by N. Heller
"Ah... this." Lin Sanjiu picked a card from the pile. There was a picture of Ren Nan's dead body on the card. "Maybe, I should just bury the bodies at the same time?"
After such a long time, Lin Sanjiu was surprised that she was at peace even when she saw the picture of her dead former boyfriend who wanted to kill her. She stored the card. After she cleaned up her card inventory and stored everything properly, she looked down at herself. There was still no sign that she was going to be sent off.
"If I don't have a visa, I could be sent off later? Maybe I should look at my abilities..." After she mumbled this, everything went dark. "I'm leaving!" She barely managed to yell out before she disappeared from the Garden of Eden.
Chapter 179 - The Third World
When she was alive, her skin was so warm, so moist and it always had a honey-colored tan. It had only been an hour but her body had stiffened and her skin was pale white. At first glance, one could even imagine how cold her skin would feel.
Her eyes were wide open and her dull, lifeless amber irises laid motionless in her eye sockets.
Without the burning fuel of life, her limbs quickly grew stiff and her lips became purple-green. Her shoulder-length hair, which had grown out in the Garden of Eden, lay messily on the ground. Some of her hair covered half her face. There was a white bandage around her neck and she was wearing a black singlet, a pair of combat pants and slightly dirty boots.
There was an upside-down reflection of Lin Sanjiu's lifeless face on a train carriage's window. Even though, by some sick fate, there seemed to be a tradition of her 'collecting a dead body every time she arrived at a new world', Lin Sanjiu probably could never anticipate that she would need to store her own dead body in this world.
This all started 23 hours ago...
—
Lin Sanjiu was sent off to another world later than expect and in a very sudden manner. She did not know if this was due to having no visa, because she had no basis for comparison. The darkness in front of her seemed to only last a second, yet it also seemed really long. When she opened her eyes, the large dice in front of her had just landed on the ground. The top surface showed two black words.
Even though she went through this once, she still felt so nervous that her throat became dry. She could read the words but they didn't really make much sense to her. "Kisaragi Station?"
Lin Sanjiu's light amber eyes revealed her wavering expression. She had no idea what sort of world to expect from its name. [Why is this name so weird? And why does it sound so familiar, like I've heard it before.]
"Well, I will know it when I get there."
Based on her experiences up to now, Lin Sanjiu could be considered a veteran. No matter how weird or strange things would be, she felt that she had already gone through quite a lot, so she didn't feel all that anxious. She was just a little curious about the next world.
Lin Sanjiu didn't feel anything odd. When she involuntarily opened her eyes once again, the dimension where the dice was had already disappeared. She first noticed a light gray surface, following which she felt her legs moving downward. As it had been some time since Lin Sanjiu experienced this, she was even a little shocked. She nearly tripped herself before she realized that she was standing on a downward moving escalator. The gray surface was just the wall beside the handrails of the escalator.
The escalator steps moved downward and they smoothly disappeared within the machinery once they reached the bottom. The movements created a soft buzzing sound while Lin Sanjiu walked down the escalator in a daze.
This place wasn't in ruins like Hyperthermal Hell, and it didn't have those extraordinary sci-fi elements that Garden of Eden possessed. This space seemed rather normal, devoid of anything unusual. The large ceramic floor tiles looked a little yellowish, as though they already had some age. There were a few empty drink cups beside a dustbin which was lined with a rubbish bag. She could see a map of a metro system in the dark passage where she was standing...
Lin Sanjiu didn't expect that 'Kisaragi Station' was only a single train station. Or, a better way to put it: she was really in a train station. If it wasn't for the fact that there was no one around, she would have thought that she had returned to her daily work routine as she walked through this place. Her surroundings were very quiet. The occasional sparking sounds from the dusky-yellow fluorescent lights rang out resoundingly in the empty train station. In this world, it was as if someone had erased the crowds, the noises... everything.
The only thing that continued functioning was that empty train station she was in.
As her own footsteps echoed through the empty platform, Lin Sanjiu sometimes had this weird misperception that there were other people behind her. The cold wind flowing in from the tunnel caused goosebumps to appear on her exposed skin. It must be winter there right now. Even with her posthuman constitution, she couldn't help sneezing a few times.
"I have to look for a winter coat when I get out..." Lin Sanjiu rubbed her own arms vigorously and decided to look for the exit to leave the train station. However, she was unsuccessful.
After circling the station a few times, she couldn't find an exit. She even climbed up the downward moving escalator and found another train platform. Yet, she found no other exit which would lead her back to the surface. Lin Sanjiu finally realized only after twenty minutes that the train station was sealed.
"I guess this isn't just any random train station in this apocalyptic world..." Lin Sanjiu held on to the handrails of the escalator and returned to the place where she first arrived. Suddenly, she noticed something she did not discover previously. She couldn't help staring vacantly at it, "What sort of apocalyptic world is this? Why is there a vending machine here?"
Amidst the silence, a vending machine, with rusty corners, stood in a corner of the train station. The light in the machine reflected on the package of the various snacks and drinks within it, making them look very bright.
When Lin Sanjiu approached it, she could hear the sounds it produced, proving that it was operational. It was even a little warm. Lin Sanjiu did not have any money and she did not plan to pay. She knew that if she converted the vending machine into one of her cards, the food inside the machine would also be stored in the same card, so she cut its electric cable and converted the entire vending machine in a card.
[I think there is quite a lot of food in there. It would probably last for a week. I don't think it will be hard to survive here—]
"Huh?" Before she could relax, she suddenly felt doubtful again. The [Vending Machine] card in her hand was slightly different from her other cards. The card was like an old photo that had been accidentally over-exposed. Most of the colors used in the picture had already faded. It was as if the card had been faintly washed with white paint. Even the words on the cards were blurry. At first glance, one would easily assume that this card had been around for a few decades.
[Vending Machine]
This is an item from Kisaragi Station. There are many snacks and beverages inside this machine. Most of the food isn't that healthy. No, perhaps, you don't need the food from this vending machine.
There was only this simple description on the card. It did not mention the reason for this unusual difference. But somehow, Lin Sanjiu felt bothered by that line, 'perhaps, you don't need'.
"Forget it. Who cares. The most important thing is that it's edible." After contemplating for some time, she stored the card. "Right now, I have to find a spot to blast a hole out of this place."
Since there wasn't any exit in this train station, Lin Sanjiu decided to create one herself. However, just when she took her first step, she heard a loud rumbling sound. This was accompanied by two beams of bright light. The rhythm sound approached the train platform, getting louder and louder. Even the ground started shaking slightly.
A train drove into the platform and slowed down. The lights in the train carriages were very bright, so she could clearly see the green train seats. Oddly, all the carriages were empty, just lik
e the train station. There was no one on the train. When the train stopped, the doors of the train opened at the same time, but Lin Sanjiu was the only passenger standing at the platform. It was only after she absent-mindedly entered the train, that she somehow realized a problem. "Um... Before the train arrived at the station, why wasn't there any sound?"
Chapter 180 - Kisaragi Station
The monotonous sound of the train riding on the track continued rhythmically for a very long time. As it was traveling through a tunnel, the only rapidly changing scene outside the window was a patch of darkness. There weren't any other posthumans, from other worlds, in the quiet and empty train carriages. Lin Sanjiu sat on the train for a long time before she could react to this situation.
[Isn't this an apocalyptic world?]
Although, she didn't see any survivors around, what could explain the working lights, escalator, and high-speed train?
[Besides, where is this train heading?] She stood up and walked around, feeling a little anxious. Even though she had already walked through the entire train once and checked every corner—even under the seats—Lin Sanjiu couldn't help feeling a sense of constant panic when she sat down silently in a seat.
The train wasn't that long, so Lin Sanjiu quickly reached the first carriage once more. When she reached the door of the driver's compartment, she found that it was tightly shut, just as before. She couldn't hear a single sound coming from the compartment and no one responded no matter how loud she yelled.
[If the train is moving, there should be someone inside, right? From the looks of this train, this shouldn't be an auto-driving train.]
She looked at the lock on the door and felt that she could break the lock with a single punch. However, this place did feel abnormal. In the end, Lin Sanjiu decided that she would just take a wait-and-see approach and observe the situation first. But, it had already been two hours since she first boarded the train, yet, the train showed no sign of stopping.
Lin Sanjiu could read the route map in the carriages but their names were so foreign to her, that it was meaningless for her to know. On the route map, there were large gaps between the dots on the train line which represented the stations, so Lin Sanjiu concluded that this was a long-haul train. If that was the case, it wasn't strange for the traveling time to be this long.
"Tennessee Farm Station, Gaonan Station... what are these stations?" Lin Sanjiu found the names of the stations very strange. She followed the route from the first station all the way till she spotted the station where she boarded the train, Kisaragi Station, and then she conveniently looked at the next stop.
"The next stop is... Mausoleum Elementary Station?" Ironically, this name which sounded relatively normal stood out from all the other weird station names.
"Forget it. I will just sit down and wait for the next station to alight." Lin Sanjiu decided to deal with any possible situation by maintaining the status quo. She didn't notice that once she arrived in this world, she unconsciously started talking to herself more frequently. Despite surviving two apocalyptic worlds, this was the first time she felt that she was the only living person in this entire world. Unconsciously, this matter stressed her greatly. Almost as to combat the pressurizing silence and loneliness that could drive her mad, Lin Sanjiu would talk to herself every now and then.
Her voice, which filled the empty train carriage, disappeared as quickly as it sounded. Every time she was only answered by silence, and this made her feel worse. The fluorescent light in the train flickered twice, probably because the electrical contacts weren't that good.
Even though she felt very uncomfortable sitting on the seats, she wasn't willing to get up, as she felt colder and colder.
"Oh gosh! Why did I board this train without thinking?"
It was so cold that she couldn't think straight, she felt that the temperature was now -20 degrees Celsius. "When I alight at that M- whatever Elementary, I will get out even if I have to destroy the train station..." she slurred.
The unchanging patch of darkness that swept past the train as it moved forward had a sort of hypnotic effect. Furthermore, the weather was really too cold. Unexpectedly, Lin Sanjiu started to feel a little drowsy—when she was in Garden of Eden, she had to constantly stay vigilant, so she rarely slept well. Kisaragi Station was a very quiet world without much danger...
"I must not sleep..." Lin Sanjiu yawned and wiped a tear from her eyes. "Mrs. Manas, can you come out and talk to me?"
However, her mind was totally silent. Ever since she was forcefully pushed out from her School of Higher Consciousness, Mrs. Manas became very busy, and rarely answered her. Lin Sanjiu was so cold that she had no choice but to sit cross-legged while she tried to retain the little warmth from her c.h.e.s.t using her body. She did not know when it started, but her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. She started nodding off.
Lin Sanjiu only realized that she had fallen asleep after she woke up abruptly when the train came to a sudden stop. She looked around. The train had stopped completely. The train already drove out from the tunnel at some point in time and was traveling on the outdoor tracks. Right now, Lin Sanjiu could see quite a few residential buildings and streets through the windows and the white morning mist. Perhaps she didn't see anyone because it was too early.
Seeing the train doors open, Lin Sanjiu leaped up and headed for the door, wanting to alight. Holding the edge of the door frame, she was just about to step out of the train when she looked up unintentionally and took a glance into the distance.
[Mausoleum Elementary Station was indeed named after an elementary school—] She could suddenly confirm this seemingly useless information because she could now see the Elementary school. Lin Sanjiu had never seen a city designed in such a carefree manner. The simple train platform wasn't that big. One of the walls of the train station was made of glass. A narrow road was built very close to the glass wall, and this road led into the gates of the elementary school.
As the train station was near the school, Lin Sanjiu could clearly see the facial expressions of the group of people standing at the school gate. Lin Sanjiu's first reaction after suddenly seeing other humans in this empty, desolated world wasn't of relief. Instead, she felt goosebumps all over.
A female teacher stood in the middle of a group of children and they seemed to be leaving the school. All of them were smiling. They did not move, even though their faces had turned red from the frigid wind that lashed at them. They looked toward the train station and were all staring directly at Lin Sanjiu.
This scene was probably the ideal image for any sort of propaganda poster. The children surrounded their teacher and were smiling widely at Lin Sanjiu. But no one moved, even after a long while. It was as if they had been standing at the gates for some time and were waiting specifically for her.
"Are they mannequins?" Lin Sanjiu took a deep breath and hesitated.
No.
Noticing her hesitation, the female teacher smiled even wider, revealing her set of pearly white teeth. She raised her hands, which were originally on the shoulders of the children and gestured to Lin Sanjiu, appearing to beckon for her to come over.
The train door made two beeping sounds. It was time for the doors to close but they were blocked by Lin Sanjiu's hands. Startled by the noise, she finally drew away her attention from the smiling faces of that crowd of people. She quickly retreated back into the carriage. The doors closed instantly, separating her from the intense gaze of those people. She let out a sigh of relief.
[Those people don't look that normal...]
"I will alight at the next stop," Lin Sanjiu realized that she was drenched in cold sweat after the exchange of glances, which lasted less than a minute. As the cold wind bellowed, she was so cold that she started shivering. "The next stop is..."
It was still Mausoleum Elementary Station.
Chapter 181 - We Are Here To Bring You Home
Ever since she evolved, this was the first time Lin Sanjiu doubted her eyesight. But, no matte
r how many times she looked at the route map, the next stop was still Mausoleum Elementary Station—the stop which was originally after Kisaragi Station had now been changed to 'Home'.
"What does this mean? Is it forcing me to alight at this station?" Lin Sanjiu stood still in the same spot while she thought about the situation. When she looked up again, she discovered that, somehow, once again, it was dark outside the train. It looked exactly like the previous part of the track before she arrived at Mausoleum Elementary.
Even though she didn't know how the train managed to operate in this manner, Lin Sanjiu decided that she would clench her teeth and alight at Mausoleum Elementary Station if she really did not have a choice. No matter how normal this train was compared to that elementary school, she knew she couldn't possibly stay on this train for fourteen months without eating or drinking.
Lin Sanjiu did not know what to make of this situation as she walked back to sit in her original seat, feeling a little confused and perplexed. Thinking about it rationally, she would feel better if she sat down, as it would help her preserve some energy, but she couldn't explain why she didn't feel like sitting. Previously, she faced the same situation. She took quite a while to convince herself to sit—Lin Sanjiu looked around at the other seats. Regardless, she didn't want to go near any of the seats.
"Nevermind. I should search for some clues in this train... If it doesn't work out, I will smash open the door to the driver's compartment." However, given the circ.u.mstances, Lin Sanjiu figured out that the driver's compartment was probably empty. She grumbled and dragged her feet through all train carriages and started inspecting every detail.
The fluorescent light in the train carriage flickered. Lin Sanjiu was all alone. The train was traveling through a seemingly endless dark tunnel. Occasionally, the train would swerve left or right, and Lin Sanjiu would hold on to the train handle to maintain her balance. This time, she found many details she failed to notice previously. But they seemed almost useless...