Chapter 248 - Chapter 248: 197, Spades A
Chapter 248: 197, Spades A
“`
Countdown 16:30:00.
At 7:30 in the morning, the vast march had been progressing northward for 30 minutes. Due to the immense size of the No. 18 city, according to plan, they would not reach the Third District until 7 o’clock in the evening.
Such a lengthy walk, coupled with the cold of deep autumn, posed a severe test of the students’ physical endurance.
However, it was precisely through this means that they wished to demonstrate their determination.
Moreover, as they passed along the way, they hoped to attract more attention and bring the entire Federation’s focus to this march.
The students even hoped that through the march in No. 18 city, students from other cities would be compelled to organize spontaneously.
At this very moment, countless eyes were on this place, some hoping for mishaps during the march, and others hoping for its success.
The initiators were well aware that this first march absolutely could not afford any mishaps; otherwise, the fire that had just been kindled would be extinguished.
Within the crowd, everyone would start chanting slogans for educational reform each time they passed through a residential area, as organized.
The thousands of students who initiated the march mingled among them, pushing carts around to distribute food and water to everyone.
The food, a decently priced protein bar, and the water, which was mineral, couldn’t be denied – the sponsorship for this event was quite generous, reportedly provided by a merchant who had poured in all his resources.
However, the march was not as smooth as anticipated. Every time they passed through a district, the Public Security Management Committee of that district would recheck their march permit.
A legally sanctioned march required filing with seven departments, with no fewer than 21 documents involved, resulting in half an hour of checks at every district.
And during the check, the marchers had to stand in the cold wind waiting for half an hour.
The entire march needed to traverse four districts, so just checking the legal documents would take a total of two hours.
Watching those marchers shivering in the cold wind, the students began to realize that someone was trying to slow them down and make them crumble in the cold.
Some, although pressured by public opinion to approve the march, did not wish for this group to reach the Upper Three Districts smoothly.
The marchers’ temper began to flare, and they vented their dissatisfaction loudly at the Public Security Management Committee Detectives checking the documents upfront. The students who managed to maintain their composure tried to soothe the marchers around them, “Let’s be rational. This is the scene they want to see. They are hoping we lose control, and then many unscrupulous media outlets will intentionally exaggerate this point!”
However, at that moment, a student suddenly noticed a marcher drawing a handgun from his waistband stealthily and aiming it at the Public Security Management Committee.
There was no anger in the marcher’s expression.
The student understood – this was no marcher but someone who had infiltrated their ranks, trying to disrupt the normal flow of the march!
He tried to speak up to stop it, but the next instant, his mouth was covered from behind.
The student struggled fiercely, but to everyone’s surprise, the gun-wielding marcher did not pull the trigger. Instead, he froze in place.
Even more astonishing was that a hand in a black glove covered the gunman’s mouth from behind, preventing him from making the slightest sound.
Shortly afterward, the gunman was bagged in black cloth and stuffed into one of the carts used to transport the sponsored food, and was slowly pushed away.
It was not until this moment that the hand covering the student’s mouth finally released him.
The student turned around excitedly, only to see a young man with his hair combed back calmly saying, “Don’t scream, it’ll cause panic.”
“But…” The student wanted to say something but was unsure where to begin. Plus, he had a feeling that he recognized the man from somewhere, as if he had seen him in the news a few years ago.
The young man was wearing a black coat, with an elegantly tailored suit and a gold pocket watch visible underneath.
The man smiled rarely, “Rest assured, Heng Society will weed out the saboteurs for you. You just keep marching without worry. Those dirty tricks, someone will take care of them for you.”
When he heard the words “Heng Society,” the student finally remembered who the man in front of him was!
Heng Society, Li Dongze?!
But the student was somewhat confused. Wasn’t Heng Society in charge of the underworld industries? Why would such a person come to protect a march?
In the meantime, Li Dongze had already disappeared into the crowd, leading the Heng Society members out with more than twenty carts, each cart’s cargo space stuffed with a saboteur.
He looked towards the western sky of No. 18 city, silently aware that today, a significant event would occur at No. 18 prison.
However, his boss had forbidden him from participating and had ordered him to stay in No. 18 city to protect these marchers.
This made Li Dongze quite unhappy, with the result that someone had to pay for his discontent.
The march had just begun, and today everyone had a long road ahead.
At that moment, Li Dongze, weaving silently through the crowd, suddenly turned his head, only to see a crystal snowflake landing on the shoulder of his coat.
The coat was black, the snowflake white; they seemed abrupt yet harmonious against each other.
Li Dongze looked up at the sky, “It’s snowing, the Great Snow.”
And the marchers would have to trek through this heavy snow for a long time to come.
…
…
Meanwhile.
Inside No. 18 prison, all was silent; it was not yet mealtime.
“`
Upon seeing Lin Xiaoxiao and Ye Wan in the square after such a long time, Qing Chen excitedly approached them to say hello, as if old friends were reuniting.
Compared to the apartment in the Luo Shen Building of the Sixth District, this place actually felt more like home to Qing Chen, and the two people before him were like his family.
The familiar reading area, the familiar training zone, and the familiar dining hall—Qing Chen even felt a sense of affection when he looked up at the metal storm above the sky.
This strange feeling was like having wandered outside for a while only to eventually return to his home turf.
Lin Xiaoxiao and Ye Wan exchanged smiles; seeing Qing Chen again after many days, they were genuinely happy.
Ye Wan sized up Qing Chen, “Climbed up sheer cliffs, have you?”
Lin Xiaoxiao chuckled, “Up the cliff indeed.”
Ye Wan slowly looked at him, “No more puns or double entendres for me.”
“Alright,” lamented Lin Xiaoxiao.
Ye Wan turned to Qing Chen again, “I saw your performance on the ring, not bad overall, but your foundation is still lacking a lot, I hope you can set a solid plan for yourself.”
“He finally comes back and you can’t wait to talk about cultivation!” Lin Xiaoxiao complained.
At that moment, when Qing Chen heard Ye Wan mention the boxing match, he suddenly seemed to remember something and looked towards Uncle Li Dong, “Master, Jiang Xiaotang from the Begonia Boxing Gym should know you, right?”
“Jiang Xiaotang?” Lin Xiaoxiao raised an eyebrow.
Qing Chen looked over, only to find Lin Xiaoxiao had closed his mouth, seemingly reluctant to discuss this woman.
“What’s the problem with her?” Qing Chen asked, puzzled, “Why do I get the feeling that you’re like someone who’s been abandoned by her when you mention her?”
“You ask the boss. I don’t want to talk about these things,” said Lin Xiaoxiao with a twist of his mouth.
Uncle Li Dong explained with a smile, “Like Lin Xiaoxiao and Ye Wan, she was an orphan abandoned by others. However, some incidents happened later, so they don’t really like her.”
It became clear to Qing Chen; it seemed that the other party was also one of the orphans Uncle Li Dong had taken in. No wonder she suddenly asked him to call her sister and even promised him a share of the Land Cruise Grade boxing champion’s winnings for that title.
Only, he still didn’t understand why she had suddenly given up on that idea.
Qing Chen was somewhat puzzled, “Can you tell me what happened?”
“It’s all in the past,” Uncle Li Dong said with a smile, “Xiaoxiao, go find Xu Linsen’s video, a clearer one.”
Knowing what Uncle Li Dong intended, Lin Xiaoxiao soon returned with a reader and opened it—sure enough, there was Xu Linsen, calmly speaking into the camera, “This time the attack on the Federation Wildlife Protection Association in the wilderness was led by Spades. But I would also like to expose the evil deeds of the Federation Wildlife Protection Association.”
With that, the camera panned to behind him, showing herds of antelopes lying on the ground, some of which had just been skinned.
The corpses of the antelopes were discarded carelessly on the mudflats, looking extremely cruel.
The camera returned to Xu Linsen’s face, who continued, “The Animal Protection Association left the Federation under the guise of research but ended up using firearms and ammunition to hunt endangered species, providing the fur trade for the powerful elite of the Federation. An organization like this, Spades will exterminate each one we encounter…”
Qing Chen was somewhat surprised; he hadn’t expected Spades to be involved in such matters.
Nor had he anticipated that the Federation’s so-called Animal Protection Association could do such things.
The next moment, Qing Chen’s face began to change, and within just five or six seconds, he transformed into the likeness of Xu Linsen.
“How is the voice?” Qing Chen asked.
Lin Xiaoxiao exclaimed, “This ACE-005 suits you really well. The boss used to take forever to change faces, it was nerve-racking to watch… Boss, I was wrong.”
Uncle Li Dong waved his hand impatiently, “Arrange for the Mechanical Prison Guard to escort Qing Chen in from the outside. Get ready to break them out. Today, I will hide backstage to watch the show and wait until they start causing trouble before I take action.”
“Hold on, master,” Qing Chen said, “You haven’t told me the situation with Xu Linsen yet. Guo Huchan should know him well, right?”
Lin Xiaoxiao said with a chuckle, “Not very well. Xu Linsen is elusive, and even the people in Spades rarely see him. Mainly because the Federation has the strongest pursuit for him, and they tend to deploy full military force whenever he is spotted, so he doesn’t show up easily. Guo Huchan only acquired power from Fire Pit last year and joined Spades, so he hasn’t met Xu Linsen many times.”
Uncle Li Dong said seriously, “No problem, you’re just a bit taller than Xu Linsen, but ordinary people won’t notice. Go ahead and perform. Today, I need you to stir the waters, I want to see what kinds of demons and monsters are actually hidden in Prison Number 18.”
“Alright,” Qing Chen nodded and then walked towards the Alloy Gate.
At 8 o’clock, a familiar announcement echoed within the prison: “Attention, all inmates…”
As the Alloy Gates opened, all the gates within the prison unexpectedly opened at the same time. The inmates inside the cells were perplexed; they had been eating in batches for a long time, so why the sudden change?
With hesitation, they stepped out of their cells and stood still in the corridors.
Just then, the Alloy Gate to the north of the prison yard slowly raised, revealing two Mechanical Prison Guards escorting ‘Xu Linsen’ as they walked in.
The next moment, Guo Huchan’s astonished voice rang out, “Boss?!”
Boss… Qing Chen pondered the word and suddenly felt a huge shock in his heart.
What stirring the waters, what seeing what kinds of demons and monsters were in the prison, Qing Chen felt that it was all just made up by Uncle Li on the spot, and in fact, the man just wanted to see what kind of excitement his new acquisition of the taboo item ACE-005 would cause!
At this moment, Qing Chen could even imagine the scene of his master, Lin Xiaoxiao, and Ye Wan snickering in secret!
…
Thank you to our new ally, ‘A Dance of Dragons and Fish 233,’ for becoming this book’s new patron. Thank you, boss, you are generous, may the boss be wealthy!