Su Muqing closed her eyes again, appearing to rest, but in reality, she began to think.
That soldier…
She carefully recalled the brief moment of eye contact just now.
The sharpness in those eyes, that almost tangible vigilance—a conjecture gradually surfaced: he was likely a soldier who had just returned from the battlefield.
This wasn’t a time for large-scale demobilization. In 1968, what battlefield?
Since he appeared on a northbound train, it was highly probable that he was a soldier who had returned from the southern front, supporting North Vietnam.
Su Muqing subtly adjusted her sitting posture, allowing her peripheral vision to more naturally sweep toward the diagonal rear. She pretended to be captivated by the scenery outside the opposite window, but in reality, she was secretly observing.
The man still maintained an upright sitting posture. His gaze seemed to fall, like hers, on the fields rushing past outside the window, but every few minutes, he would withdraw his line of sight, scanning the carriage with extreme naturalness.
He would especially linger on people walking in the carriage connections and aisles.
In her mind, the System’s energy points slowly pulsed.
【Energy Value: 1.1/100】
The System didn’t say it, but Su Muqing understood that when these 100 points were reached, the System would officially activate.
With an Absorption Rate of one point per hour, based on the journey of this train to Harbin, if this person didn’t get off early, it should at least be halfway there.
As for whether to take the initiative to make contact…
Su Muqing thought about it. The System’s initial prompt to her was to go plant things, so even if it were a bit less, she could make up for it once she reached Beidahuang.
The other party was clearly no ordinary person; rashly approaching might cause unnecessary trouble.
Moreover… Su Muqing harbored a secret resolve. If no further accidents occurred, she would likely spend her entire life here.
Going to Beidahuang complied with the System’s requirements and suited her current situation, but if her interactions with others and her way of handling affairs were all dictated by the System, then whose life was she living?
The train continued northward. At four in the afternoon, the train attendants began notifying each carriage to pack up their belongings, as they would need to leave the carriage upon arriving at Xiaguan Station.
At this time, the Yangtze River Bridge had not yet opened to traffic, so the train would be uncoupled here, and passengers would board a ferry. For safety reasons, they needed to leave the carriage and board the ferry themselves.
The carriage immediately became lively. The educated youths rose one after another, retrieving large and small bags from the luggage racks. The aisles quickly filled with people.
In this era, it wasn’t customary to leave luggage in the train; whether you could find it upon returning was another matter.
Su Muqing’s largest piece of luggage was a newly acquired quilt. She was small in stature and not very strong, and when she took the ten-pound thick quilt down from the luggage rack, it nearly knocked her to the ground.
At that moment, a hand reached out from beside her, steadily supporting the other end of the cotton quilt.
When Su Muqing looked up, she only saw the lower half of the man’s face and heard a deep, “Be careful.”
He was so tall. While sitting, she hadn’t had a sense of it, but Su Muqing felt that his height was almost a head taller than hers.
Ye Jinchun hurried over to help. The man let go and turned away. Su Muqing only had time to add a word of thanks.
On the other side, Xie Liaoyuan also successfully retrieved everyone’s luggage. The four of them slowly moved with the crowd toward the carriage door.
Su Muqing struggled through the crowd, her gaze instinctively drifting forward.
He was not far ahead, holding a military-green canvas bag in one hand while steadying himself against a seatback with the other.
Only then did Su Muqing notice that his gait was unsteady—his right leg was noticeably stiff and unable to bear weight, yet he remained upright and moved with brisk efficiency.
It seemed he had been discharged from the military due to injury.
Finally squeezing off the bus, she was met by the river breeze on the platform, carrying with it a damp mist and the faint scent of fish.
The Yangtze River stretched before her, so wide the opposite shore was invisible. Several ferries docked at the pier, swallowing and disgorging streams of passengers.
Following Ye Jinchun and the others, Su Muqing pushed her way into the crowd boarding the ship. Staff members roared to maintain order, but the scene remained chaotic and unruly.
Su Muqing knew all too well that the more chaotic a place, the more likely accidents were to happen. Her valuables were stored in the Small Apartment, so she wasn’t overly concerned about her possessions at the moment.
Instead, she carefully used her luggage to create a bit of personal space. Being petite, this was her only way to carve out a sliver of breathing room.
Just then, through a gap in the luggage, she spotted a hand nearby reaching into a canvas bag pressed against its owner’s back.
Su Muqing was about to call out a warning when, in a flash, another hand clamped down on the thief’s wrist, which was halfway out of the bag with a small cloth pouch.
“Who are you? You’re stealing from me!”
The owner of the pouch was a young female educated youth. The thief hadn’t expected her to be so alert, but unwilling to let go of his prize, he yanked hard, trying to retreat.
The crowd slowed him for a moment, and the young woman seized his clothes, shouting, “Thief! Someone’s stealing money!”
The surrounding crowd stirred, several people scrambling to restrain the thief. But at that moment, the thief reached into his coat and pulled out a gleaming silver dagger.
“Bitch! Let go of me!”
Without looking back, he slashed—the first cut grazing the young woman’s arm as she held him. When she still refused to release him, the second stab plunged into her chest.
Taking advantage of her loosened grip, he began forcing his way out.
At the sight of the dagger, the crowd parted, allowing him to push several steps forward.
Su Muqing gasped. Years of working as an emergency doctor kicked in, overriding all else, and she immediately pushed toward the injured woman.
A loud scream erupted from the crowd: “Murder!”
People scattered in panic, leaving a vacuum around the young woman, whose chest was already soaked with spreading blood. Su Muqing tossed aside all her cumbersome luggage, dropping it beside the injured woman.
“Everyone, step back! Don’t crowd around!”
While shouting, Su Muqing quickly examined the wound. The knife had pierced the upper right chest, flesh torn open, blood steadily welling up. Listening carefully, she heard no sharp, sucking sounds and breathed a sigh of relief.
Sterile procedure was now the least of her concerns. Rummaging through her bag, Su Muqing pulled out a new piece of clothing, tore it apart with brute force, folded a large section, and pressed it firmly against the wound.
Blood quickly soaked through. She looked up and saw Ye Jinchun’s anxious face beside her.
“Comrade Ye, press here for me!”
Ye Jinchun hurried forward and, under Su Muqing’s direction, held the cloth in place. Freed up, Su Muqing swiftly tore more fabric into strips, wrapping them several times around the young woman’s chest, crossing and applying pressure over the wound, then tying them securely.
In just over ten seconds, a makeshift pressure bandage was completed.
"The wound is too deep, can't tell if internal organs were injured. No disinfection, need to get to the hospital quickly."
As Su Muqing spoke, the staff who had finally arrived immediately began dispersing the crowd, saying, "Comrade, there's a flatbed cart over there! Can someone help carry him?"
Meanwhile, just as the thief was about to squeeze through the crowd, a figure rushed out from the side and with a single kick, knocked him to the ground.