Chapter Fifty-Four: The Phantom Train

In the eyes of the Silly Bird and the Skinny Turtle, the wooden woodpecker swooped directly onto the shell of the strange creature controlled by the Skinny Turtle, then started attacking the shell, only to inexplicably shatter in the end.

The Raccoon was deeply shaken by Feng Tianlin's instantaneous movement. Of course, he didn't know it was teleportation; he simply thought it was speed taken to its extreme.

All three of them had the same thought: "This doll is too powerful! There's absolutely no way we can handle it!"

"Run!" The Raccoon no longer hesitated and immediately ordered his two teammates to flee.

The Silly Bird and the Skinny Turtle felt no sorrow at losing their strange creatures. Hearing their captain’s command, they immediately bolted into the distance.

Watching the three flee, Feng Tianlin laughed outright. Competing for speed with someone who could teleport?

He stood behind the trio, his smile twisted as he shouted, "Run, prey!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he appeared behind the three once more, but to his surprise, he was greeted by a massive brown bear. Its eyes were vacant, and its body emitted a rotten stench—another strange creature controlled by the Raccoon.

The bear wrapped Feng Tianlin in a crushing embrace, its strength immense. For a moment, he couldn't break free.

"Teleport!"

He appeared again behind his fleeing opponents, only to be predicted this time by the Skinny Turtle. A gigantic shell smashed him away, sending him crashing heavily to the ground.

An A-class Spirit Tamer truly lived up to the name; the blow left Feng Tianlin with not insignificant injuries. He felt as if his whole body was about to fall apart, but this only enraged him further.

He climbed up, steadied himself, and decided to activate his cheat—the Strange Domain!

Just then, a light suddenly appeared, accompanied by a whirling wind. Unconsciously, he looked toward the source of the light, where a train glowing with a ghostly green hue materialized.

The locomotive hissed and roared, its wheels clattering violently as it stopped before the three Spirit Tamers.

The trio looked at each other.

The Raccoon glanced at the doll, whose attention was drawn to the train, and said to his teammates, "If we want to survive, this might be our last chance. If that monster catches us, we’re doomed!"

The Silly Bird and the Skinny Turtle knew exactly what their captain meant—board the ghostly train!

"But no one who boards this train has ever been seen again. Young Master Fan only told us to investigate..."

---

The Silly Bird hesitated, for the train was too bizarre. It wasn’t like any strange creature they’d encountered before—it was something born from the full outbreak of the strangeness, yet it carried the unmistakable aura of a B-class strange entity.

But as he hesitated, the doll suddenly turned its gaze toward them.

"We can’t hesitate! We have to board! Its speed is too great!" The Raccoon grabbed the Silly Bird and ran toward the ghostly train.

Fear overcame the Silly Bird, and he did not resist, following the Raccoon and the Skinny Turtle aboard.

No sooner had they stepped onto the train than it whistled and started moving. Relief washed over them, for this train didn’t run along tracks but traversed through other dimensions. Once the train started, the doll would surely be left behind.

No matter how powerful the doll was, it couldn’t possibly control space, could it?

But just as the smile appeared on their lips, they witnessed something that chilled them to the bone.

They had plunged into an unknown dimension, surrounded by nothingness. If they left the train, they would be swallowed by the void, leaving no trace behind.

Yet the doll appeared in the void, instantly reaching the rear of the train, gripping it tightly, and climbing upward.

"The doll is forcing its way onto the train!" The Silly Bird was dumbstruck, pointing toward the rear of the carriage.

All three saw the scene and hurried deeper into the train, hoping the doll had not noticed them.

They hadn’t expected this strange being to be so powerful—actually forcing its way onto the ghost train.

When they stepped into the carriage, they found it already filled with people. They chose an empty four-seat, sat down, and began analyzing the situation.

The Raccoon observed the passengers: some near death, some alert, some resigned, others scanning their surroundings warily.

There were people of all kinds: yellow-skinned people from Huaxia, white-skinned people from the Lighthouse Nation, dark-skinned people from Sunset Country.

But they all shared a common trait—they weren’t ordinary humans!

According to Fan Tianxing, this ghost train had appeared during the full outbreak of the strangeness, at most a day old. Yet so many people had already boarded in just one day; it was terrifying.

The Raccoon withdrew his gaze, turning to his teammates. "These people aren’t right. Look at those black men—Sunset Country’s so-called Oracles. And the white men—those are the Lighthouse Nation’s Exotics.

The aura of strange beings on them disgusts me. Why did the Lighthouse Nation ever consider merging humans with strange creatures? I truly have no words."

---

He pointed next to a group of Huaxia faces nearby. "Those must be our Huaxia Taoists. Their aura is distinct, easy to recognize."

He took out a sheet of paper and a pen to record.

"In this carriage, aside from us, there are two Oracles—one D-class, one C-class. Five Exotics, three A-class, two B-class. Two Taoists, one D-class, one E-class. Eight Spirit Tamers—five D-class, three C-class.

It looks like we three are among the top combatants here. We should ask those Taoists about the situation."

The Silly Bird and Skinny Turtle nodded in agreement.

The three naturally approached the Taoists, but to their surprise, the two Huaxia Taoists were exceedingly wary.

Seeing this, the Raccoon smiled and leaned in. "Brothers, we’re Huaxia Spirit Tamers from the Bureau of Strange Entity Investigation, just like you—dealing with strange beings. We’re practically colleagues."

His words had the desired effect. The Taoists gradually relaxed their vigilance, asking coldly, "What do you want?"

Their voices were emotionless, icy.

But the Raccoon was unfazed, smiling still. "Nothing much, just want to ask about this train."

"Humph." One Taoist snorted, speaking disdainfully. "What’s there to ask? Once you’re in, don’t think about leaving. If you want to live, just sit quietly."

His reply stunned the Raccoon. "How long have you been here? How do you know there’s no way out?"

He thought it simple—the train was only a day old; the Taoist could have only been trapped a day at most.

But the Taoist suddenly laughed, the sound twisted and grim, laughing for a long time before continuing.

"Hahaha! How long? I don’t even know. But Taoists’ energy cycles within us. I’m a D-class Taoist—each full cycle takes twelve hours, one day. Every time a cycle completes, I mark the floor. Take a look at how many marks there are now."