Jiang Yue’s heart pounded with excitement. She quickly stuffed the two kraft-paper packets the old woman had given her inside her clothes and turned to leave.
The moment Xiao Mandong saw Jiang Yue trying to go, she rushed forward to stop her.
“Stop! You can’t take those things with you!”
She had no idea what was inside the packets, but since the two agents had risked their lives to protect them, they certainly weren’t ordinary items. She couldn’t let this girl carry them off the train.
As soon as Jiang Yue heard Xiao Mandong, she bristled. She lifted her chin and glared at her. “Who are you? What right do you have to stop me? I’d advise you to mind your own business.”
Jiang Yue was getting anxious. She had to leave as quickly as possible. The things hidden against her chest were far too important.
“Little girl, that old woman is not a good person. What she gave you may be something that threatens national security. You should hand it over to the police.”
When the old woman heard Xiao Mandong, she shouted at Jiang Yue, “Girl, throw those things back to me!”
Now that the things in Jiang Yue’s hands had attracted attention, what use was there in leaving them with her?
It would be better to get them back and hide them somewhere else. Otherwise, if the police seized them, wouldn’t more than a year of their efforts have gone to waste?
Even if she couldn’t find a place to hide them, she could jump off the train with the things. If she couldn’t escape, she could at least destroy them.
The old woman tried to break free from the struggle and retrieve the kraft-paper packets, but Xiao Ding clung to her relentlessly.
The carriage had long since descended into chaos. The staff and plainclothes officers had evacuated the ordinary passengers to the carriage behind them. For everyone’s safety, the connecting doors between the two carriages had also been locked.
In the confusion, two more accomplices of the agents suddenly appeared. Clearly, they had been lying in wait all along. Two plainclothes officers on Shen Linzhou’s side also rushed over in time, immediately stabilizing the situation.
The old woman finally broke free of Xiao Ding. With a short knife in hand, she charged straight at Xiao Mandong.
This woman was truly unbearable.
“Bitch, go to hell!”
When Shen Linzhou saw the old woman charging toward Xiao Mandong, his pupils contracted. He braced one hand against a seat, launched himself into the air, and kicked the old woman squarely in the back. She went flying, and the short knife slipped from her hand.
The old woman ignored the pain and screamed urgently at Jiang Yue, “Run! Hide the things and run!”
She immediately tried to grab the knife on the floor.
Taking advantage of the cover provided by the seats, Xiao Mandong pulled a scalpel from her storage space and drove it precisely into the back of the old woman’s hand, which was pressed against the floor.
“Don’t move. Stay where you are.”
“Ah… My hand! You bitch, I’ll kill you!”
The old woman let out a howl. With her other hand, she somehow produced a razor blade and slashed at Xiao Mandong’s wrist.
At that moment, Zhu Liping also rushed over. She picked up the knife on the floor and plunged it into the old woman’s knee.
The instant the blade pierced flesh, Zhu Liping was so frightened that she sat down hard on the floor. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably, and tears streamed down her face.
The train was about to pull into the station. If she didn’t do something now and kept hiding, people would certainly criticize her later.
“Stepmother, it’s all right now. Don’t be afraid.”
Jiang Yue hurried to Zhu Liping’s side and clasped her trembling hand.
The female agent’s screams echoed throughout the carriage.
On the other side, several of the agents were being beaten back step by step. Old Kai quickly slipped into the restroom where they had stored their guns. He pried open the metal panel and took out the contents hidden inside. But when he opened the paper package, he found—damn it—cucumbers.
How was that possible?
“Where are my things? Where are my guns?”
At the very moment Old Kai stood there in a daze, a fist slammed into his face. Then another punch followed, and another.
“So you’re Old Kai, huh? Run, then! Go on, keep running! You traitor, you piece of scum…”
Old Kai was beaten until his face was a bloody mess, and teeth spilled from his mouth.
The more Shen Linzhou beat him, the harder he struck. One of his comrades had died at Old Kai’s hands, and Old Kai had also been responsible for injuring him the last time.
Old Kai had no chance to fight back.
Without Old Kai’s support, the others were quickly subdued.
“Comrade, stop beating him! Keep him alive.”
“Stop! We still need to take his statement.”
The two plainclothes officers were afraid Shen Linzhou would beat the man to death. They hurriedly pulled him away.
Shen Linzhou’s hands were covered in wounds, and his face was spattered with blood. He turned around and, only after seeing that Xiao Mandong was unharmed, finally relaxed.
By then, the train had come to a complete stop. The doors opened, and several tall, upright soldiers swiftly boarded from the platform.
The man at the front completely forgot to maintain the composure expected of a soldier. He strode forward and pulled Jiang Yue into his arms. His voice trembled, and his eyes were rimmed with red.
“How are you, sweetheart? Are you hurt?”
A flash of disappointment crossed Zhu Liping’s eyes.
That man had eyes only for his daughter. He had never cared about anyone else. In fact, his condition before marrying Zhu Liping had been that they would never have any more children because of Jiang Yue.
But why should she be forbidden from having children? Who didn’t want a child of their own?
Jiang Yue pulled the two packets from inside her clothes and patted her chest proudly.
“Dad, wasn’t I amazing?” Jiang Yue said with a smug, sly smile. “I got the things, but I didn’t hold back when I cursed at your wife. You’d better comfort her properly.”
Xiao Mandong: “…”
Shen Linzhou: “…”
The old woman suddenly lifted her head and glared at Jiang Yue with bloodshot eyes.
“You… you little brat! You dared to deceive me! I’m going to kill you!”
The old woman trembled with rage and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. She had never imagined that, after calculating every possible move, she would be outsmarted by a teenage girl—and that she would be captured precisely because she had tried to protect that girl.
Jiang Yue broke free of her father’s embrace and slowly walked over to the old woman.
“Grandma, I actually didn’t lie to you. I really don’t like my stepmother, and I really did want to drive her away. It’s just that I hate you people even more.”
Jiang Yue truly had disliked Zhu Liping. She had always felt that the kindness Zhu Liping showed her every day was fake. But she hadn’t expected Zhu Liping to come to her aid at such a dangerous moment today. Because of that, Jiang Yue’s opinion of her had changed considerably.
The agents were forced off the train with their arms twisted behind their backs. The one who had been disguised as the old woman glared viciously at Jiang Yue. If the soldiers hadn’t been holding her up, she would have pounced on Jiang Yue and torn her apart.
Jiang Yue smiled at the old woman. “What? Want to bite me to death? Maybe in your next life. You won’t be getting out of this one.”
Jiang Yue’s father walked up to Shen Linzhou, his eyes full of gratitude.
“Hello, Comrade. My name is Jiang Bingzhong, Deputy Division Commander of the Beijing Military Region. This is my daughter, Jiang Yue. Thank you all so much for what you did today.”
“Both of you are injured. We’ll take you to the hospital to have your wounds treated first. After that, we’ll have to trouble you to come to the military region and give your statements.”
