Chapter 137 – Evacuation
"Ugh…"
Just as Hikigaya Hachiman was using all his strength to push away the two fat men behind him, he suddenly heard a low groan of pain from one of them.
No way…
Hachiman's mind went blank for a moment. You've got that much fat cushioning the impact, and you still got hurt?!
Though mentally complaining, the moment he realized that someone behind him might have been injured due to the sudden stop of the train, Hachiman immediately stopped moving.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Soon after, the anxious voice of the other man pressed behind him rang out.
"Feels like my ribs are broken…"
A slightly weak voice responded soon after.
The pressure on Hachiman's back eased. The two men had apparently gotten off him.
Hachiman let out a breath of relief and braced himself against the corners of the carriage, ready to shift his body away from Isayama Yomi. But just as he moved, the weak-sounding man screamed out in pain again.
Thud!
A heavy weight slammed against Hachiman's back once more. With a look of helplessness, he enveloped the man behind him with spiritual energy and pushed hard with his arms.
This time, he didn't crash into Isayama Yomi again.
The injured man bounced off Hachiman's back and crashed into his companion, knocking both of them down onto the floor of the train.
Hachiman turned around, used spiritual energy to scan their bodies, and confirmed that their injuries weren't serious and didn't require immediate medical treatment. Then, his gaze swept through the train car.
Aside from a handful of passengers who had been seated or standing in the corners, most people in the carriage were sprawled across the floor.
"What the hell happened? Why did the train stop so suddenly?"
Looking at the scene before him, Hachiman frowned.
The injuries in this carriage were minimal only because he had been present.
But the train had more than one carriage.
He didn't even want to imagine the condition of passengers in the other cars.
"A train doesn't just stop for no reason."
At that moment, Isayama Yomi also turned around. Seeing the "devastation" within the car, her brows furrowed as well.
After confirming that Tsuchimiya Kagura was uninjured, she said a few words of reassurance, then moved to pry open the tightly shut train doors with her hands, preparing to walk along the track to the front to check the situation.
"Wait!"
Seeing Yomi forcibly prying open the doors with her bare hands made Hachiman's eyelid twitch. He quickly reached out to stop her.
They still didn't know what had caused the train to stop. It was extremely dangerous to exit the train so recklessly.
"Is something wrong?"
Since it was Hachiman stopping her, Yomi remained calm and patient.
"Doing this is dangerous. What if the train suddenly starts again?"
Looking at Yomi's composed expression, Hachiman pointed out the risk in her plan.
Even for him, there was no guarantee that he'd remain unharmed if the train suddenly began to move again.
"But standing here doing nothing isn't a solution either."
Hachiman had made a valid point, and Yomi couldn't refute him. But simply sitting and waiting was clearly not in her nature.
"Yomi, let's just stay here and wait for the police."
At that moment, Kagura reached out and tugged on Yomi's sleeve.
They still didn't know what had caused the train to stop. It was better to leave it to the authorities.
If it really was something serious, those higher up would call them directly anyway.
"…Alright."
Seeing both Hachiman and Kagura urging her to stay, Yomi hesitated for a moment and then nodded.
.
.
.
Before long, train staff came through each carriage, informing the passengers that a fault had occurred on a section of the electric rail, causing the entire line to stop.
The government had already dispatched rescue teams.
"See, Yomi? It's just an accident…"
Hearing the staff's explanation, Kagura looked visibly relieved. She clung to Yomi's arm, secretly grateful that she had stopped her earlier.
"But how could there suddenly be a fault on the rail when everything was fine?"
Yomi was clearly thinking deeper than Kagura.
Electric trains were the main mode of transportation across all of Japan. Such an important piece of infrastructure was surely maintained and inspected regularly by specialists.
"It was probably just an accident, right?"
Hearing Yomi's skepticism, Kagura paused for a moment but chose to believe it was just a random, unexpected malfunction.
After all, while rare, it wasn't unheard of for a train to lose power suddenly. If they were unlucky enough to encounter it—well, that was just fate.
"What about you? What do you think?"
Yomi turned to ask the nearby, silent Hachiman.
"No idea."
Hachiman's answer was blunt and simple.
Whether it was a technical failure or deliberate sabotage, the train would resume service after a while—or the rescue teams would evacuate them.
And if it was something else entirely… well, by the time he got there, the culprit would probably be long gone anyway.
Rather than wasting time speculating and stressing himself out, it was better to just stay calm and wait on the train.
"Is that so?"
Seeing how indifferent Hachiman was, Yomi lowered her eyes slightly.
If Hachiman reacted so calmly, then there probably wasn't anything to worry about. If something serious had happened, the person beside her likely wouldn't still be standing there.
.
.
.
Perhaps to prevent panic and escalation, the rescue team appeared next to the railway just a few minutes later.
After more than ten minutes of fussing around, using ladders, the passengers—including Hachiman and the others—were finally evacuated down to the ground.
Unexpectedly, the moment the three of them reached the ground, a black SUV pulled up in front of Yomi and Kagura.
Then, as the window slowly rolled down, a large man wearing sunglasses was revealed—he had only a tuft of white hair on the top of his head that resembled a rooster's comb.
"Iwahata, you sure got here fast."
Yomi greeted the man with practiced ease.
Clearly, she knew him.
"Yeah. I heard there was a power outage while chasing the train, so I came with the rescue team."
The man called Iwahata nodded to Yomi, then turned his gaze toward Hikigaya Hachiman.
From this teenager, he could sense a tremendous threat.
"It's alright, Uncle Iwahata. I know him."
Seeing Iwahata sizing up Hachiman, Kagura quickly spoke up, assuring him that Hachiman meant no harm.