What Sun Hang couldn’t understand the most was that on this "passenger," he didn’t feel a single trace of supernatural aura.
This was obviously not something that could exist in the normal world; even the most shallow person with knowledge of supernatural things would see this and unhesitatingly conclude it was a supernatural entity...
Yet, in this carriage filled with supernatural aura, this "passenger" seemed to be a "pure stream" untainted by memetic contamination.
Not just this "passenger," but in the other carriages, Sun Hang couldn’t sense any supernatural aura from the other "passengers" either.
"Could it be these ’passengers’ are just ’decorations’ in the carriage? Merely there to add to the atmosphere?" As Sun Hang was pondering this, the passenger suddenly shifted position, resting his elbows on his legs and clasping his hands together to support his chin... This pose was almost identical to that of an office worker utterly exhausted after work.
"Hey... hello?" Sun Hang raised his hand to greet the other.
However, the other person did not respond, as if he hadn’t heard Sun Hang at all.
Sun Hang daringly walked over, reached out his hand, and waved it in front of the other’s blurred face, but the person still completely ignored him.
"Can I ask you something?" Sun Hang gestured to pat the other’s shoulder, but to his surprise, his palm went straight through the shoulder.
These "passengers" were mere projections with no substance; they didn’t actually exist, which explained why Sun Hang couldn’t sense any aura belonging to them.
"Is that what the ghost of a ghost train means?" Sun Hang simply sat down in the position of the "passenger," mimicking his posture so that he completely overlapped with the virtual image.
To say they completely overlapped wasn’t quite accurate either, as Sun Hang’s physique was slightly different from the virtual image— the figure was taller and slimmer than Sun Hang, hunched over like the shrimp in the "downer" meme (not him, dude.jpg).
After sitting for a while without any reaction from the shadow, Sun Hang got up somewhat helplessly and walked towards the next carriage.
The "passengers" in the next carriage were similarly shadows; some were seated, heads down reading newspapers; some stood in the aisle, holding onto a strap with one hand and a phone with the other; others seemed to be couples or close friends, leaning intimately against each other, occasionally making ambiguous little gestures.
Unfortunately, the newspapers in their hands and the phone screens were just as thickly pixilated as their faces, leaving Sun Hang unable to gather any information.
"Preliminary judgment as ’afterimages.’" The voice of the mini-mainframe sounded in Sun Hang’s earphone, "These people possibly were once passengers of this ’ghost train;’ the train preserved the image data from when they were onboard and is now playing it looped in this manner..."
"In that case, the ghost train’s operation seems rather ordinary; even with the low passenger flow at Xiaojiacun Station, the carriage would have been packed to the brim if they recorded every passenger’s image, right?" Sun Hang glanced at the rather empty carriage and commented.
"Considering the ghost train’s unique boarding mechanism, even though it has existed for years, there still aren’t many who got the chance to board it." The mini-mainframe replied.
"Now that you mention it, I’m quite curious about how these people managed to board the ghost train." Sun Hang examined the virtual images of the "passengers," "Could it be those popup ads filled with trojans and viruses appeared on their computers as well?"
"That hypothesis has low probability." The mini-mainframe denied Sun Hang’s assumption, "Only anomaly investigators, supernatural researchers or hunters, or thrill-seeking exploration-type streamers might explore the ghost train. Normal people, upon receiving such news, might either dismiss it as a prank or report it to their local Anomaly Investigation Bureau. The chance of someone investigating the reality of the ghost train alone is very small."
The mainframe continued: "Moreover, the postures displayed by these passenger shadows are indistinguishable from ordinary subway passengers, so it can be concluded they weren’t aware of the ghost train’s existence, nor did they realize they boarded a supernaturally affected train."
"Where did these passengers eventually go?"
"Cannot be determined. Across the entire Federation, annually, there are upwards of three hundred unsolved missing persons cases, about a quarter of which have solid evidence associating them with supernatural phenomena." The mini-mainframe said, "While operating locally, I can’t access the database, so I’m unable to sift through these cases or obtain any clues."
Just as Sun Hang was about to check the front of the train, it suddenly slowed down; after a dozen seconds, it stopped amidst the sound of harsh brakes.
The view outside the window shifted from blurry bands of light to clear scenery.
The golden sunset bathed the endless dunes in dazzling light; as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but sand.
With a "click," the train door swung open to the sides.
A blast of extremely dry air rushed in from outside the carriage.
"We’ve arrived?"
Before Sun Hang could react, an irresistible force pushed him out of the carriage, and the ghost train swiftly burrowed into the dunes, disappearing entirely.
"What the hell?" Sun Hang looked at the dune that swallowed the train and involuntarily cursed.
"We’ve arrived." The mini-mainframe stated, "This should be the site of an old Cairo subway station from years ago."
"Can you be sure this is Egypt, Cairo?"
"Assuming the time flow in the car is consistent with reality, there’s a six-hour time difference between Egypt and Chunming City, so the current time in Egypt should be eighteen hours, matching the position of the sun in the sky now. Moreover, the temperature and magnetic field data collected by the sensors align with the seasonal characteristics of the Cairo region during this time." The mini-mainframe replied.
"Then we’ll assume this is Egypt... Anyway, at least it didn’t send me directly into the nest of the Sinking Sand Giant Worm." Sun Hang pursed his lips.
But the most crucial issue right now wasn’t where he landed, but how he was going to get back.
Fortunately, Sun Hang was prepared.
He squatted down, inserting his right hand into the sand — seconds later, a subway turnstile entirely made of glass rose gently from the dunes.
"I thought this thing might work." Sun Hang took a transportation card for Chunming City’s subway from his pocket and swiped it across the sensor on the glass turnstile.
"Beep."
No response.
"Almost forgot something." Sun Hang patted his forehead, "It’s only eighteen hours now; there’s still six and a half hours till twenty-three fifty-three. That means I have six and a half hours to familiarize myself with... the local customs."
"The sun is about to set; after nightfall, the Sinking Sand Giant Worm will become active; proceed with caution." The mini-mainframe immediately said.
[P.S. Regarding the title change, it’s because I’m planning to sell the comic adaptation recently, and the editor suggested changing the title might boost traffic. Rest assured, it’s just a title change; it’s not turning into some assembly line studio-mass-produced work (after all, it’s almost finished, and I’m sure everyone wouldn’t suspect me of hiring ghostwriters given my typing speed, right 233333).]