A steam train belching black smoke stopped at Innsmouth Town Station.
There were no passengers waiting on the deserted platform, not even any staff. It was empty and abandoned. If there were no plant disasters, there would be a bleak autumn-like wind blowing on the platform.
The chimneys of the alchemy factory stand tall on the riverside that flows into the ocean, and silhouettes of people can be seen vaguely in the houses along the coast in the distance. The local townspeople stand at the intersection, looking motionlessly at the parked steam train, which seems strange and inexplicable.
Just like what Remi wrote in the letter sent to Lu Li, the locals are very... xenophobic.
Affected by the environment, the noise from passengers in nearby carriages also became smaller.
The front of the steam train was so smoked that only the coal fillers with white teeth were left hurriedly getting off the train, looking like they didn't dare to stay long to replenish coal.
"Something's not right..." Anna, who was hiding in the inner world, looked at the figures standing between the houses in the distance and murmured.
They stood still for so long that it was as if the entire town had been suspended in time.
The subsequent scene tells Anna that time passes normally in the town.
Figures from one house after another came out and stood on the street, turning around to look as if they were disturbed by the train.
For a moment, Anna felt a strong, pinprick-like feeling of being watched. They were looking at her, or rather... Lu Li behind her.
More and more figures appeared on the street, and at a certain moment, they walked towards the train stopping at the platform in a strange and numb manner.
They move like a group of dead people who have lost all life.
…
"Hey... Yaris, something doesn't seem right..."
In front of the small cabin where coal was stored in the corner of the platform, Bell pushed his companion who was immersed in work.
Aris was loading coal into the sack with a shovel and said without raising his head: "Don't be lazy, man, work quickly. Steam locomotives may be banned again soon. There are many workers who are interested in this job. We have to show our performance."
It's... Phew, it's good enough."
"If you don't look up, we'll never have a chance to show off!"
The anxious shouts of his companions finally made Bell raise his head and look at the place he was pointing to.
The other two workers also looked up and froze in unison.
"What are these locals going to do..." Adams was a little uneasy about the surrounding townspeople who were calmly approaching the platform.
Bell couldn't help but move back, and a thought that made him want to escape emerged: "Could this place have become like Shadow Town..."
"No...no way...they don't look weird-"
Before he finished speaking, the other two loading workers suddenly dropped their shovels and turned around and ran towards the train.
The sound of running away intensified the panic of the two people. They couldn't help but look back. The train employees who had got off the train to get some fresh air hid back on the train. Someone was standing by the door, shouting and waving to them.
"Run!"
Bell shouted, and Yaris ran towards the front of the car.
Aris was soon left behind. Bell, who felt something was wrong, turned around and saw Adams running slowly with a half-full sack.
"Never mind the coal! There's enough coal in the car to drive us to Belfast!" Bell shouted.
Adams gritted his teeth, threw down half the bag of coal, and ran back to the front of the car with Bell.
Everyone returned to the car. The conductor clenched his smoking pipe and loudly urged the train to start quickly.
The numb townspeople were already approaching the platform, and some figures climbed stiffly onto the platform and approached the train.
There was no sound in the carriage, except for the occasional frightened cry.
Fortunately, before these weird townspeople approached the train, the sharp sound of the whistle dispersed the weirdness and silence under the clouds, and black smoke billowed out of the front chimney as it gradually left the platform.
Hundreds of figures on the platform stood quietly, their heads turning as the train moved away, and people on the train could no longer see them.
It was only then that whispers gradually began to appear in the depressing atmosphere in the carriages.
"Those 'people' seem to be because of you..."
Anna looked back at Lu Li.
Those locals were indeed human beings, but their bodies contained an aura as obscure and malicious as the aura of the other world, which was stronger than what she felt from Lu Li.
Even this breath made her vaguely smell the deep sea mud-like stench that was so strong and could not be dispelled.
There are other exorcists on the train, and they will report the strange happenings in Innsmouth to the syndicate.
After a long time, the shadow of Innsmouth town dispersed, and the noisy hum of conversation in the carriage next door gradually returned.
As time went by, the sky began to turn gray, and towards evening, the train stopped in a new town.
The town called "Zornster" shows what a station should look like.
There seemed to be more passengers than there were in the car.
People in simple and bright clothes were waiting at the platform, some carrying only suitcases, others carrying sacks and children.
After the steam train arrived at the station, people began to crowd onto the train.
The staff opened the door and tried their best to stay close to the car to prevent themselves from being squeezed out by the crowd. They kept mumbling things like "there are too many people", "there is no room for so many people", "I don't know how many people will be on the next platform".
.
Everyone seems to know that there is nothing strange about the Lennon Islands, and they are flocking to the port city with the ability to sail.
For example, the terminal station of this steam train is Belfast.
But there were so many people, even the dining car was packed. The waiter had to come to the first-class carriage and asked Lu Li awkwardly
Are other passengers allowed to stay here?
All the train staff knew that there was a big shot in this carriage.
"Where is the next stop?" Lu Li asked.
"Maple Leaf Town."
"How long will the train stay?"
"Twenty minutes, sir."
"Let them come over, I'll probably get off at Maple Leaf Town."
"Your kindness is appreciated."
Soon after the waiter left, passengers began to enter the first-class carriage one after another.
They were all indoctrinated by the waiters that Lu Li was a big shot, and they consciously kept their movements and even breathing to a minimum to avoid disturbing Lu Li.
Qiaoqiao and Fran had returned to sit opposite Lu Li. When the train started moving again, Qiaoqiao asked in a low voice: "Aren't you going back to Belfast?"
"Anna's aunt is in Himfast, let's go pick her up."
"See you in Belfast then."
"Um."
In the first hour of complete darkness, the train arrived at Maple Leaf Town.
Warm light filled most of the houses in this town. Lu Li said goodbye to Qiao Qiao Fran and got off the train with the oil lamp given by the waiter.
Crowds of people passed by from both sides and squeezed into the train, feeling the dampness and coolness in the air. Lu Li took a deep breath, turned his back to the gazes of Qiaoqiao and Fran behind the train window, and walked towards the phone booth outside the platform.
Before looking for a carriage to go to Himfast, Lu Li had to make sure that Aunt Mary was still at home in Himfast.
Half a minute after the call was transferred, Aunt Mary's gentle voice rang. After telling her that he and Anna would arrive in Himfast within a few hours, Lu Li left the phone booth, rented a carriage and left Maple Leaf Town.