Boom! Boom! Boom!
The deafening noise still rumbled behind them. As the off-road vehicle and motorcycle sped far away, the roaring gradually faded into the distance.
"Is everyone okay?"
Lin Xian pressed down on the communicator.
"No problem." Shu Qin and Big Luo’s voices ca through.
At that mont, the eerie glow of the Dark Tides flickered across the skyline, and the entire town was instantly swallowed by darkness.
From the sky above, a light drizzle began to fall.
Everyone's expressions tensed imdiately. After experiencing last night's Eerie Entities swarming the train, their eyes darted around, vigilantly watching the surrounding darkness.
The headlights of the off-road vehicle and the motorcycle faintly cut through the town's streets, but strangely, no Eerie Entities erged from the darkness. Aside from the echoes of their engines, the entire street was eerily silent and desolate.
"Captain Lin, what was that thing just now?"
Shu Qin’s voice ca through the communicator. Lin Xian, panting heavily, responded while speeding forward on his motorcycle.
"If I guessed correctly, that thing inside the Chemical Plant was a Major Parasite Creature, not so Blood Scourge Flora or a special material that could repel Eerie Entities. The reason those things outside couldn’t enter was because this entire town, within a few kiloters of it..."
"...is its territory!"
Inside the off-road vehicle, Shu Qin and Big Luo's faces changed drastically upon hearing this.
Lin Xian was cursing internally. That so-called Bone Worm Ding Qing had given him was definitely bad news! That bastard had already predicted he would head to the chemical plant. He had pretended to warn him against going but deliberately withheld the truth about what was inside. It was a classic "killing with a borrowed knife" tactic!
Because this guy had saved KIKI earlier and had helped him take down that White Inverted Monster, Lin Xian had held back his suspicion about the parasitic creature in the glass vial and planned to have Director Ding examine it later. But who would've thought—trouble had already arrived before that could happen!
"Captain Lin, watch out."
The sudden voice in the communicator snapped Lin Xian back to reality. He lifted his flashlight and imdiately squeezed the brakes on his motorcycle.
Screech—!
The sharp sound of braking echoed through the street. Lin Xian stopped his motorcycle and swept his light cautiously at the houses on both sides of the road. Slowly, he reached for the gun on his back.
All around, faint candlelight flickered from dozens of windows, just like what they had seen last night through the drone surveillance.
But sothing was off.
The street was dead silent, and the houses didn't look inhabited at all.
Lin Xian released the brakes and slowly rolled forward. His flashlight swept past the glowing windows one by one.
That’s when he noticed sothing chilling—inside each lit window, there seed to be a black silhouette standing still. And as he got closer, those silhouettes also seed to move toward the window.
Lin Xian’s pupils contracted.
Then, he saw it.
A pale, expressionless man stepped out of the shadows and stood by the window, his vacant gaze locked onto him.
And then—
His lips curled into a twisted, eerie smile.
Impostors!
A shiver ran down Lin Xian’s spine. At that mont, everyone looked up—
Across the entire town, countless candlelit windows flickered to life, revealing one figure after another.
They were n and won, young and old, all dressed like ordinary humans. So looked almost real, while others had loose, sagging facial skin—revealing grotesque red worms writhing beneath the torn flesh.
As if they had worn their human skins improperly.
"Go! Now!"
A chilling wave of malicious gazes fell upon them, making Lin Xian's blood run cold. Without hesitation, he revved the throttle, tearing down the street alongside the off-road vehicle, racing out of town at full speed.
At Rain Town’s Freight Platform, warm golden light glowed from the Infinite Train's carriages.
Standing on top of Carriage No. 2’s sniper hatch, Chen Sixuan gripped her sniper rifle, anxiously watching the approaching headlights. Beside her, Shasha, Lu Xingchen, and Miao Lu stood ready to cover and assist them.
Vroom!
The off-road vehicle and motorcycle sped onto the platform.
The elevator ramp of Carriage No. 11 had already been lowered. Big Luo expertly drove the vehicle inside, while Lin Xian and KIKI maneuvered their motorcycle up as well.
As soon as the elevator platform ascended and the cabin doors shut, Lin Xian finally exhaled in relief.
"Are you guys okay?"
Chen Sixuan climbed down from the sniper hatch, shutting the top cover, her expression tense.
Lin Xian glanced at a few minor scrapes on himself and shook his head. "Lucky."
His gaze swept over the other carriages before he turned to Chen Sixuan. "What about you all?"
"We found a lot of supplies in those warehouses!" Shasha stepped forward, sounding excited. "Didn’t run into any monsters. But when Sister Chen told us you encountered Impostors, we all got scared and rushed back onto the train to wait for you."
Lin Xian nodded, feeling relieved.
Good.
His judgnt had been correct—these eerie, unknown places were no place for ordinary people to explore. Otherwise, they’d just end up as cannon fodder.
Aside from unnecessary casualties, they wouldn’t be much help.
"So, what now?" Chen Sixuan asked with concern. "It’s already dark. Do we set off?"
Just thinking about those humanoid monsters made her skin crawl. This fear felt even worse than facing insects or spiders.
Lin Xian took a few deep breaths, lifted the blackout panel, and looked out toward the dark platform and the shadowy silhouette of the town. His expression was grave.
"We wait and observe. If that parasitic creature doesn’t chase us, the best option is to stay here until dawn. If it cos after us, we leave imdiately. Everyone, be ready—we might need to move at any mont."
"Understood."
The crew responded.
Lin Xian assigned Shu Qin and Big Luo to inspect each carriage, while Chen Sixuan went to the control cabin, unlocking the train’s limiters and standing by for imdiate departure.
Night fell, eerily silent.
Because of the Impostors, the train crew was murmuring anxiously, and an air of unease filled the carriages.
Being stuck in a town full of Impostors and so unknown parasitic entity was even more unnerving than last night’s horrors.
Lin Xian entered the control cabin. Seeing Chen Sixuan sitting upright, her face full of anxiety, he reassured her.
"Relax. The train is still safe. Little KIKI and I already encountered them in the dayti. Besides that Major Parasite Creature in the Chemical Plant, the Impostors aren’t particularly strong. As long as we stay alert, we’ll be fine."
"...I know," Chen Sixuan exhaled, still uneasy. "But I keep thinking... if these things show up elsewhere, how many other convoys will suffer? And they can move during the day too..."
Lin Xian pondered. "Not necessarily. So far, all the Impostors seem to be controlled by so kind of parasite, likely related to the Major Parasite Creature in the Chemical Plant. It’s possible they can only operate within a limited range."
"...I hope so." Chen Sixuan nodded. Then she suddenly thought of sothing. "By the way, Director Ding seems busy with sothing. Want to check on her?"
"I was just about to."
As Lin Xian turned to leave—
Grab!
Chen Sixuan suddenly seized his wrist. "Lin Xian, look!"
Lin Xian turned back—
Outside the cockpit window, from the dark station platform, a figure was rapidly approaching.
But it wasn’t running—it was floating.
Lin Xian's expression changed imdiately, preparing to strike—
But the mont the figure entered the train’s headlights, a familiar face full of anger ca into view.
It was KIKI!
She flew to the window, pale-faced, puffing up her cheeks in fury, and shouted at the two of them from outside—
"Lin Xian, you bastard! How could you leave behind and co back without ?!"
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