, the sound of the transmission rod colliding with the wheels became more and more intense, and the surrounding wind and snow began to fly past at an astonishing speed!

CLANG—CLANG—CLANG...

Under everyone’s terrified gaze, the speed of this train had reached its limit. It didn't hesitate to crash into the reflection of that ice field, disappearing into the vast wind and snow.

……

Aurora City.

Chu Shiduo pushed open the door of the tea room, walked silently to the side of the figure sitting in front of the courtyard, and sat down respectfully.

[Tan Xin] was still wearing that black trench coat, looking calmly at the tree branches swaying in the wind in the courtyard, and spoke slowly:

"How long has it been?"

"It has been twenty hours and thirteen minutes since the aurora disappeared. The area outside Aurora City has completely become the territory of the Gray Realm. According to our projections, the Seven Districts have been completely wiped out, with no survivors."

"...Is it over?"

[Tan Xin] picked up the teacup and took a light sip, a flash of complexity in his expression.

Just then, a commotion approached from afar, as if many people were gathered together shouting something. Even through the courtyard wall, it could be heard very clearly.

"What’s the situation outside?" [Tan Xin] suddenly asked.

Chu Shiduo answered helplessly,

"Teacher, it’s a protest march organized spontaneously by the public..."

"Protest march? Protesting what?"

"Protesting... you."

[Tan Xin] raised an eyebrow and looked at Chu Shiduo in surprise.

"The matter of us abandoning the Seven Districts has leaked... Those who were already hostile to the Enforcer system took the opportunity to incite public sentiment, accusing Aurora City of being cold-blooded and ruthless, accusing the Enforcers of having the ability but not acting, abandoning 300,000 people in the Seven Districts just like that. They also said..."

Chu Shiduo stopped mid-sentence, hesitating to speak.

"Said what?" [Tan Xin] asked casually, as if the person being accused wasn't himself.

"They said... you are a coward."

[Tan Xin] laughed. His smile was gentle and harmless in the sunlight, as if he had thought of something interesting.

Then he waved his hand. "Let them say what they want."

"The matter of the Seven Districts cannot be hidden. This day would come sooner or later... Have the people from the *Aurora Daily* and *Campfire Radio* arrived? It’s time to release the official report on the disaster in the Seven Districts."

"They have, but they are all blocked outside the door by the protesting public. They have already started interviewing the protesting residents." Chu Shiduo paused. "Teacher, I’m worried that after being influenced by the protesting residents, they will issue reports unfavorable to us..."

"Let them interview. After the protest ends, you can make an official statement on my behalf."

"Me?" Chu Shiduo asked in confusion. "Teacher, for such a big thing, aren't you going to show your face in person?"

"I don't want to waste time explaining what has already happened. It doesn't matter how they evaluate me... I have more important things to do."

Seeing this, Chu Shiduo nodded slightly. "By the way, there is one more thing."

"What?"

"Xi Renjie has entered the city."

"Oh? What was the result?"

"Chen Ling didn't take the bait... No, it should be said that Xi Renjie went soft and didn't attack Chen Ling at all."

"Looks like another piece of bad news." [Tan Xin] said calmly. "What happened to Xi Renjie?"

"He didn't survive the Soul-Shattering Investigation... He went crazy."

"...I see."

"In Xi Renjie’s memory, there is one more interesting thing... Chen Ling asked him to bring a message to Aurora City."

"A message?"

"He said: Aurora City wants to keep him out, but he won't have it their way. He will pay a visit to Aurora City himself."

[Tan Xin]’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were interested.

"Interesting... I’d like to see how he intends to pay a visit?"

After reporting the situation, Chu Shiduo stood up and exited the tea room.

He passed through several corridors of the headquarters, and just as he walked out of the side door, he saw that the main road at the entrance of the headquarters was already packed to the brim.

A large crowd holding flags and banners was moving slowly on the street. Led by a few leaders, they were chanting slogans rhythmically, and the thunderous sound shook the street.