Chapter 9: The Battle for Train Zero Tickets Begins! Duration: Ten...

After leaving the restroom, Jiang Yang continued walking towards the back of the car.

Without the restraint of the green apple, he was like a walking black light bulb, the mist emanating from him attracting some mysterious presence in the carriage.

Jiang Yang stopped in front of the rest room in carriage 08, wiped the sweat from his palms with his coat, and gently pressed the doorknob. The door opened smoothly.

I stood at the door for a minute, and only went in after confirming that there was no movement inside.

He came looking for a route map.

When we passed carriage 02, we had already tested the waters; the train attendant was in the rest room in carriage 02.

Jiang Yang was chosen when he was replacing a train conductor. Although there were two rest rooms, there was only one train conductor.

The red button outside the door is the one that allows you to summon a train conductor to move between the two rest areas with a single click.

However, although he managed to fool the other shadowy figures with his clothing, he was immediately exposed by the train conductor.

That's why he decided to take the risk and come here despite his low SAN value.

The route map is clearly displayed; it's on your right as soon as you enter.

To avoid any further trouble, he didn't take it off, but instead knelt on one knee on the seat and leaned closer to take a look.

[First stop: Nanshi South Station]

[Second stop: Nanshi North Station]

With thirty minutes left before arriving at the second stop, Jiang Yang felt he needed to hurry.

As he got off the chair, his gaze inadvertently fell on the window opposite. Besides his figure, there was also a completely black humanoid silhouette covering it.

Jiang Yang quickly withdrew and closed the door, a dark shadow gathering on the chair.

After calculating the time, it turned out that it hadn't even been three minutes. He silently whispered to the train conductor, but his body remained stiff and he dared not move.

Feeling the black mist seeping out from the crack in the door probing his body, he trembled almost imperceptibly.

At the same time, Jiang Yang also clearly sensed the confusion that the black mist felt about its current state.

Hidden fangs pressed against the skin, sending shivers down my spine. My whole body screamed, "Run!"

But he still managed to hold back.

The minute felt like an eternity. The black mist searched for a long time but couldn't find a breakthrough, so it simply withdrew and gave up.

Surprisingly, the SAN value fluctuated for a moment, but ultimately did not drop any further.

For a moment, Jiang Yang had a misconception: had she really grown up?

She raised her hand and rubbed her face vigorously, then turned and walked towards the restroom diagonally opposite the lounge.

Inside the restroom, Jiang Yang's men deftly removed the engineer's coat.

"Hiss~"

As the back of her hand inadvertently brushed against the skin on the back of her neck, Jiang Yang couldn't help but gasp in pain, feeling a sharp, stabbing sensation.

Facing the mirror, I turned my head to examine it, and a faint, indistinct shape was visible through the red mark.

I carefully poked it twice with my finger, and the pain I had just felt seemed like an illusion.

He picked up the coat again to check, but there was nothing unusual.

The train jolted twice, and Jiang Yang, half-bent over, steadied himself by holding onto the sink.

His soft features were pressed against the mirror, and his clear eyes reflected his current appearance.

The young man in the mirror had a slight frown. In his line of sight, the clothes he had taken off were still on his body in the mirror.

No wonder the train attendant changed his usual demeanor.

Is it because he has already decided that he will become one of them?

Unfortunately, Jiang Yang never accepted his fate.

Jiang Yang casually walked out, leaving his coat by the sink. Little did he know that inside the bathroom, where he had closed the door, the engineer's coat stood quietly in the middle, as if someone were standing there.

One of the few benefits of lowering the SAN value is that you can always detect any supernatural phenomena that occur in the surrounding area immediately.

I continued walking into carriage 08, but my attention remained focused on what was behind me.

And now, the fish has taken the bait.

On Train Zero, Nan Ke, Xiong Bingxin, and Azi nervously stared at the time in front of Carriage 02.

A-Zi's breathing grew heavier, his eyes filled with terror. "The time has come."

Due to skill limitations, he will be the first target to be locked after his skill fails.

To avoid being too far apart and unable to know each other's situation immediately, Shaqiu, Mengjiang, and Xielu respectively guarded the middle of carriage 03, the connecting car of carriage 02, and the middle of carriage 02, so as to make it easy to confirm that they were in each other's line of sight.

Dune's skill is the [Eight Swords] card, which allows him to detect anomalies in a space immediately and trap them.

Moreover, he entered the trial together with Xiong Bingxin, and only those who formed teams in advance outside the trial could send team messages.

The one who sacrificed himself by forcing his way into the rest room was brought in by Meng Jiang. His original intention was to register separately from Xiong Bingxin so that he could bring two more team members together, but... fate played a cruel trick on him.

As for Xie Lu and Nan Ke, since they were both ranked in the top ten, they could only register separately according to the rules.

Therefore, the sand dunes were positioned closest to the "crime scene" and were given the most important task in this temporary team.

It's the message notification sound that Xiong Bingxin set.

There are only two words: "ticket".

The three people didn't quite understand what he meant.

[Because some bad guys have taken other people's tickets, causing disruption to train order, the security personnel are overwhelmed—really overwhelmed! So! A ticket-grabbing battle has begun! It will last for ten minutes! Enjoy your fight!]

The new mission announcement answered their questions.

"We won't participate in the mission; we'll hold out until we reach the station and then get off," Xiong Bingxin explained.

Meng Jiang, who was in the middle of the carriage, ran a few steps toward carriage 03, and then hurriedly ran back half a minute later.

"What's wrong?" Nan Ke asked.

Xie Lu is not there.

Nan Ke was anxious and spoke aggressively, "What do you mean by 'not there'!"

"Don't worry, there are no other traces, he must have left on his own."

“Sha Qiu hasn’t come back either, let’s go together,” Xiong Bingxin decided immediately, turning to Meng Jiang to remind him, “Keep the tickets safe.”

With two minutes left before the train arrives at the station, the train's speed is gradually decreasing.

The group rushed into 03, where Xie Lu and Sha Qiu were already surrounded by layers of dark shadows.

The space beneath Xie Lu's feet was a small circle created by his innate talent, barely big enough for two people to squeeze into.

He could sense that these shadowy figures contained something he had encountered in the sleeper car.

"Thank you, Lu!"

Upon hearing Nan Ke's voice, Xie Lu's neck veins bulged, and he shouted sternly, "Go back!"

Some of the shadowy figures were drawn to the others, and the pressure on this side eased considerably for a moment.

Sand Dune also noticed the anomaly, but before he could use it, two dark figures in the bathroom suddenly sprang up, yelling, "Tickets! Give me back my tickets!"

The surrounding area erupted instantly, with dark figures blending together, making it impossible for him to distinguish them. Fortunately, Xie Lu noticed something was wrong and rushed over to provide support.

The train's lights shone into the carriage as it pulled into the station, and Xie Lu calmed down.

How many more times can you use your skill?

"twice."

"The third one at eight o'clock."

The dunes reacted quickly and their skills were precise.

"Five o'clock, the fourth one."

Once the sand dunes were under control, Xie Lu took a step forward. "Follow me closely, we're going to the entrance."

Nan Ke had already stepped into 03 when Xiong Bingxin heard Xie Lu's voice, grabbed his clothes, and pulled him back.

"We're about to arrive at the station, let's get off and meet them," the group said, running back again. They were quickly blocked in front of the door of carriage 02.

"Half a minute left," Meng Jiang glanced at the time.

Xiong Bingxin held her broadsword horizontally in front of everyone, and Meng Jiang also drew his sword.

Meng Jiang's skill is the [Swordsman] card, and he has been consistently adding attribute points to attack. At this moment, he can easily scatter the shadow with a single stab.

"Watch out!" Nan Ke pulled Azi back two steps to the side.

"It's the one in the bathroom!"

The water-like black shadows beneath their feet spread towards where they stood, then suddenly leaped up and pounced on Azi.

Xiong Bingxin aimed and slashed down with her knife, but some of the knife still stuck to Azi's exposed skin.

Suddenly, Azi unconsciously scratched his arm, his sharp nails drawing large amounts of blood.

"Stop arresting me!"

Xiong Bingxin pinched his arm, and bright red blood seeped out, revealing black mucus underneath.

Nan Ke looked at the familiar things thoughtfully. The train arrived at the station and stopped, and the door behind him opened.

Xiong Bingxin gritted her teeth and slapped Azi, "Calm down! What's that showing on your end!"

After all, there must be some explanation for whether it's SAN points, health points, or something else that's being lost.

Azi regained some clarity. "His health points keep dropping. And there's something about being assimilated... a countdown..."

Seeing that he was about to fall into it again, Xiong Bingxin shouted again, "How long is the countdown!"

Azi was terrified, "Twenty minutes..."

It's not exactly short, but if a solution can't be found...

"Get out of the car first!" Meng Jiang followed behind, backing down, his eyes fixed on the dark figure.

Once past the door, there were no more shadows ahead.

From inside the train carriage, the platform was brightly lit, but once you got off the train, there was only a dim yellow light overhead.

Xiong Bingxin looked around and spotted a man in work clothes in the shadows.

The man noticed Xiong Bingxin's gaze, stepped out of the shadows, and his heavy footsteps echoed on the empty platform, sending chills down everyone's spine.

With the same smile as the train conductor, he said, "Hello, I'm the railway administrator. May I ask which passenger has boarded the wrong train?"

They had discussed it beforehand: if they didn't have enough tickets, the two of them would transfer, and the rest would buy new tickets at the station.

The group transferring consisted of Meng Jiang and A Zi. They looked at each other, and Meng Jiang dragged the dazed A Zi forward a couple of steps.

"Please follow me," the administrator said, taking out a flashlight. "Be careful, it's quite dark here. Make sure you stay close to me."

Nan Ke stared blankly at the flashlight, as if suddenly remembering something. When Meng Jiang passed by him, he quickly lowered his voice to remind him, "Find the shift schedule later."

"Mmm," Meng Jiang responded softly.

"What do you say now?" The train has already started moving again.

Nan Ke magically produced a flashlight from his person, just like the one used by the administrator, and said smugly, "Let's go."

"Wow, that's impressive," Xiong Bingxin said sarcastically. "Where did you come from?"

"Stolen from the lounge."

No, it was Jiang Yang who threw it out to him at the very end.

He didn't tell Xiong Bingxin the truth, and when he approached her for collaboration, he didn't mention that Jiang Yang had instructed him to do so.

He couldn't figure Jiang Yang out, but he didn't want to cause him any trouble.

The flashlight illuminated a path, and Xiong Bingxin followed beside Jiang Yang as their voices faded into the distance.

Xiong Bingxin asked, "Aren't we going to find Xie Lu?"

Nan Ke replied, "Don't worry, the night is Xie Lu's territory."

Above the observation room, for the first time ever.

[Nan Ke] vs. [Xiong Bingxin]

50% vs 50%

A note from the author:

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