chapter 39

Jiang Li glanced at the woman.

The woman tugged on Jiang Li’s sleeve, then raised her finger to point toward the end of the carriage.

“You want me to go over there?” Jiang Li asked.

The woman nodded, as if she wanted to explain.

But when she opened her mouth, blood poured out, filling her throat.

In the darkness of the carriage, she made muffled, choking noises, unable to speak a single complete word.

Jiang Li noticed that this woman seemed to be mute.

“Lead the way,” Jiang Li said, pulling her sleeve free.

At last, the woman closed her mouth and the blood stopped.

Jiang Li switched on her flashlight and followed the woman.

It was only then that Jiang Li realized what the woman was dragging behind her-an unformed infant.

The infant was already dead, a shapeless mass of bloody flesh.

Its umbilical cord was still connected to its mother, so it was dragged along behind her.

Jiang Li followed the woman all the way to the last carriage.

A dim red light glowed in the attendant’s room at the very end.

Under that red light came the soft singing of a child.

“Mud Doll, Mud Doll, a Mud Doll…”

“It has a nose, it has a mouth, but the mouth won’t speak~~~”

As Jiang Li heard the song, her body began to mutate again. Tiny bumps started to push out of her arms.

When she reached the carriage door, the woman who had been leading her was gone.

Jiang Li walked alone with her flashlight, getting closer to the room filled with red light.

“Mud Doll, Mud Doll, a Mud Doll~~”

“It has eyebrows, it has Eyes, but the Eyes won’t blink~~~”

Jiang Li peered through the glass window on the door into the room.

Inside the attendant’s room sat a boy, who looked about four or five years old.

He was softly humming through his nose, completely absorbed in what he was doing.

Jiang Li’s eyes passed over the boy’s shoulder and saw him busily shaping clay.

Next to the child’s table was a heap of human features-Eyes, noses, ears, mouths…

Each time he finished a Clay Figurine, he attached the features to it and tossed it into a nearby old bucket filled with red liquid.

“…It has a nose, it has a mouth…but the mouth won’t speak~~~”

As if sensing Jiang Li’s gaze, the boy looked up and met her eyes through the door.

His singing stopped abruptly.

For a moment, their eyes locked, and time seemed to freeze.

The red light in the attendant’s room flickered twice with a faint sizzle, then went out.

The train plunged into darkness.

Only Jiang Li’s flashlight cast a faint, cold glow in the empty night.

“Big Sister?”

In the darkness, a muddy little hand slowly closed around Jiang Li’s fingertip.

Her flashlight wavered, illuminating the child beside her.

“Big Sister, you’re here again~”

The boy wiped his face with the back of his hand, smearing mud all over, and gave Jiang Li a gentle smile.

Jiang Li forced a smile, but it felt stiff.

This time, she had a clear goal: to kill this child.

The boy’s singing was the Pollution Source. To eliminate the Pollution Source, the best way was to kill him, to silence him forever.

“Big Sister, are you here to kill me?”

The boy’s clear Eyes shimmered as he gazed up at her, unblinking.

Jiang Li was startled for a moment by his question.

Before she could answer, the boy suddenly handed something to her.

That cold touch-it was a knife!

“Big Sister, do it~” The boy’s innocent request sent a chill through Jiang Li.

If she killed him now, she could achieve a perfect clearance.

Jiang Li gripped the knife tightly, her palm sweating.

“I won’t run, Sister. Hurry, this is your only chance.”

The boy’s gentle urging made Jiang Li feel as if she were in a trance.
It felt as if, with this stab, it wouldn’t be the Little Boy who died, but Jiang Li herself.

Jiang Li’s grip on the knife tightened ever so slightly.

“You’d better hurry up, sis-I’m only giving you ten seconds for this game!”

The Little Boy looked at Jiang Li with anticipation, arms spread wide, and began his own countdown to death.

“Ten…”

“Nine…”

“Eight…”

The countdown ticked down, each second passing faster than the last.

Jiang Li’s breathing grew quicker and more erratic.

The tip of the knife in her hand, flashing with a cold silver light, unconsciously moved closer to the Little Boy’s neck.

Just a little bit closer-stab it in, and the Ghost Train Instance would be over.

But she just couldn’t shake the feeling that things shouldn’t be going this smoothly.

Had she… missed some detail?

“…”

“Three…”

“Two…”

“Only one number left~” the Little Boy called out cheerfully.

At that moment, everyone in the Live Streaming Room was holding their breath, waiting for Jiang Li to make her move.

Just when everyone thought Jiang Li was about to clear the Instance, her grip on the knife suddenly loosened.

“One.”

Clang-

The knife fell onto the train’s metal floor with a crisp, ringing sound.

“Why didn’t you kill me?” The Little Boy grinned, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

Jiang Li curled her lips slightly. “What’s the point of killing a Mud Doll?”

“Come out and talk.”

Jiang Li shined her flashlight directly to the spot behind the Little Boy.

That was where his voice had just come from.

In that instant, the Little Boy standing in front of her melted into a puddle of black mud.

The real Little Boy appeared from behind the Mud Doll, stepping out from the spot that had just been empty.

“Hmph.” The Little Boy crossed his arms, pouting with disappointment that his prank hadn’t worked.

“You’re so annoying! How did you figure it out? I acted so well!” The Little Boy glared at her.

Jiang Li gave a helpless smile. “Didn’t you sing it yourself? ‘Mud Doll, Mud Doll, Eyes don’t blink.'”

The Little Boy froze for a second, completely speechless.

He had worked so hard to train a Mud Doll to put on a ventriloquist act with him.

The Mud Doll’s job was to open its mouth, while he hid behind it and provided the voice.

But the fact that it couldn’t blink its Eyes-now that was a flaw he couldn’t fix.

“Fine, you win this round.” The Little Boy still sounded a little unconvinced.

Jiang Li smiled. “So what’s the reward for winning?”

The Little Boy paused, tapped his head, and thought seriously for a moment.

“If you win… then you have to play a game with me!” he shouted, jumping up with excitement.

Jiang Li replied coolly, “No.”

“Ah…” The Little Boy’s face fell, looking troubled. “You really don’t want to play with me.”

“Then… then if you win, I’ll just give you this!” The Little Boy stuffed a slip of paper into Jiang Li’s hand.

“Just saying, I can’t guarantee this is useful,” the Little Boy added. “Anyway, I don’t think it’s much use.”

Seeing how dismissive the Little Boy was about the paper, Jiang Li looked a little puzzled.

She took it and unfolded it.

A line of bold text jumped out at her.

[Instance Hidden Clearance Condition: Help the Key Figure disembark safely.]

Jiang Li’s heart leapt!

Something this important, and she’d only just gotten it now!

And… who was the Key Figure? Were they even still alive? She knew nothing.

Jiang Li frowned in thought.

So far, the System hadn’t announced her “Instance Failure.” That meant there was only one possibility-

That the Key Figure… was still alive!

Jiang Li put away the dagger hidden up her sleeve. She no longer intended to kill the Little Boy.

Before eliminating the Pollution Source in this Instance, she still had something else to do.

Jiang Li glanced up at the Little Boy. “Didn’t you want to play a game? I’ll play with you.”