Chapter 69: Chapter 69: What a Strange Girl

"Leng Ningxue?"

Bai Cheng was slightly taken aback as she looked at the girl in front of her, who was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and was seemingly unaffected by the cold.

If it was just the name, she had indeed seen the name before.

But her impression of the girl had been limited to the label of ’Pioneer’.

However, it seemed that Leng Ningxue’s progress was almost on par with her own, clearly placing her among the very top tier of survivors.

This made Bai Cheng view her in a new light.

She politely extended her hand for a handshake.

Leng Ningxue’s fair, slender fingers were unnaturally cold, as if they didn’t belong to a living person.

"You said you’re a combat Talent awakener?" Bai Cheng asked, puzzled.

Leng Ningxue nodded, her sharp gaze locking onto Bai Cheng.

After confirming that Bai Cheng genuinely didn’t seem to know about this, she explained succinctly, "Talents are broadly divided into combat and non-combat types."

"Combat Talent awakeners gain considerable fighting prowess from the start, but their abilities offer little help in survival."

As she spoke, she flicked her fingers, and a shard of ice crystal materialized in her palm.

Bai Cheng’s eyes narrowed in shock.

Seriously? You all just get to cheat like this!?

If survivors could possess combat abilities from the beginning, she couldn’t even imagine how much easier survival would be.

"There are actually Talents like this?" she blurted out in surprise.

But Leng Ningxue shook her head. "Combat Talents usually come with severe side effects."

She didn’t elaborate on what those side effects were, but her expression suggested that it was something difficult to talk about.

"As I thought, your Talent must be related to employees, right?" Leng Ningxue continued.

As a combat Talent awakener, she had heightened sensitivity to danger and killing intent.

And she could clearly sense that Bai Cheng’s two employees were terrifyingly strong.

There was no way these employees could be recruited in the early stages.

Hearing this, Bai Cheng didn’t deny it. After all, Leng Ningxue had been upfront about her own abilities.

"Something like that," she replied vaguely, finally understanding why the other party had been looking at her with such surprise earlier.

"By the way," Leng Ningxue suddenly remembered something, "once the team function is fully unlocked, trains can merge."

"What?"

"Train merging. Team members can board each other’s trains. You’ve probably seen quite a few Infinite Raiders by now, right?"

Contrary to expectations, Leng Ningxue wasn’t aloof at all. She was straightforward, sharing information that Bai Cheng hadn’t known.

Bai Cheng’s first thought was of the extra employees on the Infinite Raiders’ trains. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

If trains could indeed merge, then teammates’ employees would logically be able to board as well.

"How did you get all this information...?"

Bai Cheng was certain that she hadn’t missed anything along the way. So why did it seem like everyone else knew more than she did?

"Tang Yan tried to recruit me and shared the information," Leng Ningxue explained, then looked directly at Bai Cheng.

"You’ve noticed it too, right? His Talent is most likely precognition, a non-combat type. Or, to put it in terms from novels... he might be a regressor."

Seeing Bai Cheng’s thoughtful expression, she added, "You’ve read novels before, right?"

"Of course," Bai Cheng said, momentarily stunned before thanking her. "Thanks for telling me all this."

She glanced at her watch. "As thanks, let me treat you to breakfast."

Although Leng Ningxue hadn’t stated her intentions, Bai Cheng could already guess it.

She remembered that Leng Ningxue’s recruitment post had specified female teammates only.

But since the other party hadn’t brought it up, Bai Cheng wouldn’t either.

Leng Ningxue declined politely. "No need. I have food on my train, but we can eat together."

Eating breakfast in the freezing wilderness where water turned to ice the moment it was spilled?

But boarding each other’s trains would be too intrusive, so neither of them suggested it.

After breakfast, their goals aligned perfectly. That is, to rush to the next station at full speed.

As they returned to their respective trains, Leng Ningxue proposed traveling together.

Yet, from start to finish, she never mentioned forming a team with Bai Cheng.

Finally, unable to curb her curiosity, Bai Cheng asked, "Why are you telling me all this?"

With one foot already inside her train, Leng Ningxue turned back and smiled for the first time. "To be friends."

With that, she boarded her train, and soon, the engine roared to life.

Bai Cheng stood there for a moment, raising an eyebrow as she muttered to herself, "What a strange girl."

Turning to look at Chi Yan and Zi Yuan, she ordered, "Let’s go as well."

Since Leng Ningxue had deliberately matched her speed, the two trains traveled side by side the entire day.

They even added each other as friends, ate meals together, and mined for fuel in sync.

Having company made the lonely train life feel a little less dull.

And Leng Ningxue never showed any ulterior motives, as if she truly just wanted to be friends.

Late that night, they were only 100 km away from Station Three.

"I have a feeling that our paths will diverge soon," Leng Ningxue said by the campfire. She was flanked by her two employees, an Elite Rank specter and an Elite Rank skeleton archer.

To Bai Cheng’s surprise, both of her starting employees were blue-grade.

This further proved that combat Talent awakeners were even stronger than expected.

"This time, I have some more intel about how non-combat Talent users can ascend to superhuman levels."

Bai Cheng blinked. "Tang Yan was trying to recruit you, right? If you keep squeezing him for information, won’t he...?"

Leng Ningxue shook her head. "Not Tang Yan. A Pioneer named Lin Qiuyue told me."

"Lin Qiuyue?" Bai Cheng hadn’t expected Leng Ningxue to know her.

But then again, there weren’t many Pioneers to begin with. It made sense that they would know each other.

"Isn’t she Tang Yan’s teammate?" Bai Cheng asked curiously.

"Oh?" Leng Ningxue mused. "Then I’ll have to be more careful."

After a few more brief exchanges and a late-night snack, they returned to their trains to rest.

Thanks to her Talent, Leng Ningxue could ignore the cold erosion even without a heating stove. The Frigid Snowy Mountains might as well be her home turf.

Even in the Silent Night, her train hadn’t stopped moving.

Soon, the snowstorm intensified. Even though the two trains were only ten meters apart, visibility grew increasingly blurred.

By the time Leng Ningxue’s train vanished entirely from sight, Bai Cheng’s train gradually slowed down, and a massive triangular curtain appeared before her.

The curtain burst into flames as the train passed through, and several messages flashed on the screen:

[Arrived at a special station. Stay duration is unlimited.]

[Pioneer Trial I begins!]