Ren Yuanqing in his last moments had definitely given him some truly useful clues.
Whether or not those clues were forced out in pure agony is unknown, but Chu Yi had almost figured out the entire instance with little to no effort.
With this clue, Ren Yuanqing had been confident in his survival and wanted to seek the most benefits, but who knew that he would forfeit his life not at the hands of the grotesque monsters in the instance but at the bloody hands of an incubus.
Ren Yuanqing was the type of experienced Nightmare Shuttler that would fake inexperience in order to lower the vigilance of the other passengers and increase his survival chances. Under this mask, he had definitely taken the lives of no less passengers otherwise, how else would he have instantly made a split second decision to kill Chu Yi, obviously very experienced in the matter.
Chu Yi was never merciful and Ren Yuanqings atrempt to get rid of the witness had triggered Chu Yi's innate bloodthirst. He could hardly remember what happened in that short period of time, only recalling the sound of screams had been too annoying and with a swipe of hands had cut off the wagging tongue.
Gladly, there was no sound after that.
The way to break the instance was to find the only part of the train that hadn't been tainted by time. There was a catch though because that part of the train wasn't actually on the train itself, instead it was the train station. A part of the train that's never been touched because the destination had never been changed.
"In order for us to break the instance we need to get of the train and shut down the station, if not we'll probably die here from either starvation or infighting."
Chu Yi didn't bother to sugarcoat his word, although he was clearly in a better mood, he still retained a subtle air of cruelty about him.
They were all starving but consciously tried to push that feeling down.
Chun Li also realized something, Chu Yi was strangely active. The words he had just said were more than he's said throughout the entire train, it was almost as if....if he was running away from something.
There was no time to dwell over such matters, as behind them came a cackling giggle and the wet squelch of flesh against wood.
They weren't entirely out of danger yet and they had to use every effort to evade the monsters and get back to their rooms. It acted as both a barrier and a shield to the horrors of the train, but with the ever growing strength of the monsters, they couldn't be sure whether the room would hold up.
By the time morning arrived, they were relieved to find out that they all survived the night, except for Even Yuanqing, but no one had the courage to question Chu Yi about it and could only turn a blind eye.
Bai Chuan was the most relieved, even though the deadliest part of the instance was coming up,at least they were on the verge of leaving successfully . No one understood the amount of pressure he was under, it was hard enough to save his life much less another's.
For the first time, since they got on the train, morning light shone through the windows, a golden glow descending on the sleek train.
There were no more rotten wooden floors, nor were there the incessant wails of weeping souls. It was quiet.
But none of them appreciated this silence because it signalled that the time was near.
The air seemed to press heavily on their shoulders, lungs struggling to intake sharp breath air under the rapid beating of their hearts.
No one could guarantee that their choice was right, but no one wanted to gamble anyway.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
There needed no introduction, the missing conductor was here.
With a eerie grin, he passed his gazed on the trembling bunch, eyes resting a tad longer on Chu Yi before finally looking away.
"Its time to refuel the train, the last offering was a little unsatisfactory yet, but It's a relief to know that all of you are so willing to work for the good of the train."
The conductor didn't bother to keep up appearances, it wasn't hard to figure out the working of for train with a little common sense and courage.
So with a snap of his fingers, the sound of the train coming to a screeching halt echoed.
With a radio crackle, the unbecoming system finally made its appearance.
[The train will now stop at the station. You have 30 minutes to prepare. The game that we will play today is Hide and Go seek, you must not be caught by the passengers on the train in a period of 3 hours. If you are caught, you will taken away by the conductor. The remaining shuttlers will be awarded with a days food. If all the passengers are caught, only one lucky survivor would be selected to pass the instance. Your time begins now.]
The conductor smiled at them,adding to the already heavy atmosphere.
"I'd suggest you run as fast as you can. Being caught by me, is no less gruesome than being caught by monsters."
They immediately understood, they had 30 minutes to find the exit to the train and get off at the station, otherwise they would immediately be ripped apart and devoured by the dead passengers.
Their hearts beat rapidly , even the fresh air of the train seemed to burn as it made it's way to their lungs.
This was now life and death .
They immediately set off running, Chun Li who had memorized the map tacitly leading the group in the front, before them appeared a transparent screen just like the one at the start of the instance.
[28:36:18]
They started searching each carfrantically, for something ,anything that they could use as a exit.
The time kept running down and adding to the tension, the clock above their heads let out periodic ticks to remind them that, time was running out and their death was nearing.
"AHHHH-"
Behind them came Bai Chuans agonized screams, from nowhere a tentacle had wrapped around his legs, trying to drag him away. Zhong Feng immediately grabbed into his arms and with ungodly strenght, ripped Bai Chuan away from the tentacle.
A bloody ring of burnt flesh appeared on his leg and he stifled grimaces of pain, a look of agony in his eyes
There was no time to stop though and Bai Chuan could only stagger along while enduring the pain.
Although the passengers had still not been released, the threat of tentacles and their own shadows still haunted them.
The tension was almost tangible, and their heavy breathing echoed in the corridors. They slammed open door after door, passing through the bedrooms, the dining carts, even the fuel chamber that was very different during the day, and still nothing. At this point despair was starting to leak into their eyes and Zhong Fengs hands had stated slowing as he pondered whether it would be good to give up and start hiding.
Just then, Chu Yi spoke up,
" Theres a hidden compartment in the train below, we can check there."
Why did he wait until the moment everyone was about to give up, to tell this information they dint know. But regardless of this suspicion it was only thing they could go off of.
[15:00:57 ].
Sprinting, they followed Chu Yis direction to a hidden door in the very corner of the train and with a yank, they pulled it open to reveal a dark, narrow staircase.
Then came the screams, accompanying the sound of their feet thumping down the staircase, came a cacophony of shrill screams and howls. Like they were stranded in a horde of evil spirits, their hatred and resentment filled eyes stared at them hungrily.
The screams seem to have an hypnotic effect, their feet slowly stopping as they stood in s trance, eyes turning red with craze. Hands unconsciously reaching towards their own necks
Suddenly , there was bright red glow, in the pocket of Chu Yi who had also been put into a trance, the bloody doll let interrupted him, the smell of metallic blood emanating out of its wooden figure .
With a start, Chu Yi jerked out of his trance. Once it registered in his mind, his ruby eyes showed brightly in interest.
Zhong Feng was next, a string of beads about his neck breaking into pieces.
The rest woke up one by one, different life saving props lighting up consecutively.
The time wasn't long only a few minutes at most but this was fatal to the group
[10:00:43]
There was only ten minutes left. Bai Chuan felt the bile rising in his mouth, nauseous with nervousness as his arms strained against Zhan Xi's weight on his back.
Turning the last corner, they finally opened to the hidden compartment Chu Yi was familiar with.
The rusty doors hadn't changed with the reverting of the train and this was already good indication to the already on the verge of collapse shuttlers.
[8:27:45]
8 minutes.
They flung open door after door open, the disappointment and despair creeping up each time they opened to an empty door.
Finally, when they were on their last vestiges of hope, a door opened but instead of the familiar empty, decay-ridden room, there was only empty space leading out to a platform.
They had found the exit.
Relief flooded their tense bodies, euphoria coursing through their veins. They hadn't made the wrong choice.
No one spoke as they revelled in this moment.
They were out.
Bai Chuan took the first ecstatic step towards freedom,
"Zhan Xi - were finally out."
"Yes baby, were out."
Bai Chuan froze, foot still hanging halfway off the train, absolute horror filling his face.
The voice by his ear wasn't the sweet,nasally voice of Zhan Xi. It was a kind of shrill, freezing wail of the undead.
Bai Chuan felt his heart drop slowly into his stomach, he didn't need to think anymore.
Zhan Xi was definitely dead, taken over by her own shadows while still lying on her lovers back. She could only watch helplessly as she died, too weak to even let out a painful groan.
Her last warning was her last words and an though he didn't know how she figured it out, maybe it was just her last moment of clarity before her death.She was dead and the thought left him reeling in grief.
The misfortune wasn't done yet because right in front of the open door, crowds of dead passengers suddenly appeared,
[4:37: 12]
They let out greedy howls, saliva dripping along with their flesh and blood. It was the same passengers that had been dancing in the ball,but right now they weren't restricted by anything, only waiting, anticipating as the timer went down.
4 minutes to death.