March 7th's seemingly casual remark instantly caught Lin Chen's attention.
"March... have you read a story like this before?"
Lin Chen walked over to March 7th and looked at the yellowed pages beneath the desk lamp, hurriedly asking her.
"Not a story like it! The exact same story!"
"Look, there was an identical book on the desk in Cabin 0018 just now."
"The only difference was probably the ending recorded in chapter three."
March 7th closed the old book, her expression utterly serious.
"How did the story in Cabin 0018 end?"
He hurried to press her for an answer, a spark flashing through his mind.
Lin Chen suddenly felt that this old book concealed a secret.
Perhaps... the uncanny happenings on Herta Space Station had something to do with it?
"Let me think... it went something like this."
[When the melodious bells rang once more.]
[The ship returning to port brought back the sailors' already mutilated remains.]
[No one knew what they had experienced at sea.]
[Greed and desire had always been humanity's original sins.]
[Perhaps everything had been destined from the day the ship left port.]
Clearing her throat, March 7th recited the ending she had read in an unusually serious tone.
"I see..."
"March, you've got a pretty good memory!"
"Of course! My memory has always been amazing..."
Lin Chen nodded silently, then sank into thought.
The same fable, yet with different endings.
If he followed the storyline from Cabin 0018...
What had happened after that tremendous storm?
What could have killed every sailor and even left their remains mutilated?
Clearly, the story March 7th described was missing part of its plot.
"La la la..."
"La la la la la..."
Outside the cabin window, the mournful, intermittent singing continued without pause.
A flash of inspiration flickered through his mind.
Something suddenly occurred to Lin Chen.
"A tale of adventures at sea, singing late at night..."
"Is the source of this uncanny calamity a monster like the ones in those legends?"
After muttering to himself, Lin Chen suddenly felt everything click into place.
During humanity's age of seafaring, there had been many strange tales about the ocean.
Legend had it that female monsters called "Sirens" lived in the deep sea.
They had wings on their backs, human heads, and the bodies of fish.
Their beautiful songs bewitched sailors aboard passing ships.
In the end, those poor sailors became meals for the Sirens.
Mermaids? No such thing.
A Siren's true appearance was hideously terrifying.
Its sharp, sawlike fangs could tear through a sailboat's mast.
"Monsters? Lin Chen, what are you talking about?"
Seeing Lin Chen's reaction, the girl still sitting at the desk gave him a puzzled look.
How had a perfectly ordinary fable become a story about monsters?
Seeing March 7th's confusion...
Lin Chen eagerly began telling her the legends of the Sirens.
Naturally, he embellished them.
He made the Sirens sound even more terrifying.
Lin Chen found it rather entertaining to tease the cowardly March 7th a little.
"Now... do you still think that singing outside is a lullaby?"
Pointing at the window, Lin Chen made his tone increasingly emphatic.
"..."
March 7th gave no answer, simply clapping both hands over her ears.
Fear spread through the beautiful eyes set in her flawless face.
Her graceful, curvaceous body also began to tremble slightly.
Clearly, March 7th had been frightened again.
"It's just a Siren. What's so scary about that?"
"If it swallowed you in one bite, you'd still have half your body left."
As he spoke, Lin Chen chose that particularly inappropriate moment to poke March 7th's slender waist.
"Ah!"
"Y-you creep! What are you doing?"
Like a cat with its fur standing on end, she suddenly sprang from her stool.
A faint blush seemed to tint March 7th's jade-white face.
"Speaking of which, March, I actually know plenty of even scarier stories."
"Want to hear them? Guaranteed thrills!"
Getting a little carried away with his mischief, Lin Chen decided to tease March 7th some more.
He probably did not have much time left with her.
Lin Chen certainly did not mind leaving a stronger impression on March 7th.
That way, if he really did return to the Astral Express someday...
He could find an opportunity to build a deeper bond with her.
It was all right if a girl disliked him.
The most frustrating thing was not registering in her mind at all.
"Shut up! No more scary stories!"
"I'm going to bed now, so don't bother me!"
Puffing out her cheeks, March 7th turned away.
She climbed straight onto the soft, snow-white bed.
Her long, fair legs beneath her aqua-blue pleated miniskirt...
Disappeared under the white quilt, leaving Lin Chen slightly disappointed.
Lying in bed with her hands over her ears, March 7th knitted her brows.
Clearly, the singing outside the window, combined with the uncanny legends Lin Chen had just described...
Had left March 7th so unsettled that she seemed unable to sleep at all.
A moment later, she sat up in bed.
March 7th took the spare pillow beside her and laid it across the middle of the bed.
"Lin Chen... I've thought about it."
"Making you sleep on the floor does seem a little unfair."
"So... I suppose you can sleep on this side tonight..."
"Remember! You absolutely cannot cross the line!"
"If you so much as touch me, I'll throw you into the hallway for the night!"
After delivering those stern warnings...
March 7th, having said her piece without waiting for an answer, obediently lay back down in her original spot.
From time to time, she also stole glances at Lin Chen from the corner of her eye to watch his reaction.
Looking at March 7th's charming, adorable manner, Lin Chen could not help wanting to laugh.
Could a girl really be this cute?
Wasn't one right in front of him?
After leaving the Astral Express, he had gained many more opportunities to spend time alone with March 7th.
Lin Chen was gradually beginning to understand her unintentional charm.
Despite her stern words...
March 7th was afraid he would not come over as instructed.
"Since Miss March has requested it..."
"I'd better oblige rather than stand on ceremony..."
With that, Lin Chen walked straight over.
He lay down on the other side of the snow-white bed.
March 7th furtively turned her head, and upon seeing Lin Chen's broad back...
She let out a long sigh of relief and slowly closed her eyes.
Sure enough, with Lin Chen sleeping beside her, most of her sense of danger faded.
From the way he had captured the bloodstained white dress earlier...
March 7th had already noticed.
Lin Chen seemed quite capable of dealing with these terrifying, uncanny beings.
Perhaps, just as Lin Chen had said earlier...
Before losing his memory, he really had been a master Demon Hunter.
With a master Demon Hunter beside her, what was there to be afraid of?
That's right. Just go to sleep!
Before you continue