Sitting on the clean, bright train, Liu Hong was utterly dazed. He had transmigrated again?!
How on earth did this keep happening?!
Liu Hong had no time to ponder how he ended up on the train. Seeing that everything around him seemed quiet for the moment, he watched as a man and a child walked past him.
He looked around to confirm that all was calm, and just as he wanted to recall how the transmigration had happened, the carriage—which he had thought safe a moment before—suddenly erupted into commotion.
Something was happening in the rear carriage, a sudden, chaotic uproar.
Liu Hong could no longer spare the time for reminiscing. The world he had transmigrated into was a movie, and in movies, riots never meant anything good!
He hurriedly stood up to see what was going on, only to catch sight of one person slumped over another. As Liu Hong looked on, the person on top suddenly raised his head.
Because Liu Hong was staring right at him, he saw everything clearly in the split second the man looked up.
Milky-white pupils, a mouth smeared with blood, and a body twitching in unnatural, jerky spasms.
At the sight of that look and those movements, Liu Hong's face turned nearly green.
Damn it, it was a zombie movie this time!
What the hell! I don't want to be bitten to death!
Couldn't they pick a quicker, less painful way to die?!
Wait, why was it that every time he transmigrated, he was faced with death?!
Was this a disaster film?!
Just then, something flashed through Liu Hong's mind.
But Liu Hong was too busy turning to run for his life to dwell on it.
Countless hours of watching zombie films had taught him not to stand there rubbernecking like the others, but instead to sprint quickly toward the front carriages.
The people around him all seemed to be of Asian descent this time.
As he ran, Liu Hong observed his surroundings.
It appeared to be an Asian film.
As Liu Hong bolted, a man picked up a child from the floor and began running as well.
Bursting into the second carriage, he saw a zombie actually biting someone right ahead.
Just as he hesitated to step forward, a burly man strode out and hurled the biting zombie into the nearby restroom.
Liu Hong hurried over.
Catching sight of a pregnant woman here, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her along.
If she died here, it would be two lives lost! She had to be saved!
Liu Hong's sudden action of grabbing the pregnant woman and running startled the muscular man behind them, who hurriedly let go of the person in his grasp and started to give chase.
The man holding the child just managed to overtake them.
Liu Hong and the others dashed into the fourth carriage.
This place was full of people, so it should be safe. Liu Hong hadn't intended to stop—the very next carriage was crawling with zombies, and he had no idea what these people were staring at.
Yet the pregnant woman he was dragging slammed on the brakes, pulling Liu Hong to a halt with her.
He turned his head with a perplexed look at the pregnant woman he had just rescued.
What was she doing?
Then he saw the pregnant woman walking briskly over to the burly man, just as the man holding the child entered.
They slammed the door shut and braced themselves against it, while the zombies outside hammered frantically at the wood.
The burly man turned and asked the crowd how to close the door. The man holding the child spoke up, telling him to let go of the handle because the zombies outside didn't seem to know how to open doors.
The burly man slowly loosened his grip, and sure enough, the zombies failed to force the door open.
Yet they still lunged and snapped crazily against the barrier.
The man in the suit spoke again, saying the creatures didn't seem to fly into a frenzy if they couldn't see people.
Hearing this, the pregnant woman picked up a bottle of mineral water nearby, splashed it over the glass, and pulled out a newspaper to stick against it. Sure enough, the commotion outside quieted down significantly.
The others quickly followed suit, plastering newspapers over the glass to block the line of sight.
The zombies outside finally stopped pounding on the door.
Only then did the crowd let out a collective breath, starting to murmur and discuss what on earth was going on and what those things in the back were.
Liu Hong also walked to the end of the carriage and resignedly took a seat in the foremost row, wanting to be as far from the zombies as possible.
Looking back, he recognized the distinctive traits of the four main characters and knew which movie he was in.
Train to Busan.
A film with an appallingly high mortality rate.
In the end, it seemed only the pregnant woman and the child survived.
A zombie film that hammered home themes of human nature and the importance of closing doors behind oneself all the way through.
The only consolation was that the timeline of this movie wasn't long; it would all be resolved today.
How was he supposed to survive in this film?!
At that moment, the carriage announcement chimed. Due to special circumstances, the train would be unable to stop at the upcoming Asan Station; passengers were requested to remain in their seats and mind their safety.
Hearing this, a middle-aged man grew agitated, rushed to the front of the carriage, and demanded to know why they couldn't stop at Asan Station when the train was packed with these inhuman freaks.
He refused to stay cooped up with those things. The front answered that the control room wouldn't allow them to stop there, and they were simply following orders.
The middle-aged man refused to listen, insisting that they stop right there, but he eventually ran out of words and the argument petered out.
Looking at the man before him, Liu Hong knew this was the fellow—he absolutely could not be left alone.
Most people in this movie died because of him.
If he wanted to survive, relying on himself alone against all those zombies was out of the question!
The strongest fighter in this film had to stay alive!
Otherwise, when the massive horde of zombies latched onto the train later, their chances of making it out alive would be slim.
He had to think of something.
Just then, the very combat powerhouse he had been thinking of supported his wife over to the far end of the carriage.
Liu Hong hurriedly changed seats to the innermost spot, beckoning to the pregnant woman and telling her to sit down.
Catching sight of Liu Hong, the pregnant woman poured out words of gratitude.
She told the burly man beside her that Liu Hong was the one who had grabbed and pulled her along earlier, which was how she had made it into this carriage so quickly.
The burly man replied:
"I know him! He grabbed you and took off, and I thought he was up to something, so I ran after you straight away. Still, little brother, I have to thank you!"
As he spoke, the burly man reached out and clapped Liu Hong on the shoulder, nearly pitching him forward.
He truly lived up to his title as the strongest fighter in this movie; his strength was no joke!
Liu Hong waved his hands repeatedly, indicating it was nothing.
Everyone around them had pulled out their mobile phones, trying to get in touch with their families, while the two people next to them conversed quietly.
Not wanting to disturb them, Liu Hong silently felt in his pockets to see if there was anything that could verify his identity.
He wore a casual suit and leather shoes.
There was a phone in his inner suit pocket, and train tickets in his trouser pocket.
There was nothing else. This time, he didn't even know what his name was.
He turned on the phone, but it was locked.
He couldn't unlock it.
Unwilling to let anyone else notice anything amiss, Liu Hong put the phone away and wondered what to do next.
Suddenly, the train gave a violent jolt.
Then its speed began to drop.
While Liu Hong was still wondering what was happening—though he hadn't watched the film recently, he remembered the general plot, but such intricate details truly escaped him—
Suddenly, a pair of hands slammed against the window glass right beside him!
It gave Liu Hong a terrible start.
Then came a second pair, a third...
Though the train had slowed down, it didn't stop, rolling slowly onto the platform.
Right after that, Liu Hong saw that the entire platform had become a living hell, swarming with zombies biting and devouring people.
This was Asan Station!
Everyone stood up and retreated toward the middle of the carriage, staying as far from the windows as possible, watching as the train gradually picked up speed and pulled away from Asan Station.
Only after they had put some distance between themselves and those man-eating monsters did they let out a breath.
Having witnessed the situation outside Asan Station, everyone fell silent, no longer clamoring for the train to stop.
The television screen began broadcasting an address from the national government.
It amounted to empty platitudes urging everyone to fend for themselves and claiming the situation was under control.
That was utterly helpless; if the situation were truly under control, Asan Station wouldn't have descended into that kind of chaos.
People bowed their heads to scroll through their phones, checking the situation in various regions.
Liu Hong had no time to worry about that now; he had to prepare for the wave of zombies he would soon face.
He had no desire to be chewed up by those disgusting things.
In this movie, zombies were driven wild primarily by sight and sound.
He needed to find some things to give himself an edge.
Liu Hong walked toward the front carriages, searching the conductor's compartment along the way for any weapons that could be used for self-defense.
He used cardboard and packing tape to wrap up the parts of his body most vulnerable to bites.
Places like his neck, arms, and legs were all bundled up.
That way, there would be far fewer spots where zombies could sink their teeth in.
He also gathered every black rubbish bag he could lay his eyes on.
To block the zombies' vision if necessary.
He couldn't find any proper weapons—the train permitted neither knives nor fire starters.
He could only pick up a mop and snap the handle with force, leaving a sharp, jagged break that temporarily served as a handy weapon.
Armed, he continued moving forward.
He also managed to scavenge some drinking water and food, stuffing them into a backpack.
Though the timeline was short, he needed to keep his strength and hydration up; this film was going to be a hard-fought battle!
He had no idea whose backpack this was, but right now nobody cared whether the owner was still around, let alone whether they were dead or alive.
At that moment, the others followed him up front; it seemed nobody wanted to linger in the carriages closest to the zombies.
The burly man also came over with the pregnant woman, and Liu Hong handed her a piece of chocolate to help her regain her strength.
He also handed the burly man a bottle of water.
The burly man took the water with a word of thanks, unscrewed the cap, let the pregnant woman take a few sips first, and then drank some himself.
Seeing the young child who had given up her seat to an elderly woman, Liu Hong handed her a piece of candy.
She was one of the two sole survivors in the end, and such a sensible kid deserved a sweet.
He also handed the male lead a bottle of water. When he watched the movie's ending, the male lead's demise had broken his heart.
The male lead took the water and inspected it cautiously, making sure the seal was unbroken before opening it to take a sip.
He didn't say much.
Liu Hong didn't mind; the male lead was indeed quite exasperating in the early stages.
Liu Hong also offered a bottle of water to each of the two elderly women. These old ladies couldn't afford to die; if one of them died, her companion would trigger the bug that opened the door and let the zombies in.
She wiped out an entire carriage of people herself, though those people had been utterly selfish and deserved what they got.
Still, since he was on this train now, the longer everyone stayed alive, the better.
His own life as an extra was terribly fragile and easily snuffed out; it was safer to treat these important plot characters well—perhaps he could ride their coattails all the way to the end.
Liu Hong began preparing to safeguard his own little life, completely shedding his previous suicidal ideation.
Actually, it hadn't been a genuine desire to die; he had just said it so often it had become a catchphrase.
A catchphrase...
Liu Hong started in surprise. It seemed that every time he transmigrated, he would mutter about not wanting to live or mumble something like "just let it all end!"
No way... Could his wishes actually be coming true?!
Come on! Even if wishes came true, they shouldn't pick *that* one!
He had plenty of other wishes left!
World's richest man!
Taller height!
Winning every single match in games!
Owning a house and a car, with over a hundred million in savings, and so on...
Why did *this* particular wish have to come true?!
And why dump him straight into a disaster movie world?!
In the first world, death had come quickly, but it had felt like death by a thousand cuts, leaving him aching all afternoon before he recovered.
In the second world, though he was unhurt, if he hadn't paid attention and left the fire, he would have frozen solid—thankfully he survived in the end.
The third world was right now, the zombie apocalypse. Although dying probably meant he could go back,
he couldn't accept being chewed to death either!!
Wait! He hadn't said it the third time, had he?!
Yet it felt like he'd vaguely heard it?
The person in the next room had said it!!
Even hearing it counted?!
The only certain thing now was that dying would let him return, but Liu Hong didn't want to experience the sensation of dying ever again.
It was utterly despair-inducing, feeling your life slowly draining away.
He couldn't dwell on it! He had better honestly focus on surviving.
Just recalling that feeling of death made him feel sick.
Having figured out the crucial point and made up his mind, Liu Hong looked up, ready to see if the main characters needed anything else.
Another announcement crackled from overhead.
"Dear passengers, we are deeply sorry, but this train will only run as far as Daejeon Station. Daejeon Station is currently being secured by the military. The train will pass through Daejeon Station empty, and all passengers are requested to disembark upon arrival! We repeat..."
Hearing this announcement, the carriage plunged into turmoil once more.
He had watched the movie only a few years ago, and Liu Hong still remembered fragments of the plot.
He remembered that a massive rout happened here, with plenty of casualties; it turned out all the soldiers at Daejeon Station had already turned into zombies.
They only realized it once they got out of the station, leading to a frantic scramble back, resulting in the group getting separated on the train.
Later, the male lead and the burly man found the pregnant woman and fled together toward the safe carriage.
During that exact stretch, the burly man sacrificed himself to hold off the zombies.
No, the script had to be changed!
At that point, it wasn't just the burly man who died; a slew of extras and supporting characters perished too!
He could easily die here as well!!
The burly man couldn't be allowed to die! If he died, things would be much harder to handle later!