Chapter 118: Truth or Dare
A young woman with short curly hair cried uncontrollably.
Her shoulders trembled.
Tears flowed endlessly.
The old man slowly turned.
He looked at her.
He seemed unable to understand...
Why she was crying.
Without saying a word...
He quietly removed his old coat.
Then gently draped it over her shoulders.
He lightly patted her head.
Like comforting his own daughter.
Then...
He smiled.
Turned around.
And slowly walked away.
Thud.
A hospital file slipped from the young woman’s hands.
The wind caught it.
The documents scattered across the platform before disappearing beneath the departing train.
The memory ended.
...
Shen Yu abruptly stopped walking.
His pupils narrowed.
That’s it?
Just... that?
An old man...
A crying woman...
That woman was Sandy... wasn’t she?
And that hospital file...
What exactly was inside it?
The fragmented memory vanished before he could investigate further.
Shen Yu frowned.
There wasn’t enough information.
His gaze slowly shifted toward the waiting hall of Past Station.
The other six participants had already gathered there.
Everyone was staring at a strange shop.
A sculpture shop.
Inside...
Seven life-sized human statues stood silently beneath the dim lights.
Each one looked exactly like one of the seven participants.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Shen Yu walked into the waiting hall.
CLANG!
The iron gate leading back to the platform suddenly slammed shut.
The route between the station and the Twilight Train was completely sealed.
Shen Yu instinctively turned around.
The train remained outside.
Its LED display continued scrolling.
[Time Remaining Before Departure: 29 Minutes 01 Second]
The sky remained shrouded in gray mist.
Under the dim yellow lights...
The words Twilight Train glowed eerily on the front of the locomotive.
"Hey."
A heavy hand suddenly landed on Shen Yu’s shoulder.
He instinctively frowned.
When had someone approached him?
Turning around—
It was Montlo.
The giant Russian scratched his beard before pointing toward the only brightly lit building inside the station.
"The sculpture shop."
"You noticed it too, right?"
"The whole station looks abandoned."
"But only that place has lights."
"We already went inside."
"Nothing happened."
"Bill thinks..."
"...all seven of us need to enter before something triggers."
His tone clearly carried dissatisfaction.
Apparently...
Being ordered around by Bill wasn’t something he enjoyed.
Shen Yu looked at him thoughtfully.
"Your ability..."
"It drags people into another dimension, right?"
Montlo nodded.
"So why not hide inside that space?"
"Wouldn’t that let you avoid Bill?"
Montlo sighed helplessly.
"You don’t know."
"That bastard Bill’s talent..."
He had barely begun explaining—
"HEY!"
Bill’s furious roar interrupted him.
"You two!"
"What are you still standing around for?!"
"Shen Yu!"
"Don’t think I can’t deal with you just because we’re off the train!"
"If it weren’t for the requirement that all seven participants gather..."
"Do you think I’d let you stand there talking?"
"Get over here!"
"The train isn’t going to wait forever!"
His impatient curses echoed through the station.
Bill was already standing outside the sculpture shop.
Shen Yu merely glanced at him.
His expression remained indifferent.
Without another word...
He followed Montlo inside.
Although Bill was arrogant...
He wasn’t entirely wrong.
Time was running out.
If the Twilight Train departed...
Would the dungeon immediately declare them dead?
The sculpture shop wasn’t large.
Only a few dozen square meters.
A long narrow room.
Against one wall...
Seven life-sized statues stood beneath the lights.
Each statue...
Was identical to one of the seven participants.
Every facial expression.
Every strand of hair.
Every wrinkle in their clothes.
Perfectly replicated.
Shen Yu slowly approached his own statue.
"What exactly are these..."
Click.
The lights flickered.
CLANG!
The glass entrance slammed shut.
A distorted electronic voice echoed throughout the room.
Dear travelers...
Let’s play a game.
Truth...
Or Dare?
Those who perform well...
Will receive a ticket to the next station.
Prepare yourselves.
The game...
Begins now.
Bzzzt—
Bzzzt—
The lights repeatedly flickered.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Five seconds later...
The lights suddenly returned.
Everyone’s expressions changed instantly.
Blood...
Was slowly flowing from the statues’ eyes.
Their rigid limbs began twitching unnaturally.
"What the hell?!"
Bill immediately retreated.
But something horrifying happened.
Every time he stepped backward—
His statue advanced two steps.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Bill retreated three steps.
The statue advanced six.
Within moments...
It was already standing directly in front of him.
Its stiff fist slowly rose.
Aimed directly at Bill’s face.
"Damn thing!"
"You want to hit me?"
"Get lost!"
Bill unleashed a powerful punch toward the statue’s shoulder.
BOOM!
His fist landed solidly.
The statue...
Didn’t move.
Instead—
"AAARGH!"
Bill suddenly screamed.
Everyone turned.
Their expressions froze.
Two enormous fist-shaped dents had appeared in Bill’s own shoulders.
His bones twisted grotesquely inward.
It looked exactly as though...
He had punched himself.
"Damn it!"
"So attacking it..."
"...means attacking myself?!"
As expected of a national team member...
Bill instantly understood the rule.
Unfortunately—
It was already too late.
His attack had activated the statue.
The sculpture’s movements became even faster.
Its fist shot toward Bill’s face at terrifying speed.
"Damn!"
"I can’t run!"
"The more I move..."
"...the faster it gets!"
Golden light exploded from Bill’s body.
"Golden Hero!"
Buzz!
A golden flash swallowed both Bill and Matsumoto Aika.
The pair vanished instantly.
BOOM!
Bill’s statue punched empty air.
Its fist smashed through the tiled floor.
Cracks spread across the ground.
Then...
The statue froze once more.
Silence.
Only the flickering lights remained.
Nobody dared move.
Because they had already discovered the rules.
Move—
The statue moved twice as fast.
Attack—
The damage reflected back.
Stand still—
Time continued passing.
No matter what...
It was a deadlock.
The lights flickered endlessly.
Finally—
Picaselin suddenly gritted his teeth.
"Screw this!"
He sprinted toward the entrance.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
He kicked the glass door repeatedly.
Nothing happened.
Then—
THUMP!
THUMP!
THUMP!
His statue reacted instantly.
The short sculpture charged like a raging bull.
BOOM!!
It slammed directly into Picaselin’s back.
His body exploded on impact.
Blood.
Bones.
Flesh.
Everything splattered across the glass.
Silence filled the sculpture shop once again.
Outside...
The international livestream exploded.
"The idiot actually killed himself."
"Haha! That’s what happens when you panic."
"As expected of Beautiful Country’s leadership!"
"The Dragon Country kid..."
"What’s he doing?"
Just as countless English comments began flooding the livestream—
The flickering lights inside the sculpture shop suddenly became even more violent.