Chapter 26: Mutual Probing

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KIKI was so frightened by him that her little face turned deathly pale. Her expression grew serious as she stared at the blade above her head and spoke urgently.

“After the plane crashed, I had no idea how I survived. I just kept running in the direction of your home. I knew I had a supernatural ability, but I had no idea how to use it. Then, after I woke up that day, I discovered… I discovered…”

“Hmm!”

Lin Xian glared fiercely at her. KIKI shuddered from head to toe and said tearfully, “I heard that after you rescued Sister Chen, you said you were going to sleep with her, and then you started talking about some Infinite Train Project. It all sounded horrible, so I thought you were… you were the kind of scumbag who deliberately deceived women during the apocalypse. So…”

Lin Xian regarded her coolly.

“So you were afraid that, instead of finding someone to save you, you had wandered straight into a wolf’s den. That’s why you pretended to be unconscious and waited for a chance to ambush me?”

KIKI nodded, then immediately shook her head. With the cold blade poised before her, she avoided his gaze and stammered, “I—I—I wasn’t trying to ambush you. I had no choice! Who told you to peek at my underwear? And you even did that to that sister…”

In the apocalypse, one could never be too wary of others. Lin Xian was no exception, and neither was KIKI. After waking up, she had intended to communicate with him, but she had happened to catch him trying something improper with her.

So, in her panic, she had decided that Lin Xian was a complete pervert. She continued pretending to be unconscious while waiting for an opportunity to make other arrangements.

Who could have known that, after Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan got off the train, he would catch her red-handed before she had even finished half a piece of bread? With his Mechanical Heart ability, he had seen straight through her.

“Then that works out perfectly,” Lin Xian said suddenly. “Since you think I’m a bad person, should I cut you down, or would you rather jump off yourself?”

As he spoke, he slowly placed the short knife against KIKI’s neck. Her face changed dramatically, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

“Don’t, don’t! Don’t be impulsive. We can talk this out!”

KIKI cautiously opened one eye. The moment she saw Lin Xian’s vicious expression, she shut it again and hurriedly said, “Don’t kill me. Keep me around. If we encounter danger, my ability could give you an extra layer of protection. Besides, my life is already in your hands, isn’t it?”

Lin Xian’s gaze sharpened, and he began to think.

This girl was exceedingly cunning, and she was far from unintelligent. She knew far too much about advanced technological equipment. Even if her background was not as she claimed, it certainly was not simple. She was also skilled at disguising herself and reading people’s hearts.

As she had said, at first she had taken Lin Xian for a lecherous man, so she had deliberately acted like a sweet, innocent girl.

When she realized that this approach did not work on him, she had immediately changed tactics and offered him a straightforward exchange of benefits. That had failed to interest him either.

Only when the blade was pressed against her did she reveal the truth. Even then, she had continued testing Lin Xian’s limits in such a dangerous situation. Her courage was truly remarkable.

To be honest, Lin Xian had no trust in her at all. Yet her explanation did seem plausible.

Now that the world had entered the Polar Night, no one could guarantee that they would survive the darkness.

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What she had said gave Lin Xian another idea.

After encountering the white giant monster and that enormous worm over the past two days, his unease had grown especially intense.

Perhaps this girl’s supernatural ability really would prove useful.

“That makes sense.”

Hiss—

The wheels began to roll, and the Infinite slowly started moving again.

When KIKI saw Lin Xian lower the knife, the heart that had been hanging in her throat finally settled back into place. She looked at him.

“So… can we make peace?”

Make peace?

Why did that sound like something children said while playing house? Lin Xian smiled inwardly. This girl was truly difficult to figure out.

He looked at her meaningfully.

“I’ll have to think about it.”

“Oh, yes!” KIKI’s expression changed, and she suddenly let out a cheer of relief.

“However…”

Before KIKI could celebrate, Lin Xian suddenly reached out, grabbed her, and lifted her off the ground. With a strange smile on his face, he dragged her toward Carriage One.

Caught completely off guard, KIKI turned pale with fright.

“Hey… what are you doing?”

“Guess.”

Lin Xian’s expression was inscrutable.

KIKI panicked. “Hey, hey, hey! I said we’d make peace! I really was wrong. I never meant to hurt you. You can’t bully me…”

“I don’t agree.”

“Wait! I’m really not of age yet…”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“No, no! Actually, I’m a boy. Look, I don’t even have breasts. There’s nothing in it for you, and you already have that sister, so don’t bully me…”

“I’m not picky.”

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“Besides, don’t you remember that I have a supernatural ability? What if I accidentally release it and injure you?”

“If that happens, you’ll have to thank me for helping you awaken it.”

Inside Carriage One, Lin Xian tied two more lengths of rope around KIKI’s hands and feet, then tossed her onto the sofa, trussed up like a bundle.

“You reminded me of something. Since your ability erupts whenever you’re in danger, couldn’t I simply use you as a shield at a critical moment? And since you have a history of loosening your bonds and launching surprise attacks, I’ll have to tie you up a few extra times for safety’s sake. That should keep you from trying anything.”

“You’re despicable! You bastard!” KIKI shouted as she struggled.

Lin Xian raised a rolled-up pair of foul-smelling socks.

“If you keep chattering like that, don’t blame me for stuffing these in your mouth.”

KIKI was furious. Her face flushed, then went pale. The fact that Lin Xian had not actually intended to “bully” her had allowed her to relax for the moment, but the wretched man had tied her up simply so he could use her as a human shield?

He was absolutely shameless. Utterly detestable!

But she was in his territory now, and she could not overpower him. When she saw him raise the stinking socks, she immediately fell silent. She merely glared at him with eyes blazing with anger, secretly plotting how she would teach him a proper lesson someday.

“Keep glaring at me and you won’t have a backside left,” Lin Xian said coldly when he saw how defiant she looked.

At the mention of her backside, KIKI instinctively shrank her neck. Only after the tense confrontation did she remember that her buttocks were still burning with pain.

The thought that Lin Xian had beaten her so thoroughly—and in such a humiliating place—made her furious. Yet his utterly unyielding demeanor frightened her, and intimidated by his authority, she fell silent.

After a long while, she finally murmured, barely louder than a mosquito, “Why are you being so fierce? What am I supposed to do if I need to use the bathroom?”

Lin Xian suddenly laughed.

“That’s something you’ll have to tell me. You still haven’t explained how you managed to go three days without eating or using the bathroom.”

“You weren’t there the night before last. After that sister fell asleep, I got up, ate something, and used the bathroom.”

“And last night?”

KIKI shot him an irritated look, her eyes shifting evasively.

“After both of you had fallen asleep, I got up again, obviously…”

Well, well. So he had been keeping a little mouse on board that snuck around stealing food.

Lin Xian did not know whether to laugh or cry. He had indeed been exhausted the previous night and had slept deeply. He had never imagined that someone could openly sneak food right under his nose without him noticing.

…