Starting from 1950

Time passed by, and as the carriage swayed, many people dozed off, some even lying down in the aisle or under the seats to sleep.

More than ten hours had passed since we boarded the train in Beijing, during which time we ate the dry rations we had brought with us.

After the initial novelty wears off, all that's left is boredom.

Passengers got on and off the train, and it was already past midnight; the carriage was very quiet.

Wu Xinxue had somehow become drowsy and was leaning against Su Yang's shoulder, her arms tightly wrapped around his, and her mouth occasionally smacking.

Su Yang took out a few tattered clothes from his bundle and covered the two of them with them.

For some reason, although he felt cold, his body did not feel much numbness; it seemed to radiate heat from the inside out.

He would occasionally glance at his character panel, guessing it was probably due to some kind of cheat code.

"Tickets are being checked! Wake up, everyone! Tickets are being checked!"

A loud voice rang out, and two train attendants carrying flashlights walked out from the end of the carriage.

"Honestly, I was sleeping soundly, why are you checking tickets?"

Many people were woken up and grumbled complaints, but the train conductor, used to this situation, pretended not to hear them.

The tickets for Su Yang's 47 children were purchased together, and Li Weixin showed them to the train conductor.

The train conductor glanced at the ticket Li Weixin had given him and returned it to him, jokingly saying, "Comrade, it must be tough for you patriarchs to travel with forty or fifty teenagers."

Li Weixin smiled and was about to reply when he suddenly noticed a man standing up and stretching in a seat not far away. Then, with a "thud," a pistol fell to his feet.

The man paused for a second, then quickly bent down, picked it up, and put it back in his waistband.

Several passengers near the man's seat noticed he had a gun and immediately got up and moved away.

These days, it's not unusual to carry a gun when you go out; many government officials are armed.

Even many ordinary people have guns at home.

However, a few months ago, the authorities began calling on civilians to hand over their firearms.

If an ordinary person is found carrying a gun in public, they will only be forced to hand it over, but there will be no other punishment.

There's a saying circulating in Beijing that if you walk down the street, one in ten people will be carrying a gun.

However, it's hard to say who these armed people on the street are.

The train conductor also noticed the man's actions, and one of them stepped forward and routinely asked, "Comrade, please show me your work ID."

After a moment, seeing that he had not received a response, he explained, "I am doing this for the safety of the passengers. If you are an officer who is authorized to carry a gun, please cooperate with my work."

The man kept his head down.

Another train conductor sensed something was wrong and quietly drew his own gun.

The man was silent for a moment, then took out a small notebook from his shirt pocket.

The train conductor glanced at the work badge, and his expression immediately relaxed. He smiled and said, "So you're a comrade from the 15th Military Control Commission of Beijing. Thank you for your cooperation."

After saying that, he returned the work ID to the man.

Li Weixin had been paying attention to them, and he immediately frowned when he heard what the train conductor said.

After the Red Flag entered the city, the city was placed under military control and divided into several districts. Now, after nearly a year, there are a total of twenty districts after the merger.

Li Weixin and the other two were members of the Fifteenth District Military Control Commission.

But he had never seen that man before.

There's only one explanation: the man is an imposter, and his documents are forged.

Li Weixin didn't alert the enemy; he simply gave the other two officers a meaningful look.

The three of them, as if on cue, pretended to look away, but kept observing the man out of the corner of their eyes.

The minor incident did not cause much of a stir in the carriage.

After a while, one of the officers said to Li Weixin, "Squad leader, I'm going to have a smoke."

Li Weixin nodded, pretending not to care.

The officer walked towards the connecting area between the carriages on his own.

Su Yang didn't know the reason behind it. He had only seen the train conductor check the man's work ID and then there was no further news, so he didn't think much of it.

Just then, I heard a "hmm" sound.

He smiled and said, "Awake?"

Wu Xinxue hurriedly got up from his shoulder and let go of his arm.

She just had a dream that she was sleeping while hugging a stove, and it felt so warm.

"Why didn't you wake me up? Is your shoulder numb?" she whispered, blushing.

Su Yang waved his hand, stretched his shoulders, and indicated that he was fine.

Wu Xinxue stood up from her seat, stamped her foot, and felt a little strange.

Despite the cold weather and the fact that she had slept for so long, her body didn't feel numb at all.

"I need to relieve myself," she whispered.

Su Yang nodded and moved his legs to make way.

Wu Xinxue walked out, hesitated for a moment, and then whispered, "Could you come with me? I'm afraid of the dark."

"Okay!" Su Yang nodded indifferently.

Wu Xinxue smiled sweetly, and the dimly lit carriage seemed to brighten up considerably.

The two carefully avoided the crisscrossing feet in the aisle and arrived at the connecting area between the carriages.

The connecting area between the carriages was colder than inside the carriages, but the toilets on trains in that era were not much different from those in later times.

Su Yang watched Wu Xinxue go into the restroom and waited at the door.

He looked around in confusion. Wasn't the colleague who had come over just now supposed to be smoking? Where was he?

Wu Xinxue quickly finished taking care of her personal needs and came out. Su Yang smiled and said, "Wait for me a moment, I need to use the restroom too."

After saying that, he went into the toilet, closed the door, unbuttoned his cotton trousers, and began to relieve himself.

In just a minute or two, as he fastened his belt and was about to open the bathroom door to leave, he suddenly heard a loud shout from outside: "Don't move!"

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out immediately afterward.

Su Yang's expression changed, and he stopped opening the door.

"Help!"

"There are bad guys!"

"mother!"

The screams outside instantly blended into a cacophony.

Su Yang's heart tightened.

Where is Wu Xinxue?

How is she?

Are you injured?

"Put down your weapons, don't harm the people, and strive for leniency. This is your only way out!" A stern voice rang out, and Su Yang recognized it as Li Weixin's.

"Shut the fuck up! I know what I did. Stop the train right now and let me off, or this little girl's head will be smashed open. It's not a loss to die with such a pretty girl!" The voice was furious and tinged with madness.

"Waaah~!" It was a suppressed sob, and Su Yang recognized it as Wu Xinxue's cry.

While the standoff and threats continued outside, Su Yang's mind was in complete chaos.

He was a homebody who had just come from a peaceful era; how could he have ever seen anything like this?

I pinched my thigh hard to force myself to calm down.

Su Yang looked around the toilet. He noticed that the toilet door had a slanted, breathable lattice at the bottom. Ignoring the dirt on the toilet floor, he knelt down and peered out.

He could only see four legs through the gap, slightly to the left of the toilet.

On the far left is Wu Xinxue, wearing gray cotton trousers. Behind her, wearing black cotton work pants, is probably the person who kidnapped her.

The robber held Wu Xinxue hostage, facing the carriage, while the toilet was to their left and behind.

Su Yang clenched his fists, his mind starting to churn.

If he opens the door and goes out, he will appear behind the robbers. If he can attract the robbers' attention, it is unknown whether Li Weixin and others in the carriage can take advantage of the situation to subdue the robbers.

But the other side has guns!

Su Yang placed his hand on the toilet doorknob several times, then withdrew it each time.

"I'm saying it one last time, stop the train, or I'll shoot!" the robber's voice rang out again, this time almost a scream.

"It's freezing cold outside, in the middle of nowhere. You won't survive if you get out of the car. I advise you..."

"Bang!"

Before he could finish his words of advice, another gunshot rang out.

"Waaaaah! Don't kill me!"

It was Wu Xinxue's voice, trembling with tears.

Inside the restroom, Su Yang could no longer hold back. A surge of heat inexplicably rushed to his head. He forcefully pulled open the restroom door and strode out.