Why aren't the lights on

Ye Chuan fell silent for a moment. Noticing that the scenery within his field of vision had shifted, he rubbed his eyes once more.

This time, however, the scene didn't revert to that terrifying, dark crimson environment. Everything around him appeared tranquil and peaceful, indistinguishable from the ordinary real world.

Yet, Ye Chuan knew full well that this was merely a façade. Compared to the name "Academy of the Voiceless," the dungeon name "Death Train" practically had the word "DANGER" written all over it.

"Where is this train going to stop?" Ye Chuan gazed at the scenery outside the window. While the picturesque mountains and clear waters looked pleasant, they also evoked an eerie sensation.

If he had to pinpoint it—it seemed that aside from the tracks beneath them, there wasn't a single sign of human habitation.

"..." Ye Chuan observed for a while longer before realizing that not only were there no residential buildings or houses outside, but there wasn't even a single telephone pole.

Withdrawing his gaze, Ye Chuan chose to examine the interior of the train. In contrast to the gloomy atmosphere from before, it was now exceptionally bright inside—though completely devoid of people.

"No one here..." Ye Chuan released his spiritual sense once again, only to find it was still being obstructed by an invisible force.

Since he didn't know the clearance method for this dungeon world, Ye Chuan hopped off his chair, glanced in both directions, and finally walked toward the adjacent carriage.

Sliding open the carriage door, Ye Chuan looked ahead—rows of neatly arranged seats, but still not a soul in sight.

Upon realizing this, Ye Chuan quickened his pace. He began searching car after car, but the result was always the same: empty.

What was even more bizarre was that Ye Chuan had already searched through dozens of carriages, yet the train seemed endless, with every single carriage layout being identical to the last.

"You think I can't handle you?" Ye Chuan extended his hand, preparing to fire a demonic beam at the window beside him.

He'd just blast right through it!

Just then, the sound of something falling came from the carriage behind him.

Ye Chuan paused. "Oh?"

He immediately turned around and headed toward the rear carriage—the direction he had just come from.

With a clatter, Ye Chuan slid the door open. Unlike the emptiness before, his gaze quickly landed on a figure.

It was a young girl wearing a black academy uniform. Below her pleated skirt, her legs were straight and clad in knee-high socks. Of course, none of that was the main point of Ye Chuan's attention.

After identifying her as a girl in a school uniform, Ye Chuan noticed her eyes were closed; she appeared to be unconscious.

Ye Chuan could sense that she was just an ordinary human; there was no strange aura about her.

Just a regular high school girl.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ye Chuan patted her, but received no response.

"Hey? If you don't wake up, I'm going to flip your skirt."

"And put your panties on your head."

Perhaps it was Ye Chuan's words that triggered a reaction. The girl's brow furrowed, and then, as if just waking from a deep sleep, she struggled to open her eyes.

"Did I... fall asleep?"

The girl first glanced out the window, then looked around in confusion before finally resting her gaze on Ye Chuan.

"Little brother? You..."

Seeing Ye Chuan's appearance as a five or six-year-old boy, the girl asked curiously, "Little brother, where are your mommy and daddy?"

Ye Chuan: "Dead."

The girl: "..."

Stunned into silence by Ye Chuan's blunt response, the girl froze for a few seconds before slowly recovering. "I'm sorry... what about your other family members?"

"I don't know. I fell asleep and woke up here. What about you?" Ye Chuan asked casually.

Hearing Ye Chuan's mature tone, the girl found it a bit odd but didn't think too deeply about it. She simply assumed the boy had been forced to grow up quickly after losing his parents at such a young age.

"Big Sister was just sleeping on the train. I was having a hazy dream when you came over to wake me up." As she spoke, she also noticed something strange.

"Huh? Why isn't there anyone else in the carriage? Did everyone get off?"

Seeing how clueless the girl was, Ye Chuan observed her for a moment. There was a high probability she wasn't a monster, but just an ordinary person dragged into this dungeon.

However, since there was one girl here, perhaps more people would appear.

With nothing better to do and unable to find anyone else, Ye Chuan spoke to her.

"I already checked. This place is weird. There's nobody in any of the carriages. I searched for a long time and you're the only one I found."

"What's your name?" Ye Chuan continued.

"My name is Qiu Ya." As she spoke, realization suddenly dawned on her. "If all the carriages are empty, did we miss our stop? Think about it... when a train gets near the terminal station, there's usually almost no one left."

Qiu Ya smiled at Ye Chuan and took her phone out of her bag. "If I missed my stop, I need to tell my family so my parents don't worry."

As she spoke, however, she noticed that her phone had absolutely no signal.

"No signal, huh? Well, I guess that's normal. Sometimes you lose reception on the train."

Qiu Ya put her phone down and looked at the cute Ye Chuan beside her. "Little brother, what's your name? Are you in kindergarten yet?"

"I'm in college."

"Pfft! I haven't even started college yet, and a little bean like you is already a college student?" Qiu Ya clearly didn't believe the child in front of her. Treating him like a cute little brother, she reached out and ruffled Ye Chuan's hair.

"So, you haven't started school yet?"

Ye Chuan swatted her hand away. He realized the girl in front of him was just a ditzy high school student who had absolutely no clue about her actual situation.

Since Ye Chuan currently had no leads on how to clear this dungeon world, he simply plopped down on the seat next to Qiu Ya.

Just then, the train suddenly entered a tunnel, and the surroundings plunged into darkness.

"That's weird, why didn't the lights come on?" Qiu Ya muttered to herself in the gloom. "Don't be scared, little brother. Big Sister isn't afraid of the dark. Do you want a hug?"

Ye Chuan, however, seemed to sense something. He looked toward the front with a puzzled expression—

The train emerged from the tunnel, and the surroundings brightened once more.

In the seat diagonally across from them—a spot that had been empty just moments ago—a middle-aged man had suddenly appeared!

"Huh? Oh, there was someone there? I didn't see him earlier." Following Ye Chuan's gaze, Qiu Ya also noticed the middle-aged man and smiled.

"Look, little brother, that mister missed his stop just like us. Oh, wait, maybe he's just getting off at a later station."

Ye Chuan didn't answer Qiu Ya. He simply got off his chair and walked straight toward the middle-aged man.