Chapter 156: The Train from the Wind and Snow

VROOOOM—!!

The roaring whistle came from outside the city, like a thunderclap exploding in the wind and snow!

In front of the gates of Aurora City, the guard Enforcer who was leaning against the wall resting suddenly came to his senses and looked toward the end of the horizon.

Broken snow was swept into the sky by the strong wind. Amidst the hazy wind and snow, a black dot appeared out of thin air. Behind that black dot, a seemingly endless tide of disaster surged!

"That is..." The Enforcer hurriedly took out his binoculars from his arms and looked in that direction, standing there in a daze. "...This... how is this possible?!!"

He pressed the button on his communicator and shouted amidst the wailing wind, snow, and whistle:

"Headquarters, Headquarters! This is Southwest Gate 4!! This is Southwest Gate 4!!"

"I... I saw a train!!"

……

Meanwhile.

On the street not far from this city wall, the people who were protesting and shouting were all stunned at the same time. They turned their heads to look in the direction the sound came from, their eyes full of confusion and astonishment.

"The sound of a train? Did I hear wrong?"

"It came from outside the wall..."

"Impossible, hasn't the area outside the wall already been occupied by the Gray Realm? Where would a whistle come from?"

"I remember there are no tracks outside the city gate in this direction... So how could there be a train?"

“……”

The crowd whispered in confusion. Just then, figures in black trench coats rushed toward that side of the city wall like lightning. The Enforcers who were maintaining order on the street also seemed to have received some kind of order and quickly approached there!

The crowd looked at each other, knowing that something must have happened outside the city wall, and followed these Enforcers toward the city wall one after another. But just as they passed through Pigeon Square, they were stopped by the Enforcers.

Yellow warning lines were quickly pulled up, blocking everyone in front of the square. Behind the warning lines were dense crowds of Enforcers and an Enforcer wearing a three-stripe trench coat.

"The area ahead has been blocked. Unauthorized personnel are prohibited from approaching," the Enforcer said with a straight face, his voice deep.

"Why won't you let us pass?!!"

"Yeah, this is a public area, how can you just block it whenever you want?"

"Something must have happened outside the city wall... We have the right to know the truth!"

“……”

Two figures carrying cameras squeezed through the crowd, ignoring the warning lines. Before they could take two steps, they were stopped by several Enforcers.

"I am Wen Shilin, a reporter for the *Aurora Daily*. According to the laws of Aurora City, I have the right to independent media action. Even Enforcers have no right to interfere with my actions... Move aside." Wen Shilin took out his press card from his arms and said earnestly.

Several Enforcers looked at each other, a bit at a loss, but under orders, they didn't move aside and still blocked his path.

Seeing this, Wen Shilin frowned involuntarily. He spoke in a low voice:

"Three hundred years ago, Aurora City founded the Enforcer system for the purpose of better maintaining order in Aurora City. To prevent Enforcers from abusing their private power, the public was also granted the right to monitor and report freely, which is on the same level as your absolute enforcement power... Don't talk about just you, even if [Tan Xin] came, he would have no right to stop me here!"

"Are you trying to go against the laws of Aurora City?"

Hearing this, the expressions of the Enforcers changed. The three-stripe Enforcer walked straight over, saw Wen Shilin’s serious and determined face, and shook his head helplessly.

"...Forget it, let him in."

As the Enforcers blocking his eyes retreated, Wen Shilin glared at them, shouldered his camera, and hurried toward the city wall.

Pigeon Square was located right behind Southwest Gate 4, with only a straight road five or six hundred meters long between them. Wen Shilin took his assistant and walked straight across the road, stepping onto the city wall. Along the way, many Enforcers wanted to stop them, but after glancing at the press card on their chests, they let them go.

"Start recording." Wen Shilin took out a brown notebook and a gold fountain pen from his arms.

As his voice fell, the fountain pen stood up automatically and began to write rapidly.

"3:42 PM, outside the southwest city wall of Aurora City, a whistle-like hum was heard. Enforcers and Enforcer units quickly mobilized to block the vicinity of the city gate. The author passed through the blockade and climbed the city wall to explore the truth of the anomaly outside the city..."

Wen Shilin stepped onto the city wall, looked out from the height of the wall, and when his gaze landed on the end of the horizon, his pupils contracted slightly!

His voice stopped abruptly.

In the wind and snow, dense black creatures crawled out from the edge of the Gray Realm, like a surging black giant wave flooding toward here. And amidst this surging tide, a train was rushing at the very front, thrilling and whistling!

It was a train burned to a charred black. Its massive body crushed countless black creatures into fragments, and roaring flames surged on its wheels. From a distance, it looked like a steel beast stepping through fire from the Gray Realm!

The tracks paved with flames burned wildly on the ice field, and on that pitch-black train engine, a blood-red trench coat fluttered in the wind.

Wen Shilin was stunned. He couldn't find the words to describe this scene for a moment. He didn't know how the train was driving on the ice field without tracks, nor did he know why it could smash out of the Gray Realm. Its appearance on this dead and desperate ice field felt like a miracle!

BANG!

The magnesium light above the camera sparked, and the assistant beside him had already engraved this scene on the film forever. Only then did Wen Shilin come to his senses and ask the Enforcer beside him in a daze.

"This train... what’s going on?"

The five-stripe Enforcer couldn't be bothered to answer Wen Shilin. They had no obligation to cooperate with reporters’ investigations. He turned and walked to the other side of the city wall. At the same time, an Enforcer hurried toward him.

"It’s been verified! That is the train used by the Fire-Tamper at the time, suspected to be fused with a certain ritual vessel, and was temporarily stranded at Winter Harbor."

"What about the person on the train? Has it been verified?"

"Verified." The Enforcer pulled out a file, and the photo was Chen Ling’s face. "The mastermind behind the total annihilation of the Ancient Armory of the Military Path, a heretic who infiltrated the enforcement system, former Third District Enforcer Chen Ling."

"Chen Ling..." the five-stripe Enforcer muttered the name.

"It’s too amazing." Another Enforcer stared blankly at the rapidly approaching steel train. "It’s been a full twenty hours since the aurora disappeared. Logically speaking, there should be disasters everywhere outside the city now... How did he kill his way out of the Gray Realm?"

"He’s still approaching Aurora City? What exactly does he want to do??"