Trapped

"Hmph!" The old woman's expression changed in an instant. She no longer looked half-dead. She shot Lin Xian a venomous glance through the cold-storage room window. "It's stifling in there. If he wants to die inside, let him."

"Yeah, it stinks even worse in there than it does out here. Let's see how long he lasts." The younger woman, drenched in sweat, fanned herself with one hand. "That damned cold-storage room is well insulated, though. I nearly shouted myself hoarse."

The old woman glared at her. "What do you know? If we didn't make it convincing, how would we catch anyone?"

"Mom, your trick worked after all."

Inside the cold-storage room, Lin Xian's face darkened. He could tell this family had done this before. Luckily, he had been alert enough to react in time. Another split second, and they might have shot him dead.

He faced the four people outside with an icy stare. The old woman was clearly the one behind it all. The other two were her son and daughter-in-law.

"Of course it did. Ever heard that old ginger is the spiciest?" The old woman glanced coldly at Lin Xian. "This one got away fast, though he doesn't seem too bright. Ran himself straight into a dead end."

"Hey, buddy. Come out and hand over the train keys. I promise I'll spare your life," the middle-aged man said, stepping forward.

So they had spotted his Infinite pulling into the platform and set a trap to lure him in. They meant to kill him and steal the train.

"You think I believe that?" Lin Xian replied coldly.

"Fine. If you won't come out, you can stay in there."

The man with the long gun sneered at Lin Xian, found a length of chain somewhere, and fastened the cold-storage room's door handles together from the outside.

"Dad!"

A chubby boy of eleven or twelve ran in from outside and called to the middle-aged man, eager to claim credit. "I checked just now. There's only one woman on that train, and she's pretty!"

The middle-aged man was Huang Zhaojian. The one holding the long gun was his younger brother, Huang Jie.

"Just two people running a train? They've got guts!" Huang Jie snorted, then looked at the old woman. "Mom, what do we do?"

"What do you think?" The old woman glared at him. "You really are thickheaded. That train must be full of supplies. If it runs, wouldn't we be more comfortable hiding on it than in this cold-storage room?"

"Right!" Gong Li's eyes lit up. "Then we could get out of this godforsaken place."

Huang Zhaojian turned to his wife. "Right, she says. Can you drive a train?"

"I can't, but someone else can. Didn't A-Le say there's a pretty woman on board? If those two young people can drive it, how hard can it be?"

"I want to drive the train! I want to drive the train!" The chubby boy jumped with excitement.

"Yeah, how hard can driving a train be? Hey, don't kill the pretty woman. Leave her for me, okay? Hahaha." Huang Jie perked up too.

"Shut up!"

While the others were getting carried away, the old woman glanced at Lin Xian inside the cold-storage room and signaled to them with her eyes.

"You stay here, Huang Jie."

With that, she pulled the others away, apparently to discuss a plan.

"Don't get your hopes up, old hag!"

Just as the old woman was about to leave, Lin Xian spoke from inside. He had seen through her plan at once. In full view of them all, he slowly took a walkie-talkie from behind his back.

"Teacher Chen, I've run into some trouble. Whatever you do, don't open the train door."

"What? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

"Okay. I won't open it!" Chen Sixuan answered tensely over the walkie-talkie.

"Fuck!"

Huang Zhaojian had not expected Lin Xian to have a walkie-talkie. Hearing him warn her right in front of them, he flew into a rage and kicked the cold-storage room door hard.

The old woman gritted her teeth when she realized Lin Xian had seen through her. Then she walked back over and gave him a cold smile.

"You're like a dog shut in a cage. Planning to wait us out? Can't be pleasant in there."

She was right. The cold-storage room reeked so badly that Lin Xian felt dizzy. He had used his ability to lock its mechanical door lock, keeping himself safe for now, but he could not get out either.

"Fuck you!" Huang Zhaojian slapped the window and shouted through it.

"You think you can escape, kid? Let's see how long you last. Wear out my patience, and I'll drag that woman off the train and let us all have our way with her right in front of you."

The old woman spoke with equal malice. "If you know what's good for you, you'll work with us. You and that woman drive the train, and we all leave together. I promise we'll let you live. How about it?"

To the old woman, Lin Xian was trapped. She could not get at him for the moment, but she knew the air barely circulated in that foul-smelling room. No one could stay inside for long, and there was no other exit. He was only putting up a last-ditch fight.

The mother and son's good-cop, bad-cop act almost made Lin Xian laugh. He had Wind Cannon, but choosing to fight two armed men head-on would be reckless.

Lin Xian was no battle-hardened soldier or skilled fighter. He was just a university student with little combat experience. If he had not reacted quickly, the two brothers outside would already have shot him dead.

Now he was trapped in the cold-storage room, and Chen Sixuan could do nothing to help him. As his mind raced, a wild idea came to him.

He ignored the people outside, took a flashlight from his backpack, and began examining the room.

Outside, the old woman saw that Lin Xian was ignoring them. Worried the train might leave, she signaled to her two sons to check on it.

Click. Lin Xian switched on the flashlight. Neat rows of shelves filled the vast cold-storage room, but their contents had long since been looted. Blood and water from thawed frozen meat covered the floor. That was where most of the stench came from.

Lin Xian went farther in and swept his flashlight around. A row of large freezer cabinets stood along the other side. His eyes lit up. He checked them one by one. They were empty too, but he could devour them!

Since he could not get out for now, the cold-storage room made a natural fortress. He could take his time devouring the large appliances. With that thought, he picked up the walkie-talkie again.

"Teacher Chen, plans have changed. I'm trapped for now. Stay on the train tonight. Don't open the door, turn on the lights, or make a sound. Wait until you hear from me."

On the train, panic crossed Chen Sixuan's face when she heard him.

Through a gap in the window armor, she saw two armed men crossing the tracks toward her. "Lin Xian, someone's coming."

"I know. Don't be afraid. As long as you don't open the door, they can't get to you."

Chen Sixuan bit her lower lip and nodded. "Okay."

No sooner had she spoken than someone began pounding on the door to the cab.

"Open up! Now! Or I'll shoot!"

"We've got the man. If you don't want him dead, open the door!"

Clutching the walkie-talkie, Chen Sixuan retreated into Carriage 1. She had never faced anything like this before. Of course she was frightened.

But Lin Xian's words stayed with her. No matter what they said, she would not open the door.

Bang!

Huang Jie climbed up to the windshield at the front of the train and peered inside. The moment he spotted Chen Sixuan's frightened face, his eyes widened. He nearly drooled.

"Hey! She's in there! She's fucking gorgeous!"

"Let me have her, will you?"

The apocalypse had come, society was gone, and Huang Jie was still single. The thought alone made him bitter. Seeing a woman as beautiful as Chen Sixuan sent blood rushing to his head. In a world without law or order, his worst instincts took over. He wanted to break in at once.

Bang! Bang!

His eyes burning with impatience, Huang Jie raised the butt of his gun and slammed it against the Infinite's windshield.

No matter how hard he struck it, the glass did not even crack.