Chapter 152: Real Zombies and Strange Contrast Memories
A panicked shadow rushed toward them through the blood-red mist.
The screaming grew louder.
Mixed with the oppressive growls echoing through the station, the sound became increasingly terrifying.
"Help!"
"Help me!"
The figures inside the mist seemed to be getting closer.
Then—
Thud!
A woman suddenly emerged from the blood-red fog.
She was wearing a train crew uniform.
Her face was covered in blood, and her hair was disheveled.
"Help me!"
"Help me!"
"Zombies!"
"There are zombies outside!"
The woman rushed straight toward Shen Yu and threw herself into his arms.
Her entire body trembled violently.
"Please!"
"Save me!"
"Ha..."
"Haha..."
The terrifying roar from inside the station suddenly grew louder.
Bill’s heart began pounding.
He instinctively turned around.
Then he ran.
"F*ck!"
"F*cking hell!"
"How can there be zombies?!"
"How is that possible?!"
Even with only one leg, Bill ran faster than anyone else.
He practically hopped back toward the train.
Menloa hesitated.
He looked left.
Then right.
Shen Yu remained staring into the fog.
Suddenly—
Two skeletal, decaying arms lunged out of the mist.
Shen Yu’s pupils contracted.
He immediately stepped backward.
"Back to the train!"
"Quickly!"
"Hide inside!"
"Close the doors!"
Everyone immediately turned and ran.
Step.
Step.
Step.
The group rushed back toward the carriage without looking back.
Menloa was the last one inside.
Bang!
He slammed the door shut.
Then he grabbed several fire extinguishers and wedged them against the door.
"That’s enough!"
"Don’t let anything get inside!"
Outside the window, the blood-red fog began swirling violently.
The station disappeared completely.
Nothing could be seen beyond the glass.
Inside the carriage, everyone collapsed onto the floor.
They were breathing heavily.
Their faces were pale.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Bill cursed.
"Damn!"
"How could we encounter zombies?"
"Are we movie characters or something?"
Menloa glanced at him disdainfully.
"You lame guy."
"You can actually hop pretty fast on one leg."
Bill’s face darkened.
"If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have suggested leaving at night."
"If it weren’t for you, would we have woken up here?"
Bill immediately turned toward him.
"F*ck!"
"If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have taken that train in the first place!"
The two began arguing again.
"Enough!"
Shen Yu’s voice immediately silenced them.
He looked down at the crew member still trembling in his arms.
He gently patted her shoulder.
"Hey."
"Are you okay?"
The woman trembled.
"I... I’m fine."
"You mustn’t go outside."
"Please."
"It’s too scary."
"Really?"
"The entire city..."
"The entire city is full of monsters."
The woman slowly raised her head.
Her wavy hair fell backward, revealing her face.
Shen Yu froze.
Sandy.
Her name was clearly written on the badge attached to her uniform.
For some reason, Shen Yu felt an inexplicable familiarity the moment he saw her.
"The whole city is full of monsters?"
"Then..."
"What about our school?"
"Has Shore City fallen too?"
Malin’s face went pale.
She stared at Sandy.
"What happened?"
"Everything was fine last night."
"The four of us were drinking at the bar."
Sandy shook her head.
"I don’t know."
"I really don’t know."
"Three hours ago, the train arrived at the station."
"All the passengers got off."
"Then..."
"Then everyone was surrounded by millions of zombies."
"There were no survivors."
"No survivors."
Her voice cracked.
As though remembering something horrifying, Sandy buried her face against Shen Yu’s chest.
Her body began trembling again.
The carriage fell silent.
Suddenly—
Bzzzt.
The intercom came alive.
"Hello?"
"Hello?"
"Hello?"
"This is the Cold Country Self-Defense Force."
"We are currently breaking through the outer districts of Shore City."
"To all survivors receiving this transmission—"
"Do not attempt to move."
"We are working to control the zombie outbreak."
"Please ration your food."
"Wait for further instructions."
"Do not act recklessly."
The transmission crackled.
Then another announcement followed.
"The Cold Country Drug Administration has issued a warning."
"Suspected foreign militant elements have released an unknown substance into the rivers near Shore City."
"The incident is centered around Axe Mountain."
"Explosive zombie mutations have been reported."
"All survivors are advised to conserve food supplies and remain indoors whenever possible."
The loudspeaker continued broadcasting warnings.
One after another.
Shen Yu and the others exchanged pale looks.
It was becoming increasingly convincing.
"It’s over," Bill muttered.
"The zombie outbreak is real."
"What do we do?"
"Should we just stay here?"
Malin bit her lip.
Menloa and Bill instinctively looked toward Shen Yu.
For some reason, even with their newly fabricated memories, they naturally regarded him as the mainstay of their small group.
Shen Yu remained silent for several seconds.
He stared through the window.
Blood-red droplets condensed on the glass.
The fog outside was so thick that they couldn’t see what was hiding within it.
Eventually, Shen Yu looked down at Sandy.
He gently patted her shoulder.
"Miss crew member."
"You’re part of the Twilight Express staff, right?"
"There should be food somewhere on this train."
"Is there a dining car?"
Sandy immediately nodded.
"There is."
"Everyone, follow me."
She slipped out of Shen Yu’s arms and quickly walked toward the pink carriage.
She opened a triangular cabinet built beside the bed.
Inside—
Instant noodles.
Ham.
Canned meat.
Other packaged foods.
Shen Yu quickly estimated the supplies.
There was enough food for approximately five people to survive for a week.
Bill’s eyes immediately brightened.
"Thank goodness."
"At least we can last a week."
"By then, the Self-Defense Force might find us."
"We might still be saved."
For the moment, Bill couldn’t imagine a safer place in the middle of Axe Mountain.
A sealed train.
Plenty of food.
Working air conditioning.
And even electricity.
Their supposed doomsday shelter wasn’t actually bad.
"Right."
"I didn’t expect this."
Malin looked around.
"Leaving early last night might actually have been the right decision."
She patted Menloa’s shoulder.
"Good job."
"If you hadn’t suggested leaving, we might have died in that bar."
Bill immediately looked over.
"Wait."
"Who just said that?"
"If it weren’t for me, we wouldn’t have run into all of this!"
Menloa raised his chin.
"You called me useless earlier."
Bill rubbed his hands together.
"You called me a—"
He stopped himself.
"I didn’t retort."
"That was already my limit."
Menloa stared at him.
Then both of them suddenly laughed.
For the first time since waking up in the ruined station, a small sense of relief spread through the carriage.
The five people sat together near the bedroom.
For a brief moment—
They felt safe.
Meanwhile, inside the United Nations live broadcast room—
The people on screen looked relieved.
But the viewers watching from outside were practically collapsing.
Wild Boar Peppa: Holy f*ck!
"I understand now!"
"They modified Shen Yu and the others’ memories!"
"Then the conductor cooperated with the fabricated memories and announcements to put on this entire performance!"
Undead Night Ning Kai Chun: Yes!
"Yes!"
"I understand too!"
"It’s all because of the mist!"
"The blood mist is making Shen Yu and the others believe there’s a massive disaster outside."
"Then they’re being tricked into wasting their time inside the train!"
Snake Catcher Susien: No doubt about it.
"Once the three-hour stop ends, they won’t have transfer cards."
"Then they’re doomed."
"This level is completely unsolvable!"
Another comment appeared.
"Even if this is really a zombie level, the difficulty makes sense."
"It all depends on whether they discover their own abilities."
"Are there actually zombies?"
"If there are, Menloa alone won’t be enough!"
"Hurry!"
"Hurry!"
"They’re still laughing!"
"Damn it!"
"Time is almost up!"
"I really want to go inside and warn them!"
About half an hour later, the five people were still resting inside the pink carriage.
Malin suddenly noticed something.
Sandy had been sitting beside Shen Yu for a long time.
Her expression was complicated.
Malin finally spoke.
"Why don’t you go wash up first?"
Sandy immediately stood.
"Oh."
"Right."
"You can wash up too."
"This carriage is normally used by staff."
"It has enough hot water for about a week."
"Hot water?"
Bill’s eyes widened.
"We can still take hot showers?"
Everyone immediately became excited.
Even in the middle of a supposed apocalypse—
They had air conditioning.
Food.
And hot water.
Who would want to leave the Twilight Express?
The smiles on everyone’s faces grew wider.
Sandy watched them quietly.
Then the corners of her mouth slowly curled upward.
She walked toward the bathroom.
Just before entering, she suddenly turned toward Shen Yu.
"Sir Shen Yu."
"I think there might still be blood stains on my back."
"I can’t wash them off."
"Could you help me?"
The moment her words fell—
Bill and Menloa immediately looked at Shen Yu.
Their eyes were filled with undisguised envy.
Malin’s expression also changed slightly.
Shen Yu narrowed his eyes.
Something about Sandy’s smile...
Wasn’t quite right.
And outside the train—
The blood-red mist continued to swirl.