Chapter 52: The Isolated Carriage
How could Kitano Runa be here?
This question wasn’t just on Shangshan Che’s mind; Kitano Runa herself wanted to know too.
She had only yawned and blinked while riding the subway, so how did all the Special Affairs Office staff around her disappear?
“This is bad, really bad…”
She murmured softly.
The White Hannya incident had only happened a few hours ago, so Kitano Runa’s vigilance was extremely high now. No matter what she did, she wouldn’t act alone; even going to the restroom, she would ask a female staff member to accompany her.
But even so, she couldn’t prevent this eerie development that came without any warning.
She realized she had been caught up in an unknown supernatural event.
Kitano Runa knew that screaming and crying wouldn’t solve any problems; instead, it would make the situation slide toward something even worse.
The more fear, the calmer she had to be.
She took out her mobile phone and tried calling Shizuma Mafuyu.
“As expected, it’s an empty number…”
Without losing heart, Kitano Runa quickly scanned her surroundings with her eyes, keeping almost completely still.
—A drunk uncle, a JK scrolling on her mobile phone, a girl silently closing her eyes in the corner, and a hooded person sitting next to a girl in white clothes.
—At the doorway, an Auntie cursing under her breath and a group of chattering high school students were approaching.
So, which side looked the safest?
Cold sweat trickled down Kitano Runa’s temple. Years of watching shows told her that picking the wrong one would likely lead to a death ending.
At that moment, the Auntie stormed past Kitano Runa and plopped down right next to that JK.
Strangely, even though the Auntie hadn’t said a word, the JK turned her head with a smile and said, “No problem at all.”
The Auntie was startled and scolded the JK with a furrowed brow.
Kitano Runa thought to herself, “This Auntie is done for…”
JK, ruled out.
While she hesitated, the high school students had already found their seats and started chatting idly.
A high school girl leaned on the window and complained, “The scenery outside looks no different. Urban legends are just scams after all.”
These high school students were normal people!
Kitano Runa was about to greet them when she heard Miyamoto Ryo, with his dyed yellow hair, shrug and say, “No way, this is the train to Kisaragi Station. You must be too careless and didn’t notice, haha!”
It’s over.
Kitano Runa’s expression turned wooden. Kisaragi Station had come up; as an ordinary person, wasn’t she just walking into death?
But just then, a hoarse voice rang out.
“Miss.” She heard a voice from under the hood. “If you don’t mind, I have an empty seat here.”
Kitano Runa didn’t dare think too much, fearing the other might change their mind, and immediately sat down next to the hooded person.
Because to survive in the legendary Kisaragi Station, she absolutely needed help from someone other than an ordinary person!
So even if this was an evil spirit’s invitation, she would accept it!
—Gazing at the girl sitting primly beside him, Shangshan Che nodded.
After all, if she sat next to another monster, protecting her would be troublesome.
Kitano Runa had made the right choice.
Still, he was puzzled why Kitano Runa, who had no connection to Kisaragi Station, had appeared here.
Could it be her spirit-attracting constitution acting up again?
Before Shangshan Che could think further, someone among the high school students exclaimed, “Why has it suddenly become impossible to see outside?!”
“Same here! Can’t see either side!”
“Could this train really be heading to Kisaragi Station!?”
A small commotion was about to break out.
“Hey, hey! Fog at night is totally normal, right? Don’t scare yourselves.” Miyamoto Ryo slapped his thigh and took out his mobile phone. “If you’re scared, I’ll call my boss to come pick us up!”
Then, Miyamoto Ryo’s mobile phone emitted a busy signal for an empty number.
For a moment, the carriage was deathly silent, with only the clacking of the train echoing.
Someone suggested, “Then, how about we go ask in the other carriages?”
“No use.”
Makiya Hitomi pushed up her glasses. “I already tried while you were chatting. The other carriages look normal, but we can’t actually open the glass doors separating them.”
“Bullshit! I’ll try!”
Miyamoto Ryo rolled up his sleeves, his face showing panic.
He kicked the seemingly fragile glass door several times with no effect, and even shouting at the people standing on the other side through the glass did nothing.
It was as if the carriage they were in existed in another world.
“This… what do we do?”
Miyamoto Ryo retreated two steps helplessly, then gripped Makiya Hitomi’s shoulder tightly. “Makiya! You have a way, you definitely do, right!”
Ignoring the commotion on the other side, Shangshan Che stared at the LED screen in the carriage showing 【 Passenger count: 3 】.
This strange number put him on alert, because there were clearly more than three people in the carriage now.
But for the moment, Shangshan Che couldn’t figure it out, so he continued sitting, waiting to see what changed when the train reached the next station.
As time passed, even the Auntie who hadn’t taken it seriously at first sensed something wrong. She stood up, muttering, “It’s been twenty minutes already, why hasn’t it reached a station?”
At that moment, the JK beside her turned her head again, revealing a eerie smile:
“No idea.”
The Auntie still didn’t notice anything off about the JK. “No idea means no idea, I didn’t ask you anyway.”
Several more minutes passed, and just as the high school students’ fear was turning into panic, the train slowly decelerated, and the announcement sounded.
“Next station, Sumida River High School…”
Miyamoto Ryo, slumped on the ground, lit up with joy. He said, “The train’s stopping, and it’s at Sumida River! My home is in Sumida River!”
At these words, most people, including the Auntie, crowded to the carriage doorway, ready to rush off the train at the first moment.
Though ordinary people’s knowledge of ghost gods was limited to urban legends, the idea of leaving the scene immediately when something happened was always right.
Shangshan Che thought for a moment, then stood up as well.
Since the train would stop for several minutes, he decided to stand at the train doorway and observe the outside situation a bit.
But before he could take a step, Shangshan Che felt his hem being tugged.
Kitano Runa trembled as she said, “The outside looks unchanged. B-best not to get off.”
She was much more careful than those guys who came specifically for the courage-testing gathering but had their guts scared out of them.
“Just taking a look.”
Shangshan Che noticed that the JK had also stood up, looking like she was about to get off.
So he deliberately positioned himself behind the JK, ready to act as the situation developed.
With a hiss, the train came to a complete stop.
The previously indestructible carriage doors slowly opened to both sides.
“Get off quick!”
No one knew who shouted it, but the high school students and Auntie gathered at the carriage doorway rushed off almost instantly.
But Shangshan Che heard it clearly.
The voice came from the JK right in front of him.
And at that moment, she was walking slowly out of the train with an eerie smile, blocking the center of the carriage doorway.
Amid a sticky squelching sound, a total of five elongated heads extended out, all staring fixedly at the crowd exiting the train.
