Chapter 22: Loss of Control (1)

Lu Jinzhao merely smiled at her, offering no response to her question, and turned her gaze toward the large screen in the waiting room.

As with the last time, the station task details were displayed on the screen.

[Train Grade for this stop: C]
[Number of passengers: Ten]
[Passenger List: Zhang Junjie, Li Haoyang, Wang Siyuan, Chen Yuxuan, Huang Yawen, Wu Xue, Xu Ruolin, Lu Jinzhao, Wei Ling, Ye Jingyun]
[Current Stop: Out of Control]
[Legend has it that Quxiang is a famous land of gods and ghosts. Every year, the villagers hold sacrifices to ensure that evil spirits do not wreak havoc. Once a problem occurs with the sacrifice, the evil entities in the village will spiral out of control...]
[Survive in Quxiang for 24 hours. Board the return train after 24 hours to complete the mission.]

Lu Jinzhao frowned slightly after reading the station information.
Twenty-four hours—that was a long time. Furthermore, the information provided was even more ambiguous than "Ghost Summoning."

As it stood, it seemed they needed to ensure the sacrificial ritual in Quxiang proceeded smoothly. Perhaps the evil spirits would emerge to disrupt the ritual, and only by ensuring its completion could they possibly survive the 24 hours.

"Doesn't seem too complicated; the main objective is clearly stated," a sturdy young man remarked.

"The ritual is likely some form of suppression. The evil spirit being suppressed in Quxiang must be quite formidable. We need to be careful during the ceremony; something strange might happen even before it begins."

The people in the room began to discuss it, one after another.

"Since the duration is a day and a night, it likely means we are arriving on the day of the sacrifice. We should figure out the ritual process immediately upon arrival. If we don't intervene and let the villagers handle it themselves, something is bound to go wrong."

Lu Jinzhao agreed with this point.

But would it really be any safer if the passengers took charge?
She recalled the ritual in "Ghost Summoning," where performing the ritual itself had been the fatal step. She couldn't be sure if the same would apply to "Out of Control," so she would have to play it by ear.

The others in the waiting room offered many seemingly useful suggestions. Lu Jinzhao kept them in mind but did not speak; after all, she was a novice who had only experienced one station, so it was best not to show off in front of experts.

"Based on the current analysis, the most dangerous part is the ritual process. It's expected that some supernatural accidents will occur during this time, and it's certain that the consequences of a failed sacrifice will be severe."

"So, once we get inside, everyone stay alert and don't break any taboos associated with the sacrifice."

The group nodded. Lu Jinzhao noticed that the pink-haired girl, who had seemed quite lively earlier, was rather quiet during this discussion, only occasionally whispering to the girl beside her.

"Indeed, she's doing it on purpose..."

To draw so much hatred and attention, she must be confident in her own abilities.
In other words, she likely possessed a decent supernatural item for self-defense.

Seeming to notice Lu Jinzhao's gaze, the pink-haired girl looked up and smiled. Lu Jinzhao blinked and naturally shifted her gaze away.

Soon, the sound of the train pulling into the station echoed through the room.
This time, all ten people were present.

Lu Jinzhao had already experienced the ticket checking process once, but now that she had been through a station mission, she understood exactly what it felt like to be near a ghost. Thus, when the ticket inspector reached out to take her ticket, she could confirm: the inspector was a ghost.

"...This aura, there’s no mistake."
"What exactly is this train? Using a ghost to check tickets?"
"What’s even more terrifying is that the ghost is actually just honestly checking tickets."

When the ticket was returned, Lu Jinzhao was slightly surprised to find that the amount of "life-buying money" had increased to 500.

"It seems the life-buying money provided by the train increases based on the difficulty..."

After boarding, the group continued their discussion. To Lu Jinzhao’s eyes, the ten people had already subtly divided into small cliques. Of course, there were those like her who were alone, but it was clear that many of them maintained connections in their real lives even after leaving the station.

"After this station, I should ask if anyone else is around."

Lu Jinzhao had not been able to find the location of Quxiang in the real world, but on the train, its position felt no different from Thailand. At almost the exact same time as before, the train slowly came to a halt.

"We’ve arrived. Everyone, be careful."

Among the passengers this time, there was no one like Lin Shuyue who could take the lead. Lu Jinzhao guessed that they had all likely gone through several station missions, yet there was no one particularly powerful among the group.

This highlighted the difference from the last time. Previously, even though Lin Shuyue wasn't exceptionally powerful, she could command respect, and she was the only one on that list who possessed a supernatural item.

This time, Lu Jinzhao suspected that at least a few of the small cliques definitely possessed supernatural items.

The train doors opened. Lu Jinzhao looked outside, but found she could see nothing.
A single threshold felt as though it separated two different worlds; outside, it was pitch black.

It was completely different from what she had seen in Chinatown. Perhaps this was unique to each station?

She pondered it only briefly before following the others out the door.
The moment she crossed the threshold, Lu Jinzhao found herself indoors.

She looked back in surprise. Behind her was a pair of slightly weathered wooden doors, and beyond them was a dirt path in the countryside, with no sign of the train to be found.

Though surprised, she kept her expression neutral, as no one else seemed to find this strange.

"...It seems my experience is still limited."

Lu Jinzhao withdrew her gaze and began to observe the room.
It was easy to tell that this was an ancestral hall.

The space was quite large, with a quaint, ancient style. The place they had arrived at was the main hall of the hall. Walking forward a few steps, one could see the ancestral tablets being worshipped. This must be a small village with the surname Feng, as all the ancestors on the tablets shared the surname.

However, it appeared that the place hadn't been cleaned for some time. The table for offerings was empty, the incense and candles had long since burned out, and incense ash was scattered everywhere by the wind due to neglect. Only a single eternal flame lamp beside the tablets was still barely flickering.

Just as Lu Jinzhao was observing her surroundings, the door of the ancestral hall creaked, and an old man walked in.

Upon entering and seeing people in the hall, he became furious.

"Didn't I say no one is allowed to enter the ancestral hall unless there's a reason? Why have you come in? It’s not even time for the sacrifice yet!"

"Get out! You have no respect for the rules at all!"