Chapter 19: Summoning the Ghost (16)

“As expected...”

“Though dangerous, it’s feasible here on this platform.”

Ever since she saw Lin Shuyue swallowed by the box and the ghost that followed her being driven away, Lu Jinzao had vaguely entertained this idea in her mind.

As an ordinary person, no matter how she thought about it, surviving amidst a circle of vengeful spirits to board the train was impossible.

There was only one solution.

She could allow herself to be possessed by a ghost, ceasing to be an ordinary living person — wouldn’t that work?

In this way, aside from the ghost already targeting her, others would lose interest.

Now, her only task was to return to the train before being completely possessed and dying.

But this was no easy feat.

What did it feel like to be possessed by a ghost?

Before this moment, Lu Jinzao couldn’t describe it, but now she could fully articulate the sensation.

Numbness, agony, a soul seemingly unable to control the body.

She needed to run, yet every step felt unreal.

Her mind churned turbulently, as if a nail were spinning inside her brain matter — dizziness, pain, coldness, and an ever-present, terrifying feeling of impending loss of control that forced her to stay alert, to maintain her sense of self, or else she would lose her own consciousness in the next instant.

Her legs were numb; with every step, blood spilled out in torrents.

If she looked down now, she would see her legs were unrecognizable, with strands of hair like blades having sliced through her calves and ankles.

She could still move only by sheer force of will.

If that force faltered, this body would collapse forever.

Yet, Lu Jinzao knew exactly what she had to do.

Though her brain was now like mush, barely able to think, her instincts relentlessly pushed her forward.

The train door was within reach.

Her pupils had begun to dilate and lose focus, her heartbeat slowed, her breath faint, and even the flow of blood had lessened.

She was teetering on the edge between life and death; a slightest wavering of will would mean death just before boarding.

At this crucial moment, a familiar voice pierced through.

“Xiao Lu!”

“Xiao Lu! Wake up!”

“You’re going the wrong way!”

Lu Jinzao jolted, her frozen mind stirred for the first time.

It was... Jiang Yingzhi’s voice!

“That’s not the door! Look carefully!”

The voice was weak and desperate, continuously calling out to her.

Seeing her step forward, the despair in the voice deepened helplessly.

“Xiao Lu! Stop! There’s a ghost there!”

“Don’t be fooled!”

Her dilated pupils trembled slightly.

She couldn’t think clearly; only instinct urged her to trust this familiar voice, but...

Her steps forward never faltered.

Even though her brain was incapable of reasoning, entirely consumed by the faint resistance against the invading ghost, her will remained steadfast, carrying out the goal she had set for herself.

[Focus on the door, board at all costs.]

Jiang Yingzhi’s voice was cast behind her, not because Lu Jinzao discerned any trickery or doubted it, but because she could no longer process the truth of those words.

All she could do now was move forward.

She had reached the train door.

The train’s lights bathed her, her body stiff and nearly indistinguishable from a corpse, warming slightly.

That crucial warmth gave Lu Jinzao the last breath of strength to push with her almost skeletal calves in a twisted posture and step through the doorway.

The moment she entered, her body collapsed inside the carriage.

Exhausted and spent — that was her state.

The instant she confirmed she was aboard, her taut consciousness snapped, and her uncontrollable body fell.

Next, Lu Jinzao heard a gentle, seemingly genderless voice asking if she wanted to initiate body repair.

In a daze, she instinctively answered yes.

She didn’t remember the repair process, only that when her awareness returned, the pain was gone, leaving only a profound mental fatigue.

Lying on the floor, she sighed, then slowly pushed herself up.

During this, she confirmed her body had indeed been restored.

Then, she remembered something and hurriedly took out her ticket.

The ticket had changed.

Though its appearance was the same, the balance had shifted to 300.

This was the remaining amount after deducting the cost of repairing her body.

Earlier, half-conscious, Lu Jinzao couldn’t tell how much “life money” she originally had or how much the repair cost, but her intuition told her the deduction was substantial.

Besides, the “No Seat” on her ticket had now changed to “Third Class Seat.”

She had discussed this with Jiang Yingzhi on the way to the hospital.

The other had said that as long as a new passenger survived the first platform, their ticket would be upgraded from no seat to third class.

The “D” level train they were on was the lowest known train grade.

Though Jiang Yingzhi herself had only ridden “D” level trains so far.

If the lowest grade platform was this perilous, Lu Jinzao couldn’t imagine how deadly the highest grade platforms must be.

But now, she was simply relieved to have survived.

Yet...

She glanced around the sparsely furnished carriage — she was alone.

—The train whistle blew.

The journey was about to start back, but no other living passenger had boarded.

Though she had considered such a possibility, facing the reality brought an indescribable melancholy.

Time came.

The doors slowly closed; no one else entered.

Lu Jinzao recalled Jiang Yingzhi’s voice before boarding.

At that moment, she couldn’t think clearly, but in retrospect, it was a trap.

If she had hesitated then, she would have died.

But who could have known that Lu Jinzao at that moment had already chosen to risk everything, leaving no room for hesitation.

Even if she weren’t ruthless or resolute enough, that call might have caused doubt — but she had gone all in.

She sighed, stood from her seat, and walked to the window to look outside.

As the train slowly moved, she saw the scene beyond.

Corpses stiff in burial garments stood beneath street lamps, heads bowed low, black hair enveloping their figures.

A man resembling Zhou Wenbo held an empty bowl, repeatedly mouthing words.

A miserable black cat circled, seemingly searching for something.

And... Jiang Yingzhi, bruised and blue, his belly torn open, a dead puppy connected to his neck by its umbilical cord.

The scene was like something straight from hell, sending chills down Lu Jinzao’s spine.

She clearly saw their blurred eyes fixed intently on the departing train.

Though ghosts were supposed to have no emotion, Lu Jinzao felt, as if by illusion, a fierce unwillingness emanating from those lifeless forms.