Chapter 155: Roar Of The Whistle

"Return our brethren!!"

"—Return our brethren!!"

"Take back the seven districts!!"

"—Take back the seven districts!!"

"Return our brethren!!"

"—Return our brethren..."

"..."

"Three hundred thousand civilians of the seven districts! All perished in the Gray Realm due to Aurora City's inaction!! If they abandoned the seven districts today, they could abandon us tomorrow!!"

"Deputy Chief Judge Tan Xin deliberately concealed the tragedy of the seven districts! Watched as three hundred thousand of our brethren met their doom! This is outright cowardice! He is a cold-blooded traitor to humanity!"

"Return our brethren!!"

"Take back the seven districts!!!"

"—Return our brethren..."

At the forefront of the crowd surged a group of young men, waving banners painted with the characters for "300,000" in stark blood-red strokes. Their furious roars tore through the air, veins bulging on their necks.

Their fervor ignited the masses behind them. Fists raised, the crowd echoed their chants, their voices shaking the skies.

The anger and cries were captured within the frame of a camera. As the journalist pressed the shutter, a spark flashed—freezing the scene onto film.

"I still can't believe they’re this indifferent to human life."

A resident of Aurora City stood beside the reporter, voicing his thoughts earnestly. "The seven districts were the industrial heart of the Aurora Domain. Hundreds of thousands of hardworking people lived there—their blood and sweat propelled Aurora City forward..."

"And now, Aurora City has silently discarded them all. I may not understand the Gray Realm, but this is beyond cold."

"Humanity is one, isn’t it? We should help each other, not push our brethren to their deaths when it matters most."

The streets had descended into chaos.

Meanwhile, atop a nearby brown building, two figures observed the scene from above.

"How ironic..." Bai Ye propped his chin lazily on one hand, his silver serpent earrings swaying faintly in the sunlight. "The very people Aurora City sacrificed the seven districts to protect are now condemning its cruelty and cowardice... Do they not realize they’re the ultimate beneficiaries of all this?"

"Not everyone gets to see the full picture. Their anger stems from compassion for their brethren, I don’t think that’s wrong." Chu Muyun, clad in a white coat with his hands in his pockets, spoke calmly.

"Humans are emotional creatures... Easily swayed with a little deliberate guidance. Someone is undoubtedly fanning the flames behind this."

"These domain dwellers are so tedious. Arguing endlessly without ever settling right or wrong... Might as well all join the Twilight Society and embrace the world’s reset." Bai Ye yawned. "Once everything returns to zero, all problems vanish."

"...It’s precisely because most of the Twilight Society thinks like you that people label us as lunatics."

Chu Muyun adjusted his glasses.

"Oh? Is our Dr. Chu playing the sane man now?" Bai Ye chuckled.

Chu Muyun: "..."

"Speaking of which, it’s been twenty hours... That kid still hasn’t entered the city."

Bai Ye turned his gaze toward the towering city walls and the tightly shut gates, his eyes narrowing.

"Weren’t you the one who said he’d definitely make it?" Chu Muyun remarked leisurely. "Now you’re getting nervous? Afraid the Red King will blame you?"

"Nervous? Why would I be? At worst, I’ll make a quick trip outside and fetch him myself."

"After all this time, how can you be sure he’s even alive?"

"If he were dead, do you think Aurora City would still be standing peacefully?"

"...Fair point."

Bai Ye watched the clamoring crowd below but couldn’t settle his unease. With a long sigh, he finally stood and headed toward the city gates.

"Fine, I admit I’m a little worried... I’ll go check myself."

"Perhaps that won’t be necessary."

Bai Ye paused.

A frigid wind swept in from beyond Aurora City, lifting the hems of their clothes.

Chu Muyun adjusted his glasses, his azure eyes glinting with an enigmatic light as he spoke slowly, "Don’t you hear it? The roar of the steam whistle... from the Gray Realm."

---

Clang! Clang! Clang!!

Under the leaden sky, a steam-belching train hurtled forward at breakneck speed!

The steel wheels churned the icy surface below, disturbing the unseen depths. Countless shadows surged upward, ripples spreading across the frozen plain like invisible blossoms bursting into bloom!

Rune-covered eels erupted from the reflections, chasing the train in a frenzied swarm. From afar, it resembled a black tidal wave crashing relentlessly behind the carriages.

One after another, the eels were sucked beneath the speeding train, combusting into rolling flames that licked at the wheels. Scorching heat seared the carriage floors, forcing the huddled passengers to their feet in terror.

Their eyes, fixed on the alien world outside the windows and the relentless pursuit of the eels, darkened with deepening despair.

"It’s over... We’re dead this time."

"It’s so hot, unbearably hot! The whole carriage is melting!"

"At this rate, the train will never outrun them... Hah, we’ll never reach Aurora City."

"Daddy, I’m scared..."

"..."

Amid the panicked cries, the train never slowed. Like a black arrow of steel, it sliced through the shimmering mirrored sea, charging ahead.

The rear carriages, warped by the relentless heat, began to twist. The once-straight train now swayed uncontrollably. Inside the control room, Zhao Yi was drenched in sweat.

"It’s no use... The train can’t hold on much longer!"

Chen Ling steadied himself and leaped onto the roof of the locomotive. Raising his gun, he fired repeatedly into the swarming eels behind them. Gaps tore open under his power, but the sheer numbers rendered it futile.

He turned his gaze forward. At the edge of the icy reflections, the outline of Aurora City had begun to take shape...

"Keep going," Chen Ling said without hesitation. "Break through ahead, Aurora City is right there!"

Zhao Yi gritted his teeth. His hands, locked with the withered one on the controls, shoved forward violently. With a piercing shriek, the train accelerated again, dragging the churning tide of eels desperately toward the glimmering reflection!

HUMmmmm!!!

The steam whistle’s roar split the heavens. Just as the eels melted through the final carriage, the train shattered the boundary of the Gray Realm—vanishing momentarily before reappearing on the snow-lashed frozen earth!

The pursuing swarm of eels didn’t stop. They burst through after the train, as if hellbent on its destruction.

As the colossal walls of Aurora City emerged on the horizon, Chen Ling stood at the helm, his blood-red coat whipping in the gale. The corner of his lips curled slightly...

He bent down, pressing his fingertips to the icy locomotive in a fleeting kiss, and whispered:

"The performance... begins."