On the fifth day of the New Year, Su Ting and her friends packed up and prepared to return home.

On the way back, Su Guoping still sent them to the commune, from which they took a bus to the city, and then took a train to the provincial capital and changed buses.

The train tickets from the provincial capital to Shanghai were bought when they were transferring in the provincial capital before the New Year. This is considered a popular route, passing through several major stations, with many passengers and many people who bought tickets in advance. Therefore, when they bought the tickets, the soft sleeper seats on the trains departing from the evening of the 5th to noon of the 6th were all taken up, and the only seats available were hard sleeper seats.

He Dongchuan's vacation is fixed, and they only have three days reserved for the return trip. They can't delay it too long, and they dare not buy tickets too early. The bus drivers from the commune to the city also have to take their annual leave.

They thought that although the hard sleeper was not as comfortable as the soft sleeper, the journey was not long and after a night's sleep, they would arrive the next afternoon. So after discussing it, the two of them decided to buy three sleeper tickets.

The three tickets were right next to each other, occupying all the upper, middle and lower floors. Opposite them were three people, two of whom were a couple. The man's hometown was in the provincial capital, and he was later assigned to work in Suzhou Province. He brought his wife back to visit relatives during the Chinese New Year, and took this train to go back to work.

The other person was sent on a business trip by his unit. To be honest, he was sent on this case right after his vacation and hadn't recovered yet. Su Ting felt quite sympathetic towards him.

But He Dongchuan said: "The holiday just ended, and many units have not yet started their work, but their unit has already arranged a business trip, which shows that the unit is not small. He was sent on a business trip just after the Chinese New Year, which is also a proof of being entrusted with an important task, which shows that the position is important. Finally, he took a hard sleeper, which shows that his rank is not low."

In other words, a highly respected state-owned factory cadre did not need Su Ting's sympathy.

This is the difference in ideas and concepts. At that time, they were all state-owned enterprises, so the mainstream idea was to be diligent, dedicate oneself, and strive to be a role model.

But a few decades later, workers like Su Ting will all think about lying down, eating salted fish, and not working 996.

Of course, Su Ting can understand He Dongchuan and supports him in working hard. As long as he always remembers that he has a wife and children at home and leaves himself a way out in everything, it will be fine.

Because they bought a ticket for the train around 4:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m., after they got on the train and had a brief chat with the people in the three seats opposite, it was already time for dinner.

Dinner was not much different from what we had when we came. There were two kinds of lunch boxes to choose from, one meat and two vegetarians and a completely vegetarian one. The dishes were basically stewed and tasted soft. The rice was very coarse and took a long time to cook. Although it didn't irritate my throat, it had no taste and was not very delicious.

After sitting in the car for a whole day, Su Ting had no appetite. She ate a small half of the meal, and then her appetite gradually improved. But she was small and couldn't eat much, so He Dongchuan paid for the whole meal.

He Yan actually finished his meal today and drank a lot of water. After the meal, he lay on the bed too lazy to move, so He Dongchuan went to wash the dishes alone.

But I don’t know if it was because there were so many people queuing at the faucet on the hard sleeper side, or what, but He Dongchuan had been gone for more than 20 minutes and there was still no sign of him coming back.

Su Ting looked at her watch twice. No one had returned yet. She wanted to go see what was going on, but she was worried about her two children. So she had to sit in the lower bunk and wait, leaning over to look into the aisle from time to time.

A young woman who was visiting her husband across the street noticed her movements and couldn't help but ask with a smile, "Are you worried about your man?"

"No, he's a grown man, he can't get lost." Su Ting denied, "I just wonder why he takes so long to wash the dishes."

"Maybe there are too many people lining up at the faucet." The young woman guessed, "We've finished eating and need to wash the dishes, why don't you ask him to help you check it out."

As soon as she finished speaking, her husband stood up and said, "I'll go over now and help you find your brother."

"Thank you very much."

The young man said cheerfully, taking his lunch box and going out: "It's okay, it's fate that we met."

He left quickly and came back quickly, in less than five minutes. After entering the partition, he handed the lunch box to his wife and said, "I didn't see anyone when I went there. Didn't you go this way? How about I go over there and help you look for him?"

"Impossible, I saw him go there with my own eyes." Su Ting shook her head, wondering where He Dongchuan had gone.

The train was still moving, so it was obviously not possible for him to get off the train. It was impossible for him to get off the train, as she and the children were still on the train. It was also unlikely that he was in danger, as there were so many people on the train, and he had martial arts skills, so it was impossible for him to get into trouble even if someone else got into trouble.

In the original novel, he could live until this summer, so it's impossible that the plot was changed and his life span did not increase but decreased instead.

But who knows...

The more Su Ting thought about it, the more confused she became. He Yan noticed something was wrong and sat over to ask, "Mom, is there something wrong with Dad?"

"No, he just went to wash the dishes." Su Ting forced a smile, answered He Yan, and then turned to the young couple opposite and said, "No need to look for him. He is such a big man, nothing will happen to him on the train. Maybe he was delayed by something and will be back soon."

The young couple across from them looked at each other, and the woman finally comforted them, "Yes, you look like a lucky man, nothing will happen to you, maybe he will be back soon."

As they were talking, a scream came from the end of the carriage, accompanied by heavy and rapid footsteps. The "dong dong dong" sound made Su Ting panic.

In the blink of an eye, footsteps were heard outside the partition where they were, and a panting man holding a dagger appeared in the aisle. He walked straight towards them, or rather, the one lying inside, and slowly looked over, then turned and walked into the partition.

Su Ting was originally sitting inside and talking to the young couple. When she looked up and saw the fierce expressions on their faces, she acted faster than she thought. She changed her posture and stood in front of the two children and asked loudly, "What are you doing?"

The young man in the opposite shop also stood up and said in an unsteady voice: "Brother, please talk nicely."

"Get the hell out of here!" The man with a cruel expression pushed him away and rushed to Su Ting. He put the dagger on her neck with his right hand and tried to grab her with his left hand over her shoulder.

Although he grabbed Man Man's collar, He Yan, who was pressed underneath, held his sister's waist tightly, so he pulled twice but failed. Su Ting, who was trapped in the middle, was also trying to push him away, but her strength was not enough. Finally, she had to change her mind and stepped on his foot.

The man howled in pain and reflexively looked down at his feet. The dagger in his right hand shook slightly. Su Ting saw it and rushed to grab the damaged dagger and shouted to the three frightened people opposite: "Help!"

The middle-aged man who was going on a business trip was in the upper shop opposite, with his hands on the railing, not knowing where to start. The couple in the lower shop had never seen such a fight before, and they were so scared that their legs went weak. They stood behind the man with sweat on their faces, not knowing where to start.

Finally, the young man made up his mind and grabbed the man with the knife by the arm and tried to pull him out. However, the man in the middle simply gave up trying to grab him, snatched the dagger with his left hand, turned around and slashed it behind his back.

The young man wailed, covered his arm and fell on the bed opposite. His wife saw that he was injured and no longer cared about Su Ting. She supported her husband and cried.

The man in the middle picked up the knife again, and without hesitation, he pushed forward with his right hand, and once again put the dagger against Su Ting's neck. While slowly crying, he said in a gloomy tone: "I warn you to be honest, otherwise..."

Before he could finish his words, the sound of "dong dong dong" footsteps came from the end of the carriage again. It was very frequent and it was obvious that the owner of the sound was running very fast.

Along with the footsteps, a man's voice said, "Sorry, please make way."

Although there were screams everywhere when the man with the knife appeared, he stayed in this partition for several minutes. Passengers in the carriages far away gradually gained courage and stood in the aisle to watch the excitement, while people in the carriages on both sides ran out, so the aisle was very crowded.

The closer they got to the partition, the slower their footsteps became. However, the man with the knife knew that he had very little time left. He looked at Su Ting with a darkened gaze and gritted his teeth. He kept the dagger against her neck, but his right hand, which was stretched behind her, turned and grabbed her collar and pulled her up.

"Let my mom go!" He Yan yelled and was about to let go and slowly climb up.

But before he completely let go, he heard Su Ting's anxious voice: "Don't let go! Hold on to your sister!"

"But……"

He Yan wanted to speak, but he saw Su Ting being held and walked out. She shook her head at him and said, "Protect your sister."

As soon as she finished speaking, Su Ting was dragged back a few steps and stood in the middle of the aisle, where she met the eyes of He Dongchuan, who had finally pushed his way through the passengers and walked out.

When he chased to this carriage, He Dongchuan already had a bad feeling in his heart, but when he saw clearly that the person being held was Su Ting, his pupils still couldn't help shrinking, and his hands holding the gun trembled slightly: "What do you want?"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was another round of footsteps. Several police officers appeared behind him, all with guns raised. The leader shouted, "Drop your weapons!"

The man holding Su Ting said "Pah" loudly: "If you put down your weapon, will I still be alive?"

After asking, he noticed that the person behind He Dongchuan took a step forward and shouted, "Don't move. If anyone dares to come one step closer, I will kill her!"

The cries of two children were heard from the partition, one calling for mom and the other for dad. However, Su Ting, who was being held, did not make a sound from beginning to end. She just gritted her teeth and looked at He Dongchuan, suppressing her fear.

He Dongchuan raised his hand: "Okay, we won't move."

The train police officers stopped one after another, taking into account the hostages in the hands of the other side.

Seeing this, the man holding Su Ting breathed a sigh of relief and made another request: "Put down your weapons!"

He Dongchuan bent down, put down the gun in his hand, and turned to look. After hesitating for a while, several police officers put down their guns one after another.

He Dongchuan turned around and asked, "Do you have any other requests?"

"Kick the gun over here."

He Dongchuan insisted on taking care of it and said nothing.

The passengers who were watching were afraid that he would agree, so they shouted, "Don't give him the gun. If he gets the gun, who knows how many people he will kill!"

The leading police officer also said: "This is not..."

But before he could finish his words, He Dongchuan moved, raised his foot and kicked the gun forward. The black pistol moved straight forward under the push of gravity, passed through the gap between Su Ting and the man holding her, and finally stopped half a meter behind the man.

When the pistol brushed against the shoe, the man's breath was choked, and his face showed a struggle. After a moment, he spoke again: "What about the others!"

He Dongchuan took out his military ID from his coat pocket and said, "I am not in the same unit as them, so I can't control other people. I've given you the gun, can you let my wife go now?"

The onlookers were shocked. Some suddenly realized what had happened, while others accused him of ignoring other people in the carriage for the sake of his family. Still others quietly left the carriage for fear of being caught in the crossfire.

After learning about the relationship between Su Ting and He Dongchuan, the man smiled playfully: "So this is your wife, you better be careful."

He took Su Ting back a few steps, stood facing the gun and said, "Bend down and take the gun."

Su Ting didn't move. She looked at He Dongchuan with tears in her eyes. The latter also looked straight at her and nodded slightly.

The man holding Su Ting was getting impatient, and approached Su Ting with a dagger, urging her, "Hurry up!"

The dagger was pressing against her neck and was about to cut her skin. Su Ting said fearfully, "I'll take it, I'll take it!" As she spoke, she bent down tentatively.

When Su Ting bent down, her legs were straight and her body was leaning forward.

The man holding her was pulled forward and quickly realized something was wrong. He grabbed Su Ting's hair, pulled her head up and asked, "I let you hold the gun, what tricks are you playing on me?"

Su Ting screamed in pain and cried, "I didn't! My legs are weak and I can't get up after getting down."

"Then sit down and get it!" The man's voice was sinister. As long as he had a gun, he could find a second or third hostage. It didn't matter if the one in his hand couldn't stand up.

Upon hearing this, Su Ting sat down on the floor of the aisle, her back bent, and the height difference between her and the man behind her suddenly widened.

If the man wanted to choke her throat from the front as he did just now, he would have to bend over. In this way, once He Dongchuan and the flight attendant made a move, he might not be able to fight back in time.

After a brief hesitation, the man turned the dagger with his right hand, pressed it against Su Ting's neck from the side, grabbed her collar with his left hand, and urged again: "Hurry up and get the gun!"

Because her collar was pulled, Su Ting couldn't lower her head. She touched the ground twice, grabbed the gun and said, "I got it!"

The man immediately released his left hand that was holding her collar: "Give it to me!"

"good……"

Before Su Ting finished her words, she rolled to the ground.

At the same time, He Dongchuan rushed forward, jumped up when he was close to Su Ting, flew over her, and kicked the man who looked ferocious because both the hostage's pistols and guns missed, and raised his dagger to stab down in madness.

“Boom, boom—”

The first sound was when the man was kicked and fell on his back in the aisle. His face was distorted with pain and he reflexively covered his stomach. The second sound was when He Dongchuan fell to the ground. Within a second of standing still, he stepped forward and snatched the dagger from the man's hand, then clamped the man, pinned him to the floor, and punched the man twice in the face.

He Dongchuan did not hold back at all in these two punches, and the man's eyes were immediately gleaming with gold, and blood was oozing from the corners of his nose and mouth.

The accident happened in an instant, but the train police reacted quickly. After He Dongchuan restrained the man, they picked up people from the ground and rushed forward, pointing several guns at the man.

Seeing He Dongchuan beating the man until he was bleeding, the conductor in charge did not react at all. This man and his accomplices were a group of human traffickers. This time, they kidnapped two children before boarding the train, fed them with drugs, and planned to transport them to the buyer's location.

If one of them had not been on the wanted list, and He Dongchuan had just seen the wanted warrant for him and had some impression of him, and if he had not run into him while washing dishes and felt that he looked familiar and remembered him, he would have quickly contacted the police on the train. As soon as the train arrived at the station, the gang would have passed the child on and might have escaped again.

It's a pity that this man was not sleeping on the same bed as the other two when he was arrested. Although He Dongchuan discovered something wrong in time, this man ran away fast and this happened.

Fortunately, the incident was safe and sound, the perpetrator was caught, and there were no major casualties on the bus. As for the criminal being beaten to a bloody mess, the conductor felt that he deserved it.

But he was also worried that if He Dongchuan beat someone to death, not only would it be difficult for them to do their jobs, but He Dongchuan's future would also be affected, so he patted him on the shoulder and said, "Okay, go see your wife."

Hearing him mention Su Ting, He Dongchuan came to his senses, stopped what he was doing, stood up, walked past several flight attendants, came to her, picked her up and put her on the lower bunk.

Seeing them coming back, He Yan quickly let go of his sister, crawled over the bed, threw himself into He Dongchuan's arms and shouted: "Dad, Dad, you are finally here..."

Man Man also did the same, crying and wailing, while clutching He Dongchuan's arms tightly.

He Dongchuan hugged the two children, patted their heads and said, "It's okay, everything is okay." He then raised his hand to touch Su Ting's tear-stained cheek and whispered, "I'm sorry." It was him who did not take good care of them.

Su Ting, who was sitting on the lower bunk, still felt a little weak. She raised her soft hands and wiped the moisture from the corners of his eyes: "It's okay, aren't we all fine?"

This was a pure accident, no one could have imagined it before it happened.

If He Dongchuan thought about it, she believed he would never leave them, and she couldn't blame him for it.

But He Dongchuan felt very guilty. If he had returned to the carriage first after discovering this group of traffickers and sent Su Ting and the others to a safe place, or if he had been more careful during the arrest and prevented the man from escaping, none of these things would have happened.

These thoughts flashed through his mind one by one, and in the end he said nothing, just hugged his wife and children tightly.

As the family hugged each other, the conductor handcuffed the escaped criminal. The young man in the opposite compartment was also taken to another carriage to bandage his hand wounds. The whole carriage was immersed in the joy of the bad guy being caught.

Twenty minutes later, the train arrived at a station and the conductor took the arrested traffickers and the two abducted children off the train.

The young couple on the opposite side also got off the bus with their luggage. Although the young man's wound had been bandaged, he still needed to go to the hospital for a comprehensive examination. During their stay in the station city, the police would contact their unit to ask for leave for them.

Su Ting and He Dongchuan left their identity information. Although they had already made statements, one of them was the first to discover the criminal and contacted the train police to arrest him, while the other was a hostage during the arrest. The police may contact them during the trial process later.

The conductor in charge also invited He Dongchuan, saying that Su Ting and the two children were quite frightened, and asked them to get off the train and rest for a night before leaving by bus tomorrow.

But by then Su Ting had recovered and did not want to stay in a strange city any longer. She just wanted to return to Shanghai as soon as possible, so He Dongchuan rejected her offer.

When the train stopped, it was completely dark. It was pitch black in the distance, but the light nearby was not dim, dimly falling on the ground.

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the carriage.

Su Ting looked out of the window and saw several police officers escorting three criminals off the bus. Passengers on both sides were pointing at the criminals, and following at the end was a young woman in police uniform, holding a child in one hand.

Seeing the two children, Su Ting couldn't help but hug Manman in her arms and turned to ask, "Do you think those two children can find a home?"

"uncertain."

"Why? Didn't the human traffickers get caught? Wouldn't we be able to find out the truth by interrogating them?"

"If the two children remember their home, or if they were kidnapped by this gang, they might be able to find the source if they confess. But I'm afraid that the two children were kidnapped before them, and even they don't know where the children were kidnapped from."

He Yan, who was sitting nearby and listening to their conversation, asked, "What should they do?"

"The police will try their best to help them find their families. If they can't find them," He Dongchuan said with a sigh, "they will probably send them to an orphanage, or contact some childless couples to see if they are willing to adopt them."

Su Ting and the two children fell silent.

Before traveling through time, Su Ting often saw related news. Although she was angry at that time, she did not have any definite feelings, and the anger was very limited.

Until today, when that human trafficker wanted to take Man Man hostage, Su Ting wanted to fight him to the death. Now when she thinks of that group of people, she can't help but grit her teeth.

Thinking about the two children who might be separated from their parents at such a young age, Su Ting felt suffocated with heartache, whether she was putting herself in the shoes of the children or the parents.

She asked angrily, "Can those traffickers be sentenced to death?"

He Dongchuan said: "It should be possible."

The country has always been very strict about human trafficking, and this was not the first time that group of people committed a crime. One of them had been on the wanted list before and had committed many crimes, so he would definitely be given a severe sentence.

Su Ting breathed a sigh of relief, but then she thought that even if that group of people were shot to death in the end, it would not alleviate the pain of those families who had their parents and children separated because of their kidnapping.

Not to mention the distant ones, how heartbroken the parents of those two children would be if they couldn’t find them!

Thinking of this, Su Ting held He Dongchuan's hand tightly and said, "It's a good thing you found them."

Although some problems occurred during the capture process, so that she and Man Man were once faced with a life-and-death crisis, no matter what, they survived.

But if He Dongchuan had not discovered them and contacted the train police to arrest them, and waited for them to get off the train and escape, the result would not only be the two children being sold, but more parents and children might be separated in the future and more families might fall apart.

He Dongchuan held Su Ting's hand, lowered his eyes and asked, "Were you scared at that time?"

"I was very scared at first, but after I saw you, I wasn't so scared anymore."

When the traffickers snatched her baby, Su Ting was really scared, she was afraid that she could not protect her child. When the traffickers took her hostage, she was also very scared, afraid that she would not survive.

But when she saw He Dongchuan pushing through the crowd and running out, she was not so scared anymore. Although he didn't say anything at first because he was afraid that the traffickers would do something bad to her, as soon as they looked at each other, she knew that he would do his best to save her.

He Dongchuan reached out, took Su Ting into his arms, bent down and kissed her hair and said, "I'm scared." He was so scared that his whole body was shaking.

Since the first day he touched a gun when he entered the military academy, his shooting skills have always been the most accurate. The year he graduated from the military academy, he always won the shooting competition with the instructor.

With his outstanding marksmanship and extraordinary physical fitness, he successfully joined the special forces after graduating from the military academy.

The special forces are composed of selected elites who are strong in all aspects and have rich combat experience. When he first joined, his personal ability was not very outstanding, but his marksmanship was still the best. Because of this, he got more opportunities to go on missions.

He had been on many missions and encountered all kinds of dangerous situations. He once shot a gangster holding hostages in the head from a distance of 100 meters, and also broke into a bandit's lair alone. He was never afraid, and his hands never shook.

After being transferred to Pingchuan Island, he has not been on any dangerous missions, but his marksmanship has never declined. In last year's competition, he won first place in marksmanship.

When Su Ting was held captive, he was less than five meters away from the criminal. At such a close distance, he could hit the target even if it moved very fast. Moreover, the criminal was too nervous to make any large movements. The difference in size between Su Ting and him was that He Dongchuan found several loopholes in an instant.

If the bullet is fired upwards, it can penetrate the opponent's forehead at a distance of 15 centimeters from Su Ting, killing him instantly. If the bullet is fired in the middle, it can hit his knife-holding arm, causing him to loosen his grip and let go of Su Ting because of the pain. If the bullet is fired downwards, it can get stuck in his kneecap, making him unable to stand and leaving a gap for rescue.

But his hands were shaking, he didn't dare to shoot, he was afraid.

He had no choice but to kick the gun out and expose the relationship between him and Su Ting, making the other party think that he was panicking and let down his guard, so as to find an opportunity to rescue Su Ting.

But it was also a gamble, and he didn't know if he could win.

Fortunately, Su Ting was very courageous and cooperated well with him, so they won.

…

Su Ting and her friends bought three hard sleeper tickets, but because of the incident in the evening, neither the siblings wanted to be separated from their parents, and she was also very uneasy, so no one went back to the upper bunk to sleep at night. The whole family covered themselves with quilts and fell asleep sitting in the lower bunk, hugging each other.

Of course, sitting is not as comfortable as lying down. After falling asleep, the brother and sister adjusted their postures several times, and finally lay down.

He Dongchuan wanted Su Ting to go back to bed, but she was reluctant, so he had to let her stay in his arms. It was not until three or four in the morning, when he saw that she was fast asleep, but her brows were furrowed because of discomfort, that he carried her to the lower bunk opposite and let her lie down to sleep.

But after lying down, Su Ting still slept uneasily and kept having dreams. In the short few hours until dawn, she woke up twice. In order to coax her, He Dongchuan moved from the lower bunk where the brother and sister slept to Su Ting's side in the second half of the night.

Because of this, He Dongchuan hardly slept in the second half of the night. He was afraid that if he closed his eyes, the two children would disappear without him knowing.

At seven o'clock in the morning, the train started to serve breakfast. The attendant pushed the dining cart back and forth, and the three people who were sleeping soundly woke up one after another.

After waking up, she saw bloodshot in He Dongchuan's eyes. After asking, she found out that he had hardly slept all night. After dinner, Su Ting gave the lower bunk to him to catch up on some sleep, and she sat with the children.

The children have short memories. As soon as the sun rises, they hardly remember what happened yesterday. All they have in their minds is the excitement of getting home soon.

Although Su Ting was not as excited as they were, when the train arrived at the station and they took a shuttle bus back to the base, she also breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the familiar naval compound.

Finally home.