Jie Yuchen opened his eyes and sat up. The carriage was shaking; it was a coal transport vehicle, with piles of coal stacked on the side. He was lying at the bottom of the carriage between two heaps of coal dust. His entire body was covered in the color of dirty coal, but fortunately, he had the foresight to wear a leather jacket, which was easier to manage.

The shaking of the carriage was gradually subsiding, indicating that it had arrived at a station. Where had he arrived? The train he chose had sixteen classes, each with a different destination. Including potential transfer stations, there were more than 4,000 stops in total. If he made multiple transfers, he could potentially appear at train stations all over the country. The only way for the other party to know that he had left that railway was for him to board another train. The nearby villages would become increasingly dangerous within 24 hours, and entering populated areas would easily leave traces.

The other party would certainly anticipate the transfer; that was basic reasoning. However, he did not transfer. He believed that even if he was discovered, he would find a way to escape.

The train came to a stop. He opened the carriage door, and a rush of cold air swept in—very cold. He tightened his leather jacket around himself and jumped off the train, seeing coniferous forests on both sides. He thought to himself, “Have I already reached the Northeast?”

Looking around, he saw no one. This was a small freight station, and someone was unloading coal in the front. He walked out from the platform, exhaling white breath, and arrived at the small shop on the platform, where he bought a pack of cigarettes. He took a tricycle to the town and found a mobile phone store, purchasing a phone.

While buying a down jacket, he set up a timed SMS sending app and placed the phone on the ventilation window of the restroom.

Back at the station, he bought a train ticket and began another leg of his journey. Seven hours later, the timed SMS app activated, and a text message was sent automatically.

In Beijing, Huo Xiuxiu had been sitting on a bench for two days and nights, motionless, showing no signs of emotion. The vast courtyard was desolate, amidst the noisy and bustling Beijing city outside, which carried a chill and a hint of blood.

The vast earth extended outward, connecting all of China with Beijing. All the pulses seemed to converge into this courtyard, this room, and the phone in front of this woman.

When she first approached this courtyard, Jie Yuchen was playing Jianzi (a traditional Chinese game with a weighted shuttlecock). The newly purchased courtyard had not yet been completely renovated. She had often heard her grandmother say that this brother had it tough, very tough. He was playing Jianzi under the sunlight, his long hair flowing more gracefully than hers, looking very happy and focused. What kind of difficulties was he facing?

That little brother, what challenges was he confronting at that time? Was it the courtyard, the bustling city of Beijing, or the vast land beyond Beijing?

As Huo Xiuxiu grew up, she gradually understood, bit by bit, but it wasn’t until three days ago that she truly comprehended where her brother’s difficulties lay.

That text message reflected and spread in the sky, exploding on someone’s phone in every city in China. The courtyard she was in almost transformed into a monster overnight, a monster that continuously extended, devouring everything around it, ultimately engulfing the entire earth.

In the face of this monster, there was only her left.

“Is this what you were facing before?” Huo Xiuxiu’s hands trembled as she truly felt the difference in weight between Jie Yuchen’s frail body in this courtyard and the weight of the world after he had permanently left it.

All these years, he had been alone, leaning against the colossal entity that could swallow them at any moment, casually drinking tea, arranging flowers, rehearsing, and painting here. She could wrap her arms around his, doing all sorts of willful things for so many years.

“Thank you.” When Xiuxiu had cried earlier, she had said this for a long time, not knowing if it was out of heartache or fear.

The phone on the table flashed, a text message came in, but Xiuxiu didn’t look at it. She sighed in relief, but also felt a surge of anxiety.

She stood up and walked out. In the flowerbed of the courtyard, there was only a fat man and a Tibetan man in a blue robe. When they saw her come out, they both stood up.

“Are we the only ones left?” Xiuxiu forced a bitter smile.

The fat man weighed his backpack, “What? Do you look down on me?” Xiuxiu glanced at the Tibetan man, who performed a Tibetan greeting.

“Let’s go.”

Xiuxiu pushed open the door of the courtyard, and outside was bustling with people of all kinds, just like the Changsha that Wu Xie had encountered back in the day.

When those people saw Xiuxiu come out, they stopped chatting and turned to look at her. Xiuxiu took a few steps forward, but the crowd blocked her path. Among them, one person said, “This woman is my sister, don’t harm her; the others can be dealt with as you wish.”

The fat man tossed down his backpack and pulled out two large detonators, draping them over himself like firecrackers. With a snap, he lit a cigarette. “Sorry, dramatic scene here. I’ve watched too many Hong Kong films, so kids shouldn’t watch too many of those.”

“Don’t be afraid, he wouldn’t dare to detonate them,” someone in the crowd said.

No one moved. Someone in the crowd shouted again, and another person responded, “That’s Wang Pangzi; he can do anything.”

“Flattery, flattery,” the fat man chuckled. “Come on, since you said that, I’d feel bad not to throw something. I’ll give you face.”

Saying this, he lit one of the detonators and threw it into the crowd.

Everyone immediately fell down; the detonator exploded, knocking many down.

As people got up, they saw the fat man and the Tibetan man in blue standing in front of Xiuxiu, their bodies already covered in wounds from the explosion, but they had not made any moves to dodge, standing like a wall in front of her.

“That was really something, trying to act cool,” the fat man spat out a mouthful of blood, looking a bit nauseous. He said to the Tibetan man, “Lack of experience; my apologies.”

The Tibetan man was in better shape; he wiped the blood off his face and muttered something in Tibetan.

It was clearly not anything pleasant, and the people around began to stand up. The fat man lit another detonator and threw it again, this time a bit farther.

That was enough; after the explosion, those who stood up began to scatter.

The three of them made no moves. The fat man and Xiuxiu simply watched the fleeing crowd’s hands.

“There!” The fat man, with keen eyes, immediately spotted a young man who moved more steadily than the others. Although he seemed to be running, his rhythm was completely different from the rest.

In an instant, the blue-robed Tibetan rushed towards the young man like an arrow released from a bow. A Tibetan knife flew out from his sleeve. The young man was caught off guard, but he reacted extremely quickly. Just as the knife was coming down, he leaped to the side, using one hand to support himself and performed a roll. However, the speed of the blue-robed Tibetan was even faster; as soon as the young man steadied himself, the blue-robed Tibetan was already behind him. The lightning-fast Tibetan knife struck the back of his head.