Chapter 152: He’s Waiting For You
On the subway.
The roaring sound brushes past them. Two subway trains meet on the tracks. Due to it being too close and too fast, everybody on the train shrieks.
Cold sweat runs down Chatterbox’s spine as the tunnel becomes dark and clear of barriers again. They managed to connect through to the subway control station. Based on the commands, the two subway trains are able to avoid each other.
But this is clearly just the beginning.
“Cold Face, what should we do now?” he asks.
Cold Face is navigating the train, but lets go of it suddenly, “You drive.” Chatterbox takes over right away as he watches the track ahead. Cold Face flips open the thick driver’s manual on the dash at the same time.
Chatterbox murmurs feeling anxious, “Big Brother, we’re already at a time like this. What do you want to do? Don’t tell me you want to be a top award-winning subway driver now. Shit!”
“Shut up.”
Chatterbox shuts his mouth. But he can’t help feeling this way. Cold Face is still standing there not budging; he does carry the same superb aura as Han Chen.
And Cold Face really does carry out something superb.
After a while, Cold Face stops on the page showing the “subway schedule.” He looks at Chatterbox and says, “The schedule for every day, every time, and every station is fixed. This means that if we continue at this speed, we’ll be able to tell which station and what other trains we will encounter.”
Chatterbox understands right away. He says smiling, “I’ll contact the subway control station right away to get them to reroute the other trains. This way, we won’t collide with them.”
Cold Face’s expression is still stern. He stares at the map of subway tracks spread across the whole city and says, “Not only that. After we avoid them, our route is fixed. Ask the subway company to take a look at where our train is heading. Where is our final destination,” he pauses before continuing, “and that may be the seven-member organization’s goal.”
Chatterbox nods in agreement.
Chatterbox finishes connecting with the main station and sees Cold Face putting the manual down. Cold Face says, “Let me drive.”
“Oh, okay,” Chatterbox gives the seat back to him.
He then hears him say, “I took a look at the blueprint of this subway train. The cars were built separately. There’s a hook connecting the fifth and sixth cars, and it can be released. Go back into the car and get everyone to head to the back of the train. And then think of a way to unlock the hook to separate it from the train.”
Chatterbox opens his eyes wide.
Holy shit!
Cold Face can even think of a way like this. This is too great! This way, the latter half of the train will slow down and come to a stop. It also won’t explode due to a collision. The passengers on the train will all be saved! They’ll think of a way to deal with the front end of the train.
“I’ll go right away!” he leaves the cabin with excitement but hears Cold Face’s deep and indifferent voice say, “After you unlock it, you don’t need to come back. Go with the rest of them.”
Chatterbox’s body freezes. He instantly turns his head to look at him, “What are you going to do then?”
Cold Face replies, “I will continue ahead.”
Chatterbox stands there for a few seconds. His lips move but no words come out of it. He slides open the door and leaves.
_____
The Peninsula Square; above ground.
A’s image and A’s performance ends abruptly. The LCD screens above everybody’s head goes black and he is nowhere to be found.
It’s as if they’ve just had a weird dream beyond belief.
Xiao Ya, the Peninsula Century Hotel service employee, is among the crowd. The mass escape has started. The police sirens are loud and serious. Compared to their fright and curiosity toward A, their desire to survive is much greater. The square becomes chaotic and noisy as many people start to run. A lot of people are screaming and many more are fighting their way to get to the front.
Xiao Ya almost falls from being pushed around. Luckily, an officer helps her. She hears the officer say to his colleague, “There are so many people. It’ll take a couple of hours to evacuate.”
“Yeah,” his colleague answers, “Be careful. We don’t know what will happen next.”
Xiao Ya calms herself and continues on the path to escape——toward the Han River bridge. She feels depressed all of a sudden. After running for a while, she turns her head and stares at the black LCD screen. Tears run down her cheeks.
Xiao Ai.
What kind of a person is he?
Why does he need to do something like this?
Why can’t he leave with her and be an ordinary person?
She’ll probably never see him again in this lifetime.
_____
Underground.
The moment they reach the 3rd level, Su Mian can smell a faint scent of blood. She feels something very bad is about to happen. She turns to look at Han Chen.
He can clearly smell it too. His face turns colder. In the dim lighting, his black police coat accents his tall figure and unfriendliness. He makes eye contact with Su Mian. He pulls out his gun from his waist, bends down against the wall, and looks to the front. Su Mian follows his footsteps, leaning against the other side of the wall, and walks slowly.
The three hostages behind them watch them pull out their guns in fright. They exchange glances and follow not too far behind.
Su Mian doesn’t have time to entertain them. Compared to their selfishness and despicableness and acting like a bunch of clowns, she’s more worried about the seven-member organization. These are her and Han Chen’s real opponents.
There’s an ordinary looking corridor in front of them. The floor is shiny and looks to be just completed. On the other side of the corridor, is another spacious commercial area. They walk leaning against the walls, make a turn, and Su Mian is completely dumbstruck from what she sees——
Investigator Ding Jun is lying on the ground covered in blood. A knife is in his chest, and his face is pale as he gasps for air. He’s about to die!
“Ding Jun!” Su Mian shouts.
Han Chen is the closest to him. He lowers the gun and rushes toward him. He covers Ding Jun’s wound on his chest with his hands to stop the bleeding, “Hang on! I’ll carry you out!”
Su Mian’s eyes sting from the sight, but she keeps her mind clear. She raises her gun with alertness and looks around. Ji Zi Chang and the other two see this and are all in shock.
Ding Jun’s breathing is very weak. He doesn’t see the other three hostages behind Han Chen. He grabs Han Chen’s hand and says with much difficulty, “I won’t make it……Hurry……and save Forensic Investigator Xu. The people we save……are trying to kill us. He’s alone right now……facing the three of them……”
His voice is low, but people around him, whether they’re far or near, can hear him clearly.
His hand drops with his eyes still opened wide. His breathing stops.
Su Mian feels chills in her heart. She looks at Han Chen’s cold and gloomy side profile. She can sense the other three behind them staring.
The secret is out.
This is the moment.
Everything happens at the blink of an eye.
Before the three behind them make a move, Han Chen holds up his gun and turns around. In the dark, Su Mian can only see his dark, cold, and frightening pupils on his handsome face.
“Bang! Bang!” two shots. He Ya Yao and Chen Xu Lin, who have been standing in the front, shriek with a painful expression and fall to the ground from being shot in the leg. Ji Zi Chang is the only one left standing. He’s shocked and doesn’t know what to do.
Han Chen and Su Mian point their guns at him.
“L,” Han Chen’s voice is low and cold, “have you recovered from the gunshot wound last time?”
Ji Zi Chang’s expression changes slowly. He retrieves his expression of shock and as if he’s a different person, his expression calms down, and his eyes show a hint of a smile carrying a sense of mockery and perplexity.
He Ya Yao and Chen Xu Lin are still groaning on the ground. He frowns slightly, lifts his leg and kicks them away. He then fixes his collar, pulls out a handkerchief from his pocket and wipes his hand. He attempts to clean his dirty face while showing an expression of disgust. As he does this, Su Mian and Han Chen stare at him with full of alertness.
Yes, all traces show that he is L. And the person claiming to be “L” in the video must be another member; it’s to confuse them.
He speaks, “How did you know……”
Before he finishes, a loud “boom” comes on suddenly. Su Mian can sense the sound coming from below her feet. But it deafens her ear instantly and she feels herself falling!
In a panic, she catches a glimpse of Ji Zi Chang only——L is looking at her and his eyes are actually gentle and peaceful. Han Chen, who’s a few feet away, throws his gun away and dives toward her. But she can only see his eyes drowning in coldness as he fails to reach her. Everything happens too suddenly. Su Mian’s hand misses his and she continues falling.
Everything is pitch black around her. In the midst of falling, she can make out the rugged and monster-like outline of the construction as well as the glistening water below. Before losing consciousness, a thought flashes across her mind——this was planned by the seven-member organization. There must be many traps in here. They’ve been waiting for this moment; once she stands at the right place, they would set off the explosives and let her fall. It’s not surprising if Ding Jun getting attacked was also part of the seven-member organization’s plan.
The seven-member organization is the best at throwing a bunch of smoke bombs and then making sudden attacks to reach their ultimate goal.
And what can be waiting for her below?
L starts running away.
But Han Chen is quicker. He jumps up from the ground and grabs him by the collar. L turns around and throws a punch toward him. Han Chen is faster; he punches L in the waist with a loud thump. L groans and can’t straighten up his back for a moment. He lifts his head and his eyes meet with Han Chen’s. That gaze gives L a shiver. But Han Chen doesn’t stop for a second. He pulls him up and they both jump down.