Chapter 646: Arrival (Two chapters combined)
02 They knew he meant well and had no reason to be angry, so they laughed and said, "It's alright, you meant well!"
The man chuckled awkwardly upon hearing this, returned to his compartment, took out a suitcase from under the bed, opened it, and found it filled with all sorts of things.
A woman sitting opposite him noticed his behavior and asked curiously, "What are you doing, brother?"
As the man took out a bag of pomelos, he said, "I misunderstood someone earlier, so I'm taking these pomelos to apologize! I brought these back from my workplace; they may look small, but they're incredibly sweet!"
The woman laughed and said, "Brother, you're too kind! But there are still pomelos at this time of year. You must have come back from the south. I came from the north and have never seen one before. I haven't seen one all winter and I've been missing it quite a bit."
The man understood perfectly well what she meant, so he took out a pomelo and gave it to her: "Cut one for me! Let the others have a taste!"
The other passengers in the carriage, who had been watching from the sidelines, were speechless upon seeing this.
"There are so many of us! Can you give us one more?"
"One for each person is best, your whole bag is full! If you go next door, one will be enough!"
Hearing this, the woman looked at the man with a troubled expression: "Brother, how about this? You give us the pomelos, and I'll give you my family's specialty. You can use the specialty to apologize. It's a win-win situation, how about it?"
The man packed up his suitcase, looked at the other five people in the carriage, and didn't know what to say. He was afraid that if he said something like, "How can you guys be so shameless?", he would get beaten up.
Seeing that the man didn't speak, the woman assumed he was hesitating, so she took the pomelo from his hand and gave him some local specialties from her bag: "These are beef jerky we made at home! They're especially delicious! The journey is quite long, and even adults might find it boring, but kids definitely can't stand it. They can hold one and slowly chew on it; kids love it!"
The man thought of Gu Yin next door, picked up the beef jerky the woman had given him, looked at it, and smelled it. It was surprisingly fresh, so he nodded and said, "Okay! But you're a stranger, how am I supposed to know if there's anything wrong with your stuff? Besides, your beef jerky is so expensive, how about we exchange it for some pomelos? You seem a bit silly."
The woman said, "...We have plenty of these things at home. We have our own herd of cattle. What's rare to you is precious to us, but vegetables and fruits are the real treasures! I'm right here. If there's really something wrong with this beef jerky, do you think I could get away with it?! Don't worry!"
The man thought it made sense, so he snatched two pomelos from her hand, grabbed a bag of beef jerky, and headed for the door.
The woman breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he had finally left.
"Wait a moment!"
The woman saw the man turn around and started cursing inwardly, but she maintained a smile on her face: "What's wrong? Forgot your things?"
The man shook his head, opened the bag of beef, and handed it to the woman, saying, "Try one and let me see."
Woman: "..." Why don't you just die?! Aaaaaah!
Seeing that the woman wouldn't take it, the man offered it to her again: "If you're not going to eat it, then give my pomelo back. I don't want this."
The woman feigned anger, saying, "If I hadn't wanted to keep two pomelos for the kids to try, I wouldn't even want to talk to you! I don't know you. We're just strangers who met by chance. Once we get off the train, who will remember whom? I'm not saying I didn't drug you, but even if I did, what would I do with a grown man like you? Fine, fine, you still have to apologize to the person in the next carriage. With your level of vigilance!!!"
After complaining, he took out two pieces of beef from the bag, put them in his mouth and took two bites: "Is this okay now?"
Man: "Swallow it!"
Other passengers in the carriage said, "...Dude, that's a bit much! If you really don't believe her, then don't take that beef! Give it to me! I like it!"
"Yeah, right! What's with all this fuss? Is it really necessary? Are you just reluctant to part with these few pomelos? Here, here, these are some fried dough twists I bought at the station, consider it an exchange!"
After that, other people gave him some things as well.
The man didn't move, he just stared at the woman.
The woman had no choice but to swallow the beef, then opened her mouth and said, "Is that alright now? You're so stubborn! You're bound to offend a lot of people!"
After seeing that she had actually swallowed the beef, the man waited for a minute, then nodded with a sheepish grin: "It's always better to be careful when you're out and about. I'm sorry about what happened earlier! I'll get you some oranges as an apology when I get back! I'll go apologize over there first! Hehe!" With that, he left the private room.
Gu Yin and 02 were chatting when they saw the uncle who had just reported the staff member peeking in from the doorway.
Their eyes met, and the middle-aged man chuckled awkwardly before stepping out.
"You guys are here, hehe."
Gu Yin laughed: "What are you doing, Uncle?"
The man held up two pomelos in his hand: "I misunderstood you earlier. These pomelos are from the city where I work. Here are two for you to try as an apology! I hope you don't mind!"
He then placed the pomelo in front of Gu Yin.
Then he held up the beef jerky in his hand: "This beef jerky was given to me by a lady in my carriage. I originally gave you five pomelos, but she took the other three. She traded her beef jerky with me, saying that it was boring to sit on the train and that the beef jerky would make it better to chew. I thought that made sense, so I just let her eat it as a snack and traded with her. You can keep it if you want to eat it. When I took it, I let her eat two pieces and even made her swallow them. There shouldn't be any problem!"
Hearing him say this, 02 laughed and patted the seat next to him: "Brother, come, come, sit here! Let's chat!"
02 They are all older than Lan Yan, so it's fine for Gu Yin to call them uncles. However, since they are brothers with Lan Yan, the way they address each other is a bit problematic. Nevertheless, Gu Yin still addresses them according to the information given by the organization. As for how they should address each other after Lan Yan returns and they become godparents, Gu Yin said that everyone can just call each other whatever they want.
"What's your name, big brother?" 02 handed the other person an orange and asked with a smile.
The man grinned as he sat down and took the orange: "My name is Li Jianming!"
02 nodded: "Hello, Brother Li! Judging from your reaction to that incident before, do you usually like watching crime dramas?"
Li Jianming's eyes lit up: "You guessed it! I not only enjoy watching TV shows about this kind of thing, but I also love reading novels about it! When I'm on vacation and have nothing to do, I go to the bookstore to browse! I guess you could call me an enthusiast! How about that? Pretty good, huh?!"
"This is not just possible, it's absolutely possible! Not only are you cautious, but you're also very kind! I admire you!"
Li Jianming chuckled and scratched his head: "I'm just putting what I've learned into practice. Anyway, it's no big deal if I'm wrong, but if I'm right, then I've saved someone's life!"
After seeing Gu Yin open the beef, he said again, "Why don't we just not eat that beef? It feels like the person who trades beef jerky for pomelos is a bit silly, but I don't think she's silly. So maybe this beef is from a cow that died of disease or expired beef that she couldn't bear to throw away, so she traded it for my pomelos!"
Gu Yin had smelled a strange odor from the beef and was about to open it to take a look when she heard this, and laughed, "Since that's the case, why don't you exchange it?"
Li Jianming said helplessly, "She just snatched it away. As I said before, there were five women sitting inside. I was originally on the top bunk, but they said that if a guy like me slept on the top bunk, he would peep and be restless! I argued with them, but I couldn't fight against all four of them! So I had to switch places. Besides, I wanted to eat some pomelos on the way, and I didn't want to be asked for some. I wanted to get back to my hometown in peace and quiet, and I didn't want to be the subject of sarcastic remarks. A few pomelos, oh well."
"Four? Aren't there five women?" 05 asked in confusion.
Li Jianming nodded: "The one who gave me the beef jerky isn't with them, and I don't know her. She's younger and quieter."
02 The group exchanged glances, and 05, who was sitting by the door, got up and walked out.
Gu Yin picked up a piece of beef jerky. Besides cumin powder and sesame seeds, there were some fine white powders on the beef jerky, which looked a bit like salt.
Gu Yin took out medical gloves from her bag, pressed them against her fingers, and the white powdery substance got onto her fingers.
Gu Yin picked it up and smelled it.
Seeing her like this, Li Jianming became both nervous and excited: "Could there really be something wrong with this stuff?! Is that woman really acting strangely?! I knew it! Who would trade beef jerky for pomelos?! But she just ate two! Could it be that she took the antidote first?!"
Gu Yin: "...You read quite a variety of books, do you also read martial arts novels?"
Li Jianming nodded: "I especially enjoy watching it!"
03 also put on gloves, picked up the white powder, rubbed it on his fingers, and then smelled it, saying, "It's medicine, poison, something we've encountered before."
02 narrowed his eyes: "Stay alert."
Li Jianming stared at the packet of beef jerky, his heart pounding: "Poison?! My God! What era are we living in?! There's still this stuff?! Oh right! You guys are from a biology lab, are you researching something amazing? Was that woman sent by Japan?! Could this bastard be a spy?!"
He was furious when he said this! If he hadn't been careful and hadn't said right away that the beef was given to him by someone else and that the person was strange, then he would have harmed everyone in this carriage!
"No! I'm going to check if she's dead! Those damned Japanese, they're still plotting to destroy me! They even dare to use me!"
Gu Yin and 02 followed to take a look.
When Li Jianming returned to the carriage, the woman was facing the carriage wall, sleeping with her eyes closed.
"Wake up! Don't sleep!" Li Jianming shouted at her.
The other four people were eating pomelos when they saw this and quickly stopped them: "Hey, hey, don't disturb her! She has an upset stomach! She's resting!"
"My stomach hurts?!" Could it be poisoning?!
"Yes, that's what women have every month! Some women experience excruciating pain when it comes, and she's one of them, so don't bother her!"
Li Jianming was at a loss for what to do.
02 stepped forward and turned the person around.
"Ouch!"
"What?! What happened?! Blood is flowing from his nose, mouth, and eyes!"
"Good heavens, is menstruation really that scary? It looks like I've been poisoned! Isn't this like those scenes on TV where people bleed from all seven orifices?!"
Li Jianming was completely stunned, trembling all over: "What, what do we do? The person is dead! Really dead!"
The other four women, who were initially puzzled, were immediately terrified upon hearing that someone had died!
"How could she have died! She said her stomach hurt because of her period! She said lying down would make her feel better!"
The other woman had collapsed to the ground, trembling with fear and anxiety. She cried out, "It wasn't me! It wasn't me! It's not my problem! I... I... she said her stomach was upset, and because she'd taken the pomelo from us, I poured her some hot water! I drank that water too! I'm fine! It really wasn't me! It has nothing to do with me! Waaah, I knew I shouldn't have given her the water! I hope I'm alright!"
02 had 03 and a few others guard the door to prevent anyone from coming in, and had Gu Yin stand at the very back. Then they called the train conductor and the others.
A short while later, the train conductor arrived with several people.
Gu Yin glanced at the group of people; there were doctors and police officers.
The group of people who came in didn't look at anyone else, but immediately looked at Gu Yin. The train conductor asked anxiously, "Are you alright?"
Gu Yin shook her head: "I'm fine." It seems these people were arranged for her.
The doctor looked Gu Yin up and down, and seeing that her complexion was rosy, he breathed a sigh of relief!
Despite all precautions, including thorough security checks, these people still managed to sneak in!
If it were just an ordinary person who died, the flight attendant should have contacted him, not 02 directly. If 02 contacted him directly, it means that this person's identity is not simple!
The doctor examined her and then explained, "She died from a brain hemorrhage due to overwork; it has nothing to do with anything else."
"I told you I only gave her some water, how could she die! My God, that was terrifying!"
The train conductor looked at the purser who had arrived: "Please rearrange the seats for the people in this carriage. There's no room for anyone to sit here for the time being. Send someone to reassure the others, and try not to let the news reach the seated passengers, so as not to cause panic."
"Okay! I'll arrange it right away!" After saying that, the flight attendant looked at the four middle-aged women and said, "Please come with me, I'll arrange new seats for you."
The four middle-aged women immediately grabbed their luggage and hurriedly followed them out. What bad luck!
Li Jianming wasn't in a hurry, but even if he wanted to leave, he couldn't.
After everyone else had left, the doctor spoke again: "It was a case of death by poisoning. We'll have to call a forensic doctor for the rest."
03 and 04 have already begun inspecting the carriage and searching the woman's luggage.
They found nothing; there was only one set of clothes in the luggage, and the documents were probably fake as well.
“I know this drug. We encountered it during a mission before. It was a failed product developed by Professor Smith in the United States. Originally, they intended to develop a neurotoxin that controlled the human brain, but it failed and turned into a poison that would kill instantly if swallowed.”
"Smith?"
02 looked at Gu Yin: "You know her?"
Gu Yin said helplessly, "We not only know each other, but we also have a grudge against each other."
Everyone: "..."
The train conductor said helplessly, "When we get to the next station, I'll have someone take this person away. You can continue on your way; we'll arrive in six hours. I can still help you on the train, but once you get off, be extremely careful on your journey to the desert. Comrade Zhou's identity is very important. I received information that there has been quite a bit of activity just an hour after you left Beijing. Their target is Lanzhou."
Many researchers travel from Beijing to Lanzhou, making this route extremely important. The train conductor is not an ordinary conductor, but someone appointed by the military, primarily to prevent accidents involving researchers during the journey. Therefore, the conductor has considerable authority.
When the next station arrived, a military doctor quickly came and took the woman away.
When Gu Yin and the others returned to the carriage, 02 asked about Smith, and Gu Yin gave a brief explanation.
02 scoffed: "That's how people from the United States are, so arrogant. But their arrogance is a good thing for us, because it often leads to their failure. This incident proves it. That woman was probably bribed. Smith might not be very clever when it comes to scheming, so he found someone who wasn't very smart either. Just Li Jianming alone managed to kill the person he arranged!"
The others couldn't help but laugh. To be honest, Li Jianming was quite an interesting person.
Nothing happened after we arrived in Lanzhou.
After exiting the station, 02 made a phone call, and soon after, three SUVs pulled up in front of Gu Yin.
Gu Yin and 0203 sat in the first car, and the other two cars were for other people. Gu Yin saw that there were some other people in the cars, who must have been arranged by higher-ups.
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