Old-time musicians

At first, the only place where everyone felt temporarily safe was inside the train, but now...

Could it be that when did the unknown things that pervaded the surrounding environment get inside?

"Mr. Fan Ning, all the tickets torn off from the ticket gate have passed aside. There are 27 seats in Car No. 5 and they are unsold."

Lu trotted over from the front compartment.

"Not sold?" Fan Ning lowered his head again and looked at the pattern he drew in his hand.

"My intention must have been to remind myself of the fact that passengers smashed windows and jumped out of cars before disappearing... But instead of writing, I drew abstract and concise lines..."

"It seems that my previous conjecture was correct. These disappeared people are not only missing on the physical level, but their memories in other people's minds will gradually become confused, and even traces of activities related to them will be erased."

Sheeran said: "It should be that traces of a strong connection with the disappeared person have been erased."

"For example, the technician is suspected of missing. He is not in the employee roster, he is not in the inspection signature, and no belongings with his work badge were found, but another person was carrying an extra safety helmet... This may be because at that time, When the disappeared person asked his colleagues to help him get the helmet, the 'holder' of the helmet was transferred, and it was no longer a trace of a strong identity binding with the disappeared person, so it was not erased. "

"For another example, a passenger who was suspected of jumping off the train disappeared. The ticket showed that it was unsold, but the window was still broken. This may be because there was a certain period of time between the broken window and his disappearance after walking, which was an unrelated action beforehand. , so it has not been erased... I think this is reasonable. If all traces related to the disappeared are erased, then everything in the world is connected. I am afraid that half of the world will disappear. Only direct, Strong connections will be erased.”

"Your analysis makes sense." Fan Ning nodded slightly, "I was vaguely aware of this before... So before the memory disappears, I use completely abstract lines to record it. This may avoid the invisible force. The relevant 'judgment rule', if it says 'a passenger smashed the window and jumped out of the car and then disappeared', maybe it is a blank piece of paper now..."

This kind of erasure is not a blunt 'poaching', it will even 'automatically repair' some traces of violations: the technician roster is from 15 to 14 lines, and there are no blank lines; the maintenance record has no gaps, data and signatures Fill in both ends.

Just like the "Erase Pen" function of an APP in Fan Ning's previous life, when the system was relatively simple, it would automatically smoothly fill in some of the background around the object being erased. When the system is complex, there is a sense of inconsistency. Although the person does not exist in other people's minds, the fact of disappearance can still be inferred from some illogical signs, such as the helmet in the hand or the line drawing. records, or locked toilet door.

Several flight attendants brought back news from other carriages that all the toilets waiting in line were now unanswered.

After everyone found that there was no one inside, they couldn't remember whether anyone had gone in before, but the fact was that the door was locked from behind.

"This is how people disappear, but what's the reason? What's the reason?" Fan Ning stared at the empty toilet in deep thought.

If it is the function of some unknown existence, whether it is tangible or intangible, and people are taken away, how does this work?

Pure random misfortune befalling the unlucky?

Undercar maintenance, leaving the train, and toilets are convenient

"The common denominator is" Fan Ning's eyes flashed.

Before disappearing, the person went to a place that was "relatively independent" compared to the entire train?

Experience alone? Enclosed space?

In other words, they are out of everyone's sight?

"Once again, I would like to reiterate to passengers not to get off the bus without permission." Fan Ning told the flight attendants, "And tell passengers that if they need convenience, they should be accompanied by another flight attendant of the same gender or their relatives and friends at the door, and do not close the door."

"It might be a little embarrassing, but it's better than disappearing for no reason."

The flight attendant was ordered to leave.

Judging from the feedback from other carriages, those toilets with long queues were empty after the locked iron doors were opened. Counting those who were doing maintenance under the car and those who jumped out of the window, a total of ten people disappeared during this period. Personally, nothing else for the time being.

But what to do next? have no idea…

What is the use of summarizing the rules and functions of passenger disappearance? It has nothing to do with leaving this place.

Fan Ning has discussed it many times with Sheeran, Joan, Roy, and Lu. Everyone's initial default attitude was to stay in the car, don't run around, wait and see, and wait and see.

The incident of disappearance right under the nose is very consistent with the primitive reaction of people under the shroud of fear.

But just stay on the train and wait? Fan Ning didn't know what he was waiting for. The train probably wouldn't be able to move for a while. First of all, it was not a fault caused by normal factors. Secondly, no one dared to go out for maintenance.

Wait for dawn? A train under sunlight seems to feel safer than a train shrouded in darkness, but this is just wishful thinking.

Fan Ning even doubted whether there would be daylight in this ghost place was still a question.

Time is still passing. Although the pocket watch is out of order, judging from the direct feeling of people, it is probably after a few hours, already after midnight.

Fan Ning felt that he could not wait any longer. Several unpleasant quarrels and physical conflicts had occurred in other carriages. Although they quickly subsided, this was not a good sign. There were more than 400 people in 12 carriages.

When there are more people, there will be all kinds of weird characters among them. Once conflicts get out of control and a group incident occurs, even if there are several knowledgeable people on Fan Ning's side, it will be difficult to calm it down. You can't burn all the passengers with one fire. Already?

Moreover, as the group leader, Fan Ning has the primary responsibility for the safety of the 80 students traveling.

At the connection between Car No. 1 and Car No. 2, the five people on Fan Ning's side started a new round of discussions.

At this time, Sheeran made a conjecture: "Based on the common experiences of people who disappeared before... is it possible that as long as we keep each other in sight, or ensure that we are at least within the sight of another person, things will not disappear for no reason." ”

"That's what we did," Fanning said. "In fact, after passengers solved the toilet problem in the way I asked, there were no more disappearances."

But Qiong heard the implication of Sheeran: "You mean... let's try to use this possible rule to get off the bus? All passengers get off? If you want to leave, let's go together?"

Several people couldn't help but turn their heads again and glanced out of the dark and foggy car window.

"Of course we don't want everyone to get off the bus," Sheeran said. "It's impossible for us to control the collective behavior of hundreds of strangers. However, we can only get off as five people, so that we can still satisfy each other." Not out of sight.”

"This is obviously no longer the normal area on the real map. Time has passed for six or seven hours. There is not even a passing train on the adjacent railway track. The railway track where my train is located has not been seen by other people. The car crashed into it... Santalan Fort is the industrial heart of the empire. Think about the transportation throughput it radiates on a daily basis..."

"So let's go take a look nearby, such as the small town with lights in the distance. Even if we notice something abnormal, we don't go in. At least we can get closer and see where it is. There is no point in waiting here... More importantly, Once a mass incident breaks out among passengers, we won’t be able to leave even if we want to, because there are so many students here.”

Joan said: "I agree with Sheeran's point of view. The mood of passengers is getting worse and worse. If you must go down and take a look, the sooner the better. It is not as suitable as before, but at least it is worse than waiting another three hours." suitable."

"I have already thought of a suitable way. We are divided into two groups on the field, one group is walking forward, and the other group is facing backward, and the distance is closer, so that everyone is in each other's field of vision, and it can be regarded as being in a "The same space."

Fan Ning remained silent.

"If you are sure that getting off the car is one of your options, but you still have hesitation, I can use the ritual tool 'Mirror of Transfiguration' to try to divine for you." Roy's voice sounded.

"Divination?" Fan Ning looked at her in surprise.

When she boarded the car to say hello in the morning, Fan Ning sat down next to Roy. She did not reject his inspiration. Fan Ning had already sensed that her principal cello might have been promoted to an intellectual.

This is not unexpected. Even if she does not provide help from the Qiming Church of the Secret Realm of Yiyong, with her own progress in dream control practice and the resources provided by the school, she can be promoted before graduation next year.

"The aspect I studied is 'Yan', and the light of first recognition is..."

Roy, who was standing on the edge of the aisle connecting the carriages, took a step towards Fan Ning's position.

An illusion flashed before his eyes, and the space along Roy's walking trajectory seemed to "fold" briefly.

The fragrant wind blew against Fan Ning's face, and the girl who was about three meters away from Fan Ning was almost in front of his face.

Then Roy took a step back and slightly distanced the two people: "Short-distance space shrinkage, now the limit is about five meters, can have an effect similar to teleportation, or picking up and placing objects in the air, but it is not actually instantaneous. "

According to the "Translation of the Collection of Seven Lights", the phase of "Yan" may correspond to abstract concepts such as "change and stability, balance and imbalance, time and space, chaos and destiny, appearance and essence". Study "Yan" "The wise person in the phase is good at communication, coordination, mediation and foresight. He or she has the potential to become an entrepreneur, politician, philosopher, etc., or he may be a criminal genius who is good at defrauding, instigating or concocting conspiracies. In a few cases, The Knower gains the strange ability to slightly affect time or space.

"It's a cool first light of acquaintance." Lu commented, "But I hope that I can use some more aggressive invisible powers in the future."

Seeing Fan Ning looking at him, Roy lowered his head and smiled. He lifted the pendant hanging on his chest with his hand, opened it and hung it temporarily outside his clothes.

A shiny silver mirror with a lid and slightly larger than an egg.

Roy introduced: "This 'Transfiguring Mirror' can reflect the proposition written by the user, and different reactions can be observed according to its potential truth or falsehood. Generally speaking, there is no reaction if the proposition is true, and the more the proposition is true, the more likely it is." False, the more serious the distortion in the mirror, of course, the more secret the proposition, the greater the interference, and the ability to determine what personal information may depend on the intensity of inspiration of the knowledgeable person.”

"No side effects have been found for this ritual vessel. The only downside is that the inspiration of the knower must be almost full when using it, and all the inspiration will be exhausted after using it once, even if the proposition you are fortune-telling is the heads or tails of the next coin toss... So use it carefully, after all, the exhausted inspiration can only be slowly restored by itself, and the auxiliary effect of the Yaozhi Spirit Liquid is extremely limited."

...A magical item. Fanning couldn't help but marvel at it.

Although it has no direct combat ability, its strategic value has no upper limit.

This is obviously a precious ritual vessel of the Bologna School. Roy was able to get it just after being promoted, which shows his status in the school.

"Thank you." Roy reached out and took the writing board, paper and pen handed by Xilan.

Although Roy was a little panicked when she first found out that her pocket watch was out of order, she has now calmed down and her thoughts are very clear:

"First of all, we must make it clear that what we need to divine most now is safety or danger, not where there is an exit... because there is no necessary connection between whether there is an exit and whether it is dangerous. Maybe there is a place on the rear track that can leave this mysterious area, but people who go there will die or go crazy."

"Then there are four propositions now-"

"It is safe to stay on the train."

"It is dangerous to stay on the train."

"It is safe to get off the train and explore the front."

"It is dangerous to get off the train and explore the front."

"It is obvious The point is that whether we get off the car or stay in the car, there are different degrees of danger. If we choose proposition 2 or 4, most of the results will be correct. According to the mapping rules of the "Mirror of Transfiguration", there will be no change. "

"What we really care about is not whether there is danger, but how big the danger is, so propositions 1 and 3 can achieve our goal... But I personally recommend fortune-telling proposition 1, because staying in the car is a more conservative and safer choice than getting off the car. Let's first confirm the safety of the car. As long as it is safe, it won't be too late for someone else to use it to fortune-tell proposition 3. If it's not urgent, I can take a short rest to restore my inspiration..."

Fanning nodded and approved this plan.

Although this will continuously drain the inspiration of the two knowledgeable people on our side, resulting in a weakening of combat effectiveness, it is undoubtedly a safer step.

The root of this invisible terror is not "lack of firepower" at all, and maintaining combat effectiveness is not the first priority.

Roy held the pen, and a line of extremely stretched and elegant fonts flowed out on the paper.

"It's safe to stay on the train."

Then she gently tore the small area into strips.

She took off the necklace that hung the "Mirror of Transfiguration" and pressed the mirror against the wall for everyone to observe.

Finally, she bit her lip and put the paper with the proposition in the center of the mirror.

Everyone held their breath and stared at the "Mirror of Transfiguration" without blinking.

The girl's fair and slender hands were reflected in the mirror.

And the paper suddenly burned violently and turned into ashes in the mirror in an instant!