Chapter 23: Little Thief in the Car

“Ugh!”

The extremely bloody scene shattered Chen Sixuan’s psychological defenses as a gentle university teacher; she got off the vehicle, the stench of blood hitting her face, and she immediately couldn’t help vomiting.

Lin Xian was about to comfort her, but saw her raise a hand and say

“No… no, I’m fine.”

Chen Sixuan’s face was pale, but Lin Xian now saw she was making great effort to adapt to the scene before her; he understood at once and said nothing more.

“Be careful—there might still be survivors or other zombies.”

“Mm.” Chen Sixuan nodded, and the two began searching the several SUVs parked at the platform, immediately discovering large quantities of water and various foods originally stocked by the Oasis convoy.

“So much food!”

Chen Sixuan deliberately avoided looking at the corpses on the ground, opened the car doors, and started gathering supplies.

Lin Xian glanced around; most of the supplies here remained largely intact. He frowned, suspecting the attack on the Oasis convoy had not been human-caused—otherwise the supplies would have been looted long ago.

Seeing the insect legs on the ground, his heart sank.

Ooo~

Lin Xian opened the hydraulic rear ramp of Car 3 and called to Chen Sixuan

“Time is tight—just toss everything inside for now. We’ll sort it out later on the road.”

“Got it!”

Thus, the two split up, searching the destroyed convoy for usable supplies.

But to Lin Xian’s surprise, Chen Sixuan—who had been vomiting every few steps and frowning deeply just moments ago—soon became entirely consumed by the joy of gathering supplies, energetically shuttling back and forth to load the train.

She told Lin Xian she’d found a huge box of instant noodles,

then screamed with delight upon discovering several crates of canned goods,

and even found a basket full of bottles and jars—everything from shampoo to facial cleanser—on one of the vehicles, and burst into delighted cheers.

Lin Xian watched her running nimbly past the corpses, silently amazed at how quickly this woman had adapted—far beyond his expectations.

“Look, Lin Xian, what’s this?”

At that moment, Chen Sixuan found a black leather case on a large Raptor vehicle. Inside were a purple plastic baton, a perforated small cup, some inexplicable lace underwear, and a USB drive carefully preserved in a box.

The box was labeled: “Precious Teacher’s Materials.”

“Teacher’s materials?” Chen Sixuan thought—wasn’t she a teacher herself? Curiosity sparked. She picked up the purple plastic baton, puzzled—until she saw the strange clothing and suddenly realized.

She let out a soft “Ah!” and immediately threw it away, glancing shyly at Lin Xian, her face instantly flushed crimson.

Lin Xian found it amusing. He thought such physiological needs were natural, but to bring so many “items” during a post-apocalyptic escape—this person was truly something else.

The Oasis convoy had barely left Jiang City when it was wiped out; most of its supplies now fell into Lin Xian’s lap.

The two carried supplies for over half an hour; Lin Xian estimated that even if they ate three meals a day, it would last them two months.

By that calculation, this was an absolute windfall!

Liu Wei was truly a character—someone who’d seen roadblocks and car hijackings, but this guy was the first to dare stop a train. Relying on his ability, he was so reckless he deserved to die—and yet he’d delivered Lin Xian a great gift.

But after searching, Lin Xian found only three long rifles and one short pistol—all of poor quality—and not a single bullet remained.

“Such a brutal attack… what kind of monster was it…?”

Lin Xian frowned deeply, taking the guns from the corpses. If he couldn’t manufacture bullets, these guns were just decorations.

Maybe I should just devour them…

Though he thought so, Lin Xian felt it was a waste to devour guns he’d just found.

Whatever. I’ll take them first.

“That’s enough—let’s go.” Lin Xian raised the hydraulic ramp, preparing to depart. The priority was to keep moving; he’d gathered all the useful supplies.

At that moment, his Mechanical Heart covered the entire train and suddenly sensed… movement inside!

He immediately frowned, turned to Chen Sixuan, and made a shushing gesture. Seeing Lin Xian’s expression, Chen Sixuan’s face changed too, her gaze turning toward the train.

Someone’s on the train?!

Lin Xian’s expression darkened—he’d forgotten there was still an unknown adult alive aboard.

“Lin Xian, it’s that girl!” Chen Sixuan realized too.

Lin Xian stood still, torn between amusement and exasperation. The girl who’d been unconscious for three days had been playing a trick on him?

Clank!

The cab door of the “Infinity” locomotive opened. Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan entered one after the other, then closed the door.

Lin Xian activated the train at the right moment and said to Chen Sixuan behind him

“Chen Laoshi, be careful—this girl has an ability. I’ll go deal with her first.”

Lin Xian didn’t want to waste time traveling, and since he suspected the girl possessed an ability, he kept Chen Sixuan back for her safety.

“Mm, be careful.”

Chen Sixuan was also astonished—she’d been watching the unconscious girl all along, wondering why a girl could sleep for three days without waking.

!

Time was critical; Lin Xian had to drive while handling the girl, so she had to take charge of observing the road conditions.

Lin Xian reached Car 1 and found the sofa empty—only a few severed ropes remained on the floor.

He slowed his pace and shut the gates between each car, planning to trap her.

As he entered Car 2, a wooden stick suddenly flew at his face, accompanied by a sharp

“Hey!”

Clearly, the girl had put all her strength into the ambush—she meant to succeed!

But Lin Xian’s speed surpassed ordinary humans, and he’d been on guard already; the moment the stick appeared, he reached out and seized it in his hand.

Seeing her ambush fail, the girl panicked, cried out “Ah!” and immediately dropped the stick, turning to dash back toward the rear cars, trying to close the gate.

But she didn’t know the entire train was under Lin Xian’s control—he could close any gate whenever he wished.

Whoosh~

The gate the girl had shut swung open. Lin Xian walked forward, face grim, short knife gripped tight.

“I knew you wouldn’t stay unconscious this long—don’t you get hungry or need to use the bathroom? Turns out you could untie yourself.”

“Ah~” The girl clutched half a leftover bread roll, terrified by Lin Xian’s demeanor. She backed away, shouting, “Don’t come closer! Don’t come closer!”

She retreated all the way to Car 3, realizing there was no escape behind her. Her eyes darted, then she grabbed a cardboard box and hurled it at Lin Xian. While he dodged, she tried to slip past him and run the opposite way.

Lin Xian was cautious—he knew the girl might possess a powerful ability, so he secretly prepared a Wind Cannon and kept an Ice Shield ready.

But the girl merely threw the box at him—he was momentarily surprised.

At that moment, as she had nowhere left to retreat and tried to slip past him, he reached out, grabbed her wrist, yanked her back, tripped her with his foot, and pinned her to the ground. She cried out in pain, “Ow!” and begged frantically, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, big brother, don’t kill me!”

Lin Xian frowned—he’d subdued her too easily, with no resistance as expected. Yet he clearly remembered how the girl had blasted “Old Li” flying in the dark. He was puzzled.

Then, suddenly, he noticed a faint, subtle cunning in the girl’s pleading eyes—his heart snapped alert.

This girl is faking!

So he played along, speaking coldly:

“You stole my food and tried to ambush me—is this how you repay your savior?”

Sensing Lin Xian had no intention to kill her, the girl immediately feigned innocence, her face reddening further as she pleaded,

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, don’t kill me!~”

The girl beneath him thrashed wildly, her bare, smooth legs kicking furiously beneath her short shorts.

New book, please follow!

(End of Chapter)