Chapter 3: The Giant Train
The night was deep, and dark clouds obscured the moon.
On the outskirts of Huacheng, near the West Train Station.
Autumn cicadas emitted a series of weak, dying laments from an unseen place.
Under the night sky, the entrance to an abandoned subway station stood there, its old iron roof broken in several large spots, sealed with crisscrossed spider webs, while the train station across the street lay in darkness.
Due to the severe influence of urban legend events, the West Train Station had been closed, and this subway station connecting the city center and the West Train Station had stopped operating as early as three or four years ago.
At the entrance of the subway station, the barricades on the staircase leading down were haphazardly placed, and a rusted iron gate was entwined with chains, featuring a large lock and a metal sign that read “Service Suspension Notice.”
Further down, behind the iron gate, the staircase descended only a short distance before being engulfed by deep darkness.
“Dada—dada—!”
In the distance, the sound of shoes tapping against the stone pavement echoed.
A girl, leaning on a cane and dressed in a brown woolen coat and round-toed shoes, came limping with a suitcase accompanied by a little maid and stopped in front of the subway station.
“Ahua.”
Jiang Li called softly and waved at Ahua, who then instinctively handed her a pair of steel cutting pliers.
Holding the pliers, she bypassed the barricade and walked to the iron gate, quickly cutting the chains that were wrapped around it.
When she turned back to return the pliers to Ahua, she noticed Ahua was looking at her with an odd expression.
“What’s wrong, Ahua?”
Ahua adjusted her glasses and muttered, “It’s nothing. I just feel that Miss, perhaps you’ve been around that guy Luxianbei for too long, and you’ve become increasingly skilled at lock picking and breaking in.”
All because of that little b*stard… Ahua thought to herself.
Jiang Li tilted her head, puzzled, “Didn’t I often do this kind of thing when investigating gambling cases before?”
“But back then, you would hesitate a bit.”
Jiang Li slightly parted her lips, paused for two seconds, and said, “You’re overthinking it. Let’s go in and take a look.”
Accompanied by the creaking “yiya” sound, the dark red iron gate, long sealed, opened once again.
Jiang Li descended the staircase, with Ahua pulling the suitcase closely behind, and soon their figures vanished into the darkness.
——
After the hustle and bustle faded away, what was once an unbearably crowded subway station now felt vast, like a giant labyrinth, empty with towering stone columns casting large shadows on the ground, and the air was filled with a strange mix of dust and moldy odor.
On the platform, the floor was made of extremely smooth terrazzo, reflecting an eerie light from an unknown source, while the model on the wall-mounted advertisement lightboard had a face that had become distorted and blurry due to moisture, appearing to stare with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.
Scattered garbage and paper scraps covered the ground, and a yellowed League of Legends S12 poster lay quietly among them.
Its former owner might have been an “e-sports youth,” but unfortunately, that year’s competition was canceled due to some “force majeure.”
In the darkness, nocturnal creatures stealthily moved, and when illuminated by a flashlight’s pale beam, they shrieked and fled into the distance.
Jiang Li watched the rats and bats disappear, nodding slightly, “It seems this place is indeed the right one.”
In abandoned underground buildings like this, harboring dirt and filth is normal; it would be unusual for urban legends not to thrive and take residence.
And this subway station was clearly abnormal, which meant Jiang Li was in the right place.
Here was one of the rumored entrances to that casino.
Years ago, when she first began investigating that gambling case, the first clue she obtained from an urban legend at a mahjong parlor pointed here.
But when she chased that lead, she found that the subway station had already been closed, and that gambling case wasn’t something that could just be casually joined.
Gambling required an invitation, and at that time, Jiang Li didn’t know how to obtain one.
With her flashlight in hand, Jiang Li searched the subway station for a while before finally finding the lone vending machine in the corner.
When the subway station was closed, all the equipment and devices had long been moved away, leaving only this solitary vending machine, forlornly sitting in the corner as if abandoned.
On the dusty wall behind the vending machine, there was a poorly executed graffiti.
The dark red graffiti looked like a prank “masterpiece” from some delinquent child, but it had an eerie, captivating quality that made it hard to look away.
Jiang Li rummaged in her coat pocket for the chip she had obtained from Luxianbei and tossed it into the vending machine. It fell inside without making any noise, as if it had dropped into another dimension.
The next moment, the long-idle vending machine suddenly lit up without a power source, displaying a route that didn’t even exist on the Huacheng map.
[Huacheng Train Station (West) → Lan Zhuo Guesthouse → Dan Sha Gu’s Pharmacy → Dream Come True Entertainment City
Time: 1:11—2:22
One-way price: 3 Balance: 10
Purchase + [1] Confirm/Cancel]
As expected, just like the information provided by the urban legends chat group, all the elements of gambling, drugs, and vice were covered… Jiang Li thought to herself.
She fixated on the vending machine’s screen, her heartbeat quickening, breathing becoming erratic as she momentarily dazed out. Then she reached out her slightly trembling hand, added the quantity for the purchase, and clicked “Confirm.”
With a “ding!” the visuals on the screen changed, and the ticket slot spat out two black, nameless tickets with rose-gold patterns.
Following that, four white chips with the denomination of “1” rolled out from the coin return slot. Jiang Li bent down to pick them up and noticed that these white chips were exactly like the chips with the “10” denomination but significantly lighter.
Though the starting funds were a bit less and she could only start with the slot machines requiring the least betting, having these would be enough. Jiang Li thought fiercely as she tightened her grip on the chips.
——
All along, Jiang Li harbored a question in her heart.
She couldn’t figure out how that casino belonging to an urban legend could blatantly traverse from city to city right under Siye Society’s nose.
After all, aside from those cities completely occupied by urban legends, every city’s edge within Siye Society’s jurisdiction was fortified with barriers set by three disaster-class spiritual energy manipulators.
Although those barriers could not completely prevent individual urban legends from moving between cities, they could stop large-scale urban legend migration events.
This limited the possibility of some urban legends using cities as bases to expand their territory into nearby areas through the Hundred Demons Walk.
Yet.
Under such circumstances, Dream Come True Entertainment City was still able to hold events in a different city every so often.
This was also one of the reasons Jiang Li had been unable to locate them for a long time, as well as why Siye Society was aware of their existence but had conducted several surprise raids without being able to eliminate them.
With a mindset pondering the secrets behind it, Jiang Li waited in the abandoned subway station for a long time.
However, when the “train” to Dream Come True Entertainment City finally arrived, she didn’t discover anything valuable…
——
At 1:06 A.M., inside the abandoned subway station.
“Woo—!”
A high-pitched sound suddenly echoed from the pitch-black tunnel, a strange sound akin to someone pinching their throat to mimic a train horn.
Immediately following was a strong wind that billowed out from the tunnel, as if pouring some cold essence into the subway station, carrying the long-accumulated stench of decay and d*ath.
Jiang Li and Ahua stood side by side on the platform, gazing into the direction the wind was blowing from, their gazes deepening as the howling wind sent garbage flying all around them, thick dust swirling in their wake.
Something was approaching, and the spirit energy fluctuations in the subway station suddenly surged.
“Bang bang—bang bang—!”
Soon, a heavy footstep sound resonated in the tunnel, like a troop of elite soldiers racing along the tracks, but the tempo was far quicker than that of humans.
The entire subway station shook, dust falling from the ceiling.
Suddenly, a gust of rancid wind swept through, and a pair of gigantic hands, much larger than normal, burst forth from the tunnel, quickly followed by an enormous head.
It was a monster resembling a giant.
Its enormous head had messy, matted hair, and its eyes, like basin-sized orbs, seemed devoid of eyelids as they bulged, with a giant mouth slightly open, revealing dark yellow sharp teeth.
Its emaciated body was covered in gnarled human legs, crawling frantically along the tracks, causing vibrations.
Countless crimson muscles split from below its waist, spiderweb-like, spreading out and intertwining with the green train cars, as if merging into one.
Inside the elongated train, dozens of passengers scattered about, in addition to a few spiritual ability users and urban legends, there were also many ordinary people.
From their clothing and appearance, there were wealthy merchants dressed lavishly, slovenly homeless men with sluggish expressions, typical office workers, and even a few students in school uniforms.
As for which station they would disembark at, it was impossible to tell.
Actually using a monster with partial powers of a hundred-armed giant to pull the train—what were they?
Moreover, these ordinary people dared to board the train upon seeing such a scene? Jiang Li thought in shock, then shook her head gently.
Perhaps what the ordinary people saw was an entirely different spectacle; monsters of this level always had a way of deceiving their eyes.
Jiang Li watched the “train” in a trance until a whip-crack and a low, sorrowful wail from the monster brought her back to reality, noticing that sitting atop the giant monster was a man wearing a top hat and a white mask, clad in a tailcoat.
There was a suppressed, hidden spirit energy fluctuation—was he a spiritual ability user or an urban legend? Jiang Li stared at the man, deep in thought.
The “train” came to a stop, and the man stood up on the back of the giant monster, took off his hat, and bowed to Jiang Li, “I’m delighted to meet you tonight, madam! Welcome aboard the Giant Train.”
“This train will depart in three minutes; please orderly board while keeping your belongings with you. We have prepared complimentary snacks, fruits, beverages, and various books for you on board; feel free to take what you need.”
“Lastly, I wish you a wonderful night.”
After he finished speaking, the man seated himself once more, gazing ahead and quietly waiting.
At the same time, on the green train car, the crimson muscles wriggled, and with a sticky, wet sound, the door to the train opened before Jiang Li.
Jiang Li steadied herself, looking at the door that opened towards her, then turning to Ahua, she said solemnly, “Ahua, are you sure you want to go with me? We can still leave now.”
“Miss, what are you saying? If it weren’t for the madam taking me in back then, I’d have been kidnapped by human traffickers long ago. Since you returned, I’ve decided that wherever you go, I will follow,” Ahua replied.
“…” Jiang Li was silent for a moment and nodded, “Alright, let’s go.”
Then the two of them stood side by side and boarded the train.
The moment Jiang Li and Ahua stepped onto the train, two shadows lurking at the train door suddenly transformed into threads of delicate black smoke, darting like thunder towards the platform, quickly disappearing into the dark subway station.
The man perched on the back of the giant monster stealthily watched the two shadows depart with one eye, furrowing his brow slightly, but soon returned his gaze, cracking the whip in his hand to send the Giant Train forward.
Monsters like those shadows, hitching a ride on the train to Dream Come True Entertainment City, crossing the barriers set by Siye Society, and causing chaos in cities were all too common; the man had grown accustomed to it and didn’t wish to pay them any mind.
Furthermore, should they go down and cause chaos, it would be a headache for Siye Society in that city, having nothing to do with him; his duty was merely to operate the Giant Train.
——
The next morning, at Huacheng University, in the Science and Liberal Arts Building, Luxianbei was sprawled across his desk fast asleep.
He was utterly exhausted.
Last night, he had been meticulously studying the list of urban legends left by Jiang Li, in order to understand the distribution of urban legend forces in Huacheng, and had spent the latter half of the night dreaming, learning swordsmanship from Qing Ji.
He had hardly slept all night.
“Ding—!”
The bell for the long break rang, abruptly waking Luxianbei, who wiped the crystal from the corner of his mouth and stared dazedly at the empty podium ahead.
He had just experienced a nightmare, dreaming that Jiang Li lost everything gambling and even put him on the gambling table as a wager.
Absolutely ridiculous!
What relation do I have with her? How could she use me as a wager!?
Not even in a dream!
Luxianbei thought angrily, sluggishly getting up and heading towards the hallway. Just as he passed by Yang Yi’s group, the topic they were discussing caught his attention, causing him to stop.
“I’m telling you, that urban legend game is really not dangerous; one of my friends in the chat group tried it last night, and it’s perfectly fine. Look, here’s a photo he took.”
As Yang Yi spoke, he handed his phone to the crowd.
Having gone through two reviews and one reward experience in the urban legends chat group, Luxianbei felt anxious upon hearing the words “chat group.” He always felt that Yang Yi was dragging his friends onto a reckless path.
Not to mention, aside from the chat group.
Are there really any dangerous urban legend games in this world?
Luxianbei thought, stretching his neck to glance, and soon saw the eerie picture on Yang Yi’s phone.
The image depicted a grotesque, poorly crafted doll, with red thread sewn onto its chest and a fruit kn*fe stuck in it. It seemed like the red thread had faded due to being soaked in water, creating a splash of red on its chest as if bl**d had poured out from being stabbed.
Just from its appearance, that doll already qualified as an urban legend level; it would definitely scare people if hung outside at night.
“…”
Looking at the somewhat sinister photo, Luxianbei fell silent, feeling displeased, and secretly complained to himself.
There is certainly a difference in luck among people.
He encountered a bunny-headed flyer distributor on the street and didn’t even take the flyer, only to suffer a series of unfortunate events.
While the one who created such a sinister thing didn’t get into any trouble, that’s just unfair!
As Luxianbei pondered, he was about to continue examining the image on Yang Yi’s phone when a dark hand suddenly blocked his line of sight.
“Yang, that guy is peeking at your phone.”
A slightly awkward Chinese voice reached his ears. Luxianbei frowned slightly, looking in the direction of the sound, and saw a dark face.
“…”
d*mn it, Black Uncle!
With the prompt from the foreign friend, Yang Yi froze for a moment, staring at Luxianbei with a strange look and asked, “Classmate Luxian, is there something you need?”
“…” Luxianbei fell silent for two seconds before, adhering to the principle of maintaining a good relationship between classmates, replied expressionlessly, “I’m fine, but I think you might have a problem.”
“How so?” Yang Yi frowned tightly.
“I see your cheeks are yellow, and your hall is dark…”
Yang Yi chuckled at Luxianbei’s quip and interrupted, “Haha, Classmate Luxian, are you trying to say I’m experiencing bl**d calamity recently? I didn’t expect you could also read faces.”
“If you can see my calamity, do I owe you some payment? Haha!”
“Eh, really?” The attractive girl in a cooling outfit beside them exclaimed, “Classmate Luxian, could you check me out too? See if I’m about to have good luck!”
Luxianbei, “…” Do you think I’m a street corner fortune teller? You expect me to just read you for free?
“You…” he glanced at the girl and said, “Wow! Impressive, your bone structure is quite remarkable. Did you run out from one of the Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio?”
“???” The girl tilted her head, seemingly not understanding what Luxianbei was saying.
“As for you…” Luxianbei pointed at Yang Yi, “I don’t understand fortune-telling; what I said just now comes from traditional Chinese medicine, indicating a deficiency in kidney yang and excess cold yin.”
“I suggest you get two prescriptions for herbs to regulate it and sleep early at night…”
While speaking, Luxianbei threw a glance at Yang Yi’s phone.
“Stop playing around with this stuff; be cautious of dying in your prime… Oh no, it should be ‘dying from exhaustion!’”
Yang Yi, “…”
This…
Everyone is majoring in Chinese Language and Literature; why does it feel like I can’t quite argue back against him?
(Today I got stuck on some parts of the writing, so I updated a bit late; apologies, everyone!)
