chapter 30
Jiang Li lay on the bed, resting for a few hours.
Through the reflection in the window opposite, she saw that the bedside lamps on the middle and upper bunks next door were being turned off one after another.
Jiang Li guessed it must be close to midnight. She got up, put on her shoes, and walked toward the restroom.
On the way, an elderly person’s old phone announced the time on the hour.
“It is now Huaguo time: midnight.”
As soon as the announcement ended, many shadows suddenly appeared in the narrow corridor.
These were Translucent People.
Some were carrying briefcases, talking on their phones, rushing by. Others were dragging heavy suitcases, trudging down the corridor with their heads down.
Jiang Li recalled the sixth rule of the Hard Sleeper Rules:
[If you see some Translucent People in the Carriage, do not be afraid. They cannot see you.]
Sure enough, these people acted as if they couldn’t see Jiang Li at all.
It was as if she existed in a different time and space from them.
Jiang Li walked straight toward the Toilet, and the Translucent People passed right through her.
Feeling her way in the dark, Jiang Li reached the door to the Toilet.
The door was closed, and the lock showed “Unoccupied.”
“Red Infant, if there’s any danger, help Mommy handle it,” Jiang Li said to the Red Infant on her shoulder.
Red Infant nodded obediently. “Don’t worry, Mommy. If they try anything, I’ll skin them!”
Actually, Jiang Li was pretty sure there wasn’t any real danger in the Toilet.
Because the rule-“The Toilet is very dangerous, you can’t go to the Toilet”-was fake.
Jiang Li figured that at most, she might see something scary in there, but those things probably couldn’t hurt her.
She gripped the door handle.
Taking a breath to steady herself, she pushed open the door and walked inside.
To make it easier for anything inside to come out, Jiang Li closed the Toilet door behind her.
Inside the pitch-dark Toilet, there was a tiny sink. The faucet was rusty and leaking, producing a steady drip, drip, drip.
Beside the Toilet was a Mirror, and in the darkness, Jiang Li could just make out her own face reflected back at her.
She stood there for a while, but nothing happened.
Except for the faucet dripping faster and faster, nothing else changed.
“Mommy, there’s nothing here. How about we go back?” Red Infant suggested.
Jiang Li was silent for two seconds.
“No,” she replied calmly. “We’re in the Toilet, but we haven’t actually gone yet.”
With that, Jiang Li bent her knees and squatted down, half-kneeling.
The moment she did, the face of a Little Ghost appeared in the cabinet next to her.
It was the singing child!
The child’s figure glowed with a silvery light as he hid in the cabinet, snickering to himself.
He giggled for a while, then stretched a hand out from the cabinet, putting on a spooky voice:
“Do you want some paper…?”
The child waved a tissue in his hand, continuing his little prank: “Do you want some paper…?”
Jiang Li grabbed his hand and yanked him out of the cabinet.
The child was shocked, and as soon as he realized what was happening, he struggled desperately to escape.
He was surprisingly strong-Jiang Li nearly lost her balance.
But she didn’t let go. After finally cornering this child, she wasn’t about to let him get away!
Unexpectedly, the child was stubborn too, fighting with all his might to run.
He darted to the door, turned the handle, and rushed straight outside.
Jiang Li was dragged out by the force as well.
Once outside, the light stung her Eyes, preventing her from opening them.
It was intensely bright.
Her pupils, dilated in the dark, snapped shut the instant they encountered the glare.
It was an automatic physiological reaction; she couldn’t control it.
Jiang Li instinctively raised her arm to shield herself from the brightness.
The child seized the opportunity to break free and vanished in a flash.
Jiang Li stood in the light and slowly opened her Eyes.
Where… is this?
The question grew stronger in Jiang Li’s mind.
A moment ago, it had been midnight, pitch-black.
Now, dazzling sunlight was pouring directly through the ruined roof of the Train, flooding the carriage.
The entire Train was bathed in brilliant sunlight.
It was still the same Train.
The only difference was that now it looked as if it had weathered countless years of decay…
The Train stood motionless in the wilderness.
The roof and windows were so damaged that only bare frames remained.
Everything inside was moldy, with grass and moss growing everywhere.
Flies buzzed through the air, spiders had spun webs all around, and cockroaches scattered at every step…
Even the Toilet door behind Jiang Li was broken, leaving only a crooked iron frame.
Jiang Li took three seconds to make herself accept everything in front of her.
Could this be another time and space for the Train?
She lifted her foot and moved as carefully as possible toward her own bed.
Lower Bunk No.16 was covered in dust.
Beneath the shadow of the bedding, only a stark white skeleton remained.
Who is this…
Is it Jiang Li herself?
Jiang Li was full of doubt.
After watching for a few seconds, she noticed that the skeleton was clutching a Little Golden Lock in its hand.
It was the Peace Amulet Lock that had been around the child’s neck.
Jiang Li paused to think, then picked up the Little Golden Lock.
Perhaps this object would help her crack the Instance, she thought.
As soon as her hand touched the Little Golden Lock, a child’s voice called out from not far away.
“Get away! Leave, don’t touch my mom!”
Jiang Li looked up; it was the same child who had brought her to this place.
It seemed the Little Golden Lock belonged to him.
And the remains on the bed were his mother.
“Who are you? Why are you hurting people?”
Jiang Li tried to speak to the child.
But his Eyes were now completely red, like an enraged lion.
He opened his mouth and let out a furious howl.
That howl pierced her eardrums, the impact overwhelming.
The moment Jiang Li heard the sound, goosebumps broke out all over her skin.
Pollution Source…
Whether it was the child’s singing or his howl, it was a Pollution Source!
Realizing this, Jiang Li’s first reaction was to catch him and make him stop!
But under the force of that furious howl, she felt completely powerless.
Every nerve in her body was being invaded, affected, polluted.
Jiang Li struggled against the pollution. “Stop, stop it now!”
Red Infant noticed Jiang Li’s abnormal state.
He jumped down from her shoulder, flashed in front of the child, and punched him in the mouth.
Taking advantage of the moment while the child couldn’t fight back, Jiang Li rushed forward and lunged at him!