When the sky was completely shrouded in the deep blue of night, the old green train rolled toward an unknown future.
Beiwei, Juelu, Huang Zhuowang, and Zuo Shenghang, who had arrived a little later, stayed in the Seventh Carriage.
Using the special arrangements 455 had made for him, Xie De stayed alone in the Eleventh Carriage, the very last one. Since he was its only occupant and no one would pass through to disturb him, the space had not been partitioned. It felt particularly spacious, and particularly quiet.
Only the rumble of the moving train echoed through the boundless night.
Before the sky had gone completely dark, Xie De sat by the window, his chin propped on his hand, and looked outside. Towns slid backward as the train headed into mountainous wilderness.
According to 455, once they passed through this seemingly endless stretch of wilderness, they would reach deserts and plains.
In the deep blue night, the hills outside the window resembled lurking monsters, or silent burial mounds.
Xie De watched them in equal silence.
"Host, go get some dinner in the Tenth Carriage. The carriage right ahead of yours is a dining car. They're probably all eating there. There are no attendants pushing food carts on this train, so you have to go there yourself."
"I don't want to."
Loud conversation was already drifting in from the carriage ahead, along with a melodramatic prime-time soap opera playing on the television.
There had to be plenty of people. Xie De knew his looks stood out. The moment he appeared, several pairs of eyes would fix on him. Although he could keep a straight face, he would rather avoid that situation if possible.
Xie De dug a tub of instant noodles out of his suitcase.
455 said, "All right, then. There