The Truth of the Despair Train, an Invitation to Pankto

Under the impact of the gun barrel and the blade, Pankto finally Leng Jing down.

The damaged suppressor on his back had turned blue again, and he sat slumped in his chair, looking dejected.

After confirming that the other party posed no threat, Lin Yu even took the initiative to untie the ropes binding him.

"So... I've lost several years' worth of Memory...?"

Pankto scratched his head in anguish, muttering to himself, "First I was promoted to team leader, then I became expendable material and was exiled to this damned train. What on earth happened to me?"

Seeing the pained Pankto, Li Nian comforted him.

"Oh dear, don't dwell too much on the past. The most important thing is to seize the moment... but it seems like the present isn't all that great."

Lin Yu, also curious, pressed further, "Since you're an employee of Truth Company, you should know quite a bit about this train... I don't know anything about it yet."

"What do you mean by 'consumables'? What exactly is this train for?"

Upon hearing Lin Yu's question, Pankto mustered his spirits and began to explain to Lin Yu.

"I've only heard about that... Originally, the Despair Train was designed and built as a 'public transportation' project."

"Its track encircles the entire Outer Ring the City That Never Sleeps, and it originally had six stations, claiming it could take you from one end of the City That Never Sleeps to the other in three minutes."

"It chose the 'Despair Furnace' —a single-core Furnace that had already proven to be highly efficient at the time, capable of simultaneously absorbing Emotion Energy such as sadness, pain, and anger, and its limits had already been demonstrated when used as an orbital strike weapon."

"The specially designed train lines can also alleviate the energy pressure on the entire City That Never Sleeps."

"However, after it was put into actual operation, everyone discovered a design flaw in the Furnace —it was very difficult to stop."

"In other words, once the train starts moving, there's no such thing as a 'stopping station.' Even after braking and shutting off the Furnace's energy supply, it can still Xingyi."

"So, the project failed—but it didn't completely fail."

"Because the energy supply, which was originally just a 'byproduct' of its operation, was found to far exceed the energy supply currently being used by all the City That Never Sleeps."

"Originally, it was only expected to alleviate energy pressure, but after it was put into operation... it has almost become the mainstay of daily energy supply."

"Therefore, the company's senior management decided to transform it into a ring-shaped energy supply unit—reinforcing the exterior of the carriages and tracks with highly durable materials while dismantling all the stations."

"But if you want to output energy at a high frequency, there must be 'passengers' inside the carriage—and a large number of passengers with emotions of 'despair'."

"So the company decided to slightly adjust its original function as a means of transportation... and turn it into a 'prison'."

"Those who commit serious mistakes within the company, those who attempt to infiltrate the company and are caught... in short, anyone among the company's 'enemies' who evokes similar emotions will be thrown onto this never-ending train and drained of their despair."

"As far as I Memory, this train has been running and powering the City That Never Sleeps for ten years... Of course, in reality, many years have probably passed by now."

"In short, this train is a melting pot of scum, traitors, and dangerous individuals, and it has become a testing ground for the company to experiment with various new and old weapons."

At this point, Pankto covered his face in anguish. "Damn it, how did I end up here?! What on earth happened?!"

He said again, somewhat excitedly.

Lin Yu nodded knowingly.

"I see. So, although it's called 'The Train'... it's actually a prison built on a train—and the kind that tortures its Prisoner."

He completely ignored Pankto's pain and calmly analyzed the situation.

Li Nian stroked her chin and said, "So that's how it is."

Both "experts" coldly let Pankto his own.

Only Chen Zhuo couldn't help but step forward and offer a few words of comfort.

"It's alright, sir. Even though you've lost your memory and been abandoned in a place like this, it's not like you can't leave!"

Chen Zhuo's words also reminded Lin Yu.

"That makes sense," Lin Yu chimed in, then seized the opportunity to inquire about something new, "I heard that all you need to do is get a 'ticket' to leave, right? What's that?"

Upon hearing Lin Yu's words, Pankto looked up, his expression once again somewhat bewildered.

"Ticket? I don't know... I've never heard of any way to get off this train!"

"Perhaps it's because I'm not high enough in rank, or perhaps it's something the company introduced during the period when I lost my Memory... In any case, if I could retrieve my Memory of being a team leader, I'm afraid I might be able to give you an answer."

"Pankto said apologetically."

Lin Yu waved his hand. "It's alright. Although we don't know the principle, at least we know roughly where to find that thing."

As he spoke, Lin Yu paused and looked at Li Nian, seemingly seeking Li Nian opinion.

Seeing Lin Yu's expression, Li Nian roughly understood what Lin Yu wanted to do, and directly said, "Although this guy isn't very stable... he's still a local with decent skills—I second that."

She said nonchalantly.

Chen Zhuo was somewhat confused. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Lin Yu did not answer Chen Zhuo's question, but instead chose to explain it to him through his actions.

He reached out his hand directly to Pankto.

"Well, Pankto, although we just confused you and you almost killed one of us, that was all because you were in a frenzied state."

"Now, would you like to cooperate sincerely with us?"

"We can work together to find a way to get off this train."

Lin Yu extended an invitation to Pankto.

Faced with the invitation, Pankto hesitated.

"I'm sorry, I haven't figured out what happened yet, and... I don't know who you are either."

I need some time to myself.

Pankto spoke, he was essentially declining Lin Yu.

But Lin Yu didn't withdraw his hand; instead, he threw out new information.

"Alright, Pankto, I originally planned to tell you this after you calmed down a bit, but now, in order to gain your trust, I'm afraid I'll have to subject you to some more shocks."

As Lin Yu spoke, he took another ID and a black notebook from his pocket with his other hand.

"Do you know Will Valetti? We were comrades-in-arms."

"He gave me this Identity card and Notebook."

Just as Lin Yu had predicted.

Pankto saw the card in Lin Yu's hand, his pupils immediately contracted.

However, the title that came out of Pankto's mouth next was completely unexpected by Lin Yu.

"My God, how did you get my Grandfather's Identity card and Notebook?!"