FGCT CH24.2

No matter what, having a capable conductor like Lu Chengfeng leading the way was a stroke of luck for all the passengers on the train. Half an hour later, Lu Chengfeng led a twenty-person team and began checking each car one by one.

“Is the premium carriage No. 1 team all accounted for?”

“Premium carriage No. 1 : 40 passengers, 2 children, 2 crew members — total of 44, all present!” The crew member from carriage No. 1 reported through the walkie-talkie.

“Is the premium carriage No. 2 team all accounted for?” Lu Chengfeng continued asking.

“Premium carriage No. 2 : 40 passengers, 1 child, 2 crew members — total of 43, all present!”

Then came reports from premium carriage No. 3 through No. 5, all the way to the final economy carriage No. 11 — each team reporting their numbers. Once the headcount was finished, Lu Chengfeng and his lead team moved on ahead.

Even though four of the carriage crews reported that some passengers were still missing, Lu Chengfeng didn’t wait.

He simply fell silent for a moment after the first such report, then picked up the loudspeaker and made a public announcement:

“As I’ve already made clear on the train earlier, everyone must stay close to their teams and follow instructions. The main group will not stop for individuals, nor will it pay the price for anyone’s poor decisions. If someone fails to keep up at the designated time, we will not wait. So please, stay with the team.”

After saying that, Lu Chengfeng didn’t add another word. And once all the reporting was done, he truly acted as he said—no waiting, no mercy.

Some of the passengers who were late and trying to catch up grumbled loudly about how heartless the conductor was, but in the wind and rain, no one really paid attention.

Most people just tightened the straps on their backpacks and silently, anxiously followed the group.

Only when their mode of travel changed from riding a train to walking on foot did people truly realize how much convenience modern technology had brought to their lives.

Compared to the comfort of sitting on a fast-moving train gliding along iron tracks, walking on a mountain path was a rude awakening. For many passengers, it was the first time they realized just how hard walking could be.

The train had made an emergency stop outside a tunnel. Due to flooding and a collapse inside the tunnel, passing through it was no longer an option. So, the only way forward was to climb over the mountain where the tunnel was located.

Thankfully, the mountain wasn’t a sheer cliff, and the landslide had actually lowered its height somewhat. People could navigate forward by carefully making their way over the fallen rocks. But even so, climbing a slippery, muddy slope while being battered by wind and rain was punishing for everyone.

Not even half an hour into the hike, some people were already struggling.

“Oh my god, this mountain the tunnel goes through is so steep and slippery. Can we really make it?!”

“Babe, my raincoat’s soaked through, and my legs are killing me! What kind of cursed luck is this? This must be my bad karma or something!”

“We still have to walk another eighty kilometers… how is that even possible? Can’t we just stay on the train and wait for rescue?”

Gou Fugui was walking with his head down when he heard the familiar voice of that fashionable and elegant young lady complaining from a short distance ahead. He kept his head down and continued walking, glancing briefly at the timid husky walking closely beside him to make sure it and the little squirrel on its head were both safe and sound before he could ease his mind.

He thought that the wealthy and fashionable young lady would complain for a bit and then stop. After all, aside from her boyfriend, no one would really respond to her. Even her boyfriend, after trying to reason with her a couple of times, had given up and was now just responding with vague “mm-hmm” and “uh-huh” noises.

But Gou Fugui had overestimated the lower limit of this wealthy and fashionable young lady.

As the rain poured and the path grew harder and harder to walk, her negative emotions kept building. When she stepped on a slippery rock and took a hard fall, the young lady who had been complaining all the way finally exploded.

Only, her explosion wasn’t like most people’s—crying and tearing up. Instead, she reached out and shoved the ticket inspector who had come over to help her up.

“Get away from me! Who asked you to pretend to be nice?! Why didn’t you answer me earlier when I asked you questions?!”

“I asked so many times why we had to keep moving forward, why we couldn’t stay put! You clearly heard me—I called you several times! Why didn’t you answer? Shouldn’t I go ask the conductor myself?”

“It’s obviously safer to stay in the train, but you and the conductor insisted we get out and suffer on foot! If something happens to us on the way, are you going to take responsibility?!”

The ticket inspector was completely caught off guard and fell backward from the push. Gou Fugui had been watching the situation closely, and as the inspector fell back, he reached out to catch him.

But another hand was faster—and steadier—than his.

Xie Tianlang easily caught the falling ticket inspector, allowing the startled young man to breathe a huge sigh of relief. Then he felt a warm, furry sensation on his hand. Looking down, he saw that same husky—who had been bouncing around in his mind all day—rubbing its big head against him again, those blue eyes even showing a trace of concern.

The ticket inspector was stunned.

And just then, the usually silent and refined Gou Fugui finally decided not to stay silent. As if his temper had transformed into a honey badger’s, his anger suddenly flared up too. Faced with unreasonable people and unreasonable demands, he found himself even less tolerant than before.

Gou Fugui reached out and gave the young lady a hard shove. Since she was already sitting on the ground, the push didn’t actually hurt her.

But the young lady reacted as if she had suffered a tremendous insult: “You dare push me?!”

Beauty Fugui looked down at her from above and said coldly, “You can push others, but I can’t push you? What, am I your mother or something?”

“Also, this long march was the best decision the conductor and the crew could make after assessing the current mountain conditions and weather.”

“If you’re unhappy with this decision, one—you can go protest to the conductor and try to change his mind; two—you can ignore the order and stay behind on the train by yourself! No one is forcing you to do anything! Don’t throw a tantrum at a train worker who’s doing his job seriously!””

“You alone have already affected a lot of people behind us!”

As he said this, Gou Fugui raised his hand and sharply pointed toward the train now far behind them, halfway down the mountain. Under the fierce glares of the young lady and her boyfriend, he sneered and said, one word at a time:

“If you’re not convinced, then you two can go back right now!”

“Let’s bet and see if a landslide comes crashing down and buries you alive?!”

Right on cue, the husky barked once.

And then, everyone heard it—a deep, heavy rumble, like rocks grinding against each other, impossible to ignore.

Instinctively, they all stopped and turned to look back. What met their eyes was a terrifying sight—massive boulders and a torrent of mud thundering down the other side of the mountain behind them, like a raging dragon.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!

In a matter of seconds, the mudslide dragon tore through everything in its path—trees, undergrowth, anything that dared stand in its way—before mercilessly swallowing the very train that was supposedly the “safe” choice.

“?!?!?!”

The young lady and her boyfriend stared in horror—at the train, at Gou Fugui—and then, as if by unspoken agreement, both of them took three quick steps back, turned around, and hurried away without another word.

Everyone else watching quickly followed suit, avoiding eye contact with the elegant man like their lives depended on it—as if one glance might curse them too.

Even Xie Tianlang and Song Sanchuan were giving Gou Fugui strange looks now, like they were staring at a suddenly enlightened, prophet-level jinx.

Gou Fugui bristled under their stares. “It had nothing to do with me, okay?! That was pure coincidence! Why aren’t any of you blaming the husky? It barked too, didn’t it?!”

He hadn’t transformed into some doomsaying Crow ^[1]Fugui—what the hell did this have to do with him?!

ErHa^[2]: ” ? ? ? “

How is this related to me? I just arfed ^[3]once?