"That's right. All the trains remaining in the depot have the same malfunction. It was probably a problem left over from the previous overhaul. In any case, none of them can be dispatched."
"Who the fuck are you!? Huh!? Do you know how many fewer trains there'll be on the main line because of this!? This is a red-line issue! A red-line alert!"
"The brakes on the remaining trains may all have problems! If a train can't stop, this won't be something as simple as a red-line alert... I think you know the consequences!"
The dispatcher was speechless for a moment. Xu Qi's words had been far too decisive, leaving him unsure what to do.
"This requires approval from a superior."
"Supervisor Xia is already applying for it. He'll take full responsibility for this matter!"
"Supervisor Xia? Which Supervisor Xia... Xia Ya? What authority does a technical supervisor have..."
"Bang!"
Xu Qi hung up the phone brutally, and Xin An, who was standing nearby, twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth.
"You're really using your master's name like that?"
"He definitely has no idea where he is or what he's scheming right now... Anyone capable of doing something like this probably doesn't want to stay at the Metro Company anymore, so there's nothing wrong with me borrowing his name."
"Crazy... You're really crazy!"
Sure enough, not long afterward, Xu Qi received a call from the manager of Maintenance Department Six.
"Xu Qi! What are you doing!?"
The other party had completely lost his usual composure and polished demeanor as a superior. His voice was filled with panic and fury, along with a trace of unease.
"You detained all the trains over at Jiuting! Are you trying to bring the heavens down!?"
"Not just Jiuting."
"Huh?"
"Jinqiao too."
At that moment, an identical scene was unfolding in the dispatch room at Jinqiao Base.
Yao Yuchen stood in front of all the drivers who had yet to board their trains and gritted his teeth as he said, "Sorry! Problems were discovered during the train overhaul. None of the trains can leave the depot right now. They're being detained!"
"Are you crazy!?"
The dispatcher roared and rushed out of the dispatch room, quickly approaching Yao Yuchen.
"Who gave you the authority to detain trains!?"
"Supervisor Xia! This is an order from our technical supervisor, Xia Ya!"
"I just called Xia Ya, and no one answered!"
"Then that's your problem. I'm only responsible for conveying Supervisor Xia's instructions—the train braking systems have problems, so every train still in the depot must be detained!"
"Crazy... You're all crazy!"
Yeah... I think I'm crazy too...
Yao Yuchen appeared firm on the surface, but his heart was already filled with bitterness.
This probably isn't something that can be resolved by firing me anymore. There's even a chance I could end up in prison... Xu Qi, you really have given me a huge problem.
"Get lost! Dispatching never received any absurd train-detention order like this! Are you leaving or not? If you don't, I'll have security drag you out!"
Facing so many drivers and dispatchers, Yao Yuchen felt pressure as immense as a mountain bearing down on him, almost suffocating him.
At that very moment!
"Everyone, could you listen to me for a moment?"
The sudden voice was very soft, yet it clearly reached everyone's mind.
Everyone immediately looked around to find the speaker. Then they saw... a man who seemed to have his eyes perpetually narrowed appear abruptly beside Yao Yuchen.
Yao Yuchen recognized him. He was one of the four who had come over. He did not speak much and had very little presence.
Was he Xu Qi's friend too?
Taking advantage of the moment when everyone's attention was on him, Su let a pocket watch swing down from his palm.
"You've worked hard all night and must be tired, right? It's time to sleep..."
Huh!? What is he doing? Could there really be something wrong with this guy's head? What does he think he is? A hypnotist...
"Bang!"
When the sound of the first person collapsing rang out, Yao Yuchen's mind stalled briefly.
Then—in an instant, they had all fallen asleep...
Outside the train depot, the drivers and dispatchers alike collapsed groggily onto the ground—fast asleep.
"All right. Now... the problem is solved."
Yao Yuchen looked up at Su beside him. What he did not know was that he was looking at Su as if he were looking at a god!
······
"Crazy! You really are crazy! Do you know what you're doing, Xu Qi!?"
An enraged voice came from the entrance to the dispatch room. Ding Yu, the manager of Maintenance Department Six, shoved the door open and stormed in! A group of department leaders followed behind him.
But when they opened the door, the scene before them was somewhat surreal.
All the drivers and dispatchers were sitting obediently inside the dispatch room, while Xu Qi sat in the chief seat. With his calm and collected appearance, it was as though he had been waiting for them to arrive.
Xin An stood beside him, looking as if he had resigned himself to his fate.
Besides Xin An, there were also two unfamiliar women, both so beautiful that they seemed capable of overshadowing the actresses on the screens.
What shocked everyone most, however, was that both women had long swords strapped to their waists.
They did not look fake...
"Now that things have reached this point, to be honest, I don't have much of a choice either..."
Xu Qi was actually the first to speak.
"At this point, all I can do is pray. Pray that the train with the failed brakes is among those I detained in the depot, and that it wasn't sent onto the main line."
Failed brakes!?
To Ding Yu, this was like PTSD. He immediately stepped forward! As the current manager of Maintenance Department Six, he was extremely sensitive to this matter!
"Do you know what you're saying? This is nothing like that 914 braking test... Xu Qi! Don't think that just because you took credit for that incident, you can..."
"You know perfectly well what I'm saying, Manager Ding. After all, you took over Xia Ya's position back then, didn't you? Train 956's brakes failing on the main line—Xia Ya wants to recreate what happened then."
Ding Yu's eyes widened.
"What did you say!?"
"I know it sounds insane, and I hope it isn't true either. Just wait... The only thing we can do now is wait. Once a train is on the main line, I don't have the authority to call it back."
Ding Yu's face turned ashen. For a moment, he had no idea what to do.
Since early morning, calls from the group's leaders had been coming one after another, all asking what had happened on Line 9 and why there was such a severe shortage of trains on the main line!
The morning rush was almost here, yet there were only twenty or thirty trains still running on the main line!
Transport capacity was woefully inadequate!
"Xu Qi, how about this? Have the drivers send all the trains out first. If anything happens, we can..."
"You still don't understand..." Xu Qi shook his head.
"Since I took things this far, just like Xia Ya, I never intended to turn back. If there are fewer trains on the main line, then even if a train really loses its brakes, there will still be a chance to save the situation.
"Pray. You'd better pray too—that the train Xia Ya tampered with has already been detained in the depot by me."
"Master Xia Ya, have you seen the news online?"
"Yes. Line 9 is suffering from a severe shortage of train capacity. During the morning rush, there is only one train every ten-plus minutes, and most of the trains have been detained in the depot."
"Exactly... Line 9 isn't merely suffering from overcrowded trains anymore. The stations are overcrowded too! The police have already been dispatched to evacuate the crowds."
"Looks like Xu Qi has made his move."
"Yes. Just as Master Xia Ya predicted. I just didn't expect that kid to go this far!"
"Don't worry about it. Contact the people on the Anti-Entropy side. Proceed with the plan as usual."
"Yes!"
"Xu Qi! Look at what you've done!" Ding Yu held his phone in front of Xu Qi. It showed a video of the overcrowded People's Square Station, where the police were evacuating the crowd and maintaining order.
The densely packed sea of heads was enough to make anyone's scalp tingle.
Xu Qi watched it and calmly said, "At least they're still alive."
"What kind of spell have you fallen under to believe..."
He had only spoken halfway when another phone in his pocket suddenly rang.
"Hmph!" Ding Yu snorted coldly and mocked him. "It must be another call from the group's leaders. Just wait to be held accountable!"
The call connected. However, it was neither some group leader nor a city official as Ding Yu had imagined, but... a lowly dispatcher.
"Man... Manager Ding..."
"Huh? Who are you? Why are you calling me?"
"956... 956..."
"What?" Ding Yu frowned, while Xu Qi, whose five senses were extraordinarily sharp, keenly caught the fear and panic in the dispatcher's voice on the other end.
Xu Qi immediately rushed over, pushed Ding Yu aside, took the phone from him, and said, "What happened to 956?"
"It's 956... 956 is back... 956 is back! It's 956!"
"Calm down!" Xu Qi interrupted the other man's nearly hysterical rambling and said heavily, "Tell me... what happened! Tell me!"
"956 can't brake... The brakes aren't working! The train can't stop now! It's over... It's all over... The train that can never stop—it's back."
"!"
Xu Qi's eyes widened. At the same time, the phones of nearly all the leaders present began ringing one after another. The message waiting for them was the same...
Train 956! The brakes had failed!
Xu Qi hung up and slowly turned his head to look at Ding Yu. Ding Yu clearly knew something by then too, and his face was deathly pale.
"Looks like you didn't pray hard enough... Manager Ding."
Ding Yu abruptly looked up!
"You... What do you know!? Why did you know a train would lose its brakes? You... Was all of this your doing!?"
Behind Xu Qi, Xin An could not help laughing.
The mockery in that laugh caused Ding Yu's face to flush red.
Mei took a deep breath, walked over to Xu Qi, and asked, "What do we do?"
Yeah... What do we do?
"First, go to Meilong... to the train control headquarters. If everything is going smoothly on Alysia's side, then all the leaders should be there now."
"All right!"
······
Turning back the clock, when Vil-V gave the order to head to the substations and the network control center, Xu Qi's side had also formulated a countermeasure—an option of last resort.
Before you continue