WTNL Chapter 629

(2/2)

■■ Train
Chapter 629: It’s connected

“…”

Gazing at the pitch-black train doors not far away, everyone stood rooted to the spot in a daze.

The entire station fell into a deathly silence. Only the headlights at the front of the train shone silently and brightly. The piercing light dispelled the darkness, illuminating the station as if it were day.

The group looked at each other, exchanging glances.

“This…”

Finally, it was Blond who hesitated before speaking, breaking the dead silence:

“What do we do now?”

Board the train?

The train was parked on the tracks.

Inside the open doors was a bottomless darkness, like a wall that light could not penetrate. All light was swallowed up. Just looking at it from a distance sent chills down one’s spine, making one hesitant to step forward.

An Xin paused and said, “I think… it’s better to be cautious.”

No matter how you looked at it, their current state was not optimistic.

After all, they had consumed too much energy on the Lucky Cruise just now… By this point, almost everyone was at the end of their rope.

Being unable to contact the Nightmare meant not only could injuries not be healed, but they also couldn’t access the shop, buy items, or retrieve resources.

This train had arrived strangely and stopped strangely. If they encountered any danger on board, their chances of survival would be slim.

Wen Ya turned to look at the medium in the team. “Ma Qi, what do you think?”

Ma Qi closed her eyes.

Half a minute later, she opened them and shook her head with a look of shame. “I… I don’t know.”

Don’t know?

Everyone was startled.

“Ever since leaving the cruise ship and stepping foot here, my perception has become dull,” Ma Qi said dejectedly. “Unless a specifically terrifying or extreme situation occurs, I can’t feel anything.”

Like the others, Ma Qi’s Talent had been overused on the cruise ship.

And after disembarking, this condition had worsened.

Although she wouldn’t be eroded as long as she stayed within five meters of Wen Jianyan, the continuous, high-intensity, high-density horror of this environment still exhausted her. This meant that unless the horror level of a specific event was higher than the environment itself, Ma Qi would struggle to receive signals like she used to.

“Also…” Ma Qi paused, hesitating, “It’s not just that.”

Wen Jianyan: “What do you mean?”

“Although my acuity has dropped, based on experience, I can still summarize some vague tendencies,” Ma Qi said, slowly looking up at the train stopped on the tracks not far away, her eyes flickering slightly. “But this train… I can’t feel anything from it.”

It was as if a massive vacuum zone had appeared in front of her, completely and utterly cutting off her senses.

This pure unknown terrified her.

Wen Jianyan furrowed his brows, staring at the train in front of him.

Even though they had been standing there for a while, it didn’t seem to have any intention of driving away, remaining motionless in its spot.

The surface of the train was old and mottled, its original color no longer discernible. The train windows faced them, filled with the same pitch-black gloom, deep and bottomless.

Wen Jianyan took a deep breath and withdrew his gaze. “Let’s not board yet. We’ll explore here first before making a decision.”

Everyone nodded.

Although this was a station, the area wasn’t very large. Two rows of old long benches sat quietly on the ground. The paint on the surface had peeled off, leaving only faint traces visible. The platform was about ten centimeters above the ground; the solid concrete isolated the supernatural power in the soil below, allowing everyone to move freely here.

Wen Jianyan walked to the edge of the tracks and looked at the station sign.

It was a very crude sign, just a stick propping up a crooked half-sheet of iron. The iron sheet was covered in large patches of rust; no text could be seen, nor could any useful information be found.

Soon, the group had circled the entire station and gathered back together.

“Any findings?” Wen Jianyan asked.

“None.”

Everyone shook their heads, their expressions grave.

The difficulty of searching this place wasn’t high. Moreover, the people standing here were all experienced, veteran anchors. If there really were any clues, it would be hard for them to escape their eyes.

“Should we walk along the tracks and see what’s at both ends?” Wen Ya suggested.

Although not a brilliant method, for them right now, there seemed to be no other options left.

Wen Jianyan nodded. “Alright.”

Thus, the group left the station and began walking forward along the tracks.

Surrounding them was heavy darkness. Behind them, the train’s headlights were extremely bright, illuminating the path in front of them.

But soon, Chen Mo, who was walking at the front, stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Blond asked in confusion.

“…We’ve reached the end,” Chen Mo turned his head and said slowly.

A few meters ahead of him, half of the tracks were half-buried in the yellow-brown soil.

Ahead was a vast void without any further markers.

“The bluestone road only extended as far as the station,” Wen Jianyan said. “I went around the station just now and didn’t find a way out.”

“…”

After hearing his words, a dead silence fell over the surroundings.

No one spoke, but they all knew in their hearts…

This meant that the only option left for them was the single one remaining.

“Why… why don’t we stay at the station a bit longer?” Ma Qi was still struggling in a last-ditch effort. “Stay for at least three to five hours… wait for our Talents to recover a bit before boarding—”

Besides using points in the Anchor Hall to replenish their state, they could also naturally recover through long waits.

Although slow and inefficient, it was better than boarding the train in this state.

Wen Jianyan was about to nod, but suddenly, his gaze shifted. His vision focused on the darkness in the distance, and his brows furrowed little by little.

“What is it?” Wen Ya noticed the change in his expression and asked.

“I’m not sure if I’m seeing things, but…”

Wen Jianyan frowned deeply, speaking slowly, “Is something moving over there?”

“Sorry,” Blond gritted his teeth, lowering his half-blind eyes in guilt. “If only my Talent wasn’t unusable, otherwise I could…”

“No,” Wen Ya stared in the direction Wen Jianyan was looking, her expression growing grave. “This time, even without your Talent, we can see it.”

Not far away, at the blurred edge of darkness, the originally flat land was heaving. It seemed something buried deep beneath was awakening, trying to burrow out from below.

Ma Qi’s face turned pale.

“I… I don’t feel well…”

Even the others without medium talents began to feel the increasingly dense, eerie ghostly aura in the air, pressing down on them until they could barely breathe.

Wen Jianyan stared fixedly at the ground in the distance, which was arching more and more violently. He slowly backed up two steps and whispered:

“Retreat, back to the station!”

The group turned around and ran back to the station along the tracks as fast as they could.

Before they could even catch their breath, Ma Qi said urgently, “No, no good, this side too—”

Outside the station, in the darkness, the heaving of the earth was increasing in magnitude. And not just in one place, but two, three…!!

Looking at the bizarre scene before them, everyone felt their hair stand on end and their bodies shudder.

Not far away, the train still remained motionless in the distance. Everything was the same as before they left; the doors were wide open, as if waiting for something…

…There were no other options.

Wen Jianyan gritted his teeth and said sternly, “Get on the train!”

This time, the group didn’t hesitate, nor could they afford to hesitate.

They exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and rushed toward the train with its open doors.

The instant he stepped onto the train’s footboard, Wen Jianyan felt an invisible chill rise from his feet. The blood in his body felt frozen, and he felt as if he had fallen into a lightless abyss—

Suddenly, without warning, everything returned to normal.

“…”

Wen Jianyan stood where he was, gasping blankly.

It took him two seconds to realize—at some point, the originally pitch-black carriage had become bright.

The copper lamp overhead flickered, emitting a weak white light that illuminated the train entrance.

He had boarded.

The interior of the train was as crude as the exterior. Old walls, dirty floors, crooked connections… There were carriages to the left and right. The doors to the carriages were tightly closed, and nothing could be seen clearly through the grey, dusty windows.

Wen Jianyan withdrew his gaze, swallowed, and barely managed to find his voice: “…Hey, are you guys okay?”

“…Okay.”

From behind came the voices of the others, still shaken.

Clearly, the moment they stepped onto the train, they had experienced a similar terror.

Wen Jianyan looked up at the sign above.

To the right was Car 2, to the left was Car 3. Obviously, they were currently at the junction of two carriages.

“Strange…” Ma Qi’s slightly trembling voice came from behind. “Why isn’t the train moving yet?”

Indeed.

Although they had boarded, for some reason, the train showed no signs of starting.

Outside the station, the undulations under the soil layer increased until finally—it completely flipped open!

However, no physical entities walked out from it.

Outside the train, the darkness seemed to be stirred up; terror was expanding…

“Look!!”

Ma Qi pointed to a corner of the train station and let out a distorted scream.

On the platform, which was higher than the ground, footprints stained with yellow mud appeared.

One, two, three.

Footprints appeared gradually, walking toward the train.

“!!!”

Seeing this, everyone’s pupils constricted violently.

This is bad.

They finally knew why the train had no intention of departing after they boarded… Because this train wasn’t prepared for them, but specifically for those ghost passengers!!!!

If that was really the case, then they had to leave this place immediately!

Otherwise, when those invisible ghosts boarded the train, they would be sitting ducks, destined to die!

“Wait.” Suddenly, Wen Jianyan spoke.

“…” Everyone froze.

Wait? Wait for what?

Wen Jianyan didn’t answer immediately. He just tipped his head back, his gaze landing on the lamp above, pondering something.

He turned to look at Kong Wei, the tallest in the team.

“Give me a boost.”

Immediately after, he planted one foot on the wall, braced one hand on Kong Wei’s shoulder, stretched his body upward, raised his arm, and reached his fingers into the interior of the lamp.

Soon, Wen Jianyan let go and landed on the ground. He brought his fingers to his nose and sniffed.

“…”

His eyes flickered.

Not far away, Ma Qi was almost screaming, “Captain, if we don’t go now, it’ll be too late!!!”

Under the illumination of the train lights, the muddy footprints on the platform were getting closer and closer. Their numbers were increasing with time, converging from all directions.

If they didn’t leave here now, they would be surrounded and killed.

“No.” Wen Jianyan looked up. “We’re not getting off.”

His voice was urgent and short. “Follow me!”

Saying this, Wen Jianyan turned around and walked straight toward the carriage on the right. Amidst the sounds of everyone inhaling sharply, he pushed the carriage door open without hesitation.

The structure of the carriage was simple. On both sides of the long, narrow aisle were dirty red seats. Looking around, it was empty.

However, Wen Jianyan took a step back. He turned around and walked quickly to the other side.

The door was pushed open. appearing before everyone was an identical carriage.

The only difference was that the light here was much dimmer than the other carriage, and the seats were a dull white.

“This way!” Wen Jianyan said.

He quickened his pace, rushing into the carriage.

Behind them, the cold footsteps were getting closer.

The first pair of muddy footprints stepped onto the train’s footboard.

The lights overhead suddenly dimmed, and an invisible, chilly aura spread out.

Cold sweat seeped from everyone’s foreheads as they followed Wen Jianyan ahead at top speed!

Wen Jianyan had already rushed to the other end of the carriage. Bracing against the carriage door, he looked back and shouted:

“The back is the same!”

Chen Mo reacted the fastest. He spun around and slammed the train door shut.

Under his palm, the surface of the door was incomparably cold.

The carriage door had no lock. Due to years of disrepair, it couldn’t even fit tightly into the frame. Through the wide, crooked gap, Chen Mo could see the light outside gradually darkening, and the terrifying chill seeping in from outside the carriage.

Creak—

The dilapidated train let out a piercing groan. The carriage tilted slightly to one side, as if something had walked up from the darkness.

“…” Cold sweat seeped from Chen Mo’s forehead. An intense desire to flee seized him, but he grit his teeth, forcing himself to brace firmly against the carriage door.

Outside the carriage, stiff footsteps echoed. Invisible, formless terrors were slowly walking onto the train.

But strangely, they didn’t seem to have any intention of approaching Chen Mo’s side. Instead, one by one, they walked toward the carriage in the opposite direction.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the footsteps outside disappeared.

Is it over?

Before Chen Mo could reach an answer, the ground beneath his feet suddenly moved slightly.

The train started.

“Woo woo—” The whistle resounded through the darkness.

Accompanied by a clack-clack sound, the wheels hit the tracks, and the train began to accelerate.

“It’s okay now.” Wen Jianyan’s voice came from behind.

Chen Mo slowly lowered his hands. His arms were stiff, and his palms were full of cold sweat.

He turned around to look at Wen Jianyan standing at the other end of the carriage.

The other party was no longer bracing against the door and was slowly walking back from there.

“Guild Master, what is going on?”

Wen Ya looked at Wen Jianyan with a confused expression.

“Do you know something?”

Judging from Wen Jianyan’s reaction just now, he had clearly found some type of information. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have decided to board the train and correctly chosen the carriage that “thing” wouldn’t enter.

“…You could say that.” Wen Jianyan took a deep breath.

Everyone’s spirits lifted, and they focused on him, waiting for his answer.

“And, I’m not the only one who knows about this place,” Wen Jianyan said, turning to look at An Xin. “I think you do too.”

An Xin was startled at first, not reacting immediately. But soon, he seemed to think of something. His pupils constricted slightly, and he jumped up. “Wait, wait, wait, don’t tell me, don’t tell me—”

“That’s right, it’s that ‘don’t tell me’.”

Wen Jianyan said.

“—[Changsheng Building].”

The instance that first connected to this land of death was the Changsheng Building.

“If I’m guessing correctly… this train and the building likely share the same origin.”

“However, at first, I just thought the style of the train and station were similar, but I didn’t immediately link the two. What really confirmed my guess was this.”

Wen Jianyan pointed to the dim copper lamp above.

An Xin seemed to realize something. He stepped onto the train seat, stood up, and leaned close to the lamp to sniff.

A rotting, cloying scent.

A smell he could never forget in his life.

—The corpse oil of Changsheng Building.

Wen Jianyan looked at the others who hadn’t experienced that instance and explained:

“In that instance, there was a type of grey-white lamp oil. This oil could dispel darkness and protect people, but likewise, the light emitted by this oil acted like a lighthouse in the dark, attracting ghosts to come.”

“The headlights of the train outside probably work on the same principle. So, under the illumination of the headlights, the ghosts in the soil layers awakened and were led onto the train.”

“So, you chose this carriage because the light here is the dimmest?” Wen Ya looked thoughtful.

“Not just that.”

Wen Jianyan shook his head.

“More importantly, the color of the seats.”

Whether it was the red-clothed female corpse, the red nail polish on the corpse’s hands, or various red utensils, they all represented one meaning—danger.

So, the carriages with red seats were likely prepared specifically for ghosts.

Once staying in that carriage, a direct conflict with them would be inevitable.

“But…” Chen Mo frowned. “There’s still one point I don’t quite understand. Why does it need to wake up the ghosts in the soil?”

“Do you remember the truth about the instance I told you after it ended?” Wen Jianyan looked at An Xin.

“Uh, I remember a bit.”

An Xin racked his brain. “It was about burying the reassembled ghosts again… right?”

He wasn’t the type who liked to use his brain much. When Wen Jianyan was explaining it before, his attention was basically focused on “Wow, he’s really good-looking” and “Holy crap, so smart,” rather than truly caring about the fundamental principles of an already closed instance.

Wen Jianyan: “…”

He said reluctantly, “Sigh, close enough.”

The main purpose of the existence of Changsheng Building was to let those formless ghosts enter it, gradually become complete by purchasing body parts, and then guide them to the small path on the fifth floor, burying them deep under the soil forever.

“Didn’t you ever think about how those formless ghosts came to the Changsheng Building?”

Wen Jianyan hit the nail on the head.

“!”

An Xin froze, his eyes widening. “Wait, you mean—those customers entering the first floor of Changsheng Building went there by sitting on this train?!”

Wen Jianyan: “I think so.”

“But…” An Xin seemed to sense something was wrong, his brows knitting together. “If these passengers right now are the building’s customers, weren’t they already buried in the dirt? Why go through such a complicated procedure to do it all over again?”

“Because the two types of ‘burying’ are different.”

Wen Jianyan said.

In the [Changsheng Building] instance, he was the only one who set foot in that graveyard and witnessed the entire procedure with his own eyes, so the others couldn’t be as clear about the differences as he was.

“The ‘ghosts’ here are just thinly covered under a layer of soil. But Changsheng Building has a very complete sacrificial ceremony, with offerings, spirit tablets, incense burners… Only ghosts who have undergone the full ritual will fall into a complete slumber. Otherwise, like these passengers now, once stimulated by light, they will immediately wake from the soil.”

With this… all the clues locked together.

This land of death contained countless malicious ghosts, and they could wake up at any time. The train’s function was to awaken these ghosts that might already be on the verge of waking, let them board the train, carry them to Changsheng Building, and then, through a series of rituals, bury them deep forever.

“So, our destination now is Changsheng Building?”

Blond asked in confusion, his eyes half-lowered to cover the red haze beneath.

“But hasn’t that become Platinum?”

Logically speaking, Platinum instances were closed forever. Even if they returned there, they couldn’t enter the Nightmare from there.

“Yes,” Wen Jianyan nodded. “I don’t know the specific situation completely either. We can only take it one step at a time.”

“If we’re not returning to the Nightmare,”

Chen Cheng tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Where we go makes little difference to me.”

In the train’s light, his face appeared exceptionally pale. His hanging fingers trembled nervously, and the bandages wrapped under his clothes were saturated; unabsorbed blood flowed down his fingers.

The injuries on his body were the price of using his Talent. They could only be restored using points and could not heal naturally by waiting.

“However, at least for you guys, you can rest a bit on the train.”

Chen Cheng shrugged.

Just as his voice fell, footsteps suddenly came from outside the carriage.

“?!”

Everyone was startled.

It must be known that everyone in their squad was here, which meant the footsteps outside the carriage could only have one source…

A ghost.

The footsteps were solitary, gradually walking toward this direction. Slow, heavy, stiff. The rhythm of the steps was completely identical—definitely not a sound a human could make.

“The foundation of the [Changsheng Building] instance is built on buying and selling. Since the train and the building share the same origin, then…”

Staring at the tightly closed carriage door not far away, Wen Jianyan seemed to suddenly think of something.

Who would appear and walk around at this time?

The answer was on the tip of his tongue.

—The Ticket Inspector!

The moment he arrived at the answer, Wen Jianyan’s heart sank.

But this time, they weren’t in the Changsheng Building. The Spirit Money they had earned in the instance was left there. Right now, they didn’t have a single penny on them!

This was bad.

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