chapter 37
After witnessing those scenes, Xia Xiaoqiang’s face remained pale when she returned.
She curled up at the head of the bed, hugging her knees in silence.
It wasn’t until the Train pulled into Wraith Station, and everyone opened their windows to throw their “family members” out at the stop, that the bloody stench in the Train finally eased, and Xia Xiaoqiang slowly began to recover.
“Sister Jiang… do you think there are people who… didn’t do anything to their ‘family members’?”
Xia Xiaoqiang’s empty gaze flickered.
Clinging to a final shred of hope, she tentatively asked Jiang Li.
Jiang Li smiled. “Of course there are. See? There’s one right there.”
A jumble of footsteps approached from the corridor.
A Staff Member in a white chef’s hat, humming a cheerful tune, pushed a massive freezer past their beds.
From the bottom of the freezer, a sweet, metallic-smelling blood trickled out.
A bloodstained long-sleeved shirt was caught in the freezer door.
Game Rules – Rule Three:
[If they don’t get off at the station, you will encounter something terrible.]
And this-was that terrible thing!
Xia Xiaoqiang only glanced at it before quickly looking away.
Even so, a wave of acid churned in her stomach.
“Ugh…”
Xia Xiaoqiang lowered her head and retched, spitting out a mouthful of sour liquid.
Jiang Li pulled out a tissue and handed it to her. “You’re lucky. You found that thing’s weakness, saved your ‘family member’, and saved yourself.”
Xia Xiaoqiang wiped her mouth, recalling the Aberration-filled events on the Train these past two days, her expression growing withdrawn.
“Children, have you finished your Chicken Feet?” A familiar, aged voice called from the corridor.
The Old Lady who had brought porridge that morning was now pushing a cart, following at the end of the Kitchen Staff.
The Old Lady’s face was creased with a smile as she pointed at the meal boxes on the table. “You can give me the lunch boxes now.”
Jiang Li picked up two meal boxes and handed them to the Old Lady.
The Old Lady didn’t take them immediately, but instead asked kindly, “You two young ones, is there anything you’d like to buy? You can pre-order with me.”
“What do you have?” Jiang Li asked.
The Old Lady’s expression turned mysterious. She glanced at the Staff Member ahead, then lowered her voice, “As long as you have money, anything can be bought.”
“No need,” Xia Xiaoqiang answered sharply from the bed.
Her gaze was full of righteous anger. “Even if we had money, we wouldn’t buy anything from you.”
The smile on the Old Lady’s face faltered.
Under Xia Xiaoqiang’s hostile stare, the Old Lady’s smile faded, and she shot Xia Xiaoqiang a venomous glare, snatched the two empty meal boxes, and turned to leave.
But sharp-eyed Jiang Li noticed that the Old Lady’s outstretched hand now bore several pieces of gold jewelry:
One gold bracelet, two gold rings.
As the Old Lady turned to leave, the large bunch of keys at her waist jingled together.
On one of the keys, the words “Broadcast Room” were clearly marked…
“Wait!” Jiang Li quickly called out to the Old Lady.
The Old Lady turned back suspiciously, looking her up and down, her anger not yet gone. “What is it?!”
Jiang Li didn’t say anything, but stepped forward, took out the Little Golden Lock from her Space, and pressed it into the Old Lady’s hand.
“Anything can be bought?” Jiang Li asked quietly.
The Old Lady weighed the Peace Amulet Lock, snorted, and her attitude softened. “Of course. I said, anything.”
“I want to buy life.” Jiang Li spoke these words in a barely audible voice.
Upon hearing this, the Old Lady glanced around, then hurriedly pushed Jiang Li back to her bedside.
“You want to live?” the Old Lady asked, looking up at her.
Jiang Li nodded straightforwardly. “Yes.”
“Good, you’re the second smart one I’ve met.” After saying this, the Old Lady directly stuffed a slip of paper into Jiang Li’s hand.
Judging by the Old Lady’s expression, she seemed to want to say a few more words.
But before she could speak, a man’s scolding voice suddenly rang out from behind.
“You old hag, what are you dawdling around here for?!”
The Old Lady was startled by the voice.
She hurriedly took off all the gold bracelets, gold rings, and even the Peace Amulet Lock from her hands, and frantically stuffed them under Jiang Li’s blanket in secret.
“Did you take something from someone again?! Let me see!” The man behind her stepped forward, trying to search the Old Lady’s pockets.
The man was in his thirties or forties, wearing a Black Vest uniform, with a Red Armband on his arm, looking like an Administrator of the Train.
He was forceful, rummaging through the Old Lady’s pockets for a long time, but found nothing.
Remembering that the Old Lady had just sat close to Jiang Li, he walked over to Jiang Li’s bed, intending to lift the blanket and search for contraband.
“No! I didn’t take anything!”
In her fury, the Old Lady slapped the man on the back of his head. “You blind fool, what did I do to you by taking a lunchbox?!”
The Old Lady’s action did stop the man from searching Jiang Li’s blanket.
But it also infuriated him.
The man cursed and dragged the Old Lady away.
As the Old Lady was being pulled along, she kept making eye contact with Jiang Li.
From her look, it was clear that she intended to come back later to retrieve those items from Jiang Li.
Jiang Li put those things into her Space.
Then, she took out the slip of paper the Old Lady had given her and unfolded it.
On the paper was a broadcast script, scheduled for 14:00, which was five hours later.
Jiang Li quickly scanned the text:
“Dear passengers, here is an urgent announcement!
Due to a malfunction at the Train’s control panel, the Train will make an emergency stop in five minutes. There are wild animals near the stopping area. All passengers are advised to seek refuge in Carriage No.09 Dining Car.
The Dining Car is sturdy and can safely accommodate 40 passengers. For the sake of headcount, only one door on the Hard Sleeper Carriage side will be opened.
Seats are limited, first come, first served. Once 40 spots are filled, the Dining Car will be completely sealed. Please be aware.”
After reading the message, Jiang Li’s expression gradually turned grim.
“What’s wrong, Sister Jiang?” Xia Xiaoqiang noticed something was off with Jiang Li.
Jiang Li handed her the slip of paper, signaling her to read it herself.
Xia Xiaoqiang took the paper and, after reading the broadcast script, was half-convinced, half-doubtful. “Could this be a trick to lure us into the Dining Car?”
Recalling everything about the Dining Car, Xia Xiaoqiang found it hard to believe that it could be a safe place.
“No, this time it’s real.” Jiang Li’s tone was especially serious. “If you want to survive, you have to fight for one of those 40 spots.”
Because she had used the Eye of Truth to judge that the escape method described on the slip was genuine, with no deception.
“Do you know what’s going to happen next?” Jiang Li frowned, looking at Xia Xiaoqiang.
Xia Xiaoqiang thought for two seconds, and her expression gradually grew grave.
Now she understood Jiang Li’s concern.
Five hours later, once this announcement was made, it would mean that all the current Survivors on the Train would be scrambling for those 40 spots to stay alive.
The most terrifying part was that every passenger now had a Kitchen Knife in their hands.
And those who had survived so far had already been filtered in the previous round-they had personally killed their own “family members.”
It was likely that what would follow on this Train would be an exceptionally brutal and bloody massacre…