Sheer terror washed over everyone like a rising tide.
You didn't know what that thing was, or what it looked like.
You didn't know what it wanted to do.
You didn't know if it would stop right in front of you in the next second.
In the darkness, everyone strained their ears, listening to that bizarre footstep approaching step by step.
It felt like waiting for a death sentence.
The sound of shoes treading on the floor was heavy, dragging, and unhurried.
Cold sweat instantly drenched Zhao Weilai's back, and her palms were slick with moisture.
She gripped the Pig-Slaying Knife in her hand, her body tensed like a fully drawn bow.
But she didn't dare move, didn't dare make a sound, and didn't even dare take a deep breath.
She couldn't see a thing.
Click.
The overhead lights suddenly flickered on.
The pale white light illuminated the carriage once more.
Everyone instinctively looked forward, and immediately, a chill rushed from the soles of their feet straight to their heads.
The three passengers in the front row were gone.
The seats were completely empty, save for a black coat dropped on the floor.
Just like the players who had silently vanished outside the doors.
Three living people had vanished into thin air.
There wasn't a trace of blood or any signs of a struggle. They were just gone.
【Player Ewan Campbell has died.】
【Player Felix Müller has died.】
【Player Marco Rossi has died.】
In the carriage, people began to tremble.
If they weren't terrified of their own heads exploding like watermelons, someone would have screamed out loud long ago.
Zhao Weilai's face was grim.
The lights had only been out for a brief three seconds, yet three living people were just gone.
Her 【Butcher's Touch】 skill was active, yet she couldn't even perceive the opponent's outline.
The Corpse Oil Candle in her hand cast a tiny, pea-sized glow, its green flame flickering eerily. Zhao Weilai could only see a pair of massive feet standing in the front three rows of the carriage.
“Don't make a sound. That thing... it's still in the carriage.”
Zhao Weilai lowered her voice, speaking rapidly, “Everyone sit still and don't move. Don't look around.”
The others grew even more terrified.
As soon as she finished speaking, the lights went out again.
Darkness enveloped them once more.
Those footsteps started up again.
“Thud... Thud...”
It was even closer than before.
The carriage was dead silent, save for suppressed whimpering and the chattering of teeth.
Everyone covered their mouths tightly, terrified of making the slightest noise and drawing that thing's attention.
What was the rule?
Why was it killing indiscriminately?!
Kim Myung covered his mouth, his face as white as paper.
Park So-na bit down hard on her wrist, not daring to make a sound.
Zhao Weilai's mind was in chaos. She forced herself to repeatedly recall the clues of this entire Instance:
It couldn't go on like this.
Every time the lights flickered, players died.
If this happened a few more times, everyone in the carriage would die.
There was no unsolvable dead end in an Instance.
There had to be a rule, some crucial piece of information she had overlooked.
The train... passengers... boarding...
What do you do when you board a train?
Information she had previously read about the Route 404 Yin-Yang Bus flashed through her mind—
There was a drunk passenger who hadn't entered the Instance from start to finish. The reason was that he didn't have a ticket and wasn't recognized as a 【Passenger】.
In the end, that person had safely left the Instance, showing no signs of becoming a player.
A ticket.
It was the ticket!
Zhao Weilai quickly checked her training uniform pockets. Sure enough, in a corner, she felt something thin, crumpled, and definitely not hers.
By the light of the candle, she saw it clearly.
It was an old, stiff paper ticket, yellowed and brittle, printed with elaborate cursive English letters.
And in the destination column at the very bottom, a word was written in dark red ink:
Hell.
Hell.
The ticket for the death train.
This was it!
“Find your tickets!”
Zhao Weilai immediately lowered her voice, urging the others, “Quick, look! Check your bodies, your bags! See if you have an old ticket that appeared out of nowhere!
Everyone should have one! That thing is a ticket conductor! Anyone without a ticket will be taken away! Hurry!”
In her haste, she even forgot to switch to English.
Fortunately, the others saw her pull the ticket from her pocket and immediately began rummaging through their own pockets in a panic.
Clatter...
Mu Xiao dumped the contents of her canvas bag onto the seat all at once—textbooks, brushes, her wallet, lipstick...
Finally, between the pages of her fashion design sketches, she felt that stiff, old ticket.
She immediately clutched the ticket in her palm, sweat dripping from the tip of her nose.
Father Koleva opened his Bible and found his ticket tucked between the pages of the Old Testament.
Margaret found her ticket in her wallet. She immediately pressed it to her chest, thanking God repeatedly.
Kim Myung found his ticket in the inner pocket of his windbreaker.
Park So-na found hers in the side pocket of her camera bag.
Only Ravi, the Indian man, searched every pocket on his body—his jeans pockets, shirt pocket, wallet, laptop bag, and even his socks—but found nothing.
His face instantly went as pale as a corpse.
“I don't have one... I can't find it...”
He slowly turned his head, his eyes filled with despair. “Where is my ticket? Why am I the only one who doesn't have one?!”
In the next second, the overhead lights began to flicker wildly.
The buzzing of the electric current was incredibly grating. The next wave of darkness was coming.
The invisible conductor had already reached the middle of the carriage, less than five meters away from them.
The bone-chilling cold spread over, making even their breath feel like ice shards.
In that instant, despair completely demolished Ravi's sanity and morality.
He whipped his head around, his bloodshot eyes locking onto Margaret beside him.
Before anyone could react, he lunged forward, reaching out to snatch the ticket from Margaret's hand!
“Give it to me! Give me the ticket! I don't want to die!”
He shrieked, his voice cracking as if he had gone completely mad. “Give it to me!”
“Oh, God!”
Margaret screamed in terror, pulling back and holding onto the ticket for dear life.
Zhao Weilai reacted instantly. She stood up, grabbed Ravi's arm in a vice grip, and violently yanked him back.
“Stop!”
The priest beside them spoke in a harsh, angry tone:
“Stealing another's chance at life is a grave sin! The Lord will not forgive you!”
“I don't care about sin! I just want to live!”
Ravi struggled like a madman, flailing his arms and legs to claw forward, but Zhao Weilai held him fast, preventing him from moving:
“Please, I beg you, I don't want to die! Give me the ticket! Look, look at my twin daughters! They're so young, so beautiful. They can't lose their father!”
He tried to pull out a photo to beg the others, but no one offered their ticket.
Kim Myung even frowned and cursed, “Shibal, crazy bastard,” but he didn't step forward to help.
Everyone should have a ticket. Why was Ravi an exception?
Zhao Weilai's gaze swept over the floor ahead. Earlier, Ravi had dropped a tuna sandwich.
The bread had been crushed to pieces, and the mashed fish was smeared messily on the floor.
And right next to that pile of crumbs lay a crumpled, old ticket.
Those massive feet were less than two meters away from them.
The passengers in front of them were silent as cicadas in winter, tears streaming down their faces.
Zhao Weilai shoved Ravi aside and reached out with her foot, hooking the edge of the ticket with her toe to drag it back—
Just then, the lights abruptly went out.
Ravi cursed loudly in despair and malice, “You are all sinners! You watched me die and did nothing! You will all die! You will die in the most painful way possible—”
Darkness fell completely.
A bone-chilling cold instantly wrapped around Zhao Weilai's entire body.
Her calves felt as cold as if they had been shoved into an ice bucket.
The chill crawled up her training pants, freezing her to the bone.
Then, a cold, putrid breath blew gently against her ear.
It was as if someone had leaned in close beside her and exhaled softly right against her ear:
Cold.
Foul.
Mixed with the scent of old wood and blood.
Out of the corner of her eye, Zhao Weilai saw an extra pair of legs within the candle's glow. Her breath hitched in terror.
The hairs on her entire body stood on end, and the cold sweat on her back instantly soaked through her shirt.
Her instincts screamed a warning; she could feel that thing standing right next to her.
Less than ten centimeters away.
Zhao Weilai didn't dare move.
The Pig-Slaying Knife was in her hand, but she didn't dare slash with it.
Acting rashly would only make her die faster.
Yet even now, she didn't forget to keep hooking the ticket back with her toe.
Bit by bit, she pulled it back with agonizing slowness.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
Every second felt as long as an eternity.
Finally, the footsteps started up again.
“Thud... Thud...”
The thing bypassed her and continued forward.
The heart that had leaped into Zhao Weilai's throat finally settled halfway.
She immediately pulled her foot back, bent down to quickly scoop up the ticket, and threw it with all her might.
Click.
In the next second, the lights came on.
The pale white light illuminated the carriage once more.
Ravi lay on the floor, clutching the crumpled ticket tightly in his hand, his crotch soaked and reeking.
Tears and cold sweat smeared his face, yet he still didn't forget to mumble, “Buddha bless me... Buddha bless me...”
Ravi lay there for a long time before realizing he wasn't dead. He opened his eyes in pleasant surprise, kissing the ticket in his hand repeatedly.
The others were fine, though they looked at the Indian man with complicated expressions.
They had heard his curses loud and clear just moments ago.
At that moment, the oak door between the first and second carriages creaked open slowly.
Those heavy footsteps slowly passed through the gap, heading toward the second carriage.
At that very instant, through the light filtering from the gap in the door, Zhao Weilai saw Weng Yang standing behind the door of the second carriage.
She stood at the coupling, holding a metal baseball bat, looking over with a vigilant expression.
It was Weng Yang!
Zhao Weilai immediately raised the ticket in her hand and waved it vigorously, making sure the other girl could see.
The other girl clearly understood her hint. Her eyes lit up, and she mouthed the words: “Dining car.”
She was clearly suggesting they meet in the dining car.
Before they could say another word, the wooden door slammed shut with a loud clatter.
The carriage fell silent for a few seconds. Then, black ink-like text floated before everyone's eyes:
【First Night Anomaly Event: The Invisible Ticket Conductor】
【Rule Description: Please present your ticket upon boarding. Vagrants who fare evade will be eaten by the conductor.】
【This anomaly settlement is complete. Each surviving player receives +10 survival points.】
【You are temporarily safe. Please enjoy the rest of your journey.】
【We wish you a pleasant trip.】
...
Upon seeing these words, the people in the carriage instantly lost all strength, collapsing into their seats one after another.
The feeling of exhaustion after surviving a disaster washed over them. Several people burst into tears, their weeping sounding increasingly hopeless.
This was only the first night, yet so many people had already died.
Sitting on this train bound straight for Hell, could they really leave alive?
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