CH 88

The two men headed in the direction they had walked before towards the location of the train.

The tracks are quiet at the moment and it seems that it will be some time before the train arrives. The clock at the station has stopped and it is impossible to tell the time, but according to the previous timetable, the interval between trains is not more than half an hour.

Anyway, just wait for now.

Neither man spoke, and the only sounds in the silent platform were the dripping of water and their footsteps echoing in the emptiness.

Suddenly, a fresh smell of blood came through.

Xiao Lan looked in the direction of the smell and saw that it was coming from the track, where, in the light of the torch, there was a pool of blood mixed with limbs, with pieces of clothing on them, and blood and flesh spraying out in all directions, staining the surrounding area with spots of blood.

It looks like a scene of a prone suicide.

That was clearly a trail left by a living person, and in this game, the only living people seem to be players. Players would naturally not think of going undercover on their own under normal circumstances, so this person was ...... hit?

While examining the surroundings, Xiao Lan found this section to be very familiar: "This seems to be where we saw the newspaper and the old man in the suit earlier."

Luo nodded, "Well, the place where you see the newspaper is about 2 metres ahead."

The light from the torch turned and sure enough, I saw the seat where I had met the old man earlier.

The newspaper and ticket that had been placed on the seat were gone, as was the meticulously dressed old man.

The spot where the blood appeared was directly in front of where the old man had been sitting before. Xiao Lan walked closer and finally found traces of the ticket, which was almost red with blood, lying silently on the ground, between pieces of broken flesh.

This is what happens when you take away an elderly person's ticket. Xiao Lan felt a little bit of pain in his body when he saw the tragic situation on the ground.

"You ...... mustn't get in the car ......," a voice said from a distance.

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Another one that warns players not to get on board.

Xiao Lan looked up to find a girl in a little red dress, a girl with a soft voice who was timidly hiding behind a pillar looking at them, and by her greenish-white complexion it was clear that this was not a living child either.

Xiao Lan spoke to her, trying to get a bit of information out of her: "Can you tell me why, little one?"

"Because ......" the little girl opened her mouth to say a few words, however, just as the train came into the station, the roar of the wheels against the track swallowing her words.

A few moments later, the train came to a halt and the doors slowly opened, the light from the train shining onto the dark platform, brightening it up a little for a moment.

"Ho-" The little girl's expression, however, became instantly alarmed as she stared backwards in the direction of the train, unable to keep her mouth shut, "Excuse me... . sorry sorry sorry ......"

Then, without waiting for Xiao Lan to ask again, the little girl disappeared from his sight.

Xiao Lan turned his head in confusion and looked at the train.

This time the train was different from the one before, and there was a man dressed in black standing closest to their door. He was a very tall man, wearing a style of black clothing that Xiao Lan had never seen before, a uniform of some kind.

The little girl just now should have seen this man and left in a panic.

The man's eyes swept over the two Xiao Lan's, his eyes rippling with a sullen deadness, as if he were looking at two dead things. He looked at them silently for a moment, then turned his eyes away and walked towards the front of the train.

A few steps later the man's figure vanished into thin air.

Xiao Lan breathed a soft sigh of relief when he saw the man's figure disappear. The moment he had just locked eyes with the man, he had felt a sweaty pressure, his battle instincts telling him that the other man was very dangerous, a stronger sense of danger than when he had faced any of the previous bosses.

"Do you still want to get in the car, sir?" Luo inquired in a low voice.

Xiao Lan looked at the silent, wide open car door, but gritted his teeth and said, "Go on, you'll definitely miss something if you don't."

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After all, this man had not been seen before when they had explored the train, and did his presence announce that something different had happened inside the train at this time?

--

The two men re-entered the train and with a beeping sound the doors closed again and the train left the station.

This time the train was still empty and at first glance seemed no different from before.

Xiao Lan and Luo continue on their way, keeping an eye on their surroundings.

Suddenly Xiao Lan stops and looks to his right.

As the train moved forward, the hoops, which were not suspended from anything, were supposed to swing regularly, but now several of these hoops on the right were swinging irregularly as if someone was pulling them.

Yet neither the naked eye nor the reflection of the glass shows any sign of anyone being here.

Xiao Lan carefully avoids the row of rings and proceeds on the other side of the aisle.

A small mist suddenly appeared on a piece of glass in front of them, as if someone was puffing towards it. Then handwriting appeared in the empty space, a cross, a sketch then more, finally forming the words [Do not leave the station].

The handwriting is clean and looks like it should have come from a woman's hand.

This is interesting, as the ghosts on the platform keep reminding the player not to get on the train, while the ghosts on the train match them in general, reminding the player not to leave the station.

Is this what the prompt means when it says "Come here ...... this way ......"? The player has to choose between the platform and the underground.

As for the price of choosing the wrong one, of course, it's a failed pass.

And thinking about the current options, a death train that has had a major accident and a creepy station in crisis, it doesn't seem like either side looks safe.

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After walking to a new section of the carriage, something sitting on a row of seats in the carriage caught Xiao Lan's eye.

It was a large handful of white chrysanthemums wrapped in white wrapping paper.

Normally white chrysanthemums are only used in the context of tributes to the dead, to pay tribute to the deceased. Next to it there is also a rolled up and then tied with a ribbon, which looks like the material of a newspaper.

Xiao Lan picked up the newspaper and unfolded it to find a newspaper clipping.

"At 23:44 hours on x/x, an underground platform explosion occurred in the city. Three consecutive explosions occurred within 15 minutes and the accident also sparked a fire, killing 344 people and leaving 67 others, including 35 seriously injured, in hospital at press time.

Both the fire and hospital have been involved in the rescue following the accident. The police have now launched an investigation into the cause of the accident."

This report is also accompanied by pictures, right in the middle, of an underground station that has been so badly burned that it is hard to make out the original appearance.

The station turned out to have been involved in an accident too! And the death toll was far higher than the previous news reports of the train accident.

Xiao Lan looked at the newspaper in her hands and felt a few odd moments.

Although there is no year on this clipping, the quality of the paper and the feel of it are relatively new, unlike the yellowed and brittle papers full of age that I had seen on the platform before.

This would be a newspaper not too long ago now, so why would it appear out of the blue in this 80s and 90s style setting?

The clues found at the station and on the train now point to each other as having been involved in accidents and causing a large number of casualties.

The station side said, "Don't hang around with them, the train is full of dead people!

The train said, "Don't listen to their bullshit, the platform is actually full of dead people too!

The only difference is only that the dates of the accidents on both sides are different. Could it be that these are two sets of ghosts from different time periods who were involved in accidents at the same station at 23.44 hours in different eras and were then pieced together by the Advent world?

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Xiao Lan speculates wildly.

So, with dead people on both sides, which side is the right direction to go?

Choosing a wave to mix in two sets of ghosts is like choosing between two deaths ......

"Sir, look at this." Luo's voice interrupted Xiao Lan's thoughts.

Xiao Lan looks in Luo's direction and sees that he is holding a wrapped up book, the cover lifted and a little shaky.

Xiao Lan took it in his hand and ripped off the tattered cover. The font was very eye-catching, with a bit of a flirtatious look mixed with passionate colours, and the picture was full of muscular men, which made it look slightly hot.

Yoo-hoo, it's still a not-so-harmonious male-to-male adult magazine.

Xiao Lan has found the courage to open it and read it.

"Welp ......" Three seconds later he closed the magazine and felt offended by the eye. Although he didn't care about sexuality or anything like that, this content was too ...... What kind of person brings a magazine like this on the underground, anyway!!!

Can't you just hide at home and watch!

At this moment, in the closed and deserted underground car, two men, staring at an adult magazine, fall into silence.

Only the roar of the underground is as loud as ever.

A few moments later.

Meeting Xiao Lan's unspeakably awkward gaze, Luo broke the silence: "This was found by ...... in a crack in the seat, nothing like this had ever appeared before."

Luo's tone was a rare touch of embarrassment, as he didn't expect such exciting content underneath the serious cover.

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I have to say that human beings are really diverse.

Or humans can play.

Xiao Lan carries the magazine in his hand with two fingers, holding it a little further away from him, but the thing is at least a clue, and you can't throw it away.

He reluctantly surveyed the cover and finally managed to spot the problem in disgust.

This magazine dates from the last few years, and neither the hairstyles of the characters, nor the few clothes they have, nor the environment in which they appear in the photos, look nineties.

Such a magazine looks a bit out of place in the whole old train environment.

"Better give it to me." Luo reached out and took the magazine, and although he too was a little disgusted by it, it was a little better to have it in his hands than in Xiao Lan's.

Xiao Lan did not object and the two continued on, in silence, as if they had forgotten what had just happened.