Weird Game: I brought an old version bug

Jiang Chen stepped into that pure white expanse, and felt a sense of weightlessness beneath his feet.

It didn't fall, it floated.

It felt like being gently lifted off the ground, floating in a weightless state.

All around was blinding white light, and nothing could be seen except for that deep voice still echoing in my mind.

"You've finally arrived, test subject number 074."

I am the will of the system, and also the creator of this world.

Congratulations on passing all the trials and getting this far. I am very pleased.

Now, let me see if you are qualified to be my successor.

Jiang Chen steadied himself and stared at the white expanse.

The words "successor" put him on high alert.

He had seen too many tricks in games; the so-called "inheritor" was just another way for the system to devour players.

"What does 'inheritor' mean?" he asked.

"Literal meaning."

The voice answered calmly.

"You are the closest to the perfect test subject in my 138 reincarnations."

You have access to Shiyu's back door, fragments of rules, and modified skills; you possess everything that makes you a candidate to become the manager of the new world.

"If you're willing, you can become a god in this world."

Jiang Chen remained silent for two seconds.

"And then what? After becoming a god, will you devour my consciousness and make it a part of you?"

The voice paused for a moment, then let out a low chuckle.

"You are very perceptive, Test Subject No. 074."

Indeed, the process of inheritance requires your consciousness to merge with your core values.

But this is not "devouring", it is "sublimation".

Your consciousness will remain, your memories will remain; you will simply become stronger and more complete.

"Where was the rain then?"

"She will remain. You can even have her stay with you forever, free from reincarnation and death. As long as you nod, everything will be as you wish."

The perfect conditions and the perfect reward would tempt anyone.

But Jiang Chen was a game tester by training, and he had seen far too many perfect traps.

"I refuse."

His voice was calm, without hesitation or struggle.

The voice fell silent.

The entire pure white space seemed to have been paused. The white light froze, the air froze, and even time seemed to stand still.

A few seconds later, the voice sounded again, but the tone had changed. It was no longer the benevolent creator, but a cold scrutiny.

"You're rejecting me?"

"right."

Do you know what you're rejecting?

"Know."

Jiang Chen looked ahead, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"I'm rejecting a hunter who wants me to willingly walk into the cage."

The pure white space suddenly trembled.

The blinding white light began to shatter, falling like glass from above.

The fragments transformed into countless points of light in the air, spinning, rearranging, and twisting. Then, Jiang Chen found himself standing in a completely different place.

Beneath my feet was a grayish-white cement floor, riddled with cracks. Above me hung rusty metal beams, from which hung several incandescent bulbs that flickered on and off.

The surrounding area was an empty platform, the benches were covered in dust, and large pieces of tiles had peeled off the walls.

The air was filled with a rusty and damp smell, mixed with the lingering scent of some kind of disinfectant.

A train station, a train station that has been abandoned for a long time.

At the edge of the platform stood an old electronic screen. The text on the screen flickered intermittently:

Welcome... to... the... Forgotten... Station...

The next train will arrive in 5 minutes.

Please... get on the bus... do not... stop...

Jiang Chen turned around, but the Gate of Choice had disappeared.

Behind him was only a brick wall covered in moss, with a string of numbers engraved on its surface:

【OBS-07·FR-01】

[Old Version - Forgotten Station - Dungeon 01]

"You have refused the right to be the successor."

The voice rang out again, but this time it didn't come from my mind; it came from the station's public address system.

The sound was distorted by the loudspeaker, accompanied by a piercing electrical noise.

"Refusing to be a successor means choosing to be a 'challenger'."

Challengers must pass the old version of the trial before they are qualified to face the core.

The trial has seven levels, each of which is a deleted version of an old dungeon.

Once you clear all seven levels, you will see the true core.

However, if you fail midway, your consciousness will be permanently trapped in the copy, becoming part of the old version's data.

A shrill laugh came over the loudspeaker.

"Good luck, Test Subject No. 074. You will spend the first leg of your trial at the Forgotten Station."

Jiang Chen stood still and listened to the broadcast.

He checked his backpack. The decompilation core was still there, but it was completely drained of energy, turning into an ordinary dagger. He had used up all the crystal shards, but two rule shards remained unbound. The rule chain for the reconnaissance spell was still active, with a 180-second cooldown; it was usable.

He glanced at the system panel.

[Current Area: Trial Space - Remnants of Old Version Dungeons]

[Rule Change: Some skills have been restricted and cannot be used]

[Restricted Skills: Healing Skills, Teleportation Skills, Summoning Skills]

[Reconnaissance Techniques - Rule Chain: Available]

The fact that his reconnaissance skills were still usable relieved Jiang Chen. In this unfamiliar instance, the ability to gather information was the key to survival.

The electronic screen on the platform flickered, and the text changed.

The train is about to arrive at the station. Passengers, please wait behind the yellow safety line.

[Note: Please do not talk to any passengers after boarding.]

Don't believe anything they say.

Do not accept anything from them.

The text on the electronic screen remained for three seconds, then disappeared.

A long whistle blared in the distance.

Jiang Chen turned to look at the end of the railway tracks—in the darkness, a beam of dim yellow light was slowly approaching.

The rails began to vibrate, producing a rhythmic metallic clanging sound.

Clang, clang, clang—

The train has arrived at the station.

It was an old, green train, its paint peeling off and revealing rusty metal underneath.

The car windows were covered in dust, obscuring the view inside. When the car door opened, it made a harsh metallic scraping sound, as if it hadn't been opened in a long time.

The carriage was lit by dim yellow lights, and some people could be seen sitting in their seats.

They were dressed in clothes from different eras; some wore work clothes, some wore school uniforms, and some wore military overcoats.

But they all had one thing in common: their faces were expressionless. Like a group of soulless shells, they sat upright in their seats.

Jiang Chen stood on the platform, looking at the open train door, but he didn't board the train immediately.

He activated his reconnaissance skill, and a pale golden light seeped from his palm, extending forward.

His vision penetrated the outer shell of the carriage and saw its internal structure.

There were a total of 23 people in the carriage: 19 passengers and 4 train attendants.

The train attendants, dressed in matching dark blue uniforms, stood in the four corners of the carriage. Their expressions were as blank as the passengers', but their eyes were open. And they were all staring towards the train doors.

They were waiting for Jiang Chen to get on the bus.

Another anomaly was detected in the reconnaissance report: the temperature inside the carriage was nearly ten degrees lower than outside.

It wasn't a normal temperature difference; it was an unnatural cold, as if something in the carriage was continuously absorbing heat.

Jiang Chen withdrew his reconnaissance spell, and the 180-second cooldown countdown began.

He stood by the train door, motionless. He remembered the instructions on the electronic display screen—"Do not talk to any passengers. Do not believe anything they say. Do not accept anything they give you."

The instructions were very clear, but they didn't say what would happen if you didn't get on the bus.

Jiang Chen took a step back.

The instant he stepped back, all the lights in the carriage went out at the same time.

A soft sound came from the darkness.

It looked like someone stood up from their seat.

Then came the second sound, the third sound... and all the passengers stood up.

Then, a pair of pale hands reached out from the darkness and grabbed the edge of the car door.

The broadcast started again, the voice carrying a hint of pleasure:

[Rule No. 1 of Forgotten Station: You must board the train upon its arrival. Those who refuse to board will be considered "fare evaders" and will be taken away by the train.]

Jiang Chen looked at the pale hand, with only one thought in his mind—get in the car.

He stepped into the carriage, and the door slammed shut behind him with a dull thud.

The lights in the carriage came back on, and all the passengers returned to their seats, their expressions still blank, as if nothing had happened. The pale hand had also vanished.

Jiang Chen stood in the aisle of the carriage and looked around.

There were many empty seats in the carriage, but he noticed a detail: all the empty seats were located in the middle and rear sections of the carriage.

The front half of the carriage was completely full. Although the passengers were expressionless, their bodies were all turned towards the front of the carriage, as if there was something there that was worth their constant attention.

Jiang Chen didn't sit down. He leaned against the door frame at the junction of the carriages, reached into his pocket, and grasped the reverse-engineered dagger.

The train slowly started moving and disappeared into the darkness. The platform outside the window began to recede, then was completely swallowed up by the darkness.

The carriage was completely silent, except for the rhythmic sound of the wheels hitting the rails.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

After the train entered the tunnel, the lights inside the carriages began to flicker rhythmically—bright, dim, bright, dim.

With each flash, the scene inside the carriage changes.

When the lights are on, everything is normal—the dim lighting and the quiet passengers.

When the lights went out, Jiang Chen saw the expressions on the passengers' faces.

It's not empty.

It is fear.

Every face, the instant the lights went out, contorted into an expression of extreme terror, mouths agape and eyes wide open, as if they had seen something utterly horrifying.

But as soon as the lights came back on, their expressions returned to their blankness, as if nothing had happened.

Jiang Chen gripped the dagger tightly.

He understood the rules of this instance: these passengers were not NPCs.

They are real players, data deleted from the old version. They are trapped on this train, experiencing the fear of death repeatedly with every flash of the lights.

And he is on this train now.

The broadcast came on again:

Welcome aboard the Forgotten Train. This train departs from Forgotten Station and will stop at seven stations along the way.

Each site represents a segment of an older version of memory that has been deleted by the system.

Please disembark at each stop, complete the trial, and find the key to the next level.

Collect all seven keys to open the gate to the core.

Have a pleasant journey!

After the announcement ended, an electronic screen at the front of the carriage lit up. It displayed information about the first stop:

[First stop: Old Calendar Orphanage]

Site ID: OBS-07-DEL-01

[Reason for deletion: Data anomaly caused all NPCs in the instance to develop self-awareness]

[Danger Level: A]

[Trial Requirements: Survive inside the orphanage for 60 minutes and find the key to the director's office]

Jiang Chen frowned as he looked at the information on the electronic screen.

All NPCs develop self-awareness.

This means that every NPC in the orphanage knows they are a game character. They know they were created, and they know they have been deleted.

They will hate it.

The train began to slow down, and a faint light appeared in the darkness outside the window.

It was the outline of a building, like an old orphanage, standing alone in the wilderness.

After the train came to a complete stop, the doors opened.

There was no station sign or lights on the platform, only a gravel path leading to the orphanage, with withered grass growing on both sides. The wind blew from the wilderness, carrying a burnt smell.

Jiang Chen stood by the car door and glanced at the passengers inside the carriage.

They remained seated, their expressions blank. But a little girl, sitting in the corner of the last row, raised her head.

She was about seven or eight years old, wearing a faded floral dress, her hair messy. She looked at Jiang Chen, her mouth moved, but no sound came out.

But Jiang Chen understood her lip movements—

Don't go.

Jiang Chen looked at her and remained silent for two seconds.

Then he turned around and got off the train.

The doors closed behind him, the train restarted, and it disappeared into the darkness.

He was left alone on the platform, along with the gravel path leading to the orphanage.

He started walking and continued along the gravel path.

Behind us, the sound of the train grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared completely.

Ahead, the lights of the orphanage grew closer, like an eye opening in the darkness.

You have entered the trial instance: Old Calendar Orphanage

Current remaining time: 60:00

[Trial Objective: Find the key to the Dean's office]

[WARNING: This instance contains a large number of NPCs that have developed self-awareness.]

[Recommendation: Do not believe anything NPCs say.]

[Special Note: They know what you're looking for—they'll find you before you find it.]