Players, Please Board the Train

Xu Huo calmly ordered his meal, paying no mind to the gazes of others in the dining car. When the food arrived, he ate at a leisurely pace.

Those wearing the uniform outfits were clearly quite wary of him. Three of them sized him up discreetly before, at a signal from a middle-aged man, returning to the rear carriage.

The door between the first-class carriage and the dining car was solid, with no windows. The moment they opened it, Xu Huo caught a glimpse of numerous black suitcases placed on the carriage floor, along with some metal components on tables and the ground that he had never seen before.

After finishing his meal, he inquired with a staff member about whether he could enter the lounge. The staff member informed him that lounge access was expensive and, like the dining car, was not open to passengers after lights-out. Therefore, even if he paid, he would still have to return to his carriage before lights-out.

The kitchen at the front was not open for visits. Xu Huo followed the staff member back to the third carriage via the non-public passageway. Along the way, he attempted to obtain access rights to the staff-only passageway from the other person, but was skillfully deflected with vague excuses.

However, the staff member did remind him of something else. ”The D009C Rift Zone is a high-incidence area for thunderstorms. Sir, you might consider purchasing a box of train personnel-specific headphones to protect your hearing.”

”A high-incidence area for thunderstorms?” Xu Huo paid without hesitation and asked, ”Will it affect the train?”

”You can rest assured on that point. The train has the most advanced lightning protection facilities and will not be struck by lightning. Sir, you only need to protect yourself when the thunderstorm occurs,” the staff member said with a smile.

Xu Huo returned to his carriage and soon received an exquisitely packaged square box. Opening it revealed it was full of components. The over-ear headphones had no headband frame, consisting only of the two earpieces. They adhered to the area around the ears via a special magnetic force. Thus, apart from a circle of soft padding, the outer metal shell seemed somewhat bulky. The number of components was high, some very delicate, requiring self-assembly.

”What is this thing?” Skinny Monkey, who had been playing cards, was the first to lean over, reaching out to grab a component from the box. Xu Huo seized his wrist, twisted it back, and took a small component from his hand. ”That player from earlier is still waiting to cause trouble for you. This is the first time. If there’s a next time, I’ll throw you out.”Skinny Monkey grimaced and nodded repeatedly. Released, he pouted. ”It’s just a pair of headphones. What’s the big deal?”

”I’m not playing anymore.” The female player at the card table put down her cards and sat down next to Xu Huo, looking at him with smiling, crescent-shaped eyes. ”Little brother, you’re really handsome.”

”I know,” Xu Huo said without stopping his hands.

”... and very manly,” the female player continued.

”I know that too,” Xu Huo said, comparing something to the instruction manual.

”Then won’t you look at me? Am I pretty?” She hooked out a strand of long hair, twirling it around her finger.

Xu Huo finally gave her a glance. ”Average.”

Anger flashed across the female player’s face, but she quickly suppressed it. She placed a hand on his shoulder. ”Little brother, where did you get this thing? Is it a special item?”

Everyone in the carriage pricked up their ears.

”It’s not an item, just an ordinary pair of headphones,” Xu Huo said, having already finished assembly. He picked them up and placed them near his ears. The two earpieces automatically adhered to his ears, instantly blocking out all external sound.

The female player was still saying something, but he pointed to his ears, indicating he couldn’t hear, and then began to rest with his eyes closed.

The female player left in a huff.

The light outside the window quickly darkened. The originally clear, sunny sky suddenly churned with wild clouds, forming peak-shaped clouds like hanging udders, drooping beneath the horizon, seemingly within reach.

”What’s going on? Is it getting dark? Isn’t it not time yet?” the Baby-Faced Man said with a frown.

”It’s probably a space with relatively severe weather,” the female player said, appearing experienced and speaking calmly. ”As long as we stay in the train, it’s fine. The train can pass through spatial rifts; wind and rain are nothing.”

She spoke with such certainty that the other players relaxed slightly. At that moment, Skinny Monkey took out a pair of headphones identical to Xu Huo’s and prepared to put them on. The Blonde Man next to him immediately pressed down on his shoulder. ”Little brother, do you have any more headphones? Sell me a pair.”

Skinny Monkey smiled and shook his head. ”I also went through great hardship to get just this one. These headphones are just for soundproofing. I’m just afraid of thunder. She’s right, the train definitely has no problem; it’s just the thunder might be a bit deafening.”

He was referring to the female player.

But seeing that both he and Xu Huo had prepared headphones in advance, the female player couldn’t help but hesitate. Just as she was about to reach out and press the call button, the train announcement suddenly sounded:

”Ding-dong! Thank you, players, for riding the Dimensional Rift Special Train. The train will now pass through the thunderstorm zone. Based on current weather predictions, this thunderstorm zone will persist for two hours with a frequency of two hundred lightning strikes per second. Please, all passengers, pay attention to protecting your vision and hearing.”

”During the passage through the thunderstorm zone, staff will not provide services. If you have special needs, please handle them yourselves. Thank you for your understanding. We wish you a pleasant journey.”

The announcement repeated once. After it ended, just as the players in the carriage were about to say something, the sky outside suddenly flashed blindingly white. The overcast, cloud-filled sky became piercingly bright in an instant, followed immediately by a rumbling boom of thunder that roared in their ears as if it hadn’t passed through any filtration by the train at all, but exploded directly inside the players’ heads.

At that point, anything said was inaudible. The players in the same carriage pressed themselves against the glass windows and the front and rear doors. Two careful players even held the front and rear doors shut.

The two hundred lightning strikes per second certainly weren’t all concentrated directly above the train. Taking advantage of a gap in the intense light, Xu Huo barely managed to see that the person closing the front door was that female player, and the rear was an inconspicuous male player. The other players were almost all against the carriage walls, leaving no gaps at their backs.

He also immediately positioned himself by the window. The headphones completely isolated sound, making him much more comfortable than the other players who had to endure the continuous muffled thunder. Of course, there was another person in the same situation.

Skinny Monkey also wore a pair of fully sealed sunglasses. Using the cover of the thunder, he knocked out the player at the rear door, then quietly opened the door and went out. He returned after a short while, carrying a leather suitcase in his hand.

That suitcase was identical to the black leather suitcase carried by a certain player in the front carriage. But when he returned, Xu Huo confirmed that player and his suitcase were both still in the carriage.

Skinny Monkey moved through the carriage toward the front door, but the female player guarding it also had her eyes slightly open. He hurriedly dodged to the side, pretending to trip over a seat, and collided with the Burly Man in front of him.

The Burly Man threw him aside with one hand and raised his hand to teach him a lesson. However, a player behind him silently aimed a knife at his neck!

The Burly Man reacted fairly quickly, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow, but a cut was still opened on his neck. The smell of blood began to spread through the carriage.