Death Train: SSS-level talent right from the start!

Chen Ye did not answer immediately.

He clenched his fist, opened it, and then clenched it again.

The powerful force that had gradually become familiar on the death train had vanished.

The feeling of fullness that comes with ten points of strength is completely gone.

He clearly remembers that the day he was put on the death train was Monday night, June 14th.

He was sleeping in his dorm room. It was Monday when he closed his eyes, and now he's awake and less than two hours have passed.

Or is it that no time has passed at all?

"Brother Ye? Say something."

Qin Zhaoyang's voice became more urgent. He had already sat up in bed, with one leg dangling over the edge, ready to jump off at any moment.

Let me sort it out first.

Chen Ye leaned back against the headboard and placed his phone beside his pillow. The screen automatically turned off, plunging the dormitory back into darkness.

The experience on the death train is so vivid in my mind, every detail is etched into my memory.

The gray fog of the Corpse City, the bloodstains on the platform, the crimson vertical pupils of the lizard-headed monster, the Victorian architecture of the Ghost City, those smiling faces, the mental shock of the fused beings...

It can't be a dream.

Dreams wouldn't be this clear, nor would they have such a complete logical chain. Besides, if this is a dream, how could Qin Zhaoyang have the same dream as him?

Could it really be that we traveled back in time?

For a moment, Chen Ye couldn't tell which world was real.

Seeing that Chen Ye didn't speak, Qin Zhaoyang walked to Chen Ye's bedside and stretched out his arm: "Brother Ye, pinch me."

Chen Ye didn't hold back either, pinching the skin on the inside of Qin Zhaoyang's forearm and twisting it hard.

"Ouch—! Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!" Qin Zhaoyang pulled his hand back, desperately rubbing the reddened flesh. "You hit too hard! It's all purple!"

"Is this a dream? I really traveled back in time?"

Qin Zhaoyang raised his voice a few decibels, then immediately lowered it again, afraid of waking Li Ming in the upper bunk.

Chen Ye picked up his phone and unlocked the screen.

The WeChat icon lay quietly on the screen, exactly as I remembered it.

He opened WeChat and entered the class group.

The last message in the group was at 10 PM, a notification about the CET-4 exam forwarded by the class monitor, but no one replied.

Scrolling up the message history, it's all just casual daily chat.

Who found a bug in their food at the cafeteria? Who got yelled at for reserving a seat at the library? Who posted a picture of a cat they said they found behind the teaching building?

No one mentioned the death train.

It was as if none of it had ever happened.

Chen Ye found Zhou Yating and Gu Qinghuan in the class group and added them as friends.

Zhou Yating passed the test almost instantly.

There was no response from Gu Qinghuan.

Chen Ye first created a group chat and added Zhou Yating and Qin Zhaoyang to it.

Qin Zhaoyang looked down at his phone, the light from the screen reflecting on his face. His expression changed from blank to enlightened, and then he quickly tapped the screen a few times.

Qin Zhaoyang joined the group chat.

The group chat was silent for two seconds, then Zhou Yating sent a message.

[Zhou Yating: You guys are back too?]

Chen Ye typed a reply.

Chen Ye: Yeah, I'm in my dorm.

[Zhou Yating: Me too. I lost consciousness after the door to that house in the ghost city closed, and then woke up in my dorm bed. The time on my phone doesn't match the time on the train; we spent at least two days and two nights there, but less than two hours have passed here.]

[Qin Zhaoyang: So what exactly happened? Did we come back or not? Is this for real?]

[Zhou Yating: I don't know. But it's certain that our memories are synchronized.]

[Chen Ye: Let's meet at the school cafeteria tomorrow morning. Zhao Hai and the others should be back by then.]

Zhou Yating: Okay.

The group chat fell silent.

The sound of a cell phone being placed next to Qin Zhaoyang's pillow came from his bed, followed by the sound of him turning over.

But Chen Ye knew he wasn't asleep.

Chen Ye was not sleepy either.

The two stayed up until 6:30 in the morning.

People have started walking around in the dormitory corridors.

Footsteps, washing sounds, and the gurgling of water from the tap—these ordinary everyday noises sounded strangely out of place to Chen Ye.

Chen Ye sat up in bed and glanced at his phone.

There were no new messages on WeChat, and Gu Qinghuan still hadn't accepted her friend request.

He turned off the screen, put his phone in his pocket, and got out of bed.

Qin Zhaoyang had already finished washing up and was waiting for him at the dormitory door.

"Let's go, Ye-ge, let's get to the cafeteria early, before it gets crowded."

Qin Zhaoyang lowered his voice and glanced at Li Ming's bed.

Li Ming was still asleep, his head covered by the blanket, with only a small tuft of hair showing.

Chen Ye nodded, bent down to tie his shoelaces, picked up his phone, and walked out of the dormitory with Qin Zhaoyang.

The morning breeze carried a slight chill.

There weren't many students on campus yet. The two walked under the sycamore trees, the fallen leaves making a soft rustling sound under their feet.

In the distance, on the playground, students with athletic talents have already begun their morning exercises, and their running slogans can be faintly heard.

The lights in the cafeteria were all on, and the warm yellow light shone through the glass windows, appearing especially warm in the hazy morning light.

The auntie was chatting behind the food serving window, saying that the soy milk was too thin today. The maintenance uncle was mopping the floor, and the water stains from the mop left dark marks on the ground.

Chen Ye and Qin Zhaoyang bought a few steamed buns and two cups of soy milk, and sat down in a corner of the cafeteria by the window.

Not long after, Zhou Yating walked in through the cafeteria door.

She saw Chen Ye and Qin Zhaoyang's location, walked straight over, and sat down opposite Chen Ye: "Last night I posted about the Death Train on the school forum and got in touch with Jiang Ning, Wang Ze, Zhao Hai, and Gao Li. She didn't die and came back."

"There were 320 teachers and students from Yuncheng University on our train. Only Jiang Ning and Wang Ze contacted me through the post. The other students who previewed the post seemed to have no recollection of the Death Train. I arranged to meet them on the rooftop of Building 3 at the school."

"Let's go to the rooftop of Building 3."

Chen Ye skipped breakfast and got up to walk out of the cafeteria.

Qin Zhaoyang and Zhou Yating got up and followed.

As the three of them stepped out of the cafeteria, Chen Ye paused, his gaze falling on a woman bending over to tie her shoelaces by the flowerbed ahead.

That's their homeroom teacher, Zhao Ruoxi, who must be jogging in the morning.

Wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, dark athletic pants, and a high ponytail.

She tied her shoelaces and straightened up, just in time to meet Chen Ye face to face.

There was no unusual emotion in those eyes. He paused slightly, then nodded as if it were a normal teacher-student greeting.

Chen Ye looked at her, his mind racing with images of the Corpse City platform. When he left, Zhao Ruoxi was still standing on the platform, and there was no news of her after that. Everyone assumed that she had died that night in Corpse City.

Good morning, Teacher Zhao.

Chen Ye greeted him politely.

"morning."

Zhao Ruoxi responded and walked towards the teachers' apartment with light steps, her ponytail swaying behind her.

Qin Zhaoyang stared at her retreating figure until it completely disappeared behind the sycamore tree, then suddenly turned to Chen Ye: "Brother Ye, Teacher Zhao... wasn't she dead? How did she come back...?"

"have no idea."

Chen Ye withdrew his gaze and continued walking towards Building No. 3.

Qin Zhaoyang and Zhou Yating quickly followed.