Memory Lost (美人为馅): Chapter 150

Chapter 150: The Subway of Hell

The subway speeds through the dark tunnel.  The whistling and the roaring sound of the train is very noisy.  But inside of the cart is very quiet and relaxing as people move around.

Chatterbox opens his eyes wide as he looks at Cold Face who’s leaning against the side of the train, “You’re kidding, right?  You knew that there’s something wrong with this train yet you still came on……” He stops before finishing his sentence. He understands why Cold Face made this decision.

“What should we do now then?” Chatterbox raises his head and looks around with his sharp eyes.  But it’s crowded everywhere, so this expert in tracing evidence can’t seem to find anything suspicious at the moment.

Cold Face lifts his eyes and stares at the lights from the tunnel zooming past the train with his dark pupils.

“Wait,” he spits out one word.

“The next stop is Fujiadun Station,” a sweet and gentle voice says through the speakers.  Quite a bit of people starts moving toward the doorway. The two of them are on full alert as they observe everybody’s movements.

The lights are becoming brighter as they near the exit of the tunnel and approach the station’s platform.

Nobody senses anything out of the ordinary.  Only Cold Face and Chatterbox are feeling more and more intense.

The subway roars out of the tunnel!

Many people on the train soon realize that something is wrong.

The train isn’t slowing down.  The train actually doesn’t slow down and speeds out of the tunnel, past the platform and continues straight!

“Ah!  Stop the train!  What’s going on? Why didn’t it stop?!” a lot of people shout.  Someone even knocks on the door. Everybody’s face is in shock.

And the people on the platform who were waiting to board the train are all perplexed.  But their expressions can only be seen briefly through the window. The passengers on the train can only see a few staff members at the station waving their hands and shouting frantically at them as they come running over.  And then the train roars past them and enters another dark tunnel. All the lights and people disappear quickly behind them.

People on the train are already in a panic.  Everybody is in shock and is cursing without knowing what to do.  Cold Face and Chatterbox are near the front of the train, and the carts are connected to each other.  Cold Face is tall so he can see the cart at the very front just by lifting his head. There are already a lot of people gathering at the front pounding at the door to the control cabin.  But the door stays shut. The subway continues through the dark tunnel without slowing down.

Cold Face and Chatterbox exchange gazes.

They fetch their badges and separate the crowd with their arms, “Move aside!  Police!”

The passengers move aside immediately as if they’ve been saved.  They shout, “Fellow officers, hurry and go take a look!” “This is great, we have officers here!”

Everybody shift their eyes toward them.  They make their way through to the first cart without any barrier and quickly reach the control cabin.

At this very moment.

A faint sound of electricity and then an unfamiliar and awful sounding voice that has clearly been processed by a voice changer comes on the speakers:

“Hello everybody.  You are now being held hostage.”

_____

“What did you say?  A subway train is being held hostage?”

In the police monitoring vehicle, Qin Wen Long’s face turns pale as he presses his hands onto the table.

The officer reporting the incident doesn’t look any better, “Yes.  It’s been confirmed from the metro. The subway train is passing stations without stopping and is ignoring all commands.  The driver is also not responding. It’s possible that the brake control device has been damaged. Otherwise, the metro central office would have taken control and stopped the train already.”

Qin Wen Long’s face is gloomy as he curses.  On the other end of the vehicle, a criminal investigator puts down his walkie talkie and says, “Captain, the performance at the square has ended.  A has not expressed his next steps yet.”

Qin Wen Long furrows and doesn’t say anything.  Another investigator pulls open the door and reports, “Captain, the five bombs planted on the main road to the peninsula have been removed.”

This is a big step.  This means that they can begin to disperse the hostages.  Smiles are showing on the investigators’ faces, but no smile can be seen on Qin Wen Long’s face.

He looks down at his watch: 12:10 pm.

The seven-member organization finishes their grand “performance” at this time and the bombs have also been removed.  But a subway train is being held hostage while it continues speeding through the underground tunnels of the city with its future unknown……on the surface, the connection between these events is unclear, but his instincts as an investigator tell him that there is an underlying relation that is about to be revealed.

What exactly does the seven-member organization want to do?

_____

On the subway.

The moment the announcement comes on the speakers, everybody is in shock and starts shouting for help.  Cold Face knew that this would happen. He exchanges glance with Chatterbox before they pull out their guns.  They separate the crowd and approach the control cabin slowly.

The people around them back away in fear; it’s immediately quiet.  Cold Face and Chatterbox stand on each side of the door and then use all their might to push!  It won’t open.

The speakers come on again.  The voice speaks in a very slow yet calm tempo.

“This is perhaps a train heading to the world’s end.  The brakes have been damaged so there’s no stopping it and there’s no way to get off.

It also must not crash into other subway trains, otherwise, the ten or so bombs on the train will explode……”

He says each and every word clearly.  Everybody’s expression changes instantly.  Chatterbox gasps while Cold Face continues to look calm.  In everyone’s nervous gaze, he gives a hand signal to Chatterbox, takes a step back and gives a hard kick on the door!

“Bang——”

The door is kicked open!  The two of them enter quickly with their guns.

The control cabin is filled with the smell of blood.

Chatterbox’s eyes open wide; Cold Face’s expression turns cold as he lowers his gun.  A few courageous passengers poke their heads to see what’s inside but leave screaming.

Two drivers are shot right between their eyebrows; one is lying on the floor while the other is leaning over the dashboard.  Fresh blood is everywhere. The voice on the speakers is clearly a recording as it says above their heads, “……wish you a wonderful trip.”

The perpetrator is nowhere to be found.  But Cold Face is a top expert in chasing evidence.  He holds up his gun, rushes to the side door and presses the unlock switch.  The door slides open and the roaring sound of wind can be heard. The tunnel ahead of them is pitch black, but in the headlights, they can actually see a dark shadow in front of them.  It is about to enter a small door in the tunnel, so Cold Face reacts right away and fires a few shots.

“Bang, bang——”

The shadow stutters.  It covers its chest with its hand and disappears behind that small door.

But that shadow seems familiar to Cold Face.  He can’t recall who it is at this moment though.

“Cold Face!” Chatterbox shouts.

Cold Face looks up.

It’s getting brighter ahead of them as the subway train is about to enter another station’s platform.  But another train is stopped right there, letting many passengers enter and leave the train.

They’re about to crash into it!

_____

Underground at the peninsula.

The floor is shiny like a mirror while the lighting is dim above their heads.  A few people are standing beside a crushed column. Han Chen says indifferently, “Stop being stupid idiots at a time like this.  Do you want to cover up this problematic construction development? Or do you not care about the others’ lives? We don’t know where the bombs have been planted in this underground mall.  We have to follow the criminals’ rules and find them first. Then you guys will have a chance to live, do you understand?”

Su Mian, Xu Si Bai, and Ding Jun stare at the two of them.  Zhang Fu Cai mumbles as if he wants to say something but doesn’t dare to speak.  And Ji Zi Chang’s expression changes a few times with many complex emotions brushing across his eyes.  In the end, he raises his head and looks at them, “I’ll take you guys to find them!”

Zhang Fu Cai shouts, “Ji Zi Chang, you!”

Ji Zi Chang turns around and looks at him, “President Zhang, things have already become like this.  Do you still think that we can continue to cover it up?” He actually repeats Han Chen’s exact words, “Let’s stop being stupid idiots!  At least we may live like this!”

Zhang Fu Cai isn’t stupid either.  It’s just that he often thinks that he can get lucky.  What they don’t know is that the problem with this construction development has already been exposed above ground.  Although he doesn’t know who the seven-member organization is and he doesn’t know who it is that wants to get back at them, he can only try to persuade the officers to leave this place so that the problems of this construction won’t be exposed.  If the CEO and the others have to die, then so be it. He’ll run away after he leaves this place and he’ll be safe.

Now that they’ve let the secret out, he knows that his initial plan has gone down the drain.  He can only nod, “Okay then, let’s go find them.”

There are only 8 minutes left till L’s designated time countdown.

The six of them have a quick discussion and just as Han Chen had expected, the areas of quality problems are: two places are at underground level 3, and two places are at level 1 and 2.

Han Chen thinks for a second and says, “Let’s split up.  Su Mian, Ji Zi Chang and I will go find the two at level 1 and 2.  Ding Jun, your leg is injured, so go with Xu Si Bai and Zhang Fu Cai to find the remaining individuals at this level.

There isn’t a lot of time left.  This is obviously the best way to divide the teams.  Su Mian looks up and her eyes bump into Ji Zi Chang’s gaze.  He was indeed in a wreck when he was being saved just now. Now that he’s calmed down, he is a rather handsome and mature looking man.  He’s wearing a quality suit that fits his body well. His hair and shirt are ruffled, but his eyes are clear and gentle. He has left a good impression on Su Mian from his actions just now, so she nods toward him.

He senses her kindness right away and nods slightly back.

“I object,” a clear and crisp voice says.  It’s Xu Si Bai, who’s been quiet all this time.

Su Mian is a bit stunned.  Everybody also turns to look at him.

Xu Si Bai blurts out his objection after hearing Han Chen’s team split.  He’s staring at Su Mian with his clear and shiny eyes carrying a hint of loneliness and aloofness.

“I’ll go with her,” he says indifferently.

The others remain quiet.  Zhang Fu Cai and Ji Zi Chang takes a look at them and can guess what’s going on.  Han Chen says frankly without twitching an eyebrow, “She doesn’t need you to go with her.”

Su Mian butts right in between them blocking Han Chen and says to Xu Si Bai, “Si Bai, if you really want to treat me well, and treat yourself well, hurry and save the others,” she pauses and looks directly into his eyes softening her voice, “I’ll be fine with Han Chen by my side.  Alright, let’s hurry and get going.”

Ding Jun shows his support right away, “Alright!  Forensic Investigator Xu, let’s get going. Chubby, show the way!”

Xu Si Bai doesn’t move as he shifts his gaze to Han Chen, “Protect her well.”

Han Chen doesn’t answer.

The two teams split up and start searching for the others.

At the same time, the actors’ performances above ground have already ended, but A’s performance is still continuing.

In the sun, the square, the commercial buildings, the hotel……the many LCD displays are showing A with a mask on.

Right after he finishes saying “don’t tell me you guys think that we’re here to carry out justice, do you?” the discussions at the square quiet down gradually; everybody is looking at him.

He laughs; it’s light and peaceful laugh, but it gives many people the shivers.  The feeling of fear that was dissipated by the drama-filled performance is awakened once again.

“Our goal is to prove one thing.

We want to prove one real truth to you and the officers underground.”

A’s voice lowers suddenly as if he’s mumbling to himself and sighing at the same time, “It was S who once told us this truth.”