"You haven't even gone a hundred kilometers, and two groups have already tried to rob you. Do you think you'll be that lucky every time? There are only two of you, and that woman probably couldn't even beat a single zombie. What will you do if you run into a Corpse Tide? Do you have heating? Radar? Once you stop, won't you need a Sentinel System for safety? A defense system? Moving supplies is easy, but won't you need transport machinery to do it?"
"And another thing! People are fragile. There's a pandemic raging across the world. What will you do if someone gets infected or sick? You'll need doctors and antibiotics. If you go without vitamins for too long, you'll need fruit and vegetables. Do you have a medical system? Industrial external armor, a repair system, drone reconnaissance? Do you have an Icebreaker Shield for glaciers? If you need to repair the tracks, you'll need steel, a small rail vehicle, and a rail-mounted lifting system. Can you get all that? Believe me, your Infinite Train Project might not even make it a thousand kilometers before it's finished. Completely done for. Goodbye!"
The more Kiki spoke, the angrier she got. Her eyes widened, her chest heaved, and she kept grinding her neat little teeth. Hearing Lin Xian dismiss the Dawn Project while stubbornly insisting on driving a train had left her frantic.
As if pushed to her limit, she grew serious. She looked up at the blade above her head and spoke urgently.
Lin Xian stared, dumbfounded. Far from getting angry, his eyes grew brighter. "Wait... slow down. Sentinel System, defense system, radar, transport machinery, medical system, industrial external armor, repair system, drone reconnaissance... What else?"
His interest was piqued. She had just given him a flood of ideas for his Mechanical Esper Ability.
Kiki's mouth fell slightly open, her eyes round with disbelief. She had thoroughly poured cold water on the plan Lin Xian was so proud of, yet instead of flying into a rage, he seemed fascinated. From the look of him, he was actually considering planning around everything she had said.
"Did you understand anything I said?" Kiki demanded.
"Of course. My train needs those systems if it's going to travel faster and farther!" Lin Xian said earnestly. "Were you also going to suggest adding a railgun and a symbiotic mech unit?"
"You!"
"Nothing else? All right, then. Bye." Lin Xian's expression suddenly turned cold, the shift so abrupt it was almost inhuman.
"Hey, hey, hey!" When Lin Xian stood as though to throw her off the train again, Kiki lost every trace of composure. She looked up at him in panic. "Big Brother, Big Brother, can't we talk this over? If I have to, I-I-I can sleep with you like that woman does!"
Lin Xian's brow darkened. "What did you say?"
Kiki's eyes darted about. "But you have to wait a few months, until after my sixteenth birthday. Otherwise, you'd be molesting a minor!"
"Sorry. You've got no chest and no ass. I'm not interested." Lin Xian's expression did not change.
"You!?"
Infinite raced along the Jiangyu Railway. The last rays of sunset washed over the speeding train, picking out the sleek beauty of its machinery.
Inside Carriage 3, the air seemed to freeze.
Clunk—
The hydraulic tail lift engaged. Gritting his teeth, Lin Xian opened it while the train was still moving, then grabbed the girl and carried her to the rear of the carriage like a chick.
"The wilderness should be safer than the city. You're on your own."
He made as if to throw her out.
"Wait!!"
Kiki could not resist him at all. Her face went deathly pale, and she cried, "Hey, handsome! Whatever you want, we can negotiate!"
Lin Xian released her and fixed her with an icy stare.
"What value do you bring to my team? You stole food and attacked me. I've shown plenty of humanity by not killing you outright."
Even so, throwing her off the train now would be as good as sending her to her death.
But that had nothing to do with Lin Xian.
"I do have value!" Kiki said, her eyes wide. "I told you who I am. Keep me, and you can trade me for lots of supplies."
"I told you." Lin Xian wore a chilling smile, looking utterly unmoved.
"I'm not interested in your proposal."
"Everything I said is true!"
"Don't need it."
"Goodbye." Lin Xian closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. His patience was gone. He activated Mechanical Heart, and Infinite immediately began to slow.
Screech—
Before long, the train came to a gradual stop. Grim-faced, Lin Xian forced Kiki back toward the open doorway.
"Get out."
When Kiki saw that he had really stopped the train, fear finally overtook her. Tears clouded her large eyes. She glared at Lin Xian, struggled with herself for a moment, then turned away stubbornly. But at the edge of the carriage, she stopped and looked back at him in alarm. Biting her lower lip, she asked, "You're testing me?"
Lin Xian frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Kiki's gaze cooled. "You're testing my ability?"
Lin Xian's pupils contracted. He said nothing.
At his silence, Kiki's expression eased. A sly glint replaced the fear in her tear-filled eyes, and she let out a soft laugh. "If you wanted to kill me, you'd have done it from the start. You're testing me, aren't you?"
As though something had suddenly clicked, the girl perked up. She walked straight up to Lin Xian, lifted her chin, and looked at him proudly, refusing to back down.
"You know I have an ability, don't you?"
"Do you?" Lin Xian asked with a smile.
"Of course." Kiki spoke with absolute conviction. "You know I survived the helicopter crash and reached your shelter unharmed in the Black Night. My ability must be powerful—maybe powerful enough to fend off those huge monsters and bugs out there. So even though you want to kill me, you're curious about me and wary of me. You only threatened to throw me off the train to test me. Am I right?"
Lin Xian studied the girl, who looked no more than fifteen or sixteen. His expression stayed unchanged, but his mind raced.
She was right.
If she had been anyone else, he would have killed her with one slash long ago.
When she had called to him for help that night, he had not been moved.
That she had walked alive through a monster-filled Black Night and reached his shelter was almost impossible to believe. The shockwave that night had left a deep impression on him, too.
If the powerful ability she had suddenly displayed had not destroyed his door, he would never have risked bringing her aboard.
So when she did not immediately use her ability to fight back, Lin Xian found it increasingly strange. He had no interest in sleeping with a flat-chested girl, and little interest in the so-called Dawn Project, but he was intensely curious about the ability Kiki had unleashed—and somewhat wary of it.
That was why he had held back. He was deliberately testing her, trying to find out what she wanted and why she was pretending not to understand abilities.
At that thought, Lin Xian's voice dropped. The easy amusement vanished from it.
"Haven't you been testing me too?"
"Wh-what do you mean?" Kiki's smile froze.
"First, you acted innocent to see if I was really a pervert who wanted you. When that failed, you offered me a deal. The truth is, you're afraid I have bad intentions, so you've been testing my limits."
Lin Xian slowly drew his short blade, his face impassive.
"Then let me show you where my limit is!"
His expression hardened. He lunged at Kiki, blade in hand, intent on ending her life with a single strike.
Kiki blanched at the murderous look on his face. Her pupils shrank, and she had nowhere left to retreat. As Lin Xian reached her and raised his blade, she squeezed her eyes shut and threw up her hands to shield her face. "Stop! Stop! I was wrong! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"
Whoosh!
Silence fell. For an instant, Kiki felt as though she had stopped breathing. She cautiously opened her eyes and found the cold blade hovering right in front of them.
Lin Xian's face was cold. He had held nothing back and had even gathered a Wind Gun in secret, yet the girl had not used her ability to fight back, even with death upon her. Doubt stirred in him.
He forced down his urge to kill and stopped his hand.
"Talk!"
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