Chapter 34 Part 1

Yin Yu loosened her grip, and her long blade clattered to the floor. With an exaggerated “Aiyah!”, she clutched her chest—the tattered clothes nearly slipping right off.

The green Ghost Fire grew fainter, dissipating like countless fireflies at sunrise. As the train rolled into a brilliant, golden new autumn, all the eerie strangeness was masked by a lively, bustling clamor.

Zhu Ming picked up the fallen Red Ride Permit and the long blade, looking at the barefoot woman. “Why didn’t you use your Supernatural Ability?”

If Yin Yu’s ability was highly offensive, exorcising the Ghost Fire Man would have been much easier.

Yin Yu tugged at her collar, smiling. “Tell you now? That would just let you prepare a defense.”

Zhu Ming: “…” She strongly suspected no woman in the world was more sly and shameless than Yin Yu.

Zhu Ming walked over to Yin Yu and reached for her sleeve. Yin Yu cooperatively loosened her arms, teasing, “In front of everyone? That’s not very proper, is it.”

But Zhu Ming ignored her flirtation. She pulled the two tattered shirt sleeves tight across Yin Yu’s horrifically injured back, tying them firmly. The once simple white shirt-dress transformed into a deep-V, backless bandeau dress.

She said, “The clothes are still wearable. Don’t come to me for Food Ticket compensation. If you want new ones, be my guest.”

After dealing with Yin Yu’s clothes, Zhu Ming prepared to leave. Straddling the window, she looked back. Her black outfit, full of holes, was no more presentable than Yin Yu’s.

But bathed in the light, in the sunshine as bright and sweet as golden-orange syrup, she was as dazzling as a black gemstone threaded with gold. Zhu Ming said, “Go back to your Carriage No. 60. Be ready to open the window for me whenever I need it. Otherwise, I won’t trust you a second time.”

With that, Zhu Ming climbed out of the carriage and returned to Car 1. Wenren Tu saw that she had come back even more ragged than before and flew into a rage, ready to charge out and tear Yin Yu apart. “It was her again, wasn’t it! I saw you two running around on the roof earlier!”

Zhu Ming slapped her on the back. “Give it a rest. Would you even dare to run on top of this train?”

Wenren Tu: “…” Well, she didn’t quite dare, no.

Getting back to business, Zhu Ming displayed the two Red Ride Permits she had acquired. They cleared out a four-seat section, though the “passengers” in the other seats were growing restless.

Zhu Ming kept one permit for herself and gave the other to Wenren Tu. Once night fell and the forward door opened, they could move into the compartment.

“Didn’t you say those two couldn’t tell their own sister apart? How did you do it? You didn’t just off them both, did you?” Wenren Tu asked, curious.

Stretching out over two seats, Zhu Ming rested with her eyes closed. “I’m not that unreasonable. It went like this…” She gave a brief explanation.

Before long, Blondie came over to ask if Car 1 had any results. When it was summer, he saw Carriage No. 37 had none, so he went to Carriage No. 33 first.

He had come at just the right time. Wenren Tu told him the method for distinguishing fake participants and had him go car by car to notify everyone. There might still be other fake participants out there—after all, not every carriage happened to have a participant present on the second day.

Learning that Car 1 had already obtained the Red Ride Permit, Blondie looked delighted. The train could finally stop! He hurried back to tell the others. When he was done, he returned to Car 1, saying he wanted to see with his own eyes how everyone would do it.

A golden autumn passed quickly. At nightfall, Zhu Ming was nudged awake.

On the eighth minute of night, the carriage door opened. The seven people squeezed into the compartment. On the massive iron door ahead was a small screen that read: Please Insert Red Ride Permit.

Zhu Ming didn’t hesitate. She inserted the Red Ride Permit into the card slot below the small screen.

Weng—

The permit was swallowed. The entire heavy iron door emitted a humming sound. The small screen happily exploded in electronic fireworks, simultaneously playing the cheerful victory tune of a completed game. The door slowly swung open—the true interior of the train’s head was finally revealed to everyone!

The crowd stirred with excitement. Even Sister Jia, who had always kept her distance from the others, broke into a smile.

This was a simple cockpit, somewhat at odds with the train’s exterior. At the front was a control console with an electronic display screen. Below the screen was a red button of unknown purpose. In the center of the cockpit sat a wide, comfortable swivel chair. A man was leisurely resting his legs on the console. Beside him was a familiar little pushcart.

The Border Collie shopkeeper was sprawled on the floor, napping lazily. Everything seemed so calm and peaceful.

A round of applause sounded. The chair swiveled one hundred and eighty degrees. A young, handsome man in a meticulously neat Zhongshan suit, a flat cap tilted on his head, looked at the crowd with approval. “And here you are at the cockpit on only the second day. Not bad at all.”

This ultimate-boss-looking figure put everyone on high alert. Did they have to defeat a major villain to complete the task? Wenren Tu stepped forward and demanded, unceremoniously, “You’re the driver? Stop the train!”

The man shook his head. “I am the Train Master, but that doesn’t mean I can control its movement. Some things can never be changed.” With that, a look of amused anticipation crossed his face. “Since you’ve come in, why not try controlling the train yourselves?”

Seizing the moment when he was distracted, Miss Legs dashed to the control console at the front. She looked down, her expression changing instantly, and then ran back just as quickly.

“The screen is a monitor. In the middle is the route map,” she said. “There are two words on the button: Accelerate.”

The Train Master shrugged. “Everyone, no need to be afraid. I am a civilized man. I’ll allow you to look around freely, as long as you don’t destroy anything. Oh, right… you don’t have the power to destroy anything anyway, hahahaha.”

“Search everywhere,” Wenren Tu and the others spread out, thoroughly checking the small cockpit, especially the control console.

The console’s electronic screen showed surveillance footage of all the carriages. It was daytime now, and almost every carriage was bustling and noisy. In the center of the many surveillance feeds was a circular route map, with four segments of different colors: pink, green, yellow, white—representing spring, summer, autumn, and winter. A small black arrow representing the train was slowly crawling through the white segment, looping endlessly, embarking on the next cycle of the Four Seasons without pause.

There were indeed no other hidden mechanisms here. The only thing anyone could interact with was that red button. But the words on the button made everyone afraid to touch it.

No stop. No instruction to halt the train. Only: Accelerate!

Then what was the point of reaching the cockpit?!

The crowd was plunged into despair, confusion, and distress. For a moment, the air itself seemed heavy and stagnant.

The nighttime was very brief. The train entered its fifth cycle of winter. Outside the window, everything was blanketed in silver, snow falling thickly, the temperature plummeting. Perhaps because the cockpit was open, the two doors connecting Car 1 and the cockpit remained open. The other carriage doors had closed as usual.

Zhu Ming walked over to the Train Master and rapped on his chair, her gaze rather unfriendly.

The Train Master had been watching the monitors the whole time. He knew very well Zhu Ming’s modus operandi. Clearing his throat with a touch of reservation, he said, “You can’t harm me. I have Absolute Defense here. So don’t even think about attacking me.”

He was right. Zhu Ming glowered at him, but the sparks of flame she managed to kindle couldn’t inflict the slightest injury on him. He was like the train itself: unable to be attacked, unable to be destroyed.

The Train Master scooped up his little dog, petting it as he savored the crowd’s despair.

After paying the price of life, they had finally discovered what this train truly harvested. After racking their brains and going through countless hardships to get the Red Permit and open the cockpit, thinking they could finally stop this pressing, relentless train… they found the end was still far away!

What could be more delightful than this moment? The Train Master grabbed the dog’s paws to play a handshake game. His smile was brilliant. Good, the reactions were great. It wasn’t wasted effort, designing this little prank.

Humming the background music of a certain plumber, he was suddenly grabbed by the collar and thrown off the chair.

Train Master: “…?”

He turned his head to see Zhu Ming brazenly occupying his seat.

The Train Master was both amused and annoyed. “You think stealing my chair lets you control this train? Don’t be naive.”

Zhu Ming crossed her legs, saying with contempt, “You’re the naive one. I just simply don’t like it when others sit higher than me.”

The Train Master was speechless. Of course, with Absolute Defense, he feared no attack from anyone. Hmph… but Zhu Ming wasn’t attacking him. She just picked him up and tossed him aside like an object. Fine. Be arrogant. Be rampant. At the end of the day, weren’t you still helpless, about to offer up your lifespan?

Zhu Ming swiveled the chair to face the console. Not only were the others at a loss, but she didn’t have a clue either. She had sensed earlier that opening the cockpit wouldn’t resolve things easily. Even if they stopped the train, it would only be damage control. The losses had already occurred.

Wenren Tu pinched her fingertips, quietly testing if she could use her electricity to destroy the train. It was no use. She placed her finger on the red button but couldn’t bring herself to press it.

“Those two words might be fake,” Sister Jia said, “but I don’t recommend taking the risk.”

Wenren Tu said, “I know. I was just probing the driver’s reaction. Zhu Ming, look! Is the Train Master reacting at all?”

Zhu Ming gave a dry laugh. “I wasn’t watching him.”

Wenren Tu sighed and withdrew her hand. Aside from this Acceleration Button, the entire cockpit had no other controls. If pressing it actually accelerated the train, their lifespan would be drained even faster. The one who pressed it would become a sinner to all participants.

But if it was a stop button, the words a lie, and they didn’t press it—then they continued to waste their lives for nothing.

Wenren Tu slammed the console in frustration. Then, with a grim face, she walked toward the Border Collie shopkeeper. “Good little darling, I need to buy three ropes.”

The little dog dutifully fetched the goods from its cabinet. Wenren Tu shook out the ropes, and Zhu Ming immediately jumped off the chair and walked over. She knew what she intended. Good. She wanted to do it too.

When it came to mischief, they were always in sync.

Zhu Ming and Wenren Tu advanced on the Train Master with ropes in hand, ill intent in their eyes. For a moment, the Train Master panicked but managed to keep his composure. “What are you trying to do? I warn you, don’t try anything.”