The Last Train Captain in the Wasteland

“Hiss…” “Why does it feel so cold?” I didn’t leave the air conditioner on last night, did I? Cole Mercer slowly opened his eyes in a daze. The first thing he saw was not the ceiling of his dormitory, but a rusty train roof above him. He froze. Where am I? Am I dreaming? He instinctively tried to push himself up, but his palm seemed to press against something soft. “Mmm…” Cole stiffened. What was that sound? Why did it sound so much like Jenna Hayes, the class psychology representative who was always sending him teasing selfies? He lowered his head. Then his entire body went still. Inside a train carriage more than ten meters long and about three meters wide, girl after girl lay unconscious around him. And none of them had proper clothes on. Cole stared, then rubbed his eyes in disbelief. “Is this… heaven?” He looked around the carriage, feeling as if his eyes were no longer enough to process everything before him. “Did I actually die and get sent to paradise? Are all of them here for me?” Wait. That girl with the long legs and graceful figure—wasn’t that Serena Reed, the president of the dance club? And that one… So it turned out that cute girls really did look different beside mature beauties. Cole kept looking around and became even more stunned. Every girl in the carriage was beautiful in her own way. Their faces were delicate, their skin fair, and their breathing carried a faint pleasant scent, as if a group of fairies had fallen from the heavens. It seemed like all the girls from his class were here. But why was he the only guy? Where were their clothes? Where were his clothes? Was this really not a dream? If it was a dream, Cole sincerely hoped he would never wake up. If it was not a dream… Well, he hoped they would not wake up too quickly either. This kind of visual impact could not be described with ordinary language. Every frame looked like something that could be turned into a wallpaper. No wonder nobody exposed the emperor’s new clothes. Everyone had eyes that could appreciate beauty. And right now, Cole had no intention of waking them. At that moment, Jenna Hayes rubbed her sleepy eyes and turned over unconsciously. Cole sucked in a breath. He had already been trying his best to stay calm, but this was almost too much. His brain nearly stopped working. If this continued, would they catch a cold? Thinking of that, Cole quickly stepped forward and called out, “Wake up!” Jenna frowned slightly. She opened her eyes impatiently and happened to meet Cole’s gaze. The air froze. One second. Two seconds. Ten seconds. “AHHHHHHH!” A scream loud enough to tear the world apart exploded inside the train. Jenna scrambled backward while screaming at the top of her lungs. “p*****t! There’s a p*****t!” “There’s a guy here without clothes!” Although Cole was slightly reluctant to end the peaceful scene, the girls in the carriage were still awakened by Jenna’s scream. “Who is yelling so early in the morning?” “What p*****t? Is he handsome? Where is he?” “Don’t keep the fun to yourself, girl. If you found something good, share it.” The girls opened their eyes one after another, some still smiling lazily. “Huh? Riley, why aren’t you wearing anything?” “Whoa, Riley, what have you been eating? You’re going to outgrow all of us at this rate.” The girl named Riley Quinn immediately slapped away the hand reaching toward her. “You’re the one who’s exaggerating! Besides, aren’t you in the same situation?” As soon as she said that, the girls looked at one another. Then, finally, all their gazes landed on Cole, who was standing stiffly in the corner with a face full of forced composure. The air froze again. “AHHH!” “p*****t!” “Cover yourself! Hurry!” The scene instantly fell into chaos. The girls who had still been teasing Jenna a moment ago immediately panicked when they realized there really was a boy here—and worse, a boy in the same embarrassing situation as them. Some covered themselves with their arms, some crouched down, and some became so flustered that they covered their own eyes instead. Cole could only admit one thing. This place smelled amazing. Just as everyone was panicking, their English lecturer, Sylvia Reed, stepped forward. Her face was flushed, but her voice remained firm. “Cole Mercer! Lower your head right now!” Cole lowered his head with great reluctance. The girls in the carriage finally breathed a sigh of relief. They began searching around for anything that could cover themselves, only to discover the tragic truth. There was nothing inside the carriage except the carriage itself. No clothes. No bags. No curtains. Not even a scrap of fabric. Through the windows, they could see a barren wasteland outside. The train was moving forward across an endless desert, heading toward an unknown destination. At that moment, the girls finally started to panic. “Professor Reed, what’s going on? Where are we?” “Were we kidn*pped by aliens?” “Why would aliens take our clothes?” “Professor, what exactly is happening?” Sylvia did not answer immediately. As the only person who could still be considered calm, she turned her gaze toward Cole. For some reason, perhaps out of instinctive curiosity, her eyes briefly swept over him before she quickly looked away. She was not the only one. Several bold girls also stole glances at him. After all, Cole was the only man here. And he was not exactly lacking in confidence. Cole stood straight without hiding much. There was nothing he could do. This was the confidence of a man who had nothing to be ashamed of. Some girls looked once, then quickly turned red. Some covered their eyes while secretly peeking through their fingers. One thought seemed to flash across many of their minds at the same time. They had never realized Cole’s physique was this good. And also… Well. That was enough.