She gave the handle of the second door a gentle twist. Again, it was a room where the bed stood in stark contrast to everything else.
The rest of the space was exceptionally clean and tidy, meticulously arranged, almost in a style that would delight someone with OCD.
But as soon as her gaze shifted to the bed, the atmosphere instantly became strange.
The first things she saw were several large Homu, Homu, and other oversized plush dolls. These cute dolls looked incredibly odd placed next to the neatly folded, block-like quilt [often seen in disciplined environments like military barracks].
This was undoubtedly Bronya's room. While Kiana also had plushies, hers were printed with... well, something else.
After carefully observing for two rounds, Kiana closed the door again and continued groping her way to the next room.
Her hand remained pressed against the wall, inching along slowly, ensuring she didn't miss a single room.
The third door opened, and a familiar scent wafted out.
It was Mei's scent! Mei had been lying in bed just two hours ago... cough cough...
Kiana cleared her throat softly, banishing the image of Mei's sleeping face from her mind. She gently patted her own cheeks. "Kiana, can't think about that now. This is serious business!"
With that, Kiana put on a serious face and walked righteously into the room, beginning a meticulous search.
"These are Mei's clothes, this is Mei's notebook, and my textbooks from yesterday's tutoring... Ugh, my head's starting to hurt..." Kiana practically turned the entire room upside down before walking out somewhat disappointed.
Damn it, couldn't find Mei's priva—
Kiana suddenly stopped.
Wait, what was I here for?
She stood in the doorway, frowning.
I came to find Mei's priva— no, I came to find evidence! Clues about the person I forgot!
Why did her mind suddenly drift off to something else?
Rubbing her face vigorously with both hands, Kiana put on her serious expression again and resolutely turned back into the room.
"I'm here to find evidence... I'm here to find evidence..." she muttered constantly under her breath, checking every corner again without pause.
Unfortunately, she still found no clues.
Could she really be mistaken? Were there truly only the three of them on this train?
The thought suddenly occurred to Kiana.
Then, Kiana firmly told herself, "No."
Really? I don't buy it.
Even if I took the wrong medicine by mistake, Mei couldn't possibly be wrong!!
That meant the clues weren't in this room. Kiana reminded herself again to take this seriously, then felt her way along the wall towards the next room.
The fourth room... There was nothing here, just the basic mattress and other standard items found in the train's compartments.
Although there was no accumulated dust, Kiana could tell no one had lived here.
Still, Kiana refused to give up hope and rummaged around inside for a while before emerging dejectedly.
The fifth door... the sixth door... the seventh door...
Apart from the first three rooms, all the remaining ones looked untouched, and Kiana found nothing inside them.
No trace of a fourth person existed...
Kiana slumped down dejectedly in a corner of the train corridor, staring blankly at the words on her hand.
She hadn't found anything... If someone truly important to her was on this train, it was impossible they wouldn't be living here...
"No, I must have missed something earlier!" Kiana gritted her teeth, rallied her spirits, turned around, ran to the end of the corridor, and once again felt along the wall, opening each door and entering to meticulously search for "clues about the fourth person."
Her room... Bronya's room... Mei's room... empty room... empty room...
The second search yielded no results either...
She closed the last door disheartenedly, silently staring at her palm.
[Someone who will definitely come save us if we cry and scream—]
Perhaps... this sentence really was just something she wrote on her hand during a chuuni moment?
But... Mei and Bronya clearly said... it was true...
...Were they really just humoring me?
Kiana's lower lip trembled. She suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness wash over her.
Was she just too tired?
Letting out an involuntary yawn, Kiana sighed.
Forget it, it was just a sudden idea anyway... Maybe I'll continue "playing" this find-the-person game after I wake up...
Yawning, Kiana followed her intuition to the very end of the corridor, reached out, opened the door, found the bed, and face-planted onto it...
...
?
Kiana's eyes snapped open. She reached out, feeling the bed, then grabbed the pillow under her head and kneaded it vigorously. Finally, she pulled over the quilt, examining it from top to bottom.
The next moment, she shot up from the bed.
This wasn't her room!!
There were no giant Homu plushies on the bed, no scent of Mei, it wasn't her bed, and it certainly wasn't one of the standard room decors...
This was a room she had never been in before...
Kiana looked up, fumbled for the light switch, turned it on, and then examined the room's layout.
It was a bit messy, but compared to Kiana's own bed, it seemed far neater and tidier, just not quite up to Bronya's block-folded quilt standard or Mei's overall tidiness.
Kiana almost instantly wanted to run out of the room, find Mei and Bronya, drag them here to see this room, and prove that there really was a fourth person on the train.
But her movement froze as soon as she jumped up.
If I leave here... can I come back?
She had just searched every single room twice in a row, but she hadn't seen this room at all... What if the room vanished the moment she left?
Wouldn't the only solid proof be gone then?!
At the very least... she had to find something representative to take with her before leaving!
With this thought, Kiana's eyes began scanning the room everywhere.
First, the wardrobe!
Kiana yanked open the wardrobe door and then stared thoughtfully at the five identical white shirts, grey trousers, and five coats inside.
This style... is quite distinctive...
So wardrobes filled entirely with identical clothes actually exist!!
Looking closer, Kiana found the five sets of clothes somewhat familiar.
Weren't they like the male staff uniforms from the Fire Moth base? Only these seemed more luxurious, with more details, and made of better materials...
This isn't unique enough!
Shaking her head, Kiana decided to focus her attention elsewhere.