CHAPTER 482: CHAPTER 334: THE WOBBLY TRAM_2

Running was fine, but the scream really scared everyone.

It seemed chaotic over there.

"Zo-zombies...?"

"Hey, don’t say such things." Hearing this from her good friend, another girl also started to feel frightened.

"What... what’s over there?"

"How would I know... but it’s definitely not zombies... this isn’t a movie."

More and more people were running from the back of the train, and the noise became increasingly chaotic, disrupting the previously quiet atmosphere.

You could vaguely hear a woman crying over there, and a man shouting urgently, "Stop it! Stop it!"

The alarmed ones even started clawing at the windows, trying to jump out of the train.

People in this carriage were clearly affected as well, anxiously looking around, at a loss for what to do.

Questions were being constantly thrown at those running towards them, asking what happened over there.

"Reiko, hey, Reiko! Could it be, could it really be zombies!? It looked like a girl was bitten... should we also climb out through the window with them..."

"I already told you not to make wild guesses, that handsome guy isn’t panicking at all..."

Uesugi Sakura indeed wasn’t panicking, just being pushed along by the crowd around him.

The more they pushed, the further back he moved, feeling somewhat carried along by the flow.

As for whether it’s zombies—probably not, Uesugi Sakura caught the scent of sulfur dioxide emanating from burning gasoline.

Someone had likely set a fire.

Many others continued running toward the front of the train.

"Reiko, hey, Reiko, look at that handsome guy, what’s he doing?"

Uesugi Sakura slipped out from the crowd, walking slowly toward the direction people were fleeing from.

"It’s dangerous! Don’t go."

Unfortunately, he didn’t hear the good-hearted warning of the female high school student.

...

Thick smoke began to rise in the carriage.

The further Uesugi Sakura walked in, the fewer people there were, and the denser the smoke became.

After passing through six carriages, he could roughly see injured people through the smoke, a bit of blood on the train seats.

Not much, but it was proof someone had committed a violent act.

As he moved closer, there was more blood and the fire grew fiercer.

In the smoke, there seemed to be a young man in a suit, wearing glasses, with a look of hopelessness on his face.

In front of him stood three or four people.

The group was unarmed and appeared to be confronting the young man holding an incendiary canister in one hand and a machete in the other. Uesugi Sakura could see they were wearing kendo clothes, and the word "Yamanaka" was written on their chests.

They were protecting a young couple behind them.

Yamanaka Budokan’s people?

Uesugi Sakura didn’t expect to run into people he had met just once before.

Apparently, they had been wrestling for quite some time. The white gi of the Martial Arts Hall people had several scorched holes from the flames, and their arms were cut, bleeding in straight lines.

"Hey, those people over there! Quick—it’s Uesugi Vice Master!?"

Their opponent seemed to have suddenly noticed Uesugi Sakura appearing behind the perpetrator.

And also appeared to recognize him.

Uesugi Sakura peered carefully, remembering... his name was... uh... Sakuraya Hotaru, leader of the Yamanaka Budokan from a few days ago.

Due to Sakuraya Hotaru’s voice, the young man holding the incendiary bottle turned direction, gazing with indifferent eyes at Uesugi Sakura standing not far away.

The thick smoke rolled through the carriage that was already set ablaze by him, with flames burning along the leather seats.

The young man noticed Uesugi Sakura.

The smoke was too dense, severely obscuring the view.

"Another one."

He couldn’t see the other person’s face clearly but tightened his grip on the gas-filled incendiary canister, slightly loosening the specially tailored opening.

"Is he going to...?"

Sakuraya Hotaru squinted in the thick smoke, noticing this little gesture.

Twisting the canister mouth... it must be gasoline inside...

Is he going to——

Suddenly, that person sidestepped, flinging the incendiary canister hard at Uesugi Sakura.

"Vice Master Uesugi! Danger!" Sakuraya Hotaru shouted immediately.

The canister contained gasoline; Uesugi Sakura could smell the scent of combustion.

That young man was quite daring, daring to loosen the canister mouth with gasoline and flames present, not fearing an explosion might obliterate himself.

But just as the incendiary bottle was flung, Uesugi Sakura immediately threw his wooden sword.

The angle, the precision, all of it was unbelievable.

The canister was struck airborne mid-flight, igniting the remaining gasoline briefly in the air.

In the air, a golden wave of fire rose.

The young man was apparently stunned by Uesugi Sakura’s incredibly swift reaction.

The few from Yamanaka Budokan saw his brief daze and immediately pounced on him, simultaneously disarming him and pressing him hard onto the train floor.

"Don’t move!"

"Hold still!"

"You——!!!"

The young man struggled desperately, but with several people on him, his face pressed to the floor, he couldn’t utter a word, unable to move no matter how hard he tried.

The knife he held earlier was kicked far away the moment it hit the ground.

The young man seemed to still resist, struggling fiercely, attempting to break free from the restraint.

Uesugi Sakura glanced at the man with his face pressed to the floor, retrieving his wooden sword from the burning cloth band as he slowly approached.

"Uesugi, you are...?"

Sakuraya Hotaru was puzzled about his intentions as Uesugi Sakura struck the young man on the neck with his sword.

The young man twitched once, then moved no more.

"Is he...?"

"He’s knocked out." Uesugi Sakura said calmly, "Take him off the train first."

With such a big incident, the station attendants had already acted, calling over all the nearby patrolling police officers.

As Uesugi Sakura stepped off the train, his clothes were significantly blackened by the smoke.

He didn’t expect to see a familiar face standing before him, "Uncle?"

Hanamaru Hiroki had apparently just arrived, dressed in casual wear, seemingly just off work, as he glanced at the smoke-blackened Uesugi Sakura:

"You weren’t hurt?"

"I wasn’t."

"Where’s the perpetrator?"

"Knocked him out." Uesugi Sakura obediently replied.

The people from Yamanaka Budokan also threw the unconscious young man out of the train at this moment.

They called a few patrol officers inside, saying there were still injured people.

"Did you do this?" Hanamaru Hiroki glanced at the guy lying on the ground.

By now, the station was surrounded by people, and many patrolling officers were using radios to confirm if anyone was still inside the train carriages.

"I just knocked him out."

"As long as you’re alright."

Hanamaru Hiroki stepped forward to check the status of the young man, then said to Uesugi Sakura, "I’ll take over from here."

"Why is Uncle here today?"

"Finished work, heading home."

The injured were carried out from the burning train by officers and Yamanaka Budokan people. The boyfriend of the girl who was slashed immediately recognized the face of the perpetrator lying on the ground and quickly informed the officers:

"Quick! Quick, it was him, he did it!"

The police turned their gaze towards Uesugi Sakura, hurriedly running over, "Both of you——"

Hanamaru Hiroki pulled a small badge from his pocket.

The officer, upon seeing it, visibly stiffened, and his posture straightened immediately, "Po-Police Chief!"

"Hmm, what’s the situation now?" Hanamaru Hiroki tucked the badge back in.

"There are approximately ten people cut and fifteen burned, but figures aren’t complete." The young officer reported truthfully.

"No fatalities, correct?"

"So far, none." The young officer honestly reported.

Hanamaru Hiroki nodded, turning back to Uesugi Sakura, "Some details need to be asked about, you’ll need to come with me later."

"Okay."

Once confirmed no one was in the train carriage, the fire brigade arrived shortly after, working to extinguish the blazing carriages.

Uesugi Sakura sat in the police car, witnessing the smoke-filled station, the curious crowd gathering, and seeing several bloodied individuals being carried to ambulances.

He waited a long time before Hanamaru Hiroki and an officer returned to the car.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"It’s nothing."

Hanamaru Hiroki glanced at the time shown in the car, and then spoke to Uesugi Sakura in the back seat, "Call Hanabi and let her know we’ll be back late."

"Oh, got it... but do I need to tell her what happened?"

"Go ahead, tell her you’re with me, since you’re not hurt, she won’t worry."

Uesugi Sakura pulled out his phone, found Hanabi’s contact, briefly explained the events, and said he was going to the police station with his uncle, suggesting she have dinner with Aei and others first.

Hanamaru Hanabi kept asking if he was hurt, to which Uesugi Sakura had to repeatedly assure her he was perfectly safe and currently with his uncle, so she should eat dinner peacefully.

Seeing her reply with a concerned emoji, Uesugi Sakura put his phone away.

Outside the window, the sky had turned dark, neon lights began twinkling in Tokyo.

But today’s twinkling was interspersed with the sound of sirens.