The Buldham Express train began to slow down as it entered the wide platform area. The sound of metal grinding against metal between the wheels and the rails created a long, ear-splitting screech, gradually transitioning into a subtle vibration that signaled the journey had reached its end. The train finally arrived at the station. It came to a slow halt, leaving behind a brief moment of silence inside the carriage before the hydraulic system activated to open access to the outside world.
Before the doors opened, the conductor spoke through the speakers in the same flat tone as before, though this time there was a resonance that filled every corner of the narrow space:
"Attention passengers, the train has arrived at its final destination. We thank you for traveling with us. Please disembark in an orderly manner and remember to check your belongings."
The exit doors opened with a heavy hiss of air. Yan Shuo immediately stood up from his seat, straightening his jacket, which had become slightly wrinkled from sitting too long. He paused for a moment, then glanced toward the mysterious man who was still sitting back with his legs crossed in front of him. The man showed no sign of moving, as if he intended to remain there forever.
"You're not getting off, Uncle?" Yan Shuo asked, his tone now filled more with confusion than annoyance.
The man looked up, the carriage lights reflecting off the surface of his dark sunglasses. He leaned back casually, forming a faint smile that was hard to interpret. Speaking in a calm tone that seemed to dismiss any sense of urgency, he said, "You go first, kid. I'll get off after you. There are a few things I still need to take care of in this seat."
Yan Shuo felt confused by the answer. He frowned, but he didn't want to waste any more time with a strange man he had just met. He turned his body and walked toward the exit, merging with the flow of other passengers.
He arrived at Laskas City Station, greeted by the bustling atmosphere of the platform. He was followed by people getting off and boarding the train, creating intersecting streams of human traffic beneath the station's grand, futuristic ceiling.
Yan Shuo walked along the platform toward the station exit. However, a nagging sense of curiosity made him glance back briefly toward the train, whose engine was still humming softly, preparing to depart on its next route. He searched for the bespectacled man through the carriage windows, but he saw no one.
As he resumed walking toward the exit, he muttered quietly to himself, "What's with that old guy? He said he was going to Laskas City—so why didn't he get off? What a weirdo."
He stepped out of the station area, passing through the automatic sensor gate that emitted a short beep. The moment he set foot on the outer plaza, he felt a cool breeze and fresh morning air brush against his face. After leaving the stuffy train, the sensation of open air felt incredibly refreshing.
He stood still for a moment, inhaling the fresh air deeply into his lungs. He smiled, feeling a small spark of hope that today might not be as bad as he had expected.
But that smile only lasted a few seconds. The image of his fierce boss suddenly appeared in his mind, followed by the numbers of debt wrapped tightly around his waist. As he remembered the money he owed, his smile immediately vanished.
The motivation that had just begun to bloom withered instantly, replaced by a mental burden pressing down on his shoulders once more. He began walking with sluggish steps, lowering his head as he thought about what excuse he would have to come up with next just to survive another day at work.
Before he could move far from the station area, a thunderous rumble tore through the calm morning sky. It didn't sound like an explosion, but rather like a giant ripping apart a sheet of steel.
Right before his eyes, a tall office building across from the station was suddenly sliced horizontally with terrifying precision. The upper half slid off and crashed into another building across the street with devastating force.
Concrete dust and shards of glass rained down onto the road. People below—pedestrians who had been busy with their own affairs moments earlier—were instantly crushed and struck by massive falling debris. Piercing screams shattered the morning silence.
People screamed and ran in mass panic, while Yan Shuo stood frozen. His feet felt as if they were rooted into the concrete sidewalk. He didn't move at all while others fled desperately, leaping over rubble and shoving one another just to survive.
The chaos did not end there. People who ran toward the left side of the road suddenly stopped in unison, then turned around with faces filled with pure horror.
From the corner of his eye, Yan Shuo saw a flash of pale light. A massive ice bullet was fired from the left at high speed, striking a group of people who were running. The shots came in rapid succession, without pause, and anything struck by the ice bullets froze solid within seconds.
This was no ordinary ice. The moment it touched a surface, it spread with unreasonable ferocity. Roads and surrounding buildings began to be covered in deadly blue crystal layers.
The ice spread so quickly that anyone who touched it froze instantly in place, trapped forever in poses of terror—cold crystal statues.
Amid the apocalyptic scenery, the shooter emerged from the shadows of a building. He was sitting casually atop a gigantic ice golem he had formed from the moisture in the surrounding air.
The golem moved heavily, each step crushing asphalt and leaving frozen tracks behind. The man fired with one finger and one hand casually, as if he were merely flicking away dust. His other hand held a bottle of alcohol, from which he leisurely took a swig amid humanity's screams.
He was the drunken man from the narrow alley earlier. His dark red hair fluttered in the icy wind generated by his own power. Wherever the ice golem brushed against buildings, the ice spread along concrete walls, transforming the city district into a silent, deadly crystal forest.
The road he traveled became completely frozen, radiating bone-piercing cold, allowing Yan Shuo to clearly see the ice golem's presence from behind the buildings to the left.
The man continued shooting anything that moved, until by chance his gaze fell upon a lone young man standing in the foreground of the station. He halted the golem and stared at Yan Shuo.
Under the pressure of such dense killing intent, Yan Shuo remained motionless. He wanted to run, but his brain seemed to lose control over his motor nerves. His legs trembled violently, producing faint cracking sounds atop asphalt that was beginning to be coated in thin ice.
The red-haired man grinned, revealing uneven teeth. He pointed his cold index finger toward Yan Shuo, making a precise aiming gesture.
He closed his left eye, focusing as if hunting a small prey in a snowy field. A thin smile formed—an expression blending madness with twisted admiration. He murmured softly, his voice carried by the icy wind to Yan Shuo's ears, "What a brave kid… not running at all."
The red-haired man atop the golem did not immediately pull the imaginary trigger with his finger. Instead, he paused, tilting his head with the posture of a predator toying with cornered prey. His pupils, dilated from alcohol, glinted as they caught the image of Yan Shuo's violently trembling body. He muttered lowly, a whisper more like a cold breath, "Go on… run. And I'll make sure my attack pierces straight through your heart."
Yan Shuo stared at him with eyes wide open. His heart pounded violently, creating rhythmic thuds so loud they seemed to deafen him, as if the organ wanted to leap out of his chest. He desperately wanted to move his legs, turn around, and run as fast as he could into the narrow alleys to hide. But reality was cruel. His entire body was stiff, as if his nerves had been drenched in freshly hardened cement. Every inch of muscle rebelled, leaving him able only to stand frozen and witness the apocalyptic horror before him.
"What's happening to my body? Why… why can't I move?" Yan Shuo muttered, his voice nearly swallowed by the wind. He took a short breath that felt sharp like shards of glass. His thoughts spiraled wildly in despair. "Even if I run, I'd be chased down easily by that ten-meter-tall golem. Is this where my life ends? Right in front of this station, as a worthless ice statue?"
That fear nearly reached its peak when suddenly a warm pressure landed on his shoulder. The pat felt incredibly real amid the piercing cold. A deep yet relaxed voice broke the suffocating tension from behind him.
"Kid… why are you so scared? What's going on here?"
Yan Shuo stiffly shifted his gaze to the side until he could see the figure standing beside him. His eyes blinked in disbelief. It was the man from the train—the man he had thought strange for refusing to disembark. "Uncle… uh, sir?" Yan Shuo asked haltingly, his tongue stiff. "Wh-why are you… still here? Weren't you supposed to leave?"
The man smiled broadly, showing an expression that sharply contrasted with the city's destruction. "Don't call me that. Call me Big bro Haoran," he said in a playful tone that oddly brought a bit of warmth to the frozen atmosphere.
Meanwhile, the man atop the ice golem began to lose his patience. He clicked his tongue irritably, his gaze shifting from Yan Shuo to Haoran. "Why is there another dog coming out of the station?" the drunk muttered with disgust. "Looks like there are still plenty of people inside that need cleaning up. I guess I should hurry."
However, the shooter noticed something strange. The newly arrived man showed no sign of fear at all. Haoran stood calmly, even wearing a smile that looked mocking to anyone with murderous intent. Irritation ignited the drunk's anger. Without further warning, he fired an ice bullet. The blue crystal shot tore through the air with a lethal whistle.
Yan Shuo couldn't dodge in time. The bullet flew too fast, heading straight for his head. Instinctively, he shut his eyes tightly, waiting for pain or eternal darkness.
Krekk!
The sharp sound of shattering crystal echoed. Yan Shuo didn't feel deadly cold—only a small gust of wind. He dared to open his eyes and froze in astonishment. Haoran was already standing directly in front of him, solid like a steel wall. With a movement that looked incredibly light, Haoran had just swatted the ice bullet away, shattering it into pieces before it could touch Yan Shuo's skin.
"Run before death reaches you," Haoran said without turning around. From his palm appeared an ancient book with a peeling cover. Yet the book radiated a majestic golden aura—an energy that felt pure and authoritative. Haoran tossed the book into the air. Miraculously, it opened by itself and rapidly expanded until it was as large as a private car.
"Get on the book and you'll be safe. I'll handle things here," Haoran ordered.
The drunk atop the ice golem grew even angrier at seeing his attack so easily repelled. He fired again—this time two ice bullets spiraling together with doubled destructive power. But Haoran merely snorted. With a single powerful swing of his hand, he once again smashed both bullets into drifting snow dust.
Watching the extraordinary scene, Yan Shuo began to feel a creeping sense of safety. Awe replaced fear. "Is this guy also a Stellar user?" he muttered in amazement.
"Now!" Haoran barked, his voice carrying unquestionable authority.
Yan Shuo nodded quickly. With the last of his strength, he scrambled onto the massive book hovering low. The moment his feet touched the giant pages, which felt as solid as oak wood, a transparent protective formation suddenly appeared, enveloping him in a dome of light. Yan Shuo stared in shock. He tried touching the barrier. When his fingers made contact with the air, a golden layer of intricate geometric patterns flashed briefly—visible only at the moment of physical contact.
Without warning, the book began to fly. Yan Shuo, who had never ridden a flying object in his life—let alone a magical book—panicked instantly. "Uncle! Why is this thing flying?!" he shouted hysterically, gripping the edge of the book.
Haoran didn't respond. He had already focused all his attention on the ice golem ahead. Feeling ignored, Yan Shuo became annoyed and shouted louder, "Uncle! Uncle! Put me down!"
Yet Haoran remained unmoving in his battle-ready stance, "Do I really have to call him 'Big bro'? That's disgusting."
The book continued soaring higher into the sky, leaving the frozen streets far below. As the altitude increased, the view beneath Yan Shuo transformed into a wider vision of hell. From up here, he could see that it wasn't just the station that had been destroyed. Buildings, roads, and public facilities throughout Laskas City had been devastated. Almost every structure lay in ruins—some engulfed in roaring flames belching thick black smoke, others cleanly sliced apart by mysterious attacks, and many transformed into cold ice monuments.
Yan Shuo covered his mouth in shock at the scale of the destruction. He could see everything from this height—a panorama of devastation beyond his worst nightmares. The book finally stopped ascending once it reached a height considered safe from the battle below.
From his hovering position, Yan Shuo looked down and saw Haoran's figure now appearing small beneath him. The man stood motionless amid temperatures near absolute zero, as if challenging the fiercest storm itself. Yan Shuo began to wonder whether Big bro Haoran truly possessed immense Stellar power. From the way he shattered those ice bullets earlier, his strength was clearly on a different level. Yan Shuo let out a long breath, allowing his body to relax atop the golden book.
For now… I'm safe.