Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Chapter 68 Artillery Bombardment!

"What do you think of this book?" Chen Zhan asked.

Ye Ningzhen looked at him, then at the book in her hand, and nodded, saying, "Criticizing reality and exposing suffering."

"Heavy, yet always burning with hope, reminding us never to fall asleep, always to shout for wakefulness."

She thought for a moment and then said, "This book should be passed down through the ages."

Chen Zhan smiled to himself, thinking, "Of course it has been passed down through the ages."
Let's stop talking about books.

Not long after, the train arrived at Beiping Station.

As darkness fell, a chill rushed in the moment the door opened, and the people inside the carriage shivered and tightened their leather jackets.

The train was scheduled to stop in Beiping for a while, and Chen Zhan got off the train but could not leave the station.

Looking towards Beijing through the darkening sky and fog.

I'm quite curious about the capital city a hundred years ago. If only we could go back another thirty years, to the night of the Eight-Nation Invasion, perhaps the killing would have been more intense and more people could have been saved.

"What are you looking at?"

Ye Ningzhen had arrived at her side without her noticing.

"The unprecedented changes that have taken place in the capital in a century may be just around the corner," Chen Zhan said.

Who could have imagined that in just over ten days it would be 1930, and only 19 years would remain until the founding of the People's Republic of China?

The phrase "a change unseen in a century" is insufficient to describe it; it's more like "a change unseen in ten thousand years."

The people are the masters of the country.

It will only take a few decades to ensure that 1.4 billion people are well-fed, clothed, dignified, and confident, and to eliminate slavery!
What concept?
Throughout history, spanning five thousand years of Chinese history, no dynasty or individual has ever achieved this.

Chen Zhan looked at the sky over the capital, a glimmer of hope amidst the gloom.

"There have been too many changes. Those people claim to be saviors of the world, but in the end, they are just trying to restore the old system of dynastic rule."

Ye Ningzhen knew nothing of what would happen in the future; she was pessimistic.

People of this era are perhaps the most confused in the entire history, having experienced the imperial system, the presidency, attempts at restoration, the Beiyang government, and the Republic of China.

One shot goes up, then another goes down, then another wave comes up.

It's always the same old routine.

Once they gained control of a small part of the country, they began to indulge in pleasure and run rampant, exploiting the people and changing the old ways but not the new ones.

Ye Ningzhen didn't know where Chen Zhan got his confidence from and couldn't bear to discourage him, but she heard Chen Zhan say, "You're twenty-seven years old. If you master your martial arts, you'll see that day soon."

Chen Zhan's tone was calm, but it carried an undeniable conviction that momentarily stunned Ye Ningzhen.

"Kuangci kuangci~ kuangci kuangci~"

The train started moving, but no one called out to the two people, probably assuming they were people getting off in Beiping.

Chen Zhan pulled Ye Ningzhen around and quickly walked a few steps, leaping onto the platform so that he wouldn't be left behind.

The train left Beiping and headed north, heading straight for Fengtian.

Baoding is the stop before Tianjin. We've already passed through there, but we still need to pass through one more place, which will take a day and a night to get there.

Neither of them were talkative people, so they closed their eyes and rested until daytime.

Chen Zhan occasionally activated his five senses to observe his surroundings in order to prevent any accidents from happening, and nothing happened that night.

After driving all day, it was nighttime, and we had already entered the northeastern region.

There was a dining car on the train, but the two of them didn't go. They brought some food with them, but it wouldn't matter if they didn't eat. They only had two days, so water would suffice.

Ye Ningzhen looked out the window, stared for a while, and said, "In another two hours or so, we will arrive in Fengtian."

"Um"

"Oh!"

Just as Chen Zhan was about to speak, the train braked suddenly, and a force that pushed him forward made him feel grounded and steady.

But the others in the carriage didn't have that ability, "bang, bang, bang."

Amidst the chaos, Chen Zhan dodged the flying kettle, grabbed Ye Ningzhen's shoulder, and the two regained their balance.

The train comes to an emergency stop!

problem occurs?
Both men were quite experienced in the ways of the world. Although Chen Zhan had never ventured into this era, the historical context was there, and it was perfectly normal for a train to be robbed and people to hop on board at this time.

However, at that time there were only a few dedicated train lines, and the garrison was quite strong, so ordinary bandits and thieves dared not target the trains.

"Ku~ku~ku!"

The train, like a panting old man, swayed and coughed violently for a long time before finally coming to a stop. They were in the fourth carriage. The train had ten carriages in total; the first two were first-class compartments, the next three were second- and third-class seats, and the last five were cargo carriages, which were unoccupied.

As for what exactly it is, no one knows.

The two exchanged a glance, and Ye Ningzhen asked, "What should we do?"

Chen Zhan listened intently and saw that sirens had been sounded in both the front and rear carriages, and heavily armed soldiers were getting off the train with their guns.

Chen Zhan whispered, "Let's take a look first."

Most of the people in the carriage were well-dressed. Although they were panicked, they knew they couldn't get off the train now, as that would be dangerous.

Police officers quickly arrived to calm everyone down and reassure them.

Chen Zhan opened the car window, leaned out to take a quick look, and then quickly closed the window and curtains.

With his five senses, he glanced out and took in the entire situation.

“There are huge boulders weighing down the tracks, and some of the tracks have also been demolished.”

"Bandits?"

"It should be, but they haven't shown up yet. This group must be veterans; they're not simple."

"No rush, come sit here," Chen Zhan said softly.

Ye Ningzhen didn't act coy. The two of them were originally sitting opposite each other, but they walked around the wooden table in front of them and sat down next to Chen Zhan.

The two exchanged a few words in hushed tones, and Chen Zhan peered outside through the curtain.

This place is just outside the pass, surrounded by mountains on two sides, nestled against the mountains and beside the water, which should be a beautiful place, but the people in the carriage have no mood to appreciate the scenery in the cold winter night.

The car stopped, but there was no movement.

The boulders used to weigh down the rails couldn't have appeared out of thin air. The rails were hundreds of feet away from the mountains on either side, so it was impossible for any stone to roll right onto the tracks.

The patrol officers got out of their vehicles and stood guard in all directions.

However, visibility was too poor at night, so only some people could keep watch while others dealt with obstacles.

The rock was too big; it took ten people using crowbars to pry it open. The screws on the track were damaged, and more than a dozen rails were dismantled. Repairs will take a long time.

The carriage was brightly lit, but the outside was gloomy and cold, with a biting wind that made your teeth chatter.

While others couldn't hear it, Chen Zhan, with his eyes closed, could hear the "creak, creak, creak" sound as workers repaired the tracks.

There was no movement for a while, so we assumed it was an accident, and the atmosphere in the carriage relaxed a bit.

"Snapped!"

A gunshot shattered the relaxed atmosphere inside the vehicle; the front window was broken, but no one was injured.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!
A dense barrage of gunfire rang out continuously, bullets raining down like a downpour. The carriage wasn't hit by many bullets, and everyone lay prone under the carriage, with only a few people injured.

The gunfire was directed at the soldiers on guard outside.

A volley of fire felled an entire rank of soldiers, throwing them into chaos. Had it not been for someone directing them, they would have scattered long ago.

"Don't run, find cover! Running will only get you killed faster!"

"White mountains and black waters, in this vast open space, where do you think you're going?"

At this moment, the lights on the train are the targets, and the guns in the dark are firing at the light. Accuracy is not required; a volley is all that is needed.

However, once the gunfire started, they knew the location. There were at least two hundred soldiers on the train, fully armed, and they weren't all idiots. Under their command, they fired in the direction of the gunfire from the shadows.

After two rounds of fire, the old Western-style wooden carriage was shattered and scattered, blood and rust mixed together, emitting a pungent odor.

At this moment, everyone was lying down, and Chen Zhan pulled Ye Ningzhen's hand and squatted down.

However, his hearing allows him to distinguish some different sounds amidst the gunfire.

The sound of wheels rolling!
"Clang, crack!" The sound of metal colliding!

Chen Zhan's expression turned serious. The divine golden pill in his Niwan Palace spun rapidly. He grabbed Ye Ningzhen, suddenly leaped up, and, facing the already shattered glass, stomped his foot on the ground and jumped out of the carriage.

The people in the carriage thought Chen Zhan had gone mad.

Outside, there was a hail of bullets, but inside the carriage, there were at least sheet metal and solid wood barriers. Going out would be suicide.
But Chen Zhan clearly had no intention of taking care of the rest of the people. Ye Ningzhen didn't know why, but she obeyed Chen Zhan unconditionally.

"Boom!"

Just as the two jumped out of the car, a huge roar came crashing down from the sky.

Howitzer!
Someone is shelling the train!

(End of this chapter)