"There’s a saying in our village."
"When a whore steps ashore, she’s the most loyal."
"I’m like that too, Biaozi. It’s precisely because I’ve seen the crises of the wasteland that I know how lucky I am to follow you, Master Mang."
"Master Mang!"
"If you could give another chance, see my performance in the future. If there’s even a trace of dissatisfaction from you, you don’t have to lift a finger, just say the word, and I’ll end myself."
Having said that,
Biaozi buried his head on the floor, his body trembling as he awaited the final judgnt. He always feared that this thunder would strike, yet he never thought it would truly happen one day.
After a long while,
Chen Mang, lying on the chair, casually flicked his spent cigarette into a nearby cola can, and said in a calm voice,
"The person in your hand, he’s called Hei Hao, right?"
"I don’t quite like him."
"Take care of it."
Biaozi’s body stiffened suddenly, then he knocked his head heavily on the floor three tis. With eyes reddened, he stood up from the ground. His face, stained with tear marks, hoarsely said, "Master Mang, watch my performance in the future."
Having said this, he slowly exited the train compartnt.
...
Outside the train compartnt,
Hei Hao, controlled by two thugs and kneeling on the ground, looked toward the dark muzzle of the gun in front of him, his eyes filled with fear. He struggled fiercely, desperately screaming at Old Pig, "There’s a mistake, you’ve definitely made a mistake! It’s Biaozi you want to kill, not !!"
"I’ve done a good deed by reporting!"
"If you kill , who will dare to report in the future?!"
"You can’t kill ! You can’t kill !"
"..."
Old Pig sighed lightly as he looked at the struggling Hei Hao. He had warned Hei Hao a few days ago, but it seed Hei Hao hadn’t listened and had instead found himself at a dead-end.
Hei Hao had a bit too much faith in the rules.
Logically speaking, the one who should die is indeed Biaozi.
Hei Hao still hadn’t figured it out. Although there’s an unspoken rule on the wasteland, the real decision-maker in each train is still the Train Captain. Whatever the Train Captain says goes. This isn’t before Doomsday, where everything is done according to the rules and regulations.
To seek death himself, he couldn’t bla anyone else.
"Hei Hao."
Biaozi, with reddened eyes, walked up to Hei Hao with the Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle, the gun muzzle pressed against Hei Hao’s head, and spoke each word distinctly, "Or should I call you Heiwa, which was your childhood nickna in the village. Later, when everyone left, you got the nickna Hei Hao because you often liked to steal chickens."
"Over the years, I haven’t treated you poorly. It’s your own fault that we brothers have ended up like this."
"Biaozi, oh no, Biao, Biao!"
Seeing that nobody was speaking up for him, a flash of desperation appeared in Hei Hao’s eyes as he spoke with a sob, "Give a chance, spare my life, okay? I’ll definitely listen to you from now on, I won’t dare anymore, I really won’t dare anymore."
"Er Gou, we all ca from the village together, say sothing for !"
"I can’t."
Er Gou, who wasn’t good with words, shook his head, speaking in a muffled voice with an unpleasant expression, "You even reported your own people. If this were in the village, your family’s na would be ruined, with people talking behind your back every day."
Biaozi squatted down, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and putting it into his mouth. After a deep drag, he placed the cigarette butt into Hei Hao’s mouth, gently patting his cheek and softly speaking,
"This is called the death cigarette."
"Smoke the death cigarette, and then go on your way. That’s the procedure."
"Since we were brothers, I’ll see you off myself."
The next mont—
Before Hei Hao could say anything more.
"Tat-tat-tat."
The harsh gunfire suddenly erupted. Amid the clanging mining sounds, it wasn’t obvious. On the other side of the train, the slaves didn’t even know what was happening here.
"Tch."
Old Pig, standing aside, clicked his tongue as he looked at Hei Hao lying in a pool of blood, "A few days ago, your hands were shaking killing your own mother idols, but now killing your forr brothers, why is your hand so steady?"
"Pig Train Captain."
Biaozi forced a bitter smile, "Stop mocking . That day, I was just talking nonsense, purely scared, worrying that if I exploded, I’d end up like that."
"Alright, alright."
Old Pig couldn’t help but laugh, patting Biaozi on the back, "Go adjust your mood. I know you don’t feel good right now, after all, you were brothers once. But you kind of had a lucky break out of misfortune this ti."
"I’ll find a place to bury him."
"Alright."
...
Inside Train Carriage No. 5, Ji Chuchu sat by the window, clearly witnessing the scene. Her face, however, showed little emotion. She just humd softly as she combed her hair. Since the arrival of Doomsday, she had seen such things too many tis.
She was almost used to it.
"Chuchu."
A girl next to her, full of gossip, leaned in cautiously, "That day when Master Mang called you in alone, did he touch you?"
Several young girls around perked their ears imdiately.
Although Ji Chuchu was treated as a first-level slave, she could live in the thugs’ carriage, while the few girls beside her were small celebrities, just not as popular as her. Although they couldn’t live in the thugs’ carriage, they could occasionally co over to visit.
"He did."
Ji Chuchu stuck out her tongue and smiled, "Master Mang was quite satisfied."
"Huh?"
The girl who asked out of curiosity was a little dumbfounded, "If he touched you, why didn’t he take you in? Then you’d be the second-in-command of this train, and we could enjoy so luck with you. This train is much better than the one we used to be on."
"Master Mang asked how many n I’ve been with, and I told him the truth. He probably thinks I’m too used."
Ji Chuchu wasn’t embarrassed about it, using extrely blunt language.
"You’re silly."
The girl looked frustrated and said, "If you had said you were a virgin, maybe Master Mang would have taken you in."
"A virgin?"
Ji Chuchu picked up the mirror next to her, looked at her reflection inside, admired her appearance for a while, then turned her head and laughed, "Even if I were pure before Doomsday, after a year in the apocalypse, what are the odds I’m a virgin?"
"Even if I say it, Master Mang has to believe it."
"Besides..."
"Even if I was taken in from the start, my first move would definitely be to distance myself from you, to sever any ties. Palace sches in a harem is a major taboo. By then, I’d surely be staying in the train compartnt, wholeheartedly serving Master Mang without a mont to spare for you all."
"Chuchu." The few girls around pretended to wipe away tears, "You’re so heartless."
"If you’re not ruthless, you can’t secure the top spot."
Ji Chuchu looked outside the window at the n dumping bodies into the underground river, squinting and smiling without saying a word. She initially fantasized about such a scene. Later, when she saw that Master Mang had no intention of this kind, she decided to change her approach.
No matter how ruthless n are,
They still need a sliver of gentle consolation.
All she needed to do was provide this bit of consolation to live well on the train. That was the capital her appearance gave her. She never quite understood why so beautiful won would resist relying on their looks to survive.
Beautiful won not relying on their looks is like the rich second-generation insisting on starting from scratch.
Overemphasizing proving oneself to others would just waste the capital one ought to have.
...
Inside the train compartnt,
Chen Mang didn’t pay much attention to this small episode. Only after finishing another complete movie, he leaned back on the chair, satisfied that no one had disturbed him this ti.
In the apocalypse, having such a relaxed mont wasn’t easy.
Satisfaction.
Just then—
The "Train Radio" suddenly beeped, soone was ssaging him privately. After receiving the "Oxygen Machine," he had removed the part about needing the oxygen machine, keeping it pinned for a long ti.
Pinning it once could last about ten minutes.
He let the "Train Assistance AI" help him schedule and pin new ssages regularly. Finally, after watching two movies, soone privately ssaged him again.
User Comments
0 comments from readers