chapter 33
Jiang Li had some experience pretending to be asleep.
This time, she found it came quite naturally.
While she was pretending to sleep, she heard a group of people approach.
They thoroughly searched her medicine bag.
Then they emptied out everything in Xia Xiaoqiang’s backpack, leaving nothing unturned.
What were they looking for?
Jiang Li wasn’t sure, but just to be safe, she quietly put the Little Golden Lock from her pocket into the Space.
After finishing with their belongings, the group moved on to the next berth.
About ten minutes later, the whole hard sleeper carriage finally quieted down.
Jiang Li kept her eyes closed for another half hour.
Only when the other passengers in the bunks nearby started waking up did she pretend to “wake up” herself.
The first thing Jiang Li did upon opening her eyes was to check the bags that had been searched.
At this point, everything had been restored to its original state, as if nothing had ever been touched.
Jiang Li opened her medicine bag and, to her shock, found a kitchen knife inside!
The blade was sharp, both sides coated in a layer of rustproof black paint.
That group hadn’t stolen anything. Instead, they had given each passenger a Rustproof Kitchen Knife…
Why would they do that?
As she was pondering, Jiang Li caught a glimpse, out of the corner of her eye, of two Skull Cards on the table.
They looked as though they had been deliberately left behind.
One was for Xia Xiaoqiang, the other for herself.
Could this be a new rule?
Jiang Li hurriedly picked them up to take a look.
[Train Card Game]
[Game Name] Send ‘Family Member’ Home.
[Game Description] Your ‘family member’ is lost. Please escort them off the Train at the Wraith Station. Wraith Station will arrive in 2 hours. Please be ready to disembark.
[Game Rules]
[1. It will play the role of your family member. Your normal pattern of interaction cannot change.]
[2. If the impersonator is injured, the real family member will suffer the same injury.]
[3. They must get off at the Wraith Station. If they do not disembark at the station, you will encounter something terrifying.]
[4. The Wraith Station only accepts the dead.]
Just as Jiang Li was still confused, the speeding train gave a piercing screech as it braked.
Then, the train slowly stopped in front of a platform.
Jiang Li immediately became alert.
The first rule of the Passenger Code flashed through her mind:
[This train departs from Hui City to Fenling. It will not stop at any stations along the way. If necessary, please open the window and jump off.]
Since it wasn’t supposed to stop at any stations, what was the meaning of this stop?
Or rather, this stop wasn’t for them, but… for “them”!
Jiang Li’s scalp tingled.
She looked up and saw, outside the window, a large group of “people” queuing up to board the train, one after another.
On the station square behind them stood a huge blue sign.
The sign reading “Friends and Family Station” glowed with a ghostly white light.
Recalling the wording on the rules, Jiang Li suddenly understood what the note meant.
Jiang Li hadn’t even recovered from her shock when she saw a familiar face rushing toward her.
“Sis!” Jiang Lianlian blinked her playful eyes and ran into Jiang Li’s arms, giving her a warm hug.
Jiang Li’s eyes widened, her blood nearly freezing in her veins…
Beside her, Xia Xiaoqiang was also waking up.
Xia Xiaoqiang climbed out of bed, her hair in disarray, and rubbed her sleepy eyes.
A man walked toward her, excitement on his face.
“Xia Xiaoqiang! Hahaha, my good daughter! Dad finally gets to see you.”
Xia Xiaoqiang was dazed and hadn’t reacted yet when the man hugged her tightly.
The next moment, he let go and gave her the kindly smile of a father. “Look at me-do you know who I am?”
Xia Xiaoqiang gasped in surprise. “Dad? … How did you get here?!”
“Xia Guofeng” sat down on Xia Xiaoqiang’s bed and chided, “Why else? Didn’t Dad say on the phone he couldn’t bear to part with you?”
“Dad has decided to personally take you to university.”
In Huaguo, Xia Guofeng, who was watching the live broadcast in the Intelligence Department, was so shocked he nearly fell off his chair!
Staring at the man in the Live Streaming Room who looked exactly like him-even twenty years younger-Xia Guofeng broke out in a cold sweat…
“What… what’s going on?” Xia Guofeng pointed at the screen and turned to ask the Expert.
The assistant standing behind him quickly helped Xia Guofeng up.
The Expert pushed up the rimless glasses on his nose. “It seems the Aberration has begun large-scale action, planning to attack by disguising itself as the travelers’ family members.”
“According to the Game Rules, only if the traveler kills their own ‘family member’ and throws the corpse out at Wraith Station, do they have a chance to survive.”
“But doesn’t the rule say that if the impersonated family member is injured, the real family member will also be hurt? If you really kill that thing inside, wouldn’t your real family member…”
Everyone exchanged glances, each understanding that there was no solution to this predicament.
These travelers have only two choices.
Either die themselves so their family members can live.
Or kill their family members to survive themselves.
And among them, there will certainly be a considerable number who would rather die themselves for the safety of their loved ones.
This stage will ultimately filter out a group of desperados who kill their own family members for the sake of their own lives.
“How vicious!” Xia Guofeng slammed his fist on the table in anger.
The veins on Xia Guofeng’s forehead bulged.
He thought for two seconds, strode to the side, picked up his coat from the back of a chair, and pulled out his phone from inside.
“I can’t let Xia Xiaoqiang get hurt! If it comes to it, I’ll die instead!” Xia Guofeng dialed a call furiously.
“Minister!”
“Minister, please calm down…”
No one around could persuade him; Xia Guofeng had made up his mind.
He walked aside, waiting for the call to connect.
The call rang for a long time, always showing out of service.
For a moment, Xia Guofeng was frantic, pacing back and forth, his face full of anxiety.
“Damn it!” Xia Guofeng hung up. “Quick, use a Communication Opportunity. I need to tell Jiang Li right now! Have Jiang Li pass the message to Xia Xiaoqiang.”
Xia Guofeng gave the order.
The technician nearby, pressured by his position, had no choice but to immediately contact the Strange Tale World.
Three seconds later, the technician’s anxious voice came.
“Minister, the communication was terminated! They rejected our request…”
An Expert nearby stepped out to analyze, “It must be the Aberration interfering, deliberately preventing us from contacting those inside.”
Everyone’s mood hit rock bottom at this moment.
Xia Guofeng clenched his fists, his temples throbbing with anger.
After a moment of contemplation, he gave an order:
“Go, dig out all the files from twenty years ago. What exactly happened to Train Z114 before it disappeared? Investigate thoroughly!”
Xia Guofeng’s intuition told him that the Aberration’s actions seemed like a purposeful act of revenge.
He needed to know what happened back then that was worth the “thing” behind all this going to such great lengths to orchestrate this.
The purpose of that thing was obvious: it wanted to see the travelers mercilessly kill their own family members.
Xia Guofeng looked toward Jiang Li in the Live Streaming Room.
Now, the connection between the surface world and the inner world was cut off.
If Jiang Li killed Jiang Lianlian, after clearing this Instance, Jiang Lianlian could still be revived.
But if the other travelers killed their family members, there would be no way to undo it.
Xia Guofeng pinned his hopes on Jiang Li.
He hoped Jiang Li could come up with a foolproof plan to get through this tough challenge…
In the Live Streaming Room, Jiang Li frowned and pushed away Jiang Lianlian, who was trying to hug her.
“Go back to your own bunk,” Jiang Li responded coldly.
Jiang Lianlian pouted and clung to Jiang Li’s arm, acting spoiled. “Oh, my dear sister, I just want to be close to you.”
Jiang Li’s voice grew colder. “If you don’t get lost, don’t force me to slap you.”
The first line of the Game Rules:
[It will impersonate your family member. Your usual mode of interaction must not change.]
And Jiang Li, in fact, usually treated the two-faced Jiang Lianlian exactly like this.
Jiang Lianlian, rebuffed, wrinkled her nose and sensibly let go.
Jiang Li saw Jiang Lianlian stuff her suitcase under her bed, then take off her shoes and climb onto the middle bunk of her bed.
Across from them, Xia Xiaoqiang was still being tightly hugged by Xia Guofeng, a picture of deep father-daughter affection.
Xia Xiaoqiang sensed something was wrong. Her father, who was thousands of meters away, could not possibly have boarded the Train here!
This father was definitely suspicious!
Xia Xiaoqiang looked to Jiang Li for help.
Jiang Li, mindful of the Hard Sleeper Rules-“do not meddle in others’ affairs”-couldn’t intervene much.
She only gave Xia Xiaoqiang a look, signaling her to check the Skull Card on the table.
Xia Xiaoqiang understood and quickly reached out to grab the card on the table.
But before her fingers could touch it, Jiang Lianlian, from the middle bunk, reached out and snatched the card away.