“Since you’re getting in the way of our business, then go to hell!”
The woman didn’t have as much strength as her accomplice, but she was particularly nimble. Every slash was aimed at the child in the man’s arms.
Both traffickers had weapons. Seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, Lu Zhengning dodged the knife in the woman’s hand, kicked her in the stomach, and immediately carried the child away.
At a glance, Lu Zhengning spotted Su Yuanyuan hiding in an inconspicuous corner. He took three quick steps toward her and placed the child in her arms.
“Take the children and hide.”
After leaving those words behind, Lu Zhengning quickly headed back toward the traffickers.
Lu Zhengning had been a special forces soldier and was highly skilled. However, dealing with people armed with weapons was not easy. Fortunately, the passengers in the carriage had already been evacuated, and with the train police assisting him, they quickly subdued the traffickers and confiscated their weapons.
The moment they started fighting, the traffickers realized that Lu Zhengning was a soldier, and there were also six train police officers on board. There was no way they could escape.
As soon as they were pinned down, the traffickers immediately began wailing and crying out.
“Murder in broad daylight! My wife and I were taking our child to a hospital in Jingbei for treatment, and these bastards suddenly rushed out, snatched our child for no reason, and even tried to kill us! Where is the law and justice?!”
After the man finished shouting, the woman immediately joined in, crying loudly.
“These people are bandits trying to kill us! Look at how badly they beat me and my husband! We’re so unfortunate. We were only trying to take our child to the hospital, and we don’t even know what we did to offend them. They’re trying to take our lives!”
The husband and wife exchanged a glance and began working together, one singing and the other harmonizing.
“We were sitting here minding our own business, and you attacked us for no reason! I’m going to report you and have you arrested!”
The man’s face was bruised in several places, and he looked pitiful as he cried.
Many passengers had no idea what was going on and crowded together at a distance, watching from the other end of the carriage.
They didn’t know whether what the couple was saying was true or not, but they had clearly seen the traffickers holding knives and injuring people just moments ago. Whether the couple was telling the truth or not, keeping their distance was definitely the safest choice.
“My child has been sickly since birth! You snatched my child in broad daylight. If anything happens to my baby, every one of you will be shot!”
The woman spat toward the train police.
The train police officer expressionlessly wiped it away and twisted the trafficker’s arms behind his back.
“Someone reported that you two are child traffickers. The carriage was so noisy just now, yet the child in your arms didn’t wake up or even react. What did you give the child?”
“The child is safe now. You were carrying knives and injured people, and the entire carriage is full of witnesses. Don’t worry. Once the train stops at the next station, the police will come aboard and take you away for investigation.”
How could these two move like ordinary passengers? Who would normally carry a knife on their person for no reason?
Whether the train police were bandits was another matter, but the fact that these two were carrying weapons was already highly suspicious.
The train conductor had already contacted the local police station. Before the train entered the station, the platform would be sealed off by the relevant authorities.
The two traffickers gritted their teeth unwillingly, unable to figure out where they had gone wrong.
Everything had clearly been fine at first!
There had been many people traveling by train recently, and the carriages were chaotic. At first, no one had noticed them at all.
Once the two were hauled upright, they noticed that the mother and her two children from the opposite berth had gone out and never returned. They immediately realized what had happened.
“That sharp-tongued bitch! She must have reported us after running her mouth off, right? I knew she looked suspicious! She has two children with her, and they probably aren’t even hers. She’s the real child trafficker! Go arrest her!”
The restrained woman desperately tried to turn the tables. Since someone was going to report them, she might as well make sure nobody got away clean.
Her husband also realized that Su Yuanyuan must have reported them and immediately started spewing vulgarities.
“That filthy bitch! The more vicious the woman, the more poisonous her heart! Don’t hide if you’ve got the guts. Just wait until I get my hands on you—I’ll fucking kill you!”
“Watch your mouth.”
Lu Zheng’an had just been about to change back into his own clothes when he heard the trafficker’s insults. His expression immediately turned cold.
Even the train police were stunned by the trafficker’s vulgarity. The corner of the officer’s mouth twitched.
“You’ve just added another charge of hooliganism to your list. Wait until the next station, where the police will take you away.”
These two traffickers really had filthy mouths. After thinking about it, the train police decided it would be better to gag them first.
He pulled out two strips of cloth, but when the traffickers saw that he was about to stuff them into their mouths, the man hurriedly said, “Officer! Officer! We know we were wrong. We’ll confess everything. We have other accomplices on the train. If we help you find them, can our sentences be reduced?”
The woman immediately followed.
“That’s right, that’s right! We can help you find our other accomplices. Just take us around the carriages once and we’ll definitely find them.”
The train was still moving forward, and the carriages were enclosed. Jumping off a moving train was basically suicide. If they really had accomplices, searching the train would indeed be an effective way to find them.
Lu Zhengning took the strips of cloth from the train police officer, rolled them into balls, and stuffed them into the traffickers’ mouths without another word.
“I observed you. You never exchanged glances with anyone else, and during the arrest, neither of you looked toward anyone in particular. None of the passengers reacted to your arrest either. That means you don’t have any accomplices.”
It was common for traffickers to work in groups with others providing cover, so Lu Zhengning had paid close attention to the passengers’ reactions during the arrest.
As soon as Lu Zhengning finished speaking, the trafficker who had been perfectly fine moments earlier suddenly rolled his eyes back and collapsed onto the floor, his body convulsing.
The train police officer restraining him was startled and immediately told the conductor, “Quick, call someone from the medical room! He must have some kind of underlying condition! Everyone, spread out. Don’t crowd around him. Open the windows!”
From the man’s symptoms, the officer assumed he was having an epileptic seizure or some other sudden medical episode.
Either way, the crowd needed to be dispersed first so the patient could breathe fresh air.
Lu Zhengning frowned and was about to check on him when the man who had fallen to the ground suddenly sprang up and bolted toward the next carriage.
No one knew how long it would be before the train reached the next station, but as long as he created enough chaos to turn the train into a mess, he could buy himself some time.
Even if he couldn’t escape, he was determined to drag that damn woman down with him.
“Damn it! Just wait until I find you. I’ll fucking kill you!”
The man ran as fast as he could.
Only then did everyone realize that his seizure had been completely fake.
Lu Zheng’an thought of something and immediately gave chase.
Lu Zheng’an had received formal military training and was highly skilled. Compared with the other trafficker, he was obviously stronger, but when it came to running, the two were fairly evenly matched.
He quickly passed through one carriage, but after scanning the area, he didn’t see Su Yuanyuan anywhere.
Judging from how quickly the skilled man had returned after carrying the child away, that woman should have been in this carriage just moments ago.
Had she run away?
A vicious look flashed through the trafficker’s eyes. He was about to continue searching when his shoulder suddenly hurt.
Before he could react, the world spun before his eyes, and his entire body was slammed heavily onto the floor. His head struck the ground, and he passed out.
Lu Zhengning quickly tied his hands with a hemp rope. He glanced around the carriage to make sure Su Yuanyuan and the children were nowhere in sight before finally breathing a sigh of relief.
Su Yuanyuan had learned a little about the child traffickers of this era. The people who engaged in trafficking children during this period were especially ruthless. Human lives meant nothing to them.
Regardless of whether the arrest went smoothly, the traffickers might develop a desire for revenge and try to drag her down with them.
So after taking the child from Lu Zhengning, Su Yuanyuan had immediately taken the children and hidden far away.
There was no way she was going to foolishly stay in the same place waiting for the trafficker to come looking for her.
“Comrade, we really owe this to your quick reaction.”
The train police officer was already drenched in sweat. He hurriedly tied the trafficker’s legs as well.
Lu Zhengning merely nodded.
When he looked toward the other end of the carriage, he saw the train attendant returning with the child.
“The child is fine. They gave him something that made him fall asleep. That comrade said she doesn’t want to show herself. We can handle the rest.”
The train attendant’s face was slightly pale. She had been frightened by what had just happened. Even so, she had remained calm enough to evacuate the passengers and maintain order during the chaos, which was already very impressive.
Lu Zhengning glanced at the child in her arms.
“That’s good.”
In another carriage, Su Yuanyuan and the two children were huddled behind the luggage rack, carefully listening to the commotion ahead.
That soldier looked to be in excellent physical condition. With him working together with the train police, the traffickers should have been captured without much trouble.
But she had two children with her. She couldn’t afford to take any chances. Even though the traffickers had been captured, she wouldn’t leave the train until they had been escorted off.
She wasn’t sure whether the traffickers had any accomplices. If someone came looking for revenge, things could become troublesome.
Su Yuanyuan cautiously hid in the corner with Lu Siyuan and Lu Mingzhu.
Only after the train entered the station did Su Yuanyuan finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Once the scheduled stop ended, the train doors closed and the train started moving again. Only then did Su Yuanyuan feel safe enough to take the two children back to their sleeper berth to rest.