Chapter 31: The Biker Girl

Lin Xian watched the articulate girl before him with keen interest, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Listening to you, it sounds like you have a better plan?"

"Of course," Kiki replied, her face brimming with confidence. "We're all in the same boat now. Even if I don't care about a villain like you, I have to look out for my own safety. Given our current situation, how are we supposed to make it to Jinhai?"

"Tell me."

Kiki looked at him. "Your ability is to manipulate machinery, right?"

Lin Xian nodded. "That's right."

"Perfect." Kiki snapped her fingers, speaking with confidence. "I know of a military outpost near Beiwan County. We should be able to find plenty of military supplies there. If we're lucky, you might even snag a radar or sentry system. At the very least, we could get some weapons. That’s got to be better than you brawling with bugs with a knife last night, right?"

Hearing this, Chen Sixuan beside them looked shocked. "A military outpost? How do you know about something like that?"

"I know a lot of things." Kiki looked smug. She turned her gaze to Lin Xian. "So, do we have a deal?"

Lin Xian looked at her, his faint smile tinged with coldness.

"I refuse."

"Huh?!" Kiki’s expression froze. Just a moment ago, Lin Xian had seemed so interested—why the sudden shift to such a cold demeanor? "You... what do you mean?"

Lin Xian’s cold gaze locked onto her as he spoke slowly. "I don't like being manipulated. If you think that just because you've awakened an ability you can stand against me, then we might as well settle this here and now, once and for all, to avoid any mutual suspicion on the road."

Kiki felt a pang of guilt. "Who... who wants to stand against you?"

Lin Xian smiled faintly. "I can take you to Jinhai; it’s just a city along the way in the orbital ring anyway. But I don't want to make any deals with you, nor will I go out of my way to do things specifically for you. We are living day by day. If I bring you along, it’s because I can trust you and you bring value to this team. No one here will wait on you, food is limited, and everyone must share the workload. As for whether you going to Jinhai brings me any benefits, I couldn't care less. Do you understand?"

Others might view Lin Xian’s perspective as shortsighted, but in the apocalypse, the immediate situation always outweighs future prospects. He had to focus on surviving each day and finding a way to escape the polar night; he wouldn't waste energy on future promises or benefits.

Overthinking was a burden. Kiki had tried to use that mindset to negotiate, hoping to secure a special status on the train and order him around, but she had miscalculated.

For other survivors, such promises might elicit desperate efforts, but Lin Xian was simply not that kind of person. To him, someone insincere had no value, regardless of their abilities. Most importantly, he needed Kiki to feel a sense of crisis; otherwise, if he compromised, she would mistake his caution for fear of her ability.

If it had to come to that, it was better to be clear about whether they were friends or foes.

Kiki watched Lin Xian’s smiling face. For some reason, the smile didn't feel warm; on the contrary, it felt as though the moment she turned away, that expression would twist into that of a terrifying demon, ready to tear her apart with its fangs.

Faced with Lin Xian’s assertive stance, Kiki’s eyes wavered. They locked gazes for a long moment of silence before Kiki finally looked away. She hugged her legs on the sofa and rested her chin on her knees. Gone was her smugness; she looked at him with large eyes like a little kitten and let out a soft, "Oh."

"Oh what?" Lin Xian asked, his gaze intense.

"I'll do as you say, then," Kiki said, poking her index fingers together. Although she looked reluctant, her tone was no longer sharp. "Just don't let me go hungry..."

Lin Xian stood up, grabbed a can of fruit and a bag of snacks from the storage rack, and tossed them to her. His voice remained cold. "I don't care about your past, but once you're on this train, you’d better not have any hidden agendas. Everyone only has one life. If you can't make me trust you, I will throw you off, no matter how useful you are."

Kiki’s eyes darted around as she listened, secretly watching him, deep in thought. She opened the can, took a bite, and sat in silence for a while before breaking the quiet.

"My name is Wen Qi."

"Is that name fake, too?"

Kiki blushed slightly. "No! I’ve always been called Kiki; Wen Qi is my real name."

Lin Xian nodded, sensing the gesture of goodwill, and his tone softened slightly. "I’ll take this as a sign of your sincerity."

"Can I make a request then?" Kiki asked.

"Speak."

"Let me stay in Car No. 2."

Kiki didn't want to spend every day sleeping in the same carriage as Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan. Although her personality was brash, she was still a sixteen-year-old girl, and she was somewhat sensitive to matters between men and women.

"No problem," Lin Xian nodded. "But Car No. 2 is quite empty. It’ll need some preparation to be livable."

"I'll figure that out myself."

"Hm?!" Lin Xian’s gaze narrowed, his tone darkening.

Kiki quickly corrected herself, sounding submissive. "I mean, I'll clear it with you first, and of course, I'll need your help~"

"That’s better." Lin Xian was much more satisfied with Kiki’s current attitude.

After a 'friendly' negotiation, Lin Xian had temporarily accepted the girl with the complicated identity. Moreover, after the battle the previous night, he had come to recognize Kiki’s value.

"Hey~"

Seeing Lin Xian about to leave, Kiki pouted and called out to him. "Villain, are you still planning to go to that military outpost?"

Lin Xian frowned. "There won't be any traps, right?"

Kiki rolled her eyes at him, her tone surprisingly compliant. "If you don't believe me, I can go with you."

Lin Xian’s expression darkened slightly. He could tell that Kiki was being quite sincere. At the same time, he had been re-evaluating his "Infinite Train" plan and realized there were still many shortcomings.

With his ability, he had temporarily solved his energy problems, but since setting off, every trouble he encountered had been more lethal than the last. So, when Kiki told him about the military outpost in Beiwan County, he was genuinely interested.

He urgently needed to upgrade the Infinity's armor and add weapons. A mobile fortress of this size also needed a sharper reconnaissance system. As for himself, he desperately needed to raise the level of his "Mechanical Heart" or acquire more useful skills.

Lin Xian had once imagined that swallowing a simple hairdryer could grant him a powerful "Wind Cannon" skill. If it were military-grade hardware, he might find even more surprises after consuming it!

So, no matter how he looked at it, he decided he could no longer blindly rush into the night; he needed sufficient means of self-preservation.

Thinking of this, Lin Xian nodded. "I do intend to upgrade the train's armor and weapons. We can go check out that military outpost you mentioned. While we're at it, we can scavenge for supplies in Beiwan Town."

"Great, great, great!" Kiki’s eyes lit up. She pointed toward the direction of Car No. 3. "Shall we ride that there?"

Lin Xian frowned and looked at her. "Do you know how to ride it?"

"Tch, who are you looking down on?" Kiki turned slightly to reveal a small tattoo on the side of her slender waist—a black cat head wearing sunglasses. Combined with her daisy dukes and long, smooth legs, she had a certain punk-girl aesthetic.

"Don't you know my reputation?"

"A delinquent girl?"

"Pfft! I'm the Black Rider of Radiant Moon!"

"A motorcycle gang member?"

"Pfft! You country bumpkin!"