Chapter 24 The Four Seasons Train (1)
Besides protective amulets, another reward for participating in the Dark Realm was the enhancement of one’s abilities.
Upon completing a mission, an Awakened individual’s overall abilities would be enhanced. Failing a mission didn’t result in death, but there were no rewards, and it could even weaken their abilities. As time went on within an instance, the restrictions on ghosts lessened, making it rare for participants to survive by simply hiding until the very end.
Wenren Tu said, “I don’t recommend just trying to survive passively. That will only weaken you further, leaving you defenseless in combat-oriented instances.”
Yun Zouchuan nodded seriously. “I understand. Even if it’s just to save time, I’ll try to complete the missions quickly.” Being trapped in an instance for several days was time she couldn’t afford to waste, not with her studies.
Zhu Ming suddenly asked, “How do we find the instance core?”
Hearing this, Wenren Tu knew what Zhu Ming was thinking. “Don’t be impulsive. We still don’t have a clear understanding of the cores, but once a core is destroyed, the entire instance collapses.”
Zhu Ming and Yun Zouchuan had just returned from an instance and wouldn’t be entering another one anytime soon. Wenren Tu slung an arm around Zhu Ming’s shoulder, smiling. “Remember, no matter what happens, I’m on your side. It’s just an ex-girlfriend. We need to move on and embrace a new life. Let’s go to a lesbian bar and find you a new love!”
Zhu Ming rolled her eyes. “Is that all you ever think about? Getting girls’ WeChat IDs for yourself?”
Wenren Tu choked, then defended herself. “I often introduce you to new people too.”
Zhu Ming smiled sarcastically. “Really? How come I remember someone using the excuse of finding me a new girlfriend, then ditching me to chat up pretty girls?”
Wenren Tu chuckled sheepishly. “It wasn’t that bad. Come on, let bygones be bygones. Let’s go!”
The two heartbroken friends went out to drown their sorrows, leaving Yun Zouchuan to look after the studio. They didn’t return until late at night.
Zhu Ming called a rideshare for Wenren Tu. After seeing her off, Azou also went home.
Zhu Ming sat on the sofa, a single dim lamp illuminating the room. The night was quiet. The studio was in a remote location, and there were few cars or pedestrians on the street at this hour.
The lamp probably served no real purpose, but complete darkness felt too lonely.
She sat there all night, wide awake.
Dawn approached.
Zhu Ming absentmindedly rubbed her fingers together. Looking down, she saw a small flame flicker to life at her fingertips.
…
…
August 30th. Yun Zouchuan, backpack slung over her shoulder, stood nervously among the crowd, looking around. This was a significant step into modern society. Starting today, she was officially a high school student!
She was excited about her new life but also apprehensive.
“I think I’m the oldest one here,” she mumbled.
“It’s fine. You look young.” Zhu Ming patted her shoulder and accompanied her to collect her books and find her classroom.
Yun Zouchuan wanted to be a day student, but the studio was too far from Huadu Third High School, so she had to live in the dorms, only returning on weekends.
As the other parents left, Zhu Ming prepared to leave as well. Yun Zouchuan reminded her, “Boss, take care of yourself. Don’t force yourself to cook. Just order takeout.”
“I’ll be fine. Worry about yourself,” Zhu Ming said, her tone gruff. “Don’t call me unless it’s an emergency. And don’t forget to come back on weekends to look after the studio, or I’ll dock your pay!”
Yun Zouchuan: “…” Her salary was already meager. Any more deductions, and she might as well be eating dirt!
Zhu Ming waved goodbye. The studio suddenly felt empty.
But just as she left Yun Zouchuan, Wenren Tu arrived, holding an invitation.
“Got any jobs lately?”
“Do I look like I have any jobs?”
Wenren Tu beckoned her closer. “Perfect! I have a job for you.”
The Paranormal Affairs Bureau was so overwhelmed they were constantly recruiting outside help. It was better to work together than to be trapped in an instance with other Awakened, manipulated and pitted against each other by ghosts.
Of course, due to limited funds and the sheer number of instances, there was no pay for outside help. But collaborating with the Bureau meant having reliable teammates. For those constantly worried about receiving an invitation, this was a good option.
Awakened individuals who had already received an invitation could also seek assistance from the Bureau, but with limited resources, the help they could provide was limited.
“The Bureau has set up a forum to encourage cooperation between Awakened individuals and share information about some of the instances,” Wenren Tu said. “You can check it out when you have time. I’ll send you the link.”
Zhu Ming saved the forum link, a puzzled look on her face. “No pay? I might as well wait for my invitation. My interval is pretty short.”
Wenren Tu smiled. “No salary, but there’s a bonus. Whoever obtains a white protective amulet receives a bonus based on the instance’s difficulty, ranging from 100,000 to 1 million yuan.”
In short, there was money to be made by destroying instance cores!
Zhu Ming’s eyes lit up.
Wenren Tu waved the invitation in her hand. “You come with me to this instance, and I’ll personally give you 100 yuan!”
Zhu Ming: “…Wow, thanks.”
Getting back to business, Wenren Tu explained that this was a newly discovered instance, and they had no information about it. Destroying the core on the first try wasn’t their goal; they were mainly going in to gather intel.
Zhu Ming agreed. Even without the 100 yuan, if Wenren Tu was in danger, she wouldn’t abandon her.
Zhu Ming pressed her fingerprint on the invitation. A moment later, a white invitation appeared beside her as if out of thin air, too fast for her to see how it materialized.
She opened the invitation. A peach was drawn on the inside of the cover. The text read: [We cordially invite you to our world: The Four Seasons Train. Tomorrow night, without fail.]
So, it wasn’t always an immediate entry.
The following night, at midnight, Zhu Ming, holding her crowbar, and Wenren Tu, gripping her long blade, sat on the sofa in the Little Fire God Paranormal Investigations, the familiar dizziness washing over them simultaneously.
After the darkness, they were met with… noise.
Zhu Ming blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting. She found herself sitting on an old, green train, the carriage packed with people… lively, chattering people.
The seats were arranged in groups of four, facing each other, with a small table in the middle. Zhu Ming was sitting by the aisle, next to an elderly woman. Across from them sat a middle-aged couple.
Zhu Ming looked around. Every seat was occupied, men, women, children, elderly, all with luggage, a scene of ordinary life.
Strangely, except for her group, every other set of facing seats she could see had only three occupants.
Wenren Tu wasn’t in this carriage. She didn’t know where she had ended up. Everyone else seemed perfectly normal. Perhaps she was the only participant in this carriage.
Zhu Ming checked her pockets. She had three items: the invitation, a protective amulet, and a train ticket. The gray amulet was small, engraved with the familiar human-headed, snake-bodied totem. Nothing else.
The invitation’s contents had changed:
[We cordially invite you to our world: The Four Seasons Train.
Mission: Survive for five days.
Hints: 1. Beware the darkness.
2. Please observe proper train etiquette.
3. Food and drinks can be purchased from the cart with food coupons.
4. Participants are responsible for the consequences of mission failure.
5. Please discover other rules on your own.
Note: After completing the mission, tear the invitation to leave this world.]
As she was reading, the wrinkled old woman beside her suddenly offered her an orange, smiling kindly. “Where are you going, dearie? Have an orange.”
It looked like a normal orange, plump and fragrant, but Zhu Ming, glancing at the old woman’s gnarled hand, declined. “No, thank you. You have it.”
But the old woman was unusually insistent, practically forcing the orange on her. She placed a whole bag of oranges on the small table and offered some to the couple across from them.
The couple accepted, praising the oranges as they ate. They seemed to be a family, the old woman the mother of the middle-aged man.
Then all three of them turned to Zhu Ming, urging her to eat. “Are you shy, little miss? Don’t be polite! Have an orange! It’s nothing.”
“Are you scared traveling alone, lass? Don’t be afraid! We’re all good people!”
“Just one orange! Eat it!”
Their excessive enthusiasm made her suspicious. Zhu Ming narrowed her eyes. “Huh? What? Sorry, I don’t understand your dialect.”
She glanced out the window. Spring was in full bloom. This instance was different from the last. The scenery outside wasn’t summer. Judging by the instance name, perhaps the seasons would change.
Outside, a vast meadow stretched as far as the eye could see, a stream flowing gently through it, birds singing in the trees, and mountains looming in the distance.
The temperature was pleasant, the scenery beautiful.
The family suddenly switched to standard Mandarin. The old woman smiled. “Oh, you’re an educated young lady! Are you going to university? Eat some fruit, dear. It’s good for you.”
Zhu Ming glanced at her, not bothering to be polite. “Who said I’m going to university? Maybe I’m dropping out.”
The old woman: “…”
Suddenly, a loud announcement echoed through the carriage. “Attention passengers! Welcome to the Four Seasons Train, number 999! Please observe proper train etiquette during your journey. Failure to do so will result in a re-education session conducted by our esteemed conductor. The first rule of proper train etiquette: no fighting or loud noises in the carriages during daylight hours!”
The announcement silenced everyone, as if these rules were of utmost importance.
A moment later, the noise resumed, chatter, the sounds of eating, the rustling of pages.
Seeing that Zhu Ming truly didn’t want any oranges, the family finally gave up. Zhu Ming closed her eyes, enjoying the momentary peace.
Then she opened them suddenly. The people around her shifted. Zhu Ming looked at the old woman, the couple, and the other passengers, her expression unreadable.
Confirmed. They were all watching her.
Between conversations, while chewing their food, as they turned the pages of their books… seemingly preoccupied with their own activities, the passengers were all stealing glances at her.
Their gazes were filled with barely concealed malice.
Since they wanted to watch, she would let them. She stood up and walked around the carriage.
The others watched her movements surreptitiously, as if no one else in the carriage found anything amiss.
There were 4 rows of 12 double seats, a total of 96 seats. At the end of the carriage were a bathroom and a sink. The doors at both ends were closed, preventing them from leaving. Small windows in the doors allowed them to see the adjacent carriages.
Zhu Ming was in carriage 18, with carriage 17 in front and 19 behind. The scenes in those carriages were identical to hers, peaceful and ordinary, with every set of facing seats missing one occupant.
This likely meant she was the only participant in carriages 17, 18, and 19.
Suddenly, a face appeared in the small window of the rear door of carriage 19. The person, startled at the sight of Zhu Ming, waved and mouthed something.
Too far away to hear anything, Zhu Ming shook her head and sat back down.
That person was probably another participant. The train seemed long, all the participants separated.
She suddenly noticed something: there was only one door between carriages. Opening it led directly into the next carriage. There were no doors to exit the train.
Zhu Ming sat back down.
The old woman, persistent, peeled another orange. “Dearie, are you hungry or thirsty? Have an orange!”
Zhu Ming, lost in thought, tapped her fingers rhythmically on the table. Based on her experience in the previous instance, the early stages of a mission were usually relatively peaceful and safe. And the mission in this instance was simple: just stay alive.
The invitation had instructed them to follow proper train etiquette. So far, there was only one rule: no fighting or loud noises during the day. It also warned them to beware the darkness. Did that mean ghosts would appear at night?
Zhu Ming tried to summon a flame. Tsk, her abilities were suppressed again, and she hadn’t been able to bring her crowbar.
So boring. What could she do? She stared out the window at the unchanging scenery. No matter how beautiful, it became monotonous after a while.
Suddenly, her stomach growled.
Zhu Ming was surprised. She touched her stomach. She was actually hungry! She had ordered takeout with Wenren Tu before entering the instance. It hadn’t even been half an hour. How could she be hungry already?
Not only was she hungry, but her mouth was also dry, as if she hadn’t eaten or drunk anything all day.
She realized the gravity of the situation.
In this instance, the participants’ metabolic rate was greatly accelerated, forcing them to find food.
As if sensing her hunger, the old woman offered her another orange. The couple across from them smiled even wider, opening a lunchbox filled with steaming, fluffy white buns.
“Have some, miss.”
“We’re eating too. They’re delicious!”
“You haven’t eaten anything. What if you get sick?”
But no matter how they tempted her, Zhu Ming remained unmoved. Realizing she wasn’t easily swayed, the old woman snorted and withdrew her hand. “Let’s see how long you can last!”
A moment later, Zhu Ming suddenly asked, “What are food coupons?”
The family exchanged glances, their smiles turning strange again. Not only them, but everyone who had heard the words “food coupons” turned to look at Zhu Ming simultaneously.
The old woman said, “Food coupons? They’re good things, of course! Do you want some, dearie? I have some. I’ll trade them for your train ticket.”
Leave a Reply