Meng Changyi turned on her flashlight and shone it to the side, only to be startled by what she saw.
The light fell on the pale skin of the person beside her, who wore a hat and a mask. His exposed skin was dry and cracked, resembling bark, with tiny fissures that seemed ready to split open at any moment.
He sat motionless with his eyes tightly shut, resembling a lifeless corpse.
Oh my god, I nearly forgot this person was sitting here. Why is he so white? I thought he was a ghost…
But his posture had not changed at all. It was exactly the same as before.
As others noticed the flashlight, they realized they could use their own phones to provide light.
The entire carriage brightened considerably.
Meng Changyi whispered, "Um, what just happened? Why is everyone so tense?"
The man with glasses looked at her in disbelief.
"You didn't know?"
Meng Changyi smiled awkwardly. "I just woke up. I sleep pretty deeply…"
He rubbed his forehead and began to explain.
"The train suddenly…"
Meanwhile, a few staff members were inspecting with their flashlights.
"Strange, we've checked everything, and there's no sign of any issues…"
"Could it be… that…" One of them wrapped his left hand around his right.
"Oh, right… it's about time. Let's head back." The other staff member said as they packed up their things.
"Okay, just be careful. We don't want to get too close to that thing…"
From the darkness, countless pairs of eerie green eyes stared at their backs, restless and filled with malice and resentment.
"You're back. What's the situation? Where's the problem?"
"Conductor, it's that thing causing trouble. It's here…"
"Oh, I see. It's not even time yet, and they can't wait?"
The conductor glanced out the window, where the blood-red moon seemed even more intense.
"The time's almost up. Go get it. We can start now…"
With a final instruction, the conductor pressed a button.
In an instant, the lights in the train car began to flicker on, one by one, their glow slowly spreading through the space. The darkness, like a receding tide, was slowly pushed back, inch by inch.
"Fixed it?!" Someone exclaimed in surprise.
The man lightly patted his chest, letting out a sigh of relief, his face showing relief as he turned to the attendant.
"Ah, finally! I was so worried we'd be stuck in the dark!"
The young mother gently patted her child's back, speaking in a soft, soothing voice,
"Jiajia, it's okay, the lights are back on… Mommy's here…"
The elderly man smiled in relief, nodding as he replied,
"Yes, I was a little worried too…"
With that, the elderly man turned his gaze to the window, his expression thoughtful.
The burly man chuckled and scratched his head.
"Yeah, wasn't that nerve-wracking?"
He looked at the lights now bright once more and exhaled deeply. In his dialect, he added,
"Well, thank goodness the lights are back on. I was so nervous!"
"Quiet!" A red figure, like a ghost, reappeared from the door connecting the carriages, slowly scanning the passengers.
"Please show your tickets for inspection!"
He carefully examined the first passenger's ticket and said,
"No problem."
He then moved on to check the next passenger's ticket.
A blue-uniformed attendant came forward with a bundle of black tickets.
"Please, passengers, hold on to your new tickets…" She handed the tickets to those who had been inspected.
"These are the exclusive tickets for this train. Please keep them safe!"
"What happens if we lose them?" someone asked.
The attendant maintained her smile and answered,
"It's alright, you can get a replacement. But I'd advise against it…"
With that, she continued handing out tickets to the other passengers.
"Please keep them safe!"