17: Chapter 17 Hot Bath and the Ambiguous Changing Room

The Black Iron was traveling through the night at a constant rhythm, the wheels making a rhythmic "clack-clack" sound against the tracks.

This originally dull sound sounded exceptionally pleasant tonight.

Because in the middle of the carriage, a long queue exuding the scent of youth was forming at the entrance of the newly opened "Spring of Forgetfulness" public shower room.

"Hey, don't push! Everyone gets 15 minutes, enough time to scrub your skin raw!"

"Who stepped on my slipper? Hey, someone lend me some facial cleanser, I'm all out!"

"Wow, is this Chanel body wash? Zhao Ji really went all out this time; this scent is amazing!"

The carriage, once filled with the smell of rust and sour sweat, was now enveloped in an intoxicating mist of steam. It was a complex aroma of dozens of different brands of shampoo, body wash, and the natural fragrance of young women.

For the girls who had been struggling in the apocalypse and rolling in piles of corpses for four whole days, this wasn't just a cleaning—it was a rebirth.

Shen Man, acting as the "administrator," was sitting by the door on a small stool with a notebook in hand, rigorously recording the time.

"Two minutes left for stall number three! Hurry up in there, people are waiting outside!"

Although she was rushing them, an irrepressible smile hung on her face. Seeing everyone emerge from the bathroom with rosy, tender faces made it feel as if a bit of the civilized world had returned.

Just then, the crowd suddenly went quiet, and a path automatically opened up.

Lin Xiao, wearing a pair of loose boxers with a white towel draped around his neck and kicking his flip-flops, walked over swaggeringly.

His upper body was bare; while he didn't have the exaggerated bulk of a bodybuilder, his lines were extremely sleek.

His broad shoulders, tight pectoral muscles, and the neatly arranged eight-pack abs resembling chocolate bars glowed with a healthy wheat-colored sheen under the dim lights of the corridor.

In particular, as he walked, the mermaid lines disappearing into the edge of his waistband flickered in and out of sight, full of masculine tension.

*Gulp.*

Someone had unceremoniously swallowed their saliva.

In this "Kingdom of Women" where the feminine greatly outnumbered the masculine, this explosive male physique was practically a walking hormone dispenser.

"Cl... Class Monitor!"

"Class Monitor, are you taking a shower too?"

The girls greeted him one after another; some lowered their heads shyly, while others boldly scanned his muscle lines out of the corner of their eyes.

"Yeah, I worked up a sweat just now."

Lin Xiao didn't mind their gazes at all. Instead, he flamboyantly brushed back his wet bangs. "According to Article 1 of the Conductor's Privilege Act, I have the right to cut the line at any time and enjoy unlimited shower time. No objections, right?"

"No objections at all!"

"Please, Class Monitor! If these bathroom partitions weren't semi-transparent (though you can't see clearly), we'd want to go in and help scrub your back!" a bold girl joked.

Lin Xiao laughed heartily but didn't go in immediately. Instead, he looked back at Su Qingqian, who was following behind him.

The cold school beauty was currently holding a stack of clean clothes (Lin Xiao's fresh underwear and T-shirt). Her expression looked a bit stiff, but her earlobes were a translucent red.

"So... Qing Qian, as the Combat Team Leader, are you sure you want to carry out that 'close-range security mission'?" Lin Xiao looked at her with a half-smile.

Su Qingqian took a deep breath, trying hard to maintain her "Ice Beauty" persona, and said solemnly:

"The Conductor is in a defenseless state while showering. What if a stealth-type zombie like the one yesterday launches a sneak attack? Or... or what if an irrational team member causes a disturbance? It is my duty to stand guard at the door."

Even she felt that this excuse was clumsy.

But there was no helping it. When Lin Xiao was assigning tasks earlier, he had looked her straight in the eye and said, "I'm missing someone to hand me a towel while I shower."

"Fine, then I'll trouble the Great School Beauty Su."

Lin Xiao stopped teasing her, pushed open the specially made thick frosted glass door of the "Spring of Forgetfulness," and walked in.

...

*Splash—*

Warm water poured down from overhead.

Lin Xiao closed his eyes and let out an extremely comfortable sigh.

"Ah... this is how a human should live."

Although there had been simple cleaning over the past few days, how could it compare to the satisfaction of a shower like this?

The hot water washed over his skin, taking away the grime in his pores and the fatigue accumulated deep within his muscles.

He picked up a bottle of mint-scented men's body wash—who knows who contributed it—squeezed out a large dollop, and rubbed it on his body. Rich foam instantly covered him.

Meanwhile, in the changing room just a door away.

Su Qingqian leaned against the frosted glass door, listening to the sound of splashing water and Lin Xiao's uninhibited singing (though slightly out of tune). Her heart was beating so fast it felt like it would jump out of her throat.

This door was not soundproof.

In fact, due to the lighting, as long as she turned around, she could see a blurry but tall silhouette on the frosted glass.

That shadow was scrubbing its body; the raised arms, the bending motions—every silhouette was full of suggestions that made one's face flush.

"Su Qingqian, what are you thinking! You're here for sentry duty!"

Su Qingqian patted her burning cheeks, trying to drive those messy images out of her mind.

But...

That was Lin Xiao.

The man who laughed and joked amidst the tide of corpses, who brought them hope in despair, who was domineering yet attentive.

Just a door away, he was as naked and sincere as an infant...

*Creak.*

Just as Su Qingqian was lost in thought, the sound of water stopped.

Immediately after, the sound of the door handle turning rang out.

Su Qingqian bounced away like a startled rabbit and stood up straight.

"Are... are you done?"

The door opened.

A wave of moist, hot steam mixed with the fresh scent of mint blew toward her.

Lin Xiao walked out.

He hadn't put on the clothes Su Qingqian had prepared; instead, he only had a white bath towel loosely wrapped around his waist.

His wet hair was combed back, revealing a smooth and full forehead. A few playful water droplets dripped from the ends of his hair, sliding down his high nose bridge, flowing over his sexy Adam's apple, trickling across his firm chest, and finally disappearing into the edge of that suggestive bath towel.

"Phew, that felt great!"

Lin Xiao dried his hair while looking at Su Qingqian, who was already staring blankly.

At this moment, Su Qingqian's eyes were fixed on Lin Xiao's abs, her whole body seemingly under a freezing spell.

Her face, with skin as smooth as congealed fat, was now as red as a ripe peach, and even her slender neck was tinged with a layer of pink.

"What? Never seen a handsome guy fresh out of the shower?"

Lin Xiao suddenly took a step forward, leaning in close to Su Qingqian.

That strong, moist masculine scent instantly enveloped Su Qingqian.

"I... I..."

The usually eloquent and cold school beauty was now stuttering, her mind a complete blank.

"U-um... I'm just passing by! I'm really just passing by!"

Just as this ambiguous atmosphere was about to explode, a somewhat flustered voice came from the side.

Lin Xiao and Su Qingqian turned their heads at the same time.

They saw Luo Yao holding her laptop, hiding behind the lockers in the changing room. Her small hands covered her eyes, but the gaps between her fingers were wide open. Her large, grape-like eyes were darting around, staring intently at Lin Xiao's mermaid lines.

"Passing by?" Lin Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Our Intelligence Chief's route is quite unique, passing all the way into the male changing area?"

"Oh! I'm here to... to check if there are any bugs here!"

Luo Yao talked nonsense with righteous indignation, her face flushed like a child caught stealing candy.

Although she was small, she understood everything. Looking at Lin Xiao's lean and strong physique, she felt like her nose was about to bleed.

"Waaa, the Class Monitor's body is way too good... Isn't this much better than those 2D paper husbands?"

Seeing the embarrassed state of these two beauties, one big and one small, Lin Xiao was in a great mood.

He gave a deliberate wicked grin, grabbed the edges of his bath towel with both hands, and made a move as if to undo it.

"Since you're both here, it's perfect. My back is a bit itchy; I couldn't reach it earlier. How about... one of you comes in to help scrub my back? Or... both together?"

"Ah!!!"

Su Qingqian and Luo Yao let out short screams at the same time.

"Pervert!"

"Class Monitor is a big pervert!"

Like two startled fawns, they dropped the clothes, turned, and ran. Their heels and sneakers made a series of frantic footsteps on the floor.

As she reached the door, Su Qingqian almost tripped over the threshold, staggering before steadying herself. Her disheveled appearance bore no resemblance to her usual "Ice Goddess" persona.

"Hahahaha!"

Lin Xiao watched their retreating backs and let out a hearty laugh.

He picked up the clothes from the floor and put them on unhurriedly.

This kind of daily teasing of beauties was simply the best spice in the apocalypse.

Moreover, he could feel that as the pressure of survival eased, the most primitive attraction between men and women was fermenting in this enclosed space.

Perhaps it wouldn't be long before that final barrier was broken.

...

Peaceful days always passed quickly.

Over the next two days, the Black Iron was like a mobile utopia.

During the day, everyone performed their duties. Tian Yuanyuan tended to her lettuce in the greenhouse, Zhao Xiaotang led a few physically strong girls to pump iron in the gym (converted from a carriage), and Shen Man managed the supplies with meticulous care.

At night, everyone would gather in the public carriage, eating hot self-heating rice, listening to music played by Luo Yao, and occasionally enjoying a cup of Coke specially approved by Lin Xiao.

Aside from the occasional mindless zombies being automatically cleared by the machine gun turrets, everything seemed so wonderful.

It was so wonderful that people even developed an illusion: Is this really the apocalypse?

Until the middle of the night on the fifth day.

"Zzzt... Zzzt... Help..."

A faint but piercing sound of static broke the tranquility of the driver's cabin.

It was currently two in the morning.

Lin Xiao was leaning back in the driver's seat with his eyes closed, resting (actually studying new items in the system shop), while Luo Yao wore large headphones, eating potato chips while monitoring nearby radio channels.

This was Lin Xiao's absolute order: Intelligence is life; any sign of movement could not be ignored.

"Class Monitor!"

Luo Yao suddenly took off her headphones, stopped eating her chips, and her expression instantly became incredibly serious.

"I've captured an SOS distress signal! The source is very close, about fifty kilometers ahead of us!"

Lin Xiao snapped his eyes open and sat up straight.

"Put it on the speaker."

Luo Yao pressed the button.

A cry for help accompanied by noisy static came from the loudspeaker. It was a woman's voice, filled with despair and fear, even laced with a sob.

"**Zzzt... This is... Train 9528... I am Conductor Liu Ruyan...**"

"**We are... surrounded... so many people... they have guns...**"

"**It's all women here... we can't hold on much longer... Can anyone hear us... please... save us...**"

"**Coordinates (X: 1245, Y: 3368)... Ah! Don't come in! Fight them!...**"

The signal cut off abruptly, leaving only a piercing dial tone.

The driver's cabin fell into a brief, deadly silence.

Lin Xiao's brows furrowed tightly, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the armrest.

"9528?" Lin Xiao repeated the number in a low voice.

If he remembered correctly, their train was 9527. According to the order when the school dispatched the trains...

"9528... That's the Dance Department's special train!"

Luo Yao cried out in surprise, her small face full of shock. "I remember! The Dance Department's class was right next to ours! That's the department with the most beauties in the whole school! They say even the mosquitoes there are female!"

"Dance Department..."

Rumors about that department immediately surfaced in Lin Xiao's mind.

If the Art and Design Department had many beauties, the Dance Department was practically a wholesale market for them. Every one of them was tall, extremely flexible, and long legs were practically standard.

"And... they're all women?" Lin Xiao keenly caught the keyword.

At this point, Su Qingqian and Shen Man, having heard the commotion, also hurried to the driver's cabin.

"Lin Xiao, was that a distress signal just now?" Shen Man draped a coat over herself, looking anxious. "I think I heard Liu Ruyan's name? Isn't she the 'department flower' of the Dance Department? I worked with her in the Student Union!"

"Yes, it's them." Lin Xiao nodded, his expression so calm that no one could tell his emotions.

"Are we... going to save them?" Su Qingqian looked at Lin Xiao, her eyes carrying a hint of inquiry and a trace of hope.

Although the apocalypse was cruel, these were alumni and classmates, and they were all women. If they were surrounded by zombies, that would be one thing, but from what they just heard, they were surrounded by "people."

As women themselves, they knew all too well what the fate of a group of vulnerable girls falling into the hands of a pack of thugs would be in this lawless world.

Lin Xiao didn't answer immediately.

He was weighing the options.

Save them?

He wasn't a saint. In this apocalypse, every drop of oil and every bullet was a life. Risking everything to save a group of strangers was something only a fool would do.

But...

Profit.

A glint of sharp light flashed in Lin Xiao's eyes.

What did the Dance Department signify?

First, population.

In this world, population was a resource. His train was still upgrading; the greenhouse needed people to tend it, the weapon workshop needed people to manufacture bullets, and as the train grew longer, he would even need people for cleaning. The current 38 people were already stretched thin.

Second, quality.

The girls in the Dance Department generally had better physical fitness than average people and were very flexible. With a little training, they would make the best assassins or scouts.

Third, and most importantly—annexation.

If he saved them, Train 9528 would naturally become his spoils of war. Merging the two trains and integrating their resources would instantly double his power!

Not to mention...

A somewhat wicked arc curved on the corner of Lin Xiao's mouth.

As a man determined to build the strongest harem in the apocalypse, how could he stand by and watch a train full of long-legged beauties from the Dance Department fall into the clutches of others? That would be a complete waste of God's gifts!

Such premium resources could only belong to him!

"Luo Yao."

Lin Xiao suddenly spoke, his voice as cold as a blade.

"Calculate the route. Target coordinates (X: 1245, Y: 3368)."

"Since they're neighbors and alumni, whether it's out of humanitarianism or for... ahem, to expand our team, we're doing this."

"Yay! Class Monitor is the best!" Luo Yao cheered, her fingers moving rapidly over the controls. "Route set! Estimated time of arrival: 40 minutes!"

"Su Qingqian, Zhao Xiaotang."

Lin Xiao turned around and looked at his two top generals.

"Pass down the order: full Level 1 combat readiness!"

"Prepare the Swarm Drones for charging! Release the safety on the machine gun turrets!"

"Tell everyone, we're not going there to be philanthropists. We're going there to—rob the robbers."

"If the other party are scumbags, send them to hell. If they're fat sheep, we'll take both the people and the train!"

Su Qingqian looked at the domineering Lin Xiao, a strange light flashing in her eyes.

She gripped her Tang saber tightly and nodded vigorously.

"Yes! Mission guaranteed to be completed!"

*Boom—!!!*

As Lin Xiao slammed down the throttle, the Black Iron let out a roar.

The flames in the boiler burned fiercely, and the massive kinetic energy propelled the steel body like a giant shark that had caught the scent of blood, tearing through the night and charging toward the unknown battlefield at full speed!

...