Welcome

Inside an old residential building in the east of the city, a man with a full beard squatted on the rooftop, peering through binoculars toward downtown and cursing under his breath every so often. "Those gray dogs have tightened their guard again. This is getting messy." From the rooftop access stairwell, a team member poked his head out and yelled toward him, "Brother Tian! The captain's telegram is here! Brother—" "What are you yelling for? I hear you." The bearded man stood up and walked over. Taking the crumpled, sweat-stained telegram, he read it over and suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. "All right, no need to figure out how to plant bombs anymore. Tomorrow, load the rest of the explosives onto the truck, drive near that department store up ahead, and detonate them while the crowds are thick. Also, tell Xiao Li's crew to move at the same time. Let's give them a grand fireworks show." "Brother, that place is quite a ways from downtown. Will it do any good?" The bearded man gave him a sidelong glance. "I'd like to blow up downtown too. Why don't you go?" The man immediately shrank back. "Better not." The bearded man grunted. "Just do as you're told. Why all the chatter?" "I was only worried about holding up what the captain entrusted to you, Brother." "The captain is smarter than you. You think of something he hasn't?" The bearded man raised his wrist and checked his watch. It was 3:25 a.m.; dawn was barely two hours away. He said, "Get to work. I want to hear the bang before six o'clock!" "You got it, Brother." Out in the wilderness, Chen Chuan and his team had arrived north of Mount Xie. There was no direct passable road from the badlands to Mount Xie, so they had to stop before the foothills, traverse the mountain paths arranged for them beforehand by the constabulary, and come out on the side overlooking the railway section. Most of their group were fighters, and even the few who were not possessed years of experience undertaking commissions. Abundantly fit, they walked swiftly along the mountain trails even while bearing heavy packs, reaching their designated position before daybreak. This position had been specially chosen by the constabulary. Concealed by the woods, they could vaguely make out the railway roughly half a li away, even in the lingering darkness. Before them lay a steep slope forty to fifty meters above the ground, but to them, that was nothing. If anything happened, they could quickly descend using equipment. Chen Chuan looked south. When the train arrived from that direction, it would have to pass through a tunnel that took over twenty seconds to clear—the very section that frequently came under attack. Now, however, an outpost had been set up nearby, and railway security personnel patrolled out from it once every hour. He checked his watch. 4:12 a.m. The people from the resistance organization were quite possibly hiding on some nearby peak right now, and it remained uncertain whether the person behind the esoteric ritual had arrived as well. It was still unknown what kind of effect the ritual would produce. Yet he was not worried. Not only were precautions already prepared, but Bureau Director Lei had also told him during instruction that the larger the ritual's scale, the harder its details were to control; if any part was overlooked, even the practitioner might lose control of it. Therefore, what was most dangerous about large-scale rituals was when they went undiscovered; once forewarned, there were plenty of ways to counter them. At that very moment, several kilometers away behind a northern slope, Bao Yuan had already arrived with his men. He too glanced at his watch. Barring any delay, the train would pass below around 6:05 a.m. Because security and patrols had been reinforced along this stretch of railway, another bombing had virtually no chance of succeeding. Fortunately, they were not relying on that this time. The Painter had promised to deliver what he wanted to see. Bao Yuan did not know how the Painter would accomplish it, but he trusted him. Many of his past operations had succeeded with the Painter's help, even though they had never met in person. Moreover, he suspected the Painter was also a member within their organization, someone who shared the same ideals—which was the only thing that could explain why this person repeatedly lent a hand. Two kilometers away, Bureau Director Lei and several officers from the Esoteric Cult Examination Bureau lay concealed inside an outpost. Almost the entire bureau had mobilized for this operation. More operatives were stationed along the perimeter and at concealed vantage points, equipped with radios to maintain communication so they could react swiftly at the first sign of movement. Since this operation was likely the largest the Esoteric Cult Examination Bureau had mounted in over a decade, some of the younger members were as excited as they were nervous, constantly checking their watches. Time slipped by minute by minute. At 5:55 a.m., just as the train was due to approach, one of the officers suddenly pointed upward and cried out, "Look!" The group looked up. Floating high above the mountain range was a hot air balloon. Seeing it appear there, Bureau Director Lei fixed his gaze upward. Without even needing to think twice, he knew the person who had laid out the esoteric ritual was hiding inside. Using a hot air balloon was indeed a clever move; it offered an overview of the entire ritual while keeping the practitioner out of harm's way. "Get ready," he said. "The person should be up there." Hearing his words, the officers caught on as well. One asked in confusion, "Director, if he's up there, how will he activate the ritual?" Before an esoteric ritual could be triggered, a key component had to be slotted into place for it to take effect; an incomplete layout was entirely useless. Naturally, the person would not trigger it before the train arrived, but if he was in the sky, how could he time it accurately? Bureau Director Lei had already pieced together the person's thinking upon seeing the balloon. "He doesn't need to," he said. "The train is the key." The officers were startled. "The train?" Bureau Director Lei said gravely, "If he has people aboard the train, or if the train itself has been tampered with, then he doesn't need to control it manually. The moment the train arrives, the entire ritual will be activated. Even if that isn't the case, he could descend from the hot air balloon if necessary." He checked the watch on his wrist. 6:02 a.m. If it was on schedule, the train would arrive any moment. Almost simultaneously, Guan Yuming, who was directing operations near the city center, suddenly heard two massive explosions ring out from the east and the west. He frowned. Thorough as their sweeps had been, they could not seal off the entire city, and people hiding in the narrow alleys were impossible to root out completely. Yet an act like this served no purpose beyond harming ordinary civilians and sowing chaos; it was likely meant only to pin them down and prevent them from reallocating forces elsewhere. He dispatched two teams to the sites of the explosions, then turned to the telegraph operator. "Send a telegram: 'Explosive attacks reported on the outer edges of downtown. Exercise caution.'" A moment later, Chen Chuan and Bureau Director Lei received the telegram in turn. With trouble breaking out in the city just as the train approached, the enemy's strike was likely imminent. At this moment, the Changshun was speeding along the rails toward Yangzhi City. It had seventeen cars in all, boasting top-grade facilities and interior furnishings. On this trip, aside from ordinary passengers, the middle and rear carriages carried representatives from foreign corporations attending the conference in Yangzhi City. Each company occupied one or two carriages, accompanied mostly by armed security personnel who were permitted to carry firearms. They wore stab-resistant suits, and a few wore protective suits. Lindenberg, representative of Bolun Company, was gazing at the scenery outside the train window. His assistant remarked, "Sir, the lands outside Great Shun's Center Cities are always desolate and monotonous, and the people living in those towns are like livestock in a pen—savage and stupid. There's nothing worth looking at." Lindenberg replied, "The world outside Center Cities is like this everywhere. It's true in Great Shun, and true in Norland. Yet Molan Company chose this place as their retreat. There must be wonders in this land we know nothing about." After delivering his assessment, he turned away from the window and resumed flipping through files on Yangzhi City. He had not originally been the business representative assigned to this trip; the previous candidate had been reassigned at short notice, so Lindenberg had been sent in his stead. Knowing nothing of the local situation beforehand, he had to do all the prep work from scratch. "Hm..." He suddenly looked up, taking off his tinted decorative glasses. His implanted pupils dilated instantly, locking onto a tiny dark dot in the distance. He murmured in surprise, "A hot air balloon?" He also spotted a banner hanging beneath it, reading: *Welcome International Guests.* "Is this a welcoming ceremony from the Yangzhi government? They seem quite hospitable." The train had now reached the section leading into the mountain tunnel. Watching ahead, the train driver knew this stretch was frequently ambushed in the past. Fortunately, everything appeared normal. As they neared the tunnel entrance, he sounded the whistle in advance to alert the passengers behind. As the train entered, he cast a glance aside and was suddenly seized by a wave of horror. The folds and ridges of the rock formations seemed to form a bizarre, grinning face that appeared to be smiling right at him, while the gaping black maw of the tunnel entrance beneath looked like an open mouth. *Whoooo—* The train plunged headlong into the tunnel. Twenty-some seconds later, it successfully emerged, but then gradually ground to a halt. Only a small fraction of the train stood outside; the greater part remained inside the tunnel. All the passengers were still sitting in their seats, yet they seemed entirely oblivious to the fact that the train had stopped, each person frozen in their prior activities. Inside the Bolun Company carriage, the assistant's voice rang out: "Sir, the lands outside Great Shun's Center Cities are always desolate and monotonous, and the people living in those towns are like livestock in a pen—savage and stupid. There's nothing worth looking at." Lindenberg withdrew his gaze and said, "The world outside Center Cities is like this everywhere. It's true in Great Shun, and true in Norland..." He frowned slightly, sensing that something was amiss, yet went on regardless: "Yet Molan Company chose this place as their retreat. There must be wonders in this land we know nothing about..." He went back to flipping through his materials. After a moment, as if noticing something, he looked up and said, "Is that a hot air balloon?" "Is this a welcoming ceremony from the Yangzhi government? They seem quite hospitable."