The breeze sent the curtains fluttering, and the atmosphere in the room was murderous and cold.
The woman said nothing. Her eyes flickered eerily like ghostly flames as she watched him, as though Lynn would become another soul slain by her in the very next instant.
But Lynn showed no fear either. A faint smile hung on his face as he faced her with a cavalier air.
After a long while.
"Not bad."
The woman finally broke the murderous silence with a smile. Her fingers lightly brushed the hair beside her ear, her seductive grace enough to melt bones.
"This really is a tactic I hadn't considered. But I truly doubt you have that kind of ruthlessness and resolve. Could you really face your family's deaths without batting an eye? If I killed them right in front of you now, for example, could you really keep sitting here, chatting and laughing with me as though nothing had happened?"
Lynn's smile remained unchanged as he casually slipped a cigarette he had bought by the roadside into his mouth.
Click-
A tiny flame sprang from the lighter.
He paused, then said slowly:
"Of course I'm not as coldhearted as you described. Their deaths would hurt me deeply. But I thought it over. If the apocalypse really is inevitable, what difference does it make whether they die sooner or later?"
"So don't threaten me with that. If they die, I'll follow them."
"If even my family is gone, why the fuck would I save the world?"
Despite his profanity, his tone remained utterly calm, as though he had long since made up his mind.
Yet the woman's expression remained unchanged. Only her eyes flickered slightly amid her smile, as though she were judging whether he was truly as detached as his tone suggested.