Chapter 169: SSS-Rank Absolute Luck
They saw a flicker of light from Reality Station.
Then Meilin’s figure vanished.
She had been thrown backward into the waiting hall before disappearing completely from their sight.
"Meilin!"
Menloa rushed toward the carriage door.
Bang!
He kicked it hard.
Nothing happened.
The solid train door didn’t even move.
"Open!"
Bang!
Bang!
Menloa kicked it again and again, desperate to get out and see what had happened.
"Did Sandy do something to her?"
"If she got off the train, how can she possibly get back on?"
"Wouldn’t that mean death?"
Matsumoto Kika’s face was filled with shock.
She clearly hadn’t expected such an accident to happen at this point.
But Shen Yu remained silent.
He simply stared through the window at the place where Meilin had disappeared.
"Shit!"
"It’s over!"
"How are they supposed to clear this now?"
"Did the Iron Tower team just fail?"
"How can someone get back onto the train after getting off?"
"Isn’t the mission supposed to require them to ride through every station?"
The live-stream comments exploded.
Countless viewers from different countries were already convinced that Meilin was dead.
But strangely—
The Iron Tower country’s live stream did not turn gray.
There was no death announcement.
No elimination notice.
Nothing.
The image remained active.
The viewers slowly realized something was wrong.
Reality Station.
Meilin crashed heavily into a pile of seats.
"Ugh!"
Crack!
Several seats collapsed beneath her.
She slowly crawled out from underneath them.
Her breathing was heavy.
Her clothes were disheveled.
But her eyes—
They were clearer than they had ever been.
Meilin looked back toward the station entrance.
There was no LED display showing the words Reality Station.
Instead, the sign clearly read:
Labenna River Station.
Meilin froze.
Then she understood.
"I’m back."
Her eyes narrowed.
"So that’s what she was doing."
A cold smile appeared on her face.
"That woman was afraid I’d really take Shen Yu away at the final station."
"So she sent me back early."
Meilin slowly stood up.
Around her, the waiting hall was filled with passengers from the Iron Tower country.
Every single one of them was staring at her as though they’d just witnessed a ghost.
From their perspective—
Meilin had simply appeared out of nowhere and crashed into the station.
No one understood where she had come from.
Chapter 121: Breathing Issues
A cold system announcement suddenly echoed through the station.
[The final station is about to begin.]
[SS-Rank Side Dungeon: Memory Station.]
[Participant: Meilin of Iron Tower Country.]
[Challenge completed.]
[Completion Evaluation: Completed.]
[Completion Reward: One random A-Rank Eerie Item Draw.]
[Completion Comment:]
[It seems you have done a lot, yet somehow it feels like you have done nothing.]
[Lucky woman.]
[The Ruler of Twilight Station finds you unpleasant and sent you back early.]
[So, is this return fortunate... or unfortunate?]
The announcement ended.
For a moment, the entire station was silent.
Then—
Cheers erupted.
"Wow!"
"Lady Meilin!"
"She’s back!"
"Hahaha! I knew it!"
"I knew our captain candidate wouldn’t fail!"
"Meilin!"
"Meilin!"
"Meilin!"
The entire station erupted into celebration.
A crowd rushed toward her.
Meilin stood quietly among them.
And then—
Her memories were completely restored.
Her expression gradually became solemn.
The memories of everything that had happened inside the Twilight Train flooded back into her mind.
Including—
Shen Yu.
Her expression softened for a moment.
Then a strange object appeared before her.
A massive transparent roulette wheel floated in the air.
It was divided into nearly a hundred tiny sections.
At the center was a small iron ball.
Meilin stared at it.
The system was determining her reward.
Buzz—
The iron ball suddenly began spinning.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The ball struck the different sections of the wheel repeatedly.
Its speed gradually decreased.
Until finally—
Ding!
The iron ball landed on one section.
[Dead Baby Doll.]
Meilin’s pupils contracted.
[Congratulations.]
[You have obtained an A-Rank Eerie Item: Dead Baby Doll.]
"Dead Baby Doll..."
The name alone sent an uncomfortable chill through her.
The system continued.
[Item Type: Cooldown-type Eerie Item.]
[Effect: Anyone stared at by the Dead Baby Doll will die if they fail to meet its eyes.]
[If the target makes direct eye contact with the Dead Baby Doll, their body will become completely immobilized for three minutes.]
[Cooldown: Once every twenty-four hours.]
Smack!
The roulette wheel disappeared.
An eerie doll suddenly appeared in Meilin’s hand.
It looked like a small, lifeless child.
Its appearance was disturbingly similar to the doll she had seen in her future memory.
Meilin stared at it.
Her fingers slowly tightened around the doll.
"So that future..."
"Was real."
She remembered the future version of herself.
Holding this exact doll.
Warning her.
Telling her that after the dungeon ended, she would have almost no opportunities left.
Meilin’s expression became complicated.
"Damn."
"If that’s true..."
"Then doesn’t that future also prove that Shen Yu will definitely survive this time?"
Her eyes slowly brightened.
"Shen Yu..."
"One day..."
"I want you to never leave me."
She hugged the Dead Baby Doll tightly.
Then she glanced toward the station entrance.
The crowd immediately swallowed her figure.
At the same time—
The Iron Tower country’s live broadcast suddenly went dark.
The barrage exploded.
"So that’s what happened!"
"If you walk through Reality Station, you can return directly!"
"But why did Sandy throw Meilin out?"
"Wait!"
"Think about it!"
"The Memory Train already gave us the hint!"
"Nobody has ever completed the entire station."
"At first, that sounded like nobody had cleared the dungeon."
"But the real meaning is that you don’t actually need to ride through all seven stations!"
"Reality Station corresponds to the real world!"
"If you get off there, you can return!"
"That’s it!"
"No wonder Shen Yu said this station didn’t need to be exited!"
"The Twilight Train simply passes through it."
"But it doesn’t stop for the passengers."
"That means the only way to survive is to be thrown off!"
The realization spread rapidly.
Then another comment appeared.
"I understand now!"
"Sandy was afraid Meilin’s luck would somehow help Shen Yu survive the final station."
"So she deliberately sent Meilin away!"
"Exactly!"
"This is insane!"
"Meilin is way too lucky!"
"The Iron Tower country actually completed an SS-Rank dungeon!"
The barrage became increasingly chaotic.
Some viewers were still trying to understand what had happened.
Others had already figured everything out.
But the largest group was simply filled with envy.
No one had expected Meilin to be the first participant to leave.
Even fewer people expected her to accomplish it without intentionally doing anything.
She had simply been thrown out.
And somehow—
That was enough.
SSS-Rank Absolute Luck.
The talent was truly terrifying.
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
The perspective returned to the Twilight Train.
The long train had completely passed Reality Station.
It entered a stretch of road flooded with scorching sunlight.
Wild grass grew everywhere.
Dead branches twisted beside the tracks.
There was no sign of life.
Above the train, the blazing sun hung high in the sky.
Its intense heat poured through the windows and seemed to dry the very air inside the carriage.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Menloa was still kicking the carriage door.
But suddenly—
He stopped.
Something seemed to occur to him.
He turned around.
Shen Yu was calmly sitting in his seat.
He was staring through the window.
His expression was completely relaxed.
Menloa frowned.
"Hey, Shen Yu."
"You’re not a heartless bastard, are you?"
"Meilin likes you so much."
"She just disappeared."
"Shouldn’t you be worried?"
Because of the four years of fictional school memories they had experienced, Menloa genuinely felt anxious about Meilin.
He rushed toward Shen Yu.
But Shen Yu only shrugged.
"Don’t worry about her."
"If nothing unexpected happens, she’s already back in her hometown."
"She should be completely safe."
Menloa froze.
"What are you talking about?"
"If someone gets off the train, they can’t come back."
"Isn’t that death?"
Shen Yu looked at him.
"Think carefully."
"Why is Reality Station the only station where we don’t need to get off?"
Menloa’s expression changed.
"This..."
"That station..."
Shen Yu’s eyes narrowed.
"That’s the road to survival."
Matsumoto Kika had been listening nearby.
The moment she heard this, her eyes widened.
Then realization struck her.
"Shit!"
"Shen Yu!"
"You knew this all along?"
"Why didn’t you say anything?"
Shen Yu glanced at her.
"Would it have helped if I had?"
"Do you think Sandy would have allowed all of us to leave at that station?"
Matsumoto Kika fell silent.
Shen Yu continued.
"You really think Meilin managed to get off simply because she was lucky?"
"Think about it."
"If she had remained on the train until the final station..."
His eyes became cold.
"Her luck might have increased our chances of surviving."
Matsumoto Kika’s expression changed.
"You mean..."
"She only got off because Sandy deliberately sent her away?"
Shen Yu nodded.
"Exactly."
"Her luck was too dangerous."
Matsumoto Kika’s eyes widened.
"So Sandy was actually helping us?"
"No."
Shen Yu looked toward the dark road ahead.
"She was helping herself."
"If Meilin stayed until the final stop..."
"Even Sandy couldn’t predict what her luck might cause."
A heavy silence descended over the carriage.
Then Shen Yu stood.
"Enough."
"Everyone, get ready."
His gaze became sharp.
"The final station is coming."
And this time—
There would be no Meilin to save them.
No lucky accident to rely on.
Whatever waited at the final stop...
They would have to face it themselves.