NOVPUBChapter 69: Chapter 68: The Slave Transport Special Train
Chapter 69 -68: The Slave Transport Special Train
“How is it here so soon?” Zhou Zhi couldn’t help but be stunned, “Isn’t it supposed to leave at midnight!”
“No choice, we have to climb up!” Qianyuan Mingzi stood up and planned to move toward the edge of the bridge, “Zhang, come with me!”
Damn it! Zhang Zhiyuan knew that Mingzi’s judgment was correct, in no more than fifteen seconds, the train would pass through the ambush area, and afterward, it would be hardly possible to catch up with the target on foot. Their only choice now was to rush to the bridge as quickly as possible, then climb up the low bridge and find a chance to hitch a ride on the train!
But he also saw that this was not an ordinary steam train—they actually had gun posts on the roof, which meant that their climbing would instantly expose them to the enemy’s gunfire if they made even the slightest mistake.
“Spread out, get down! Everyone get down!”
Just then, a familiar voice came through the fog.
The slightly rolled “r”s left no doubt it was Anthony!
No sooner had he finished speaking than a bright flame burst forth on the low bridge, like the first sweep of dawn’s early light—
Boom!
Then, three successive blasts!
Flames erupted one after another, as if sending off the train, the violent blast wind toppled the shrubs in the hollow, and splintered wood rained down like raindrops.
Hum————————!
Once the bridge deck lost its stability, the first to be affected were the tracks laid upon it.
The steel bars issued a dull trembling sound, a cry of being unable to support the train any longer, twisting into deformity. The steel beast to the right suddenly sank, as if falling into the bridge surface itself, but inertia didn’t allow it to stop there—the heavy body continued to surge forward, until the carriages off the track were completely squeezed out from the low bridge.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye!
With the afterglow of the explosion, the massive locomotive led the charge down the bridge deck, plunging headfirst into the hollow. A large amount of mud and shrubs were scooped up, creating an unusual fountain.
Then came the carriages.
Their situation was a slightly better, since the bridge was not very high, only two or three carriages followed the locomotive off the bridge, while the rest remained on top. This resulted in an additional, twisted steel bridge amidst the hollow, alongside the original wooden one.
When the train finally came to a complete halt, the fog rolled in as well, enveloping its outline in the blink of an eye.
Clearly, the lights used on the locomotive to dispel the fog had been smashed.
“Sukarnobert, did you see that? This is my handiwork, hahaha!” The Russian suddenly emerged from the fog, shouting loudly toward the other four.
“Where’s your lantern?” It was then that Zhang Zhiyuan realized there was nearly no light coming from his teammate.
“I smashed it.”
“What?” the three exclaimed in surprise.
“How was I to know the exchange list wouldn’t have a single electric thing!” Anthony spread his hands, “I wanted to make a short circuit explosive device, but in the end, I had to use gunpowder to lay a fuse, and a ten-meter blast radius was something. Luckily black powder burns slowly, otherwise I would’ve had to accept going up in flames with the tracks! Think about it, I had to stay by the railroad bridge the entire time, wouldn’t smashing the lantern keep me from exposing myself?”
So that’s why they couldn’t find the Russian’s whereabouts…
After setting up the explosives, he had been lying in wait the whole time for the moment the train appeared.
“Now that we’re all here, let’s go up!” Qianyuan Mingzi took her automatic rifle off her back, and even took the time to give Ailuodi a specific instruction, “If you can’t use a gun, stay away from the rest of us, and remember to find cover whenever you hear gunshots.”
“That’s right, bullets have no eyes!” Anthony was impatient, “What’s coming next is what I’ve been looking forward to the most!”
The four made their way across the crippled low bridge, arriving in front of the carriages that had fallen from the bridge. The Russian went first, kicking the carriage door open with a bold kick, and charged inside.
A foul smell hit them.
“Fuck, they’re transporting slaves!”
Zhou Zhi saw that the carriage was actually lined with rows of iron bars, sectioning off three-quarters of the space; to the left was a walkway, and to the right were cages. The cages were filled with emaciated common people, the majority of whom were Seaguardians. The slave workers clearly hadn’t recovered from the recent collision either, as they lay scattered across the floor, their eyes filled with terror upon seeing the “players” burst in.
“Who are you…?” a man resembling a guard asked, covering his bleeding forehead, his words slurred. Besides a whip at his feet, several empty bottles were scattered around him.
Without saying another word, Anthony stepped forward and knocked the man to the ground with the butt of his gun, “He should know where the money is kept in the train carriages.”
“What about these people?” Zhou Zhi asked.
“Let them all go, give GaoTian Mining some trouble,” Zhang Zhiyuan immediately decided, “Let’s look around, the keys should be nearby.”
Soon, Qianyuan Mingzi found the keys.
However, to everyone’s surprise, even after the iron doors were opened, not a single person dared to walk out. They stood, separated by the bars, staring at each other, the atmosphere growing tense and awkward.
“Run, what are you waiting for!” Zhang Zhiyuan urged.
But this scolding seemed to make the prisoners shrink back even more, fear evident on their faces.
“Let me do it.”
All of a sudden, Ailuodi spoke up.
She scanned the people for a moment, then stepped into a cell.
Qianyuan Mingzi frowned, wanting to follow, but Ailuodi stopped her with an outstretched hand.
“What does she want to do?” Zhou Zhi couldn’t help but ask in a low voice.
Zhang Zhiyuan shook his head, finding he couldn’t read this girl who looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old.
Ailuodi stopped in front of a young Seaguardian and touched his head, “I know you are brave, just panicked for a moment and unsure of what to do, so I’ll help you out—you have two choices now: one is to lead everyone and escape from danger, and the other is to do nothing and watch everyone miss this only opportunity. So tell me, what’s your choice?”
Ailuodi’s voice was soft but clear enough for everyone to hear. Moreover, there seemed to be a magical power in the girl’s words that involuntarily induced a feeling of relaxation and peace.
Even Anthony’s actions of hitting someone slowed down a bit.
After a few seconds of silence, the Seaguardian spoke up for the first time, “Can we really escape?”
“Follow the railway back, and when the mist clears, turn to the west—there’s a beach there, and you can escape from there back to the city.”
The boy looked at her for a moment, as if he had made up his mind. Then he blew three whistles and waved to the people in the cell, “Everyone, follow me!”
Incredibly, the slave workers, who had been cowering moments before, suddenly seemed to find a backbone. They started to flock towards the cell door and, led by the boy, they ran out of the iron cages. Although their eyes still held fear when looking at Zhang Zhiyuan and the others, they were no longer as defensively on guard as before.
“How… how did you manage to do that?” Zhou Zhi asked, astonished.
“I spent some time in the slums before and had quite deep interactions with the people there,” Ailuodi replied softly, “The more people have nothing, the more likely a leader will emerge among them. Once you find this person, negotiations become much easier. Of course… the leader is not always a ferocious and belligerent person; the specific approach should be suited to the situation. For example, with that young Seaguardian boy just now, it was better to reassure and then inspire.”
Zhou Zhi was stunned, “You’re incredible!”
“Why is it that the less people have, the more likely a leader emerges?” Qianyuan Mingzi asked, puzzled.
“…Because they are already very weak,” Ailuodi said, watching the people continuously escaping the train carriages, murmuring, “Just like a flock of sheep in danger, if they don’t stick together, they have only one way out—death.”
At that moment, Anthony dragged a blood-faced guard over to the group, “I found out, the conductor’s cabin is in the eighth carriage, we still have to move forward four more carriages.”
“We better hurry, we’re running out of time,” Zhang Zhiyuan nodded.
“That’s true,” Anthony said, raising the corner of his mouth, then he drew a dagger and plunged it straight into the guard’s heart!
