The train doors on the right remained shut. Curious, someone approached and peered through the glass. Outside, an endless abyss of pitch-black darkness stretched beyond sight.
Without hesitation, they turned away and stepped out of the open left-side door.
This time, the platform seemed confined to just this one area. No one knew how large it was or where the exit hall might be.
Towering plant-covered walls, four to five meters high, stretched across the entire platform. On both ends, the platform faded into darkness. The tops of the walls disappeared into the same dense, impenetrable void. Even if someone managed to climb over, they wouldn’t dare step into that darkness.
Who knew what lurked within?
And… was it just an illusion, or was there a faint scent of blood in the air?
“The maze passage is narrow. Stay close,” Yu Xi instructed. The four of them moved in a 1-1-2 formation.
Yu Xi took the lead, with Yu Zhenzhen in the middle. Ya Tong and Lin Wu followed on either side behind her, forming a protective barrier around Yu Zhenzhen.
But in reality, this formation wasn’t just for her protection—it was also to ensure that, when necessary, she could activate her shield and cover all of them.
Earlier, when she heard them choose the lowest-difficulty station, Whitebird Lake, she had assumed it was because they wanted to accommodate her limitations. So, she reassured them, “You don’t have to worry too much. My bound weapon just temporarily ran out of defense points.”
“My bound weapon is a bit unusual,” she explained. “Its attack power is low for now, but its defense is strong. The best part is, it doesn’t require defense cards to recharge—just electricity. Two hours of charging is enough to last through most of a station… The problem was, back in the Cretaceous Period, I couldn’t find anywhere to charge it. And I didn’t have time to buy a power bank or generator, so I was struggling back on the platform.”
“…Your bound weapon replenishes defense points by charging?” Even Ya Tong, who had survived countless battles and was just one SS-rank mission away from earning entry to the Inner Tower, found that hard to believe.
Every Tasker had a bound weapon. They could choose what it was.
Some had enough points to purchase high-grade weapons that came with defense points from the start. That method burned through a ton of points, but the advantage was that they didn’t have to spend time upgrading.
Others, who started with fewer points, bound themselves to basic weapons and gradually upgraded them over time. The benefit was that their weapons evolved alongside them.
At a certain upgrade threshold, a weapon could unlock a shield function.
That function, in many ways, was like a second life. That’s why most Taskers made it their top priority—either through upgrading or saving up enough points to buy a pre-made high-grade weapon.
But points were limited. People needed them for storage expansion, ability upgrades, emergency consumables… Even those who focused on weapon upgrades usually needed ten worlds or more before their weapons reached shield level.
And even then, shields required constant replenishment.
Defense cards, which restored shield points, had to be purchased separately. For example, Lin Wu had only managed to bring two into the Endless Train. One had 500 points, which had already run out back in the Desolate Land. The other, which he spent a fortune on, had 2,000 points. It lasted longer, but once depleted, his shield would be gone.
Ya Tong had more cards than Lin Wu, but once hers ran out, she too would lose her shield.
But now, Yu Zhenzhen was saying that her bound weapon could recharge its shield with electricity?
That was practically a cheat code.
“Yeah. Aunt Mianmian picked it for me,” Yu Zhenzhen confirmed. “She said it’s weaker in the early stages, but since I can always charge it to maintain my shield, it’s better for me than a gun or something.”
She pulled out a slim, silver-pink metal rod—something between a mini flashlight and a conductor’s baton.
It was a stun baton.
But this wasn’t an ordinary one. Leng Mian had obtained it as a special mission reward in an SS-rank high-tech interstellar world.
The baton had inherited that world’s technology.
At lower levels, it focused on defense and small electric shocks. But after enough upgrades, it could unleash massive lightning bolts and electric nets, dealing instant-kill damage.
However, since weapon upgrades required points, and points couldn’t be transferred like consumable items, Yu Zhenzhen had to earn them herself. For now, the baton was still in its early stages.
Yu Xi was speechless.
Even Ya Tong was impressed.
How much did Leng Mian cherish Yu Xi’s daughter to treat her like her own?
“Do you think your Aunt Mianmian will come here too?” Yu Xi asked.
Yu Zhenzhen thought for a moment, then shook her head. “I only recovered two memory fragments so far. I don’t remember how I got here, or a lot of other things.”
Yu Xi didn’t press further.
She already had a guess.
Their team had four members now.
But somehow, she felt like… there were still others they would meet.
And then there was Xing Min.
The fear she had felt when she lost contact with him upon entering this world had long faded, replaced by the comfort of her current companions.
But now that she thought of him again, all she felt was worry.
It didn’t matter if she could reach him or if he could enter this world. She just wanted to hear that he was safe.
The four of them jogged forward.
After taking several turns, the other passengers had completely disappeared behind them.
The towering plant walls gave off an oppressive, eerie aura. The passageways and intersections seemed to stretch endlessly.
Based on the usual size of station platforms, they had already been running for five or six minutes—they should have reached the exit by now.
Yet, they hadn’t even seen one.
“A maze usually belongs to the puzzle category,” Ya Tong noted, frowning as she glanced around. The plant walls were dense, thick, and perfectly trimmed, looking more like tightly packed trees cut into smooth walls.
Lin Wu nodded.
“Yeah. If this is a stamina-based station, then the maze shouldn’t be this… calm.”
The moment those words left her lips, a blood-curdling scream echoed from another part of the maze.
Whoever it was had been attacked, their cries sharp and guttural. At the same time, the sound of gunfire broke through the air, mingled with eerie, mournful sobbing that made their scalps tingle with dread.
The scream and gunfire faded after five or six seconds. The sobbing lingered a moment longer… then silence.
“There’s definitely something here,” Yu Xi said, tightening her grip on the tang dao in her hand. “Stay alert. Whether we jog or walk, keep close. Don’t spread out.”
“I’m activating the shield,” Yu Zhenzhen announced. After learning that Yu Xi had two generators in her storage along with a stockpile of gasoline, she no longer hesitated to use her power.
Her combat strength might be low, but she could survive by playing it safe. If necessary, she could maintain the shield around the clock—clinging to caution from start to finish.
She pulled the silver-pink stun baton from her spatial storage and concealed it up her sleeve. The moment she grasped it, a translucent arc of light expanded outward, surrounding all four of them.
They reached another dead end. Before them stood yet another pair of identical passages—just like the countless forks they’d encountered before. There were no distinguishing marks.
Yu Xi frowned slightly. Something felt off.
She retrieved a bottle of coffee from her spatial inventory, twisted off the cap, and poured it onto the ground where the two paths split. Then, without hesitation, she pointed to the right. “This way.”
The others understood immediately: she was leaving a marker. Clearly, she had noticed something unusual.
Five or six minutes later, the same sounds of anguish pierced the maze—shouts of terror, clashing weapons, and that dreadful weeping. Yet as they advanced, they never once came across an injured or dead traveler.
It was as though the people who had screamed had simply… vanished.
When they turned the fourth corner, Yu Xi’s steps slowed.
She didn’t need to say anything; both Lin Wu and Ya Tong had also caught the scent of coffee.
Up ahead, they reached the fifth intersection. The path ahead looked like any other, but the faint aroma of coffee lingered in the air.
Yu Xi’s senses were sharper than most. She had noticed earlier that as they moved, the coffee scent shifted from faint to strong, then back again.
The coffee bottle she’d discarded was gone.
But the scent remained.
They’d gone in circles and returned to the same intersection.
“Ghost walls?” Yu Zhenzhen asked immediately.
“Not exactly.” Lin Wu examined the surroundings. “The scent wasn’t constant. We didn’t get dragged here by some supernatural force. We walked ourselves back.”
“So the maze itself is the problem?” Ya Tong asked, glancing at the countdown timer on her phone. “Seven minutes, twenty-four seconds left.”
“Do we have enough time to get out?” Yu Zhenzhen’s voice wavered slightly.
Yu Xi ruffled her hair. “Relax. I’m here.”
“Mm! Mommy’s the best!”
Lin Wu: …
Ya Tong: …
They both froze. The sight of Yu Zhenzhen, a teenager, sweetly calling Yu Xi—who didn’t look a day over twenty—”Mommy” left them more unsettled than the haunted sobbing.
Somehow, this mother-daughter dynamic was more nerve-wracking than the maze itself.
Yu Xi bit her lip to keep from laughing. She gave Zhenzhen’s hair another pat, then stepped forward.
Her eyes turned cold as she raised her tang dao and slashed into the thick wall of plants.
The blade sliced cleanly through the green mass.
The maze screamed.
That same hair-raising, sorrowful wail assaulted their ears, sharper and more painful this time. The wall bled—thick crimson liquid oozing from the cut.
The metallic tang of blood filled the air.
Something fell from the opening.
It hit the ground with a soft clink and rolled to Yu Xi’s feet: a familiar coffee bottle, empty and stained.
These walls were alive.
No—not alive. The texture, the shape…
The walls weren’t made of plants.
They were made of people.
The realization chilled them to the bone.
The maze wasn’t a maze. It was a prison of human bodies, twisted and reshaped into green walls.
As the wailing intensified, sharp, vine-like branches erupted from the walls. They shot toward the group like a rain of spears, each one dripping blood.
There was nowhere to run. The passage was narrow. If the shield didn’t hold, they’d be skewered like insects.
Yu Zhenzhen tightened her grip on the baton.
The shield crackled with electricity. A thin current of blue light spread across its surface.
The tendrils jerked back with violent spasms, recoiling from the electrical field.
“It’s not a plant maze,” Ya Tong said through clenched teeth. “It’s a maze of human walls. Those travelers we heard… they didn’t disappear. They were dragged into these walls.”
Lin Wu checked the timer again. “Six minutes, thirty-six seconds. What now?”
Yu Xi stared at the twitching branches.
The tang dao vanished from her grip.
In its place appeared a familiar, pink crystal bottle.
Her lips curled into a cold smile.
“Now?” she said softly.
“We do things my way.”
She turned the flame to level three, ignoring the branching paths on either side, and directed the scorching fire toward the bleeding “plant wall.”
The dim green space was instantly lit by the searing flames. The “plant wall” let out a piercing, bone-chilling shriek—a cacophony of voices, some male, some female, some youthful, others aged. It sounded like the wailing of vengeful ghosts.
The tendrils extending from the walls thrashed wildly. All around them, the walls seemed to contract inward, closing in.
“These walls can move!” Yu Zhenzhen exclaimed. She immediately activated the electric field around the shield again. This function drained the battery far faster than the regular shield alone, so she had been sparing with it before.
Now?
Now she could go all out.
The attacking branches recoiled, blackened and crackling from the electric discharge.
Meanwhile, Yu Xi’s relentless stream of fire had burned a hole through the wall in front of them.
She raised the pink crystal bottle, stopping the flames, and said in a calm, measured tone, “Move aside, or I’ll burn you all to ashes. Your choice.”
It was a gamble.
But these walls felt pain. They moved strategically to trap travelers. Maybe they could understand her.
She waited only a few seconds before pressing the trigger again.
The flames roared.
The walls screamed.
The unearthly wails reverberated through the maze, and then—finally—the wall to their left shifted.
The center split apart like a gate being forced open.
One after another, more walls receded, revealing a straight path toward the faint yellow glow of the exit hall.
Ya Tong laughed. “Cowards. All bark, no bite.”
Yu Zhenzhen let out two excited whoops. “Mommy’s the best! Mommy’s the coolest!”
Lin Wu: …
Yu Xi held the bottle steady and glanced back. “Let’s go.”
**
The air was crisp and clean. The sky, a brilliant, cloudless blue.
Ahead of them stretched a tranquil, expansive lake.
Elegant waterbirds glided low over its surface, their wings skimming the water as they soared toward the snow-capped mountains in the distance.
The lake was perfectly still, like a flawless mirror reflecting the towering, forested peaks beyond.
The temperature hovered around eleven or twelve degrees Celsius—cool but not biting. The lake was framed by lush vegetation, the scent of pine mingling with the fresh mountain breeze.
Behind them, the quiet murmur of voices drifted from a designated rest area. A large map of the scenic park stood nearby.
Yu Xi’s phone vibrated. New information appeared on the screen.
Location:
Whitebird Lake (B-Level)
Duration:
55 days
Identity Status:
Unlocked
Unlimited Currency:
Disabled
Ticket Status:
Valid (1 station remaining)
Objective:
Within 55 days, locate and confirm the hidden departure station (one attempt only) and board the train.
Time Remaining:
54 days, 23 hours, 58 minutes, 37 seconds
Item Slots (Max 10):
10/10
Skill (Max 1):
Spatial Storage (200 cubic meters, active)
Teammates:
Lin Xiang, Yu Qi, Yu Meixi
Team Settings (Active):
Damage Immunity, Messaging, Destination (optional), Alerts (optional)
Easter Egg (Activated):
Fragment Collection (20%)
Fragments in this Station:
1 (not yet collected)
Hint:
“It is the purest legend of the white world.”
Yu Xi exhaled slowly.
Fifty-five days.
Luckily, this was a B-level station.
She turned toward the map for more details.
Whitebird Lake was part of a large ecological park. The park featured several distinct zones: the lake itself, dense forest areas, wide grasslands, and a mountainous region accessible by cable cars.
At the summit stood a well-known ski resort and a luxury hotel.
There were also various lodging areas by the lake, on the slopes, and throughout the grasslands.
So far, the place seemed peaceful. No immediate danger.
But with the currency system disabled, they had no easy way to pay for shelter.
“Fifty-five days without unlimited currency.” Ya Tong sighed, running a hand through her hair. “We’ll need money.”
Yu Xi nodded. “Yeah. First order of business: make some cash.”
Reading Settings
#1a1a1a
#ef4444
Comments