The viscous blood immersed every inch of the tiles and shredded meat and severed parts were scattered everywhere. The smell of gunpowder occupied the place and it even covered the terrifying smell of blood. A seemingly endless amount of corpses laid on the ground with the stick-thin arms withering away.
Pairs of military boots stepped over the dead bodies and stood in front of a collapsed wall.
“The road ahead is blocked,” Sminov said. “Maybe it is the masterpiece of the survivors.”
Yegor did not speak. He walked up to the collapsed gravel pile, extended his right hand, and wiped the wall with his index finger.
He then gently rubbed his index finger with his thumb and closed his eyes as if he were sensing something.
After a long silence, he opened his eyes and looked at the collapsed wall, then said slowly.
“It collapsed a decade ago. It should be directional blasting.”
“It seems to be a dead end.” Sminov walked beside the commander and frowned.
“Not necessarily.” Yegor grinned, and his fierce eyes flashed with madness.
“Oh?” Sminov felt a little uneasy for some unknown reasons.
“Bring the map,” Yegor said.
Soon, a soldier stepped forward and handed him the traffic map of the subway lines in Shangjing.
When he pushed the map on the wall, Yegor’s eagle-like gaze followed the 35th Line all the way east. Eventually, he stopped at Dongcheng Park Station that was now below his feet. The place was the transit station between Line 35 and Line 27 and was also directly above Line 2.
He used his index finger and thumb to measure the line, as if he was measuring something.
Soon, a touch of joy appeared.
“What did you find?” Sminov asked the commander.
“Dear Comrade Sminov, I don’t know if you have heard of Subway Line 0 in Shangjing.”
“I have heard about it. But…” Sminov frowned. “Isn’t it just a myth? Like the Future Factory underground in the Kremlin, no one has ever verified it.”
“The best way to cover up a secret is to use a confusing story to cover an irrefutable truth. Of course, I have only recently begun to suspect this…” His gaze continued along Line 27 and stopped at Pingan Street. Yegor’s eyes narrowed. “Only now, I’m very convinced that the legendary Subway Line 0 must exist, and the survivors here have been exploring this since ten years ago.”
Yegor’s index finger pointed on the map. “Subway line 27 passes directly below the Pan-Asia Cooperation building, which is the politcal center of Pan-Asia Cooperation. This is abnormal, isn’t it? Look down. It is directly connected to Line 35 and Line 2. If I didn’t guess wrong, the answer is definitely here. Either Line 27 or Line 2 is connected to it.”
As for Line 35.
They came from Line 35 and thus ruled this line out.
Sminov took a deep breath.
Although he felt that his commander’s thoughts were crazy, he could not spot any flaws.
Line 2 or Line 27, one of which must have a connecting station leading to the legendary Line 0.
It was a multiple-choice question, and it seemed that it didn’t matter if you chose the wrong one?
“But how do we get there?” Sminov asked the commander. “There is no way.”
“There is no way?” Yegor raised his eyebrow and then his lips formed a fierce arc, “Then make one!”
Line 2 or Line 27?
This multiple-choice question could have two answers.
They had plenty of tactical nuclear warheads.
…
The South Gate.
At the warehouse by the South Gate, Jiang Chen took the weapons he stored in the warehouse with his guards and prepared to leave the city.
However, when they crossed the wall and entered the buffer zone, they found a long queue at the gate. Soldiers armed with rifles and bulletproof vests were searching every single person leaving the city.
Jiang Chen frowned.
Just as he wished to investigate, he heard the survivors next to him whispering.
“There was an explosion in North Street. I heard there were gunshots too,” a person who looked like a lone traveler said.
“Gunshots? What the fu*k, someone had too much to drink.” The mercenary-looking survivor whispered, “Damn, this is going to be a long queue.”
“I heard that Ding Liwei was furious. He ordered the city to be placed under martial law and to search for the suspect. There had been no shootings in Pingan Street for three years, at least not right in the street. Most merchants choose to come and stay in this place because it’s safe. Now, someone has slapped the face of the entire militia.”
“If the person gets caught, I’m afraid the punishment will not be light.”
“Light? Oh, they’ll probably get locked up with a Death Claw.”
“Right, where did the explosion happen? Have you heard that?”
“It seemed to be at the Dorsett Hotel…”
When Jiang Chen listened to the chatter of the survivors, combined with the previous auction, he had already guessed the story. Miss Zhao Qiuran was indeed a… heroine. She actually bombed the Dorsett Hotel. Did that guy Wan Peng get blown up too? He should have been inside as well.
Don’t die.
The Survivors Alliance has yet to pay.
After giving a pat on Lu Fan’s shoulder, Jiang Chen whispered a few words to his captain and pointed to the city gate. He moved a chair and sat down. He watched one of his soldiers speak to an officer at the gate and then stuff a crystal worth three hundred points into his hand.
Lu Fan nodded, then walked toward the officer.
Jiang Chen did not have the leisure to accompany the survivors and stay in line. There was no problem that money couldn’t solve.
More than three hundred crystals would be more than enough to bribe an officer.
Just then, Jiang Chen felt someone touch his arm.
When he turned around, he saw a woman wearing a broken cloak, standing nervously beside him, and whispering in a begging tone.
“Take me out of here.”
Jiang Chen took a moment and recognized the face. With a sly smile, he said.
“Oh? Is this the attitude of someone asking for help?”
What a coincidence. The Dorsett Hotel on North Street blew up, and she was already here at the South Gate. Only her movements were just one step too slow. Immediately when she escaped from the Dorsett Hotel, the militia stationed on Pingan Street put the city under martial law.
Tightly biting her lower lip, Zhao Qiuran whispered.
“I know something that’s important to you.”
Jiang Chen was really amused by her and laughed.
“You don’t even know who I am, how do you know if something is important to me?”
“Who you’re is not important, the important thing is that you took the card.”
Jiang Chen looked at her, surprised, and frowned.
“How did you know I took the card?”
“Can I explain it later?” Zhao Qiuran looked nervously in the direction of the city gate.
With just moments to think, Jiang Chen nodded.
“Fine, follow me.”
“Thank you,” Zhao Qiuran whispered.
“Don’t thank me yet, and don’t say anything, don’t look at anything, and just lower your head. Right, where is your slave imprint?” Jiang Chen asked.
Zhao Qiuran was confused.
“Right arm, why?”
“It’s nothing.”
While they spoke, Lu Fan had come over with two soldier-looking men.
Zhao Qiuran looked normal, but judging from her slightly stiff expression, she was very tense.
Jiang Chen gave Lu Fan a look, then looked at the woman in the broken cloak.
Lu Fan immediately understood and let the two soldiers begin their count.
Twenty-one people left the queue, followed Lu Fan, and came to the security room under the city gate.
“Why is there twenty-one?” When he saw Lu Fan with the people he brought, the officer was displeased.
Counting Lu Fan, it was twenty-two, which was more than the agreed number.
Jiang Chen lifted his chin slightly and used his acting skills. In an arrogant manner, he raised his voice.
“Does a slave count?”
Then, he reached out and grabbed Zhao Qiuran’s arm and lifted up her sleeve.
Jiang Chen’s action made her feel stunned.
If she didn’t believe that he wouldn’t set her up, she was about to run away.
A string of black barcodes was printed on her arm.
The officer glanced at it and did not say anything. He waved his hand and told the person to open the side door
“Let them through.”
Zhao Qiuran’s heart finally calmed down.
Jiang Chen let go of her hand, and with the guards behind her, they walked toward the open door.
In truth, if they scanned the mark, they would find out that she was the wanted slave they were looking for. However, the officer did not make it difficult for the wealthy owner, or rather, he did not believe Jiang Chen would risk making the entire Pingan Street his enemy to help a criminal.
Just like that, the group of people safely left Pingan Street in a nerve-wracking state.
