So It Just Vanished

"So, basically, once the Silent Hospital level is cleared, the scene will vanish directly, and then the Death Train will appear, correct?" Ye Chuan asked, hovering in mid-air.

"That is correct, Boss." Tian Xiaotian nodded, glancing around.

The ground began to tremble slightly, and the flow of the mist in the air suddenly accelerated. A low, faint hum resonated from deep underground; clearly, the dungeon mechanics were triggering.

She couldn't help but feel worried. Would this unconventional method of clearing the stage attract even more terrifying anomalies?

With the Boss joining them, the Silent Hospital had been cleared too quickly. It was a speedrun, but it felt like they had instantly triggered phase two.

"I get it now." Ye Chuan seemed to instantly grasp the key point. "Follow me."

"What?" Tian Xiaotian paused, failing to react to the strange vocabulary.

"Come with me," Ye Chuan said, turning to leave the utility room.

"Oh..." Tian Xiaotian hurriedly caught up.

As expected of a high-level player. He must have seen through a connection she had racked her brains over but failed to understand. He had definitely discovered a key clue she had missed.

The squad members followed Ye Chuan closely out of the Silent Hospital gates, arriving at a barren clearing.

Tian Xiaotian followed Ye Chuan's gaze back toward the hospital. The five-story building crouched in the mist like a dormant beast, its gray, decaying walls covered in dark brown vines. However, she couldn't see anything unusual about it.

"Boss, is there something special about the hospital's exterior?" Tian Xiaotian couldn't help but ask.

"Yes. Something you said just now reminded me," Ye Chuan replied, slowly raising his right hand, palm facing up.

Something she said? Tian Xiaotian frantically recalled their conversation, brows furrowed, but couldn't figure out which sentence held the secret.

"Which sentence...?"

"Watch." Ye Chuan didn't answer directly. Suddenly, his palm erupted with blinding golden light!

A pillar of piercing light shot into the sky, heating the surrounding air to the extreme instantly. The air burst with a sonic boom, and even the thick fog was forcibly dispelled.

In the next moment, a beam of concentrated energy surged from his palm, carrying a destructive force capable of annihilating everything in its path, blasting straight toward the Silent Hospital!

"Light it up."

"BOOM—!!!"

A deafening explosion rang out, the dazzling light making it almost impossible to keep one's eyes open.

Wherever the energy wave passed, the hospital walls crumbled like paper. Steel and concrete melted and twisted in the high heat, while debris and dust swept out in all directions like a tsunami.

Terrified by the sheer power, the team members instinctively crouched and covered their heads, their eardrums buzzing, their bodies nearly knocked over by the shockwave.

A few seconds later, the dust settled. Only a scorched, bare patch of ground remained where the building had stood. Not a single complete brick could be found; only wisps of smoke drifted slowly in the air.

Tian Xiaotian stood frozen, her mouth hanging open, unable to speak.

"See? The hospital disappeared. Isn't that a great solution?"

Ye Chuan retracted his hand, smiling as if he had just crushed a cookie.

Indeed, blowing it up was the most efficient way.

"B-But the clues... and the Death Train hasn't appeared yet."

Just as the words left Tian Xiaotian's mouth, a long, low whistle pierced the sky, carrying a bone-chilling coldness from the depths of the mist.

Everyone looked toward the sound. A pitch-black train was slowly emerging from the thick fog.

Its length was immeasurable. The black steel exterior was covered in dark red rust that looked like dried blood.

Dim yellow light shone from the windows, revealing vague silhouettes inside, yet not a single sound could be heard from the passengers.

The train traveled on invisible tracks, its wheels rolling without making a sound. It approached silently like a ghost, stopping at a platform not far away.

Tian Xiaotian was thoroughly speechless.

Was this really a valid method?

Subconsciously, she felt there were still hidden areas of the Silent Hospital left to explore, but Ye Chuan had simply erased the entire map with brute force and successfully summoned the Death Train.

She was silenced by this outrageous operation. After holding it in for a long time, she finally squeezed out, "Truly a Boss."

With a Boss carrying them this hard, why worry about the process?

Tian Xiaotian felt that the logic she had built up over years of dungeon crawling had been completely overturned by Ye Chuan.

Whatever, just lay back and enjoy the ride.

The team members behind her were incredibly excited, chattering enthusiastically:

"My god! Winning without lifting a finger feels so good!"

"I thought we'd lose a few people, but we cleared it without even seeing the monster's face!"

"Sticking with the Boss really pays off!"

"Boss, let's board then." Tian Xiaotian composed herself and led the way to the platform.

The platform was made of blackened wooden planks, the edges rotten and decaying. It creaked and groaned when stepped on, as if it might snap at any moment.

Beside the platform stood a rusty sign. Written in faded red paint were the words "Silent Hospital Station," the handwriting twisted and messy, looking as if it had been written in blood.

In the corner of the platform lay several tattered suitcases covered in spiderwebs, seemingly abandoned for years.

Of course, this was how it appeared in Tian Xiaotian's eyes—

However, in Ye Chuan's eyes, the train looked like a modern electric tram, and the platform was brand new.

Before boarding, Tian Xiaotian approached a strange machine.

It was dark gray, cast from some unknown metal, and etched with complex, eerie patterns that glowed faintly with dark red light.

On the front of the machine were a slot and several raised buttons. The symbols on the buttons were bizarre and unintelligible, neither text nor images.

Tian Xiaotian placed the "Plague Records" she had just obtained, along with the ashes of the "Director's Notes," into the slot.

The machine instantly emitted a low hum. The patterns on its surface lit up, flickering with unstable red light.

She pressed several buttons in a sequence she remembered from memory. The sound of gears turning came from inside the machine, followed by a click from the dispenser below as it spat out several dark yellow tickets.

"These are tickets for the Death Train. We have to buy new ones at every station using clues found in that level," Tian Xiaotian explained to the group.

"If you don't have a ticket, you'll be corrupted by the Death Train's special power over time, eventually turning into a mindless monstrosity."

Tian Xiaotian handed a ticket to each member one by one, but when she counted to the end, her face suddenly froze.

She counted several times; there was exactly one ticket fewer than the number of people!

"Boss, it seems we're one short..." Tian Xiaotian whispered.

This meant that one person could not board the train.