It was the sound of metal clashing against concrete.
In the dark underground tunnels, the travelers were carefully moving forward in search of resources.
In the ruined city, the gray snow still hadn't stopped, and the cold had already invaded the huge underground space under the city.
They were now moving along a track. Mr. Katz, as the Iron Man, was at the front of the group, scouting the way.
Remia followed beside [Z] … Her hands were hugging a longsword.
After she and her companions fell into the black mud and came to this terrible city, they found this sword in a shop that looked like a handicraft shop … In fact, it had never been sharpened, but it was strong enough.
"[Z], you have been traveling for so long, did you meet any other humans?"
This was a question that Remia had always wanted to ask … Perhaps because they were about to enter an unknown and dangerous place, if she did not ask some questions now, she might not have the chance to.
"Yes, quite a few," [Z] replied with a smile.
"Then where are they now?" Remia couldn't help but ask … Those humans might be the others at the Holy Maiden Ceremony!
"They are all living underground." [Z] thought for a moment and said, "In a tomb."
"…" Remia was stunned and said angrily, "Those are called corpses!"
"Yes, Taromaru said the same thing." [Z] nodded. "They are humans who have become corpses."
Remia sighed. How should she explain … After interacting with [Z] for a while, she realized that [Z] had many different views than her.
"Look, the space here has become bigger." Mister Kaz, who was scouting the way ahead, said.
The group of travelers hurriedly stepped forward. At this time, Katz was standing in front of them with an old oil lamp in his hand. It was indeed a very spacious space.
"This place is much bigger than the place where we hid."
"This seems to be called a train station … Look, there are stairs."
They even found a train whose outer shell was rusted … Remia curiously approached the train and reached out to wipe the dust off the train's window.
In an instant, a withered face appeared in front of Remia. Remia jumped in fright and retreated, knocking into [Z]'s arms.
[Z] placed her hands on Remia's shoulders. "There are humans in there too."
"It's, it's a corpse!" Remia said with lingering fear.
"It's well preserved inside. We should be able to find something."
[Z] had no intention of refuting. Instead, he carried the oil lamp and walked to the door of a carriage. He tried to open the door of the carriage.
Perhaps it was because it was already corroded, but the door of the carriage actually didn't open … When it was pushed open, it even made an ear-piercing sound of friction.
"Found the treasure!" Iron Armor Man Kaz cried out in surprise.
But because of its size, it couldn't enter the train at all. It was the same for Taromaru. Even if such a huge toad managed to squeeze into the train, it would probably get stuck and wouldn't be able to move.
Only [Z], [Mr. Qingtian], and the little blue bird were able to enter. Of course, Remia was there as well. She hesitated for a while before finally entering.
When they entered, Remia tried to pull the door of the train but realized that the door wouldn't open no matter how hard she tried. It was completely rusted and stuck … but [Z] pushed it open easily.
What great strength!
They must have discovered a train that was exhausted to death before … After entering, Remia watched as [Z] and the others opened the luggage compartments in the train and searched for useful supplies.
Remia, on the other hand, walked carefully in the carriage.
Perhaps because the train was a completely enclosed space, even though there were dried corpses everywhere, there were no signs of damage … The corpses were perfectly preserved.
This meant that at least the inside of the train hadn't been attacked by the terrifying Magic Beasts outside.
"Why are all the passengers sitting in their seats?" Remia asked curiously.
On the seats of the carriage, there were dried corpses of men and women, old and young. They were all sitting in their original seats. Even their seatbelts weren't unbuckled!
Facing such a strange and terrifying scene, a young girl like her should have been scared stiff.
But after coming to this dangerous world, she had even killed Magic Beasts … Worse things had happened. Even though she was a little flustered, it wasn't useless.
"Isn't that simple?" The little blue bird landed on Remia's shoulder. "They were sitting on it when they died."
"That's true …" Remia said hesitantly, "But, but don't you think it's strange? How can people sit and wait for death? "
"If they died at the same time, then it's possible." Mr. Qingtian spoke like a lecturer. "Student Remia, do you have any other questions?"
"What …" Remia was shocked. "What is it that made the people here … die in an instant?"
Mr. Qingtian thought for a moment and said, "These corpses don't look injured. Some of them were sitting when they died, so they should have died at the same time … To be able to do this, they probably inhaled something fatal? Look, this corpse keeps grabbing its own neck. Is this what you call suffering? "
Remia looked at the dried corpses that Mr. Qingtian pointed at.
The mummy's hands were completely wrapped around its own neck, and its mouth was even in an open state, as if it had screamed before … But all of this had probably happened in a short period of time. Otherwise, there would have been signs of struggle on the seat.
"Sh * t!" Remia screamed and quickly covered her mouth and nose.
[Z] smiled and said, "Don't worry. If there was poisonous gas, we would have inhaled it when we came in. There's nothing wrong now. If there really was poisonous gas, it would have dispersed long ago. The door of the train is closed, but many parts are damaged. It's not completely sealed. There's nothing useful in this carriage. Let's go to the carriage in front. "
The little blue bird flew from Remia's shoulder to [Z]'s shoulder.
"Then I'll go to the carriage in the back. Let's split up," Mr. Qingtian said. "Save time."
"Okay." [Z] agreed.
Looking at the front and the back … Remia subconsciously followed [Z]'s footsteps — when she passed by a seat, she suddenly stopped.
There seemed to be a family of three on the seat. The parents and their children were leaning on each other … When death came, they were probably just sleeping. There was no trace of pain on their faces.
Remia silently put her hands together as if praying for something … But soon, she let go of her hands.
Praying was useless. She had tried many times.
But … if it was just praying for the dead, even if there was no response from the saints, it was still possible.
"May you all rest in peace."
…
…
"What was that just now?"
In another carriage, [Z] suddenly looked at Remia with a hint of curiosity.
Remia did not react immediately and showed a puzzled expression.
[Z] imitated Remia's action and put his hands together. "I'm talking about this because I've seen you do this several times. I've seen pictures of people doing this before, but I don't know what it means."
"This is praying," Remia said subconsciously. "Telling one's wish to God. Praying to be able to avoid disaster and live happily."
"God?" [Z] blinked and said, "Is this useful?"
"Of course …" Remia blurted out but stopped. She shook her head and said hesitantly, "Actually, I don't know either."
Praying, was it really useful?
She really did not know. When she was still in the Free City, she believed without a doubt — because every time she prayed, there would always be a response.
She was a candidate for the Holy Maiden. Her prayers could produce a strong wish that was similar to the Holy Light … When the villagers saw her, they respected her very much.
But now, she could not do anything — even before her companion died, she could not warm her hands.
She should not have any doubts about her faith. But now, she couldn't do that … Remia suddenly felt scared.
Perhaps … this was a place abandoned by the saints.
In this world, other than death, there was only death.
In the entire world, perhaps only [Z] and a few others were still alive — she did not even know if [Z] and the others could still be considered humans.
"Can I pray just like this?" [Z] asked again.
He was eager to learn. He had always been like this. He was always curious about the unknown and new things.
Remia suddenly felt irritated. She reached out and slapped [Z]'s hands away.
Remia gritted her teeth and said, "Don't pray. If you have time to pray, you might as well search for supplies. It's more practical."
"Okay." [Z] wasn't angry. He nodded casually and started searching for useful supplies in the carriage.
Remia opened her mouth. She regretted her actions just now. She wanted to say something, but she could not bring herself to say it … She bit her lips and searched around silently.
…
But things did not go as smoothly as expected.
They had already found the end of the train, but they didn't find anything useful, so they could only go back.
"[Z], you don't seem disappointed at all?" Remia asked curiously. "We didn't find anything either."
[Z] said, "Most of the time, we didn't find anything useful. Get used to it."
"I see …" Remia nodded. She gritted her teeth and said softly, "[Z], just now … I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been angry with you."
"Just now?" He looked confused.
Remia stammered, "Just … just when you wanted to pray, I …"
"I think you're right." [Z] shook his head. "There's nothing wrong with stopping a wrong action. Since praying is useless, you stopped me. It's logical. "
"I … I can't say that it's wrong." Remia laughed bitterly. "I-I don't know how to explain it to you."
[Z] smiled. "It's okay. You can tell me when you've thought it through."
[Z], if she went to the Academy of Freedom, she would be very popular, right?
Such a thought flashed across Remia's mind.
Thinking of this, she hurriedly took out something from her bosom — it was a book that looked completely yellow.
"What's this?"
"I found it on that family's seat just now." "I saw that you usually like to read, so I wanted to take it," Remia said with some apprehension.
[Z] took the book from Remia happily and flipped through it. "Little Prince? It was like a fairy tale book, and it even had illustrations. I like the structure. Thank you, Remia. "
"You're welcome … Ah!"
She exclaimed softly.
What happened just now?
Remia's breathing quickened instantly!
[Z] actually reached out and brushed the hair in front of her forehead away, and then … then kissed her forehead!
The temperature of his cheeks was rising at a terrifying speed, and it had even reached the base of his ears.
"W-W-W-W-What are you doing!"
"Expressing my gratitude." [Z] said calmly, "I read some books before. It says that kissing is an act of gratitude."
That's … that's right. But … but I feel like something is wrong.
Remia was momentarily at a loss for words. However, the lingering sensation on her forehead was …
[Z] thought for a while and said, "The books said that kissing has many meanings. For example, greetings, respect, and love. Remia, if you have time, can you experience it with me? I've always wanted to know why kissing someone's lips represents love. "
[Z] reached out and gently stroked Remia's lips with his fingertips.
The young girl quivered in an instant, and her mind went blank.
"I don't want to!"
Suddenly, she instinctively pushed [Z] away as if she was frightened.
After pushing [Z] away, the girl lowered her head and hurriedly ran to the exit carriage.
[Z] leaned against a seat and blinked. He saw the little blue bird squatting on the back of the seat in front of him and looking at him. "Do you want me to try it with you?"
[Z] thought about it seriously and shook his head. "I feel like you'll hurt me. I don't want to."
…
"I found some canned food here. I don't know if it's edible. Did you find anything … Remia?"
[Qingtian] came back from the second half of the train. When he walked to the exit carriage, he only saw Remia standing alone in front of the door. She didn't move at all.
Remia heard the sound and turned around. She looked at [Qingtian] and said hesitantly, "Katz and Taromaru … seem to be missing."
Outside the train — at least in the area visible to the naked eye, there was no trace of Katz and Toad Taromaru.
(End of Chapter)
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