Chapter 213: The Passage to Main City
Chapter 213: The Passage to Main City
“Brother Lu, do you want something to eat?”
“Brother Lu, would you like a drink? We have orange juice or hawthorn juice…”
“Brother Lu, should we have lunch on the train or after we get off?”
“…Brother Lu, do you want me to get that flight attendant’s number for you? You’ve glanced over there several times already…”
“…”
On the High-Speed Train heading to Main City, Deputy General Manager Xiao eagerly asked one question after another.
Finally, Lu Xin couldn’t take it anymore and replied, “No. No, nothing at all.”
“Oh.”
Deputy General Manager Xiao stayed quiet for a moment, but couldn’t help adding, “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do for you?”
Lu Xin sighed, “I need you to be quiet for a while.”
“Okay, okay…”
Deputy General Manager Xiao tucked his chin in and obediently sat back.
His reaction made Lu Xin feel a little bad—this was his superior, after all. He shouldn’t speak to a superior like that…
After a brief silence, he spoke softly, “Everything we need is prepared, right?”
“Huh?”
Deputy General Manager Xiao perked up immediately, nodding vigorously. He cautiously glanced around and lowered his voice as if discussing top-secret information, “I did what you asked. I compiled a list of everyone who’s had contact with me starting a month ago.”
“But you said you want me to gather them all in one place? That won’t be easy. Some are in Main City, some are in Satellite Cities; plus, they’re all kinds of people—it’s a huge list. Still, I figured out a way. I’m using my upcoming enrollment at Qinggang University in Main City as an excuse. Using my Father’s name, I invited everyone to come celebrate. Most will attend.”
Lu Xin nodded, “Good. Give me the list, including anyone from the Satellite Cities who couldn’t attend and any names that were missed.”
Lu Xin had already seen the list. He confirmed most people on it were in Main City. After all, a month ago, this Deputy General Manager Xiao went to Main City to collect his admission notice. The whole family spent days in Main City—submitting paperwork for residency applications and meeting major company clients. This gathering was a perfect opportunity for Lu Xin to meet them.
For anyone missed on the list, he’d pass their names to Han Bing. She would make arrangements to ensure no one slipped through.
If there was more time, Lu Xin would have tried to meet everyone on that list individually.
But as things stood, he had to focus on those with the highest likelihood.
“When is it scheduled?”
He mentally reviewed every detail before turning to ask.
“Tomorrow evening, actually…”
Xiao Yuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed nervously. “Should we plan something first? Maybe prepare some weapons? Or call for backup? I know a few monks from Zhanshan Temple and some… tough acquaintances.”
“Sigh…”
Lu Xin sighed helplessly. “Could you at least act like a superior for once?”
“Wha…?”
Deputy General Manager Xiao froze. For the first time in his life, someone actually complained that he lacked the air of authority…
If a subordinate reprimanded their superior… someone must have gotten some wires crossed here…
Finally silencing Deputy General Manager Xiao, Lu Xin closed his eyes to rest.
It was clear this Deputy General Manager was genuinely terrified right now.
Truthfully, Lu Xin also found the Dreamweaver lurking near Xiao Yuan perplexing.
First, this Dreamweaver displayed traits uncharacteristic of a typical Ability User.
Second, despite being in Main City, it still dared to harm people harshly.
From what he knew, Main City’s oversight of Ability Users was far stricter than the Satellite Cities. That Ghost, capable of inhabiting different people’s minds, had been notoriously difficult to detect—just finding it had taken tremendous effort. Yet when it tried to enter Main City, it was sensed immediately and fled straight back to Satellite City No.2.
Surveillance in Main City should be much tighter.
So how could such a terrifying entity still hide there?
…
…
Amidst the rumble of the train and Xiao Yuan’s anxious mutterings, they gradually approached Main City.
The first sight was the towering station entrance, appearing like a monster about to swallow each arriving train.
Main City’s station differed significantly from those in the Satellite Cities.
Five Satellite Cities encircled Main City, interconnected by a complex network of High-Speed Train lines. But access into Main City itself was restricted to only two entrances. Trains from all Satellite Cities converged at the unified West Station platform before proceeding into the city.
“Brother Lu, I arranged a car to meet us. Are you sure you don’t want me to book you a hotel?”
Xiao Yuan sounded less like a boss taking care of a subordinate and more like an eager personal assistant.
“No need, I have someone picking me up too.”
With his backpack readied, Lu Xin smiled and answered him.
“Fine… all right!”
Xiao Yuan swallowed his saliva, not knowing what to say.
Initially, when there was talk of entering Main City, he had been a bit worried, because he knew how difficult it was to get a Special Passage Permit for Main City.
But he hadn’t expected that Lu Xin not only had a Special Passage Permit for Main City, but even at Satellite City No.2 during the security check, by showing his credentials, he directly took the soldiers’ special channel and boarded the train, while he himself had queued for a long time to enter the station.
Just what kind of a remarkable person was this employee…
Especially, whenever he recalled seeing Lu Xin’s payslip, he felt uneasy.
This person had worked in their company for over three years, never arriving late or leaving early, and had been named Model Employee many times.
Yet was his salary only one thousand?
In his heart, he was already reflecting on whether their company was too capitalist-like.
After entering the station with the crowd, Lu Xin and Xiao Yuan together approached a channel near the station front. Facing them was an iron gate painted with patchy white paint, and probably because of its age, large areas of the paint had peeled off, exposing the rusty metal beneath.
On the gate, sprayed horizontally, was a line: “Entry Channel.”
Sprayed vertically were two more lines: “No Loud Noise” and “Maintain Order.”
On both sides, soldiers holding guns stood guard unmoving, protective masks covering their faces, their eyes underneath coldly watching the crowd.
Now, more and more people filled the platform, and some kept stepping off the train continuously.
But that iron gate remained firmly shut; it only opened whenever enough people gathered.
After about five minutes, when hundreds had gathered on the platform, a green light finally flashed on the gate.
“Hiss!”
With a deep hissing noise, the gate shook slightly and slowly began to lift.
The crowded surge of people immediately rushed together into the channel.
Lu Xin tightened the bag on his back and followed the stream into the channel.
He was actually quite curious in his mind: with so many entering together, how did Main City possibly identify if any among them were like Ghost Ability Users?
Normally, the larger a gathered crowd, the easier it was for Ability Users to cause trouble.
And a station was undoubtedly just the place to amass such a massive flow.
However, after stepping into the channel, Lu Xin suddenly felt slightly reassured.
Because the instant he entered, he sensed some odd gazes on him.
He peered around curiously and saw many spray paintings on the channel walls.
They looked like graffiti by street artists, vibrant in color and exaggerated in form.
These paintings included some artistically stylized letters or fonts, others were human-like bizarre animal figures, some featured clowns all in red and green with broad smiles, and there were also brightly colored snakes that appeared to be flicking their tongues.
There were even paintings of women dancing, holding up their skirts in wild abandon, their feet adorned in vivid red shoes.
The riot of colors masked the strangeness of those gazes, and the snakes blended into the artwork to create a unique artful effect; nothing felt uncomfortable about it, and the whole setup seemed very clever.
“Is this how the Special Clean-up Department observes Main City entry, creating a kind of security-like checkpoint?” Lu Xin thought to himself. “Is it some sort of ability or a special sensing device?”