Chapter 81 - 78: Vast Ocean

Chapter 81: Chapter 78: Vast Ocean

"Everyone, listen to me!

Whatever you do, don’t eat the food from the train attendants!

And when night falls, do not open your eyes, no matter what!

There’s no signal on this train, so don’t waste your time trying to call the police.

We need to stick together. I believe that we can get off this train alive!"

Zhong Shu stood before everyone, recounting the lessons he’d learned from Bai Tasha.

Bai Tasha looked up at Zhong Shu, her face filled with adoration.

She had been trapped on this train for a month now.

Over the past month, she had seen too much despair.

Some had resisted, some had begged, and some had clutched a Cross, praying for God’s mercy.

But it was all useless.

Everyone had to experience despair firsthand, to experience death.

She was a lucky one—the only lucky one—because she was still alive.

Now, with the appearance of this big brother figure who could stand up to the attendants and was willing to lead them to survival, she finally felt a glimmer of hope.

Everyone listened quietly as Zhong Shu spoke.

A few, however, just kept crying.

A woman holding a child said:

"Sir, just tell us what to do. We’ll all listen to you."

Zhong Shu froze when he heard this.

’How am I supposed to know what to do?’

The other passengers began to chime in:

"Young man, I listened to you and didn’t eat that meal, and that’s why I’m still alive."

"We’ll all listen to you. We’ll do whatever you say."

This time, the actor and actress didn’t dare say a single negative word.

They knew that right now, only Zhong Shu could save them.

Zhong Shu had never been a leader in anything before; he had never been the one to give orders.

His mind went blank.

’Come on, brain, think! What should we do?!’

Suddenly, Zhong Shu asked himself a question.

’If... if it were Li Xinyuan, what would he do?’

Li Xinyuan—the protagonist of the web novel Zhong Shu wrote.

An idea struck Zhong Shu, and he spoke:

"I just took a look. There aren’t many passengers left; we can all fit in a single car.

Let’s all stay here in this hard-seat car. It’ll be easier to look out for each other.

I’m going to the other cars now to gather any other survivors and bring them here.

If you run into an attendant, don’t talk to them. Just pretend you don’t see them. I’ll be right back."

All the passengers nodded in agreement.

Under these circumstances, the more people in the car, the safer they felt.

Suddenly, someone cried out:

"Holy shit, where is this train going?!"

At his words, everyone looked out the window.

The train was hurtling toward a vast sea.

Everyone’s face turned pale.

’If the train goes into the sea, aren’t we all going to drown?’

Zhong Shu stared out the window in disbelief, his hand gripping the flintlock gun tightly.

Bai Tasha said softly:

"We won’t die. This train can travel on the sea. Before it reaches Liancheng, the whole journey is on the water."

Just as Bai Tasha said, the steam train blew its whistle and began to speed steadily across the sea, not even kicking up a splash.

Bai Tasha tilted her head up to look at Zhong Shu.

"But the attendant said that after the next stop, the train will reach its final destination."

The final destination meant death.

Zhong Shu was terrified too, but he gave Bai Tasha a confident smile.

"It’s okay. As long as I’m here, no one will die!"

With that, Zhong Shu turned and shouted to the crowd:

"Is anyone willing to come with me to get the passengers from the other cars?"

All the passengers in the car went silent.

They were afraid and unwilling to take the risk.

Having one hero like Zhong Shu was enough for them; they were content being cowards.

Just as Zhong Shu was about to turn and leave by himself, a voice rang out:

"I’ll go with you."

Zhong Shu turned around and saw the red-robed youth in the wheelchair raising his hand.

Zhong Shu said:

"Alright!"

The red-robed youth gave his companions a meaningful look.

....

「Liancheng, Blue Sea Territory.」

A speedboat was racing across the water.

At the bow, Yang Xiao, dressed in a white suit with grotesque makeup on his face, spread his arms to embrace the setting sun.

"The sea, vast and full of unknowns... Now this is what you call living."

Standing on the boat was a group of people in black hooded raincoats, wearing identical masks.

They were the Cleaner Fish, Corpse Ghosts who had transcended life and death.

Yang Xiao suddenly pulled a Slaughter Knife from his crotch, pointed it forward, and yelled:

"My boys! Row the oars! I have a date with the horizon!"

The Cleaner Fish stared at each other.

’Row jack shit!’

’This is clearly a modern, high-tech speedboat powered by an engine!’

Yang Xiao glanced back at them and shrugged.

"You lot really don’t have a single humorous bone in your bodies."

Suddenly, a Cleaner Fish pointed ahead and exclaimed:

"Lord Happy Ghost, what... what is that?"

Yang Xiao frowned at him.

"Could you try not to panic at the first sign of trouble?

You are the elites I hand-picked, selected through a brutal game.

If Mr. Dusk saw you like this, he’d start to question the quality of our entire team!"

The Cleaner Fish said in shame:

"Yes! It won’t happen again!"

Yang Xiao glanced at the other Cleaner Fish.

"His attitude about admitting his mistake is excellent. What about the rest of you?

Even though you haven’t made a mistake yet, I have to give you a heads-up."

The other Cleaner Fish replied earnestly:

"Yes, we understand!"

Yang Xiao nodded in satisfaction and turned to look where the Cleaner Fish had pointed.

A steam train was speeding across the middle of the sea, letting out a WHOO WHOO from its whistle every so often.

"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! A train is driving on the sea!"

Yang Xiao’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

He turned around, eyes wide, pointed at the train, and screamed at the Cleaner Fish:

"Look! Quick, look! It’s real, I’m not lying to you!"

The Cleaner Fish stood perfectly calm and still.

Yang Xiao frowned.

"Is your threshold for surprise really this high?

Good heavens, what kind of monsters am I living with every day?"

The Cleaner Fish looked at one another, seeing the helplessness in each other’s eyes.

’First of all, we just saw it.’

’Second, Lord Happy Ghost just gave us a lecture about professionalism.’

Li Xiao’an raised her hand and spoke in a clear voice:

"Lord Happy Ghost, you told us to watch for anomalies on the sea. I wonder if that train counts as an anomaly?"

Yang Xiao froze for a moment, then raised his Slaughter Knife towards the Sea Train and roared:

"My boys! Hoist the sails! Charge!"

As Yang Xiao finished speaking, a strange power surged from his body.

Several Shadow Ghost Hands grabbed the stern of the boat, pushing the speedboat forward at high speed.

....

「Meanwhile, inside the train.」

The woman with her hair in a bun, the twin men, the old man with a long braid, and the youth in the wheelchair were all hiding in a two-person compartment.

Although Zhong Shu had only driven off one attendant, he had successfully attracted the attention of all of them.

They were taking this opportunity to search the train for clues on how to get off.

However, there were still too many attendants.

Those things patrolled the train sporadically, just like normal attendants.

Unless it was absolutely necessary, they didn’t want to make an enemy of this train.

They sensed that the attendants outside had suddenly vanished.

The Buddhist Beads in the red-robed youth’s hands suddenly began to tremble violently.

He snapped his gaze towards the front of the train, toward the driver’s cabin.

"Something is coming out."

...

The speedboat drew near the Sea Train.

It was Yang Xiao’s first time seeing a train that could travel on water, and to say he was excited would be an understatement.

A Ghost Hand shot out from his back and smashed towards the train window.

But a barrier of Profound Mysteries, like a wall of air, blocked Yang Xiao’s attack.

Yang Xiao shouted excitedly:

"Jump on!"

Yang Xiao was the first to leap.

The Cleaner Fish, like phantoms, jumped from the speedboat onto the roof of the Sea Train.

The sea wind was strong and cold.

Just as Yang Xiao was trying to figure out a way to break through the train’s roof, a sinister aura surged.

Attendants in red or blue uniforms began to appear on the roof.

The ones in red uniforms were female, and the ones in blue were male.

None of them were unattractive, but their faces were deathly pale, and their lips were stretched into eerie, exaggerated smiles.

Yang Xiao yelled:

"Destroy their ship!"

Several Ghost Hands shot from Yang Xiao’s back, grabbing at the attendants.

The attendants struggled for a moment before being restrained by Yang Xiao’s Ghost Hands.

Yang Xiao was very powerful. Although he couldn’t kill these attendants, he could easily suppress them.

The Cleaner Fish charged forward to fight the remaining attendants.

The sounds of battle rang out across the train’s roof.

The Cleaner Fish were like specters—fast-moving and vicious in their attacks.

The attendants were like Ghosts; though they lacked great destructive power, they were like water.

No matter what moves the Cleaner Fish used, it was like punching cotton.

The Cleaner Fish were Corpse Ghosts, and the attendants were Living Souls.

Neither side could do anything to the other. The battle was a stalemate.

Yang Xiao laughed arrogantly.

"HAHAHAHAHA, a bunch of useless chickens and clay dogs!

This train is mine now!"

From the front of the train, a black light suddenly appeared.

All the Cleaner Fish grew solemn, staring intently ahead.

From the engine car emerged... a monster.

It was an octopus-man.

It wore a white Captain’s uniform and a sailor’s cap.

Disgusting black slime dripped from its body.

The Octopus Captain approached step by step, its six scarlet eyes fixed malevolently on Yang Xiao.

The corner of Yang Xiao’s eye twitched.

"Don’t think you’re hot shit just because you have a lot of eyeballs."

He could feel the pressure emanating from this Octopus Captain.

The Octopus Captain let out a terrifying shriek, and its tentacles suddenly grew enormous.

In the next second, the Cleaner Fish were swept off the roof and into the sea like ants in a gale.

Facing the giant tentacles, Yang Xiao dodged left and right with a series of incredible movements.

Two Ghost Hands grabbed the roof, leaving Yang Xiao suspended upside down in mid-air. He smirked deviously.

"You can’t touch me."

The Octopus Captain, now truly enraged, suddenly spewed a thick black fog.

Yang Xiao was sent flying backward as if he’d been hit by a train.

.....

Yang Xiao and the group of Cleaner Fish surfaced from the sea.

He was a sorry sight, soaked to the bone, his meticulously styled hair now looking like a drowned chicken’s feathers.

Yang Xiao glanced at his crestfallen Cleaner Fish and pointed to the speedboat in the distance, trying to cheer them up.

"It’s okay, at least we still have our boat.

That’s not just a boat—that’s freedom!

Let’s regroup and—"

Before he could finish, a giant octopus tentacle descended from the top of the Sea Train.

The speedboat looked tiny in front of the tentacle.

The next second, the speedboat was smashed to smithereens, erupting in a burst of flame before sinking into the sea.

Yang Xiao clutched his head and let out a piercing, horrified scream:

"NO!"

The Cleaner Fish watched Yang Xiao helplessly.

’Sometimes you really just want to call the police on him.’

Yang Xiao’s expression gradually darkened.

"Old octopus, you refuse to show me any respect, so I won’t show you any either. It’s time to use my ultimate move."

The Cleaner Fish stared at Yang Xiao in astonishment.

’An ultimate move?’

’Lord Happy Ghost truly lives up to his name. He actually had another trick up his sleeve!’

Yang Xiao formed a Sealing Technique with one hand and said humbly:

"My dear Master, I wonder if your most loyal servant—that is, me, the adorable Yang Xiao—

might have the honor of inviting you to enjoy the beautiful sunrise over the sea?"

Yang Xiao wasn’t a complete idiot.

Based on the Sea Train’s speed and the octopus-man’s single-minded way of navigating, he had determined that the train would reach the waters near the South Sea by dawn.

Yang Xiao couldn’t defeat the Octopus Captain. His original mission wasn’t to contain the Sea Train anyway; he was just a brave scout!

The voice of Jiang Chaosheng sounded in his ear:

"Alright."

...