Chapter 1895: Chapter 1076: Legend
Takagi Reina quickly stuffed the skewered grilled bird into her mouth, then wiped the sauce from the corner of her lips with a napkin and chuckled softly, "You sly fox, did you notice that those two guys seemed off too?"
"I can’t confirm it, but their appearance was too coincidental. It’s like just when you’re getting drowsy, someone hands you a pillow; the process of obtaining the train ticket clue went way too smoothly." Yang Xiao replied calmly.
The commotion was naturally overheard by Xiao Lin Zhengyan, whose face suddenly turned pale. He hadn’t expected that the two staff members might actually be problematic. After all, they had just spent quite some time in their company.
He couldn’t understand, if these two were suspicious, then why didn’t they make a move earlier?
Moreover, how did Yang Xiao even sense that something was wrong with those two?
"Concerned that those two might be problematic, I intentionally went the opposite direction to avoid getting entangled with ghosts. Retracing Sasaki Sakura’s disappearance route could lead to the same outcome. After all, she disappeared on the night she boarded at Renyuan Shrine Station."
The joking tone in Takagi Reina’s gaze towards Yang Xiao subsided, replaced by genuine appreciation from her heart, "Chu Xi, you’re truly a cunning fox... no, you’re a real expert. I’m starting to like you a bit."
"You’re not bad yourself. I was quite satisfied with your performance last night." It’s incredibly rare to find someone in a mission who is on the same wavelength; though young, this girl had both experience and intellect, making her a truly valuable ally.
With Takagi Reina around, Yang Xiao felt his chances of survival had increased by at least thirty percent, as long as she didn’t turn against him.
Last night during the Water Ghost attack, Takagi Reina’s quick reflexes and keen sense of the situation left him satisfied.
However, to Xiao Lin Zhengyan and Yamamoto Chunai, their conversation seemed to carry a different implication, as if something indescribable had transpired between them last night.
Flashes of some suggestive images crossed Xiao Lin Zhengyan’s mind, but he quickly regained control. After all, in his view, a man and a woman alone in a room aren’t unlikely to let things happen, especially given their beauty and handsomeness, having exchanged looks for quite a while.
What Xiao Lin Zhengyan thought about it, Yang Xiao didn’t know, nor did he care. After boarding the train, they soon arrived back at Renyuan Shrine Station, just minutes from Central Renhe Station.
But upon arrival, the scene before them somewhat embarrassed both Yang Xiao and Takagi Reina.
From a distance, they first saw the young staff member Mr. Nakamura answering another traveler’s questions, and shortly thereafter, spotted Director Gongben with a thermos cup.
Simultaneously, Director Gongben noticed them and enthusiastically walked over to greet them, leaving Yang Xiao and Takagi Reina feeling sheepish.
Reflecting on their earlier mutual compliments, this slap-in-the-face moment revealed that both individuals were ordinary people without any issues.
"That’s how it is indeed..." Takagi Reina sighed in relief, trying to regain some dignity forcibly.
"What a pity, I already had thought out a way to deal with them; it seems that Source Ghost got lucky." Yang Xiao sneered.
Takagi Reina: "??!"
"As expected of Chu Jun, truly impressive!" Xiao Lin Zhengyan admired Yang Xiao to the utmost, capable of handling a Source Ghost, it seemed unbelievable to him.
"Hah, you might want to keep your voice down, lest the Source Ghost overhears..." Takagi Reina lowered her voice to scare Yang Xiao; she couldn’t take it anymore, caught off guard yet again by Yang Xiao’s feigned act.
"So what do we do now, Chu Jun?" Xiao Lin Zhengyan followed Yang Xiao’s orders and tagged along like a sidekick.
"Let’s go back and retrace Sasaki Sakura’s disappearance route." Yang Xiao made a decision, and the group of four boarded the train from Renyuan Shrine Station, planning to get off at Shirahata Station.
It was daytime, and the likelihood of encountering a supernatural event was low, giving Yang Xiao the confidence to attempt this.
He intended to have someone else take the risks of trial and error but wouldn’t risk his own life at the forefront.
Past mission experiences had taught Yang Xiao that those who first encountered the core supernatural events were almost guaranteed not to survive. After all, the mission had just begun, and they knew nothing about the background of the Source Ghost or its killing methods. Encountering it now would spell certain death for anyone.
To survive longer in the Nightmare World requires some luck, but luck alone isn’t enough; they must learn to avoid risks, especially during the early stages of a mission.
In other words, if the ghosts targeted was not Mimura Kaori last night but Yang Xiao, he had no confidence in surviving either.
Mimura Kaori’s death was undoubtedly related to her roommate Watanabe Gou’s backstab, but even without Watanabe Gou, she would have found survival difficult. Essentially, Watanabe Gou was only acting for self-preservation, making it difficult to assign blame.
Shinkawa Lower Town, East Matsubara, West Matsubara... at each stop, Yang Xiao recorded the time, comparing it with the journey time on their way here, and found no issues for now.
This time they chose to get off at Shirahata Station, which appeared just as it was before.
There were more people waiting on the platform than during their previous visit, but everyone maintained a sense of propriety and distance, silently awaiting the train without causing a ruckus, keeping safe distances from each other.
After walking around Shirahata Station, Yang Xiao found nothing; this was indeed Shirahata Station, and everything was just as before.
"You stay here." Takagi Reina ordered Xiao Lin Zhengyan, then gave Yang Xiao a meaningful look.
The two of them left, walking to a spot ten meters away from Xiao Lin Zhengyan and Yamamoto Chunai, but still within visual range.
"The current progress of our mission is a bit slow, this won’t work," Takagi Reina was straightforward.
"There’s no other way, we’re all passively waiting, waiting for the ghost to kill. To speed up the process, we must take the initiative," Yang Xiao, of course, knew where the problem lay. They needed courageous warriors willing to risk trying and failing, but no one was foolish; such attempts were tantamount to suicide.
"The train showed no anomalies during the day. I think the issue occurs at night. Let’s figure out a way to send a few people on the train tonight, following the same route Sasaki Sakura disappeared on," Takagi Reina added. "The timing should preferably be around 10 o’clock, as that’s roughly when Sasaki Sakura had her incident."
"Let’s go back and discuss it in a meeting. I suppose we won’t be among those selected, since we need to stay at the Detective Agency. That place isn’t without its dangers, and no one is willing to take over our shift," Yang Xiao quickly weighed the pros and cons; tonight’s train journey seemed ominously perilous.
Takagi Reina sneered upon hearing this, "You don’t need to tell me. If we were among those chosen, I wouldn’t have suggested it. We can handle the Water Ghost if we’re careful, but if we really encounter that Ghost Train and get taken to Youjian Mountain Station, we’d die without knowing how it happened."
"Can we find a way to protect those two tonight?" Yang Xiao glanced toward Xiao Lin Zhengyan and Yamamoto Chunai’s direction, noting that they were looking his way. When they noticed Yang Xiao looking at them too, they tactfully withdrew their gaze.
It was evident that Xiao Lin Zhengyan and Yamamoto Chunai were also very tense. They knew that something was being discussed over here, and they were curious, but didn’t dare ask.
"We can’t protect them. Don’t do anything foolish. The purpose of newcomers is to trial and error. If you step in to protect them, you’re openly challenging the order, and those veteran players will ally against you. Just Yandeta Chiyoda is troublesome enough." Takagi Reina directly shut down Yang Xiao’s idea and taught him a lesson.
Yang Xiao certainly knew this idea was unrealistic and somewhat naive, but he saw in Xiao Lin Zhengyan’s eyes the shadow of Sato Shouta. They had the same anticipation and fear, though they were completely different people.
But regarding these things, Yang Xiao didn’t intend to share them with Takagi Reina; it wasn’t necessary. Everyone had their secrets.
"The most likely person to be targeted tonight is Watanabe Gou. What he witnessed last night is very similar to Sasaki Sakura’s memory. It’s very possible he will receive a ticket tonight, a ticket to Youjian Mountain Station," Yang Xiao analyzed.
"That’s just as well, this man is a nuisance anyway." Takagi Reina was very decisive. "I’m thinking of arranging for everyone to draw lots when we go back. No matter what, we need to send someone to take the Renhe Line train tonight for a look."
At four in the afternoon, Yang Xiao and his team returned to the Detective Agency, where seven people were seated, everyone had returned.
"Chu Jun, did you find anything?" Seeing Yang Xiao return safely, Suzuki Takashi, who considered himself on good terms with Yang Xiao, stood up first, unable to hide the anticipation in his eyes.
Yang Xiao didn’t waste words. He took out his phone, showed them the photos in his album, and narrated everything he had seen and discovered along the way.
This task was incredibly challenging, and they hadn’t even figured out the origins of the ghost. Continuing to hide clues or even divert energy to guard against teammates was practically suicide.
The primary objective during the mission was survival; everyone was striving for this goal. At the same time, to achieve this final goal, personal grievances could be set aside.
Such as with Yang Xiao and Yandeta Chiyoda, everyone could see they didn’t get along, but as long as the other side didn’t first plot against him, Yang Xiao wouldn’t make things hard for her.
After all, Yandeta Chiyoda had real skills, and Yang Xiao needed her abilities to help the team find clues and end this Nightmare.
Upon seeing the photo of the first-generation ticket, Watanabe Gou’s emotions visibly flared up, "That’s right, it’s this one, this is the type!"
"Look carefully," Takagi Reina had a natural distrust for this guy.
Especially given that during this period, smartphone pixel quality wasn’t very high, Takagi Reina also worried that Watanabe Gou might be mistaken.
Watanabe Gou’s eyes were glued to the small phone screen, "No mistake, it’s exactly this type, I remember it very clearly!"
"Why isn’t Youjian Mountain Station in there?" After searching for a while, Watanabe Gou finally realized and looked toward Yang Xiao and the others.
"As mentioned, there’s no Youjian Mountain Station," Yang Xiao replied succinctly.
With Watanabe Gou’s confirmation, those present determined that the so-called Youjian Mountain Station did not belong to the several stations newly built during Renhe Line’s second construction; it had long existed, alongside Youjian Mountain Tunnel, which, within this world’s timeline, dated back 60 or so years.
Meanwhile, Yandeta Chiyoda, who wore a perpetually cold expression, began to share the information they had gathered from their side. They were responsible for interviewing residents and shops along the Renhe Line.
"We found a few elderly residents and shop owners, whose families have lived here for generations. One family even participated in the first train journey after the Renhe Line opened back then. None of them had ever heard of Youjian Mountain Station."
"But when mentioning the Youjian Mountain Tunnel, one elderly person clearly remembered that as a child, his father strictly forbade him and his brother from playing near the tunnel, even frightening them by saying that a monster was hidden inside."
