Moving to the Golden Courtyard

"Huh? Xia Ya?"

After a long silence, Xia Ya suddenly raised his head, a smile appearing on his face as he looked at the leader in front of him.

The leader, seeing this, forced a smile in return.

"I fuck your mother."

"Huh?"

"Bang!"

His fist landed squarely on the nose of the middle-aged, overweight leader in front of him, who resembled nothing so much as a fat pig.

Xia Ya expressionlessly pressed the man down onto the desk, punching... punching... each punch! Seeming to vent the endless rage... and sorrow... in his heart.

"You've disappointed me too much! Xia Ya!"

"Slap!"

Inside the deputy chief engineer's office, Deputy Chief Engineer Xia slapped Xia Ya across the face!

"Do you know who he is? How dare you hit him like that!? Even I can't protect you now!"

"Father, do you... do you know what he said?"

"Of course, I know! But... but couldn't you have come to me!?

"What good would it have done to talk to you!? Do you have the power to push through such a large-scale rectification at a group meeting!?"

"Have you heard? The 956 incident should have been a major disaster, but now, if it's handled well, anyone involved can take a big step up."

"How so?"

"Let's just say, that Luo Mu died at the right time. As long as they focus on promoting it next, it'll be a political achievement."

Inside the restroom, one of the two men chatting casually pointed a finger upwards.

"And the one at the very top is also due for a promotion... if he's planning to move closer to the city, this is the best opportunity."

"Ah!? No wonder... that Luo Mu really did die at the right time."

"Who says he didn't? His death solved everything."

Xia Ya slowly walked out of the group's main gate.

A light drizzle fell on his head, and he looked up at the sky in incomprehension. The rain seemed to want to block all his questioning words in his heart.

The rain grew heavier, and Xia Ya sat down on the steps in dejection and confusion.

People walked past with umbrellas, but most only glanced at Xia Ya with curiosity before walking away indifferently.

He trembled and opened his mouth slightly, as if wanting to say something.

However...

In the end, he closed his mouth. Xia Ya slowly stood up, his eyes regaining their firmness. But beneath that firmness, there seemed to be a hint of madness...

Some things cannot be solved with words—only the most direct action can solve the problem.

I cannot understand why people react with such indifference to the passing of a life.

I cannot understand why the higher-ups always only think about their own promotions in the face of a hero's sacrifice.

I cannot understand, is the weight of a life not enough to crush the distortion in their hearts?

This society, this Mode Capital Metro, their souls are as bound by the gravity of this planet, unable to break free, unable to be saved.

Luo Mu, someone like you... in the world of the dead, you probably can't even breathe...

I will correct all of this.

I swear in my name, Xia Ya, I will make this world, this society, understand the weight of life once more!

I will make them understand what should truly be valued, what should truly be focused on, what should truly be remembered.

It is definitely not political achievements, honors, or a trivial topic of conversation!

But the mission of bearing the pain of a life lost and moving forward.

Xu Qi clenched the letter in his hand.

He... understood everything.

Luo Mu... you deserve the respect of all of us!

But!...

Xu Qi slowly stood up.

And everyone at the Golden Courtyard also stood up, their gazes once again converging on Xu Qi.

"Everyone, thank you for everything you've done for me. I... think I know what Xia Ya wants to do."

"What does he want to do?" Kevin, who had also finished reading Xia Ya's almost confessional letter, had a rare look of seriousness on his face.

"I can now confirm that 914's runaway was definitely not a coincidence! Xia Ya… he probably wants to recreate the accident that happened to 956—brake failure."

Everyone's faces were incredibly grave at that moment!

"I have to stop him… I must stop him! No matter what, I can't sit idly by and let this happen!"

"It's 2:30 AM," Kevin said, glancing at his watch.

"The first train is at 5:30 AM, so we have at least three hours to stop this. Xu Qi… we'll rely on you more!"

24. Vil-V Isn't Just Pretty

"Vroom!!"

The roar of the engine cut through the night sky as a heavily modified GTR sped along the outer ring expressway. The air currents whipped up by the car intertwined with the roar, creating ripples in the city under the night sky.

It was early morning, so there wasn't much traffic. Though there were speed limits, the person driving the car clearly didn't care about such things.

"I hope Eden won't be angry when she gets back and sees her beloved car being abused like this," Kevin said, stepping on the gas again.

He was pushing the car's performance to its absolute limit.

In the back seat, Vil-V, who was busy adjusting equipment, rolled her eyes when she heard this.

"Just tell Eden it's for Xu Qi, and she won't say a word, I guarantee it—that woman dotes on Xu Qi more than any of us."

"That's true," Su said, nodding in agreement. "Speaking of which, this plan is quite bold… Kosma, you'll probably be up all night, why don't you rest for a bit?"

"…"

Kevin glanced at Kosma in the passenger seat. The boy's focused and tense expression told him everything about his determination to do what he wanted to do.

"He can do it."

"!"

Kosma turned to look at Kevin, the feeling of being acknowledged by Kevin making it impossible for him to fall asleep.

"Hopefully, things will go smoothly for Xu Qi. Of course, we're just here as a backup," Vil-V said, closing her laptop and mentally reviewing what needed to be done tonight.

"Since it's impossible to stop operations tomorrow… we have to be fast!"

A little earlier, in the main conference room on the first floor of the Golden Courtyard.

"First, let's be clear: the best way, of course, would be to halt operations tomorrow and inspect all the trains on Line 9, but that's obviously not realistic."

Xu Qi pulled up a 3D simulation of Line 9. Don't ask where the equipment and data came from; suffice it to say, the Golden Courtyard folks are incredibly resourceful.

"Even the mayor wouldn't dare issue such an order. Line 9 is one of the busiest lines in the city. The thought of it stopping… even a slight delay is unthinkable.

And we don't have the ability or enough evidence to convince the mayor to help us shut down this busy line."

"Hold on," Kevin interjected. "How can you be sure Xia Ya will cause the accident on Line 9?"

"Two reasons. First, as the technical director, Xia Ya's main work has always been on Line 9, even though the sixth division is in charge of Lines 7, 12, and 14.

However, Lines 7 and 14 have their own technical managers, so Xia Ya generally doesn't interfere much with those lines unless there's an emergency.

Line 12 is a special case; it's basically been outsourced, so Xia Ya has no say in it. Therefore, the only line he could tamper with is Line 9."

The evidence was solid, and the analysis was logical, so Su followed up.

"What's the second reason?"

"Actually… the second reason is what I believe in the most, but it's a bit mystical. I've worked with Xia Ya for over a year, so I know him somewhat.

Since he wants to recreate the original accident in this way, whether it's to retaliate against humanity or the Mode Capital Metro, he'll definitely choose Line 9.

Because that's where Luo Mu died. He wants to use this accident to commemorate the deceased Luo Mu."

Alysia sighed.

"I'm more inclined to believe your second reason… and we have limited manpower, so it's best to assume Xia Ya will only do this on one line."

"Then the necessary conditions are clear."

Xu Qi highlighted Line 9 in the projection and circled three locations.

"Line 9 has two bases: Jiuting Base, which we've already been to tonight, and Jinqiao. My idea is to split into three groups.

Kevin, Su, and Vil-V will go to Jinqiao Base. I'm familiar with the day shift team leader for Line 9 at Jinqiao; he'll be responsible for helping you complete the inspection.

Elysia, Yae, Fu Hua, and Pardofelis will go to Jiuting Base. I'll find a way to contact people to help them.

And Mei and I will go to Xia Ya's house. If we confirm Xia Ya is at home, then there might still be a chance to salvage everything. But if…"

"If Xia Ya isn't home by three or four in the morning, then the plan has most likely already been implemented."

Yae's words made the atmosphere in the room extremely tense.

"Yeah…" Xu Qi said with a complicated expression, "So he better be at home…"

Kosma, who was usually quiet, suddenly asked, "What about the rest of us?"

"The rest of you will stay and guard the home. The Golden Courtyard can't be left empty."

"…"

Kosma was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "I want to participate in this operation too."

Xu Qi raised an eyebrow, first looking at Kevin. Noticing Xu Qi's gaze, Kosma frowned and said loudly once more.

"I believe in my abilities, I can help."

"If you want to go, then go?" Kalpas lit a cigarette. "Anyway, I'll take care of things at the Golden Courtyard."

Kevin also nodded.

Seeing this, Xu Qi said to Kosma, "Alright, you and Kevin will be a team—be careful."

"...Okay!"

Kosma nodded heavily—this time, he didn't want to be an outsider again!

Aponia lovingly stroked Little Griseo's head.

"Then we'll stay home. Be good, Griseo."

Only Mobius frowned.

"Hey, kid, did you forget about me?"