Chapter 50: The Train to the End of the World

“Sui, is everything ready?”

“Mm-hmm, Kuyan Fire Village… fuzzy clothes, and… apples! Everything’s ready!”

“Why is everything you brought just food?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Tsk… Fine. Are you really sure about this? Once we go, we might never come back.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“All right, let’s go.”

*Zip—*

The zipper of the suitcase was pulled shut.

The sound of rolling wheels echoed as we bid farewell to this small home that had briefly held our memories.

“Lu Xiu, is there anything good to eat over there?”

“Probably not. Do expired cookies count?”

“Aw…”

*Hooo—*

The train let out a long, humming whistle, urging passengers to board.

*Clatter, clatter.*

The suitcase wheels rolled along.

“Hey, hey, not that train. Don’t go running off by yourself.”

“Come with me. An ordinary train can’t reach the Reality border.”

“Then how are we going to get there?”

“By riding an aberration. Designated GD-0014, the Train to Doomsday. It can travel to every reality border in the world, though the downside is that tickets are a bit hard to ‘get,’ and there’s a chance it’ll turn into a direct express to hell.”

“That sounds scary…”

“So, do you still want to go?”

“Yes.”

“Fine then. At least if we go to hell, we’ll have company.”

“I’m not going to hell. If you want to go, go by yourself.”

*Clang, clang.*

An old, green-skinned train slowly rolled in from the abandoned tracks.

It was covered in barnacles and seashells, looking like an antique that had been submerged at the bottom of the ocean for a long time. As it moved, figures could seemingly be seen through the windows.

*Hooo—*

The train stopped, venting a large cloud of steam that blurred my vision. Lu Xiu took my hand and led me into the salty-smelling carriage.

The interior looked incredibly eerie: some seats were flowerpots, others were toilets, and one was a lump of melting gel. Countless arms hung from the ceiling, slowly stretching and grasping.

One arm even held a briefcase. As for the floor, it made me feel even more nauseous. There was no carpet; instead, the entire floor was covered in silent faces that rose like bubbles and slowly sank back down.

If you weren’t careful, they would crawl out from under your feet, and if stepped on, they would emit a sharp shriek that made my ears ache.

“These abnormal attachments aren’t aggressive. Er… except for being a bit noisy, a bit disgusting, and sometimes swiping things from your pockets…”

I covered my nose and looked at the surrounding passengers.

Some were gentlemen in top hats, some were men in suits gazing melancholy at the sky, and some weren’t even human—a giant, bloated eyeball, a small piece of fuzzy unknown material resembling an intestine, and a floating bronze head.

Is this really safe?

‘I don’t know. But if I get hungry, maybe I can have a buffet? It’s been a long time since I had a buffet. Too bad no buffet restaurant would let us in for some reason.’

“This is the rule of the train. Whether you are a human, a demon, an aberration, or any other existence, the one rule you must follow is that there is no fighting inside the carriage.”

“Otherwise, you will be swallowed by the train and turned into nourishment, just like those faces and arms you see.”

“Oh, okay.”

I nodded.

It seemed I could only eat my own snacks.

Lu Xiu led me to a seat that looked relatively normal. I sat down, pulled a chocolate bar from my pocket, tore it open, and started eating.

“Hey, little brat, what are you eating? Let me have some.”

I turned my head and saw the bronze head looking at me with a ferocious expression.

“What are you looking at? Give me a bite.”

I looked at him, then at the chocolate bar in my hand, and then extended it toward him.

“Hmph, at least you’re sensible—” it said, making a move to open its mouth.

At that exact moment, I shoved the whole thing into my own mouth. *Chew, chew, chew.*

I provocatively licked my lips at him.

“Hee-hee, it’s delicious.”

The bronze head visibly began to heat up.

What followed was a string of curses in a dialect I didn’t understand.

Hehe.

“Bleh~”

I made a face at him.

‘The train doesn’t allow fighting anyway. I’ll anger you to death! You wanted my food? You’re lucky I didn’t eat you as a dessert.’

“This is truly lively, little girl.”

At that moment, the man in the top hat spoke. He squinted his eyes, a mask covering his face, yet his voice seemed to come from behind him, making me instinctively uncomfortable.

“Ignore it,” Lu Xiu said to me.

“Oh, okay.”

“Hmm… let me think. The aura on you is very strange.” Seeing Lu Xiu respond, the man turned to him. “A hint of sadness, a hint of attachment, and… a deathly cold like the ocean tides. It reminds me of that small bronze bell in the ancient temple.”

Lu Xiu ignored him.

“The place you’re going must be very far, right? And I suspect it’s a journey with a ninety percent chance of death.”

What is he trying to say?

“Perfect timing. I happen to have a bottle of miracle medicine here from the Great Lord of Heavenly Unity. It doesn’t cost 18,964,072 yuan—it’s only 99,999,099. How about it?”

“Hey, hey, hey! You stinking outsiders dare to ignore me? Get on your knees and bark like a dog!”

The bronze head broke the silence, its arrogance reaching an extreme.

On one side was a fanatical, crazed salesman; on the other was a hot-tempered bronze head.

I silently covered my ears.

‘If only I could eat them.’

At that moment, the train jolted, and the world outside the window began to recede.

The train had started moving.

I immediately pressed myself against the window to look outside. The sky was slowly turning a blue-purple hue. The sun withdrew its light and heat, retracting its brilliance like peeling paint.

Only a cold glow shimmered far off to the side, unable to illuminate the path of the world that had turned pitch black.

*Clang, clang—*

The train began to crawl slowly through the darkness. Beneath the train, thick, grayish-blue human legs grew out one after another, carrying the massive green insect forward.

The pitter-patter sound was incessant. The interior of the train went quiet. The salesman maintained his fanatical posture, holding out the so-called miracle medicine to the arms on the ceiling.

The bronze head began to spin in place before falling to the floor, motionless.

Everything exuded a sense of eerie calm, as if this were routine, yet also as if we were falling into a deeper, more frantic abyss.

Until—

The world outside the window suddenly brightened. Before I could even look out, an ink-green tentacle suddenly slapped against the window next to me.

Separated by a layer of glass, I could clearly see the dense, twitching suckers. It looked so disgusting…

Through another window, however, I saw a world of gray mist. There was nothing but the vague, towering silhouette of a back that seemed to be patrolling within it.

Different windows reflected different landscapes.

I couldn’t help but gasp in amazement.

How magical!

The window next to Lu Xiu was pitch black, reflecting only his tired and bored expression. He even let out a yawn.

“Lu Xiu, Lu Xiu! Look, a super big—octopus!”

I spread my arms wide and spoke to him with a ferocious look.

“Why aren’t you reacting?”

“Ah… I’m so scared…”

“Hehe, you should be! Quickly, offer some delicious food to the great Lady Sui!”

“Ow… this… why is it expired cookies again!”

“Don’t want them? Give them back then.”

“No!”