Chapter 78.1 Crimson Sunset Expedition
It took an unusually long time for the instance to load. Wen Shi felt like he had been adrift in the darkness for quite a while. At this moment, he truly wished to hear a beep from the game, as proof that he was still alive.
The system’s prompt sound fulfilled this wish.
“Notice: Bugs were detected in the data in this instance. Temporary fixes were applied.”
“The repair is nearly done, reloading in progress…”
Fixing errors before the game even starts playing. What a shady game. I seriously question your skills.
Regrettably, Wen Shi could only bottle up that statement within himself. He slipped into unconsciousness, not even sensing the darkness.
“We’ve arrived.”
Time had slipped away unnoticed when Wen Shi finally caught the first words after gaining awareness. The radio’s voice drifted in and out, “Today is September fourth, Sunday. Cloudy skies with temperatures ranging from seventeen to twenty-one degrees Celsius. There’s a possibility of light rain around noon. Remember your umbrella if you’re heading out…”
Along with the weather forecast, came a questioning voice, “The old train station hasn’t been in use for a long time. Why did you come here?”
Wen Shi exerted some effort and managed to lift his eyelids. The taxi driver’s face reflected in his pupils. The seatbelt was uncomfortably tight, and while undoing it, a wallet slipped out of his pocket.
The aftereffects of this teleportation were unusually strong. Wen Shi saw everything with a double image. He squinted and let the driver help himself to money from the wallet, while also answering the driver’s earlier question, “I’m an adventure streamer. I specifically go to places with scary rumors.”
Upon hearing this, the driver mumbled something to himself.
Sensing an opportunity, Wen Shi continued, “Do you know anything? I happen to need an attention-grabbing headline.”
Many taxi drivers are chatty, and this one was no different. He unconsciously lowered his voice as he replied, “I’ve heard that several people have gone missing in this area. And once living people go in, they lose their shadows.”
“Lose their shadows?”
“Strange tales are common in the city. It’s probably just a rumor gone wild.” The driver didn’t put much faith in these stories, or else he wouldn’t have taken this fare.
He discreetly pressed the meter, implying that Wen Shi should get out now and not disrupt his business.
The car had started moving, but the driver couldn’t ignore his conscience and returned to say, “Go back early, don’t worry your parents.”
Dealing with these troublesome delinquents was quite a dilemma.
Wen Shi paused. Everything he looked at now seemed fuzzy. After tapping his head to clear it a bit, he began to search his pockets. Besides the wallet, he found a phone in his pants pocket.
It was now 4:24 in the afternoon.
Wen Shi opened the camera function and saw a slightly youthful face. The teenager had a neat short haircut, sported a tracksuit, had bright eyes, stood tall, and exuded the energy of youth that couldn’t be mimicked in adulthood.
Apart from that, his sleeves were hastily rolled up, the zipper of his jacket was only halfway up, and an exaggerated tattoo sticker adorned his neck, giving him the typical appearance of a delinquent teenager.
“What the hell?”
Clearly, this wasn’t a rewind journey. There was no memory loss this time, and he had never been to a place like this during his teenage years.
Going back to his youth would have been okay, but it just had to be this exact moment.
“Are you kidding me?”
His father was quite formidable, yet he had never allowed him to seek revenge, always claiming it wasn’t the right time. On the other hand, he guided him to do good deeds. Several years had passed, but Wen Shi’s suppressed emotions hadn’t eased. He went through a brief period of rebellion.
It was not an exaggeration to say that his teenage self during this period was enough to annoy even a dog.
The sun beat down on the earth from above, and a gust of hot wind blew in, a stark contrast to the weather forecast.
Wen Shi didn’t want to ponder any further. Right now, he simply wanted to find a spot of shade.
Looking around, the main entrance of the train station was right ahead. It was run-down and had even been splashed with red paint.
Wen Shi checked his wallet. There were only two things inside: loose change and his ID card.
The instance instructions had mentioned precautions for boarding a train. With no clues at the moment, he’d need at least a ticket if he wanted to get on a train. Despite the driver’s mention of the station being abandoned, Wen Shi headed towards the ticket office, ready to assess the situation.
The lock on the train station gate seemed almost ornamental, hanging there without purpose.
Touching the lock, which felt scalding, Wen Shi frowned. He was sure no other player had entered here before him, otherwise, the lock wouldn’t be hanging outside like this.
The moment he pushed the door open, a wave of heat rolled out. Even during the daytime, lights were on inside, making it unusually bright. The tiled floor was covered in thick dust, giving a gritty sensation underfoot. It was hard to tell when it had been cleaned last. The automatic ticket machines on both sides were all marked “Under Maintenance.”
Four manned windows were directly in front of him, with people lined up at all except the leftmost one.
Wen Shi hesitated for a moment and then decided to give it a try. He headed straight in that direction, handing over his ID card. “Picking up a ticket.”
“Please wait a moment.”
In the short time he waited, suddenly all the customers at the other windows turned around. They moved in succession behind Wen Shi, forming a queue again.
Once their queue was organized, his ID card, along with the train ticket, was promptly passed through the window.
“Here’s your ticket.”
“Thanks.”
Wen Shi’s fingers barely touched the edge of the train ticket when a pallid arm shot out from inside, grabbing his wrist forcefully. Through the small window, the ticket seller thrust her head out, revealing a monstrous grin. “Sir, please leave a positive review for my service.”
The service review device had long been phased out, and there wasn’t even one at the window.
The ticket seller, however, was fixated on this point. “Sir, a good review.”
Seeing Wen Shi hesitate, she tightened her grip on his wrist. The pale skin was already marked with dark bruises.
As if things weren’t chaotic enough, someone behind Wen Shi patted his shoulder. A cold sensation ran down his neck, spreading towards his spine.
“Young man, hurry up,” a hoarse voice urged.
“I’m doing that right now…” Wen Shi’s smile was even brighter than the ticket seller’s.
He fished out his phone from his pocket and, in the next moment, forcefully smashed it against the ticket seller’s wrist. Wincing in pain, she retracted her hand slightly. Wen Shi seized the opportunity to snatch his ID card and ticket. He turned around and kicked the most vulnerable spot of the person behind him.
“Aaw—” A horrific scream echoed through the empty hall.
He was thankful for reverting to his teenage self, not being too tall at this point, which made it easy to kick below the waist.
Wen Shi pretended as if he would attack others, but his forceful kick had caused the monster to evade slightly. After a fake move, Wen Shi dashed outward abruptly.
About five or six people behind him realized and pursued him relentlessly.
There was no ticket check at the entrance. Skipping past the turnstiles, Wen Shi sprinted furiously. Finally entering the station premises, his pace gradually slowed.
The supposedly abandoned place wasn’t as desolate as imagined. The area inside and outside were like two different worlds. The moment Wen Shi stepped in, the entire train station was bustling. Seats meant for waiting were occupied by passengers, and some lay on the ground as if sleeping. However, none of them had any luggage. As Wen Shi appeared, all these people turned to look at him instinctively.
Wen Shi particularly noticed those who were sleeping on the floor. Sunlight streamed in through the glass, casting shadows of bedding but no actual people.
What was even more eerie, since he entered the train station, his own shadow was gradually fading.
The LED display scrolled only two lines of special trains: K6666, K9999.
The departure station was the same for both, and the departure time was the same: 4:44.
Wen Shi had only twelve minutes left.
He couldn’t afford any delay. He had to take the elevator to the upper waiting hall. Despite being surrounded by suspicious individuals, he could only walk ahead with his head down.
None of the players who descended with him were in sight. They were supposedly a tour group, but there was no sight of a guide waving a little flag.
Thinking about this, Wen Shi furrowed his brows in impatience and said to the people blocking the elevator entrance, “Move aside.”
The person in front didn’t move their body. Instead, they twisted their head a full 180 degrees and grinned, “Hee-hee-hee.”
Smack.
The middle-aged man who had been behind Wen Shi at the ticket hall suddenly reappeared. He stood behind him once again, incessantly patting Wen Shi’s shoulder. Gradually, the hand that was initially on his shoulder moved up toward his neck, while the other hand positioned itself near Wen Shi’s ear, as if attempting to snap his neck in one swift motion. People sitting on stainless steel benches around them also rose and converged toward Wen Shi, forming a circle around him.
“Stay here,” the monstrous team urged repeatedly.
“Stay here with us, forever.”
With no way to break free except through violence, Wen Shi expressionlessly pulled out a weapon from his backpack.
This was something his parallel world self had the game shipped to him. Using it didn’t require points, and there weren’t many restrictions, except for a single prompt:【When you use it, the higher your strength, the lower your rationality.】
His skills were locked upon entering the station. Wen Shi had no other choice but to rely on this weapon to escape.
Though the game was a dog, it was fair to all, regardless of age. Recommended target object might lead to unexpected consequences, but at present, his chance at survival relied on the weapon brought by his parallel world self.
Gripping the weapon tightly, a chill ran up Wen Shi’s spine. He shook his head forcefully, although his rationality was somewhat shrouded, his primal instinct for attack took over, becoming his primary consciousness.
The system sent another prompt:
“Note: You are using a killing weapon that does not belong to you.”
“I’ll say it just once.” Wen Shi didn’t want to fight either. Raising his hand, he slightly lowered his head and warned, “Let’s take a step back. You’re good, I’m good, everyone’s good.”
Instead of stepping back, the people around him moved closer. Strange giggles came from all sides, repeating the same two words: “Stay here.”
“Very well.” A curve formed at the corner of Wen Shi’s mouth. He changed his mind. Now, he just wanted to draw blood.
With the speed of a gust of wind, he turned around, the weapon carving a perfect arc. Dark and viscous blood sprayed on his face. The sensation of blood triggered an exhilaration in Wen Shi. An uncontrollable thought emerged in his mind: he finally understood the joy of his “lunatic brother-in-law.”
Wen Shi didn’t notice that his gradually fading shadow was gradually detaching itself, moving toward the window. Finally, it evaporated in the sunlight. Quietly, inside the waiting hall, another figure appeared.
The lingering spirits of all those stranded in the station aimed to prevent anyone from accessing the platform. As soon as that figure appeared, monsters immediately converged around him.
Though Wen Shi had at least attempted to suppress his lust for killing, the figure his shadow transformed into hadn’t. Without speaking a word, he was the one who initiated the assault.
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