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While we were thinking about our next move, the woman outside—who had looked almost dead a moment ago—suddenly dropped her act. She straightened up and walked over to the freezer, staring at the now-locked door with a venomous look, as if we had wronged her.
Then she sneered.
"Must be pretty stuffy in there. You two must be smelling that stink already. If you want to die inside that thing, go ahead and die."
"Exactly. That place smells even worse than outside. Let's see how long you can last in there."
As she spoke, the younger woman who had been screaming for help earlier walked over while rubbing her throat.
"The soundproofing on this thing is way too good. My throat is hoarse from screaming so much."
"What do you know? If you had done your job properly and kept screaming, we could already be heading to that damn train," the old woman snapped, glaring at her daughter-in-law with dissatisfaction.
"Mother, don't worry. Your plans always work," the man said reassuringly to the older woman. Then he turned his gaze toward us with a triumphant smile.
"Besides, they won't be able to escape anyway."
I saw Lin Xian's face turn as dark as charcoal as he muttered under his breath.
"What bastards."
Clearly, he had also understood from that sentence that this wasn't the first time they had done something like this.
I patted his shoulder and spoke loudly enough for those outside to hear.
"Man, those people who say old ladies turn into demons when they want something were right. I used to think they were exaggerating, but actually they were underestimating it. Must be because they're all dried up and saggy."
My provocation clearly worked.
The old woman's face turned bright red with anger.
"You son of a bitch! Do you think you're smart? You're just a clownfish swimming straight into the net! Hiding in a dead end like this proves you're an idiot. You'll never live as long as I have!"
She couldn't respond to my insult directly since I had clearly struck a sensitive point, so instead she tried to undermine my intelligence.
Seeing that his mother was losing her composure, the man took over the conversation.
"How about this—you two come out and hand over the train key. We promise we'll let you live."
Lin Xian rolled his eyes.
"As if we're stupid enough to believe you. If you want the key, come get it yourselves, you pieces of shit."
He had already realized we had been watched since the moment we left the train.
"Very well," the man replied coldly. "Since you won't come out, then die in there. We can wait."
He grabbed a heavy metal chain from somewhere nearby and wrapped it around the freezer door, locking it tightly so that even if we forced the door open, it wouldn't swing outward.
Just then, a chubby boy who looked about eleven or twelve years old walked in.
"Dad," he called as he approached.
When he got closer, he continued excitedly.
"There's a super beautiful woman inside! And that train is amazing. It's really strong—like the castles from storybooks!"
"What audacity. Just two people daring to drive a train alone?" Huang Jon laughed mockingly.
"There must be a lot of supplies on a train that big. If there are only two people on board… and even a beautiful woman like that… perfect for me, hehe."
"You only think about that," the old woman snapped.
"If we get the train, we'll have supplies. It will be much better than staying in these rotten freezers. Then we can finally leave this cursed place."
"But how are we going to drive the train?" Huang Zhaojian asked.
"I don't know how to drive a train. Nobody here does."
"Driving a train can't be that hard. If those two can do it, we can too. Just don't kill the girl—leave her for me," Huang Jie said shamelessly.
Before they could continue, the old woman suddenly remembered we were still inside the freezer.
"Let's continue this conversation somewhere else. Huang Jie, stay here and keep watch."
Realizing what they were planning, Lin Xian quickly grabbed the radio.
"Don't even dream about it, you old witch."
He turned on the walkie-talkie.
"Mrs. Chen, there's been a small incident, but I'm fine and not in danger. Whatever you do, do not open the door."
"Okay, understood. I won't open the door no matter what. Just stay safe," Mrs. Chen's voice replied through the walkie-talkie.
I watched as the expressions of the family outside darkened.
The old woman walked closer and sneered.
"The air in there must be awful, right? I hope you suffocate soon, you filthy dog. Huang Zhaojian, stay here on guard in case they try anything."
After saying that, she left with the rest of the family, leaving two armed men behind to guard us.
Lin Xian and I turned on our flashlights.
Then I took a thick blanket and covered the freezer window so we could talk and move without being seen.
"So… do you want to try killing those two and getting out of here?" he asked suddenly.
The question caught me off guard, but I quickly steadied myself.
"No. The only person I've ever killed was that guy in Mrs. Chen's apartment. Don't start thinking I'm some professional assassin."
I paused before continuing.
"Besides, if we were in an open space we might take the risk. But there's only one exit here. The moment we open that door we'd become perfect targets."
He nodded.
That had been his thought as well.
Neither of us had any military training or experience using firearms. Trying to approach them would be extremely dangerous, but leaving through the only exit would be just as bad—we'd be instant targets with nowhere to run.
So both of us began searching around the freezer, hoping to find something useful.
At the back of the huge storage room, we noticed a row of large freezers.
Lin Xian's eyes suddenly lit up.
"I think this is your opportunity."
"After all, we're safe in here now. You can dismantle all these big appliances as much as you want."
He nodded, no longer thinking this situation was entirely bad.
After all…
Time was on our side.
And against them.
He picked up the walkie-talkie again.
"Mrs. Chen, plans have changed. We'll spend the night here. We're safe. Just don't make any noise and don't open the doors."
"Understood."
The walkie-talkie crackled and went silent.
---
Chen Sixuan tightly gripped the walkie-talkie in her hand as she watched one man and two women approaching the train.
"Open the door or I'll shoot!"
When that threat didn't work, the man climbed onto the train while the older woman tried persuasion instead.
"We captured your boyfriend. If you don't want anything to happen to him, open the door. I promise both of you will be fine."
The man now stood on top of the train, peering inside through the windshield.
When he saw Chen Sixuan, he whistled.
"Wow… what a beauty."
"When I get inside, I'll have a taste before giving you to my brother. I'm sure he won't mind."
He then smashed the rifle butt against the windshield of the Infinite Train.
But nothing happened.
Not even a crack appeared on the glass.
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