A bizarre and terrifying experience; I messed up the dungeon world.

As they passed the fifth and sixth carriages, the density of "passengers" increased significantly. They no longer avoided the light of the oil lamp, but instead stared directly at the two of them, leaning forward slightly.

In front of the door of the seventh carriage.

The "No Entry" sign was still hanging, but the door wasn't locked. A faint light shone through the crack in the door—not green, but white.

Zhou Lang pushed open the door.

There were no "passengers" in the seventh carriage.

In the center of the empty carriage sat a table. On the table sat an old-fashioned radio, playing white noise. A circular symbol was drawn on the floor next to the table.

Han Yingying recognized the symbol—it was a blood droplet shape, exactly the same as the one on the invitation Su Mian received.

"A crack." Zhou Lang squatted down to examine the symbols on the floor.

The symbols were not drawn on, but carved into the wooden board, with dark red residue remaining in the grooves.

The white noise from the radio suddenly stopped, and a voice came from it. It wasn't a human voice; it sounded like something breathing, interspersed with fragmented words:

"...The third phase...has begun...there's no going back..."

Han Yingying thought of the government document she had seen in reality—"Phase Three: Unexplained physical phenomena appear in public areas."

"This is not an ordinary copy," she said.

"Of course not." Zhou Lang straightened up. "It's a bug. Someone used this symbol to create a hole between the instance and reality. Things in the instance can escape through this 'gap'."

"Is this what your sister was investigating?"

"She disappeared halfway through the investigation." Zhou Lang's tone was calm, but his hand was on the floor next to the symbol, his fingertips tracing the wood grain back and forth twice.

The radio started playing white noise again.

The train slowed down.

System notification: [Approaching the sixth station: Echo. Stop time: three minutes. Warning: A large number of "passengers" will board at the sixth station.]

"Let's go back," Zhou Lang said.

The two returned the way they came. As they passed through the corridor, the "passengers" changed their behavior—they no longer stood passively, but began to slowly turn their bodies, their faces all turned toward the seventh carriage.

Back in the third carriage, the train had already stopped. The platform outside the window was packed with "passengers," ten times more than at the third station.

The word "large amount" is far from sufficient to describe it.

The "passengers" began to board the train. Blurry figures poured into the doors of the first and second carriages, and the players who were originally sitting in those carriages were forced to retreat to the carriages behind.

The first half of the train was packed.

The people in the third carriage were also forced back. Han Yingying led Su Mian and Ye Cheng to the fourth carriage, while Zhou Lang and Zhao Qiang brought up the rear. Lu Han helped to look after the two flanks.

In the end, all nine surviving players gathered in the fifth carriage—the only space that had not yet been completely occupied by "passengers".

The three minutes were up, and the car door closed.

In the fifth carriage, nine people were crammed together, and the corridors and adjacent carriages were filled with "passengers." They were pressed against the glass of the carriage doors, so densely packed that there were no gaps between them.

"This is the last stop," Zhou Lang said.

The system notification confirmed his words: [The train is about to arrive at its final destination: The End. Upon arrival, surviving players are considered to have completed the level. Estimated arrival time: 15 minutes.]

Fifteen minutes.

It doesn't sound long. But on a train packed with ghosts who say "Don't talk," every second of those fifteen minutes is torture.

No one spoke in the carriage. Not because they didn't want to—but because they dared not. The "passengers" had begun to react to sounds. If someone coughed, the closest "passengers" would turn their blurry faces and tilt their heads toward the source of the sound.

Su Mian's hands were trembling. Han Yingying grasped her hand and squeezed it hard.

Eight minutes passed.

ten minutes.

Twelve minutes.

In the thirteenth minute, the accident happened.

An unfamiliar female player—who probably couldn't take it anymore—suddenly screamed. It was just a short scream, but in the quiet carriage, the scream was like a pebble thrown into a lake.

All the "passengers" turned their heads at the same time.

The door at the junction of the carriages was pushed open, and "passengers" began to pour into the fifth carriage.

"Take care of yourself!" Han Yingying shouted, drawing her short sword.

Lu Han's short blade severed the arm of the first "passenger"—the arm turned into black liquid upon hitting the ground. The "passengers" did not stop and continued to push forward.

Zhou Lang raised the oil lamp above his head, maximizing the range of its green light. The "passengers" noticeably slowed their movements, but did not stop.

There are too many. The effect of oil lamps can only delay, not completely control, ghosts of this magnitude.

"Two minutes!" Zhao Qiang shouted, watching the system countdown.

Ye Cheng was grabbed by the shoulder by a "passenger," and Su Mian tried desperately to pry its fingers off. Han Yingying severed that arm with a single sword strike.

Lu Han's short blade created a brief gap in the group of "passengers," but the gap was instantly filled.

Zhou Lang made a decision—he handed the oil lamp to Zhao Qiang and pulled out the chainsaw from his inventory.

hum-

The roar of the chainsaw was deafening in the enclosed carriage.

He didn't use the chainsaw to cut the "passenger." He planted the chainsaw on the floor, the teeth cutting into the wood, sparks flying, and a pungent, burnt smell filling the air.

"What are you doing?!" Lu Han shouted.

Zhou Lang kicked open the loosened floorboards, revealing the metal frame at the bottom of the carriage and the rapidly retreating rails.

"Jump," he said.

"You're crazy—"

System notification: [Destination station reached. Train is currently stopping.]

The train suddenly slowed down. Everyone and all the "passengers" were thrown towards the front of the train by inertia.

As Zhou Lang slowed down, he grabbed Han Yingying's wrist and braced his other hand against the metal frame of the seat. Zhao Qiang held him by the waist. Lu Han reacted the fastest, grabbing Su Mian with one hand and Ye Cheng with the other.

The train stopped.

The "passengers" vanished the instant the car stopped. In the corridor, on the seats, on the ceiling—all the blurry figures disappeared like smoke, leaving nothing behind.

The car door opened.

Outside was a bright station—truly bright, with white fluorescent lights, clean floor tiles, and an electronic display screen on the wall that read: Terminal Station.

[S-Rank Dungeon "Last Train" Cleared!]

[Number of surviving players: 9. Completion ratings are being calculated...]

Han Yingying stood on the platform, watching the rusty train behind her slowly pull away from the platform and disappear into the darkness of the tunnel.

Su Mian squatted on the ground, Ye Cheng beside her. Zhao Qiang slumped on a bench, panting heavily. Lu Han expressionlessly wiped the black liquid from the short blade.

Zhou Lang put the chainsaw back into his inventory and cracked his neck.

"Could you please stop dragging me into these S-rank dungeons while I'm eating instant noodles?"

Zhao Qiang was both amused and exasperated: "Brother, that's not the point."