"You failed, so... who's going next?" Pi Ruan asked with a strange look in his eyes, as if afraid it would be his turn, yet also confirming who the next unlucky one would be.

Leaving aside Luo He, the remaining people were Jiang Cheng, Pi Ruan, Fatty, and Lin Wan'er. Anyone could guess that Jiang Cheng had the best chance of going.

"Doctor," Fatty exclaimed in excitement, using the title he was most familiar with. As he walked outside, he winked at Jiang Cheng. "I need to talk to you."

Once outside, in a secluded spot in the corridor, Fatty glanced back the way they had come, making sure no one was following. Then he quickly said, "Doctor, I suspect Pi Ruan is the problem. He's the one who killed Chen Qiang. Huai Yi said so too."

"And did you see his attitude just now? Luo He might be setting you up. I even suspect Pi Ruan has been bought off, planning to eliminate us all so they can develop the gold mine together," Fatty said earnestly. "Fine wine seduces, gold moves the heart. Doctor, you must not fall for their tricks."

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng nodded, reassuring him, "I understand what you're saying. Don't worry, I'm not so easily killed."

Since Jiang Cheng said so, Fatty felt somewhat relieved. In the end, the result was as expected: Jiang Cheng was the most suitable candidate.

Lying down next to Fu Fu, Jiang Cheng slowly closed his eyes.

Fatty and Huai Yi huddled behind Lin Wan'er, warily watching Luo He, and Pi Ruan, who looked noticeably unnatural.

Pi Ruan was ostracized, excluded from Lin Wan'er and the others.

Jiang Cheng was awakened by a strange, rhythmic sound. He opened his eyes in confusion, taking a dozen seconds to recognize his location.

He was on a train, surrounded by people, men, women, old, and young, all dressed in rags like refugees.

The May 5th Train.

He was back.

But this time, the feeling was different. The eerie atmosphere was still there, but it had a greater sense of reality.

It was as if he had traveled back to the time when the May 5th train had just departed.

However... the atmosphere in the carriage was strange. Everyone had their heads down, and aside from the occasional sound of breathing, there was a faint sob.

Someone was crying.

And not just one person.

The sound was suppressed, as if afraid of being heard.

In this carriage, Jiang Cheng didn't sense any of the excitement that these refugees should have felt about being taken to the next town and given a new life.

On the contrary, they seemed to already know their fate.

They would die, in dark, damp mine shafts.

An atmosphere of despair permeated the carriage, making even Jiang Cheng, an outsider, feel oppressed.

Why?

How did they know?

From this point in time, the Dongying (Japanese) people's plot shouldn't have been exposed yet.

Could it be...?

Jiang Cheng raised his eyelids and looked towards the other side of the carriage. At first glance, there was nothing special, but upon closer inspection, Jiang Cheng found a flaw.

Next to the carriage door stood three people dressed as refugees.

But compared to the other refugees, they were obviously much stronger. Underneath their ragged clothes, were well-built muscles, and their faces didn't have the sallow complexion caused by long-term malnutrition.

The three seemed to be resting, but beneath their slightly narrowed eyelids, were pairs of sharp eyes, scanning the carriage.

They also didn't have much luggage, only a long, cloth-wrapped object, tightly clutched in their hands.

A sword.

A Dongying sword!

These people... were Dongying people. They had already taken control of the train.

The Dongying people boarded the train earlier than expected. Jiang Cheng frowned. It seemed that the situation was even more complicated than he had analyzed before.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jiang Cheng noticed something next to the feet of one of the Dongying people: several broken burlap sacks, seemingly deliberately piled there.

Through the gaps in the sacks, Jiang Cheng saw a hand, hanging limply, with conspicuous blood on it.

There was a dead body behind the sacks!

Someone must have noticed something was wrong and tried to resist, so the Dongying people killed him, and then piled the body there.

Gazing at the compatriots who were lowering their heads, surrounded by fear, Jiang Cheng could feel their despair and helplessness at this moment.

A sound came from the next carriage.

At the same time, footsteps approached their carriage.

With a grating screech, the connecting door between the two carriages was opened. Under the protection of several Dongying people, a familiar figure walked out.

"Everyone, don't panic. The Imperial Army is here to save you. As long as you are honest and obedient, and work hard, you will have white steamed buns to eat!" A man with a buzz cut said in a servile tone, "We are all compatriots. I, Qiao Hanhui, would never lie to you."

"But if anyone thinks about escaping, about resisting, the consequences..." Director Qiao, whom Jiang Cheng and the others had seen before, sneered twice, instantly changing his expression, "I will kill him!"

Hearing this, everyone lowered their heads, not daring to look at Director Qiao.

Jiang Cheng also followed everyone else, burying his head low, pretending to be very afraid, but in his heart, he had already loosened the soil on the ancestral坟 (grave) of Qiao Hanhui, this great traitor, several times over, and also sent his regards to his family.

Now things were clear. No wonder the Dongying people so easily captured this trainload of refugees. It turned out that Qiao Hanhui, this bastard, was helping them from behind.

Come to think of it, when they first arrived at the Feng manor, Liu the Cripple had also asked Wu Dali if these people were sent by Director Qiao.

Soon, Director Qiao went to the next carriage to help the Dongying people appease the people, saying the same old things, nothing more than those words that disgraced his ancestors.

After calming down, Jiang Cheng began to analyze the current situation.

Since he had returned to this point in time, there must be a reason.

The way to break the situation should be to prevent the tragedy from happening again, that is, to rescue these refugees before the main force of the Dongying people ambush the train and drag everyone into the gold mine.

And also to kill Qiao Hanhui, this great traitor.

The Great Shaman hasn't shown himself yet, but Jiang Cheng knew that he must be on the train, probably in the last carriage.

Now that the goal was clear, the question was... how to achieve it?

There were six Dongying guards in this carriage alone, and perhaps some were lurking among the refugees. By this reasoning, there must be at least dozens of Dongying guards on this Mayflower train.

Jiang Cheng wasn't conceited enough to think he could solve all the enemies by himself.

What's more, there was still a Dongying Great Shaman of unknown strength sitting in town.

Fighting head-on was definitely not the way to go.

But just as he was hesitating, trouble came looking for him. "Hey, you, what you doing?" A Dongying guard noticed him and walked over.

Jiang Cheng's eyes narrowed. Since he couldn't avoid it, he would kill him first, and then deal with the Dongying people in the carriage.

He clenched his fists, pretending to be afraid, waiting for the Dongying person to approach.