chapter 23
Jiang Li bent down, picked up the basketball, and handed it toward the empty seat.
“Thank you, Sister~”
A pair of invisible little hands quickly took it.
Just then,
Melodious music slowly flowed from the Train’s broadcast system.
Soon after, a gentle female announcer’s voice sounded-
“Dear passengers, welcome aboard Train Z114.
I am the announcer for this train. Next, I will introduce the Train Rules:
[1. This train departs from Hui City and heads to Fenling. It will not stop at any station along the way. If necessary, please open the window and jump off.]
[2. The train operates from 7:00 PM today until 10:00 AM the day after tomorrow. All carriages will turn off the lights promptly at 9:00 PM. After lights out, do not trust any sound, including mine.]
[3. Each carriage is staffed with one Train Attendant. Train Attendants wear white shirts and Black Vests. You may trust them completely.]
[4. There are no Staff Members wearing red vests on this train. If you encounter one by accident, immediately look for an empty Seat nearby! Sit down at once!]
[5. At any time, if a child appears singing a Nursery Rhyme, immediately lower your head and cover your ears tightly.]
[6. This train is one person per Seat. If you have not found a Seat before lights out, please proceed immediately to Carriage No. 09! Carriage No.09 Dining Car is equipped with empty Seats. You may rest there overnight with peace of mind.]
[7. The Dining Car passes through at irregular times each day. The food in the Dining Car is freshly made that day. Ingredients are fresh and taste delicious. Please feel free to eat.]
[8. During the journey, Train Attendants will distribute Honey Water for free once. For your safety, please be sure to drink it while it’s hot.]
[9. Do not be curious about, nor open, any Black Garbage Bag collected by Train Attendants.]
Thank you for your cooperation-
The above are the Train Rules for this journey.
Failure to follow the rules brings tears to your loved ones.
Thank you again for listening, and have a pleasant journey!”
The announcer spoke very slowly.
As her words faded, within seconds, the Train began to accelerate with a sharp whistle.
Outside the window, utility poles flashed by one after another.
Between the wheels, there was a constant “clank, clank” sound.
At the same time,
Jiang Li’s mind automatically identified the erroneous rules-Rule Six and Rule Seven.
There is something wrong with the Dining Car!
The food delivered from the Dining Car must absolutely not be eaten!
But for now, these are not the main concern.
The main issue is that Jiang Li cannot see anything at all.
Ghost Train-could it be that everyone else here is a ghost…
Jiang Li stood in the middle of the aisle, turning sideways to avoid the passing Trolley.
“Red Infant, can you see them?” Jiang Li asked.
Red Infant nodded, “Mommy, I can see them.”
A look of joy flashed in Jiang Li’s eyes.
For now, she could only rely on Red Infant to help her.
According to Rule Five of the Train Rules:
[This train is one person per Seat.]
If she couldn’t find a Seat before nightfall, she would have to go to Carriage No.09 Dining Car.
And the situation in the Dining Car was likely even more complicated.
Jiang Li decided to look for her own Seat first.
She took out her ticket to check.
Her Seat was in Carriage No. 04, Hard Seat No. 13.
Jiang Li confirmed via the sign that this was indeed Carriage No. 04.
She followed the Seat numbers and, with difficulty, arrived at a window-side spot.
“Baby, help Mommy check if there’s anyone in Seat 13,” Jiang Li asked Red Infant.
Red Infant glanced toward the window.
He hesitated noticeably.
“Uh… Mommy, um, how’s your character?” Red Infant suddenly asked.
Jiang Li replied, “Character unknown, but I get stronger when challenged.”
“Oh. Mommy, there’s someone in your Seat. It’s a pregnant lady with a big belly.”
Jiang Li was stunned.
According to the rules, a Seat is very important for a person.
Losing your Seat is equivalent to losing your protection. Those without a Seat who go to the Dining Car are most likely doomed.
Jiang Li frowned, thinking for a few seconds.
Maybe she just sat in the wrong place.
Jiang Li decided to ask first.
She walked up to the Seat, “Hello, ma’am, you’re sitting in my Seat.”
Jiang Li smiled politely at the air.
She sensed a gaze from the empty Seat.
But after waiting several seconds, she heard no reply.
Thinking the woman hadn’t heard, Jiang Li repeated herself.
“Hello? You’re sitting in my Seat. Could you please move?”
Still no response.
But Jiang Li clearly felt that the five people around Seat 13, who had been chatting, all fell silent.
Red Infant looked a bit embarrassed, “Mommy, she turned her head to the window. Seems she doesn’t want to talk to you.”
Jiang Li’s expression turned cold.
Faced with someone like this, there was no need to be polite.
“This is my seat. Get lost.”
Hearing Jiang Li’s anger, the pregnant woman finally reacted.
But her tone was far from friendly.
“Emmm… You say it’s yours, so it’s yours? Do you have a ticket? Show me.”
Red Infant leaned closer to Jiang Li and whispered, “Mommy, her face is right at the level of your chest.”
Hearing this, Jiang Li immediately rolled up her sleeves and, without warning, slapped her hard across the face.
A crisp “slap!!” echoed in the air.
Jiang Li’s hand stung from the hit.
Outside the Live Streaming Room, Jiang Lianlian, who was watching the stream, suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of her right hand!
“Shit!…”
The transferred pain value: Super Doubling.
To Jiang Li, it was just a small sting, but for Jiang Lianlian, the transferred pain made her nerves twitch in agony.
Jiang Lianlian clutched the back of her right hand with a look of pain on her face. “Fuck, you little bitch! Why do you have to hit so hard?!”
Jiang Lianlian quickly exited the Live Streaming Room.
“No, Jiang Li is too ruthless.
I have to beg Li Jie again. I must get myself removed from the Jiang Family household register today!
I absolutely can’t let that bitch Jiang Li have another chance to hurt me!”
These past few days, Jiang Lianlian had been staying outside and stockpiling all sorts of medicine.
She quickly smeared some ointment on her hand, grabbed her phone, and rushed out the door.
On the other side-
After Jiang Li slapped the pregnant woman, the woman’s face immediately swelled up.
“You… you hit me?” The pregnant woman was utterly stunned. “How can you just hit people like that?!”
The pregnant woman stood up in agitation. “I’m calling the police! I’m going to have you arrested!!”
Jiang Li heard the commotion and pretended to look scared.
She covered her mouth:
“Oh, sorry, I have a mental illness. Someone took my seat, and it made me have an episode.
It’s not illegal to hit people during an episode, right? Oh, and I think it’s not even illegal to kill… Where’s my knife?”
Jiang Li pretended to search herself for a knife.
The pregnant woman clutched her belly in anger and frustration. “I’m pregnant! What’s so wrong with letting me sit?!”
Jiang Li replied indifferently, “So what if you’re pregnant? The kid’s not mine.”
Jiang Li couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words.
She reached into her pocket and pulled a bloodstained dagger out of her Space, her tone brightening in surprise. “Found it!”
When the pregnant woman saw the dagger, her eyes went wide with terror, her fear plain on her face.
“So, where should I start?” Jiang Li brandished the knife, gesturing in the air in front of her. “Maybe start from the stomach? A C-section. Let’s see how that goes.”
Jiang Li’s eyes shone, looking as if she were really about to act.
The pregnant woman panicked and shoved Jiang Li aside, running away with a shriek.
“Ahhh!! Maniac!! She’s a maniac!!…”
Hearing the pregnant woman’s voice recede, Jiang Li let out a cold chuckle and put away the dagger.
As soon as Jiang Li sat down, the previously invisible passengers all appeared before her eyes.
Across from her were three college students; beside her, an elderly couple.
At that moment, everyone was watching her warily.
“Relax, I’m not crazy. I was just scaring her,” Jiang Li said casually, her expression calm.
But through this episode, Jiang Li also realized that to solve the visual disturbance, the first thing was to find her own Seat.
Otherwise, everyone on the Train would be like ghosts, all in an invisible state.
It was only at this moment that Jiang Li considered herself to have truly entered this Instance, she thought.
The seat-hogging pregnant woman hadn’t gone far.
She listened carefully, hearing Jiang Li switch between being sick and not sick, and realized she’d been fooled. She was furious!
After thinking for a bit, she returned with a dark face, standing not too close or far from Jiang Li, gesturing to the neighboring passengers:
“Look at this, everyone! Just look at the character of young people these days!”
Jiang Li dug at her ear. “What’s ‘character’? Do you have any? Let me see.”
A female college student across the aisle secretly gave Jiang Li a thumbs-up.
The elderly couple nearby kept quiet, not daring to speak up for the pregnant woman.
After all, everyone could tell that Jiang Li had been quite polite at first.
It was the pregnant woman’s stubbornness and lack of reason that led to what happened next.
And in front of their screens, the online viewers in the Live Streaming Room were all expressing their satisfaction!
While the Live Streaming Room in Huaguo was buzzing, the Intelligence Department Minister, however, wore a grave expression.
The Minister held a document in his hands, densely listing one name after another.
The investigator next to him spoke up again: “Minister, it’s confirmed. This Train Z114 is exactly the same one that disappeared twenty years ago.”
“The list of missing persons-all matches.”