145: Chapter 145 Search

A subordinate stood at the end of the carriage, near the door. He wore a black combat suit that didn't quite fit, and the red snake tattoo on his arm was thinner than the others'.

Chu Tian's voice was very low: "That LV3 over there, judging by his aura, is the weakest. I should be able to handle him."

Wang Lin looked in the direction of his finger, then turned his head to look at Chu Tian, his mouth twitching slightly: "The one you mentioned taking out, you mean the most useless one?"

Chu Tian nodded.

Wang Lin continued, "That small fry, whether he lives or dies, doesn't really matter, right? Even if he hands us a kill, we won't be able to change the overall situation."

Chu Tian pulled back his finger: "So we can only wait. They must have a specific target for coming here. I hope that target is strong enough to wipe out Iron Demon and his crew."

Wang Lin shook his head: "Unlikely. Since Iron Demon is here, it means they were well-prepared and have already figured out the target's background; otherwise, they wouldn't have boarded. They didn't come here to try their luck; they came prepared."

Iron Demon and Green Python met at the end of the carriage and whispered a few words. Iron Demon pointed at the train window, then at the door, as if giving instructions.

Green Python nodded, didn't look back, and led his men toward the other end of the carriage. The sound of footsteps grew fainter and lighter, eventually disappearing behind the door at the carriage connection.

Iron Demon remained in his original position, leaning against the carriage door with his eyes closed, like a tiger dozing.

Members of the Red Snake Gang had already scattered throughout the train; some sat among the passengers, some stood in the aisles, and some guarded the doors. Their gazes swept over the passengers, as if they were looking for someone.

Wang Lin opened his eyes a crack, observing the actions of the Red Snake Gang members through the gaps in his eyelashes.

The person sitting among the passengers kept scanning the carriage—not looking at luggage, not looking at the scenery, but looking at people. The person standing in the aisle held a special type of communicator, screen facing up, checking it every few seconds as if waiting for news. The person guarding the door had their hand on the door handle, ready to open it at any moment.

They came prepared with a clear goal, not committing a random crime. The corners of Wang Lin's mouth curled up slightly. Interesting. Who exactly is on this train to make the Red Snake Gang mobilize their entire force?

He didn't ask Chu Tian, because Chu Tian didn't know either; if he had known, he would have said so. Wang Lin leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and breathed steadily. He was waiting, waiting for the Red Snake Gang to find the person they were looking for.

In the middle of the carriage, by the window, a middle-aged man put down his newspaper. He wore a dark gray trench coat, had graying hair, and deep wrinkles on his face. Lin Yuanzhou, an executive of Miracle Company, LV6.

His fingers tapped twice on the tabletop—three long, two short. The two attendants sitting opposite him lifted their eyelids simultaneously, then quickly lowered them. Having followed him for over a decade, they were long accustomed to communicating in this silent manner.

Lin Yuanzhou was saying: "The document is in the safe. If I can't hold out, destroy it." The two attendants didn't nod or speak, just lightly traced the edge of a magazine, serving as a response.

Lin Yuanzhou withdrew his gaze and continued reading the newspaper. The Red Snake Gang had sent so many people this time, with both LV6s, Iron Demon and Green Python, dispatched, and over a dozen subordinates scattered throughout the train; this indicated that the matter was of great importance.

Three months ago, Miracle Company headquarters received an anonymous tip that the Red Snake Gang was smuggling large quantities of genetic drugs and beast corpses, and Lin Yuanzhou was sent to investigate. He had been investigating for three months.

The Red Snake Gang members were very cautious; ledgers used codes, transactions used aliases, strongholds changed after every transaction, and even contact methods were constantly changing. But even the slyest fox cannot outwit a good hunter.

In three months, he had uncovered the Red Snake Gang's smuggling network, transaction records, contact methods, and a list of their protectors. The list contained names of internal personnel from Miracle Company, as well as personnel from other factions.

Those people accepted bribes from the Red Snake Gang, provided them with protection, helped cover for them, and leaked Miracle Company's cleanup operations in advance.

As long as this list was delivered to the Holy City headquarters, the Red Snake Gang's protectors would all fall, their strongholds would be uprooted, their funding chains would be severed, and from top to bottom, not a single one would escape.

The Red Snake Gang obviously knew of the list's existence, which is why they came. Lin Yuanzhou's gaze swept across the carriage from above the newspaper. He knew he had been exposed, but he didn't know who had betrayed him.

Fortunately, the Red Snake Gang members didn't recognize him. They only knew that a Miracle Company executive was on this train, but they didn't know exactly which person it was. So they were still searching one by one.

Eventually, the Red Snake Gang members finally lost their patience. For every extra minute they stayed, the risk increased. They switched from searching to checking—checking luggage.

At first, a few passengers were unwilling, clutching their bags to their chests, glaring and saying, "What right do you have to search my bag?" The Red Snake Gang members didn't waste words; they drew their knives and stabbed, the person falling to the ground, twitching a few times before going still.

Another passenger tried to stand up to reason, and was also stabbed down. At this point, no one dared to speak, and no one was unwilling anymore. They obediently opened their bags and took their belongings out one by one for the Red Snake Gang members to see.

A few passengers secretly took out their phones, wanting to call the police. But the phone screens clearly displayed: No Service. "Open them, open them all, don't dawdle."

Several Red Snake Gang subordinates began checking toward Wang Lin and Chu Tian's side. Seeing them getting closer, Chu Tian lowered his voice: "Don't resist in a moment, let them search. They shouldn't be targeting us. No matter what they search through, don't stop them. They'll leave after they're done." Wang Lin nodded.

At this moment, two subordinates had already walked up to Wang Lin and Chu Tian. One was short and fat, the other tall and thin. Chu Tian kept his head down, hands on his knees, feigning the appearance of a terrified ordinary traveler. The two glanced at him, looked away, then looked at Wang Lin. Wang Lin leaned back against the seat, eyes closed, as if sleeping.

The short, fat man reached up to grab the backpack on the luggage rack above Chu Tian's head. "Whose is this?" Chu Tian raised his head: "It's... mine." The short, fat man yanked the backpack down, threw it on the seat, unzipped the straps, and started pulling the contents out one by one. As a result, he found nothing.

The short, fat man threw the bag back to Chu Tian and looked at Wang Lin, "Where's your bag?" Wang Lin tilted his chin toward his feet, signaling for him to get it himself. The short, fat man bent down, picked up the bag, unzipped it, and rummaged through it. There were only a few changes of clothes, a bag of biscuits, and a bottle of water. Disappointed, the two threw the bag back to Wang Lin and walked to the next passenger.

A woman was sitting behind Wang Lin. She was in her early twenties, with long hair draped over her shoulders, picturesque features, and skin so white it looked like she had never seen the sun. The tall, thin man only glanced at the woman once, and his gaze could no longer look away.