It wasn't just Chi Mu's hourglass that got thrown out—across the globe, many other Chosen Ones lost their own time-tracking devices while they slept.
After An Changlin hurled Chi Mu's hourglass out the window, he calmly returned to his bed.
Zhang Dada and the elderly man Meng Dehai didn't react at all. It was as if nothing had happened, as if they hadn't seen a thing.
Inside the Dragon Nation's livestream chat, viewers exploded with rage.
—— "What the hell is An Changlin doing?! He just threw away Chi Mu's hourglass!"—— "Is An Changlin the demon? But the rules clearly said demons can't appear in the same compartment as the Chosen Ones!"—— "It's over! When Chi Mu wakes up, he won't know how much time has passed anymore!"
Viewers in other countries were equally furious.
—— "Fck this An Changlin guy! I swear I'll kill him!"*—— "Baka yarou! That bastard An Changlin has no soul!"—— "Aishibaa!!!"
And it wasn't just the audience—researchers, think tanks, and even presidents from various nations were stunned.
No one had expected this.
Chi Mu had painstakingly created a way to track time… and before he could fully utilize it, An Changlin sabotaged him.
In the Dragon Nation's command center, Qin Jianghe's face darkened.
"If Chi Mu wakes up and can't determine how much time has passed, we may be forced to use our final hint."
"But sir," a researcher interjected, "if Chi Mu falls asleep again, and we've already used both hints… what then?"
Qin Jianghe rubbed his temples, visibly strained.
"That's why we need to think of a new way to help him track time—one we can communicate when we use the next hint."
Around the world, think tanks entered emergency strategy sessions. Some countries, who had just used their second hint to tell their Chosen One how to build an hourglass, were already in despair.
With no more hints left, their contestants would have no way of knowing how much time had passed after their next sleep—dooming their chances of surviving.
Ten hours later, the Chosen Ones began to wake.
Chi Mu opened his eyes slowly. He realized immediately—he'd fallen asleep again.
"How long was I out this time? If it was more than five hours… the hourglass won't be any use."
He jumped down and reached under his bed to retrieve it—only to find nothing.
It was gone.
Chi Mu froze, stunned. He immediately turned to the others in the compartment.
"Who took the item from under my bed?"
Zhang Dada blinked. "No one. I didn't see anything."
"Did anyone come into our compartment while I was asleep?"
"No," Zhang replied, yawning. "It was nighttime. Everyone was asleep."
Chi Mu fell silent. He understood now—someone had deliberately taken the hourglass while he slept.
Once again, he was flying blind, with no clue how much time he'd lost.
"Young man, you sure can sleep," the elderly man Meng Dehai chuckled. "You were out for ten whole hours."
Zhang Dada immediately cut in. "Nonsense! He only slept for seven! Don't exaggerate, old man."
Chi Mu didn't respond to either. He knew they were trying to confuse him—maybe even both lying.
Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed in his mind.
Qin Jianghe.
"Chi Mu, you've been asleep for ten hours. It's currently 11:30 a.m. While you slept, An Changlin threw your hourglass out the window. Be on your guard—he's not to be trusted.
Our research team has brainstormed several new ways to measure time. Unfortunately, all of them require some kind of device. But given what just happened, it's clear—any physical device you create will be destroyed while you're asleep. For now, we haven't come up with a better solution."
Chi Mu looked across the compartment, his eyes locking onto An Changlin. Now, he knew. That man had deliberately sabotaged him.
But he didn't lash out.
Just like the think tank said—physical timekeepers were no longer viable.
On this haunted train, passengers would always find a way to ruin them.
Chi Mu made a mental note: 11:30 a.m.
That meant the first day was officially over. He had survived one... but there were still six more to go.
He had to come up with a new method of tracking time—and fast.
He couldn't afford to sleep again without it. With both hints used up, there would be no second chances.
—— "At least Chi Mu finished his six bottles of water before falling asleep. A lot of Chosen Ones didn't—and their streams just cut to black."—— "No hints left… six days to go… Is S-Class even beatable?!"
Across the world, many contestants died by the end of Day One—some to strange occurrences, others simply because they hadn't finished drinking six bottles of water. Most died in their sleep.
Just then, Chi Mu's eyes snapped up to the top bunk—at Meng Dehai.
The first time I woke up, Meng Dehai said I slept six hours. That matched the hint from the think tank.This time, he said ten hours—again, exactly right.Could it be… the old man always tells the correct time?
Meanwhile, Zhang Dada and An Changlin gave conflicting times, always wrong—perhaps on purpose—to confuse him.
Chi Mu decided to test his theory.
He climbed back into bed, closed his eyes, and pretended to sleep.
—— "Whoa, whoa, whoa—Chi Mu's going back to sleep?!"—— "Every other contestant is out searching for clues, and he's just snoozing?"—— "LOL. Your Dragon Nation contestant gave up. Ours from the U.S. is gonna win this whole thing!"
Chi Mu began silently counting in his head. After one hour, he "woke up," yawning and stretching dramatically.
"Man... I fell asleep again?"
He rubbed his eyes and acted as if he'd just woken up.
Zhang Dada adjusted his glasses and said with a grin, "You were only out for two hours. Not long."
An Changlin scoffed. "What are you talking about? It was six hours, clearly!"
Chi Mu sighed.
As expected—both wrong.
He turned to Meng Dehai.
"Old sir, how long would you say I was asleep?"
The elderly man looked over and replied calmly:
"One hour."