Chapter 38 - Into the Ghost Train
Hyde pressed hard on his temples and asked,
«What are the chances he’s dead?»
«We can’t rule it out,» Van said. «But if he’s alive, everything we’re planning could fall apart.»
Suddenly, Hyde thought of a man.
The man he saw in the footage.
The more he thought about it, the more unsettling it felt.
«That’s why... I want the farm owners’ help.»
But Hyde couldn’t answer.
Sweat pouring down his face, his lips trembled as he muttered,
«It’s still just a suspicion, but...»
«What?»
«...He might have already found it.»
The image of that man fighting the Trigger replayed vividly in Hyde’s mind.
The way he moved — as if he were completely relaxed, even facing a Trigger.
Wearing nothing more than beginner’s clothes.
«No way he’s already completed his job advancement, right...?»
Hyde shook his head, trying to deny it.
If that guy had actually advanced his class already, the Trigger wouldn’t have even been able to breathe — it would’ve been crushed instantly.
Still looking uneasy, Hyde quickly operated the crystal orb.
There was a field team dispatched nearby.
Van asked in a nervous voice,
«Are you sure?»
«...Maybe.»
Soon, a video floated up from the other side of the crystal.
A man wearing a black mask appeared on the screen — and Van was the first to react.
«Wait, is that Stoneveil city?»
«...You know it?»
«Of course I know it. Clark is stationed there.»
Hyde shuddered again at the sudden memory.
Clark — just like Kyle — was a terrifying opponent.
Especially that sniper shot from several kilometers away — it had always been his worst fear.
«Get a grip! Hey! Hyde!»
«Huh? Yeah...?»
«Those guys aren’t the monsters we used to know! Kyle is just some newbie who barely passed the tutorial now!
The demon from back then is gone!»
Van took a deep breath and his eyes sharpened.
«We have to contact headquarters.
If it’s really him — we have to kill him now.
This is the only chance we’ll get.»
«Huff, huff, huff...!!»
At that moment.
A group was running across a dark tunnel.
«Haaah...!»
It was Evan — one of the survivors from Stoneveil city Station.
He was running for his life.
Even though his legs were shaking and his vision blurred, he couldn’t stop.
Even though it felt like his lungs were being torn apart, he had to keep running.
«Kekeke!»
«Graaah! Aaaagh!»
Horrible sounds echoed from behind —
something was hopping and chasing after him.
Evan glanced back — and his face turned deathly pale.
Why couldn’t he shake them off?
Why didn’t they ever seem to tire?
And even more terrifying—
most of them were people he had known.
’Damn it...!’
Just yesterday, they had been kind people.
The woman who nursed the sick.
The crying child begging for food.
The old man who often shared what little he had with the exhausted...
Evan clenched his teeth hard.
’They all became monsters.’
It had only taken minutes.
He didn’t know the exact time, but in just a few short minutes, Stoneveil city Station had been turned into a wasteland.
Just like how the entire world had changed overnight,
Stoneveil city Station had turned into a dungeon.
«Huff, huff...»
But still —
he was used to it.
After all, he had survived three months in this hellish world.
Evan had decent adaptability.
The problem was,
he hadn’t entered the tunnel leading to Eastport Station.
Instead, he had entered the opposite one.
’At this rate, I’ll never meet up with Detective Caleb.’
And then—
Swoosh!
Something brushed past him.
«...!»
A man — stomach torn open — was dragged forward, then yanked backward violently.
It was Go Myung-hwan — a member of the hunting recovery team, running with him until just moments ago.
A man who, at forty-one, had been drowning in gambling debt and living as a homeless man at Stoneveil city Station.
But after awakening as a Player, he had tried his best to participate in hunts.
That desperate effort — Evan still remembered it clearly.
«S-save... me...»
For just a moment, their eyes met.
Go Myung-hwan’s face was filled with despair.
But Evan could do nothing.
All he could do was keep running — even as Go Myung-hwan’s screams were cut off behind him.
It was only natural.
They were monsters far beyond what Evan could handle.
If he got caught, he would meet the same fate.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The creature that ended Go Myung-hwan’s life was now giving heavy, earth-shaking footsteps behind him.
Evan pushed his legs even harder, sprinting across the tunnel.
And then —
he spotted a light in the distance.
«...!»
A train?
He could see a platform ahead,
and a stationary subway train with light spilling from its windows.
Evan felt a spark of hope.
Three months had passed since that day.
Why would a train be running now?
Why was there even a train in Line 10 — a project that had been canceled?
He didn’t have the luxury to think about it.
The light ahead.
The monsters chasing behind.
That was enough reason for him to run toward the train.
«Uaaah!!»
He sprinted up onto the platform and threw himself into the train.
The doors were already closing — he barely made it.
A real announcement played over the speakers.
[The train will depart shortly. Passengers, please board.]
Panting hard, Evan looked around.
At least he had made it onto the train — maybe now he could finally outrun those monsters.
He dared to hope.
But reality quickly crushed that hope.
«...Oh no.»
[D-grade Dungeon: "The Running Ghost Train" entered.]
[This is a "Theme Dungeon."]
[Soon, the conductor will check for tickets.]
[Passengers without a ticket will become the conductor’s target.]
He had escaped the wolves— only to fall into the tiger’s den.