Chapter 254: Daytime carriage, add one more spoon! |
The stench filled the air, and a terrifying ghostly face loomed right in front of him. The wrinkles on its face resembled cracked cement, and eerie flames flickered in its dark eye sockets.
The scene was quite beautiful.
Qin Nuo remained unmoved, continuing to sleep soundly, his breath carrying a slight snore.
Because of the stench, Qin Nuo, in his deep sleep, seemed uncomfortable and turned his body, facing away from her.
The old woman paused, leaned back, and stared at the corpse lying on the ground.
Then, there was the sound of flesh being pierced, as a sharp iron hook stabbed through the corpse.
The old woman, holding an iron bucket in one hand and dragging the corpse with the other, walked away along the aisle, returning to the front of the carriage.
Qin Nuo slightly opened his eyes, pondered for a moment, then closed them again and continued his sleep.
...
As the train emitted a whistling sound, in the last carriage, Qin Nuo opened his eyes and found that the sky outside had begun to brighten. The white fog had thickened, turning everything into a vast whiteness, barely revealing the vague outlines of the city.
Lonely and mysterious.
Qin Nuo was awake, but he didn't easily lift his head, instead using his peripheral vision to observe the movements of the other passengers.
The other players behaved similarly to Qin Nuo. In fact, most of them had stayed awake all night, pretending to sleep, which was torturous. Time crawled by like a snail.
In such a terrifying environment, only a weirdo like Qin Nuo could sleep so comfortably.
Qin Nuo leaned back in his seat, squinting his eyes to widen his field of vision as much as possible.
As the dim light shone into the carriage, the filthy environment reappeared before his eyes.
Soon, the sound of an iron bucket being struck came from the front of the carriage, followed by the Old Man's voice: "Passengers, it's time to wake up. The train will keep moving, and you can't just rust in your seats, can you?"
He stood in the aisle with his hands behind his back. Compared to the old woman, his face appeared much more normal, and beneath his aged exterior, he wore a kindly smile.
Hearing this, some passengers tentatively opened their eyes.
Some drama queens stretched lazily, yawning, their expressions content and satisfied.
The Old Man grinned at them, revealing a mouth with few teeth: "Looks like you all slept well last night. I thought the noises might have woken you up."
A player hesitated for a moment, then forced a smile and said, "Not bad, thanks for your concern, Old Man."
"It's my duty to take care of the passengers in this carriage. If you're satisfied, it makes my job easier."
The Old Man took out his old smoking pipe, took a puff, and said with a faint smile.
Seeing that the old man was easy to talk to, the other players relaxed a bit and tried to engage him in conversation.
The chatter from the front seats eased the tense atmosphere that had solidified in the carriage overnight.
Some passengers moved around in their seats, chatting with their neighbors. The Old Man watched without any unusual behavior.
Fang Ye, sitting in the front row, turned back to look at Qin Nuo: "Last night, I heard you snoring. At first, I thought you were pretending to sleep, but your snoring lasted all night."
Qin Nuo shrugged: "I was really asleep."
Fang Ye was a bit speechless: "You have quite the nerve."
"The old man told us to sleep, so sleeping must be safe. Instead of the torture of pretending to sleep, why not enjoy a good night's rest?"
Qin Nuo said with a smile, then asked, "You didn't sleep at all, did you?"
Fang Ye's expression was like he had eaten durian, and he said, "First, I need to have your mindset to be able to sleep."
A player nearby, watching Qin Nuo and Fang Ye's conversation, wanted to join in. He glanced ahead and whispered, "Daytime doesn't seem as scary as night. The old man seems easier to talk to. Maybe we can ask him how to get to the next carriage?"
Fang Ye glanced at him but didn't respond.
Qin Nuo said, "Never trust the ghosts in a horror game. Their faces change faster than the weather."
"They haven't acted out because no one has broken the game's rules."
"As for how to get to the next carriage, it entirely depends on that old couple. When the time is right, I think they'll tell us how to pass through that door."
Qin Nuo calmly said, staring at the bloody iron door at the end of the carriage.
"From the way you talk, I can tell you're an experienced player. Hey, want to team up?" The player, impressed by Qin Nuo's analysis, quickly tried to recruit him.
Fang Ye blocked him with one hand, looking at him indifferently: "He's already teamed up with me."
The player, seeing Fang Ye's unapproachable demeanor, continued to smile ingratiatingly: "Adding one more won't hurt. As they say, 'In a group of three, there's always something to learn.'"
Fang Ye: "Are you talking about yourself? You'd just be a burden. What you should do now is sit back down and keep your mouth shut."
The player hesitated but, seeing Fang Ye's menacing aura, backed down.
At the front of the carriage, more and more players attempted to converse with the Old Man.
Their tone was as flattering as possible, and their attitude was humble.
The players weren't fools. Before entering the instance, they naturally familiarized themselves with the rules.
In this carriage, the old couple naturally played the role of carriage leaders. Building a good relationship with them was generally more beneficial than not.
"Old Man, can we go to the next carriage?"
Amidst the chatter, a sudden voice rang out, and everyone else fell silent.
All the players wanted to ask this question, but none had the courage, waiting for someone else to speak up.
The player who asked quickly ducked his head, hiding among the crowd.
The Old Man, hearing the question, simply continued to smoke his pipe without responding.
The white smoke curled through the carriage.
The players fell silent, and the atmosphere grew somewhat awkward.
Just then, a side door opened.
The old woman emerged, carrying two buckets of steaming porridge. The porridge was overcooked, its brown color unappetizing.
"Time to eat. This is porridge I worked hard to make. It should be enough for everyone."
"One meal a day, so make sure to cherish it."
The old woman's smile was just as kind, a stark contrast to her terrifying, cold demeanor from the night before.
The Old Man distributed the utensils, while the old woman served the food.
Plates were placed on the seats' fold-out trays, followed by a serving of sticky, mushy porridge.
The passengers looked at the porridge, their eyelids twitching with unease.
When it was finally Qin Nuo's turn, he took his plate, and a ladle of sticky porridge was plopped onto it.
The old woman seemed to remember Qin Nuo, her smile deepening, causing the wrinkles on her face to smooth out: "Young man, you slept very well last night. Though your snoring was loud, that's a good thing."
"However, your seatmate wasn't so quiet..."
Qin Nuo glanced at the empty seat next to him, still stained with some blood, and smiled: "It's all thanks to you two on duty that I could sleep so soundly and peacefully."
The old woman's smile grew even brighter at Qin Nuo's words, but to Qin Nuo, it seemed even more terrifying.
"Such a delightful child, you should eat more!"
With that, she added another ladle to Qin Nuo's plate.
"…"
Qin Nuo looked at the plate, nearly overflowing with porridge that resembled regurgitated blood, and fell silent.