Several minutes passed after the last traces of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon.
Outside, there was only absolute darkness.
Not even the moon could pierce through the black clouds of the Polar Night.
Inside the locomotive, silence weighed heavily in the air. The only sound remaining was the low hum of the engine running at minimal power while the train stayed motionless on the tracks.
Chen Sixuan breathed slowly, trying to calm herself.
Her eyes were still red.
With trembling steps, she walked toward the control cabin while clutching her small notebook tightly as if it were the only thing keeping her mind together.
She looked at the control panel.
54 kilometers traveled.
Sunset: 18:45.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the notebook and began writing with a slightly shaking hand.
"Day 1 since departing Jiang City.
Total travel time: 48 minutes.
Distance traveled: 54 kilometers.
Daylight period: 16:00 to 18:45."
She stared at the words for a long moment.
But her mind was elsewhere.
All she could hear were the desperate cries from earlier.
The baby crying.
The banging on the door.
The suffocating feeling that she had condemned three people to death.
Suddenly—
A hand landed on her shoulder.
"Ah!"
Startled, Chen Sixuan lost her balance and fell onto the floor.
Lin Xian looked at her quietly.
"Relax."
His voice was calm.
"You made the right choice."
Before she could answer—
TOC. TOC. TOC.
Knocking echoed from the cabin door.
"Open the damn door already. It's freezing out here."
Drakkon's voice came from outside followed by three more knocks.
Lin Xian immediately opened the door.
The moment Drakkon stepped inside, he shut it behind him before too much cold air could enter the locomotive.
Both of them looked toward him.
His hair was completely messy.
His clothes were torn.
Dry blood covered parts of his arms and legs.
Dirt.
Scratches.
Small cuts.
He looked like someone who had rolled down a mountain.
"You alive?" Lin Xian asked while frowning.
"You look like you got hit by a tornado."
"Close enough."
Drakkon kicked off his shoes.
"In my case, the tornado was a cliff."
He walked directly toward the small bathroom inside the locomotive.
The moment he shut the door—
The sound of running water echoed inside.
"HEY!" Lin Xian shouted immediately.
"DON'T WASTE WATER!"
"Go fuck yourself."
The answer came instantly from inside the bathroom.
Chen Sixuan stared at the bathroom door for several seconds before looking back at Lin Xian.
"…Is he always like this?"
Lin Xian sighed tiredly.
"Most of the time."
He leaned his head against the wall.
"Especially when he's in a bad mood."
The sound of water continued.
The cabin fell silent again.
Until Chen Sixuan spoke quietly.
"…If I had opened the door…"
She hesitated.
"…you would've thrown me out too, right?"
Lin Xian answered without hesitation.
"Yes."
The cold answer hit her like a blade.
Tears immediately began falling again.
She lowered her head while tightly gripping her clothes.
Lin Xian watched silently for a few seconds before speaking calmly.
"I understand why you hesitated."
"Anyone normal would hesitate."
"But that doesn't change reality."
She remained silent.
"This is the apocalypse now."
"The worst side of humanity is coming out."
"You can't trust everyone."
He crossed his arms.
"You don't know if that man was really the father."
"You don't know if that woman was really the mother."
"You don't even know if the baby belonged to them."
Chen Sixuan's eyes widened slightly.
"But…"
"They had a baby…"
Her voice trembled again.
Lin Xian stepped closer.
With his fingers, he wiped away one of her tears.
"I know."
"But hearing suffering doesn't mean you can save everyone."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"There's an old Buddhist saying."
'Before saving others, save yourself. Before saving yourself, save your heart.'"
"If you had opened that door…"
"…all of us would've died."
Chen Sixuan bit her lip.
"I know…"
"…but the baby…"
She started crying again.
That was when—
The bathroom door opened.
Warm steam escaped into the cabin.
Drakkon walked out wearing clean clothes while drying his wet hair with a towel.
Bandages could be seen beneath his sleeves.
He looked at the two of them expressionlessly.
"Their act was fake."
Both of them turned toward him.
"I got back a while ago."
"I stayed hidden and watched."
Drakkon walked slowly while speaking.
"That baby didn't suddenly start crying."
"The woman pinched him."
Chen Sixuan froze.
"…What?"
"She pinched the baby's face to force him to cry."
He shrugged.
"What kind of mother does that?"
Her face instantly turned pale.
Drakkon continued speaking indifferently.
"And another thing…"
"You two were too emotional to notice the obvious."
He pointed toward the door.
"The station we passed isn't that far away."
"Even if the bandits were still there, that family could've simply waited until they left."
Then he crossed his arms.
"And why did they show up right after the gang left?"
"Doesn't that sound way too convenient?"
Silence filled the cabin.
Chen Sixuan's expression slowly changed.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Then…
Understanding.
"…You mean…"
"…they were pretending?"
"Basically."
Drakkon answered.
"The first group screamed 'wolf.'"
"The second group was the wolf wearing sheep's clothing."
He let out a tired sigh.
"They just wanted us to open the door."
Chen Sixuan stood there silently.
The gentle light still remaining in her eyes dimmed slightly.
Lin Xian quietly observed her reaction.
Then discreetly gave Drakkon a thumbs-up.
Drakkon rolled his eyes in response.
"…Am I stupid for still wanting to believe people?" Chen Sixuan asked softly.
"Very." Lin Xian answered immediately.
"Naive as hell too." Drakkon added.
She lowered her head.
But this time…
She didn't cry.
She looked more like someone trying to accept a cruel reality.
The heavy atmosphere lasted several seconds until Drakkon abruptly broke it.
"Alright enough depressing crap."
"I'm starving."
Suddenly—
A table appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the cabin.
Chen Sixuan widened her eyes.
Lin Xian opened his mouth.
"Don't even start."
Drakkon pointed at him immediately.
"Shut up and sit down."
Moments later, several dishes appeared on the table.
Lobster.
Rice.
French fries.
Meat sauce.
Large chunks of meat covered in steaming gravy.
The smell instantly filled the entire cabin.
Lin Xian stared at the food like a starving man.
Chen Sixuan looked completely stunned.
Meanwhile, Drakkon had already sat down and started devouring his food without caring about anything else.
"If you two don't eat…"
"…I'll eat your portions too."
The two finally sat down.
For several minutes, the only sound inside the cabin was silverware clinking against plates.
After everything they had gone through…
A hot meal felt almost unreal.
Chen Sixuan held her fork with slightly trembling hands.
She nearly cried again after tasting the food.
A warm meal.
Safety.
In a world where people were killing each other over scraps.
Ten minutes later—
Everything was finished.
Drakkon stored the table away again inside his system.
Then he started walking toward the third carriage.
But before he could leave—
Lin Xian placed the unconscious girl into his arms.
"Take care of her tonight." he said naturally.
Drakkon frowned.
"…Huh?"
"And don't come back to the front cabin until I call you tomorrow."
Drakkon narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
Then he noticed something.
Over Lin Xian's shoulder, he could see Chen Sixuan sitting there completely red-faced like an overheated kettle about to explode.
Her eyes kept avoiding contact.
Her entire face was burning red.
Drakkon slowly narrowed his eyes further.
"…You son of a bitch."
Before he could continue—
Lin Xian shoved him outside the cabin.
CLANG.
The door locked immediately.
"BASTARD!"
Drakkon slammed the door furiously.
"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO DO?!"
Silence.
"SHAMELESS ANIMALS!"
No response came from inside.
On the other side of the door—
Lin Xian simply smiled in satisfaction.
Drakkon stared at the locked door for several seconds.
Then sighed in defeat.
"Animals…"
Too exhausted to keep complaining, he carried the unconscious girl toward the improvised bedroom inside the third carriage.
Since there was still only one assembled bed…
He simply laid down beside her.
Trying to ignore everything.
A while later—
Muffled sounds began echoing faintly through the train.
Heavy breathing.
Soft noises.
Occasional quiet sounds from the other carriage.
Drakkon's eyelids slowly twitched.
"…Fucking degenerates…"
He turned to the side and tried to sleep.
But the noises continued.
One hour.
Two hours.
Three hours.
The veins on his forehead were already bulging from irritation.
"I swear…"
"…I'm gonna kill those two…"
Eventually—
Silence finally returned.
Drakkon's eyes were red from exhaustion and annoyance.
A few minutes later…
He finally fell into a deep sleep.
But he didn't notice.
Beside him—
The unconscious girl slowly began moving slightly.
Her cheeks were red.
Her eyes half-opened weakly.
"Shameless beasts…" she murmured softly.
"No shame at all…"
She slowly turned her face toward Drakkon.
Quietly staring at him sleeping beside her.
For some reason…
His face now looked strangely pleasant to her.
She quickly shook her head while blushing deeply.
"…What am I even thinking…"
But despite saying that—
She continued staring at him silently in the darkness
After making sure he was truly asleep, she slowly began untying the ropes around her body before going to do what she needed to do.