Yu Nian didn't press the issue; she simply leaned back against the tiled wall, arms folded, the faintest smug curve on her lips as she quietly watched Bai Cheng rinse away the last of the foam.

Steam curled around them, and in the hazy light only their soft breathing and the patter of water broke the silence of the narrow, private space.

Water murmured; mist swirled.

Yu Nian leaned against the wall, eyes lazily triumphant.

Bai Cheng's hands stilled. The details of that earlier ambush right after her breakthrough—and the intent gaze fixed on her back now—clicked together in an instant.

So that was your plan.

She shut off the valve, turned, wet hair clinging to her cheeks, a flash of understanding and mischief in her eyes.

Yu Nian lifted a brow; before she could answer, Bai Cheng stepped in.

Even drained after breaking through to King rank, her explosive speed was nothing to scoff at.

Yu Nian felt an arm lock around her waist; the world spun and her back met cool tile. Warm water cascaded, soaking her thin clothes in seconds.

Reciprocity.

Straddling Yu Nian's hips, Bai Cheng reached for the body wash.

She squeezed a generous puff [N O V E L I G H T] of foam into her palm and pressed it to Yu Nian's collarbone, letting it slide under the soaked collar. “Your turn for a proper wash.”

The lather spread over drenched fabric, cloth clinging to skin and tracing every curve.

Bai Cheng's fingertips, slick with soap and heat, traced the hollow of Yu Nian's spine at a deliberate pace, pausing at each joint to circle and press.

Yu Nian's breath hitched; she tried to push up, but Bai Cheng's knee gently pinned her wrist.

Water threaded down their entwined bodies.

Bai Cheng leaned closer, breath brushing Yu Nian's ear. “You seemed so practiced a moment ago.”

Her fingers slipped beneath the soaked back collar, pressing a spot just inside the shoulder blade.

Mist thickened; water whispered.

Yu Nian's breath caught; her spine arched, neck curving back as her earlier composure slipped away.

Fine droplets trembled on her lashes before sliding free.

Bai Cheng's fingertips stayed put, feeling the faint tremor under skin and the rising warmth.

Thick steam wrapped their blurred silhouettes in soft focus.

In the cramped space only the steady water and their slow, mingled breaths remained, gradually calming.

Elsewhere, the four-hour estimate was only a system approximation.

No one could say when the damage inside the Platform would be repaired.

Drifting in that unknown expanse, they had long since lost track of day or night.

Inside the cab, just as Leng Ningxue and Lan Xiaoyu were nodding off, a glaring red alert flashed across the screen.

【Warning: severe internal damage to the Platform—repair impossible in the short term!】

【All Survivors are hereby issued the Hunter quest. Complete it to enter the Infinite Realm directly via #8 Platform!】

【Quest Name: Hunter】

【Details: Eliminate every Modified, #1 Channel Survivor, or Wireless Raider wandering outside the Infinite Realm.

The detection console will auto-modify to display every target within ten thousand kilometers; fuel will be unlimited while the train drives toward them.】

【Duration: Unlimited】

【Reward: Unknown...】

The sudden text made Leng Ningxue blink.

Her first instinct was to inform Bai Cheng at once.

Moments later the three of them stared at the message together.

So even the system can't fix what those people did to the Platform anytime soon? Yu Nian murmured in surprise.

Now the tables have turned—we're the hunters, Bai Cheng said, rubbing her chin.

She had no complaints about the quest itself.

With #8 Platform sealed, they'd have had to finish an inside task anyway; this shortcut suited her.

Besides, this looks like a rush job by the system, Leng Ningxue added.

Bai Cheng nodded. Either way, finishing it gets us into the Infinite Realm; nothing else matters.

And though it says all Survivors, after the Ten Thousand Frequency Hegemony Tournament we're probably the only ones left.

They all knew the quest was aimed squarely at them.

Anyone arriving later would find #8 Platform already repaired—no need for emergency missions.

Right then, cracks webbed across the void outside the window; the world shattered.

Get ready—we're breaking out! Bai Cheng warned.

Blinding white swallowed them.

When their eyes adjusted, a stark, dead silence greeted them.

Beyond the windows the earth looked twisted and scorched by a titan's hand.

Under a dark sky stretched endless, metallic-grey desolation.

The charred ground was split by jagged scars like fossilized riverbeds—ugly wounds that would never close.

Far off, colossal volcanoes stood like silent titans, their dark-red slopes glowing with molten orange, black smoke fouling the already dim heavens.

Fine grey ash drifted in endless, filthy snow, slowly burying everything.

No life showed; only wind moaning through stone and the distant rumble of volcanoes scored the apocalyptic hush.

Lava Volcano terrain... Bai Cheng said, voice dry. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

She swung to the detection console and swept her fingers across the glowing map.

Their train was racing toward a set of coordinates.

At the center pulsed a brilliant beacon—like a lighthouse or a leviathan's heart—broadcasting a signal they had no choice but to follow.