"You mean... I was shouting strange words in the last carriage and attacked you just now?"
Punkdo Von Valetti had completely calmed down.
Looking at Lin Yu, Li Nian, and Chen Zhuo in front of him, Punkdo thought for a moment and drew a conclusion.
"I'll take what you said at face value for now, because it looks like my 'inhibitor' malfunctioned and caused me to lose control."
Punkdo Von Valetti said this, and Lin Yu grew curious.
"Inhibitor?"
"Yes. If you don't believe me, you can open the opening on the back of my uniform."
Saying that, the bound Punkdo struggled and shifted his body forward, then twisted to expose his back to everyone.
Lin Yu and Li Nian exchanged a glance, and Li Nian spoke up: "Honored employer, the two of us are female, and there's a difference between men and women... so this job is yours."
Hearing Li Nian say that, Chen Zhuo agreed without a second thought."Okay!"
But Lin Yu knew full well...
Li Nian was totally bluffing.
She had already groped Punkdo several times earlier; there was no way she would suddenly act modest now.
There was only one reason Li Nian ordered Chen Zhuo to do it...
Even if Punkdo now seemed not "mad" anymore, he might still not be trustworthy.
Lin Yu thought the same—he was sure Punkdo's earlier daze wasn't an act; Punkdo truly had no recollection of his previous "madness."
Even so, a sober Punkdo could still harbor ill intent toward them.
Lin Yu approved of Li Nian's arrangement.
Treating the three-person squad as a unit and taking a colder, profit-driven perspective, sending Chen Zhuo to take the risk was the most appropriate choice.
He had the lowest strength; if something happened to him, Lin Yu and Li Nian could still rescue and support him in time.
But if Lin Yu or Li Nian were harmed, Chen Zhuo wouldn't be much help!
Fortunately, Chen Zhuo wasn't harmed.
He smoothly peeled back a Velcro-sealed patch on the back of Punkdo's gray uniform—under that patch was a rigid piece of fabric.
Behind that fabric, a rounded device the size of a meat bun was affixed to his back, glowing blue.
The device had four metal needles deeply embedded under Punkdo's skin.
And just as Punkdo had said, the device looked broken at first glance.
Although it was still operating, there was a gap on the left side that exposed internal mechanical parts.
"This thing really does look broken."
Chen Zhuo said aloud.
Punkdo sighed. "No wonder..."
He looked at them with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry, everyone. When my 'inhibitor' fails, I may plunge into madness... that must be why I attacked you."
"I was hit in the back during a mission three days ago and didn't have time to return to the company for repairs."
"In any case, I'm deeply sorry for an employee of Truth Corporation attacking civilians..."
Punkdo apologized very politely.
Li Nian waved magnanimously. "It's fine, you're forgiven—although you almost squeezed my arm to pieces. But as they say, no hard feelings after a fight; we're brothers now."
Punkdo looked even more embarrassed. "I can't believe this happened. I'll write a report and compensate when I return to the company—subduing me while I'm in a crazed state shows you have considerable skill. If you'd like, I can recommend you to the company."
"However, would you mind untying me when we reach the station? I still have tasks unfinished."
As Punkdo spoke, Li Nian looked at him with a strange expression.
"Are you truly stupid or just pretending... This is your company's Despair Train. Does that thing even have a station to stop at?"
Punkdo was stunned for a moment. "Despair Train? I... why am I even here?"
"Did you think this was an ordinary express train?" Li Nian shot back.
Punkdo's face went pale. "Heavens, what on earth is going on... What did I do when the 'inhibitor' went berserk?!"
"No... even if I did something harmful to the company or Sleepless City, they wouldn't just dump me here—I was only a regular field worker!"
Hearing Punkdo's words, Lin Yu couldn't help but glance again at the identity card he'd taken from him earlier.
"C-2 level field team leader—you are not an ordinary field worker."
Lin Yu said this, and Chen Zhuo's expression changed drastically as well.
"Uncle, you're still lying to us at a time like this?! I actually thought you were sane now!"
He jumped back a step and assumed a defensive stance.
But Lin Yu calmly spoke again.
"No, I don't think he's lying..."
Sure enough, after hearing Lin Yu and Chen Zhuo, a burst of uncontrollable panic and terror flashed across Punkdo's face.
The blue light of the inhibitor on his back sped up noticeably.
"What group leader, uncle, what are you talking about?!"
"What are you holding? Let me see it!"
Lin Yu silently handed Punkdo's identity card back to him.
Punkdo looked at the card's information and photo and leapt up from his seat in fright.
"What... what is going on?!"
He looked toward the train window—the reflection showed the face of a somewhat haggard middle-aged man.
Across his chest the red letters "F-6" blazed.
The inhibitor on Punkdo's back changed from blue to red, and he looked agitated.
"How could I be the leader of the delta group?! How could I become an exiled expendable! This must be an illusion!"
Punkdo looked up at the top of the carriage.
"End the test! Supervisor! Researchers, whoever you are... I request to end this dream!"
He shouted, his voice starting to break.
Chen Zhuo, startled by this man's sudden yelling, was shocked.
"Hey, sir, this isn't a dream..."
But before Chen Zhuo could finish, Punkdo shouted again.
"Shut up! You nightmare... no, you might not even be a nightmare—you could be a spy from the Supreme Evolution Corporation! You're trying to extract secrets from me, right?!"
Punkdo's eyes bulged and he looked crazier than he had in the previous carriage.
However, this kind of frenzy differed from the utterly incomprehensible madness in the earlier carriage.
At least Lin Yu and Li Nian understood that he had become like this because he couldn't accept reality; the blow was too great.
They also had ways to calm him back down.
The two moved instinctively and in perfect coordination.
In the next moment, Punkdo's movements halted and he slowly sat back down.
That was because a gun barrel was pressed to his brow and a blade rested against his carotid artery.
"Hey, hey, calm down. Like you, we're also 'exiles' on the Despair Train," Li Nian said, her tone light and brisk. "Anyway, you should realize this isn't a hallucination created by Truth Corporation or any other company's spies..."
"For your current understanding, this place should be 'a few years later'... I don't really know the exact time either."
After Li Nian finished, Lin Yu added with wicked relish.
"Welcome to the future, Mr. Punkdo."