Chapter 63: A Dramatic First Meeting

“Hello, comrade!”

“My name is Li Beizhao, and I am a soldier!”

After introducing himself, he promptly explained the purpose of his visit.

“Chief Conductor Xu reported that you accidentally overheard a conversation from a human trafficking ring in the restroom.”

“But I’m curious—how did you determine that those people were human traffickers?”

“You should know that there are conservatively around two thousand passengers on this train.”

“We can’t mobilize a large-scale operation based solely on your account.”

Meeting the man’s resolute gaze, Shen Yi’an found himself momentarily distracted.

He looked so similar!

He resembled Li Beichen by at least seventy percent!

Especially the positioning of his nose and eyes—it was as if they were copied and pasted.

“Comrade? Comrade?”

Seeing that Shen Yi’an hadn’t responded, Li Beizhao thought he might have frightened him and immediately softened his tone to offer reassurance.

“Don’t be afraid.”

“We are the people’s army, and we will definitely ensure your safety.”

“Feel free to say whatever you need to, or share any suspicions you might have.”

“Although we can take action, we first need to know the reasons why you believe they are human traffickers.”

When Chief Conductor Xu came to their carriage to explain the situation, he had been shocked by what he heard.

What era is this now, and there are still organized human trafficking rings operating openly?

Have the state’s crackdown measures in recent years not been strong enough?

Or are there always people who dare to challenge the state’s authority?

After these thoughts flashed through his mind, new doubts arose.

Based on his understanding, even if human traffickers were operating on trains, they typically worked alone or in small groups of two or three. Organized team operations were almost unheard of.

There had been one or two cases in the earlier years, but after being completely dismantled, they all switched to dispersed operations.

So, when he heard Chief Conductor Xu’s report, his first reaction was that the informant might have misheard.

But he also held onto a sliver of hope—what if?

What if there really was a human trafficking ring on this train? His disbelief could lead to the destruction of countless families.

As the old saying goes, it’s better to believe it than not.

That’s why he personally came to the conductor’s duty room to inquire.

However, his cold demeanor seemed to have frightened the comrade who reported the information.

Look, aside from staring blankly at him, there was no other reaction.

Just as Li Beizhao was growing suspicious, Shen Yi’an snapped back to attention amidst the repeated questioning.

Realizing that his earlier behavior had been somewhat impolite, he awkwardly apologized, “Sorry, comrade, I was a bit distracted just now.”

Seeing that the other party didn’t mind, he proceeded to answer the earlier question, “I can provide an answer to the soldier comrade’s question.”

“What first struck me as odd was the little girl who suddenly grabbed my clothes.”

“From start to finish, she never looked up at me, but her grip on my clothes was unusually strong.”

“Yet I could tell she was using all her strength.”

Recalling the scene, a hint of melancholy flashed in his eyes. “After the man holding her spoke, she showed signs of loosening her grip but still didn’t let go.”

“The look in her eyes was like… well, as if she was afraid of losing something very important, or perhaps a person.”

“And then there was the man holding her.”

“Although he kept grumbling, the carefulness mixed in his movements could be felt as long as one paid attention.”

Recalling the scene, Shen Yi’an unconsciously shrugged her shoulders. “Of course, this was only the first oddity I noticed.”

“Then there was…”

As the explanation slowly unfolded, many suspicious points were laid bare.

These included:

Why did the fabric of her clothes attract the little girl’s attention?

Could there be something special about the fabric?

Why did the woman sitting opposite her suddenly have a gleam in her eyes after glancing at her?

Was there something interesting about her?

Why did those people choose to act only after all the other passengers had fallen asleep?

And why did the conversation she overheard between two men include such terrifying phrases as ‘boss,’ ‘likes pretty little girls,’ ‘a woman’s body with a man’s heart,’ and ‘this won’t do after following me, need more practice’?

After mentioning what had aroused her suspicion, Shen Yi’an then spoke of the key point that ultimately led her to a conclusion.

The final conversation of that family of three.

“…Although they didn’t say much about the specific situation, the information I gathered from what I heard was that they likely had a son who had been abducted by human traffickers.”

“Having no connections, they ultimately resorted to the most primitive method to gather information: infiltrating the human trafficking ring themselves.”

“While I can understand their desperation to save their child, I can’t agree with the method they chose.”

“Especially since they brought along such a young little girl. If anything went wrong, it would be a total disaster.”

Seeing her frequent head-shaking, Li Beizhao also nodded in agreement.

“Comrade, your analysis is very reasonable and hits all the key points.”

“Indeed, the method of ‘offering oneself as bait’ is too risky.”

“If they had chosen to report the case immediately, I believe our public security comrades would have been very effective.”

After briefly summarizing the situation, his expression toward Shen Yi’an immediately turned solemn.

The most direct manifestation was him saluting her on the spot.

“Thank you for reporting the situation promptly and proactively, comrade.”

“If not for your decisive action, we might have missed this group of rampant criminals who completely disregard the law.”

“I apologize for my earlier rudeness!”

Faced with such a sudden salute, Shen Yi’an instinctively sidestepped. “I only did what any citizen of the Republic should do. Comrade Li, there’s no need for this.”

Normally, accepting the salute would signify forgiveness for the previous impolite behavior.

But she didn’t dare.

Not because she felt unworthy, nor for any other reason – it simply wasn’t appropriate.

The reason lay in their identities.

When she was previously with Li Beichen, she had heard him mention that he had three older brothers at home.

The eldest was in politics, the second in business, and the third, like him, had joined the military.

Coincidentally, the name of the third Li brother was exactly the same as the person standing before her: Li Beizhao.

If they were completely unrelated individuals, she wouldn’t have connected them at all.

But oddly enough, the Li Beizhao before her bore a seventy percent resemblance to Li Beichen.

Particularly the eyes and mouth – they could practically be said to be cast from the same mold.

It was already this obvious. If she still couldn’t guess that the person before her was her future third brother-in-law, Shen Yi’an felt she might as well go die again.

It was precisely because of such concerns.

Even though the person before her didn’t know her identity, she still couldn’t comfortably accept his courtesy.

Li Beizhao had no idea what the person before him was thinking.

Seeing her dodge his salute, he simply assumed it was because female comrades tended to be more reserved. After completing the salute, he nodded to her again before explaining the subsequent arrangements.

“Comrade, since you were the one who discovered the human trafficking ring, you are undoubtedly the hero of this case.”

“But I have an unspoken request, and I hope you can agree to it.”

“Rest assured, once the case is resolved, we will immediately report your contribution to the higher-ups. We absolutely won’t let your help go unrewarded.”

Hearing it put this way, Shen Yi’an knew there was no way to politely refuse any longer.

Earlier, Chief Conductor Xu and Conductor Li had already given her ample time to consider.

Now, even her future third brother-in-law had come forward to make the request. If she still didn’t agree, she would be showing a lack of appreciation.

Thinking this, Shen Yi’an quickly gave her reply, “I understand Comrade Li’s meaning. It’s probably similar to Chief Conductor Xu and Conductor Li’s thoughts.”

“You all hope I can participate, so I can closely grasp firsthand information, right?”

Hearing this, Li Beizhao nodded with full approval in his eyes.

“Yes, that’s exactly it.”

“To avoid unnecessary complications, we can only trouble you, comrade.”

Everything was progressing according to her expectations, so Shen Yi’an naturally had no reason to hesitate.

But before agreeing, she still raised her own conditions.