Why Is the Train Conductor Trying to Run Away Again?

[Current status: Wants to jump off the train]

Shen Niannian stared at the Identity Archive.

She fell silent for a full three seconds.

Then she looked up.

Toward the very front of the carriage.

A black uniform.

A towering figure.

Peak A-rank.

The highest authority on the Lightless Train.

However she looked at it,

it should have been the last existence anyone wanted to provoke in this instance.

And yet now-

It wanted to jump off the train?

(⊙_⊙)

Wait.

Dude.

You're the one running this train!

What are we supposed to do if you jump off?!

The livestream viewers soon noticed something was wrong too.

"Wait, did the conductor just freeze up?"

"It was fine a second ago. Why did it stop moving as soon as Shen Niannian woke up?"

"I know this scene!"

"That's the same reaction the doorman had, right?!"

"No way! It's one thing for the ghosts at the Blood Moon Hotel to know her, but even the boss of the Lightless Train knows her?!"

"Those two instances aren't even in the same place!"

The number of viewers online was still skyrocketing.

3.17 million.

3.5 million.

4 million!

The Blood Moon Hotel had ended not long ago.

Now Shen Niannian had been thrown into another A-rank instance.

Huge numbers of viewers from the previous livestream had practically followed the scent straight here.

Meanwhile, in the real world,

quite a few people felt an absurd sense of déjà vu after seeing the conductor's obviously stiff movements.

No way.

Again?!

But this time,

the other players in the carriage didn't know what had happened at the Blood Moon Hotel.

Of the twelve people,

seven were newcomers.

The other five were noticeably calmer.

One man sitting by the window didn't make any sudden moves when he got a clear look at the conductor.

Instead, he first glanced at the carriage door.

Then at the windows.

Only then did he sweep his gaze over the entire carriage.

He was twenty-eight or twenty-nine.

He wore a black jacket.

He had a lean build.

A thin dark red cord was wrapped around his right wrist.

A black iron spike about twenty centimeters long was tucked behind his waist.

People in the livestream soon recognized him.

"Holy shit, Cheng Ye is here too!"

"Who?"

"Cheng Ye, a B-rank player from Donglin City. He's cleared nine instances, two of them A-rank!"

"The one who led seven people out of Grave-Weeping Village alive?"

"Yeah, that's him!"

"We finally have a reliable veteran player this time!"

Cheng Ye.

A B-rank player.

He had no particularly impressive combat abilities.

But he was well-known among the surviving players.

Because his greatest strength wasn't fighting head-on.

It was analyzing the rules.

In his past nine instances,

he had only once lost his entire team.

In the other eight,

anyone willing to follow his lead had a good chance of survival.

Cheng Ye had also noticed Shen Niannian.

Silver hair.

Red eyes.

Pajamas.

Slippers.

She looked completely out of place in an A-rank instance.

But he only glanced at her once.

Then he looked away.

He didn't underestimate her because of her appearance.

Nor did he strike up a conversation.

He was observing the conductor.

Because ever since that woman had opened her eyes,

the peak A-rank entity's reaction had been noticeably off.

Its shoulders were stiff.

Its fingers had tightened.

Even its center of gravity was shifting toward the carriage door.

As if...

it wanted to leave.

Cheng Ye frowned slightly.

Just then,

the conductor finally moved.

It slowly turned around.

Its cap brim was pulled even lower.

Then-

it pretended it hadn't seen anything.

Shen Niannian: "..."

(・_・;)

Hey.

You definitely saw me just now, didn't you?

Isn't it a little too deliberate to ignore me like that?

The conductor walked to the center of the carriage.

Its raspy voice rang out.

"Welcome aboard the Lightless Train, passengers."

"The final stop on this train is-"

"Homecoming Station."

As its voice faded,

a row of scarlet text suddenly lit up on the ceiling of the carriage.

[A-rank instance: Lightless Train]

[Main quest: Successfully reach the final stop and leave the train with a valid ticket.]

[The train is expected to pass through five stations.]

[All passengers must strictly follow the train rules.]

Shen Niannian immediately grew serious.

Here it was.

The objective of her second instance.

Reach the final stop.

A valid ticket.

Two conditions.

She was just about to keep reading

when new rules began appearing one by one.

[Rule 1: The Lightless Train does not sell standing tickets. Please remain in your assigned seat at all times.]

[Rule 2: Once the train enters the Lightless Section, do not look at the windows.]

[Rule 3: Train attendants all wear white name badges. If you see an attendant with a black name badge, close your eyes immediately and keep them closed until the attendant leaves.]

[Rule 4: Passengers will board and leave the train at every station. Do not prevent any "ticketed passenger" from taking a seat.]

[Rule 5: Keep your ticket safe. Anyone who loses their ticket will be considered a fare evader.]

[Rule 6: When the announcement says "The final stop is approaching," please make sure you still remember where you are going.]

The rules ended there.

The carriage fell silent.

The last rule made quite a few people frown.

Remember where you're going?

What kind of rule is that?

Only Shen Niannian immediately seized on the most practical concern.

The ticket.

Another item that served as proof of entitlement.

Much like the room card at the Blood Moon Hotel.

If she lost it, she'd most likely be done for.

She immediately looked down.

She soon felt a card-stock ticket in her pajama pocket.

[Carriage: 4]

[Seat: 12A]

[Destination: Homecoming Station]

Shen Niannian immediately looked up to find her seat.

Good.

She was sitting right in 12A.

(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

She hadn't started off in the wrong seat.

Safe.

A deep voice suddenly came from beside her.

"Don't hold your ticket in your hand."

Shen Niannian turned her head.

Cheng Ye was sitting in 11C on the other side of the aisle.

He had already tucked his ticket back into the inner pocket of his jacket.

"Rule five specifically stresses keeping your ticket safe. That suggests there's probably a mechanism later on that can cause you to lose it."

"Right now, everyone's ticket location is exposed. That's not a good thing."

Shen Niannian blinked.

That made sense.

She quickly tucked the ticket back into the innermost pocket of her pajamas.

Then she patted it.

Making sure it wouldn't fall out.

(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Cheng Ye said nothing more.

Then he looked at the other players.

"Everyone, check your seat numbers. Don't swap seats, and definitely don't switch seats on your own just because you want to stick together."

Several newcomers immediately looked down.

Soon.

A young man in his early twenties went pale.

"My ticket says 8B."

"But I'm sitting in 8A..."

Beside him.

A middle-aged woman wearing glasses had also gone pale.

The ticket in her hand read-

[8A]

The two of them were in each other's seats!

The young man immediately stood up.

"I'll switch right now!"

"Don't move!"

Cheng Ye suddenly spoke.

The young man froze.

"What's wrong?"

Cheng Ye pointed to rule one.

"Always sit in your assigned seat."

"You're already in the wrong seats."

"But the rules don't say you can switch directly after discovering the mistake."

The young man's face turned even paler.

"Then what do we do?"

Cheng Ye didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he looked at the conductor.

"Conductor, how should passengers proceed if they discover their seats don't match their tickets?"

Everyone in the carriage was taken aback.

Shen Niannian's eyes lit up slightly.

Right.

The rules aren't clear.

We can ask the staff!

At least when their identities had been confirmed as normal, this was the most direct way to obtain information.

The conductor paused mid-step.

Then slowly turned around.

"Passengers seated in the wrong seats may return to their correct seats on their own before the train enters the first Lightless Section."

Information!

Cheng Ye immediately looked up.

Dim lights were still passing outside the train.

That meant they hadn't entered the Lightless Section yet.

"Switch."

The two passengers immediately stood up.

And quickly swapped seats.

Nothing unusual happened during the entire process.

A flood of comments immediately appeared in the livestream.

"This Cheng Ye is really good!"

"He didn't guess at the rules himself; he went straight to a normal NPC to confirm."

"That's the kind of teammate you want!"

"He's got his head on straight, and he doesn't recklessly try to act tough."

"Shen Niannian finally isn't teamed up with a bunch of dead weight this time."

Shen Niannian also gave Cheng Ye another look.

Not bad.

This teammate is all right.

At least he looks more professional than me.

Just then.

The conductor suddenly walked toward her.

One step.

Two steps.

Shen Niannian's little face, which had only just relaxed, instantly tensed up.

(ΩДΩ)

What does he want?

I'm not in the wrong seat!

The livestream quickly grew tense as well.

"Here it comes!"

"The conductor's approaching her himself!"

"Peak A-rank!"

"The supernatural entities at the Blood Moon Hotel were scared of her, but that doesn't mean every instance will-"

Before the comment had even finished appearing.

The conductor had already stopped in front of Shen Niannian.

His body, over two meters tall, almost completely loomed over her.

Cheng Ye's right hand also silently settled on the black iron nail behind his waist.

He didn't make a move immediately.

But he was already prepared for the worst.

Shen Niannian tilted her little head up.

Trying to make her tone a little more polite.

"Excuse me... is something the matter?"

The conductor fell silent.

The Identity Archive refreshed again.

[Current state: extremely nervous]

[Current thought: why is she sitting in an ordinary carriage?]

Shen Niannian was slightly taken aback.

Wait.

A new effect of level 1 Inspection?

It actually showed an extra piece of useful information!

But before she could think about it carefully.

The conductor slowly spoke.

"Honored passenger."

The entire carriage fell silent in an instant.

"There seems to have been an error in the arrangement of your ticket."

"May I ask..."

"Would you like me to move you to the conductor's private carriage?"

All the players:

"..."

Cheng Ye's hand, gripping the black iron nail.

Slowly loosened.

The livestream also fell silent for a full two seconds.

The next second.

Familiar question marks flooded the screen once more.

"???????"

"Wait!"

"Again?!"

"Wasn't room 701 at the Blood Moon Hotel enough?!"

"Now they're even offering her the conductor's private carriage?!"

"Cheng Ye: I spent all that time analyzing the rules."

"Shen Niannian: Hello, I'd like an upgrade."

Shen Niannian herself, however, stared at the conductor.

She wasn't happy at all.

Because the first thing that came to mind.

Was rule one.

[Please remain seated in your assigned seat at all times.]

She looked down at her ticket.

[12A]

Then looked at the conductor.

(¬_¬)

Trying to trick me into changing seats?

No way!

"Thank you."

Shen Niannian shook her head very firmly.

"I'll sit right here."

Conductor: "..."

[Current state: even more nervous]

Cheng Ye looked at Shen Niannian.

Then at the peak A-rank conductor, who clearly didn't dare insist.

His gaze truly changed for the first time.

This girl...

There's definitely something off about her.