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Watching that scene sent a chill down our spines. I wanted to say that she didn't look like a monster in disguise, but before I could even open my mouth—
A shiver ran through my entire body, as if something was warning me that something was about to happen. I rolled backward, and at that exact moment, a shockwave destroyed the door and the windows, sending Lin Xian flying back. I watched as he grabbed a flashlight and shone it on Mr. Lin's corpse, which was being controlled by a centipede as it charged at him.
I noticed that the iron bars on the window he had crashed into were bent. He quickly regained control and launched a wind cannon that blew apart half of the corpse's head.
I saw him move forward, and since I was already prepared, I attacked from behind. When he struck, I saw the insect writhe and retreat, detaching itself from the blade—but I blocked its escape, severing its head from the rest of its body.
"Let's get out of here and go back to the train. We can think about the rest later. A horde of zombies is definitely coming. I'll carry the girl—you took the harder hit."
I saw him nod, grab his backpack with some supplies, and follow right behind me. The rest of the supplies had long since been stored in my spatial storage.
He didn't question my decision to save the girl, understanding that if she had done all that unconsciously, she could be extremely useful in the future as an ability user. As we headed for the exit, I carried the girl with one arm, holding her against my chest, while using the other to cut down the zombies blocking our path.
We ran to the emergency stairs and went through the same underground tunnels we had used earlier that afternoon. Along the way, I let him go ahead, since he was the only one who could open the train, and in a cramped space like this, carrying someone while fighting zombies was inconvenient.
I watched him use his wind cannon to eliminate zombies before they got close. Taking advantage of that, I threw several kunai—ones I had asked him to make for me—at zombies he didn't notice emerging from the side passages.
I saw him touch the train's exterior as the door opened. I threw a few kunai at the nearest zombies and rushed inside, followed closely by him as he shut the door.
We headed to the first car. He turned on the lights as we went and pulled back the blackout curtain, revealing thousands of zombies scratching at the armored exterior of the train.
"Man… we really attracted, like, half the zombies in the city."
I said jokingly. It probably wasn't that many, but we really had drawn a huge number because of all the chaos in the silent night. He lowered the curtains and pressed a button. Somewhere in the distance, a sound began playing, drawing the zombies away from the now-silent train.
"You even set up a celebration for when we leave and didn't tell me. I could've prepared some fireworks."
I joked, knowing that it was actually a distraction for when we started the train.
"You'll have to make me some more kunai. These things are basically single-use items."
"We'll deal with that later. For now, let's stay alert in case another creature like that shows up."
"Good thing we finished armoring the train earlier today—around noon, or morning, or whatever you want to call it. By the clock, it was afternoon. Either way, we were really lucky. Without me, the incredible Drakkon, you'd have become zombie food."
I exaggerated my contribution shamelessly before he shattered my illusion.
"Without your nonsense, I'd have built two armored trains with time to spare."
I rolled my eyes and looked at the girl, covered in blood.
"The blood on her doesn't look like it's hers. And even if it were, she wouldn't have made it to the apartment in the middle of the night—especially with all those creepy creatures out there."
"You're right. She's a ticking time bomb and dangerous. But if she cooperates, having someone with a strong ability on the team could be useful for a change."
I realized he was talking about me—but he wasn't wrong. I wasn't that strong yet. I didn't have many abilities, nor were they very versatile. A fireball was powerful, sure—but it came with noise, smoke, and light. That was why I hadn't used it in the tunnel; it would've hurt more than helped our escape to the train.
I watched him approach the girl with a rope, tie her hands and feet, and place her on a bed in the still-empty second car.
"You know those ropes won't hold her if she wakes up, right?"
"Who knows. Maybe she doesn't know she has powers. Or maybe she needs to move to use them. Or we can pretend we don't know and surprise her if she turns against us."
"Man… it's creepy when you make plans like that and then call me a maniac."
"Who was the lunatic who jumped into a mini horde of zombies two days ago?"
"In my defense, there were only a hundred. And second, they were heading toward the train you were armoring."
I saw him pull out his phone. When I took a look, I saw it was Mrs. Chen's apartment—only 300 meters from the nearest metro station.
"Lucky for us—and her—that her place is close to where the train can pass. It's much safer, and we won't waste time making a round trip."
"Yeah. Tomorrow we'll finally be able to put the train's capabilities to the test."
"Speaking of that… could you make some heavier, sharper kunai? And a reinforced combat machete?"
He looked at me as if I had asked something completely unexpected.
"Weren't you the one who said kunai should be light and small? And don't you use a sword?"
"Yes, but when I fought that monster tonight, I realized the sword required much more force to cut. And since it's double-edged, I couldn't fully take advantage of the swing. I think a machete would be much better for heavy, precise attacks—especially against things with tougher skin."
"So you want to maximize attack power and penetration in exchange for only being able to attack from one side?"
"Yes. And I want it reinforced so it can handle the strain. After all, I'm stronger than a normal person—thanks to you, you know."
"Alright, I'll make it. But what about the kunai?"
"Make both types—just fewer of the larger ones. Still, make plenty overall, since they're basically disposable."
I handed him some tempered metal and steel, then asked:
"Do you want to go through Line 3 or Line 2? Line 3 is closer, but we don't know its condition, and it runs near roads and highways—it could be blocked by cars. Line 2 is farther, about a kilometer, I think, but it passes through less populated areas according to the map."
I pointed at the two lines.
"I was thinking the same thing. I'd prefer the safer route. What about you?"
"…Do we have time?"
"Huh…?"
"The sun is rising later and later. The more time we take to get her, the more dangerous it becomes, and the less distance we can cover. Besides, passing through populated areas isn't necessarily bad—we can gather supplies other survivors consider useless. I say we take some risk and go with Route 3. Time is literally life."
He nodded in agreement. We didn't have time to waste, with the polar night drawing closer and the sun rising later each day.
"You're right. Better get some rest. Tomorrow, when the sun rises, it's going to be a long day. I'll make what you asked for, check which routes we can take, then sleep…"
I picked up my machete and moved a bit away, swinging the military blade—until he looked at me like I was an idiot.
"What are you doing swinging that thing in here? Trying to break something?"
"A sword and a machete are very different. I want to get used to it before I need to use it tomorrow."
"If you've got that much energy, why don't you test it on the zombies outside?"
"…No way in hell. I went out during the first polar night, back when there weren't even night monsters, and it was already hard enough. Going out now without knowing if one of those things is around is a terrible idea—and even I know that."
I looked at him and noticed how much this had affected him. It wouldn't be good if he was exhausted when we went to rescue her tomorrow. I sighed, still sleepy, and suggested:
"Hey… we won't be able to rescue her if we're exhausted. How about taking shifts? I know you won't sleep well after what happened. If I weren't a heavy sleeper, I wouldn't either."
"Alright. You sleep first. I'll wake you later."
"No… you'll just stay up all night and not wake me. I know you. Don't think I'm that stupid. You sleep first—I'll wake you."
He looked like he wanted to argue, but seeing my serious expression, he knew I was capable of tying him up and forcing him to sleep. In the end, he grabbed a blanket and lay down.
The night passed without incident—no polar night creatures, just the occasional wandering zombie nearby. About eight hours, I think. When I woke him up so I could sleep, I barely remember it. I was exhausted.
Beep—Beep. Beep—Beep.
Lin Xian checked the clock. It was 14:00, even though it didn't feel like it in the dark tunnel. Seeing Drakkon still asleep on the mattress, he kicked him awake.
"Wake up and get ready. We're moving out now."
He placed the reinforced machete and the kunai I had asked for in front of me. I heard him mutter something, but couldn't make out what it was.
The train's engine roared to life. Slowly at first, then rapidly gaining speed, the armored train surged forward through the dark tunnel, its powerful headlights being the only light illuminating the way ahead.
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