Global Ghost Stories: I'm Investigating Ghosts in My Nightmare!

Chapter 106 Ticket
The hunched, black figure, like an old film reel slowed down, slowly turned around with a sickening "click" sound.

It was a face that defied description.

The bark of the tree was withered and dry, like that of a century-old tree that had been drained of all its moisture. It was covered with deep, crisscrossing wrinkles, each wrinkle seemingly filled with dust and death forgotten by time.

His eye sockets were sunken, and there were no eyeballs inside, only two eerie green flames that were slowly burning like will-o'-the-wisps.

He wore a worn-out priest's robe whose original color was no longer discernible, and a cross made of unknown animal bone hung on his chest. The surface of the cross had become smooth and shiny from years of handling, and it exuded an unsettlingly cold aura.

He is the stationmaster of this "platformless" station, and the only "living thing" in this desolate world.

"You...you've finally arrived."

His two eerie green flames were fixed on Bai Yu. His mouth didn't move, but his aged, dry voice, as if he hadn't spoken for hundreds of years, pierced Bai Yu's soul like the sharpest ice pick.

"We...have been waiting for you for a long time."

Bai Yu's heart sank suddenly.

us?

He subconsciously looked behind the old man.

In the shadow of that enormous clock tower, filled with Gothic eeriness and splendor, he saw three more indistinct black figures.

These were the three "passengers" he had encountered earlier in the thick fog, who were like walking corpses.

They stood there silently, like three loyal guards, completely blending into the thick, impenetrable darkness around them.

"Who are you?" Bai Yu's voice was icy. There was no fear in his deep eyes, only a calm as deep as an abyss. "And where... is this place?"

“Who we are is not important.” The old man’s voice carried a hint of weariness and fatalism. “What matters is that you came. That’s enough.”

“As for this place…” He slowly raised his hand, which resembled a withered tree branch, and pointed to the endless abyss shrouded in thick fog.

"...This is a 'transfer station'."

"All that has been forgotten will embark on their final journey here."

"And all that should not be remembered will be buried here."

His words were full of riddles, like a tangled mess that could not be untangled, causing Bai Yu to furrow her brows tightly.

"when--!"

Just then, at the top of the huge clock tower, the ancient bronze bell, already covered in patina, emitted a distant and mournful chime without warning.

The tolling of bells echoed in this deathly silent world, as if announcing the official start of a certain ceremony.

"Time... has come." The old man's voice grew increasingly faint. "The next train is about to arrive."

He slowly turned around and walked with ghostly steps toward the three "passengers" who had been standing in the shadows.

“Come on, kids,” he urged, “don’t miss… the last bus home.”

The three "passengers," who were as numb as dolls, trembled slightly upon hearing his call.

Then, like robots programmed with a set routine, they took stiff steps, following behind the old man, walking step by step toward the edge of the empty platform.

Bai Yu's eyes were fixed on them.

He could clearly see that the Japanese girl in the kimono, the girl named "Hasumi," was still tightly clutching the smartphone with its already shattered screen.

Just as the five of them were about to reach the edge of the platform, a slight tremor suddenly came from under their feet.

Immediately afterwards, a series of mechanical clanging sounds slowly drifted from the endless darkness, growing louder as they approached.

Bai Yu suddenly raised his head!
In the thick, impenetrable darkness, a dim, round headlight, like the eye of a Cyclops, slowly lit up!
An old train, exuding a retro vibe from the last century, emerged silently from the darkness like a steel behemoth slowly rising from the depths of hell. Finally, with a screech of brakes, it came to a steady stop in front of the lonely platform.

That train had only one carriage.

The surface of the carriage was covered with a thick layer of rust, and there were several huge scratches that were so deep that the bone was visible, as if it had once fought a fierce battle with some terrifying monster.

All the windows in the carriage were covered by a thick layer of black curtains, making it impossible to see what was inside.

"Squeak-"

The old car doors, bearing the marks of time, slid slowly open to the sides with a sickening scraping sound.

A wave of cold air, mixed with the smells of rust, engine oil, and strong disinfectant, rushed out from the bottomless darkness of the carriage.

Without the slightest hesitation, the old man was the first to step onto the train, which was filled with an ominous and eerie atmosphere.

The three "passengers," who were like zombies, followed closely behind, taking stiff steps one after another, and walked into the darkness.

Before Bai Yu, that malicious choice appeared once again.

Should we stay on this desolate but at least "safe" platform and wait for a "rescue" that doesn't even exist?
Or, board this "ghost train" filled with the unknown and death, and personally uncover the final truth of this eerie world?

He hesitated for less than a second.

He took a step forward and, just before the old car door was about to close, resolutely stepped onto it.

……

The interior of the carriage was more oppressive and also... cleaner than he had imagined.

Although the dark green leather seats look vintage, their surfaces are spotless, as if someone meticulously cleans them every day.

The glossy floor even clearly reflected the faint glow of the overhead incandescent bulb.

However, this excessive "cleanliness" only made the small space seem even more eerie and full of incongruity.

When Bai Yu walked in, the three "passengers" had already found their seats and sat down quietly.

They were like three carefully arranged puppets, sitting upright with their hands flat on their knees, their faces expressionless, their empty eyes staring fixedly ahead, motionless.

Bai Yu slowly scanned the room, and finally sat down in the empty seat opposite the Japanese girl named "Renmi".

He could clearly see that the girl's hands, gripping the phone tightly, had knuckles that had turned white from excessive force.

"Clang-"

With a dull thud, the old train door slowly closed, completely isolating the carriage from the desolate platform outside.

The entire carriage fell into a suffocating silence once again.

Bai Yu remained silent.

He simply sat there quietly, his deep eyes calmly observing every detail in the carriage, trying to find any possible clues.

Just then, a faint energy fluctuation suddenly flashed and disappeared in his palm.

Bai Yu narrowed his eyes slightly and slowly opened his palm.

In his palm, a card made of an unknown black material, cold and hard to the touch, appeared without warning.

That was a train ticket.

On the front of the ticket, his name—Bai Yu—was clearly imprinted in blood-red ink.

Below the name is a line of destinations filled with the unknown and the bizarre.

[Originating Station: No Platform]

[Final destination: ???]

The back of the ticket was blank.

Bai Yu looked at the ominous train ticket in her hand, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes.

He subconsciously turned his gaze to the three "passengers" opposite him.

He saw that in the hands of the middle-aged man in the Zhongshan suit and the young woman in the OL business suit, there was also a black train ticket exactly the same as the one in his hand.

Only... only the hands of that Japanese girl named "Hasumi" were empty.

A sense of foreboding suddenly welled up in Bai Yu's heart.

Just then, the small door at the junction of the carriages was slowly pushed open with a creaking sound.

A tall, thin, black figure, as thin as a bamboo pole, slowly emerged from the darkness with stiff, compass-like steps.

He was wearing a worn-out train conductor uniform whose original color was no longer recognizable, and a pure white mask that completely covered his face.

The mask had no facial features, only an unsettling blank space.

His limbs were so long that when he stood up straight, his hands, which were like withered tree branches, almost reached his knees.

In his hand, he held a pair of metal-looking...ticket pliers.

The ticket-checking clamps were designed with a wicked sense of humor; they weren't ordinary circles, but rather a huge smiling face filled with sharp serrations.

He was the ticket inspector for this "ghost train".

He didn't say anything.

He simply took stiff steps, one after another, slowly walking towards the first passenger in the carriage, a middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit.

He stretched out his hand, which was wearing a worn-out white glove.

The middle-aged man did not react at all.

He remained sitting there numbly, like a puppet, his empty eyes staring fixedly ahead.

The ticket inspector didn't seem to care.

He simply took the black ticket from the middle-aged man's hand.

Then, in Bai Yu's suddenly contracting pupils, he made a move that was full of strangeness and terror.

He did not use the ticket checking pliers in his hand to check the ticket.

He simply pressed the black train ticket slowly onto his pure white mask.

"Zi la——!"

With a piercing sound like boiling oil being poured into water, the hard black ticket, like butter melting on a red-hot iron, silently melted into his pure white mask and disappeared!
After absorbing the ticket, a huge, satisfied smile slowly appeared on the ticket inspector's pure white mask.

He nodded, seemingly very satisfied with the result of this "ticket check".

Then, he turned around and walked towards the next passenger, a young woman in an office lady suit.

The same process is playing out once again.

He absorbed the woman's train ticket into his mask in the same way.

After doing all this, he finally turned his pure white mask towards the Japanese girl sitting opposite Bai Yu.

Lotus seeds.

He stretched out his hand, which was wearing a worn white glove.

However, the girl's hands were empty.

The ticket inspector paused slightly.

His pure white mask slowly turned towards the girl's equally numb and empty face.

He seemed to be confirming something.

After a long while, he slowly withdrew his hand.

Then, he raised the smiling ticket-checking pliers, full of sharp serrations, in his other hand.

What is he going to do? !

Bai Yu's pupils contracted to their maximum size in an instant!

Just then, the ticket inspector moved!

His arm, as thin as a withered tree branch, suddenly stretched forward with a speed that exceeded the limits of human reaction!
The smiling ticket pliers, filled with sharp serrations, did not snap the girl's neck or pierce her heart as Bai Yu had imagined.

It simply and gently left a mocking smiley face mark on the girl's forehead with a "snap".

Then, an incredible sight occurred!

The moment the girl's body was marked by the ticket pliers, it became transparent and illusory in a silent twisting motion, like a sand sculpture being weathered.
Within seconds, her entire "existence" was completely "erased" by that small smiley face mark!
Only on that dark green leather chair remained a neatly folded, worn-out kimono and a smartphone with a shattered screen.

At this moment, Bai Yu's heart sank into an endless abyss.

He finally understood.

This ticket is not a valid pass for boarding this train.

It is a credential used to prove your "existence".

Any passenger without a "ticket" will be regarded as a non-existent illusion and completely erased by the rules of this train!

After doing all this, the tall ticket inspector finally turned his pure white mask toward the last, and only, "living person" in the carriage.

He took stiff steps, slowly walking towards Bai Yu.

Bai Yu's heart began to pound wildly and uncontrollably.

He instinctively gripped the cold, black train ticket in his hand.

He had no idea what kind of unknown fate awaited him after his train ticket was also absorbed by that monster.

The ticket inspector finally walked up to him.

He stretched out his hand, which was wearing a worn white glove.

Bai Yu took a deep breath and handed over the ticket in her hand that represented her "existence".

However, the ticket inspector did not go to collect it.

His pure white mask simply watched Bai Yu silently.

After a long while, his arm, which looked like a withered tree branch, slowly rose.

He did not point to the ticket in Bai Yu's hand.

Instead... it pointed to the back of Bai Yu's right hand.

It pointed to the mark that was emanating a faint, ominous aura... the "Eye of the Vortex".

Then, a line of distorted characters made of black liquid slowly appeared on his pure white mask.

Ticket check complete.

[Identity Confirmed: Smuggler]

[Found...a...extra...ticket]

As the text appeared, the ticket inspector slowly raised the smiling ticket-checking pliers with sharp serrations in his other hand.

His pure white mask was pointed at Bai Yu's face, whose eyes were slightly widened in shock.

It seems to be saying—

Since you are a "redundant" ticket.

Then, I'll personally "clip your ticket" for you.

(End of this chapter)