Chapter 45: Human Traffickers?

""After three days and two nights, I’ll be marinated through and through.""

Seeing his little wife looking so pitiful, her eyes slightly red, Sheng Zexi felt his heart ache.

He stroked her hair and said gently, ""Alright, as soon as we get back, I’ll boil water for you to take a bath. I’ll make sure you get squeaky clean.""

""Okay."" Only after Sheng Zexi’s reassuring reply did Gu Jianing feel a bit better.

Then Sheng Zexi took out a bedsheet, made the bed on the upper bunk, helped Gu Jianing climb up, and carefully tucked her in with a quilt.

""Go to sleep. I’ll be right below, keeping watch. I won’t leave.""

""Alright.""

Gu Jianing was truly exhausted. She’d gotten up early today, and the rocking of the train made her even sleepier.

Her eyelids drooped, and she soon drifted off.

Gu Jianing slept for quite a while.

When she opened her eyes again, it was already dark outside the train, and the lighting inside was dim.

""Awake?"" The moment she stirred, Sheng Zexi, who had been keeping an eye on her, noticed.

""Yeah."" Gu Jianing sat up and climbed down.

She squinted at her watch in the dim light and realized it was already past 7 p.m.

The train wasn’t completely quiet yet, but it was much quieter than during the day.

""Are you hungry? I just bought some buns. Have a bite.""

""Okay.""

After eating one bun, Gu Jianing couldn’t eat any more.

With all the mixed smells on the train, she had no appetite and felt completely drained.

A few more hours passed, and the carriage grew even darker.

The daytime bustle was gone, but…

Listening to the chorus of snores rising and falling, Gu Jianing felt a bit dejected. It was just too noisy.

Her eyes were full of complaint.

Somehow, Sheng Zexi understood exactly what she meant.

He thought, Good thing I don’t snore. Otherwise, even if I got on the bunk, I’d probably get kicked off.

…

Just like that, two days and one night passed on the train.

By now, Gu Jianing felt like a dried-out radish—wrinkled, shriveled, and listless, with no energy at all.

But at least she didn’t get motion sickness.

""I need to use the bathroom,"" Gu Jianing said.

After a day or two, the toilet smelled even worse, but there was no helping it. Gu Jianing had held it in as long as she could, but now she just couldn’t anymore.

""Alright.""

Using the bathroom on the train was like fighting a tough battle for Gu Jianing.

After what felt like forever, she finally emerged, feeling as if she’d lost half her life in there.

As Sheng Zexi escorted her back, the weary Gu Jianing was bumped into by an elderly couple carrying a child.

""Sorry, young lady, so sorry."" The old woman apologized, but when she saw Gu Jianing’s face, a glint flashed in her eyes.

The old man beside her was the same.

That look made Gu Jianing uncomfortable, as if she were a commodity, being sized up and priced.

At that moment, Sheng Zexi stepped over and checked her up and down for any injuries.

""I’m fine,"" Gu Jianing said.

When the two elders saw Sheng Zexi in his military uniform, the light in their eyes instantly dimmed. They quickly lowered their heads, even shrinking away from him.

Ordinary people naturally have some fear of soldiers.

But with her past life’s experience, Gu Jianing found their subtle reactions odd.

That avoidance—it looked like they were afraid of Sheng Zexi.

But they didn’t know him, nor did they have any grudge against him, so why be afraid?

Then Gu Jianing’s gaze fell on her husband’s olive-green uniform, and a thought flashed through her mind. Of course—they weren’t afraid of Sheng Zexi himself, but of his identity as a soldier.

Who would be afraid of soldiers?

Criminals, of course.

So what crime had they committed?

Almost instantly, Gu Jianing’s eyes landed on the little girl, about three or four years old, sleeping in the old woman’s arms.

Could they be human traffickers?

The little girl’s clothes and her darker skin didn’t look out of place with the elderly couple—nothing seemed off at first glance.

Let’s give it a try.

As they were about to pass each other, Gu Jianing fixed her gaze on the little girl.

With her beautiful almond-shaped eyes, the super scanner’s light flashed by, quickly scanning the child.

[Ding! Scan complete!]

[Gender: Female. Age: 3 years, 4 months. Physical condition: Mild malnutrition. Drugged for over 20 minutes...]

There was more diagnostic information, but Gu Jianing couldn’t focus on anything else.

Her eyes locked onto the words ""drugged."" Now she understood everything.

This elderly couple were traffickers. What kind of grandparents would drug their own granddaughter?

""Zexi, those two are traffickers. I can smell it—the little girl the old woman is holding has been drugged. She’s definitely been kidnapped."" After walking a short distance, Gu Jianing whispered to Sheng Zexi.

Sheng Zexi’s expression turned serious. ""Actually, I thought something was off about them too.""

Although the couple acted normal, Sheng Zexi’s instincts as a soldier told him something was wrong.

He’d been planning to investigate them later, but he hadn’t expected Ningning to suspect they were traffickers as well.

""Zexi, what should we do? We have to catch them and save that child."" Maybe because she’d always wanted a child in her past life but never had one, Gu Jianing was obsessed with children and hated traffickers with a passion.

She couldn’t imagine what it would be like if her own child were kidnapped.

She’d probably break down.

""Ningning, let me take you back first. I’ll handle this. Trust me—I’ll catch them.""

Seeing the determination in Sheng Zexi’s eyes, Gu Jianing nodded.

Sheng Zexi took her back to their seats, asked Shen Huaiyuan and Bai Juan to look after her, and told her not to leave her seat no matter what happened. Then he left.

After Sheng Zexi left, Gu Jianing grew restless, worrying about what was happening.

But she knew the only thing she could do was listen and stay put, not cause trouble.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when suddenly, she heard a commotion from the next carriage. The whole train car grew lively.

Soon, she heard people talking about human traffickers.

Gu Jianing’s heart skipped a beat. Had they been caught?

Very quickly, she saw her own carriage in an uproar.

Two train staff members were holding the elderly couple, and another staffer was carrying the child.

Sheng Zexi had returned as well.

As he sat down and the others left, Gu Jianing’s eyes sparkled as she looked at him. ""You caught them!"""