In the shadowy crevice, an open corner reeks of ammonia, with a faint hint of blood lingering in the air. The eerie green glow of ghostly candles lights up three sneaky figures.
At this moment, a muscle-bound man, drenched and still smelling faintly of sewage, raises his right hand.
"Question!"
"Why did we come to the women's restroom instead of the men's?"
Zhao Yi glanced at him and nodded:
"Good question."
"Don't ask again."
Under Wen Ling's awkward gaze, Zhao Yi took out a textbook and placed it in front of them.
"I got this clue in the sixth carriage."
He read the four lines to them:
"The control room has the latest morning paper and a map."
"The train needs diesel to start."
"Do not go to the cockpit."
"It will always be watching you!"
These brief sentences gave them a sense of eeriness.
"Strange..."
"Why mention starting the train?"
Wen Ling frowned.
"Isn't our goal to resolve the grudges within the train?"
"Could it be a diversion by the system?"
Zhao Yi remained silent. He spread out the newspaper, illuminated by the light of the ghost candles.
The newspaper recorded fourteen days of events that happened in Moyer Village.
In July of a certain year, they had routinely repaired the station facilities and train parts due to wear and tear, preparing for the village children to return to Guxuan Town for school after the holidays. However, before school started, a terrifying disaster struck!
A sudden black storm swept through Moyer Village, and the next day, monsters appeared everywhere!
They were brutal and bloodthirsty, of strange shapes, always emerging from an inexplicable black fog, lurking in the shadows. Those dragged into the black fog would be assimilated into terrifying monsters like them!
By the time the news reached the people, the riot had already become quite severe.
Fortunately, their station had three trains, which could carry most people without vehicles away from Moyer Village to Guxuan Town!
Both the morning paper and electronic news gathered most of the villagers, who rushed to the station, hoping to take this last train out of the dreadful place!
"It turns out there were originally three trains at the station, but now only this one remains."
"This means two trains safely reached Guxuan Town."
"And this one encountered an accident."
Wen Ling analyzed seriously.
A rather futile analysis.
Zhao Yi thought of Sun Baibai, who also left on this last train from Moyer Village!
Although that train successfully escaped from Moyer Village, it eventually met with an accident!
As everyone fell silent, a shadow drifted into the women's restroom.
The three turned their heads slowly to look at her.
It was a cleaning lady.
Of course, she was no longer human.
Seeing two men in the women's restroom, she seemed a bit confused.
Did she enter the wrong place?
Especially one of the muscular men, whose clothes seemed somewhat familiar.
It looked like...
Suddenly, she paused.
Turning to run, she heard Zhao Yi laugh behind her:
"Do you see who's sitting next to me?"
"The new head of the security team!"
"Run and see if I don't beat the crap out of you with this baton," said Wen Tong menacingly, raising his police baton for emphasis. His fierce expression, combined with the stench enveloping him, was quite persuasive.
The cleaning lady, her face a picture of decay, approached the trio cautiously and sat down beside them, tears streaming down her face. For a moment, Bai Shuiji actually felt sorry for her. Scared by humans in life, now frightened by them in death as well.
"What can I do for you?" she asked, her voice trembling. As one of the weaker spirits, she dared not offend anyone.
Zhao Yi patted her on the shoulder, causing her to shiver. "Nothing much, just relax," he said. "Our new security team captain here isn't familiar with the situation and has a few questions... Answer them honestly."
The cleaner nodded eagerly, like a pecking chicken.
"What exactly happened in this station?" Zhao Yi asked, pointing to a date on a newspaper. The cleaner glanced at it, then shook violently, her head swaying crazily from side to side.
"I don't know... I don't know... I don't know..."
"I don't know anything..."
"Don't ask me..."
Seeing her reaction, Wen Tong felt they were onto something critical. He brandished his baton threateningly. "Won't talk?"
"Do you want to be beaten until you crap yourself?"
The cleaner clenched her teeth. "Even if you beat me to crap, I can't say!"
She paused, then whispered, "It... It's watching us!"
Hearing this, Wen Tong and Bai Shuiji immediately felt goosebumps. They looked around discreetly.
Nothing.
But that only intensified their fear.
"Who... Who's watching us?" Bai Shuiji swallowed hard.
The cleaner continued to shake her head, clearly unwilling to say more.
Zhao Yi, deep in thought, finally spoke, "Auntie, one last question... Where is the diesel storage room?"
Normally, there should be a large diesel storage area near the tracks, but it wasn't marked on any map.
"The old station had a diesel point, right ahead, but it was demolished for some reason during maintenance..." the cleaner replied. "However, I remember there are a few barrels of diesel in the basement, but the basement manager is quite temperamental. It might be difficult to get diesel from him..."
Zhao Yi nodded, thanked her, and let her go.
"You're just letting her leave?" Wen Tong frowned, believing the cleaner still had value.
But Zhao Yi said, "We've got the basic outline of our mission now."
"Huh?" Both men were confused.
"What basic outline?"
Zhao Yi said, "The resentment within the train comes from passengers who died here previously, and what they want... is to leave this place..."
"To resolve their resentment, we need to start the train."
"To start the train, we need three essential conditions—first, the train conductor must be able to control the locomotive from the driver's cabin."
"Second, we need some diesel."
At this point, Zhao Yi's expression became subtle.
Listening intently, Wen Tong quickly asked, "And the third? What's the third?"
Zhao Yi mysteriously replied, "I can't say."
"If I do... It will know!"
Hearing this, both men felt a chill down their spines.
"So, there really is... something watching us?"
Zhao Yi nodded sharply. "Yes."
"But the good news is... it hasn't fully awakened yet."
"Once it does... all of us are dead!"