The Faded "Changsha Station"

"No matter what, we have to make the trip today," Tian Lin said in a deep voice.

Tian Lin swept his gaze around before speaking. "Bloody Train has an extremely high death toll every time. The guides brought back by players who survived can only raise the odds of survival by a little."

"As for you veteran players, I won't say much."

"Everyone here is an elite who has undergone training. Aside from not having entered a dungeon yet, you can already be considered reserve players."

"We'll head to the waiting hall together. If you receive a ticket, don't panic, don't be afraid. Recall your previous training and strictly follow the rules we've learned."

"Yes!" A powerful aura burst forth from the staff.

Other than certain specialized technicians, practically every Relevant Department employee had undergone rigorous training, all for the day they might enter a brutal dungeon.

They had waited far too long for this moment.

Bloody Train was a large-scale multiplayer dungeon. In the past, it had only appeared once every six months.

Two years ago, that had become once every three months.

If he remembered correctly, Bloody Train had appeared in Harbin in the north just last month.

In other words, the interval between Bloody Train's appearances had already shrunk to one month.

At the beginning of the month, the Oddity Research Bureau headquarters in the capital had newly developed an instrument for detecting fluctuations in ghostly energy.

As the Hunan branch, they had naturally been assigned one as well.

However, since the instrument had only just been developed, it could detect any fluctuations in ghostly energy within a certain range.

If the distance was too great, it could only detect dungeons with extremely high concentrations of ghostly energy.

The medium black umbrella through which Mu Rufeng had entered the dungeon world had not been detected because it had been too far away.

Several people had already died, and the scenes had been exceptionally horrific. Only then had they learned of it.

At first, when they detected it, they did not know that it was the Bloody Train dungeon.

They discovered it because, after confirming that a strange dungeon was about to descend upon the train station, they immediately mobilized personnel to seal it off, halting all trains entering the station as well as those that had not yet departed.

They then began investigating every suspicious place step by step.

At last, on the platform beside the tracks, they found an old station sign covered in dark red blood.

The sign bore the three words: Changsha Station.

The moment it was discovered, they immediately identified the dungeon as Bloody Train.

Bloody Train was a multiplayer dungeon with an extremely high difficulty and an extremely high mortality rate.

The method of entering Bloody Train was also difficult to control.

When Bloody Train pulled into the station, it would randomly distribute tickets to people throughout the city.

The number of tickets had never been fixed.

The only thing they knew was that being inside the train station increased one's chances of receiving a ticket.

That was why Tian Lin had sealed off the station, driven out all ordinary people, and left behind only Relevant Department staff and players.

At the same time, Bloody Train completely ignored the players' dungeon cooldown periods.

Even if you had entered a dungeon only the day before, once a ticket was delivered into your hands, you still had to board Bloody Train.

When nine minutes had passed.

Tian Lin, Lao Hei, and Zhou Wen seemed to sense something. They abruptly raised their heads and looked toward the platform.

"Woo woo woo~~~!"

A violent train whistle sounded from afar, piercing straight into the depths of every player's heart.

All the players inside the train station heard it, but the ordinary Relevant Department staff could not.

Because they were merely ordinary people. They could neither see nor hear it.

"Hm? Why is there a train whistle?" At that moment, an ordinary staff member suddenly spoke.

"Could a train be entering the station? But hasn't this place already been sealed off?" Another staff member spoke up.

Tian Lin's expression changed sharply as he looked at the two of them. "Is there anyone else who heard the whistle?"

"A train whistle? I didn't hear anything."

"No. Where would a train whistle come from?"

"What's going on? Could it be... Bloody Train has arrived?"

The staff began discussing it among themselves.

"Enough. Quiet. You two, step forward." Tian Lin rebuked everyone into silence, then had the two people who had heard the whistle come out.

"You two, check your pockets and see if there are any tickets. Everyone else, search yourselves as well," Tian Lin said.

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately began feeling around in their pockets.

"There's... there's a ticket!"

"I have one too."

The two staff members who had stepped forward really did pull two tickets from their pockets.

The tickets looked rather old, and dark red blood stained them. They gave off an eerie aura that made people shudder.

"Looks like I'll be working overtime tonight." Cheng Youlin raised his hand, speaking helplessly.

A ticket was unexpectedly in Cheng Youlin's hand as well.

"I have one too." Qu Lianhong, standing beside Cheng Youlin, also took out a bloodstained ticket.

In the blink of an eye, four people here had received tickets.

"Did anyone else get a ticket?" Tian Lin did not rejoice over his subordinates receiving four tickets. Instead, he asked with a dark expression.

Everyone looked at one another, then continued rummaging through their trouser pockets.

"Um... I, I have one too." At that moment, a timid voice came from the entrance to the waiting hall.

The person who arrived was Mei Tuo, the one who had previously been sitting before the instrument and operating it.

"Huh? Xiaoyi, you... Why did you get a ticket? Didn't I tell you to leave the station?" Tian Lin was shocked out of his wits when he saw her.

"Uncle, I don't know either. I was outside just now when I suddenly found an extra ticket in my pocket, so I came over immediately."

Xiaoyi, as Mei Tuo was called, wore an equally frightened expression.

Clearly, Xiaoyi was still somewhat afraid of entering a dungeon.

"Damn it, damn it! Why did it have to be you? You're clearly just a technician, only a technician."

Tian Lin slapped his head, endlessly pondering what he should do.

"Minister Tian, don't worry. I'll definitely protect Xiaoyi properly," Qu Lianhong stepped forward and said.

"Right, I'll protect your niece properly too, Minister," Cheng Youlin hurriedly said.

"Uncle, I'll be careful," Qian Xiaoyi said as well.

"Xiaoyi, have you read the information and guides on Bloody Train?" Tian Lin asked.

"Uncle, don't worry. I've already read all of it."

"Good. Once you're in the dungeon, you must be careful, careful, and careful again."

"Cheng Youlin, Qu Lianhong, Xiaoyi, and the two of you—I'll have to trouble you greatly." Tian Lin's gaze fell upon them.

"Here, take this. It can save your life." Tian Lin took out an item and directly stuffed it into Xiaoyi's hand.