32 - As long as people live, they will continue moving closer to the one they love

Wu Fengrong howled in grief, eyes were entirely red. Suddenly, he seized Shi Xiaoran by the hair and slapped her, striking her to the floor. The corner of her mouth was injured, but she was too scared to cry. She covered her face and crawled to a corner.

Zhao Xintao immediately pulled him away and embraced him: “RongRong, calm down. Calm down. If you want to hit someone, hit me.”

Grief and indignation mingled in Wu Fengrong. His eyes were despondent, and the world was like a kaleidoscope, constantly spinning. Everywhere, the snow refracted the light. It was too bright. So bright that revealed his fear. His knees weakened and he stumbled into the hug. Listening to the words spoken next to his ear, Zhao Xintao’s confused words didn’t sound real. He wanted to open his mouth to respond, but his lips trembled uncontrollably and hot tears tumbled from his eyes, painfully scalding his face.

From overhead came a rumbling sound, moving closer.

Zhou Chi happily and excitedly ran from one end to the other, shouting: “Help is coming. Helicopters! Rong-ge, the helicopters have arrived!”

Outside the window, two helicopters flew directly overhead. Because the explosion had just recently affected the electrical systems on the train roof, the driver had decided to pull the emergency brake. The train’s speed continuously slowed until it finally came to a stop.

Wu Fengrong’s, face still covered in tears, directed the transit police to pass Shi Xiaoran over. They opened the door and braved the snow to welcome the armed police who exited the helicopter. After Wu Fengrong briefly explained the whole story, four armed police officers guarded Shi Xiaoran and Hé Youan as they waited for the arrival of the rest of the aid. The other helicopter went to search for Huang Ye and Zhou Yanling.

Blocking the sun, dark clouds aggressively advanced north. It was as though several Snowpiercers 1 were storming about the snowy country in a fight to the death. Within the valley, the sun, moon and stars didn’t shine. The only sound was that of the violent snowstorm and the urgent sounds of the flying sand and pebbles. Strands of silvery snow, like cotton wadding, were hanging from the trees on the cliff. When they fell, the melody they made was both insane and bleak. So bleak that it went past brave and became frightening. Probably only someone who had lost heart and mind could sing this kind of song.

In the distance, a dog barked. Out of the snow, two red lights approached. The police car with a police dog finally arrived, and the train was quickly surrounded by armed police officers. Unmoved, Wu Fengrong stood, his heart cold. Above his head, the helicopter’s propeller destroyed a slice of cloud.

**

They finally arrived at Baihe station that same day at 9:30PM, nearly eight hours later than they’d expected.

Baihe sent an empty car to pick up passengers. Of the 300 people, only 190 arrived without problem. After Wu Fengrong finished the hand off and made arrangements for the return trip, the color of the sky had already deepened to that of a crow’s feather. He was too tired to move, but he still had to go to the public security bureau 2 to cooperate in their investigation. Zhao Xintao gave him two steamed buns, and he sat at the gate of the train station, waiting for the bus with a blank stare. Before he could take a bite of the steamed bun, his nose suddenly became runny and his eyes red.

Zhao Xintao walked off the side to answer the phone, then returned after a moment, his footsteps light and quick, and said: “Good news. The two were saved. They hadn’t fallen all the way down, only on the slope. The snow was thick which protected their spine, so their lives aren’t in danger. But they suffered from frostbite and multiple fractures. At the moment, they’re stable, and the hospital said that their heart rate is back to normal.”

Wu Fengrong’s mouth was stuffed with a steamed bun so he let out a light hum of approval.

The helicopter had found Zhou Yanling and Huang Ye less than five kilometers away. They were wrapped together 3 and flown straight to the hospital for rescue. One was a train terrorist, the other was a B-level fugitive wanted by the Ministry of Public Security. By the time they were found, the two were in the middle of a snowdrift in a coma. It was fortunate that the helicopter was fast otherwise it would’ve been difficult to say whether or not they could’ve been saved.

What was waiting for Wu Fengrong and Zhou Yanling was a very long and arduous questioning. Zhou Yanling feared that he would be stuck in the intensive care ward for a very long time with no other visitors but the police. It was unknown when the two would be able to reunite.

But as long as people live, they will continue moving closer to the one they love.

As long as you wait patiently, you will always be able to meet your beloved.

-End-

T/N: There’s one extra after this!

雪国列车: a gigantic perpetually moving train from the movie of the same name 公安局: similar to a police station air transport via helicopter is cramped so the patient is wrapped on a gurney and dangled below the helicopter in midair. In this case, both ZYL and HY were wrapped together on the same gurney