Chapter 30 The Four Seasons Train (7)
It was unclear how long a day-night cycle lasted in this instance, but Zhu Ming, Wenren Tu, and Legs were all exhausted. Their rest was fragmented and insufficient, especially since Zhu Ming and Wenren Tu had to fight their way through each carriage.
Not only was Zhu Ming, who relied more on physical combat, physically tired, but Wenren Tu, whose abilities were energy-intensive, was also drained.
They had enough food coupons to rest in carriage 8, but Yin Yu had taken all the coupons and left them with a carriage full of ghosts. How utterly shameless.
Wenren Tu’s head bobbed as she drifted off to sleep on the sofa. Legs, half-asleep, looked across the table at Zhu Ming, who was wide awake, staring out the window.
Wasn’t she tired? What was she thinking about? … Legs couldn’t understand. But it was good that Zhu Ming was awake. Legs felt safer knowing someone was on watch. She closed her eyes and drifted off, a soft snore escaping her lips.
Night fell.
The train entered the tunnel, the lights flickered, and the carriage filled with ghosts.
Zhu Ming closed the window and kicked Wenren Tu and Legs awake. Wenren Tu gasped.
The ghosts, robbed of their food coupons and too afraid to retaliate against Yin Yu, glared at them resentfully.
So, they hadn’t managed to get the train ticket from that woman, but now they were here, three of them. Perfect!
“Since you know her, you can pay the price for her!” one of the ghosts yelled.
Zhu Ming’s eyes narrowed. “What did you say? Who’s paying for whom?”
The ghost: “You’re paying for her!”
Swish—the woman in black drew her blade, her eyes burning with fury. “Her?! She’s not worthy!”
She lunged forward, swinging the blade, a flash of crimson fire erupting as the ghosts swarmed her.
Wenren Tu was stunned. “So it really wasn’t a lighter trick…” She snapped her fingers, a small spark of electricity appearing. “Next time, I’m asking the vendor if they sell portable chargers.”
Legs gulped and asked, “It’s too crowded! I can’t run! Wenren, can I stay close to you?”
…
Nine minutes later, a figure wreathed in flames stood before the slowly closing doors, black and red blood splattered across the carriage, the stench of burning flesh filling the air.
Wenren Tu and Legs clung to the luggage racks, unwilling to descend. The floor was covered in blood and dismembered bodies, a gruesome scene of carnage. The entire carriage was a bloody abattoir.
The terrified ghosts huddled by the opposite door, restrained by the rules from fleeing to the next carriage.
The flames gradually subsided, revealing the figure at the center. Zhu Ming ran her fingers along the blade, her blood-stained hair matted and tangled, her black clothes torn and tattered.
But she looked up at Wenren Tu and smiled, her anger spent, her face radiating a sense of exhilaration.
Her eyes gleamed brightly. “I like this place.”
She spread her arms wide, blade in hand, as if wanting to embrace all the ghosts. “I like this place!”
If asked why, perhaps it was because here, she could unleash her fury without restraint.
Things were different now.
Wenren Tu watched as the train entered a world of white, the blood and gore vanishing, the carriage returning to its pristine state. She watched as Zhu Ming, for the first time in a long time, smiled a genuine smile. Yes, things were different.
Ever since returning from the last instance, Zhu Ming had been despondent. Even though Wenren Tu had tried her best to cheer her up, and Zhu Ming had played along, feigning cheerfulness,
Wenren Tu had still seen the listlessness in her eyes. Zhu Ming’s smiles had been for her friend’s sake, her actions merely going through the motions. She had even lost interest in fighting, as if all joy had been drained from her life, everything meaningless, adrift in apathy.
Wenren Tu hadn’t known how long it would take for Zhu Ming to regain her spark, perhaps a year, two years, three?
Zhu Ming was stubborn. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been hung up on Yin Yu for so long.
But now?
Look at her, energized and arrogant, her abilities finally unleashed. So the little brat had been holding back all along!
When had the change begun?
Oh, she remembered now. It was when they entered carriage 8 and saw that woman in the white shirt dress. That was when Zhu Ming had snapped out of her daze, her demeanor shifting instantly.
She had run off to fight with renewed vigor, returned with enough energy to be angry, and then, at night, had been enraged by the ghosts’ taunts. Getting angry also took effort, you know.
Wenren Tu understood. She had solved the mystery.
Yin Yu’s reappearance had made Zhu Ming despondent. Then who had rekindled her spirit? It was obvious, wasn’t it?
Wenren Tu suddenly slapped the luggage rack. “Zhu Ming!”
Crack, crack, thud—the conductor attacked, sending her tumbling onto a seat. Wenren Tu rubbed her arm, wincing.
Zhu Ming: “?”
Wenren Tu gritted her teeth. “Tell me! Who is she?!”
Zhu Ming averted her gaze. “Just… you know… that person.”
Wenren Tu pressed her. “Who? What person?”
Zhu Ming mumbled, “Yin… Yu.”
Wenren Tu: “I knew it! That two-timing, manipulative bitch! I’ll kill her!!!”
Ignoring the conductor’s attacks, she grabbed Zhu Ming and forced her to sit down.
Even though her body ached and throbbed from the invisible blows, she didn’t care. “Tell me everything!”
Zhu Ming yawned, exhausted from the fight. It had been exhilarating, but now she was tired. “What’s there to tell? I just ran into her again… Don’t talk nonsense! There was no… two-timing…”
Wenren Tu, exasperated, counted off on her fingers. “Tell me the truth! Are you still hung up on her?!”
Zhu Ming looked shocked. “What are you talking about?! How can you even say that?!”
Wenren Tu accused, “Your eyes lit up the moment you saw her! I saw it with my own two eyes! Don’t deny it!”
Zhu Ming argued, “That was the fire of hatred! Hatred! Do you understand?!”
Wenren Tu didn’t believe her. “Lies! Your little flame almost went out earlier, and you let her go!”
Zhu Ming: “Bullshit! I was letting go of the past, resolving my inner demons! I told her never to appear before me again, or I’d kill her! Who knew she would be so persistent?!”
Wenren Tu: “And what about just now?”
Zhu Ming: “She’s not an ordinary person! We’re evenly matched! There was nothing I could do!”
Wenren Tu looked at her suspiciously. “Really? If you’ve decided to let go, why were you so depressed?” Unlike her, who had cried and moved on, Zhu Ming had been moping around, only regaining her spirit at the sight of Yin Yu.
Zhu Ming insisted, “…I… just… I just lost my sense of purpose for a bit! You know I’ve been wanting to see Yin Yu again. But after seeing her, I realized she’s not worth it! I want to sever all ties with the past! I don’t have any expectations of her anymore! She’s the one who keeps showing up!”
Wenren Tu slapped the table. “Fine! You can’t fall into the same trap twice! Don’t forget, she said she doesn’t love you! So, who is this Yin Yu? You even asked Wenren Bai to look into her, but the Bureau’s system has no record of her. Now that she’s reappeared, and you’ve fought her twice, have you discovered anything?”
Zhu Ming shook her head. “I only know she’s persistent and difficult to deal with. And she has an accomplice. I asked her about her purpose, but she refused to tell me. But she’s willing to be chased by me just to appear. With such persistence, she’ll reveal her intentions eventually.”
Wenren Tu nodded, understanding, and went to the window, preparing to climb out.
Zhu Ming: “???”
Wenren Tu cracked her knuckles. “We didn’t switch carriages so we could go and beat her up, didn’t we? Don’t worry! I’ll help you! We’ll finish her off!”
Touched and amused, Zhu Ming pulled her back. “Can’t you at least let me rest first?”
…
After resting for over an hour, like an unsatisfying nap, Zhu Ming felt even more tired.
Wenren Tu and Legs were also tired, but with so many ghosts in carriage 8, they couldn’t expect a peaceful night.
Zhu Ming climbed out first, going to the back of the train to find Yin Yu. Yin Yu was still in carriage 57. Zhu Ming tried to open the window from outside, but realized that while it was possible to move between carriages through the windows, she couldn’t enter if the window wasn’t opened from the inside.
The carriages after 50 were empty. Asking a participant in a nearby carriage to open the window for her and then moving one carriage at a time would take too long. Zhu Ming reluctantly gave up on the idea of confronting Yin Yu for now.
She went to check the carriages further up the train.
Carriage 7, empty. 6, bloodstains. 5, empty. 4, empty. 3, empty. 2, empty… Carriage 1, occupied!
Zhu Ming climbed onto the roof and knocked on the window of carriage 1. The woman inside looked up, startled. “Who’s there?!”
Zhu Ming smiled. “A participant. Can you open the window? We… um… a few of us want to come in.”
The woman, between thirty and forty, had light brown hair tied back in a low ponytail. She looked gentle and kind. She wore black-rimmed glasses and had delicate features. She looked at Zhu Ming warily. “Show me your invitation.”
Zhu Ming held it up.
The woman asked, “You can move between carriages through the windows? How many of you are there? Do you have enough food coupons?”
Zhu Ming answered her questions.
The woman then asked, “Why do you want to enter carriage 1 specifically?”
Zhu Ming replied, “Carriage 1 is closest to the engine. We’re curious.”
The woman said, “Fine. I’ll let you in, but you have to promise not to drag me into any fights when you collect food coupons. I don’t like fighting.”
Zhu Ming made an “okay” sign. Seeing the woman open the window, she went back to get Wenren Tu and Legs.
“There’s someone in carriage 1.”
Wenren Tu said excitedly, “Perfect! We can go straight to the front!”
Remembering the state of carriage 2, Zhu Ming said, “This person is a little strange.”
Wenren Tu: “Strange how?”
Zhu Ming: “All the ghosts in carriages 1 and 2 are still alive. Based on our previous deduction, she should have started in either carriage 2, 4, or 6. I think carriage 2 is the most likely.”
The woman didn’t look injured or distressed. To survive, she needed food coupons, and to get food coupons, she had to deal with ghosts.
Wenren Tu said, “Maybe she’s a defense-type Awakened or has some protective items.”
Zhu Ming nodded. “That’s possible. But the ghosts in carriage 2 are acting strange. Their eyes are unfocused, their movements stiff, and most importantly, they’re all… green. Like they’ve turned into grass spirits.”
Wenren Tu made a sound of disgust. “Her ability sounds dangerous. But we’re all participants, so there shouldn’t be any conflict.”
Zhu Ming said, “True. Let’s go then.”
Moving between carriages through the windows wasn’t easy. Wenren Tu managed to climb onto the roof with Zhu Ming’s help.
But Legs struggled. She couldn’t pull herself up, the sight of the tracks blurring beneath her making her dizzy. “My legs are too short!” she wailed.
Zhu Ming sighed and asked Wenren Tu to hold her legs while she reached down and pulled Legs up. Legs was small and light, not difficult to lift, but once on the roof, the movement of the train made her nervous. She clung to Zhu Ming’s arm as they moved.
When they reached carriage 1, Wenren Tu entered first to help them in, Zhu Ming supporting Legs from behind.
Finally, Zhu Ming climbed in herself. As she leaned against the window, catching her breath, she glanced back and saw a small, dark head poking out of a window far down the train, looking in their direction.
…Who was that? Couldn’t be Yin Yu, could it? Zhu Ming instinctively flipped them off. The figure returned the gesture.
Inside carriage 1, a peaceful, even welcoming atmosphere prevailed. The passengers looked at the three newcomers with unusual enthusiasm.
Since the carriage was full, Zhu Ming, Wenren Tu, and Legs found seats by the aisle.
“I’m Wenren Tu. What’s your name?” Wenren Tu asked the woman who had let them in.
The woman with the ponytail replied, “Call me Jia-jie.”
“How long have you been in this carriage, Jia-jie?”
Jia-jie glanced at her. “Are you interrogating me?”
Wenren Tu smiled. “No, no! Just curious.”
Jia-jie replied, “I switched carriages after entering and have been here ever since.”
Wenren Tu gestured towards carriage 2. “You did that? That’s impressive!”
Jia-jie adjusted her glasses. “Just my ability. It’s not that impressive if I couldn’t even kill them.”
While Wenren Tu continued chatting, Zhu Ming walked to the end of the carriage. Like the other carriages, there were two doors, one at each end. Looking through the small window, she saw a small compartment, and beyond that, a solid metal door with a digital display and a card reader. The engine must be behind that door.
She had tried looking into the engine compartment from outside, but the windows were one-way; she couldn’t see anything.
If they could stop the train, keeping it perpetually in “daytime,” could they then collect food coupons freely without worrying about the ghosts’ attacks at night?
But it seemed that metal door wasn’t easy to open.
Jia-jie confirmed her suspicions. “I also wanted to check the engine compartment. The door to the compartment opens at night, but to open the metal door to the engine, you need something.”
“What?”
Jia-jie: “A red train ticket.”
They all looked at each other, pulling out their tickets. They were all green. The only red thing they could think of was the food coupons.
That path blocked, Zhu Ming narrowed her eyes, thinking. Something about this train felt… off.
Although the cycle of collecting food coupons during the day and fighting ghosts at night seemed challenging enough for most participants, the ghosts here were mostly weak. They might be a threat to ordinary people, but not an insurmountable obstacle for Awakened individuals.
Most Awakened would likely exercise restraint, carefully choosing their targets, realizing that the ghosts couldn’t refuse trades. Targeting the weaker, more hesitant ghosts wasn’t particularly dangerous.
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