CHAPTER 198: [THE INFINITE TRAIN] – DEGENERATE’S PART (8)

The train continued to cut through the night, but the atmosphere on board was no longer the same as at the beginning.

"Hey, what did that brat just hand you?!"

Aurora, who had been resting with her eyes closed, was awakened by the booming voice. Her beautiful eyebrows knit slightly but quickly relaxed again. Her face was so harmless and stunning it seemed to glow, making the man who had just spoken falter, purse his lips, and hesitate as if unsure whether to continue forward or not.

[Come on, man, show a bit of spine!]

[Yeah, look at that pathetic expression.]

Aurora lifted her gaze. The man saw his own reflection in her emerald eyes—wide-eyed and trembling, like a frightened mouse trying to act fierce. Pathetic and ugly.

He seemed provoked, his facial expression exploding as he roared, "What are you looking at?! What did that brat give you? Hand it over!"

Just a moment ago, he had been a drunken mess on the street; the next, he found himself neatly dressed and sitting on a train. He was so terrified he didn’t dare leave his seat to look for clues or do anything at all. Perhaps the only stroke of luck he had was somehow grabbing the right train ticket by accident—hence why he was even able to stand here and shout.

He recognized Asta—that lecherous brat had been circling around this beautiful woman nonstop. He must’ve left her something useful.

Now that the only people left on the train were cowards like him, it was the perfect time to prove himself.

The man’s shout startled the child in Aurora’s arms awake. Its little face, flushed red from illness, contorted and let out a piercing wail.

"There, there, don’t cry, don’t cry."

Worry flashed across Aurora’s jade-like face, delicate as if carved from crystal, making anyone who saw it feel a soft ache in their heart.

But the man, ignored like this, grew agitated. He reached out and suddenly snatched the child from Aurora’s arms, raising it high as he shouted, "If you keep dawdling, this monster will die!"

To him, anything inside a dungeon was a monster. This NPC child was obviously included.

But Aurora’s expression instantly turned anxious. She stood up, frowning. "Give the child back to me!"

Only now did the man realize just how tall Aurora was—her shadow almost completely enveloped him. She could easily reach the child he was holding up with just one move.

"What the hell—"

Aurora didn’t even let him finish. She snatched the child back from his hands and immediately raised her foot in a powerful kick.

The heel of her shoe slammed into the man’s chest, producing a sharp crack from his ribs. The pain shot through him instantly—he realized at once that his bones had broken.

"AAAAAHHH!"

He was sent flying, crashing hard into a nearby seat. The agony radiating from his spine and chest left him nearly voiceless.

Clutching his chest, he writhed on the floor, gasping for breath.

Aurora, meanwhile, held the child tightly. Her face pale with horror, she quickly turned and ran in the direction where Asta had disappeared.

[That beautiful face and gentle, almost fragile expression nearly made me forget that Aurora has such an exceptional body by human standards!]

[She might be the tallest person in this entire dungeon. Those other guys actually got shorter after turning into monsters, haha.]

[Is Aurora really just running off like that? Isn’t she afraid of dying?]

[That guy never saw it coming, haha. Females truly are the real "monsters."]

The others stared blankly at Aurora’s retreating figure, then turned their eyes to the man still writhing on the ground—but chose to ignore him. At this point, no one wanted to get close to anyone else.

Aurora carried her son into another train car, the one right next to theirs.

This car wasn’t much different from the last. Blood was splattered across the floor and walls. Cradling the child in one arm while soothing him with the other, Aurora made her way forward. Though her face was still pale, she appeared much calmer now. She merely seemed a little cold.

A tall girl with such striking features walking by naturally drew attention from several people.

"Big sis, are you human?"

Just then, a small voice called out. Someone tugged lightly on Aurora’s sleeve, asking cautiously.

Aurora paused and lowered her gaze. It was a petite girl with a sweet, innocent face, soft pink lips, and short blonde hair cut at ear length—though even with that hairstyle, she still looked very cute. Seeing Aurora pass by, the girl had hurriedly stood up.

"Don’t worry, I’m human too." She then shared her pop-up window.

Aurora smiled faintly at that. "Aren’t you afraid I’m not human?"

The girl shook her head. "NPCs usually don’t look as outstanding as you do."

After a brief pause, she added hesitantly, "You’re just a normal person too, right? I heard it’s really dangerous up ahead..."

She knew she was cowardly, but she didn’t want this beautiful woman to walk into danger alone.

"Staying in one place can be dangerous too. I want to go ahead and have a look," Aurora replied softly, then resumed walking.

The small girl pursed her lips slightly at that, her eyes darting around as if she were thinking hard. Finally, she took a step forward and called out in a clear voice, "Let me come with you!"

Aurora looked at her. "But you’re scared."

The little girl bit her lip, saying nothing. After a long pause, she finally murmured, "My name is Lily. What’s yours?"

"Aurora."

Aurora answered without paying much attention to Lily, her focus entirely on the child in her arms.

Lily pouted slightly, then said in a quiet voice, "Ever since we got on the train, people have been acting weird—caring about NPCs and all, when they’re clearly just NPCs..."

Hearing that, Aurora paused briefly. Then she mumbled, so softly that it was almost inaudible, "It’s just... the child looks so pitiful..."

Lily looked up at Aurora, dazed for a moment before suddenly asking, "Can I hold your hand?"

Aurora glanced at her. Lily looked conflicted. "My parents never cared for me at all... but you showed compassion for a child who’s not even human. So I thought... maybe you’d let me hold your hand..."

This ten-year-old girl looked extremely shy—she wanted to hold Aurora’s hand, yet kept both of hers behind her back. Aurora’s gaze softened. "Alright."

With that, she reached out and gently took Lily’s hand.

Lily’s eyes widened as she felt the warmth and softness wrap around her hand. Her face turned bright red from excitement, her small mouth slightly agape but unable to form words. She simply stared at Aurora in a daze the entire way.

"I’ll follow you to the very end!"