Chapter 139: Aquarium
Lin Ye still didn't understand the significance of the young girl's behavior, but he needed the Captain's voice from the earpiece to delay the third stage, so he could only grab her right hand to prevent her from moving around.
The train started moving, and Lin Ye left the Restaurant station under the regretful gazes of the attendants.
The Captain kept trying to convince Lin Ye that the young girl didn't exist. Lin Ye responded enthusiastically and tried all the methods the Captain suggested, but unfortunately, none worked.
"You're not playing me for a fool, are you?"
The Captain's voice turned sinister and terrifying.
"What are you talking about? I've been diligently trying all the methods you told me about, but none of them worked. Could it be that you're the one playing me? The guilty party filing the first complaint?"
Lin Ye spoke with righteous indignation.
"...You'll regret this. When you completely trust that illusion, it will no longer be just an illusion. Right now it still needs to rely on you to exist, which is why it hasn't attacked you yet. Once it can exist independently, you'll no longer be necessary."
The Captain spoke through gritted teeth, filled with anger.
"...That would explain her behavior, but then your actions become problematic. The illness is developing within me, so why do you want to kill me?" Lin Ye asked curiously.
There were clearly contradictions here, but with insufficient information, Lin Ye couldn't figure out the Aberrations' objectives.
"We? What are you talking about? When did I ever say I wanted to kill you?"
The Captain clearly didn't know what had happened during the previous simulation.
"Never mind if you don't know."
Lin Ye certainly wouldn't tell it that it had already been crushed once before.
The train announcement sounded.
Next stop: Aquarium.
Passengers preparing to disembark, please get ready.
'Huh, a new station.'
The train entered the station, and Lin Ye looked out the window.
Outside was a world of deep blackness. All the platform walls had become transparent glass, behind which lay deep seawater with massive shadows occasionally passing through.
Lin Ye observed the style of the glass walls. Though he hated to admit it, this was indeed the station he'd been looking for.
"Hah, so it's this anomaly event! You're finished! Even if that illusion is powerful, you'll both die here."
The Captain made a pleased sound, already picturing Lin Ye's death.
"You know about this anomaly event?"
Lin Ye didn't like the ocean because he wasn't much of a swimmer.
"Of course! This anomaly event is quite famous within the organization. You're doomed! Don't bother asking me—I won't tell you anything about this anomaly."
The Captain was in quite a good mood.
"No, you've already told me."
Lin Ye decided to ask the real Captain about it when the next simulation began.
The other party might not tell him either, but would definitely be more reasonable than this one in the earpiece.
"What are you talking about?"
The Captain recalled what he had said, not understanding Lin Ye's meaning.
Lin Ye didn't answer the Captain, instead considering whether to get off now.
'Getting off now would basically mean certain death, but it could test what happens when disembarking at a station not on the ticket, plus gather some information about the Aquarium station.'
'Not getting off means going to the Silent Land to look for tickets. As long as I can find a ticket to the Aquarium station and then resolve the anomaly there, this simulation would basically be over.'
After some thought, Lin Ye decided to go to the Silent Land.
Testing information could be done anytime; the most important thing now was finding a ticket to the Aquarium station.
The doors closed, and the train slowly started moving. Lin Ye watched the deep black seawater, his mood heavy.
After the train left the Aquarium, Lin Ye chatted with the tool-Captain for a while before the announcement sounded again.
Next stop: Silent Land.
Passengers preparing to disembark, please get ready.
Lin Ye took off the headset and held it in his hand. He didn't know where the danger of the Silent Land lay, but wearing a headset that might start talking at any moment definitely wasn't good.
The train arrived at the station, and the doors opened.
Lin Ye entered the station holding the headset, with the young girl following behind him.
The Silent Land was extremely quiet. Apart from the noisy train behind him, Lin Ye could only hear the sound of his own heartbeat.
'Strange, is my heartbeat really this loud?'
The doors closed, and the train started moving. As the train left the platform, the entire world fell silent.
Lin Ye was surrounded by increasingly piercing heartbeat sounds. With each beat, he felt a stabbing pain in his chest.
"Hehe, you're finished."
The Captain's grating voice came from the earpiece. Before Lin Ye could let go, the earpiece exploded into pieces.
The fragments fell on Lin Ye, and wherever they made contact, minor explosions occurred.
Lin Ye clutched his chest, adjusting his heart rate through controlled breathing, then moved silently toward the staff rest area on one side of the platform.
But moving silently wasn't completely noiseless. The slight sound of footsteps caused a stabbing pain in the soles of his feet.
Not just that—the sound of skin rubbing against clothing, breathing, blood flowing, internal organs moving, bones grinding... all kinds of sounds amplified in Lin Ye's ears, with stabbing pains spreading throughout his entire body.
The pain from skin and bones was manageable, but pain from internal organs was dangerous. Lin Ye forced his body to move, not knowing how much longer he could endure.
These weren't even the biggest problem. The earpiece was already destroyed—he had to leave here before the burly man appeared.
The young girl was also moving slowly, heading toward the restroom on the other side of the station to help Lin Ye look for tickets.
Lin Ye carefully opened the rest area door, which made no sound.
The empty rest area contained only a single table, with a pitch-black train ticket on its surface.
Lin Ye picked up the ticket and glanced at it.
Silent Land ———— Church
'How is there another new station?'
Lin Ye carefully stored the ticket and slowly backed out of the rest area. Just as he exited, he saw that tall figure.
The burly man was clearly also affected by the Silent Land, but his physical constitution was excellent. As long as he didn't make loud noises, he wouldn't die anytime soon.
Lin Ye moved to the platform edge. The burly man had already forced him into a dead end on the platform. The only way to get past the burly man and reunite with the young girl was to jump off the platform.
But jumping off would make sound. If the sound was too loud and injured Lin Ye's legs, he'd have to restart.
So Lin Ye could only slowly climb down from the platform.
Seeing Lin Ye clinging to the platform edge, the burly man instantly disappeared from his spot.
Sensing the burly man's disappearance, Lin Ye pushed with his left hand, spinning around the platform edge to change from clinging face-down to leaning back against the edge.
The burly man landed in the tunnel. The tremendous sound blew his legs apart, then he fell to the ground, making various noises that triggered a series of explosive injuries.
Lin Ye climbed back onto the platform. He had used his left elbow to brace against the platform to prevent other body parts from making noise, and now he could no longer feel his left elbow.