Infinite Terror: Infinite Reversal

Chapter 22 The Station, Deadly Music!
Knowing the route back, they avoided the detour they took on the way there and didn't have to go back to the flooded experimental area—if they went back, they might be able to see more waterlogged zombies in the lab through the glass wall, like canned food… After rushing out of Restaurant B, they found the long spiral staircase. Mu Xiang looked up and saw nothing unusual, so he and James quickly went up.

Even if this thing is long, it can't compare to the amount of exercise required to climb a mountain, Mu Xiang convinced himself. With his physical condition, climbing stairs like this was still within his tolerance.

This wasn't too difficult for the mercenaries; ten minutes was a bit rushed, but not impossible.

Zheng Zha's panting was loud enough for everyone to hear, but judging from his pace, he could clearly run up within ten minutes.

Zhan Lan and Li Xiaoyi fared worse. Although they hadn't expended much energy at the bottom, they were still panting heavily after climbing for a while and their pace slowed down considerably. However, with two handcuffed men with somewhat uncoordinated limbs bringing up the rear, they didn't seem so helpless.

Matt and Spence, handcuffed, couldn't climb very fast and had to be pushed by the three mercenaries behind them to keep from falling behind.

Zhan Lan turned around and saw the two climbing the stairs like this, so she used the same trick again, grabbing Zhang Jie's clothes. Zhang Jie chuckled and pretended to sprint, which startled Zhan Lan, who quickly quickened her pace. Seeing this, Li Xiaoyi also shamelessly grabbed Zhang Jie. Because the stairs weren't very wide, he had to stay a little behind Zhan Lan, pulling so hard that Zhang Jie was almost exposing his waist. However, Zhang Jie wasn't annoyed. After all, he had already come to approve of the surviving newcomers, and just laughed loudly, "You better pray my clothes can withstand the tearing!"

After a period of chaos, the group finally reached the top. A few more steps around would lead to the main gate that had been forcibly unlocked.

"Everyone is still pretty fast..." Mu Xiang was also a little out of breath. He chuckled and said, "If we take away the time spent on detours, getting lost, and breaking locks on the return trip, the remaining twenty minutes will be enough for us to get back to the ground."

The train took just over ten minutes to complete its journey at the beginning of the movie, and now there are still twenty minutes left. Considering there's still room to speed things up, they should have enough time. It seems the first horror movie is going to end quietly like this.

However, Mu Xiang felt a vague unease... He knew that the Red Queen might not give up, but they hadn't encountered any problems along the way. The main gate's access control had been forcibly broken down, and theoretically, the Red Queen could no longer control the door, which was now just a mechanical structure. Nothing could hold them back—besides, this action was pointless.

But where exactly could the problem lie? Mu Xiang still doesn't know.

They circled around to the main entrance, which was still open. The crowd rushed out in the same formation; the platform below the steps was now visible, and the train stood silently on the tracks. As they burst through the gate, a symphony-like melody filled the air.

Mu Xiang suddenly stopped, gesturing for the people behind him who sensed something was wrong to fall silent. James, who also noticed the anomaly, stopped immediately and turned to look at Mu Xiang: "What's going on?"

“Listen for yourself…” Mu Xiang’s face was extremely grim. This music wasn’t an ordinary symphony; it contained some discordant sounds. Upon closer listening, it sounded as if many people were talking inside the speakers. Countless voices were mingled together in low tones, some talking, some laughing, some calling, some shouting, as if there was a noisy, crowded group of people on the other end of the speakers.

[This definitely wasn't meant for us... So who was it meant for? There's only one possibility!]

"Kaplan, shut down! Everyone get on the train immediately, don't delay, don't look back!" Mu Xiang roared. The group rushed down the steps and towards the train door. As Mu Xiang ran, he glanced up and clearly saw a fleshy red figure flash past the overhead ventilation opening. Reaching the train, he suddenly remembered something. Instead of boarding, he went to the back of the train (which would soon become the front) and pulled a black bag from a net bag outside a carriage. Without daring to look up, he boarded the train under the cover of three mercenaries at the back of the group.

The bag contained seven vials each of the T-virus and antidote that Spence had stolen. When Mu Xiang received it, he didn't hear any prompts from the main god regarding side quests; at least he was certain that receiving it near the end wouldn't trigger any side quests. Mu Xiang's action was certainly risky. Although, based on the movies, Lickers possessed considerable hunting intelligence and wouldn't recklessly attack a group of prey for the sake of small gains, Mu Xiang had just risked his life.

It's impossible for Mu Xiang not to be afraid. When watching horror movies, he is basically indifferent to other monsters, but he is most afraid of zombies... Now that he is in the same space as a Licker, it is already a testament to his strong will that he has not become too weak to move.

The reason for this was simple: the main god's mission required the mercenaries to survive and remain uninfected... Mu Xiang didn't have the power to protect them in his sleeves, so he couldn't guarantee they wouldn't be touched by the Lickers. Clearly, this requirement of "not being infected" implied that the Reincarnation Team obtained the antidote from the storyline. Even if any mercenaries were scratched or bitten, the antidote would keep them safe; at least in this horror movie, they were "uninfected."

The potential rewards outweighed the risks, so he went all in!

After rushing into the carriage, Kaplan didn't need any instructions. He patted Mu Xiang and told him that he had turned off the Red Queen's computer, then went straight to another driver's cab to start the train.

James and Mu Xiang had already told him what kind of bioweapons were in Restaurant B, and he was well aware of the risks involved. He quickly started the train and headed straight for the highest speed within the safe zone.

"The Red Queen still released that bio-weapon. The music just now was the way she lured it here from Restaurant B... You guys might not have any concept of that thing, but I suggest you listen to me for now," Mu Xiang said in a deep voice. He glanced at the two mercenaries, Ryan and JD. They only knew a little about it from James and Kaplan, but they hadn't seen the zombies on the surveillance footage, let alone knew how powerful the Lickers were. Although they were on high alert, they might still lose their composure in the face of an attack.

Seeing that James had no objection, the two mercenaries nodded as well.

"Make sure all the doors in this carriage are closed. Don't leave without permission. That thing can easily penetrate the metal carriage. If it touches you, you'll turn into a monster inside a beehive..." Mu Xiang said while keeping an eye on his position. "Be careful not to lean against the left or right sides of the carriage. Those are practically made of paper! Keep an eye on each other and remind each other in time!"

Everyone nodded in agreement. The members of the Samsara Squad were naturally cooperative, and the mercenaries, with James's approval, were also quite cooperative. In fact, after rescuing James, Mu Xiang had vaguely conceived of this plan. In this short period of cooperation, as long as James approved, the mercenaries could be communicated with or even commanded... Without James, it would be almost impossible to persuade the mercenaries with just words.

Spence and Matt were anxious to see the tactical exchanges between the group. They protested that they had no idea what dangers were involved and that they were restricted by handcuffs.

James glanced at the two men and gestured for Ryan to unlock Matt's handcuffs: "Take his handcuffs off. He's not a criminal at the moment... but if he does anything rash later, shoot him dead!" As he spoke, he pulled out a pistol and two magazines and handed them to Mu Xiang: "If something happens later, at least this will give you some power to fight back, and we'll have time to rescue you."

Mu Xiang nodded with a wry smile, confirmed that the safety could be released normally, then gripped the gun and became alert, mimicking Zhang Jie's posture. He glanced at the bag at his feet and was about to ask Spencer if he remembered the stolen virus.

Just then, a loud bang was heard, and a sharp claw pierced through the side wall of the carriage, grabbing at Matt who had just broken free of his restraints!
(End of this chapter)