Chapter 438: Helper

The internal layout of the October 26th Carriage differed from the others, and I had yet to figure out what this arrangement foreshadowed. Time was tight. There was no telling when the conductor would return. Looking at Lu Ming cowering beneath the berth, I finally decided to act.

"I saw your son. Don't move. I'll go bring him back." I activated the Judging Eye to scan my surroundings, but its effectiveness was drastically reduced on this train. My gaze couldn't pierce the dense darkness to make out those twisted faces.

I stepped into the October 26th Carriage. It was only a single stride, but it felt like crossing into a completely different world. The carriage was dead silent. Walking through it, I could hear my heart beating in my chest with perfect clarity.

Rows of berths flanked me, stacked three tiers high like a morgue. A "person" lay flat on every single board.

Clean white cloths covered their bodies, revealing only vague silhouettes. It gave me a bizarre sense of dread.

'I can't stay here too long.' I hurried toward the berth where Lu Ming was hiding. The little boy was terrified, shrinking into the corner the moment he saw me. My patience quickly wore thin. I crouched by the bed, reached in, and grabbed his ankle. "It's dangerous here! Come out!"

Lu Ming was still in a state of absolute panic. I had no idea what he had seen right before his death to terrify him this much.

My words had no effect. Lu Ming kicked and thrashed, his little face entirely drained of color.

Just as I was about to forcefully drag him out, a faint patch of deep blue emerged in the dim aisle. The figure approached, seeming to move slowly but actually closing the distance at terrifying speed.

'The space under the berth is too narrow. I might not fit. Up on the berth...' My pupils shrank. I suddenly noticed the bed right beside me. The white cloth was lifted at the corner, and a hand had reached out, curling its fingers to beckon me.

'What is this?' With no time to think, I lifted the white cloth and lay down next to them.

Cramming two people onto the narrow berth was a tight squeeze. Fortunately, the white cloth was loose enough to completely conceal both our bodies.

'Isn't this like declaring three hundred taels of silver are not buried here? Anyone can tell two people are hiding under this cloth.' I offered a bitter smile, keeping my eyes glued to the aisle through a gap in the fabric.

To my surprise, the conductor hurried past our berth without a second glance, heading straight for Lu Wenchang at the connection between the two carriages.

'This is bad.'

Before long, a thick stench wafted through the quiet carriage. The conductor walked down the aisle, dragging a corpse that had been altered beyond recognition.

Judging by the clothes, the corpse was Lu Wenchang.

He had multiple fractures across his body, and a massive gash was split open on his head. The black blood on his face had congealed. Even stranger was his expression—dull and vacant, as if his body and mind had been traumatized simultaneously, shattering his sole pillar of mental support.

'What exactly happened to Lu Wenchang?' He hadn't entered the October 26th Carriage, opting to wait in the connecting space between the cars instead. From my hiding spot in the berth, I hadn't seen what the conductor did to him.

'Did his body revert to how he looked right before he died? If so, his cause of death is rather bizarre.'

I hid beneath the white cloth, holding my breath in dead silence. I only lifted the fabric after the conductor dragged Lu Wenchang far down the aisle.

Just as I was about to sit up, someone grabbed my arm again. I turned to look, and the color instantly drained from my face.

"You!"

The person lying beside me was an acquaintance. He was a participant in the Death Game—Wang Shi, the suspense novelist who died on the morning of October 26th.

"Why are you yelling?" Wang Shi whispered. "Are you trying to call that woman back?" The 'woman' he mentioned naturally referred to the conductor. This guy was a scheming fox. If my previous theories were right, he had boarded the train on October 26th. Having been on board so much longer than me, he was bound to know things I didn't.

But before we exchanged any information, I needed to clear something up first: "Why did you save me?"

The situation just now had been incredibly dire. While I was struggling to decide on a course of action, Wang Shi had grabbed my arm, taking the initiative to beckon me into hiding with him. Given his "no profit, no early rise" nature, this gesture made me highly suspicious.

"Save you? I was only saving myself." Wang Shi let go of my arm and pushed the white cloth aside. His appearance had drastically changed since his time in the Death Game. His entire body was bloated, as if he had been submerged in water for a very long time.

His profound gaze swept over me. After a few seconds, he finally asked, "Am I already dead?"

I was slightly taken aback. I hadn't expected him to ask me such a question after all this time. "That's right. Based on the information I've gathered, ninety-nine percent of the passengers on this train are dead. Naturally, you're no exception."

"But you're the exception." He cracked a grin, giving me an ominous premonition. "I have no idea how long I've been on this train. My consciousness went from a chaotic haze to clarity, and I reviewed everything that happened over the past few days. I arrived at the most logical conclusion: I'm already dead. Everything happening now isn't some Dream Realm, but the world after death."

I didn't speak. Wang Shi had always given me a bad feeling. His intellect was far more terrifying than he let on; he was a man who knew exactly how to conceal his true depths. "Your guess is correct," I said. "This train likely leads straight to the Underworld. You are already dead."

"Yes, I'm dead. But you're still alive, aren't you?" Wang Shi's eerie laughter made me frown.

"How could you tell?" I didn't bother denying it. Playing dumb in front of an intelligent person only highlights your own stupidity.

"It's simple. Since I woke up, I've checked under all the white cloths. I never found your corpse. Moreover, the carriage numbers here are all dates. It's safe to assume that everyone who died on October 26th is housed in this carriage, yet you aren't among them."

"Based on that alone? Let me tell you the truth: today is October 29th. Is it impossible that I died on a different date?"

"Number Twelve, from the very beginning, I suspected that you were the host of that Death Game. But do you know why I never exposed you?"

Wang Shi's sudden change of topic threw me off. I reflexively asked, "Why?"

"Because you're extremely dangerous. I wasn't confident I could kill you, so I've always wanted to cooperate with you instead. But you were powerful, brimming with confidence, and seemingly in control of everything. You clearly didn't need a partner. From that point on, I deduced that you were different from the rest of us. You weren't a player in the game, but quite possibly the one making the rules." Wang Shi's bloated face was a terrifying sight. Although he wasn't entirely correct, his words sent a chill down my spine. At least in some respects, his assessment was far too close to the truth.

"What exactly are you trying to say? Spit it out." Time was short, and I wasn't in the mood to beat around the bush.

"I've been in this carriage for God knows how long. Aside from the conductor, you're the only one who has dared to enter another car. You definitely have information that I lack."

"You want to trade intelligence?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"No. I want to cooperate with you to escape this train! Your identity is a mystery I can't unravel, but you are certainly no ordinary person. So, I want to pin my hopes on you." Wang Shi's tone was grim. His eyes bulged outward, deformed by the water, painting a horrific picture.

Hearing his words, my expression turned strange. "Do you realize you're already dead? Even if you get off this train, you probably won't be able to return to your old life."

"What is life? What is death? As long as my consciousness remains, I am still myself." Wang Shi looked toward the pitch-black end of the aisle, a flash of dread and fear crossing his eyes. "I boarded this train a while before you did, so I have a better grasp of just how bizarre it is. Every so often, the conductor takes some of the passengers away. When they return, they are entirely different people. No—they aren't even people anymore. They become completely different things."