Chapter 298: Homecoming Express (2)

Chapter 298: The Return Train (Part Two)

Lin Xiaofeng didn't dare to touch the pink egg mass at all. What was this thing?

Growing up within the walls, Lin Xiaofeng had never seen many natural creatures, but she could tell that these looked like some kind of organism's eggs.

If there were eggs, where was the creature itself? Could it be the train itself?

The sight was unsettling, with the pink egg mass on one side and a corpse-like eye staring from the other, both sides equally disturbing.

Lin Xiaofeng had intended to lie down flat and try to think of something else to distract herself, but this was impossible to ignore. A strong urge kept pushing her to leave immediately.

Lying for just two seconds felt like an eternity; the atmosphere was too oppressive, making it hard to breathe. She wanted to roll off the bed, but the upper berth was too narrow. She had to turn around first, feeling her way to the metal ladder, and slowly climb down while facing away from the bed.

Descending from the upper berth would inevitably take her past the middle berth. She remembered seeing a pair of feet when she climbed up, as if they belonged to a corpse lying on a stretcher.

At this moment, Lin Xiaofeng froze, unable to move. She saw a face.

The man who had been lying in the middle berth with his feet toward her now had his head facing her!

The man was bald, his face pale and blue, his mouth slightly open, his head tilted back, and his eyes wide open, staring straight at her, just like someone from the next berth.

Lin Xiaofeng remained frozen for a long time, her blood turning cold. After a while, she regained her senses. Since the man did not attack, she stayed still.

Was he dead?

Lin Xiaofeng had stared at him for more than five seconds, and he hadn't breathed once. But if he were a corpse, why had his head and feet switched positions?

Could a dead person move? No, it wasn't the corpse moving, but something inside the corpse.

Suddenly, she noticed the man's tongue... moving?

The scene was hard to describe. The man had been dead for a long time, his body stiff, his lips blackened. In contrast to the rigid corpse, his tongue was soft, brown, and had two antennae-like structures growing from the tip, wriggling like those of a soft-bodied creature.

The corpse was just a shell, housing another species.

In that instant, Lin Xiaofeng lost her ability to act, involuntarily moving her own tongue, scraping it against the roof of her mouth. Her mouth was dry from tension, but she desperately needed to confirm whether she still had control over her tongue.

Did the tongue still belong to her?

If she were invaded by those pink egg masses, her tongue might also sprout two forks, quickly turning into the same disgusting thing.

As she pondered, the man's tongue gently wriggled, and to Lin Xiaofeng's horror, he spat out a pink egg right before her eyes.

...

Clack-clack, the train was speeding along.

Zhu Ning wiped the slime from her hands. The golden apple snail is a typical invasive species. Does this mean the train has been invaded by an alien species?

Why the golden apple snail? Could the Return Train have emerged from water, or is it about to enter water?

When boarding, she encountered two strange occurrences: one was a person lying in the scanner like luggage, and the other was a sudden crowd appearing at the ticket gate.

These people should be considered passengers, but their characteristics are unknown. If Pei Shu had said that everything entering the train must conform to the rules of contamination, then what about the invisible beings in Yinzhan Station, which she could see after passing through the gate? Does this mean that after ticket inspection, one enters the realm governed by the Return Train?

It's not that Zhu Ning saw them, but that they appeared.

Unable to determine the rules of the train, Zhu Ning decided to check the beds one last time. She carefully avoided touching the golden apple snail's eggs and found new clues this time. On the iron railing, she discovered a word—home.

The word was crooked, as if carved by someone who had spent a long time gazing at it.

This train is called the Return Train, so longing for home is normal?

Zhu Ning knew nothing about this place and even considered opening her notebook to look.

Thud—

Suddenly, she heard a dull thud, like flesh hitting metal.

From the connection between carriages?

Zhu Ning quietly got out of bed, intending to investigate. The more clues she knew, the better her chances of survival on the train.

As she stepped onto the floor, the train entered a tunnel, plunging the area into darkness. The rumbling noise grew louder, making the already dim corridor even harder to see.

Each bed looked the same at first glance, and it was easy to get lost once you left your berth.

Carriage 18 had very few passengers, only a handful, unlike Lin Xiaofeng's carriage, which was full.

Why? Was it because this carriage was more dangerous, so no one wanted to ride in it?

Zhu Ning paused, following the sound. In the tunnel, the noise was drowned out by the louder rumbling, making it difficult to pinpoint.

She pulled open the door connecting the carriages. The connection was more unstable, and she had to hold onto the carriage to steady herself.

Could it be coming from the restroom?

The restroom sign indicated it was unoccupied. As Zhu Ning reached out to touch the door, the train suddenly exited the tunnel, reducing the noise and amplifying other sounds.

Thud—

Zhu Ning jumped at the sound, looking down to find herself standing in water. Fortunately, Qi Xueliu had given her shoes with higher soles, so only the tips were wet.

The restroom door was slightly ajar, and even before she approached, she smelled a foul odor. Conditions on the green-skin train were poor, so the smell wasn't unusual.

Logically, she should ask if anyone was inside, but she hadn't dared to speak since boarding. Pushing the restroom door, she felt resistance, as if something was blocking it from the other side. In God's Eye, she saw only a chaotic gray-black.

Zhu Ning had no choice but to press against the door, peering through the narrow gap.

This was a voyeur's view, with a very limited field of vision. If someone were really using the toilet inside, they would probably think Zhu Ning was a pervert.

When Zhu Ning saw clearly, her pupils constricted. She saw a person, or rather, a corpse.

A figure in black protective gear sat with its back to the door, feet pressed against the wall, as if trying to avoid some terrifying creature.

The bathroom was covered in pink egg masses, so numerous that they blocked the stainless steel sink and filled every crevice.

The thumping sound Zhu Ning heard was due to the investigator's head colliding with the carriage.

Zhu Ning's heart raced. With one hand pressing against the door, she realized that if it were anyone else, she might have ignored it. But this corpse was wearing protective gear, definitely not from eighty years ago. It was likely someone from within the walls.

Zhu Ning felt a twinge of empathy for him. He must have boarded the train because he had no other means of transportation, gambling on the Homeward Bound Express, only to lose and die on the train forever.

Mercenary or bounty hunter?

Zhu Ning wanted to search for any items that could identify the person. She extended an arm through the narrow gap.

It was a challenging move, reaching out to touch a stranger's body on an unknown train.

As her arm entered the bathroom, it seemed to enter another world, assaulted by dampness and stench.

Zhu Ning carefully avoided the pink eggs, feeling around the shoulder area where identification is usually marked.

The protective suits outside the walls had a special pocket for personal information or last wills, so even if one died, a kind-hearted passerby might fulfill their wishes.

Of course, this depended on individual choice. Some people lived alone, and Zhu Ning guessed someone like Pei Shu wouldn't leave a will.

Soon, Zhu Ning's hand hooked onto a cold shoulder badge. This should be the identity tag, but when she saw it clearly, she froze, more terrified than when she first saw the corpse.

The pendant read: Northern Investigation T8907.

Was he an investigator from outside the walls?

The severity of the situation suddenly escalated. An investigator dead on the train—how did he die?

Investigators usually worked in teams. Only one person in the bathroom meant he was alone.

The investigator died without a weapon in his hand; his gun was still holstered. He seemed to have put up no significant resistance, just hiding in the bathroom before dying suddenly.

Did he die of fright? Or was the opponent too powerful, leaving no room for counterattack?

Suddenly, the lights in the car flickered, and Zhu Ning stiffened, slowly turning her head.

She had been distracted by the investigator's corpse and hadn't paid much attention to Car 19.

The sliding door at the connection between the cars was transparent. When Zhu Ning turned her head, she saw dark figures.

They wore old-world attire. The closest person to Zhu Ning wore a brown robe, their face expressionless and cold, not a single smile among them. Their movements and expressions were so uniform, as if they were cloned, standing still yet exuding a powerful sense of oppression.

So cold.

Car 19 was full of water, and the dense crowd stood in it, the water reaching their knees. No one made a sound, appearing like some aquatic creatures, silently watching over.

When Zhu Ning saw the golden apple snails, she had guessed there might be water, but seeing the passengers in Car 19 sent a chill up her spine.

For the first time, Zhu Ning felt a bone-chilling cold. Upon seeing the abnormal beings, she immediately activated her Stereoscopic Defense Space, her most instinctive reaction. Whatever was in Car 19, Zhu Ning didn't want them to get close.

There was a slight splash, and the passengers in Car 19 moved.

They took a step forward mechanically, and the one closest to the door passed through it right under Zhu Ning's gaze.

Were they spirits? Could they pass through solid objects?

If they could pass through the door, they might also pass through human bodies. Zhu Ning's alarm bells rang as they drew closer.

They were about to penetrate her body!

The first instinct was to run, but for some reason, she felt locked in place, held down by a powerful force on her shoulders, unable to move her feet.

She couldn't move.

The passengers in Car 19 moved forward again. Zhu Ning used spider silk and a dentist's drill, both highly offensive weapons, but all her attacks hit nothing but air.

A man in a dark brown robe approached Zhu Ning, passing through her defense space. His grayish-white face pressed against hers, and his hand touched her chest.

With a soft squelch, the man's right hand sank into Zhu Ning's chest.

Zhu Ning's heart contracted violently. Her pupils dilated, and when she looked down, her heart had stopped beating, her face full of shock.

Ding—

System alert: Two-minute Danger Sense has been triggered; she died.

Zhu Ning's heart raced, frozen beside the bathroom door. The passengers in Car 19 hadn't crossed the threshold or moved.

Zhu Ning had just received a death warning. In the preview, the passenger closest to her had passed through her body, leaving no visible wounds, causing her heart to stop and ending her life instantly.

The man who killed her now stood quietly behind the door, staring at her lifelessly.

Zhu Ning's face was pale. She had only been on the train for ten minutes and was already dead, without finding any useful clues, dying pointlessly.

How did she die? Why were her attacks ineffective?

The death warning was set for two minutes, meaning she had to find a solution within two minutes.

What was in Car 19? Why couldn't she even run, as if something had grabbed her ankles?

The damp cold grew heavier, and the warmth in her body had been completely drained.

Passengers in carriage 19 looked through the foggy glass door, like creatures from hell.

Ding, the system alerted again, sending a death warning one minute and forty seconds in advance.

Zhu Ning hadn't figured out a solution; as time passed, her death was drawing closer.

Ding, the death warning was sent one minute and thirty seconds in advance.

The system sent death warnings every fifteen seconds, an unprecedented situation indicating that she was not only killed by something in carriage 19 but also failed to escape.

What was the problem? The death came too quickly, and there was too little information.

In the death warnings, Zhu Ning was killed repeatedly, each time similarly, with her heart seized and stopped beating.

Calm down, think again. The passengers in carriage 19 must follow some pattern if they want to kill; otherwise, they would have acted when Zhu Ning boarded, no need to lure her to carriage 19.

Since buying the tickets, they had already been incorporated into the rules of the Return Train.

This train knew their names and identity information, and the ticket details were flawless. The Return Train might also know about their four psychic abilities.

Separating them into different carriages and prohibiting seat changes was likely to isolate them, making it easier to pick them off one by one.

Now, the target was Zhu Ning.

Zhu Ning's position was closest to carriage 19, while Qi Xueliu was at the opposite end, the only one who entered the sleeper compartment. Qi Xueliu's berth was near the front of the train, while Zhu Ning was closest to the rear.

Was Zhu Ning considered the most troublesome, and they wanted to eliminate her first?

There must be a pattern, where is it?

Ding, the death warning in the system kept refreshing, now shortened to forty-five seconds, and Zhu Ning died again after forty-five seconds.

But Zhu Ning hadn't moved at all, meaning she stepped into a death zone from the moment she walked to the toilet, so no matter what psychic ability she used, she couldn't escape.

In several death warnings, Zhu Ning's attacks fell into thin air. Several times, she split the carriage door, but her spider silk passed through their bodies, and the black slime couldn't devour them, as if they were ghosts, and the slime was just eating air.

The passengers in carriage 19 had no physical form; all of Zhu Ning's attacks were ineffective, yet they could attack her. Why?

They could kill her, but she couldn't even touch a hair on their heads, making it impossible to escape.

This wasn't a fair fight; under the rules of the Return Train, she was too passive.

Zhu Ning's feet grew colder, as if stepping into an ice cellar.

Wait, Zhu Ning's pupils trembled downward, water. She stepped into water when she reached the toilet door, and there was water on the tip of her right shoe, connecting to the cold puddle leading to carriage 19.

So Zhu Ning couldn't escape because she had stepped into a trap.

Did the passengers in carriage 19 use water as a medium to attack?

As long as they touched the water, they entered the absolute killing range of the enemy? No wonder the investigators outside the wall died; they couldn't avoid it, and all counterattacks were ineffective.

Ding, the death warning was down to fifteen seconds, the closest she had ever been to death.

Zhu Ning had the psychic ability to control water. After thinking clearly, she immediately activated it. She had once used this ability to crush a dentist's heart cleanly and efficiently, but now the water on her shoe tip felt unusually heavy.

This time, in an extremely dangerous situation, she was doing very delicate work, needing to extract the water from her shoes bit by bit.

Unable to quickly remove the water stain, Zhu Ning exerted all her strength, her fingers trembling slightly, feeling as if her bones were being crushed.

Water droplets seeped out of her shoe surface, slowly sliding down. It worked, Zhu Ning didn't dare let go, as if trapped in quicksand and needed to find a way out.

That tiny water stain consumed all her energy, and in her newly updated system, her life bar was gradually decreasing.

Faster, faster, she couldn't hear the system's death warning anymore; she would die in fifteen seconds, and the system wouldn't announce it again.

Because it wouldn't give any hints to the dead. This psychic ability was a pain, Zhu Ning's teeth chattered, and the water droplet finally slid off the tip of her shoe.

Finally, with one second left on the death warning, the weight on her shoe suddenly lifted, creating a gap of less than a centimeter between her shoe tip and the water stain.

Zhu Ning immediately moved her foot, as if pulling it out of mud.

Zhu Ning retreated sharply, and the bodies of the passengers in carriage 19 penetrated the train door, temporarily stopping at the connection between carriages, only half a meter away from Zhu Ning.

Without water as a medium, they stopped.

Zhu Ning retreated to carriage 18 and quickly closed the door. This door wouldn't hold for long; ordinary substances couldn't resist.

Water seeped from all sides of the carriage connection, and half of carriage 19 was underwater, the water slowly spreading to carriage 18.

The closer to the rear of the train, the more dangerous it became. Passengers immersed in the water turned into ghost-like entities, impervious to ordinary physical attacks. Once they touched that icy water, they fell into the enemy's attack range.

Zhu Ning's water-based psychic ability was limited here; the power disparity was too great to control the situation.

Since boarding, they had become prey for the Return Train, it was just a matter of time.

The cold water spread, and it wouldn't take long for carriage 18 to be flooded. The closer to the front of the train, the safer it was. Once completely submerged, everyone would die.

And they couldn't even get off the train.