Chapter 3 The Mysterious Black Train

"It has stopped." Shi Lei stood up and said in a somewhat nervous whisper

"Sun Yaojie, please explain what is going on? How did this black train suddenly start moving again, and where is it taking us?" Shi Lei exclaimed in a hurry.

Lin Xiao, Shi Lei, Fang Zhirong, and all the other passengers who boarded the black train were all stunned by the enormous change before them

Lin Xiao could clearly sense through the car window that the outside sky seemed to have brightened somewhat, and he could vaguely see numerous indistinct shadows in the distance, no longer shrouded in the previous darkness where nothing was visible

The whistle of the steam engine sounded, and this black train unexpectedly began to move with a clattering sound.

Lin Xiao nodded, and a group of seven people immediately headed towards the carriage ahead

The outside appeared very spacious, and not far away stood a stone pillar. Hanging from the pillar was a wooden sign, densely inscribed with several lines of text. There was also a simple waiting shed, which contained a row of benches, with a wall on each side. Above the walls, there were rain awnings. Although it was quite rudimentary, the people on the vehicle could still tell that this was a makeshift bus station

Lin Xiao looked at her and secretly shook his head. Wen Ningxuan was well-known in the company as a book lover; whenever she had free time, she would be engrossed in a book. She always carried a backpack with her, and while most girls would typically have items like a comb, mirror, lip balm, foundation, and tissues in their bags, hers was filled entirely with books

The strangeness of this matter has completely exceeded the limits of what they can accept, causing many to doubt whether they are living in a dream, repeatedly slapping their own faces in an attempt to awaken from this nightmare

"Is it really like this?" Shi Lei said with a hint of skepticism, but the look of fear on his face had eased considerably.

This mysterious black train, following the iron tracks beneath the spores, surged into the piles of spore rocks with a tremendous "clang clang" sound, shooting off into the distance

The ferocious beast charging at the black train roars, shaking the heavens

Sun Yaojie and Ye Dongling held hands tightly, and Sun Yaojie could feel that Ye Dongling's small hand was very cold

What is going on

The speed has slowed down, and it seems like it is about to stop. Many people sensed this, their spirits lifted, and they immediately stood up from their positions

The black train was racing forward, and the people on board gradually calmed down from their brief panic and confusion. Lin Xiao looked out through the train window, but all he could see was a mass of darkness, with nothing discernible.

Many people gasped in astonishment; the originally silent black train, devoid of any human presence, suddenly seemed to come to life. One by one, the train doors closed automatically, followed by the lights inside illuminating one after another

Lin Xiao, Sun Yaojie, Ye Dongling, and Fang Zhirong all stood up in succession, while Wen Ningxuan remained engrossed in her book, clearly captivated. Lin Xiao gently tapped her on the head.

"This statement makes sense; we need not be anxious. Once we stand, everything will become clear." Some in the crowd nodded in agreement with Sun Yaojie.

Fang Zhirong said in a low voice: "We have arrived at the station, quickly stop reading, or something strange might happen again"

Everyone harbors fear in their hearts

Perhaps this is indeed the case. On the other side, a young man with a crew cut was speaking.

Suddenly, a piercing wail of "woo" erupted from the black train, followed closely by a series of "bang bang bang" sounds

Lin Xiao stood by one of the car doors, experiencing up close the presence of this beast with a horn, its skin resembling rock. Lin Xiao felt that the aura of this creature seemed even more terrifying than that of lions or tigers. However, how could such a ferocious beast have never been heard of before

This is ーー

Ye Dongling said: "With so many people here, what is there to be afraid of? Shi Lei, I am not afraid, so why are you?"

"Not bad, but it seems that there was no one on this train before, yet it suddenly started moving on its own. This... this is truly bizarre," Shi Lei exclaimed, his face revealing a look of fear.

In the company, Sun Yaojie is renowned for his intelligence. When faced with such an inexplicable matter, Shi Lei could not help but inquire about his opinion

Let us hope so. However, others do not share an optimistic attitude and are filled with concern

Hmph, there must be something strange in the cockpit. Let's all put in some effort; we must break this open. I want to see who is behind this.

Many passengers guarding the door were so frightened that they stumbled backward in quick succession, and the more timid ones even lost their footing and fell to the ground.

Sun Yaojie’s conjecture was not incorrect. Approximately half an hour later, everyone clearly felt that the mysterious black train was slowing down

Moo

A driverless train, carrying a full load of passengers, sets off automatically.

As Lin Xiao finished speaking and the sound of the * book * fell, Sun Yaojie, who was sitting in the chair, suddenly stood up, pushed up his glasses, and said: "Not bad, let's go take a look in front. If there is someone driving this black train in the cockpit, we can capture him and ask a few questions to clarify everything."

After struggling through the night, filled with shock and fear, everyone felt utterly exhausted, yet no one could sleep. The events unfolding before them were simply too bizarre.

Upon hearing this, Shi Lei appeared even more anxious and could not help but grasp Lin Xiao's sleeve

Wū——

"What should we do now? We can't open this door," someone shouted from the crowd

In this train carriage, there were indeed no people at that time, but we did not enter the driver's cabin, so we cannot be certain that it was definitely unoccupied

In order to find you, we searched several train carriages. Sun Yaojie pushed up the black-rimmed glasses on his nose, let out a long sigh, and sat down on the seat next to Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao found a seat in the carriage and sat down. Approximately eight to nine hundred people boarded this mysterious train, distributed across various carriages, and it was not crowded. With no other options available, everyone could only sit down and wait.

Wen Ningxuan winced in pain, and with a soft "ah," she lifted her head, holding the book, rubbed her beautiful large eyes, and asked in confusion, "Have we arrived at the station?"

Although the black train was filled with mystery and eeriness, nothing unusual happened while everyone was on board. Gradually, they settled down and began to seek ways to communicate with the outside world. Unfortunately, whether it was their mobile phones, radios, or the wireless network on their laptops, none could establish a connection. They felt as if they had been completely cut off from the world.

What is remarkable is that under such circumstances, Wen Ningxuan was still able to hold a book and read it earnestly

It is you. Seeing them, Lin Xiao let out a slight sigh of relief; fortunately, all seven of them were safe and sound so far.

The black train finally came to a stop, and one by one, the doors opened silently. The lights inside the carriage lit up and then automatically went out. Everyone hurriedly squeezed to the door, looking out.

Sun Yaojie, seeing that the iron door of the carriage in front could not be opened, realized that it was impossible to go to the driver's cabin to check. He then spoke: "Everyone, there is no need to be anxious. This train will not keep moving indefinitely; it will eventually reach a stop. Once we arrive at the station, we will know the situation clearly"

Inside the black locomotive, numerous pipes extend outward, from which thick white steam is ejected, resembling a giant steam engine

Lin Xiao gazed through the car window, observing the enveloping darkness outside. He could vaguely sense that there were clusters of shadows, continuously rushing away due to the rapid movement of the black train.

Sun Yaojie looked at Lin Xiao and said, "Lin Xiao, what do you think?"

One of the ferocious beasts leaped forward, its body half entering the car door. As the door closed, it trapped the beast in between, causing blood to splatter. This unknown ferocious beast was bisected by the door, with its front half falling inside the carriage and its rear half outside.

When they crossed through row after row of train cars and arrived at the locomotive, a crowd had already gathered here, banging on the front. It seemed that there were quite a few people who shared their thoughts, yet the door to the driver's cabin was tightly shut and locked. They had been knocking for quite some time, but were unable to open it.

"Lin Xiao." A man's voice came from behind. Lin Xiao turned around to see Sun Yaojie, Ye Dongling, Wen Ningxuan, and Wu Wenxu pushing through the crowd towards her

The white steam erupted, startling the surrounding stone-skinned beasts, which retreated in alarm. On the ground, the thick layers of various spores were lifted by the force, revealing a set of iron tracks that had been concealed beneath the spores

Fang Zhirong touched his shiny, plump face and said slowly: "There are indeed too many things that cannot be explained. For instance, the train we are on, how could it possibly end up in such a ghostly place even if an accident occurred? There are no tracks visible on the ground, and what about those beasts with horns and skin as hard as stone? Does anyone recognize them? Moreover, how could so many of them appear all at once? Another curious thing is that this black train we are currently riding on, despite being struck in the middle, has suffered no damage at all? Don't you find that strange?"

The car doors that had been opened suddenly slammed shut towards the center, catching everyone off guard and leaving them all in shock

With the long, piercing sound of the whistle, this black train, shrouded in mystery, finally came to a slow stop

It cannot be moved; this train is truly too sturdy. Did you not see? The train we were on before crashed into this one and broke apart like it was made of paper, immediately splitting into three sections. Yet this train remains completely unscathed; it is simply like a monster.

"Shilei, please calm down," Sun Yaojie said slowly. "Perhaps this is a new type of train developed and researched in our country, controlled by intelligent systems. It knows we have encountered an accident, so it has been dispatched here to take us to a safe location."