We moved to Golden Courtyard

The mission went so smoothly that when the cat came to find Mei, she still seemed a little reluctant to leave.

Wait... what happened to keeping watch?

Back in the car, Xu Qi wasn't as anxious as Pado had imagined. He simply said calmly, "Let's go, Sakura. Let's go back to the Golden Garden first."

"Ah."

Yae Sakura nodded—undoubtedly, this was a rational and correct choice.

On the way back, Xu Qi was quite silent, and Pado did not immediately tell Xu Qi about her discovery. Anyway, they already had the scanned copies and photos, so it would be the same to look at them when they got back.

Xu Qi... may need some time to adjust.

When the group returned to the Golden Garden, Alicia came out to greet them.

"Kevin and the others are back."

It seemed like nothing serious had happened, but Ellie's complexion wasn't very good, and Sakura, who noticed this keenly, frowned.

It seems that what awaits Xu Qi tonight... is probably not good news.

"Is everyone here?" Xu Qi asked.

Not only are they all here, but there's one more person.

Anyway, Mei naturally followed Xu Qi back to the Golden Garden.

On the way, Sakura was thinking about a question—where would she sleep tonight?

Well, there are still quite a few empty rooms in the courtyard, so setting up one temporarily shouldn't be too difficult.

At this moment, everyone gathered around the sofa in the living room on the first floor. Leaving aside Eden, who was still abroad, everyone in Golden Courtyard was finally present.

The atmosphere was somewhat heavy, and everyone's attention was mainly focused on Xu Qi.

"call……"

Taking a deep breath, Xu Qi suddenly smiled.

"Why are you all so serious? Actually, I should thank you all. Oh dear... looks like I'll have to treat you to dinner next time we go out."

"Have a meal?"

Gretchen's eyes sparkled.

Aponia gave a wry smile, gently patted Gretsch's head, and said, "Yes, that's right, let's eat."

"What? Do you think my cooking isn't good?" Qianjie said jokingly in a serious tone.

If you weren't familiar with his personality, you would think that's really what the other person thought.

"Oh my? So Qianjie has such a cute side?!"

"Don't bother me!"

Everyone couldn't help but smile.

The atmosphere... has become much more relaxed.

When everyone looked at Xu Qi again, perhaps they were finally ready and prepared to accept it. Mei could even clearly feel that the heavy burden that had always been on Xu Qi's shoulders had been lightened considerably.

“Pado, tell me what you saw first.”

The cat nodded vigorously.

She thought for a moment, then plugged the USB drive into Sakura's computer and projected it onto the screen in the center of the living room.

A scanned document.

　The crowdfunding group 456127940 reads: "This is an investigation report written by Xia Ya when he was still the manager of the sixth maintenance department. It contains the full picture of the brake failure accident on the 956 main line."

······

"Ding dong!"

The phone rang suddenly, and Xia, who was lying on a recliner at home, picked it up and glanced at it—"The setup is complete."

"Humph……"

Xia turned off his phone. He was alone in his spacious home, lying in the empty living room…

Char slowly closed his eyes, and memories of the past flooded into his mind like a tide.

……

"My name is Romy, and I didn't come here to just coast along!"

"Manager Xia, I've already surpassed you in terms of familiarity with the Phase III vehicles."

"Hmm? Technical supervisor? No, I'm not even familiar with all the trains on Line 9 yet. I'm unworthy of this position."

"Manager Xia! Train 956 is unable to brake. I have tried everything, but nothing works!"

"The pantograph can't be lowered, and the air pump is locked! Manager Xia, the pantograph raising cylinder automatically locks when the train is traveling at high speed! You should know this better than I do!"

"Manager Xia! There's no other way, I have to stop 956 immediately! There's only one solution now—from outside the vehicle! Forcefully activate the brake cylinders!"

"No! Romy! That's too dangerous! You'll die!"

"I am an employee of the Shanghai Metro! Protecting citizens is my duty!"

……

"boom!"

The water glass in Xia's hand was violently flung away, his chest heaving. This painful memory seemed to be constantly aggravating his already broken body and mind...

"Romance..."

······

"The brake cylinder could not be started, and the electrical signal could not be transmitted. At that time, subway trains did not have permission to lower the pantograph while traveling at high speed."

As an industry insider, Xu Qi grasped the general picture of the incident in just a few glances.

"Even with the EB valve inside the carriage failing, he actually thought of... going under the train. That thing is something that's only used during routine maintenance."

The brake cylinder is forced to activate, and the brake shoes close. However, the location is near the bottom edge of the train, which means…

"Yes!" Pado nodded heavily.

"He smashed the train window and climbed out."

……

"And then? What happened?" Xu Qi's expression showed a hint of respect.

"956 indicates that the braking was successfully completed, averting this catastrophic accident, but..." Pado turned her head away, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable.

“He sacrificed himself, Romy… In those circumstances, it’s hard to say whether we’ll even be able to find his body…”

……

Mei suddenly grabbed Xu Qi's large hand that was pressing on her leg!

Xu Qi looked at her in confusion, but saw a pleading look in her eyes.

On Xu Qi's other side, Alicia also slowly placed her hand over Xu Qi's other hand.

Their grief-stricken expressions stemmed not only from lamenting the loss of this young and vibrant life, but also from... the fact that both girls seemed to have a premonition.

It looks so much like...it really looks so much like...

If you replaced the protagonist of this story with Xu Qi, it wouldn't be surprising at all.

But! No matter what! I don't want this to happen to Xu Qi!

Xu Qi could certainly sense how they felt...

Xu Qi sighed softly and asked, "And then?"

Kevin suddenly chimed in, "I should have information on this Romuel you're talking about."

Kevin turned to Fu Hua and took a mentorship contract from her.

"This was found in the group's human resources center. Romy... was Char's first disciple, and besides you, Char's only disciple."

Xu Qi's eyes widened suddenly!

There is a line, a very clear line! It is being organized into a rope in my mind.

……

"Ten years ago, the brakes of train 956 failed on the main line. At that time, Xia was the department manager of the sixth maintenance department. Something seems to have happened in that incident that Xia still can't get over."

……

"Not enough...not enough!"

Xu Qi said with great certainty.

“Char is not such a petty person. Romy sacrificed himself to save the citizens! But Char… I have a bad feeling.”

I have a feeling he's about to do something really extreme! Maybe it's revenge on society, maybe it's revenge on the Shanghai subway...

I don't know, but if that's all there is to it, it won't answer the question in my mind at all!

There must be something else... something else too..."

"Boss... Boss..." At this moment, Pado suddenly raised her hand tremblingly.

Xu Qi looked over in confusion.

"What's wrong, Paddy?"

"Boss... I think you'll understand after reading this letter..."

23. A corrective punch to the leader's face!

"Boss, this is the investigation report on the 956 brake failure incident. I have written down the reasons why the 956 brakes failed here."

It also contains suggestions for improving the current subway trains. We cannot... we cannot let Romuel's tragedy repeat itself.

At the group's headquarters, Xia Ya placed the documents on the desk of the leader in front of him.

Actually, as a department manager in the maintenance division, he shouldn't have been qualified to come to the group. However... what Xia wanted to do required the group's support.

This is no longer something that a subordinate branch office can handle.

The brake failure of the 956 exposed many problems. If the pantograph is manually lowered while the vehicle is traveling at high speed, the brakes can be forcibly engaged if the vehicle is inside the passenger compartment!

Then...then his disciple wouldn't have died like this...

Romy's sacrifice cannot be in vain! Just like the predecessors of the Shanghai Metro throughout history! His sacrifice will surely promote another leap forward in the development of the Shanghai Metro!

At least that's what Char thought.

However, such rectification projects are far too large for subordinate branches to undertake directly, nor do they have the financial resources to do so. In such cases, they can only seek help from the group headquarters...

however……

"Hmm? Oh... I understand. Just leave the document here. Don't worry, I'll read it carefully later. I have a meeting later, so please go back now."

……

It's that same perfunctory attitude again...

Why?! I just need a decision-maker! I don't even need you to put in the effort to handle this! I can do all the work myself!

I wouldn't even object if you wanted to steal all the credit for this reform!

But...why...why are you all turning a blind eye to these things?!

"Oh right, right! I remember now." The leader suddenly slapped his forehead, stood up, looked at Xia Ya, and said, "You are... Romuel's mentor, right?"

Xia was stunned, and hope rekindled in his eyes.

"Yes, I am Romy's master."

"Haha! That's great. Here's the thing, we'll be arranging an interview later. We feel very sorry for Romy's sacrifice."

But that's precisely why we must do our utmost to report on his deeds! So that more people can see the spirit of our Shanghai Metro employees.

Char, you're Romy's mentor, you must know him best. Just do a short interview with the publicity department later.

Rest assured, we have dedicated personnel to polish the text, ensuring that Romé's sacrifice is not in vain! He will, like the pioneers of Shanghai's subway system, contribute to its development!