Kisaragi Station || Apocalypse Paradise #3

179: The Third World

Her skin was warm and moist when she was alive, always with 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 lay 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 in the Garden of Eden, lay messily on the ground. Some of her hair covered half her face. A white bandage was around her neck, and she wore 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 in a new world, Lin Sanjiu probably could never anticipate that she would need to store her own dead body in this world.

It all started 23 hours ago.

—

Lin Sanjiu was sent off to another world later than expected 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 only lasted a second, yet it also seemed long. When she opened her eyes, the large dice before 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 make much sense. "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 again, the dimension where the dice were 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 realizing 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 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 didn't have the extraordinary sci-fi elements that the 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. A few empty drink cups were beside a dustbin lined with a rubbish bag. She could see a metro system map in the dark passage where she was standing.

Lin Sanjiu didn't expect that Kisaragi Station was only a single train station. Or, better to put it, she was in a train station. If it weren't for no one being around, she would have thought 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 footsteps echoed through the empty platform, Lin Sanjiu sometimes had this weird misperception that other people were behind her. The cold wind flowing in from the tunnel caused goosebumps to appear on her exposed skin. It must be winter there right then. Even with her posthuman constitution, she couldn't help sneezing a few times.

"I must look for a winter coat when I get out." Lin Sanjiu rubbed her arms vigorously and decided to look for the exit to leave the train station. However, she was unsuccessful.

She couldn't find an exit after circling the station a few times. She even climbed up the downward-moving escalator and found another train platform. Yet, she saw no other exit leading her back to the surface. Lin Sanjiu finally realized 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 escalator's handrails and returned to where she first arrived. Suddenly, she noticed something she had not discovered 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, 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 into 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.'

Before she could relax, she suddenly felt doubtful again. The [Vending Machine] card in her hand slightly differed 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 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 even 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, she heard a loud rumbling sound when she took her first step. Two beams of bright light accompanied this. The rhythm sound approached the train platform, getting louder and louder. Even the ground started shaking slightly.

Lin Sanjiu was caught off guard. Her hair danced with the wind blowing in from the tunnel. She gathered her hair together, revealing a shocked expression. Blood drained from her face.

A train drove into the platform and slowed down. The lights in the train carriages were very bright so she could see the green train seats. Oddly, all the carriages were empty, just like the train station. There was no one on the train. When the train stopped, the doors opened simultaneously, but Lin Sanjiu was the only passenger standing on the platform. It was only after she absent-mindedly entered the train that she somehow realized a problem."Um... Why wasn't there any sound before the train arrived at the station?"