Welcome Aboard The Chaos Train

Chapter 3: He Bets Against the Train (Part 2)

Unlike the chaos being experienced in the dispatch and control base, more than a thousand people in the eighteen-carriaged ‘Chaos’ Train were quietly listening to the in-built radio. 

The broadcast was as mellow as a chime.

Yu Jiaoniang listened and realised it was the voice of the man who she met when she went to get water. 

After the train left the first city, he had turned on the train’s internal broadcast system. 

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Colonel Ji Zhaokun of the 398th brigade based in Xianning. In order to reduce the number of casualties and increase the chances of being rescued, please remain calm and listen to my instructions.” 

Unlike the quiet noise of before when listening to the internal train radio, the carriage immediately silenced as his voice reverberated. 

The man spoke clearly and assertively. His tone was unquestionably firm. 

“I require everyone’s help in the eighteenth carriage to move all suitcases and heavy objects to the back.” 

Yu Jiaoniang wondered, why move the suitcases now? 

The train could change speed or flip over at any time, so everyone should remain still. 

She thought about it and then understood.

Even if a person was firmly seated, a suitcase could still fall or fly out so remaining still would be even more dangerous.

Once the carriage is free of ‘hazards’, only then will it be safe to remain seated. 

Ji Zhaokun’s voice continued to broadcast. 

“The next accident may occur on the train at any given time. Passengers in carriages 1-17 should not move around. People in carriage 18, please move the luggage to the empty space and seats at the back immediately.” 

At this time, the train attendants started to move from the front to the back, stopping once between two carriages. 

They held walkie-talkies in their hands and hurried. 

Four train attendants passed by the fourteenth carriage, and one of the female train attendants stopped besides Yu Jiaoniang. 

The other three continue to walk towards the back. 

“Passengers in the carriages should not move around. Please listen to the instructions given from the radio.” The female train attendant said softly, “You all should sit firmly and hold onto something.” 

Yu Jiaoniang glanced at the boy who was still kneeling on his seat. 

The boy quietly stood up and returned to 15D. 

Yu Jiaoniang looked at the train attendant after she sat down, the train attendant’s hands were shaking.  

Yu Jiaoniang couldn’t help but hold her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. 

The train attendant took a deep breath, smiled at her and gave her a nod. 

The sound of static came from the walkie-talkie in the train attendant’s hand.

Someone said, “I’ve reached carriage 18. I’ll start moving things to the back.” 

“Hm,” Ji Zhaokun responded indifferently on the radio.

“All women and children in carriage 18 should now move towards the front. All men should move luggage items as directed by the train attendants.” He instructed. 

Yu Jiaoniang looked back with curiosity. 

Two train attendants stood in carriage 18, and one of them shouted loudly, “Women and children should proceed to the first carriage immediately. Hey! That big brother will help bring down the suitcase.” 

One person had already started to move suitcases without hesitation. 

Suddenly, a rough male voice came from behind.

“You guys are just giving stupid instructions to move the luggage to the back so that they won’t hit us if another accident repeats.” 

“Sir,” the train attendant explained, “The people in the next few carriages will move forward. Please follow the instructions according to the broadcast.” 

“Ha, what instructions?” The man shouted, “What if the train overturns before everything is moved? So much for moving them to the back, and you won’t be the one getting hit.”

The man’s voice was so loud that Yu Jiaoniang could hear him clearly. 

The train attendant pressed the walkie-talkie, and the voices of carriage 18 became louder. 

Many people agreed with what the man said. 

“Yeah. What if we want to go to the first car? What if something happens before we get there?” 

“I won’t move. This train is cursed. Whoever moves will die.” 

People started to scream when they saw a body slam into the carriage window. 

The scene instantly turned chaotic.

The train’s broadcast switched on. Ji Zhaokun’s voice was calm and firm. 

“This isn’t a discussion. Just obey the instructions if you don’t want to die. As long as there are no accidents within 20 minutes, I can guarantee that you won’t be injured again.” 

“…”

“He can guarantee that?” The man shouted, “Who is he? What is he pretending to be? Who can actually guarantee that there won’t be another accident in the next 20 minutes?” 

Indeed, no one can guarantee that. 

Many people agreed with the man’s points. Yu Jiaoniang could hear people in carriages 15 and 16 discussing as well.

Ji Zhaokun’s calm voice came from the walkie-talkie of the female train attendant in front of her. 

“Tase him.” 

“Yes.” The train attendant in carriage 18 responded.” 

“Fuck!” A loud yell suddenly boomed. 

Yu Jiaoniang looked over in shock. That man, who told everyone to stay seated, was in his forties.

He took off his coat and slammed it down on the seat. There was a faint turquoise dragon tattoo extending from his chest. 

The man rushed like a cannonball.

“Don’t move, sir!” The female train attendant shouted quickly.

The man’s words were, “I’ll send him back into his mother’s womb.” 

He was like an unstoppable stallion. He roared while running to carriage 18, swinging his fist around and shouting to the man’s face. 

The man groaned and then fell limp onto the ground.

‘Wow! Just like One Punch Man!’ ,Yu Jiaoniang thought. 

“Quit hesitating! My ass!” The middle-aged man was yelling, even from the ends of his hair, “Someone has stepped up to save your lives, yet you’re creating more trouble! Yall gonna die! If you don’t listen to the instructions, you can sit here and wait for death! The first to die will be all of you guys who are acting like fools.” 

After shouting, he dragged the man who was knocked out by his punch, towards the front like a dead pig. 

Take two steps, and turn around.

“Women and children will go first!”

“Hurry up and don’t dawdle!” 

He glared irritably, “What are ya waiting for!!!”

The women in carriage 18 weren’t as scared as much of the train as they were of him. So they quickly stood up and moved. 

They quickly passed him and moved to the front.

Train attendants in carriage 16 and 14 warmly repeated, “Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Keep moving forward.” 

“Are you a woman?! Go back!” 

In carriage 18, ‘One Punch Man’ was roaring again. 

A man blushed when he roared, and silently went back. 

‘One Punch Man’ threw the knocked out man on the ground, and returned to carriage 18 and started to move the luggage. 

Nearly seven or eight carriages ahead heard the thunderous roars of ‘One Punch Man’. 

Everyone looked at each other with fear on their faces. 

He’s so bad-tempered. How scary.

‘One Punch Man’ was mighty!

Yu Jiaoniang admired him.

The condition of the train was unknown, and there were many casualties reported. 

The survivors were like frightened birds, and the slightest disturbances could heighten everyone’s anxiety.

Ji Zhaokun stood up and acted as the commander. He was either a fool or extremely confident in his plan to do so. No matter which one it was, he would still be questioned by the passengers and non-cooperation will be inevitable. 

He must have had those thoughts too. That’s why he made the quick decision to tase the man unconscious. 

However, just tasing an anxious person unconscious won’t last forever. Instead it is more likely to create an uneasy atmosphere. 

He needed a confident leader who could look after everyone. He had arranged for a train attendant to be that, but the train attendant obviously wasn’t able to handle carriage 18’s  passengers. 

But ‘One Punch Man’ could.

‘One Punch Man’ performed his task efficiently. His glare was frightening and looked like it could cause a person’s skull to rattle in the next second. 

This kind of a big brother in society makes people give way to those with superior strength – his attitude that people didn’t dare disobey constantly stunned people.

“What’s the situation?” Ji Zhaokun’s voice came from the walkie-talkie. 

“Carriage 18 rearrangement has been completed. There are still a lot of vacant spots.” The train attendant said. 

A carriage has 20 rows, 5 people in each row. Carriage 18 only has 30 suitcases.

The suitcases were neatly arranged from the end to the front row according to Ji Zhaokun’s instructions. The seats and the aisle were also filled with suitcases. 

In this arrangement, only six rows were filled. 

“Okay.” 

The train broadcast turned on. Ji Zhaokun’s voice was still calm. 

“Eldery, women, and children in carriage 17, please move forward to carriage 2. The men should cooperate with the train attendants to pull all the luggage and bulky items in carriage 18.”

The people in carriage 17 obeyed and quickly did it as instructed.

Afterall, sitting and doing nothing is doing something. Ji Zhaokun’s plan really was clever. 

The city was being turned upside down, but the train continued to run smoothly.

Taking this opportunity was a gamble to get everyone moving. 

Yu Jiaoniang turned her gaze away and took out her mobile phone from her pocket. 

There was a signal. 

Senior had called her several times.

Her WeChat had been bombed with notifications. 

【Yu Jiaoniang!】

【I heard a sound just now… How scary!】

【OMG. I just saw the news.】

【Are you on the train G1HD1? What’s happening on there?!】

Yu Jiaoniang was still mad at him and didn’t answer. 

She opened Weibo to look at the world news. 

Weibo had already exploded with the news. The top hot search was the train G1HD1, and the top second hot search was Jiaduo City.

Yu Jiaoniang clicked the video and saw desperate people in the ruins bawling. 

Heart wrenching cries echoed throughout the entire carriage, and everyone looked at her.

Yu Jiaoniang quickly turned it off. The cries still in her ears and her heart was skipping beats for a while. 

Her actions alerted those who were stunned. Everyone pulled out their mobile phones. 

Some became busy contacting relatives and friends. Some checked the news. Some were recording videos in the carriage to upload. 

“The luggage in carriage 17 has been moved. There is still space in carriage 18.” The train attendant’s voice came from the walkie-talkie. 

“Okay. Remember to block the door of the carriage with luggage when it’s full. It will be more stable if you put it sideways.” Ji Zhaokun said on the walkie-talkie.

Then, he started to broadcast.

“Eldery, women, and children of carriage 16 can go first. Men should stay behind and move luggage and other heavy objects to carriage 18. Follow the directions of the train attendants.” 

“Please avoid bringing your belongings,” Ji Zhaokun added indifferently, “Being alive is more important than anything else right now.” 

It had been five minutes since he started instructing. 

Everyone eventually figured out Ji Zhaokun’s plan. There were people who didn’t understand until they saw three or four carriages move, but herd mentality took over and there was no refusal to not move. 

At best, they would mutter a few words, thinking it was a waste of effort.

Ten minutes later, the train attendant’s directions were quite proficient. 

The men who moved all the way from the back compartment also became more efficient. 

All the suitcases were quickly moved from the luggage racks and aisles, and were neatly tucked into the previous few carriages. 

Fifteen minutes later, the suitcase of the first car was pushed into the thirteenth car. 

By this time, everyone in the carriage was seated in the first 12 carriages. 

The six carriages in the back were full of the passenger’s luggage, and the doors of the carriage were blocked.

Carriage 13 was the dining car with a door. 

The train attendant locked the door, and then pulled air-tight tape from the left to the right, from the top to the bottom, to secure the door firmly in place. 

Everyone stared at the door. 

Once again, they looked at the suddenly empty carriage again.  

They couldn’t believe it. They actually obeyed JI Zhaokun’s instructions. They really finished moving luggage within 20 minutes. 

“Now that all luggage has been moved. Please remain seated and don’t move around.” 

Ji Zhaokun’s voice sounded like a trumpet. Although there was no joy or excitement in it, it sounded like victory to everyone’s ears.
　
He was right. 

As long as there were no heavy things in the carriages, even if the train was spinning, they would most likely only hit the walls of the carriage. 

There would be no other items that could hit them.

Suddenly, someone started to applaud.

The applause was few and far between, but then more and more people joined in. Everyone showed their first smile since the first train accident. 

Some started to cry.

Not knowing whether it was for the corpses that were left behind with the suitcases, or for this terrifying unexplainable journey that seems to have no end.

Or maybe, it was for something they had just finished together. 

It was the one thing that might keep them alive. 

Although what was happening was strange, at least everyone has started to work hard together to survive. 

As long as you’re alive, there is still a chance for things to turn around.  

The carriage atmosphere changed slightly. Everyone was no longer desperate for hope and helpless. They looked at each other with a glimmer of hope in their eyes.

Yu Jiaoniang had moved to carriage 6 and realised that everyone had a seat!

Ji Zhaokun must have known how many people were in the carriages before instructing for the suitcases to be neatly arranged. 

To put all the luggage in 6 carriages was a risk as there would have been a possibility that someone wouldn’t have a seat. 

When we were spinning in the sky, he figured out a plan that covered so much.

Yu Jiaoniang sighed. His method was quite dangerous. 

If the train changed speed, how would he deal with it?

He was making a big gamble with the unexpected by betting the lives of everyone on the train. 

Luckily, he won the bet.

As if to confirm Yu Jiaoniang, everyone took a seat. 

Something unexpected happened. 

The TV at the front of the carriage suddenly turned on. A man with a stern face appeared at the centre of the screen. 

“Hello everyone. I am the Minister of Transport, Chang’an Siran. I need to talk to everyone about this situation.” 

He looked embarrassed, but seemed like he still had to say it. 

Yu Jiaoniang’s heart suddenly sank to the bottom of her stomach. 

If there was a way to save them, this man wouldn’t have this kind of expression.