Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 1975: Chapter 1117: Damaged Artifact (2)

"Listen carefully, the Clapping Ghost finds people by the sound of clapping. To avoid it, you must run separately and use others to buy time." freewёbnoνel.com

"Even if the Clapping Ghost catches you, you won’t die immediately. You’ll be trapped in the same spot, coexisting with this world forever."

"Miss Yamamoto isn’t dead, I saw her. I... I won’t die either, please make sure to come and help me!"

"Where is Yamamoto Haruna?" Yang Xiao asked calmly.

"I’m in Area 4, Area 4!" Kato Shinjiro panted as he ran, "Come find me, I’ll... I’ll take you to her!"

"Things aren’t as we imagined; this place is strange. We must have missed some crucial detail."

"It’s too late, Chu Xi. The ghost is coming after me, I don’t have time. Everything... Everything is up to you! I’m counting on you and Miss Takagi!"

"I’m in Area 4, come find me, remember to come find me!!"

A spooky sound of clapping echoed from the receiver, and the call ended.

Yang Xiao sat alone in the office on high alert for ten minutes without anything unusual occurring before he called Takagi Reina and Kobayashi Masahiko back and recounted the conversation.

Upon hearing that Kato Shinjiro’s entire team had been wiped out, the atmosphere in the office turned so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Yang Xiao hadn’t expected the radio they found to be a damaged artifact, and he could only imagine the despair Kato Shinjiro felt at that time.

The key now is to find the missing parts of the radio, but with the vast Youjian Mountain Station divided into upper and lower levels, finding the missing parts is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

This is almost an impossible task.

But Kato Shinjiro’s words reminded Yang Xiao that things aren’t as they seemed, and this place is strange. They must have missed something crucial.

Yang Xiao also had a similar feeling, as if they had indeed overlooked something crucial, something... extremely important.

But... where exactly? What exactly had they missed?

Suddenly, the image of the Ghost Train flashed in Yang Xiao’s mind. If something was amiss, then the Ghost Train was undoubtedly the most suspicious, serving as a bridge connecting this world and the Youjian Mountain Station.

The situation involving the three ghosts hiding in the Youjian Mountain Station had been mostly figured out, and Kato Shinjiro’s successful arrival at the target building to find the radio parts proved that point. But the Ghost Train still remained mysterious to them.

Those mysterious passengers hidden among the "ordinary" passengers, like the ones in the third or sixth carriages, somehow seemed like a hint, subtly reminding him that there were stories unknown on this train.

At this moment, Takagi Reina also seemed to recall something and said hesitantly, "It’s strange. You said at that time Watanabe Gou was clearly dead on the train, so why did the delayed train not arrive until someone got off voluntarily?"

This question had puzzled Yang Xiao for a time, but it got lost in thought upon considering other matters.

Now that Takagi Reina brought it up again, coupled with Kato Shinjiro’s clues, Yang Xiao suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

"I... I remembered something," Kobayashi Masahiko suddenly said, his expression somewhat unnatural.

"What is it? Spill it," Takagi Reina asked casually, turning her head.

"While I was on the Ghost Train tonight, I heard... heard some strange sounds on the train."

"What kind of sounds?" Yang Xiao’s attention was immediately caught.

Kobayashi Masahiko raised his hands and clapped lightly, making a "clap" sound. In the next second, Yang Xiao and Takagi Reina’s expressions changed drastically.

"You heard clapping?" Takagi Reina stood up abruptly, looking somewhat panicked, "Why... why the hell didn’t you say earlier?"

"I... I was not sure at the time either. After all, the sound of the rails was also interfering, it was only when you mentioned it that I realized, I... I didn’t know for sure either..." Kobayashi Masahiko said with a miserable look.

"Did you hear the clapping in the recording Chief Morita played earlier today?" Yang Xiao asked.

"I did," Kobayashi Masahiko nodded.

"Was that clapping similar to the one you heard on the train?" Takagi Reina pressed on.

Kobayashi Masahiko closed his eyes, recalling the scene on the train, and then his eyes flew open, answering almost with a sob, "Yes, they are the same."

At this moment, the vague feeling in Yang Xiao’s heart finally untangled, and he now understood what the real issue was.

Everything connected, and he realized the true significance of the Ghost Train and the reason behind the Half Ghost’s killing game of "Passing the Drum."

"An intruder who doesn’t belong mixed into the train; they are the Half Ghost’s target."

"The so-called passing the drum was not aimed at us but rather to pick out that outsider from the crowd and force them off the train!" Yang Xiao’s mind suddenly became clear, though unfortunately too late.

"It was that person who stole part of the radio, and that’s why the Half Ghost wouldn’t let them go; the Half Ghost was using us to find that person!" Takagi Reina quickly understood and felt a cold sweat trickle down her back at that realization.

It was a close call, truly a close call, if they were just a bit more careless, they would all have been lost.

Moreover, the most frightening part is that even if they died, they wouldn’t know why.

They were wrong from the start, focusing solely on Youjian Mountain Station and overlooking the irrational murder rules on the Ghost Train.

"Did you hear clapping on the train?" Yang Xiao turned to Takagi Reina.

"No, not even once," Takagi Reina replied seriously.

"Nor did I," Yang Xiao responded to himself before looking back at Kobayashi Masahiko, "Which carriage were you in tonight?"

"Carriage 5, carriage 5," Kobayashi Masahiko replied hastily.

At this point, Yang Xiao roughly understood; it seems the person they’re looking for is hiding in carriage 5 and carries the radio fragment they need.

They were the one the Half Ghost was looking for.

Yang Xiao felt a chill in his heart thinking about this. Luckily, they had Kato Shinjiro as a formidable scout, or else once they got off the train, even if they realized the problem, it would have been too late.

Once off, you can’t get back on, let alone retrieve the fragment.

"Will that person switch carriages next time?" Takagi Reina asked.

"Probably not. Aside from people like us, the other passengers on this Ghost Train are stuck in their fixed carriages; only their positions change." This was the consensus they reached after some observation.

"That’s good; next time we’ll focus on searching carriage 5. We must find that person, take the radio fragment from them, and then look for the radio," Takagi Reina had already grasped the next course of action. It’s a crucial battle, their final chance.

"But... how do we know who is the person we need to find?" After the initial shock, Kobayashi Masahiko calmed down and began following Yang Xiao and Takagi Reina’s line of thought.

"The thing is a Resentful Eye, which can’t be hidden, and according to Kato Shinjiro, the missing part of the radio isn’t small, at least the size of a small box."

"It’s hard to hide in clothes, so it’s likely in a suitcase or tucked in a bag," Yang Xiao analyzed.

"Was there anyone in carriage 5 carrying such a suitcase or bag? Do you have any impression?" Takagi Reina asked Kobayashi Masahiko.

"There were definitely suitcases and bags, every carriage had them, as you both have seen. But... I really don’t remember. I was only focused on hiding... hiding..." Kobayashi Masahiko’s voice grew smaller, indeed on the Ghost Train there was nowhere to hide. For survival, one would even wish to find a crack to get into.

Those passengers are not to be messed with, even a glance could bring fatal consequences.