CONTAINMENT ZERO: PROJECT SHADOW CODE

Chapter 14: Last Train to District 9

PLAYER STRANGER1 CHANGED CHARACTER NAME TO XYRE—-

Just as the message was about to end, it warped into static once more.

Zamora glanced up anxiously.

"What the hell is happening…"

Nobody answered her. One of the survivors near the transit gate suddenly checked his smartphone again, and his expression changed completely.

"No…"

Another grabbed his arm. "What?"

The man slowly looked toward the train tracks.

"The player count…"

"What about it?"

His voice shook slightly. "Level Two just lost over four hundred players."

The station instantly erupted into whispers.

"That's impossible."

"There's no event active."

"How do you lose that many that fast?"

Then every device throughout the station vibrated simultaneously.

PRIVATE SYSTEM NOTICE:

TRANSIT GATE OPENING.

AUTHORIZED PLAYERS ONLY.

The security barriers around the platform slowly unlocked with loud metallic clicks.

ACCESS GRANTED: PLAYER ZAMORA.

Every survivor immediately looked at her, no longer angry but terrified.

Because only one name appeared on the gate.

One of the civilians slowly backed up. "…Why is it only recognizing her?"

Another survivor whispered nervously, "Maybe District 9 chose her…"

"That's not how routes work."

"But her access survived interference."

"That doesn't mean—"

Suddenly, the station lights dimmed wildly.

Then all the screens throughout the platform changed at once.

WELCOME TO TRANSIT SECTOR NINE.

WARNING:

MEMORY INSTABILITY HAS BEEN DETECTED.

PLEASE AVOID:

EXTENDED EYE CONTACT AND IDENTITY SHARING UNAUTHORIZED MEMORY EXCHANGES

SURVIVAL IS NOT GUARANTEED.

Zamora's stomach twisted wildly instantly.

"What the hell is memory instability?"

No one responded.

This was because no one there appeared to know, and at some point, a hard THUD could be heard somewhere in the depths of the train.

The entire train sat motionless on the tracks.

Then, slowly, another THUD echoed throughout the carriage, sounding almost like footsteps.

One survivor immediately backed away from the platform. "No no no… the train's supposed to be empty…"

Soon enough, the lights inside the train began flickering again.

She could see an outline of a figure that towered at the far end of the train and seemed immovable.

The figure was staring at the station, but when the lights flickered, the figure vanished into thin air.

The transit clock on her phone turned red.

BOARD TRAIN: 00:00:29

A new message appeared beneath it.

PRIVATE SYSTEM WARNING:

PLAYERS WHO MISS THEIR RESERVED TRANSIT WINDOW MAY LOSE ACCESS PERMANENTLY.

Then another message appeared immediately after.

WARNING:

MULTIPLE PLAYERS ATTEMPTING ROUTE HIJACK.

That was all it took.

The survivors around her moved instantly.

Greed returned; the second fear weakened.

"STOP HER!"

One rushed toward the gate.

ACCESS DENIED.

CRACK.

His body was jolted with electricity that sent him flailing backward across the floor of the train station.

And the screams began immediately, yet the other people stopped all movement.

She gazed at the train one last time as the doors hissed open, with a deep metallic groan as cold air seeped from inside the train.

And in that moment she heard whispers – not in the train station, but inside her own head——