Kisaragi Station || Apocalypse Paradise #3

185: Finally Not Alone

'That's right, no matter how odd this world seems, it's still an apocalyptic world. That means there should be two constants: posthumans and duoluozhongs,' Lin Sanjiu thought as she stared at the creature before her, barely half her size.

Her journey here had been solitary, without a single soul in sight, so the last thing she expected was to encounter a duoluozhong on the second floor of the bed and breakfast hotel.

Duoluozhongs varied in appearance across worlds, shaped by the unique apocalyptic calamities of each. Without knowledge of this world's apocalypse, Lin Sanjiu had no way to anticipate the kind of duoluozhong she might face. Yet, there was no mistaking the creature before her for anything but a duoluozhong.

Its body resembled a gnarled tree trunk, with a head both sharp and flat, and jagged teeth protruding menacingly. The creature's non-human skeletal structure was visible beneath its greenish skin, marking it as a monster in any context.

For some inexplicable reason, Lin Sanjiu sighed in relief upon seeing the duoluozhong. Regaining her composure, she drew out her vibroblade, her expression relaxing slightly.

"This is how it should be," Lin Sanjiu murmured, gripping her blade and advancing. The sight of this familiar being made Kisaragi Station World seem less eerie and unfathomable, regardless of whether it was friend or foe. It was as though she had finally gained some confidence.

Unexpectedly, the duoluozhong shrieked sharply at the sight of her weapon, darting towards a room along the corridor and pounding on the door.

Huh?

Lin Sanjiu paused, knife in hand, watching as the creature squeezed through the door's opening. The door's handle turned, and a man's puzzled face appeared. "Greenie, what's outside?"

His gaze met Lin Sanjiu's, leaving them both in shock.

The sight of another living soul filled Lin Sanjiu with an unexpected joy, her eyes lighting up as she inquired, "Are you a posthuman?"

The joy of encountering another human was something she hadn't anticipated. The man, sharing her sentiment, stuttered joyously before managing to say, "I... I'm not dreaming, am I? You're real, right? Oh gosh! I've been here alone for over a month..."

As he spoke, he ran a hand over his short buzzcut, his round face flushing with emotion.

"I've just arrived! This place is eerie..." Lin Sanjiu found herself opening up to the stranger, driven by a need to share her feelings. Then, remembering the creature, she quickly added, "That thing... was it a duoluozhong?"

"Quick, come in," the excited man beckoned. Though not particularly tall, his build was robust. Realizing suddenly that Lin Sanjiu, a lone female posthuman, might hesitate to enter his room, he quickly added with a laugh, "You're worried about Greenie? It's merely a duoluozhong. Just a creature of this world, really. I've developed methods to tame any duoluozhong from any realm, making them useful to me."

Despite their lack of acquaintance, a sense of goodwill was already evident between them. The man had even shared his "method" with her. This, Lin Sanjiu surmised, hinted at a profound loneliness from being isolated for over a month.

Lin Sanjiu nodded and told him her name. The man, reciting her name a few times, replied, "I'm Douglas. Did you come here on the train from Kisaragi Station too?"

Lin Sanjiu had a lot to say on this topic. "Yes. This place is really weird. What sort of apocalyptic world is this? And why aren't there any people around here?" She hesitated on whether to mention the crazy-looking people at Mausoleum Elementary Station and the pair of old cloth shoes. She didn't feel much when she was alone, but now that she was in front of another posthuman, she couldn't bring herself to admit that she had been scared by a pair of shoes.

Douglas touched his buzzcut, which was so short that he almost looked bald. He threw a glance at her, and a slightly strange expression appeared on his face. "You've never heard of Kisaragi Station?

Lin Sanjiu felt like she heard that name before, but she couldn't recall it. She shook her head.

I don't know what it is like in your original world, but in my hometown, there's a country called Japan where Kisaragi Station is known as a famous online urban legend. The story unfolds with a young woman who took a night train and soon realized she had boarded the wrong one, with no idea where the train was heading. When she alighted at Kisaragi Station, she found herself in the middle of the wilderness and had no choice but to walk along the tracks.

"She had been walking for a while when she suddenly saw an elderly man with only one leg; then, she heard the drum sounds from a ceremony. All this time, she had been chatting with her online friends on the forum and reporting what was happening—everyone told her to leave the place quickly. In the end, the young woman wrote, 'I met a good person; he will drive me to another station,' and then 'He is driving up the mountain, and he is not responding to my questions. I plan to run away.' After this, she never replied again."

Perhaps Douglas noticed Lin Sanjiu's fearful expression, for he sighed and nodded. "You must have guessed it by now, right? This world is named after a horror story... so, it's probably related to urban legends or something."

"Huh? But when I was on the train..." Lin Sanjiu didn't really understand and shared with Douglas the article she read. "Actually, I think this world has been invaded by something called 'dark matter.'"

Douglas opened his mouth, pondered for a moment, then resignedly said, "Ahem! Who knows... Anyway, I just want to spend my 14 months here peacefully. I am contented as long as nothing bad happens."

"You have a point," Lin Sanjiu said.

Encountering another living person, Lin Sanjiu felt rejuvenated. Her usual cool-headedness and confidence returned, and after conversing with Douglas for a while, she even entered the room to take a look at Greenie.

Douglas occupied a room with a large king-sized bed, surrounded by clothes and empty noodle bowls that showcased his typical untidiness. When Greenie saw Lin Sanjiu, it quickly hid behind a curtain, not realizing its feet were still visible.

"After I capture them, their intelligence falls significantly," Douglas explained while tidying the bed and clearing the items on it. "It's intelligence now matches that of a five-year-old child."

With its reduced intelligence, Lin Sanjiu felt less hatred for the duoluozhong. Douglas led Lin Sanjiu to the reception downstairs to get a key, and then they returned to the second floor, where he unlocked the door to another room.

"You should rest. It must have been quite an experience out there, right?" Douglas, gruff in appearance but quite caring at heart, suggested. "I'll wake you up in the afternoon for lunch." With that, he closed the door and left.

"How long has it been since I slept on a normal bed?" Lin Sanjiu pondered.

The room had been tidied just before the doomsday, leaving it clean with neat bed sheets and a soft blanket. Lin Sanjiu exhaled deeply, jumped into the bed, and buried her head in the soft pillow.

Despite her overwhelming exhaustion, she managed to rise with a hazy effort and retrieve her [Teru Teru Bozu Defense System]. Standing on a chair, she hung it from the ceiling. Seeing it quietly suspended, she finally felt safe. She shed her flowery jacket and kicked off her boots, crawling under the blanket as if her bones were rejoicing. Wrapped in the soft blanket, she quickly fell asleep.

Thecurtains were closed, leaving the room dim in the daytime. Unaware, even ifawake, Lin Sanjiu wouldn't notice anything amiss. The Teru Teru Bozu hangingfrom the ceiling began to turn slowly, its marker-drawn eyes suddenly openingto stare at the sleeping Lin Sanjiu with its void-like gaze.