110: Chapter 110 Jiangbei Second Anchor

Liu Bridge Old Station cannot be blown up.

This was the first judgment Lu Chen gave after finishing the Grey Net retrospective.

When Zhao Ye heard this, his expression darkened.

"Is that place still being kept?"

"It is," Shen Qinghe explained on Lu Chen's behalf. "It connects to Liuxia Passenger Station and also holds onto the remnants of those missing persons. If we destroy it directly, the entrance will collapse, and the people inside will be scattered."

Zhao Ye was silent for a moment.

"Then we're just going to watch it keep running?"

"We aren't just watching," Lu Chen's voice came from the Xin Huo Interface.

"We're pinning it down."

As these three words fell, everyone understood.

Torch would no longer treat Liu Bridge Old Station as a one-time mission site.

It was to become the second anchor point in Jiangbei.

A controlled observation point.

A location where Torch could hear the ringing of the bell in advance every time the Liuxia remnants resurfaced.

Establishing the anchor point was more troublesome than imagined.

On the reality level, Tang Zhiwei had to arrange hoarding, fake construction, filling in blind spots in surveillance, vehicle dispatching, and a temporary supply warehouse.

On Gu Xingzhou's side, they couldn't publicly admit to an anomaly, so they could only seal off the plot under the guise of safety hazards from old city renovation.

Liu Shu held the structural diagram, squatting on the ground, his hands covered in dust from drawing.

"There used to be a drainage culvert here, don't step on it, or you'll fall in if it collapses. This is the foundation of the old ticket booth; it's very hard, so we can drive piles here. Here..."

He pointed halfway and suddenly stopped.

"This used to be that old willow tree."

No one interrupted him.

Liu Shu rubbed his nose with the back of his hand.

"I used to wait for the bus under this tree when I was a kid."

Zhao Ye stood nearby: "Scared?"

Liu Shu glared at him: "I'm being nostalgic."

"Nostalgic enough to make your legs shake?"

"It's windy."

Zhao Ye glanced at the motionless hoarding and didn't expose him.

On the rules level, Shen Qinghe used the Fate-Illuminating Bronze Bell to confirm the rhythm of Liu Bridge Old Station.

Every time the bell tolled, an echo of a ticket puncher would come from underground.

Sweat quickly broke out on her forehead.

Xu Minglan was monitoring her mental state remotely from the Safe House, reminding her every few minutes.

"Shen Qinghe, rest for thirty seconds."

"I'm okay."

"I'm not asking if you're okay; I'm informing you."

Shen Qinghe was choked up for a moment and could only close her eyes to rest.

Bai Ya was responsible for connecting the Grey Net.

He incorporated Han Yue's notes, Liang Cheng's orders, Lu Chengzhi's navigation records, Liu Shu's photos, and Chen Shi's time verification into the node association.

The Grey Net was not omniscient.

But when these clues, left behind by people using their lives, their hands, and clumsy methods, were pinned together bit by bit, it could finally see the shape of Liu Bridge Old Station.

Chen Shi reported the time remotely.

"It is now 23:17."

On the other side of the screen, he paused.

"My phone is thirteen minutes slow, but I calibrated it myself this time."

Chen Jue was responsible for the outer perimeter.

He stood outside the safety line, looking towards the old station, clenching his fists several times and releasing them again.

At one point, Han Yue's voice suddenly came through the earpiece.

"Chen Jue."

His whole body stiffened.

Lin Zhao was right beside him.

Lin Zhao didn't immediately grab the earpiece, only saying: "Remember the rules."

Chen Jue closed his eyes.

The voice called out again.

"Chen Jue, turn around."

Chen Jue's face went pale, but he didn't turn around.

He pulled the paper with Han Yue's message copied on it from his pocket and gripped it tightly.

"Fake."

He said.

"He told me not to follow in his footsteps."

Lin Zhao nodded.

"Qualified."

Chen Jue cursed: "Who asked for your praise?"

But his voice had already steadied.

At midnight, the anchor point began to ignite.

Lu Chen sat in the Fire Keeper's seat, pressing his palm against the central stele.

The Jiangbei First Anchor sent a response.

The Fire Seals on the edge of Liu Bridge Old Station lit up one after another.

The old ticket window, the position of the old willow tree that had been cut in half, the drainage culvert entrance, the edge of the platform, and the seventh step.

The firelight did not rush deep underground.

It merely fell outside the entrance, like a lamp that would not be taken away by the Night Bus.

The Fate-Illuminating Bronze Bell rang once.

Zhao Ye pressed the sealing nail into the remains of the old iron station sign.

Bai Ya completed the Grey Net connection.

Tang Zhiwei confirmed the physical hoarding was closed.

Gu Xingzhou sent a short confirmation.

[Outer perimeter sealed.]

Before igniting, Lu Chen moved Han Yue's name to the very top of the anchor point record.

Zero prompted that this did not conform to the default sorting.

The default sorting should be anchor name, location, rules, danger Rank, and participating members.

Lu Chen said: "Change it."

Zero did not prompt again.

Thus, the first line of the record for the Jiangbei Second Anchor became:

[Established from the clues of Han Yue's sacrifice.]

This was not for emotional effect.

This was the rule.

From now on, everyone who took over the Liu Bridge line would see this name at first glance.

No one would think this anchor point was a result Torch had just casually created, nor would anyone treat Han Yue as just a used-up clue in a mission.

After seeing the update, Bai Ya whistled softly.

"Putting this line at the very top will put a lot of pressure on the people who come after."

Lu Chen replied: "That is exactly the pressure I want them to have."

Zhao Ye rarely agreed.

"Without pressure, they'll do stupid things."

Hearing this, Chen Jue looked down at the Fire Seal in his hand and didn't retort.

Lu Chen spoke.

"Jiangbei Second Anchor, ignite."

The wind at Liu Bridge Old Station stopped for a moment.

The underground waiting mezzanine did not disappear.

That row of seats was still there.

Seventeen remnants were still sitting there, and Han Yue was also sitting on the very edge.

But this time, there was a bit of firelight above their heads.

Very small.

Small enough that it couldn't light up the whole station.

But enough to keep them from sitting completely in the dark.

At the entrance of the Safe House, Chen Jue watched the synchronized feed for a long time.

Lin Zhao walked up to his side.

"Do you still want to rush in?"

Chen Jue didn't answer immediately.

After a while, he said: "Yes."

Lin Zhao looked at him.

Chen Jue added: "But I won't go."

Lin Zhao smiled slightly.

"Truly qualified this time."

Chen Jue cursed under his breath: "So annoying."

But he didn't walk away.

The Grey Net continued to trace backwards.

After Liu Bridge Old Station was pinned down, a plaque finally appeared in the deeper depths.

The plaque hung in the darkness, as if hanging at the end of an invisible road.

[Liuxia Passenger Station]

[First bus: Forty years ago]

Lu Chen looked at the record, his fingertips tapping lightly on the edge of the stele.

The Jiangbei Night Bus was not a new anomaly.

It was just the first carriage after the old thing started running again.

Outside Liu Bridge Old Station, the construction notice on the hoarding swayed gently in the wind.

The notice was written very plainly.

Old city renovation, no entry.

Passersby would not know that an anomaly anchor point was pinned behind the notice, nor would they know that in the deeper underground, a row of passengers who had waited for many years had finally been illuminated by a bit of firelight.

This was what Torch was doing now.

Not necessarily seen.

Not necessarily thanked.

Often, they couldn't even fully save everyone they tried to.

But the fire had already fallen.

As long as the anchor point was still lit, Liu Bridge would no longer be a place that only anomalies could find.

The firelight of the Jiangbei Second Anchor stabilized in the night.

It was not dazzling, nor was it grand.

It just stubbornly shone.

And deeper inside, the real ticket window had just lit up.