Since she couldn't find them, staying on the platform any longer was pointless and might even cause her to miss the train's departure.
Bai Ci turned and walked quickly back toward Carriage One.
The attendant standing by the train door still maintained his standard smile. When he saw her approaching, his expression was almost identical to the first time she had seen him.
He stepped aside slightly to let her pass, his tone respectful. “Miss, the train is about to depart. Please board as quickly as possible.”
Bai Ci nodded in response and stepped into the carriage.
Upon returning to Carriage One, she found Violita already back. He was holding a thin telegram in his hand, his expression solemn.
Marg was still guarding his side, his gaze scanning the carriage doorway from time to time as if on guard against something.
Hearing the sound of Bai Ci entering, Marg only raised his eyes slightly. Once he confirmed it was her, he withdrew his gaze, though his tense expression did not ease in the slightest.
This time, she was the one cutting it close.
Just as she sat down in her seat, a long whistle sounded. The train slowly started moving, and the wheels rolled over the tracks, making a rhythmic clanking sound.
As the train set off, Bai Ci put on a look of perfect confusion and concern, asking, “Mr. Violita, you don't look very well. Has something happened?”
Violita looked up and, without keeping secrets, generously handed the telegram in his hand to Bai Ci.
He coughed lightly twice, calmed his breathing, and then slowly explained, “Miss Lora, do you remember the things we discussed in the dining car earlier?”
“Out of caution, I sent a telegram to have someone check the schedule records for this run of the Mary. I just received a reply, and the results are somewhat unexpected.”
With Violita's permission, Bai Ci unfolded the telegram to read while continuing to listen to his explanation.
She scanned the information on the telegram rapidly, grasping the general idea.
Just as Violita had said, this was the schedule record of the Mary. However, it wasn't just for their current trip; it also included the schedule information for several previous runs.
When compared horizontally like this, the discrepancy became clear.
“That dining car attendant with the terrible attitude is actually Vigi, the deputy trainmaster who used to be very famous on this railway line.”
Bai Ci wore a look of surprise. Remembering her surroundings, she kept her voice very low, even guiltily glancing left and right to ensure that none of the other train attendants were present.
“To go from deputy trainmaster to an insignificant dining car attendant makes no sense at all. But if that's the case, it seems understandable why he had that attitude.”
“Yes, it is indeed illogical.” Influenced by her, Violita lowered his voice as well, giving off a sneaky, conspiratorial vibe.
“That engineer was a legend in the industry back then. He personally oversaw the construction of this railway through the mountains and forests, overcoming many construction difficulties, though it's a pity he died young.”
“For his descendant to work in the same industry, and for the train he guides to run on the very railway his ancestor helped build, should have been something highly commendable.”
“Furthermore, Mr. Vigi himself is quite capable. By all accounts, he should be highly valued.”
“And the strange things about this train's roster don't stop there.” After a detailed comparison, Bai Ci obtained new information.
Violita had likely noticed it already, but that didn't stop her from pointing it out again to prove her observational skills.
“The entire crew of this train, every single attendant, has an issue.”
“Not one of the attendants on this train appeared in the previous records. It's as if they were temporarily swapped in, and there's absolutely no registration of this change.”
What kind of situation would cause a legitimate steam train to suddenly replace its entire crew with people who had never run this line even once?
Meanwhile, the only person who had actually run this line was placed in the relatively closed-off dining car, completely shut out of the train's operations.
No matter how one looked at it, it was bizarre.
This was no longer just a simple anomaly.
Unlike the others, thanks to her Rain's Message panel, Bai Ci possessed information that was otherwise incredibly difficult to uncover.
Unfortunately, there was currently no logical way for her to share this information.
Combining this with Wisteria's non-human identity and the bizarre phenomenon of the wisteria vines absorbing life force...
The entire crew of the Mary might, like Wisteria, not be human at all, but rather creatures of his same race.
Violita nodded slightly, a hint of helplessness in his tone. “I was thinking the same thing. This train is too abnormal; everything about it screams eerie.”
“Miss Lora, there are many things in this world that scientific logic cannot explain, and they are not things that humans can easily contend with.”
“Therefore, I suggest you get off at the next station. Do not continue riding this train, lest you run into danger. I plan to do the same myself.”
From his tone, it was obvious that Violita was no simple character either. At the very least, he had personally experienced some kind of anomalous event.
Extending that thought, could his physical condition be related to this?
As Bai Ci listened, she calculated rapidly in her mind.
Getting off the train was indeed the safest choice. Staying away from this eerie train would allow her to avoid unknown dangers.
Given the leniency of the Anomalous Infection system, this kind of train-hopping behavior wouldn't have any consequences other than affecting her score.
In fact, many Hedonist players who didn't care about missing a few points here and there often did exactly this in instances where they could normally enjoy the setting.
They stayed away from the main quest and treated the instance as a vacation.
However, she had no intention of doing so.
She was here to complete the instance. At worst, her identity as Lora would die.
Besides, she had also run into Arbiter and Yan Zheng, the two most likely candidates to carry her. She couldn't let this opportunity go to waste.
“What about you then?” Bai Ci spoke up the moment Violita finished speaking, asking with concern and worry.
“Mr. Violita, you should take better care of your body. You shouldn't have boarded this train in the first place once you received that telegram.”
“I'm glad to have this information so I can be mentally prepared and perhaps even take precautions to avoid danger. But if I've dragged you down because of this, I...”
“Wait, Miss Lora, there's no need to blame yourself. This isn't because of you,” Violita quickly interrupted, a rare trace of fluster appearing on his face.
With that, the purpose of Bai Ci's performance was achieved.
As long as emotions were involved, even if there were gaps in her behavioral logic, there would be room to patch them up. This way, her inquiries into Violita's situation wouldn't seem so abrupt.
The sickly softness in Violita's originally gentle brow faded slightly, replaced by a near-blunt frankness.
“You don't have to think of me as someone overly kind, nor do you need to feel like you've dragged me down.”
“My health is indeed poor, but I have never been soft-hearted enough to risk myself for others. To put it bluntly, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call me a bad person.”
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