Players, Please Board the Train

”Bullshit!” Shen Yi said. ”What purpose would Xu Huo have for fabricating an attacker?”

”Of course there’s a purpose,” Lin Pei said mockingly, looking at them. ”Wu Qiuyi misremembering the location was originally just a small matter, but now you’re making a big deal out of it and demanding an explanation—isn’t this exactly the opportunity you wanted?”

”And just now, Xu Huo should have gotten some good items from Master Nise for solving the puzzle, right? Those were obtained through our cooperation and should have been divided equally, but now, you have no intention of sharing them at all...”

”Clatter!” The black gemstone watch, magnifying glass, and syringe were all thrown onto the seat at once. Everyone looked up to see Xu Huo leaning calmly against the door, leisurely lighting a cigarette for himself. He blew out a puff of smoke and looked at them through the haze.

”If you want them so badly, Lin Pei, I don’t mind giving them all to you.”

Lin Pei’s expression stiffened slightly as he slowly suppressed his emotions, his gaze turning cold and hard.

”Whether we use items to break open the door or go find the door latch, we need to make sure there are no Mutants nearby. We’ve captured two so far, so dealing with the remaining one shouldn’t be a problem. But the Mutant that should have been at the east gate didn’t appear.”

”We haven’t found any other Pit Cages, so the most convenient method is to lure it out. At least there’s still one Mutant waiting for us to kill—your arguing is pointless anyway.”

None of them could do without the others.

”But this matter must be clarified!” Gu Yu said. ”I agree with luring and killing the Mutant, but what if someone tries to ambush us from behind during the fight?””We’re not afraid of dying to Mutants, but we are afraid of dying at the hands of our own kind—that would be truly unjust,” Shen Yi added.

”Right! Right!” Wang Chaoqing and Nian Hong’an quickly voiced their agreement. Though they were timid and less capable, their will to survive was strong.

”So what do you want to do?” Wu Qiuyi asked, her eyes red.

”Show us your traits,” Gu Yu said immediately. ”Earlier, several of us revealed our traits and items to some extent, but you two have kept yours completely hidden. If you have nothing to hide, let’s be open and honest with each other. Anyone who doesn’t dare to speak up is the one who would stab us in the back.”

”Even if what Xu Huo said is true, it could still be you,” Lin Pei glanced at Gu Yu and the other two.

”We can prove our innocence,” the Shen siblings immediately declared.

With the conversation reaching this point, if Wu Qiuyi and Lin Pei refused to agree, it would only make them appear guilty.

”I agree,” Wu Qiuyi said first. ”The Mutant at the east gate is difficult to deal with. Knowing everyone’s traits and items in advance will make coordination easier.”

”However, I can only reveal the general direction of my trait, not my profession. I can give a brief demonstration.”

”No problem,” Gu Yu readily agreed. ”Who wants to go first?”

”I’ll go,” Ke Liang said first. ”My trait is related to jumping ability. My highest record is twelve meters. Should I demonstrate?”

”Of course,” Gu Yu said, widening her eyes. Ke Liang immediately got off the bus and jumped from a standing position. Though he didn’t seem to use much force, he easily cleared the height of the bus and landed lightly without a sound.

”I can imitate animal sounds, especially bird calls,” Wu Qiuyi said, immediately imitating three different types of bird songs.

Next was Lin Pei. ”I’m skilled at tracking. I can pick out the same person’s footprints from among hundreds or thousands of them.”

He paused. ”I don’t need to demonstrate this for you on the spot, do I?”

Gu Yu pursed her lips. ”I’ll go next. You all know I’m a celebrity, and there’s no need to hide my profession—I’m a star. As for my trait, of course it’s related to youth and beauty.”

Everyone on the bus turned to stare at her. Gu Yu’s face fell. ”What? Is that not allowed?”

”You’re very strong in combat,” Shen Xin said quietly. Before entering the dungeon, she had overpowered both of the siblings by herself.

”Elite education,” Gu Yu said with a smile. ”Horsemanship, marksmanship, and self-defense—I’ve been learning them since childhood.”

”Is that so?” Lin Pei said abruptly. ”Did you learn archery too?”

Gu Yu first glanced at Xu Huo, and seeing that he remained unmoved, she said, ”Don’t waste your breath trying to sow discord. I was too far away when Xu Huo was attacked, and I returned to the bus earlier than you. The people on the bus can vouch for me.”

Wang Chaoqing and Nian Hong’an nodded beside her. Based on the time the bus picked up Xu Huo and going back three minutes from that, Gu Yu had already been on the bus by then.

”It seems we’re suspects too,” Shen Yi said, interlocking his fingers and cracking his knuckles. ”I used to work as a zookeeper, so my trait is related to that—I have a strong affinity with animals.”

”Me too,” Shen Xin followed up.

”Your professions and traits are the same?” Gu Yu asked, looking at them strangely.

”Is there something wrong with that?” Shen Yi asked.

Gu Yu shook her head and looked at Xu Huo.

”I have strong legs and am good at running,” he said. ”I can run for an hour or two without any problem.”

”That’s comparable to a marathon runner,” Shen Yi commented.

Finally, it was Wang Chaoqing and Nian Hong’an’s turn. Wang Chaoqing’s trait was his shadow, which had no combat capability beyond peeping through internet connections. Nian Hong’an was a security guard, and his trait was related to his professional scope—he could remember the appearance of anyone he had seen once.

After this round, it seemed like no one’s trait could be connected to using a bow and arrow. But traits were one thing, and items were another.

However, having reached this point, pushing further would only escalate tensions. Both sides could only temporarily set aside their prejudices.

Several flashlights served as headlights as the bus slowed down, carrying a vehicle full of players with their own hidden agendas through the darkness.

One person drove while the others took turns resting.

”Who do you think it is?” Gu Yu typed out a line of text on her phone from the back seat.

Xu Huo shook his head slightly. It was hard to say.

Without explicitly stating professions, the scope covered by traits was too broad. Take his ”Tireless Legs” for example—who would connect that to an Extra?

”Do you think Shen Yi and Shen Xin are suspicious?” Gu Yu asked again.

Xu Huo gave her a questioning look.

”As far as I know, no two players currently have overlapping traits,” Gu Yu typed quickly. ”Professions might overlap, but people are different. You should be able to tell that traits are connected to a person’s habits and personality. Since no two people are identical, there naturally wouldn’t be identical traits. Authorities in Capital City have confirmed this.”

”Are they lying because they have a guilty conscience?”

Xu Huo didn’t think so. If they truly had a guilty conscience, they could have easily made up any trait. Like Gu Yu—she was skilled in marksmanship and could have easily passed that off as her trait. There was no need to go to extra lengths.

One advantage of traits was that certain aspects and ability boundaries were vague. As an ordinary person, Xu Huo couldn’t run a marathon in one go, but professional athletes could. Imitating bird calls, identifying footprints—these were things specially talented people could do. Naturally, the number of people with exceptional abilities was small, but the possibility still existed.

So these traits could be real, or they could be fake.

But their authenticity wasn’t particularly important.

There could be many reasons for hiding things.

”What are you doing?” Gu Yu slapped Wang Chaoqing’s hand away as he reached for the syringe.

Everyone who had been sleeping on the bus opened their eyes.