To let Amelia take his place aboard the Train to Paradise-that was Li Yunlong's design. The train itself had descended into full-blown madness, rendered utterly incapable of shielding or concealing its core. It was a golden opportunity. Having prepared well in advance, he arranged for someone else to board in his stead, then activated the secret measures he had planted. In doing so, he could steal the innermost secrets of the Train to Paradise's core without taking a single personal risk.
Li Yunlong possessed few resources, and Amelia was the only viable card he could play. Events proved his judgment sound. The moment Amelia successfully boarded the train, Li Yunlong triggered his hidden trap-the potion she had been made to swallow. To cut costs, he had chosen to master the Essence Qi pill method, renowned as the least resource-intensive path in external alchemy. Previously, he had only ever fed Amelia spirit-calming pills that were entirely invisible to her; why choose such a conspicuous potion this time? Because the protective ward he had boasted about to Amelia was merely a secondary function. Its true purpose was to serve as a miniature workstation. Even without a direct link back to him, its immense recording capabilities alone were enough to forcibly log many of the train's core secrets.
The actual execution went far better than his best-case scenarios. Under heavy siege, the Train to Paradise lost all defensive capability. Not only were its deepest mysteries laid bare, but Li Yunlong was also able to connect to the potion via a spatial thread and operate it manually. It was the absolute bliss of a rat falling into a grain bin! He could eat whatever he wanted, take whatever he pleased. Aside from the fleeting window of time, his sole frustration was simple: just how much could he personally haul away before the chance slipped through his fingers?
The crazed Train to Paradise lasted less than ten minutes before collapsing entirely. Hiding off to the side, Li Yunlong hopped back and forth on tiptoe, practically heartbroken. «Could you not have held out just a little longer? I still have a mountain of information I haven't copied yet!»
Naturally, the shattered train was in no state to protest, nor did Li Yunlong have the power to drag a destroyed phantom train back for further study. In the end, he had no choice but to dismantle the stealth shelter he had built from multiple Paper Puppets, reassemble them into an articulated insectoid express, and scurry back home.
The articulated insectoid express couldn't tear down paved highways like an automobile at ninety miles an hour, but it had its own advantages. Able to navigate complex terrain at an average speed of over forty miles per hour, it traversed slopes, jungles, and hills with ease. Li Yunlong rode it in a straight line toward his house, leaping right over low residential buildings and narrow drainage ditches. His actual travel time was far shorter than if he had taken a car. Returning home without taking a moment to rest, he manipulated his Paper Puppets to help him make timely adjustments to his house's magical array. He had a plan-time was tight and the risk was real, but he wanted to try his luck.
A glance at his phone showed it was already two in the morning. With malicious intent, Li Yunlong sent a text message to Amelia. It contained a single, simple greeting: «How are you faring right now?»
Was Amelia faring well? Far from it. The Train to Paradise had been destroyed, and with its source of power gone, the curse had naturally crumbled. But a curse was no sweet fizzy drink; even if its manifestation hadn't taken her life directly, the damage it inflicted didn't magically vanish alongside the curse itself. While official intervention had prevented catastrophic casualties among the passengers, no one's physical or mental state could be described as good. Over one hundred and seventy severe cases had been rushed to intensive care, and every last remaining passenger ended up admitted to the hospital. Even Amelia-who had fared the best-lay pale in a hospital bed attached to an IV drip. Her mental state was a disaster: plagued by frequent confusion and bouts of memory loss, she was far worse off than someone dead drunk. In such a state, she had no way of checking her phone.
Fortunately, owing to Captain Wales's intense focus on Amelia, the message was immediately flagged by his subordinates and reported upward.
«Sir, how should we reply to this message?» Adonis asked.
Captain Wales paused briefly in thought. «Can we trace where it came from?»
«It originated from Brook Lee's residence,» Adonis replied. «Sent from his personal phone.»
Captain Wales made a swift decision. «Gather our forces. Today, I'm closing the book on Brook Lee once and for all!» His reasoning was clear. Although he possessed high-level clearance, mobilizing so many specialized experts on short notice was normally impossible. It was only because the Train to Paradise incident had caused such an uproar-driving the higher-ups into a frenzy-that he had been allocated such resources. If he didn't take advantage of these people while they were still under his command, he wouldn't be able to rally even a third of them by tomorrow. In particular, the exorcism experts brought in from the Church didn't belong to his department. Moving them required a heavy price from the higher-ups. If he didn't seize this chance to borrow their authority and divert public resources for his own ends, he might never get another opportunity!
Half an hour later, through the puppets he had stationed outside, Li Yunlong spotted the aggressive, malicious force approaching. Their tactical execution was ruthless and direct, skipping every standard procedure-no knocking, no badges, no court warrants. The fully armed special operations squad surrounded Li Yunlong's house, using heavy breach tools to shatter the front door in an instant. More than ten armed operatives poured inside, rapidly securing the premises. Only then did Captain Wales enter, accompanied by three religious specialists.
Li Yunlong pulled his teacup away from his lips and set it down unhurriedly on the table. Even with four tactical team members pointing rifles at him, his expression and posture remained entirely relaxed. He even had the leisure to let out a yawn before turning his eyes toward Captain Wales. «So, you must be the man in charge. To what do I owe the honor of a midnight visit?»
Captain Wales stepped forward. «I am Captain Wales of the FBI, 17th Division. In the name of the Federal Government, you are hereby informed that you are suspected of posing a grave threat to national security. You will come with us to assist in our investigation!»
Li Yunlong shook his head with a bitter smile. Talk about trumped-up charges! A threat to national security with my meager skills? High-ranking government officials haven't even heard my name, he thought. Could you not find a more believable excuse? There's really no need to lay it on so thick. «Captain, let's spare each other the bureaucratic double-talk. Why don't we speak openly? Who knows, we might even turn out to be friends. What do you say?»
Captain Wales's face darkened. «Arrest him!» he barked.
Two operators lunged forward, only to catch empty air. The man sitting in the chair was nothing more than an illusion. Captain Wales dodged nimbly to the left while the three religious experts behind him, long prepared, began weaving hand signs and chanting incantations. Li Yunlong offered them a mocking smile before his form rapidly faded into nothingness.
An exquisitely crafted paper puppet materialized on the back of the chair and spontaneously burst into flames. It left behind nothing but a dusting of ash. The three experts didn't stop, continuing their ritualistic dance for several minutes before finally informing Captain Wales that the sorcerer had escaped.
Captain Wales looked grim. The moment he saw the paper puppet, he knew catching Brook Lee would be difficult, but he hadn't expected the highly touted exorcists to come up completely empty-handed. A breach-and-clear operation that should have been a certainty had dissolved into an embarrassing farce. Yet he couldn't vent his frustration on them; they had been brought in to deal with the Train to Paradise, and dragging them out in the middle of the night to capture Brook Lee was technically an abuse of his authority. He had no choice but to see the experts off with polite words before using the pretext of collecting evidence to strip Li Yunlong's house bare. They unbolted the ceilings, walls, flooring, windows, and doors, hauling everything away. The worst fate befell Li Yunlong's alchemy furnace: unable to figure out how he had brought it inside, they dug a massive hole through the courtyard floor and hoisted the entire thing out by brute force. Like a swarm of locusts, they tore through the warm, cozy home until it was battered beyond recognition-with a bit of artificial aging, it could have served as a haunted house on a movie set.
Though the work was carried out by professionals with specialized equipment, the ordeal lasted until past nine in the morning. Having worked straight through the night, Captain Wales finally allowed himself a brief respite, grabbing a hot dog and a bottle of cola to regain his strength. His subordinates had completed their sweep and were conducting a final check on pure adrenaline before packing up. Captain Wales glanced instinctively toward the house, still plagued by unwillingness over Li Yunlong's escape. There, in the frame of a second-story window whose glass had already been removed, Li Yunlong's figure materialized, smiling down at him.
Captain Wales caught his breath and blinked, focusing his gaze-only to find the window empty. Was I so exhausted that I hallucinated? Sitting in his vehicle, he pondered for a long moment before issuing an order. «Adonis.»
«Sir,» Adonis replied.
«Issue a warrant for Brook Lee and seal off this house.» He paused briefly before adding, «Station a detail to keep eyes on the property.»
Though he felt his commander was wasting resources, Adonis answered without hesitation, «Yes, sir.»
Up in the second-story window, Li Yunlong's form materialized from thin air once more. He watched the convoy depart into the distance, letting out a soft, low sigh. «In the end… we were never walking the same path.»