Volume One, Chapter 15: Unlocking the Inventory

A cold, chilling wind swept by, deepening the fear gnawing at Qin Shang’s heart. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his heart pounding so fiercely it felt as if it might leap from his chest. Were it not for the presence of a living companion by his side to share the terror, he would surely have been frozen in place by panic.

The bodies were gone.

When had they disappeared?

Where had they gone?

Had the trio known as the "Eagles of Justice" taken them when they left?

Impossible.

Though not a priest himself, Qin Shang was aware that in dark environments, human senses instinctively sharpen. When vision is obstructed, hearing becomes remarkably acute. The footsteps of those three had remained steady and unchanged. He had not heard any sudden increase in weight or heaviness in their steps.

If they had been carrying bodies, surely two of them would have footsteps much heavier than before.

Bodies are not like live people; carrying a hundred-pound girl might be simple, but moving a hundred-pound stone block is nearly impossible. Not to mention a limp, soft corpse—awkward and exhausting to lift.

Qin Shang had once been imprisoned. The prison chief there had been a manslaughter convict undergoing reform. The chief often said, “Anyone who’s killed knows it’s easy to kill but hard to hide a body. If I hadn’t been caught moving the corpse, I wouldn’t have been arrested so soon.” He added, “We country folk can easily kill a two-hundred-pound thief, but I couldn’t move his body…”

What the hell was going on?

Qin Shang took a deep breath, forcing down his fear.

The little girl, dubbed “Grandpa Ox,” seemed to sense his unease and quickly turned to ask, “Brother, what’s wrong?”

His gaze fell on a cluster of Hello Kitty images, and his tone grew grave. “The two bodies—they’re gone!”

“Ah! Ghosts!” The shrill scream pierced the air beside him, nearly shattering his eardrums. He shot her a sharp glare. “If there really were ghosts, wouldn’t screaming like that only attract them?”

“Brother, I… I’m scared…”

“Let’s go.” Qin Shang had no time to banter with the child. “To car number three. Once there, the secret should unfold.”

“Stop trembling. Do you think shaking will help?”

“Even if these Hello Kitty figures are eerie, they can’t just stand up and attack us, right? They’re just an element of this scenario…”

With that, he grabbed the little girl and swiftly passed through car number two. Nothing strange happened during the passage.

The moment they entered the next car, a prompt sounded simultaneously in their ears.

[Ding! You have entered car number four.]

[Exploration progress: 9%]

So, exploration progress increased simply by moving forward? That made sense and aligned with the main quest. But why car number four? After car two comes car four? What about car three?

According to the diary of the dissociative personality, the final mystery should be revealed in car three.

So why, after passing through car two, did they arrive at car four?

Something was wrong.

Qin Shang furrowed his brow but said no more, pulling the little girl onward.

Car four was just like the initial car one—empty, with those diaries still taped to the windows on either side.

Jack, it seemed, had some strange obsession, printing so many copies of his diary.

The seats were still covered in old, rotting leather, permeated with the stench of decay.

“Brother, my mission is to assist the team leader. Do you suspect the choice of team leader?”

“Why didn’t the leader in the last group admit their identity…”

The little girl had been quiet until the sudden disappearance of the bodies stirred her fear anew. Facing this eerie scenario, she could no longer keep calm.

Qin Shang’s voice grew hoarse. “It must be related to the mission!”

If the leader were the sheriff, he wouldn’t have so easily abandoned the two of us.

Had he not considered the possibility that the other two accompanying him were werewolves?

What fate would then befall him?

“What is the leader’s side mission?”

The assistant’s side mission was to cooperate with the leader to keep everyone alive. The leader’s should also be related to protecting the players.

At that moment, the background narration sounded—an emotionless, cold female voice.

[You have arrived at car four. The passengers have suffered heavy casualties. There is no time to catch a breath. As dusk falls, everyone’s mood grows heavier. The train has no lights. If that madman strikes after dark, no one will survive.]

[At this moment, Miss Mary proposed a plan. The train cannot stop while running. What to do? Amid the crowd’s urgings, Miss Mary suggested all hide in car three, then sever the connection between cars three and four to survive by sacrificing the limb.]

Boom—

Hearing this, Qin Shang was stunned.

No wonder there was no car three. Mary had the passengers hide in car three and severed its connection—a literal amputation of the train. Abandoning car three on the tracks.

The killer was Miss Mary herself, or rather, the train conductor Jack.

In his mental breakdown, he had begun indiscriminate killing.

Entering the tunnel was like nightfall; Jack’s second personality would awaken, using his own twisted sense of judgment on the passengers.

Once past the tunnel and back in the light, the dominant personality shifted to Miss Mary.

Qin Shang frowned; the clarity he’d just achieved was suddenly blocked, like a dam bursting.

He thought for a moment, then pulled the little girl and dashed through the cars, soon entering a new car.

[Ding! You have entered car five.]

[Exploration progress: 16%]

…

[Ding! You have entered car six.]

[Exploration progress: 21%]

…

[Ding! You have entered car seven.]

[Exploration progress: 30%]

…

Though exploration progress rose, Qin Shang found nothing useful in the following cars. Sweat broke out on his forehead in frustration.

Two most critical questions remained unresolved.

What happened after Miss Mary led the passengers to car three? Was there a massacre?

And where had those two players’ bodies gone?

Could someone have taken advantage of Qin Shang and “Grandpa Ox”’s return to car one to sneak into car two?

Who was it?

One of the trio—sheriff, doctor, or old priest?

Or some ghostly entity aboard the train?

That “thing” mentioned in the diary?

From car four onward, no more background narration appeared.

Meaning, according to the story, after reaching car four, the passengers turned back and returned to car three.

They never actually entered cars five, six, or seven—consistent with the scenario’s rules.

Clues and hints only appeared at narrative checkpoints.

Hours ticked by as Qin Shang traversed the entire train over the next four or five hours.

Still, no useful leads emerged. The same diaries adorned the windows.

Most importantly, the three people had vanished since parting ways in car two.

His expression darkened.

When they once again stepped into car thirteen, Qin Shang’s eyes narrowed sharply. A peculiar scent hit him.

Gunpowder?

His footsteps halted halfway as he turned to examine the rows of seats on either side. There was a hole—its edges corroded and emitting a burnt smell.

But the damage was fresh. His expression stiffened.

A gun in this scenario?

Or were there other NPCs?

Had the trio disappeared because they encountered an NPC?

If NPCs wielded guns, wasn’t that absurdly overpowering?

At that moment, an electronic prompt sounded.

[Ding! You have entered car thirteen.]

[Exploration progress: 50%]

[Nightfall unlocked; darkness descends. All passengers must hide in car three to explore the final stage!]

[Cheater’s hidden mission unlocked; find the god-slayer within the group!]

So it was that…

But what did “nightfall” mean? Would something strange happen at night?

Night…

Qin Shang’s face froze as he glanced outside. A thick fog now enveloped everything; the faint light that had filtered through the diaries on the walls vanished.

It was as if day had instantaneously turned to night.

The day-night cycle completed in an instant!

The plot only unlocked once exploration reached 50%.

How foolish he had been—not realizing this sooner.

Car three was the key to the mission; without it, the entire Death Train exploration could not be completed.

[Ding! Congratulations on reaching 50% exploration of the Death Train.]

[Time used: 15 hours]

[Task: Unravel the mystery of the missing passengers; progress 1/2; saved.]

[Unlocked! Inventory.]

[Reward item: Ale’s Letter! (Added to inventory.)]

[Rest period: 24 hours. Next entry into Divine Path.]

[12 hours later]

Qin Shang’s expression changed abruptly as he realized he could no longer move.

What the hell?

Half the exploration was complete.

No—that meant he had to come back again?

Was Divine Path forcing him back to reality for rest and recovery?

He turned to the little girl behind him. Her delicate face was also filled with shock.

Suddenly, Qin Shang’s vision rippled and blurred; everything vanished like a wave shimmering away.

The dark train car gradually brightened, a huge incandescent light hanging overhead like a sword cleaving through the night.

Then, the familiar bedroom appeared—a bright room with a pristine bed.

A large bed, sofa, cabinet…

And the air freshener unique to the room!

In the next moment, Qin Shang blinked in a daze.

He was home?

Had Divine Path transported him out?

There was no sense of miraculous survival. In fact, the previous exploration hadn’t felt especially terrifying.

Only riddled with mysteries. Based on existing clues, he was nearly certain the passengers had been slaughtered by the cross-dressing Jack.

As for why all the passengers vanished—it was simple.

They had collectively entered car three, which was severed and thus disappeared after being cut off.

Then what remained to explore in the latter half of the mission’s 50%?

A car filled with corpses?

Did car three really contain “that thing”?

What was “that thing”?

Qin Shang’s brow furrowed tightly as his gaze fixed on the silver card in his hand, his expression grave.

At this moment, one truth was firmly established.

His wife’s disappearance was indeed closely linked to the Divine Path game.