Deep in the Living
Chapter 377 - 365: The Coin

Chapter 377: Chapter 365: The Coin

The tungsten filament bulb was unknowingly coated with red paint, causing the light it emitted to appear an unusual bright red.

It’s not just a matter of lighting,

when this bright red falls on the skin’s surface, it feels as though covered by a red curtain, with even a hint of a bloody taste.

The team had just passed through the passage of Waiting Room No. 4 and stopped simultaneously.

Even Youzhen, the Doctor, immediately assumed a strange combat posture, with fingers hanging in front as if boneless.

If the previous areas they had passed were deserted, the scene before them was the complete opposite.

The entire waiting room was crowded with people,

Luo Di was reminded of a term he’d heard in movies, "Spring Festival Travel Rush."

The worn-out wooden chairs were filled with passengers, dressed relatively plainly, with woven bags marked "urea" piled at their feet.

However, every passenger here had their head buried, or more accurately, "folded," with faces bent inward toward their chests and necks nearly fractured.

This dense scene was even more haunting under the red light.

But Luo Di didn’t linger on observing these people, instead, he turned his gaze to a deeper part at the end of the waiting room.

Unlike the previous three waiting rooms lit with green light,

the end here is open, with a passage leading directly to the train platform, indicating that further exploration is possible at the train station.

Perhaps by reaching the platform and boarding a train, one could journey to other Corner areas or even deeper regions.

Although this rookie exploration is limited to the train station area, finding a connection and gaining a preview would still be meaningful.

However, the journey from their current position to the ticket inspection gate would be quite troublesome.

Waiting Room No. 4 is not only densely populated.

The design here is very unreasonable,

with long benches spanning the entire space, leaving no walkable path, meaning they have to cross over these "passengers" to reach the other end.

"Let’s go in and take a look."

As the team officially set foot here, the announcement of Waiting Room No. 4 started:

≮Attention passengers, the train bound for ** (electromagnetic interference sound) will begin ticket inspection in fifteen minutes≯

Amidst this loud announcement, a less clear anomaly broadcast followed:

≮A fake ticket user is among you, severely impacting the security work at the train station. Please find and kill them before ticket inspection starts as a punishment. Passengers’ tickets are in their pocket, feel free to check; they will be happy to cooperate.≯

Yu Ze heard it clearly, and he even took out a whole wad of yellow talismans from his waist.

Just as he was about to take action, Luo Di pressed his shoulder.

"Yu Ze~ Since we have more than ten minutes, let’s experience the normal process by searching these passengers’ pockets one by one, and if we can’t find anything, you can use your method."

"Are you not worried about trouble, or do you have another idea?"

"I still want to experience that fear felt at the window.

I always feel that direct contact with the Fear Entity can deepen my perception of it. After multiple contacts, perhaps my understanding of fear will improve, aiding in future Corner explorations."

Yu Ze smiled faintly and put away all the talismans.

The two started inspecting the passengers in the waiting room from left to right.

Youzhen still did not participate; she just observed the two engaging in the event from the middle.

...

Just as the broadcast informed.

Passengers’ tickets were indeed in their pockets, most even accessible from their breast pockets with just a finger pinch.

However, retrieving the tickets brought Luo Di in close contact with the passengers, some of whom remained obediently still, while others did not.

One moment the passenger had their head buried,

the next moment, as Luo Di retrieved the ticket from their breast pocket, their neck twisted, revealing a face full of bloody holes, slightly wriggling under the light.

In the instant of eye contact, Luo Di even felt his face transform into such a state under the red light, the fear permeating from his face into his body.

But Luo Di wasn’t afraid,

instead, he displayed a somewhat sickly smile.

The long-lost feeling of fear made Luo Di extremely excited, and for some reason, he enjoyed it.

As a Murderer, he even subconsciously learned such fear expressions, possibly to use in his subsequent Hunting,

perhaps even the fear he could release might achieve the Corner effect.

Compared to the thrilled ticket inspection by Luo Di,

Yu Ze was much more reserved, displaying no extra expressions, inspecting normally with one hand while holding a talisman in the other.

The inspection ended.

Luo Di and Yu Ze gathered together once again,

confirming that every passenger had a ticket, all looking identical, with no apparent signs of forgery.

Time was down to three minutes, insufficient for re-comparison.

Just as Luo Di was planning to have Yu Ze use his methods, the latter revealed a subtle smile, whispering:

"Will you take action, or shall I?"

Luo Di instantly understood Yu Ze’s consciousness; he had already found the fake ticket holder but intentionally didn’t alert the target.

"Since you’ve found them, you handle it."

"Alright."

Among hundreds of cramped passengers in the waiting room, one passenger seemed to sense something, their body began wriggling, with strips of black substance starting to spread from their feet.

These black substances were anomalies belonging to the Fear Entity, capable of spreading into other passengers’ bodies and performing internal control.

At that very moment,

a cascade of talismans fell down,

accompanied by the jingling sound of bells,

these talismans didn’t land on the "target" but affixed onto surrounding passengers, securely on their head.

When the black substances invaded those marked passengers’ bodies, they couldn’t take control, restrained by some kind of golden energy.

"Up!"

A voice synchronizing with the bell sound was heard,

those passengers with talismans suddenly rose like zombies,

the target trapped between tried to flee but was instantly pierced by rigid arms, tearing him into pieces.

Those marked passengers seemed to possess greater strength and speed, fully responding to Yu Ze’s control.

Effortlessly finishing the entire ordeal.

The lighting within the waiting room returned to a normal green.

Youzhen was completely stunned; these weren’t mere rookies, but true experts who’d experienced genuine slaughter in the Otherworld.

She still pretended to be calm, going over promptly, putting her forefinger against Yu Ze’s temple, removing traces of residual fear entities within.

"You’re truly remarkable~ Your Special Action Group really is the Investigation Bureau’s best department."

And then,

a Huge shadow suddenly appeared behind her,

not only that, the shadow enveloped the entire team.

Both Luo Di and Yu Ze had already assumed a drawing stance.

But the next moment,

ding ding ding~

six coins fell down, quickly caught by Yu Ze.

The shadow wasn’t a threat,

but a tall presence in a security guard uniform, his entire face emitting green light, with the coins granted by him.

After awarding the reward, the guard turned and left, disappearing into the green light.

≮The fake ticket user has been executed, reward issued. Ticket inspection for Waiting Room No. 4 has begun, please queue up for ticket inspection.≯

When everyone’s attention shifted back to the waiting room, all the benches had vanished.

The passengers who were seated, folding their heads, were now standing upright, with their heads lifted up.

Their faces were no longer full of blood holes under red light.

Instead, they turned into smooth faces devoid of features, with eyes and mouths randomly drawn using a green fluorescent pen.

The passengers had already formed a long queue,

the ticket inspection gate was once again marked by those plastic arms.

"Let’s continue exploring."

Luo Di had somehow assumed the voice of the team, leading everyone to join the back of the queue.