"Anything you want to say?" Chen Mang asked nonchalantly.

At those words, Biaozi’s body finally gave out. He crumpled to his knees, his eyes red and his voice a hoarse, trembling mess. "Boss Mang... I hid it from you because I was afraid... afraid you’d think that because I was a captain before, I wouldn’t be content serving under someone else."

"But—"

"It’s precisely because I was a captain, because I failed so many times and nearly died in the wasteland, that I know how hard it is. I’ve seen the Stellar’s progress these past few days, and it’s a hundred times better than anything I ever managed."

"Boss Mang, from the bottom of my heart, I see the Stellar as my home. Every time, I feel proud to be a member of the Stellar train."

"Since following you, Boss Mang, I can say with a clear conscience that I’ve never done a single thing to wrong you or this train. I’ve been diligent every single day, never daring to slack off."

"There’s a saying back in my village."

"A harlot who settles down makes the most faithful partner."

"It’s the same for me. I’ve seen the dangers of the wasteland, and I understand what a great honor it is to follow you."

"Boss Mang!"

"If you can give me one more chance, just watch my actions from now on. If I do anything that displeases you, you won’t have to lift a finger. Just say the word, and I’ll kill myself."

Biaozi pressed his forehead to the floor, his body trembling as he awaited the final judgment. He had always feared this bomb would go off, but he never thought it would actually happen.

After a long silence, Chen Mang casually stubbed out his finished cigarette in a nearby soda can. His voice was calm and quiet.

"That man of yours... Hei Wa, is it?"

"I don’t like him."

"You handle it."

Biaozi’s body went rigid. Then, he knocked his head against the floor three times, hard. When he straightened up, tears were streaming down his face. "Boss Mang," he rasped, "from now on, judge me by my actions."

He backed out of the room slowly.

Outside the control car, Hei Wa was being held down by two guards and forced to his knees. He stared at the black muzzle of the gun pointed at him, his eyes wild with terror. He struggled violently, screaming at Lao Zhu, "You’ve made a mistake! You must have! You’re supposed to kill Biaozi, not me!!"

"I’m a whistleblower! I should be rewarded!"

"If you kill me, who will ever dare to report anything again?!"

"You can’t kill me! You can’t!"

"..."

Lao Zhu looked at the struggling Hei Wa and sighed. He had warned him a few days ago, but it seemed Heihai hadn’t listened. Instead, he had walked himself to a dead end.

Hei Wa had put too much faith in rules.

Logically, Biaozi should have been the one to die. But Hei Wa still didn’t understand. While the wasteland had its unwritten codes, on any given train, the Captain’s word was law. This wasn’t the pre-apocalypse world, where everything was done by the book.

He had brought this on himself.

"Hei Wa."

Biaozi, his eyes still red, walked up with his Assault Rifle and pressed the barrel to Hei Wa’s head. "Or should I say, Heihai? That was your nickname back in the village. Because you were always stealing things."

"I treated you well for years. For it to end like this between us... you have no one to blame but yourself."

"Biaozi... no, Brother Biao, Brother Biao!"

Seeing that no one would speak for him, Heihai’s eyes filled with despair, his voice cracking with sobs. "Give me a chance. Let me live, please. I’ll listen to you from now on, I swear. I’ll never do it again, I promise!"

"Erdan! We came from the same village, say something for me!"

"Can’t," Erdan, a man of few words, said, shaking his head with a pained expression. "You betrayed your people. Back in the village, your family’s name would be mud. People would curse you behind your back every day."

Biaozi crouched down, took out a cigarette, and lit it for himself. After a deep drag, he pushed the cigarette into Heihai’s mouth and patted his cheek.

"This is the last smoke."

"Have your last smoke, then go on your way. It’s proper procedure."

"We were brothers once. Let me be the one to send you off."

The next second—

Before Heihai could say another word.

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

The sharp crack of gunfire echoed briefly, though it was hardly noticeable over the clang of pickaxes from the other side of the train. The slaves didn’t even know what had just happened.

"Tsk."

Lao Zhu stood to the side, clicking his tongue as he looked at Heihai’s body in the pool of blood. "Your hands were shaking when you killed your idol the other day, but they’re rock-steady now killing your old brother."

"Chief Zhu," Biaozi said, forcing a bitter smile. "Don’t mock me. I was just talking nonsense that day. I was just scared, worried I’d end up like him if my secret got out."

"Alright, alright."

Lao Zhu couldn’t help but chuckle, patting Biaozi’s back. "Go pull yourself together. I know you’re not feeling great right now. He was your brother once, after all. But in a way, this was a blessing in disguise for you."

"I’ll find a place to bury him."

"Okay."

—-

In the No. 5 carriage, Ji Chuchu sat by the window and witnessed the entire scene. Her expression remained neutral. She hummed softly as she combed her hair. Since the apocalypse began, she’d seen things like this far too many times.

She was almost used to it.

"Sister Chuchu."

A girl sidled up to her, her face full of gossip. "That day, Boss Mang called you in alone... did he... touch you?" she whispered.

The other young women nearby immediately perked up their ears.

Although Ji Chuchu had the status of a Level 1 slave, she was allowed to live in the guards’ carriage. The girls with her were minor celebrities like herself, though not as famous. They couldn’t live there, but they were allowed to visit.

"He did."

Ji Chuchu stuck out her tongue playfully. "And he seemed quite satisfied."

"Huh?"

The gossiping girl was taken aback. "If he touched you, why didn’t he take you as his woman? You’d be the second-in-command of this train! We could have benefited from that too. This train is so much better than our last one."

"Boss Mang asked me how many men I’d been with. I told him the truth. I guess the number was too high for him." Ji Chuchu was surprisingly blunt, not mincing her words.

"Are you stupid?" the girl said, exasperated. "If you’d said you were a virgin, he might have taken you!"

"A virgin?"

Ji Chuchu picked up a mirror and admired her reflection for a long moment before turning with a smile. "With a face like mine, even if I was pure before the world ended, after a year in the apocalypse... what do you think the chances are that I’m still a virgin?"

"I’d have to be willing to say it, and Boss Mang would have to be willing to believe it."

"Besides," she continued, "even if he had taken me, the first thing I would’ve done is distance myself from all of you. The harem interfering in politics is a huge taboo. I’d be spending all my time in the control car, diligently serving Boss Mang. I wouldn’t have time to deal with you."

"Sister Chuchu," the other girls said, pretending to wipe away tears. "You’re so heartless."

"You can’t secure the top spot without being ruthless."

Ji Chuchu gazed out the window at the men dumping the body into an underground river, her eyes narrowing into a smile. She didn’t say anything more. At first, she too had fantasized about that possibility. But when she saw Boss Mang had no such intentions, she decided on a different approach.

No matter how ruthless men were, they still needed a touch of gentle comfort.

All she had to do was provide that comfort, and she could live very well on this train. Her beauty was her capital. She never understood why some beautiful women were so resistant to using their looks to get by.

A beautiful woman not using her face was like a rich heir insisting on starting from scratch.

Trying too hard to prove yourself to others only makes you waste the capital you were born with.