Chapter Seventeen: The Orbital Train (With heartfelt thanks to all my friends for your generous support!)

At that moment, the strange ticket seller in the pavilion handed over three white cards. Mu Rongxun accepted them calmly, and after exchanging glances, Xu Ying and her companion took theirs with uneasy expressions.

The three cards were identical: plain white, each inscribed with blood-red characters as if etched in real blood. Point cards, with a number “10” displayed below. On the other side of the card was a prompt: [Points: Can be used to purchase short- or long-distance tickets.]

“It seems we must buy tickets if we want to return,” Mu Rongxun remarked, his expression inscrutable.

“I’ll take a short-distance ticket,” he said. Since he couldn’t figure out what was hidden here, he decided to probe a little. He didn’t know how dangerous this place could get, but trapped as he was, he had no other option. The truth was, he was just someone who’d only just come into contact with all of this; he had no experience. The fact that he’d made it this far was already due to his exceptional composure.

With only ten points, there was no way he’d spend them all at once. It was best to buy just one ticket and see what happened at the next stop. After all, a ticket cost only five points, and reaching the next station would give him ten more; accumulating points one station at a time was the most cost-effective strategy.

“We’ll take short-distance tickets as well,” Xu Ying and her friend quickly added, crowding forward to buy theirs. They had clearly decided to stick with Mu Rongxun.

The bizarre ticket seller extended a bundle of tickets to them with its tentacles. Their point cards instantly changed to display 5 points each.

No sooner had they finished buying their tickets than a train, old-fashioned and ghostly, appeared on the tracks. Its exact number of carriages was hard to discern, but it looked much like a train from the last century.

“Let’s go,” Mu Rongxun said in a low voice, heading straight for the train.

Xu Ying and her friend, though frightened, gritted their teeth and followed. When the three of them reached the door, a vague apparition abruptly materialized at the entrance. It looked almost exactly like the ticket seller, save that it was dressed as a conductor and was a size larger—perhaps the uniforms were meant to distinguish them.

The apparition’s two tentacles wound around a small box, while the other two reached toward the group.

The three recoiled in alarm, but Mu Rongxun recovered quickly and stepped forward, handing his ticket to the approaching tentacle.

Xu Ying and her friend copied him, handing over their own tickets. The apparition accepted them, stowed them in the box, and vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. At the same time, the previously sealed train doors opened.

Mu Rongxun boarded the train, the other two following closely behind.

They found the carriage empty except for themselves. Mu Rongxun chose a seat at random and closed his eyes to rest. Xu Ying and her friend sat nearby, hand in hand, their nerves stretched thin. After so much fear and anxiety, now that they were finally still, terror washed over them like a tide.

In this unfamiliar place, exhausted and hungry, they were at least grateful to have each other; otherwise, they might have broken down long ago.

Once they were seated, the doors closed, and the train began to move. After traveling for about ten minutes, it came to a halt—the next station.

Mu Rongxun opened his eyes and disembarked at once. Not daring to linger, Xu Ying and her friend composed themselves and hurried after him. As they stepped off, the doors slammed shut behind them, and the train sped away without pause.

Mu Rongxun surveyed his surroundings, thoughtful. He was a stranger to this world. Though he’d crammed some knowledge at the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, the time had been short and he was far from being as familiar as the natives.

“Hey… where are we?” Zhang Jiao began uncertainly, only to have Xu Ying clap a hand over her mouth.

“Hm?” Mu Rongxun looked at them. “You recognize this place?”

“We’ve been traveling together for a while now. Don’t you think it’s time you told us who you are, and what you’re doing here?” Xu Ying, though frightened, gathered her courage to stand before Zhang Jiao.

Mu Rongxun’s gaze dropped; he simply looked at her in silence.

“Well… actually, it’s fine if you don’t want to say,” Xu Ying mumbled, tapping her index fingers together, her head lowered, her voice growing softer and softer.

“Speak,” Mu Rongxun commanded, his gaze flicking warily around them.

“This is the east gate of our university.” Startled by his sudden sharp tone, Xu Ying answered without thinking.

“Be more specific,” Mu Rongxun ordered, a dagger appearing silently in his hand as he scanned the area. The place gave him a persistent sense of unease.

“We’re students at Tianhai University. This is the east gate, near the College of Arts. We usually don’t come here, so we’re not very familiar with it.” As Xu Ying spoke, she glanced furtively at her friend.

Noticing her look, Zhang Jiao lowered her head, embarrassed. She had once fancied a talented student from the College of Arts and had enlisted Xu Ying’s help to arrange a meeting; that was why this area looked vaguely familiar. Otherwise, their own college was so far from the east gate—what reason would they have to come here?

Mu Rongxun paid no attention to the small gestures between the two. For now, he was more concerned with rooting out the observer he sensed nearby. He was keenly aware that some presence was watching them closely, but he couldn’t pinpoint its location.

He checked his point card—it had changed from 5 to 15 points, confirming that traveling from one station to the next did indeed award ten points.

He glanced around but saw no ticket office. That puzzled him—without a ticket office, how would they reach the next station?

No one could answer his question, and as for the two girls beside him, he found them dubious at best; he even harbored suspicions about their identities. They were simply too peculiar—boarding this ghost train so abruptly, and the amusement park had even issued them a main quest.

But these questions would have to wait.

“Who’s there?” Mu Rongxun suddenly shouted, his voice booming as he lunged in a direction like a hunting leopard.

There, a figure blended into the darkness, silently watching them, motionless. Anyone witnessing such a scene in this environment would be on edge.