Northbound

"Understood! Everything is ready. Please give the order!"

"Now, transfer the core physical evidence."

The lieutenant colonel stepped forward and used a special key he carried with him to open the black briefcase. Inside were specially made shockproof, anti-magnetic liners, with reserved spaces for the kunai, the Myriad Worlds Technique, storage devices, and more.

Under Director Wang Jianguo's personal supervision, Old Li carefully placed the evidence bag into its designated spot in the case.

After checking it carefully and confirming there were no mistakes, he snapped the briefcase shut, locked it again, then turned his wrist and cuffed himself to the case once more.

The lieutenant colonel nodded and walked to the desk. His gaze settled on the strange kunai for several seconds before he looked at Old Li and the other officers. "Comrade Li Xianghua, and the two comrades who participated in the on-site response.

"As first-level initial contact and response personnel in the Dragon City incident, you must return to Upper Capital with me immediately.

"You will undergo comprehensive, detailed special debriefings and isolated questioning. This is procedure, and it is also required by the highest level of confidentiality."

Director Wang was not surprised in the slightest. He immediately nodded, his expression grave. "Understood! We will resolutely obey orders!"

He turned toward Old Li and the other two, his tone heavy and solemn. "Old Li, Little Liu, Little Wang. This is a mission, and also a matter of trust. I'll arrange everything at home and at the bureau. You... follow orders in all actions."

Old Li took a deep breath, crushed the long-extinguished cigarette butt in his hand into the overflowing ashtray, and straightened his back. "Yes, Director!"

His many years as a criminal investigator had taught him that once matters reached this level, there was no need for personal questions. Obedience was his duty.

He merely touched the phone in his pocket out of habit, the new Huawei his wife had just bought him. Was he going to have to list it on Zhuanzhuan...

No, it probably would soon no longer belong to him.

Little Liu and Little Wang exchanged glances. Going to Beijing? Now? Overnight? And with this lieutenant colonel cuffed to a briefcase?

The two instinctively brought their heels together. Their voices were somewhat dry, but equally resolute. "Yes!"

"You have ten minutes." The lieutenant colonel glanced at his watch. His tone was calm, yet carried the urgency of every second counting.

"Other than necessary identification, leave behind all personal belongings, especially every electronic communication device. Hand them over to Director Wang for registration and sealing.

"Inform your immediate family that you are carrying out a 'long-term closed emergency training assignment.' Communications will be temporarily cut off, and the return date is uncertain. Do not reveal any other details."

The orders fell one after another.

Old Li walked to the window and called home. The ringing was especially piercing in the silent early morning. It rang seven or eight times before someone answered, and his wife's sleepy but worried voice came through. "Old Li? It's so late. Are you still not done? Did something happen?"

"Yeah, an emergency assignment." Old Li deliberately kept his voice steady, but he could not hide a trace of reluctance. "I'm going out of town for closed training for a while. It may... take quite a long time.

"I have to hand in my phone, so I won't be reachable. The home and the kid... I'm counting on you." He explained simply. It was the understanding they had built over many years. Some things were not asked, and some words needed only to be said that far.

There was silence on the other end for two seconds. His wife was fully awake now, tension entering her voice, but in the end it became only one sentence. "...Be careful. I've got things at home."

After hanging up, Old Li gently placed his phone, his key ring, and even the old criminal investigator's ID he had carried for years on Director Wang's desk.

His movements were decisive, without hesitation.

Little Wang and Little Zhao also left similar messages for their families in the briefest possible terms. Their young faces carried the nervousness and determination of shouldering an important secret for the first time.

They handed over their phones, smartwatches, and even Little Wang's newly bought wireless earbuds.

Ten minutes, not a second more or less.

With a wave of the lieutenant colonel's hand, two guards stepped forward and conducted a swift, professional security check on Old Li and the others, confirming that they carried no prohibited items or recording devices.

The lieutenant colonel nodded, then spoke to Director Wang one last time.

"Someone will follow up with Director Wang Jianguo," the lieutenant colonel said at last, his gaze deep. "You protected a crucial beginning. You have worked hard."

He did not say another word. He saluted again, then turned crisply and led Old Li and the others out of the office under the protection of the special forces.

There were no police cars clearing the way, no flashing police lights. Three black SUVs merged into the deeper darkness of dawn and drove out of the municipal bureau compound.

This time, there were no traffic police stationed at every intersection. But Old Li noticed that at several key intersections along the way, figures in plain clothes with upright bearing seemed to nod slightly from the shadows.

The convoy's route had clearly been carefully planned. It avoided every main road and area that might still have nighttime traffic, heading toward the outskirts once more in an efficient and covert manner.

Their destination was not the military airport where they had landed. The convoy turned onto a confidential road leading toward the mountains.

In the end, they entered an extremely ordinary-looking, even somewhat run-down railway freight marshalling yard. The station was dimly lit and silent. Only a seemingly ordinary green-painted sleeper car with sealed windows stood quietly on one track.

There were two flatbed cars that looked like freight cars at both the front and rear of the carriage, but the outlines beneath the tarps were hard and clearly disguised.

This was the "special train" to Upper Capital.

There were no platform announcements and no other passengers.

Under Old Li's somewhat complicated gaze, and Little Wang and Little Zhao's curious yet nervous stares, they followed the lieutenant colonel and his guard detail quickly aboard the middle sleeper car.

The inside of the carriage was completely different from its exterior. It was simple, clean, and fully equipped, but every window was tightly covered by special curtains, while the air circulation system emitted a faint hum.

The door closed and locked. A slight sway passed through the carriage as the train started without a sound, accelerated, and soon headed toward Upper Capital at a steady speed.

At that moment, Fang's mother's voice rang out inside the carriage.

"Captain Li... Captain Li?!"

Old Li's entire body jolted, and he abruptly looked up.

Fang's mother was getting up from a berth, accompanied by a capable-looking young woman in plain clothes.

She was wrapped in a thick coat that had clearly been thrown on in a hurry, clutching a small cloth bundle tightly in her hand. Her eyes were bloodshot and still streaked with tears. As she looked at him now, it was as though she had seized a piece of driftwood in boundless darkness.

"Auntie!" Old Li blurted out, his steps instinctively stopping. He had never expected to meet Fang Tianyi's mother here.

But in an instant, he understood. As a family member who knew about the incident, and the actual contact person on Earth's end of the Book of Ten Thousand Worlds.

Fang's mother had naturally also been included within the highest level of contact and control measures.

Bringing her to Upper Capital for detailed questioning, protective isolation, and perhaps participation in subsequent research was a completely logical and necessary measure.

As expected of a state operation. The arrangements had been made so quickly and so covertly.

When Fang's mother saw Old Li, it was as if she had confirmed some source of support. Tears welled up again as she walked over. "Captain Li, where... where are we going?

"They said they were taking me to people who could save Tianyi, but in the middle of the night, they brought me to this train station... I'm terrified..." Her words were disordered, filled with fear and panic.

Old Li glanced at the plainclothes woman beside her. The woman nodded slightly, indicating that he could speak with her briefly.

He immediately stepped forward, supported Fang's mother as she swayed unsteadily, lowered his voice, and spoke as reassuringly as he could.

"Auntie, don't panic! Look, aren't I here too? This is an arrangement from higher up.

"We're going to Upper Capital to find the best experts and figure out how to save Tianyi together! This is a good thing. It means the country takes this very seriously!"

He squeezed Fang's mother's cold, trembling hand firmly, his gaze resolute. "You have to believe that where we're going is the place most likely to bring Tianyi back safely.

"Just come with us and cooperate. That will be a huge help to Tianyi!"

Fang's mother looked at the police uniform Old Li had yet to change out of, saw the convincing calm in his eyes that belonged to an old police officer, and heard the key words, "save Tianyi" and "the country takes this seriously."

Her panicked heart seemed to find a sliver of hope. She nodded forcefully, though her tears fell even harder. "I believe you, Captain Li. I believe you... As long as Tianyi can be saved, I'll go anywhere..."

At this point, the lieutenant colonel had finished the final checks before departure and swept his gaze over.

Inside the carriage, the lieutenant colonel secured the briefcase firmly onto a special bracket by a seat. He looked at Old Li and the other two, his expression still nearly blank, then looked at Fang's mother, his gaze softening slightly.

He spoke to Old Li and the other two.

"The journey will take several hours. Get some rest, but do not leave this carriage.

"The restroom is at the other end. Food and water are in the cabinet." He paused. "Upon arrival, dedicated personnel will receive you.

"Remember, from this moment onward, everything you see, hear, and experience is part of a highest-classified process. Relax, but remain vigilant. The country needs your memories."

After saying that, he spoke no more. He seemed to rest with his eyes closed, but the vigilance that kept him connected to the briefcase never slackened in the slightest.

Old Li leaned against his berth, listening to the regular, monotonous clatter of wheels against rails. He looked at the tightly covered curtains outside the window, which occasionally let through the faintest trace of light and shadow when the train passed a lamp.

This northbound journey was a tremendous leap in his career, and even in his understanding of life.

Fang's mother silently wept on her berth, while Little Liu and Little Wang squeezed into adjacent seats, quietly exchanging exclamations and guesses.

But under the lieutenant colonel's intangible presence and the rhythm of the moving train, they gradually fell silent as well, staring at the ceiling, no one knowing what they were thinking.

The train thundered north...