I work as a security guard at a cemetery, and I overhear the dead chatting about getting rich quick.

The scraping sound underfoot quickly disappeared.

Lin Ye stood still, without moving.

Officer He was still watching the surveillance footage on the computer.

Seeing that he hadn't moved for a while, she looked up and asked him a question.

"What's wrong?"

"fine."

Lin Ye dragged the surveillance camera back in.

Are the people still at the subway station?

"Operations Center?"

"Um."

"With something like this happening tonight, do you think they can sleep?"

Officer He picked up the phone.

"I'll get in touch with them for you."

Lin Ye continued watching the surveillance footage.

It was 11:47 PM last night.

The last bus entered the tunnel.

The carriage lights flickered twice.

The train slowed down.

Then, the platform that never existed appeared.

The missing person was a young man wearing a yellow delivery uniform.

In the video, he was sitting with his head down near the door.

After the train door opened, he suddenly looked up and glanced into the depths of the platform.

Its mouth even moved.

Linye zoomed in on the screen.

There was no sound.

You can only read the lip movements.

It's like asking:

"Who?"

Then he stood up and got out of the car.

Lin Ye watched the first ten seconds or so before and after again.

The passengers around them were all looking out.

Someone is filming a video.

Someone is peeking out.

He was the only one who actually got off the bus.

"The information on that person has arrived."

Officer He handed an electronic file to Lin Ye.

Zhou Qiming, 27 years old.

Deliveryman.

I just finished my last delivery last night and was getting ready to catch the last bus home.

Lin Ye only glanced at it a few times.

He has an ordinary background.

There were no records of abnormal contact.

This is enough.

In this situation, whether he has argued with his neighbors or has outstanding online loans is irrelevant.

The real issue that needs to be investigated is something else entirely.

Why did Zhou Qiming get off the train when more than a dozen people saw the platform?

Lin Ye played the surveillance footage again.

At the end of the platform, the person in the old uniform remained standing in the shadows.

Hands raised.

At first glance, it looks like it's pointing at a person.

On the second viewing, the movements seemed a bit strange.

My fingers bend every now and then.

a bit.

Two times.

It looks like counting.

"We've made contact."

Officer He hung up the phone.

"The car is still in the maintenance depot, and everyone is still here."

Lin Ye stood up.

"Walk."

"Should I go too?"

"It's okay if you don't go."

"Never mind, I'll go then."

Officer He grabbed his coat.

"I'm even more worried about you running to the subway alone in the middle of the night."

Around 1 a.m., the two arrived at the operations center.

The driver from last night is still here.

The person in charge on duty, surnamed Guo, had bloodshot eyes. As soon as he saw Lin Ye, he handed over the operational data.

"The car didn't stop."

Officer He glanced at it.

"The security cameras are all on."

That's why it's so strange.

Director Guo pointed to the curve.

"The speed decreased slightly, but didn't drop to zero. The odometer reading didn't drop, and there was no record of the door system being opened."

"Where's the driver?"

The driver was right next to him.

He was in his forties and kept holding a cup of tea that had gone completely cold.

He shook his head when asked the question.

"I didn't stop either."

"Do you feel anything unusual?" Lin Ye asked.

"The tunnel has become longer."

"What do you mean?"

The driver thought for a while.

"It just won't go any further."

"It usually takes a little over two minutes. Last night, after I went in, it was dark in front of me, and I thought I had slowed down."

"I checked the watch, the speed is normal."

"and then?"

"It took about forty seconds; the next stop suddenly appeared."

Lin Ye looked up.

"How much longer?"

The staff member next to me has already retrieved the data.

"Forty-seven seconds."

Officer He looked at Lin Ye.

Needless to say.

The surveillance footage shows that the car door opened and closed in 47 seconds.

Lin Ye asked Director Guo, "Has this happened before?"

"Never heard of it."

"I want to see the earliest construction data for this section of the line."

Director Guo was taken aback.

"You doubt that there really was a station before?"

"Check first."

Most of the old data from that night was not in the control center.

Fortunately, temporary access to the seven locations had been granted, and the subway archives' electronic index was directly accessible. After searching for more than twenty minutes, a general construction drawing from the early stages of the line's construction was retrieved.

Sure enough, there's an extra marker between the two sites that are still in use.

There is no official station name.

Only the serial number is provided.

Temporary construction site.

Director Guo stared at the picture for a few seconds.

"I've seen this before."

"When the line was being built, the workers and equipment were transported there, and the area was usually closed off before the line opened to traffic."

Why was this sealed off?

Director Guo continued scrolling down.

They quickly found an accident summary.

More than 20 years ago.

During construction in the early morning, a collapse occurred at the underground working face.

Seven people died.

Following the accident, the relevant access road was permanently closed, and the temporary construction site was subsequently abandoned.

Lin Ye glanced at the location.

It largely overlaps with the platform that appeared in last night's surveillance footage.

Officer He took a breath.

"There really is."

Lin Ye didn't reply.

He was looking at the attachment.

The accident summary stated that seven people died.

There were eight people on the sign-in sheet for the construction work that night.

Seven construction workers.

There is also a site safety officer.

Zhao Anhe.

This name did not appear on the death list.

Lin Ye continued his investigation.

In the subsequent summary table, Zhao Anhe was marked as "leaving his post early".

However, his name was signed after his name on the sign-in sheet for that day.

It's empty, away from the well curb.

The two records do not match.

Officer He frowned.

"Did no one investigate back then?"

"The official accident report only identifies seven victims," ​​Director Guo said. "This is the construction team's original sign-in sheet; it may not have made it into the final report."

Lin Ye stared at the blank well curb.

It is impossible for a person to both go down into the well and leave their post prematurely.

At least one record is wrong.

Or perhaps someone never came back at all.

"The person on the platform last night was counting."

Officer He had also thought of that.

"Eight?"

"uncertain."

Lin Ye closed the documents.

"I'll go listen to it tonight."

Director Guo was taken aback.

"Going again?"

"If the person isn't dead, they're still inside."

After he said that, no one advised him not to investigate anymore.

Passenger service was suspended on the affected section of the road early that morning.

The subway company arranged shuttle buses, and the engineering staff inspected the tunnel from beginning to end twice during the day.

There is no platform.

No new branch roads were added.

Not a single loose brick could be found.

Seven technical personnel also went in once.

Everything is still normal.

The anomaly only occurred during those forty-seven seconds last night.

By evening, Lin Ye had reported the plan to Cheng Fang.

"Empty cars reappearing?"

Cheng Fang flipped through the documents.

"Um."

"Still stuck at the same time as last night?"

"Let's try it this way first."

"Are you getting in the car?"

"We can't exactly have the driver come and investigate ghosts."

Cheng Fang looked up.

"He's driving, you're investigating ghosts. Is there a difference?"

"Different division of labor."

"You're getting better and better at talking."

Cheng Fang put the documents on the table.

"Clear both the front and rear stations. One mobile team on each side."

"Drivers must maintain normal speed; no one is allowed to stop voluntarily."

"After an anomaly occurs, report the location first."

Lin Ye nodded.

"besides?"

"Rescue the missing person first."

"You don't need to tell me that."

"I'm just afraid that if you see something new and exciting, you'll impulsively jump into it."

Lin Ye glanced at him.

"Are you misunderstanding something about me?"

Cheng Fang scoffed.

"no."

11:40 PM.

The test train departs.

There were no passengers on the train.

The driver remained in the front cab.

Lin Ye was alone in the last carriage.

Zhou Qiming got off the bus here last night.

The train passed the previous station.

Enter the target tunnel.

Cheng Fang's voice came through the earphones.

"And now?"

"normal."

"Speak if you have something to say."

"Know."

The wheels beneath my feet rhythmically rolled over the rails.

Clang.

Clang.

Lin Ye closed his eyes.

The spiritual hearing spread out.

A few seconds later.

Another set of sounds appeared.

This is not the train.

Deeper.

Like beneath the existing tracks, there is an old line that has long been buried.

The sound of two sets of wheels slowly approached.

Finally, they reunited.

Lin Ye opened his eyes.

"They're here."

"What's here?"

"Another track."

There was a pause on the other end of the headset.

This was the first time Cheng Fang had heard him talk about this.

"Location?"

"Right below us."

The carriage lights flickered as soon as he finished speaking.

once.

twice.

The circuit map above my head lit up slightly.

Between the two normal sites, there is an extra white dot without a name.

Cheng Fang immediately asked, "The driver didn't slow down, did you?"

Lin Ye had already stood up.

"I'm slow on my end."

The darkness outside the window began to recede.

The first lamp appears.

Then comes the second lamp.

Yellowed wall tiles.

A bench with peeling paint.

Old-fashioned bus stop sign.

The platform that was in yesterday's surveillance footage appeared outside the train window once again.

The car stopped.

At least Lin Ye felt that it had stopped.

The car door slowly opened.

A young man in a yellow delivery uniform was standing outside.

He was also carrying a takeout box.

Zhou Qiming.

He visibly relaxed when he saw the car arrive.

"They've finally arrived."

Lin Ye stood inside the door.

"How long have you been here?"

Zhou Qiming looked at him, puzzled.

"A few minutes."

"From last night until now?"

"What yesterday?"

Zhou Qiming took out his phone.

"I just came down a little while ago."

A full day has passed in reality.

Only a few minutes have passed for him.

Lin Ye stretched out his hand.

"Come on up first."

"Which station is this?"

"Ask again when you get back."

Zhou Qiming wasn't stupid; seeing that his expression was off, he quickly stepped into the carriage.

The instant he stepped inside.

sizzle.

Suddenly, the platform announcement came on.

Zhou Qiming froze.

"here we go again."

Lin Ye looked at him.

"Did it ring last night too?"

"Um."

"What did you say?"

Zhou Qiming has not yet answered.

The hoarse voice came from deep within the platform.

"The number of people is incorrect."

Lin Ye turned his head.

"Recount."

Footsteps sounded in the darkness.

A sound.

Two sounds.

more and more.

People in old work clothes emerged one after another from the areas not illuminated by the lights.

Seven people.

Covered in dust.

Some people were dragging their legs, and some had their helmets half cracked.

But the footsteps Lin Ye heard were not seven.

It is eight paths.

The platform announcement played again.

Eight people.

"One more is needed."