Chapter 148: Tunnel Time — The Curse of the Wounds
Menloa stood there in a daze as the figure that looked exactly like him slowly disappeared.
Then—
A transfer card appeared before him.
He stared at it blankly.
The message from his future self still echoed in his mind.
Rely on yourself.
Become stronger.
Before Menloa could fully process it, a familiar voice came from behind him.
"Hey, big guy!"
"Hurry up!"
"It took you this long just to deal with your future?"
"You’re not good enough!"
Bill’s impatient voice rang through the golden palace.
Menloa turned around in surprise.
He pointed toward where his future self had disappeared.
"I dealt with the future?"
"Me?"
"No, it wasn’t me."
"The door just—"
"Let’s go."
"Stop dawdling."
Bill interrupted him before he could finish.
Menloa scratched his healing head awkwardly.
Seeing the three people waiting outside, he slowly walked through Door Two.
This time—
Everyone was completely unharmed.
No one was seriously injured.
No one had been left behind.
Shen Yu looked at the others.
"If we can keep this up, maybe these seven stations won’t be a problem."
The four walked back side by side.
Bill casually spoke as they returned toward the platform.
"If we can keep going like this, we might really make it through the remaining stations."
For the first time since entering the dungeon, a trace of relief appeared in everyone’s eyes.
Maybe...
They really could survive.
Then the station announcement echoed through the platform.
[The train is about to depart.]
[Next stop: Fiction Station.]
[Estimated travel time: Two hours.]
The four returned to the Twilight Express.
The train slowly began moving.
Outside the windows, the scenery rushed backward.
Inside the carriage, everyone finally relaxed.
They sat quietly, watching the landscape pass by.
The live-stream barrage was filled with excitement.
Wild Boar Peppa: Wow!
"Does this level count as a reward level?"
"If everyone can pass, seeing memories of the future isn’t too bad, right?"
"Didn’t everyone fantasize about seeing what they would become when they grew up?"
Yuning Bruce: Definitely!
"When I was a kid, I thought I’d become amazing."
"But when I grew up, I realized I had been overthinking it."
"If younger me could see future me eating instant noodles every day, maybe I’d study harder."
Lua Eve Zu: You’re overthinking it.
"The future is already set."
"Even if you see it, you can’t necessarily change it."
"But this level really wasn’t that difficult."
"Come on!"
"SS-Rank dungeon!"
"Maybe we can actually clear it!"
"Four levels left!"
"We’re almost there!"
"If we really make it through, this could become the highest-clearance SS-Rank dungeon ever!"
The comments continued pouring in.
For the first time, all four participants had passed a station without anyone suffering a serious injury.
Everyone was celebrating.
But they failed to notice something.
The comments coming from Beautiful Country were completely different.
Strict Farmer: Damn.
"This substitute player is actually pretty impressive."
"He intentionally let Menloa out."
"Then he blended into the group."
"Now he’s just waiting for the right moment to strike."
Freedom America: If they hadn’t saved Menloa just now, they might have already completed the first round.
America Forever: You’re thinking too small.
"If we eliminate everyone else first, then none of the others matter."
"That’s right."
"Why would we lose?"
"Kill everyone from the other countries."
"We are the overlords of Blue Star."
The comments were becoming increasingly aggressive.
Inside the train, Shen Yu narrowed his eyes as he stared out the window.
The scenery rushed past.
Malin sat beside him, resting her head against his arm.
She occasionally glanced up at his jaw.
"Shen Yu."
"What are you thinking about?"
Shen Yu remained thoughtful.
"I’m thinking about what the remaining levels could be."
"You see..."
"I don’t remember the past."
"I don’t remember the present."
"And just now, the station showed us memories from the future."
He paused.
"Past."
"Present."
"Future."
"What else can memories be?"
Malin blinked.
"Then the fourth station is Fiction Station."
Shen Yu’s eyes narrowed.
"Could it mean that fictional memories will be stuffed into our minds?"
As he spoke, he began writing several words on his glove.
What you see might all be fake.
"If fiction really is the next stage, then perhaps we can find some clues before arriving."
Malin suddenly tilted her head.
"You’re making us sound like old people with Alzheimer’s."
Shen Yu froze.
"Alzheimer’s disease?"
Malin nodded.
"Think about it."
"Early symptoms of dementia often involve forgetting things from childhood or events from years ago."
"That would correspond to the past."
"As the disease worsens, a person may forget who they are."
"That would correspond to the present."
Shen Yu’s eyes slowly widened.
"And what about the future?"
Malin continued.
"In the later stages of Alzheimer’s disease, people can lose the ability to speak normally and even forget how to perform ordinary activities."
"They become almost like human puppets."
Shen Yu fell silent.
Then his expression gradually became clearer.
Malin’s words had connected several pieces of the puzzle.
The Memory Train wasn’t simply moving through random horror levels.
The train itself was alive.
And as it traveled—
It was experiencing different stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
It was dragging its passengers through those stages with it.
During the process, the passengers’ memories were continuously devoured.
And once they reached the final stage...
Perhaps no one would be able to resist the train anymore.
Shen Yu’s thoughts immediately returned to Sandy’s father.
Maybe the entire journey of the Memory Train corresponded to the progression of Sandy’s father’s illness.
If they could see another CG involving her father—
They might be able to predict what would happen at the next station.
The two CGs he had already seen had gradually revealed a story.
A story that was becoming increasingly connected to the Memory Train.
Shen Yu suddenly stood up.
He was about to walk toward Sandy’s bedroom.
"Hey, Shen Yu."
"What are you doing?"
"I’m looking for clues."
Shen Yu didn’t look back.
He was already reaching for the door to the front carriage.
But before he could open it—
Bill’s voice came from behind.
"Captain."
"My stump is a little cold."
"Can you lend me a glove?"
"I need something to wrap around it."
Shen Yu stopped.
He turned around.
Bill hopped closer.
There was an unusually awkward expression on his face.
"My stump is getting cold."
Shen Yu frowned.
"The train has air conditioning."
"And if you’re cold, just take the cushion from the seat and stuff it around the stump."
"Why do you need my gloves?"
Bill’s expression immediately darkened.
But he quickly forced a smile.
"Uh..."
"It’s fine."
"It’s fine."
"Are you going to the front carriage?"
"Yes."
"Then if there’s nothing else, you can rest here."
Bill’s eyes flickered.
"Oh."
"Can I borrow your helmet too?"
"Since I lost so much blood, my head feels really cold."
"No."
Shen Yu rejected him immediately.
Bill’s expression twisted.
"You really don’t have any captain’s demeanor."
He had been rejected twice.
His tone became noticeably more irritated.
But Shen Yu paid him no attention.
He opened the carriage door and quickly walked into the next compartment.
He had no desire to help Bill.
There was no particular reason.
He simply instinctively disliked him.
If it had been Malin or Menloa asking for help, Shen Yu probably wouldn’t have hesitated.
He would have handed over the gloves or helmet immediately.
But Bill...
Something about him felt wrong.
And Shen Yu couldn’t explain why.
Bill watched his retreating figure.
His expression slowly became unreadable.
Something had changed about Shen Yu.
Bill could feel it.
But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t determine exactly what.
He quietly lowered his gaze.
Then smiled.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Shen Yu continued walking.
He passed through six carriages.
Finally—
He saw the familiar pink carriage.
The connecting door was open.
Inside, Sandy was leaning against the bed.
She was dressed in her usual flesh-colored outfit.
A mischievous smile appeared on her face when she saw him.
"Oh, my little man."
"You really came back."
"This time, how are you planning to play that broadcasting trick?"
"I feel like it isn’t novel anymore."
Shen Yu stared at her.
The carriage door closed behind him.
He approached Sandy and sat beside her.
For a while, the two remained close together on the bed.
But Shen Yu didn’t make any further move.
There was no excitement in his expression.
He simply stroked Sandy’s back.
As if—
He were waiting for something.
On the other side of the train—
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Darkness suddenly covered the carriage again.
Menloa immediately stood up.
His expression became tense.
"Wait."
"If I remember correctly, the last time we passed through the tunnel, the carriage changed."
"So what about this time?"
Bill appeared beside him.
"I already told you."
"Last time was last time."
"This time is this time."
"How could there still be a problem?"
Menloa frowned.
He wasn’t convinced.
Bill stood beside him in the darkness.
His rough fingers slowly moved toward his own neck.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally—
His fingers scratched the skin.
Hiss.
A shallow white scratch appeared across his neck.
Menloa immediately frowned.
"Are you blind?"
"What are you doing?"
Bill quickly pulled his hand away.
"Damn it."
"Sorry."
"I wanted to grab your shoulder, but my hand slipped."
"You know me."
"When I get nervous, I can’t balance properly."
"Sorry."
"Sorry."
Menloa shook his head.
"Just be honest if you’re crippled."
"Why are you running around blindly?"
Bill gave an awkward laugh.
"Hehe."
But while the two were talking—
Something strange happened.
The darkness around them was filled with the familiar sound of the train racing along the tracks.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Then—
Several strange tearing sounds suddenly mixed into the noise.
Rip.
Rip.
Rip.
The sounds were small.
Dense.
Almost like something was being slowly torn apart.
But because the train was moving at high speed and the surroundings were completely dark, no one noticed.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The Twilight Express continued racing forward.
And somewhere inside the darkness—
Something had already begun to change.