Chapter 70
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Chapter 70: Artillery Fire
“Being interrogated separately… he doesn’t seem like an ordinary slave worker.” Zhang Zhiyuan reached out to check the man’s pulse at his neck. “He’s still alive, but in this condition, there’s no way he can escape.”
“Hey, before you leave, take another look?” He turned towards Lesker, who lingered nearby. “Do you recognize this person?”
Lesker approached, eyes narrowing as he scrutinized the unconscious man before shaking his head.
“Wait, you’re not planning to bring him back to Glorious Fortress, are you?” Anthony’s voice was incredulous as he rummaged through cabinets.
“My apologies, that was indeed my intention” Zhang Zhiyuan replied calmly.
“You don’t even know who he is.”
“No matter who he is, it’s unlikely he’s a friend of the Gaotian Mining Corporation.” Zhang Zhiyuan drew his dagger, cutting the rope that bound the man and gently freeing him from the leather restraints. He hoisted the injured stranger onto his shoulder with care. “Besides, he’s being being held alone in the conductor’s cabin suggests he holds some significance to the company.”
“Hmph, do what you please.” The Russian’s response was unexpectedly indifferent, his tone absent of further protest.
Zhang Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow, having expected more resistance. But before he could dwell on it—
“I found it!” Zhou Zhi’s voice rang out, excitement clear.
He then pulled out a heavy iron box from beneath the bedside table. As it slid across the floor, the sharp clink of metal inside reverberated through the cabin.
“But this box is locked!”
“Let me take care of that,” Anthony said, stepping forward. He leveled his gun, taking precise aim before firing twice. The lock shattered in an instant.
The lid creaked open, revealing seven or eight stuffed cloth bags, each heavy with content. Without hesitation, Anthony grabbed one, loosened the knot, and spilled its contents across the floor.
Inside were coins roughly half the size of a palm, each reflecting a dull golden glow under the dim oil lamp. This was undoubtedly a sum of wealth anyone would be envious of, no matter where it lay, these would be considered a small fortune.
Anthony took off his jacket and skillfully packed all the cloth bags together. “Alright, we can leave now.”
“Be cautious, something seems strange!” At that moment, Asahara Naruko issued a warning.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been watching from the window,” she said, her voice low but steady, “and I saw them making moves toward our carriage. But it’s been a while since we entered the conductor’s cabin, and yet no one’s tried to enter Carriage 7.”
The conductor’s cabin was a fully enclosed steel compartment, so they couldn’t observe the situation outside.
“Now that you mention it… I also feel that it might be unusually quiet around the train,” Zhou Zhi whispered softly as his tone showing the uneasiness.
The two sides had clearly engaged by now, and the Gaotian Mining Corporation’s security team knew their enemies had infiltrated the carriages. So why weren’t they counterattacking?
Even if they were wary of our fierce firepower, there’s still a large group of escaped slave laborers out there! Did these thugs intend to ignore even the most vulnerable civilians after failing against the “fierce bandits”?
“Regardless of what they’re planning, we just need to transport the money to the bridge,” Zhang Zhiyuan pondered for a moment before suggesting, “Here’s what we’ll do: instead of exiting from Carriage 7, let’s return to Carriage 3. There’s more cover over there.”
Everyone supported this plan without exception. However, as they moved through the seventh carriage, Luo Di, with her keen eyesight, caught a flicker of blue glow outside the window. Without a doubt, it was the specialized lighting used to disperse the fog.
“Not good…” Lesker’s face paled, “We can’t move forward, quickly retreat back!”
At the same time, Zhang Zhiyuan noticed several shadows moving not far from the railway bridge. Within less than three seconds, a vivid red flare shot straight into the sky. Despite the dense fog, its distinctive glow was faint but unmistakable.
Realizing the danger, Zhang Zhiyuan rushed to the window, the injured man still slung across his back. He craned his neck to peer out toward the rear of the train.
A peculiar steel machine stood at the slope edge of the depression, equipped with a searchlight similar to those on the train atop it. However, the range for dispersing the fog appeared smaller. Nonetheless, it was still sufficient for Zhang Zhiyuan to clearly discern its entire form.
The machine’s spider-like legs moved with a multi-jointed precision, each joint hissing steam like a colossal boiler. But Zhang Zhiyuan knew this wasn’t just some machine for boiling water, because unmistakably, its upper body housed a gun turret, with its ominous black muzzle directly aimed at their carriage!
He finally understood what the boy had been incessantly referring to—the terrifying weapon.
“Everyone, jump from the train—now!” Zhang Zhiyuan roared at the top of his lungs. He shifted the person on his back to the front and tightly embraced him before leaping out of the carriage.During his jump in mid-air, he caught a glimpse of a brilliant flash of flame from the corner of his eye.
In the next instant, it felt like something slammed into him, a violent force that hurled his body into the air. He plummeted beneath the wooden bridge amidst exploding sparks and dense black smoke above.
Only at that moment did the deafening sound of the explosion pierce his eardrums—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
It felt like the earth was shaking!
Zhang Zhiyuan crashed into a thicket, tumbling uncontrollably before finally coming to a stop.
“Host! Mitigate pain!” he asked while groaning through clenched teeth.
“It has already been reduced to 25%,” Chaoyang calmly replied, providing some reassurance. No wonder there was no counterattack on their carriage; it seemed the Gaotian Corporation’s guard team had never intended for a direct confrontation! Before leaving, they even deliberately left behind numerous illuminated stones, dispersing the fog around the carriage completely, clearly intended to monitor their movements from afar!
But why didn’t these individuals directly bombard the conductor’s cabin? Could it be they didn’t want to kill the man who had endured harsh interrogation?
Zhang Zhiyuan glanced at the unconscious person cradled in his arms. He was relieved to find the guy hadn’t suffered much injury. However, his own left arm was completely numb, most likely a fracture from the fall.
Fortunately, the wooden bridge wasn’t too high; otherwise, being blown off would have been certain death.
“Can you help confirm the status of the others?”
“Zhou Zhi, Luo Di, and Asahara Naruko are descending from the opposite side of the bridge. Anthony is dead,” Chaoyang replied without hesitation.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhiyuan finally let out a sigh of relief. Despite the unexpected barrage, he was surprised that the casualties were lighter than anticipated. In such circumstances, losing only one member could be considered fortunate amidst misfortune.
Groaning, he pulled himself to his feet, dragging the unconscious man as they limped towards the bottom of the wooden bridge. It wasn’t long before he saw Zhou Zhi and the others. Surprisingly, the boy named Lesker hadn’t run off on his own and was still sticking with the group.
“Brother Zhang, are you alright?!” Zhou Zhi excitedly ran towards him.
“I’m mostly fine, how about you?”
“Pretty much in one piece.” Zhou Zhi thumped his chest, though his face was pale. “When we saw you jump, we followed suit. Then came the explosion and flames. I thought we were going to die, but it seems the shockwave didn’t reach us. However, Anthony… he was impaled by a flying piece of metal through his stomach. By the time he hit the ground, he had already stopped breathing. We could only leave him on the bridge, thankfully our money is still safe. Also…” He trailed off, clearly hesitating.
“What else?” Seeing Zhou Zhi hesitate, Zhang Zhiyuan couldn’t help but ask.
“I…” Zhou Zhi initially wanted to mention that at the moment he jumped out of the window, he clearly saw the glow from the explosion outside, yet instead of engulfing them, the fire seemed to stop precisely at the window edge, as if an invisible barrier shielded them from the blast within the cabin. However, since the entire event happened in an instant, he couldn’t be certain if it was just an illusion. In the end, he shook his head and said, “No, never mind… It must have been sheer luck, I suppose.”
After all, the Russians’ fate turned out completely opposite.