Chapter 2: Summon Ghosts
A violent roar accompanied by mist that permeated from nowhere intruded into this quiet underground platform.
An ancient, roaring steam monster broke through the mist and slowly came to a stop in front of everyone.
This was a rather old train, as if it would only appear in museums and black-and-white photos, and at this moment, it stopped directly in front of Lu Jinzhao, with the open door like an entrance to hell, facing the newcomers with uneasy expressions as it said, welcome.
“Ticket inspection first, other things will be discussed after boarding.”
The leading woman looked at the several newcomers, then picked up that black train ticket and walked toward the door, as if deliberately demonstrating to the newcomers how to do ticket inspection, her movements very slow.
Lu Jinzhao could clearly see that when someone approached, a narrow window suddenly opened on the right side of the door, and a pale, thin and gaunt to the point of terrifying hand stretched out from the opening to take the train ticket handed in by the woman, and after about three seconds, the train ticket was thrown back out.
Retrieving the train ticket, the woman turned back to look at the several newcomers: “Ticket inspection is very simple, but absolutely do not do anything extra.”
The ticket inspection process was not complicated, and when it was Lu Jinzhao’s turn, she placed that black train ticket at the window just like the people before her.
The next second, that slender hand stretched out again, but unlike when watching from the side, at such a close distance, Lu Jinzhao clearly felt a chilling breath approaching her continuously with the movement of this hand, like tides constantly surging, until those weird fingers touched the train ticket.
The chilling breath suddenly stopped, all the weird phenomena came to an appropriate end, and only then did Lu Jinzhao realize belatedly that she had unconsciously held her breath just now.
It was like an instinctive body reaction when facing crisis, and only after coming back to her senses did she realize that her heartbeat had unknowingly sped up.
She wasn’t sure if the others had the same feeling, but at this moment she already understood why the woman warned them not to do anything extra.
Dangerous, extremely dangerous.
Merely a brief contact, and the alarm in Lu Jinzhao’s brain was blaring nonstop.
She had possessed sharper perception and intuition than ordinary people since childhood, which also caused her to be more easily startled by various things, and sometimes even nothing had happened but she would inexplicably feel terrified.
But never had there been a moment when her brain, like just now, issued a sharp warning to her as if it was about to be filled with sense of crisis to the point of explosion.
It was only after two seconds when the train ticket was handed back out that she smoothly retrieved the train ticket and boarded, and her wildly beating heart slightly calmed down.
The layout inside the carriage was not like an ordinary train, but rather like a compartment, Lu Jinzhao’s ticket clearly said “no seat”, but the train didn’t seem to restrict her from standing, it looked like the meaning of “no seat” wasn’t simply that.
It was also after the environment felt slightly “safer” that she had the chance to look at the train ticket after ticket inspection.
Overall, there wasn’t much change, the only change was the column representing the amount, from the original 100 to 200.
Ticket inspection increased the amount of unknown currency?
The girl who first met Lu Jinzhao noticed her doubtful expression at this moment, probably to fulfill the previous promise, she stood beside Lu Jinzhao and briefly explained to her:
“You should have noticed the number on the train ticket, right?”
“In the words of the seniors, that’s the life-buying money the train gives us.”
“Life-buying money?” Lu Jinzhao’s expression paused slightly, and she asked: “What is this money for?”
Hearing this, the other two newcomers on the train also looked over.
The woman’s tone was no longer gentle, but carried an indescribable solemnity and warning: “Life-buying money, as the name implies, money used to buy your lives.”
“Don’t blame me for not reminding you, no matter the situation, the money on the train ticket absolutely cannot be used up.”
“As long as there is still money, there is still life.”
Perhaps considering that the train travel time wouldn’t be too long, the woman didn’t explain many things in too much detail, but the most important taboos were explained clearly.
This also included that when a station appears on the train ticket, they must board the train, every platform mission is extremely difficult, and the most chilling thing is that there is usually a ghost in the platform mission.
Wanting to complete the mission alive is undoubtedly difficult, even nine deaths one life, the train certainly won’t give a mission where everyone must die, but every mission is absolutely malicious.
And among the passengers executing the mission, without a doubt, newcomers have the highest mortality rate.
These words made the complexions of the three newcomers on the train look not very good, even so, the woman just clearly informed them:
“If you really encounter some certain-death crisis, no one will come to save you, the only one you can rely on is yourself.”
“Time is about up, the train is arriving at the station, I’ll give you one last instruction.”
“The mission given by the train must be completed, even if you think doing this mission is just suicidal, you still must do it!”
“Failing to complete the mission, the train will be even more terrifying than the ghost.”
After she finished speaking, taking advantage of the last few minutes before arriving at the station, she briefly introduced the passengers on the train to the several newcomers, and then, accompanied by the roar of the train decelerating, the platform arrived.
There was no broadcast notification inside the train, but after the train stopped steadily, the door quietly opened.
“Get off.”
Lu Jinzhao pinched her palm, at this point, she had already figured it out, although she didn’t know why Lin Zhao did this, she had undoubtedly been drawn into a supernatural event, right now, it was best for her to follow the rules first and survive.
When Jiang Yingzhi mentioned that newcomer mortality rate was extremely high, she recalled the blood script that appeared on the parchment at the station.
[Pay the price, exchange for a way to survive]
She seemed to have a shortcut that others didn’t have, but what was at the end of this path?
What price did she have to pay?
Lu Jinzhao had an inexplicable ominous premonition in her heart, making her not want to take out the parchment for exchange.
“Unless it’s absolutely necessary, it’s best I don’t do that.”
Making a secret resolution in her heart, Lu Jinzhao finally stepped out of the door.
As soon as she got off, she first observed the surrounding environment, clearly. she was no longer in Yuncheng.
She thought of Thailand written on the train ticket, and the environment around here did indeed resemble what she had seen in movies, places like Chinatown.
“No need to worry about language issues, the train won’t use this way to create mission difficulty.”
“Our mission time is 12 hours, to complete 9 times see a ghost, time is tight, now let’s immediately go find a bookstore first.”
The leader of this team temporarily assembled by the train was a woman named Lin Shuyue, according to Jiang Yingzhi, because she had experienced the most platform missions currently and had the most experience.
“Since the mission time is so tight, the bookstore shouldn’t be too hard to find.”
Saying this, she led everyone into this Chinatown in Thailand.
The weather was somewhat gloomy, judging by the sun’s position the time was around three in the afternoon, Lu Jinzhao secretly thought it bad in her heart, this meant that if the drawn see a ghost method order was later, the completion time would be at midnight.
Regardless of how many horror movies or ghost stories one had seen, anyone knew that midnight was absolutely not a good time, Lu Jinzhao could only pray that her drawn number wasn’t too far back.
Fortunately, the bookstore’s location really wasn’t hard to find, and soon after stepping into Chinatown, they saw an old bookstore with a sign hanging.
The paint on the sign’s bookstore name was almost entirely faded, no matter how hard Lu Jinzhao tried she couldn’t make out what this bookstore was called, it was very inconspicuously nestled on one side of Chinatown, occupying only a very small space, with a wooden display rack at the door, with some promotional phrases written on it.
“So few people around.”
Xu Lei looked around and frowned.
Not only was the weather gloomy, there were pitifully few pedestrians, completely different from the lively Chinatown in impressions.
The buildings here all exuded a flavor from the last century, occasionally someone would push open a window upstairs and look down, their gaze fixed for a few seconds upon seeing the group entering Chinatown, then shrink back into the window.
The whole street exuded a strange atmosphere, chilling like the weather.
Entering the bookstore, Lu Jinzhao smelled a slightly pungent smell, probably because the bookstore was very small yet piled with a large number of books inside.
The bookstore owner was a middle-aged man, upon seeing Lu Jinzhao and the others he asked listlessly without even lifting his eyes: “What book do you want to buy?”
Only when Lin Shuyue answered Ten Methods to See Ghosts did he suddenly lift his head to look at them.
After looking carefully for four or five seconds, the owner then asked in his obviously smoke-roughened voice: “Are you sure?”
“Not trying to play some see a ghost game again, right?”
“Don’t blame me for not reminding you, the several young people who bought this book from me last time all died!”
As if talking about some shocking urban rumor, the owner’s expression became much more serious.
Just like the opening of most horror movies, the protagonists always have to court death first, now Lu Jinzhao and the others were the same, they ignored the bookstore owner’s warning and still bought that book named [Ten Methods to See Ghosts].
When leaving, Lu Jinzhao only felt that the bookstore owner’s gaze at them was discomforting, just like looking at some people about to die.
Not everyone present had seen the movie Ten Methods to See Ghosts, so they needed to first look at this book to confirm what the “ten methods” were.
But after reading the methods, the atmosphere fell into dead silence.
Only because the ten methods were respectively:
Cup Spirit, crossroads bowl tapping, black cat ghost hide-and-seek, corpse mud painting, head upside down plant, midnight combing hair, umbrella indoors, exchange dead person’s cornea, pregnant woman suicide, and the final ultimate see a ghost method, play dead.
“Among us. there is no pregnant woman.”
Someone slowly said this.
Yes, Lu Jinzhao also secretly thought in her heart, no pregnant woman, which meant that the person who drew the number for “pregnant woman suicide” was destined not to be able to complete the see a ghost mission?
That is, inevitably one person has to die?!
Infinite flow, no cp
