Heading North

"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 designed shockproof and anti-magnetic linings, with spaces reserved 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 in its designated position inside the case.

After inspecting it closely and confirming everything was correct, he snapped the briefcase shut with a click, locked it again, then turned his wrist and cuffed himself to the case once more.

The lieutenant colonel nodded and walked toward the desk. His gaze rested on the strangely shaped Kunai for several seconds before he looked at Old Li and the other officers. "Comrade Li Xianghua, and the two comrades involved in handling the scene.

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

"You will undergo comprehensive, detailed special debriefings and isolation interviews. This is procedure, as well as the highest confidentiality requirement."

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

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

Old Li took a deep breath, viciously pressed 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 duty.

He merely touched the phone in his pocket out of habit. His wife had just bought him the latest Huawei model. Was he really going to have to put it up on Zhuanzhuan...

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

Little Liu and Little Wang looked at each other. Going to Beijing? Now? Overnight? And with this lieutenant colonel who was cuffed to a briefcase?

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

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

"Other than necessary identification and personal belongings, leave behind all electronic communication devices in particular. Hand them to Director Wang for registration and sealing.

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

One order after another came down.

Old Li walked to the window and called home. The ringtone was especially piercing in the silent early morning. It rang seven or eight times before someone answered, and his wife's sleepy yet worried voice came through. "Old Li? It's so late. You still haven't finished? Did something happen?"

"Mm, an emergency mission." Old Li deliberately kept his voice steady, but he could not hide a trace of reluctance. "I need to go 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. I'll have to trouble you with the house and the child." He gave a simple explanation. It was the understanding they had built over many years—some things were not asked about, and some words only needed to go so far.

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

After hanging up, Old Li gently placed his phone, key ring, and even the old criminal investigator credentials he had carried for years onto 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 tension and determination of shouldering a major secret for the first time.

They handed over their phones, smartwatches, and even Little Wang's newly purchased 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 other two, confirming that they carried no prohibited or recording devices.

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

"Director Wang Jianguo, someone will coordinate with you regarding the follow-up." The lieutenant colonel's gaze was deep. "You protected a crucial beginning. You've worked hard."

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

There were no police cars clearing the way, no flashing lights. Three black SUVs blended into the deeper darkness before dawn as they drove out of the city bureau compound.

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

The convoy's route had clearly been meticulously planned. It avoided all main roads and areas where night traffic might still be present, heading into the suburbs once more with efficiency and secrecy.

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

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

At the front and rear of the carriage were two flatbed freight cars each. The outlines beneath their tarps were rigid, clearly disguising something.

This was the "special train" bound for 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, nervous stares, they followed the lieutenant colonel and his guard detail aboard the sleeper car in the middle.

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

The door closed and locked. A slight jolt ran through the carriage as the train silently started moving and accelerated. Before long, it was traveling steadily toward Upper Capital.

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

"Captain Li... Captain Li?!"

Old Li's entire body shook as he abruptly raised his head.

Mother Fang was getting up from one of the berths, accompanied by a capable-looking young woman in plain clothes.

She was wrapped in a thick coat she had clearly thrown on in a hurry. She clutched a small cloth bundle tightly in her hands, her eyes filled with bloodshot veins and tear tracks that had yet to dry. As she looked at him now, it was as though she had caught hold of driftwood in boundless darkness.

"Auntie!" Old Li blurted out, his steps involuntarily stopping. He had never expected to encounter 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 with the Book of Ten Thousand Worlds on Earth's side—

Mother Fang had naturally been placed under the highest level of contact and control.

Bringing her to Upper Capital for detailed questioning, protective isolation, and possible participation in follow-up research was an entirely logical and necessary measure.

As expected of a national operation. The arrangements had been made so quickly and so secretly.

Seeing Old Li seemed to confirm some source of support for Mother Fang. Tears welled up in her eyes again as she walked toward him. "Captain Li, this... where are we going?

"They said they were taking me to see someone who could save Tianyi, but in the middle of the night, we came to this train station... I'm terribly frightened..." Her words were disjointed, filled with fear and panic.

Old Li glanced at the plainclothes woman beside her. The woman gave a slight nod, indicating that he could speak with her briefly.

He immediately stepped forward, supported Mother Fang as she swayed unsteadily, lowered his voice, and spoke in the most reassuring tone he could manage.

"Auntie, don't panic! Look, aren't I here too? These are arrangements from our superiors.

"We're going to Upper Capital to find the best experts and work together to save Tianyi! This is a good thing. It shows that the country takes this extremely seriously!"

He squeezed Mother Fang's icy, trembling hand firmly, his eyes 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!"

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

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

By then, the lieutenant colonel had completed the final checks before departure and turned his gaze toward them.

Inside the carriage, the lieutenant colonel securely fastened the briefcase onto a special bracket beside a seat. He looked at Old Li and the other two. His face remained expressionless, but when he looked at Mother Fang, his gaze softened 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. "When we arrive, personnel will receive you.

"Remember, from this moment on, everything you see, hear, and experience is part of a top-secret procedure. Relax, but remain alert. The country needs your memories."

After saying that, he spoke no more. He appeared to close his eyes to rest, but the vigilance linking him to the briefcase never relaxed in the slightest.

Old Li leaned against his berth, listening to the regular, monotonous clatter of wheels against rails. He looked at the curtains that tightly blocked the outside view, revealing only the faintest traces of light and shadow whenever the train passed a light source.

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

Mother Fang silently shed tears on her berth, while Little Liu and Little Wang squeezed into adjacent seats, quietly exchanging astonished remarks 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, not knowing what they were thinking.

The train roared northward...