Chapter 76: The Empty Train

The night was ink-black, the massive train seemingly swallowed whole by darkness, silently halted on the rails of the wasteland.

Inside the hollow carriages, though the interior lights were on, some dark curtain seemed to block the light, rendering the long corridor an eerie gloom.

As if the entire world had gone dark.

Lin Xian stood frozen, eyes wide with shock; at this moment, he could hear only the sound of his own heartbeat.

Everyone had vanished.

A chilling sensation shot from his soles to the crown of his head; Lin Xian slowly turned his eyes, scanning the surroundings, not daring to move a muscle.

The three people just behind him had vanished as if into thin air; his gaze swept toward the distant cab, where the corridor was pitch black.

There were lights there, but their glow had been mercilessly devoured by darkness—only a faint orange shimmer remained, unable to reach deeper.

Lin Xian turned back, looking toward Carriage 2; far ahead, nothing but blackness.

Cold sweat prickled his spine; he tightened his focus and spoke.

“Chen Laoshi?”

No response.

“Shasha… Daxing?”

Silence.

Lin Xian’s eyes darted wildly; this sudden turn of events left him momentarily stunned.

Huh~

He took a deep breath, steadied himself, suppressed the fear in his chest, and took two steps forward.

Di~~ da-da-da

Suddenly, the sound of a glass marble rolling came from behind; he spun around, and from the darkness of the distant carriage, a delicate glass marble rolled slowly into view.

“Who?!”

Lin Xian shouted, his voice echoing through the carriage.

No reply.

He stepped forward, eyes fixed on the glass marble.

Translucent and gleaming, it bore faint multicolored patterns—like those children play with.

Lights, on!

Lin Xian refused to believe it; he controlled the entire train, and he had definitely turned the lights on!

The overhead lights flickered as if hit by a surge of electricity, brightening slightly—then quickly dimmed again, overwhelmed by the thick darkness.

He reached Carriage 2; Kiki’s computer screen was filled with static, a faint fluorescent glow flickering in the dark.

Lin Xian’s heart tightened; he turned and walked back toward the cab, where large windows offered a clearer view of the outside.

Thump~ thump~ thump

Clear footsteps echoed through the carriage; he quickened his pace, then suddenly stopped.

The corner of his vision caught something.

Something seemed to be floating in the air ahead.

Lin Xian stepped forward, eyes narrowing—he saw dozens of hair-like strands, drifting motionless above the corridor, gently swaying.

Lin Xian frowned, reached out to grab them—then the strands vanished in an instant, as if swept away by wind.

Strange events kept occurring; he pulled out his flashlight, clicked it on—a blinding white beam pierced the darkness, illuminating the mechanical instruments along the train’s central corridor.

Lin Xian hurried through, moving toward the front; the light revealed no one.

He shone the flashlight out the window: outside lay a vast snowy expanse, ahead stretched a long, endless track.

Suddenly, under the flickering light, Lin Xian saw a red figure standing on the rails ahead.

He widened his eyes—yes, a human-shaped shadow stood motionless in the exact center of the track ahead; Lin Xian frowned and shone the flashlight at it—the white beam swept across, revealing nothing.

The shadow vanished again.

Lin Xian felt a creeping unease.

Then, the marble’s sound echoed behind him once more.

Di~~ da-da-da—and this time, it seemed only a few steps away.

A cold breath brushed lightly against the back of Lin Xian’s neck; his face paled instantly, and he slowly turned around.

Pitch black. No one there.

But beneath the shadow of the narrow cab corridor’s light, a small dark silhouette had appeared.

“What the hell?!”

Lin Xian’s body hairs stood on end; he clenched his fist, and a steel blade instantly forged itself in his hand—he gritted his teeth.

I don’t care if you’re human or ghost!

Flash step!

Swish!

Lin Xian bit down hard, stifled by the surreal horror—he said nothing, slashing straight at the shadow.

Scrape!

The blade swept past; a wet slicing sound rang out; Lin Xian’s pupils contracted—he knew he’d struck something, and spun around.

But now, the small figure stepped slowly from shadow into light: a little girl frantically clutched her neck, spurting blood, her face twisted in terror as she stared at Lin Xian.

!

Lou Shasha!

Lin Xian’s face turned ashen; he turned instantly and saw Shasha collapsing to the floor, blood gushing in torrents.

“Sha…”

He opened his mouth, his heart jolted—he suddenly sensed something, and whirled around.

Behind him stood a red-clad female ghost!

Beneath black hair, a grotesque, rotting human face grinned at him, barely half an inch away.

Hiss!

Lin Xian gasped, recoiling instinctively; he raised his left index finger, ready to unleash Wind Spear.

Boom!

But in the next instant, his left index finger exploded from the nail bed—bone snapped upward, flesh tore away, leaving only a strip of skin still attached.

“Ugh!!”

Lin Xian gritted his teeth, horrified at his own hand; when he looked up again, the red-clad ghost had vanished before his eyes.

In the distance, Carriage 2, the red ghost stood unnaturally still.

Thump-thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump!

His heart pounded violently; adrenaline surged through him, pain and terror now flooding his body.

The horrifying scene relentlessly battered his mental defenses.

Hiss!

Lin Xian stared in horror at his exploded finger, then turned back to the shadow where the small body lay, the blood pooling around it—his mind reeled.

Had he killed Lou Shasha?!

“Shasha?!”

Lin Xian clutched his finger, called out tentatively—no answer.

He couldn’t believe what he saw; he stepped forward—when from the shadow behind the frail, still-bleeding body, a pale ghostly hand slowly extended, gripping Shasha’s foot and yanking hard!

Splash!

It dragged Shasha’s corpse straight into the darkness.

Leaving behind a trail of vivid red blood.

Lin Xian’s scalp prickled; he kept mentally screaming for calm, but overwhelming fear was rapidly devouring his reason.

Armor, Icebreaker Shield—he’d worked so hard, yet nothing had stopped this; in this moment, endless despair erupted wildly from his heart.

The searing pain in his finger drenched him in cold sweat, eroding his last shred of sanity.

“Something’s wrong, something’s wrong!”

Radio 1542, mysterious disappearance, supernatural phenomena, red-clad ghost…

Jiang Yun’s words echoed in his ears:

“But… be careful—this thing doesn’t just pick up sounds people make…”

“What exactly is wrong?”

Huh…

A cold breeze stirred inside the carriage; the lights dimmed further.

Lin Xian turned to face the ghost in Carriage 2; as the light faded, the ghost seemed to draw nearer.

New author seeking follows and monthly votes.

After launch on December 1st, I’ll post explosive updates—don’t save this novel; jump straight to the last chapter when a new one drops.

(End of Chapter)