FGCT CH28.2

If his joke hadn’t been so loud and echoed through the whole tunnel, he probably would’ve gotten a loud cheer in return. But even though everyone was tired and hurting, their minds were still clear.

“Fugui!! I knew you could do it! Oh my god, you’re back so fast! That’s amazing—awesome, awesome, awesome!” Jin Mantang was the first to cheer for his brother Fugui, shouting and clapping, then proudly threw a smug look at Song Sanchuan.

See? Who said my brother couldn’t keep up with your captain? Didn’t he come back just fine? And he even brought a train with him!

Song Sanchuan, along with Qin Feng and Lu Hu, were also a little stunned. It was only a bit after 8 a.m right now, and for Fugui and their captain to already arrive with the train meant they must’ve reached Hailan Station around 6.

That kind of speed was already pushing the limit for their captain—if Fugui had slowed him down even a little, there’s no way they could’ve made it this fast. Maybe, traveling together even helped them move faster?

Still, it was hard to believe.

Song Sanchuan stared hard at Fugui, as if trying to find some magical clue just by looking at his face. But after barely three seconds, he got snapped at.

“What are you staring at? If you’ve got nothing better to do, go help carry people and push the train forward! Don’t you see everyone in here needs to get to the hospital?”

Song Sanchuan gave Fugui another quick look, thinking this guy really is something else, then obediently went off to help.

The ‘train’ that Gou Fugui and Xie Tianlang brought back wasn’t the normal, well-maintained, and well-equipped train that everyone is familiar with. Actually, it wasn’t even a passenger train.

“When we arrived at Hailan Station, there were barely any people there. It’s just a small town to begin with, and since it’s so close to Hailan Lake—which flooded after several days of heavy rain—a lot of the staff had taken leave to go back and help with the disaster relief.”

“Also, the station is just a pass-through stop and didn’t have any passenger trains available. In the end, it was the old stationmaster who helped us find an old coal transport train to get us here.”

While helping others carry their luggage, Gou Fugui explained to everyone: “So we’ll have to make do with this coal train for now. It’s a tight squeeze, but just bear with it, everyone. Once we get to Hailan City, we’ll go straight to the hospital. The stationmaster over there has already made arrangements.”

No one had any objections to what this long-haired young man said. Never mind that the train he and the other tall young man brought back was just a coal train—even if they had returned empty-handed, the fact that they were willing to make the trip at all already made them heroes in everyone’s eyes.

“Young man, thank you. We’re already grateful that there’s any train at all to pick us up—who’s going to be picky now? Back in the day, this old man rode on donkey carts! This is way faster than that.”

“That’s right, we’re not picky. Just having a ride is more than enough. I honestly can’t take another step. Bro, you’re amazing! Built like an ox!”

Gou Fugui, who loved being praised for being strong, chuckled proudly and, chin held high, helped stuff the brother who complimented him into the still-slightly-sooty coal car.

Watching him out of the corner of his eye, Xie Tianlang, who had been paying close attention to him, smirked and helped another elderly person into the car.

When they had come here, they had taken a tourist train with thirteen carriages. Now, the old coal train they were boarding only had five.

But those five carriages were enough to hold all 500+ people. Even though the coal train didn’t have soft seats or clean, bright windows—only two large sliding doors on either side—they all managed to fit.

And sitting in that carriage, shoulder to shoulder and packed tight, everyone unexpectedly felt a kind of strange warmth and safety.

When the train whistle blew, this group of travelers—whose journey had been abruptly interrupted—finally moved forward again.

The coal train arrived at Hailan Station at 10 a.m., and waiting outside the station were three passenger buses that immediately took the injured to the hospital.

At that moment, everyone let out a sigh of relief. They had finally returned to the safety and convenience of modern civilization.

But this gathering of people, brought together by the train, would now part ways. Each would head to their own destination—they would no longer be fellow travelers.

“The rain hasn’t stopped, and sea levels are rising fast. It sounds like Fuzhou is about to be flooded too. Now that you’re here, don’t go back—just head to Qingchuan, find a job, or take shelter for a while.”

Gou Fugui was speaking to Lu Chengfeng and the ticket-checking guy.

After all, they’d been through hardship together. A little warning costs nothing.

Lu Chengfeng and the young ticket inspector naturally felt Gou Fugui’s concern, and both showed sincere smiles.

“Don’t worry, Brother Fugui,” Lu Chengfeng said. “Now that we’re here, we definitely won’t go back. But we still have to report to our superiors and get approval to transfer jobs. After that, we’ll probably head to Qingchuan. Hopefully, we’ll get to see each other again then.”

As he spoke, Lu Chengfeng suddenly bowed deeply to Gou Fugui and Xie Tianlang: “Thank you so much for bringing the train back. You did something I wanted to do but couldn’t. You saved me from completely failing my duty.”

Gou Fugui grinned, baring his teeth, and pulled him back up: “Fail your duty? You already did a great job. Alright, enough of that sappy stuff—see you around then.”

Just as Gou Fugui was about to leave with his dogs, he turned around and caught sight of the ticket inspector guy hugging the husky and the German shepherd tightly, refusing to let go.

And when the animals were about to leave, he quickly pulled a can of meat from his backpack, opened it at lightning speed, broke it into pieces, and gave it to the animals.

Then, when he looked up and saw Gou Fugui and the others silently watching him, the smile on his face—one that could only be described as loving toward the cats and dogs—froze instantly.

“Ahem.”

“…It’s not that I like them.”

“I’m just repaying a life-saving favor, that’s all.”

Gou Fugui: “Oh.”

As he turned to leave with the animals, the ticket inspector gritted his teeth behind them, “Wait—let me take a photo with them!”

This might be their last meeting, and he had no idea if he would ever see them again. He genuinely hoped these kind and brave lives would make it to the end.

And so, in ticket inspector Wang Minghui’s phone, there was now a group photo: him with five dogs, four cats, two squirrels, and a bird.

He titled the photo “Little Hope.”

August 26, 9:30 PM.

After an entire afternoon and evening of long-distance travel by car, Gou Fugui, Jin Mantang, Xie Tianlang, and three others finally arrived at Qingchuan City, the heart of the Qingchuan Plateau.

Twenty kilometers outside Qingchuan City lay the Jin family’s private agricultural base.

When Jin Mantang, drenched in rain and excitedly shouting “Grandpa!” as he pushed open the glowing doors of the base’s main hall, what he saw made his blood rush straight to his head in anger.

“Grandpa? What are you guys doing? What are you planning to do to my Grandpa?!”

The old man in the white lab coat, surrounded by a group of burly men, suddenly looked up when he heard Jin Mantang’s voice. His face first lit up with surprise, then immediately shifted to anxious worry:

“Mantang, run! These guys are thugs trying to take over our base! Go call the police!”

But the warning came a second too late. Several strong-looking thugs had already started rushing toward Jin Mantang. One of them even grinned wickedly and raised the stick in his hand, ready to strike.

“Kid, you walked right into this. You’re not getting away now!”

Old Master Jin was filled with panic as he watched his grandson about to be attacked. But then, to his surprise, he suddenly noticed that his grandson didn’t seem afraid at all—not even a little—in the face of these vicious, dangerous-looking men?

In the past, he would’ve already been running away crying “Grandpa, help!” by now, right? Could it be that he was just too scared to react?

But then he saw his grandson take a deep breath and grin wickedly in return:

“Trash! The one who’s not getting away is you!!”

“Dad! Help me beat him up!!!”

Old Master Jin froze.

His dad? Wasn’t he overseas? How did he get back?!

Then Old Master Jin saw a tall figure dart out from behind his grandson. With movements quicker and stronger than the thug’s, the figure swung a stick and sent the attacker flying!

And behind him, four more tall and imposing young men emerged. The one leading them—exceptionally tall and handsome—kicked another thug flying with a single blow.

Five minutes later, Old Master Jin looked at the heap of thugs groaning on the floor… then looked at the five young men now standing calmly beside his grandson.

The old man, wise with age, decided not to question his grandson’s earlier shout of “Dad.” He understood—it was just a contest of pride between young men.

“Hahahaha! Pretty awesome, huh, ‘Dad’? Told you yelling that wouldn’t be a loss! With that kind of boost, I could fight ten more!”

Jin Mantang: “…” Damn it—if I hadn’t lost that bet on the way here, and if the situation hadn’t been so urgent, do you really think I’d call you that?!

Old Master Jin: “…”

Alright, fine, I decided not to hold it against you… but shouting it like that right in front of me? That’s pushing it a bit, isn’t it?

Then Old Master Jin gave Jin Mantang a glare full of disappointment and frustration—Useless brat! All that money, and you still couldn’t buy your way into being someone’s dad?!