Players, Please Board the Train

After Laurence Li left, the atmosphere inside the carriage did not ease at all. Everyone remained silent, not speaking, nor attempting to escape from the carriage. As for fighting amongst themselves, that was even more impossible.

Dr. Deng probably also sensed the tense atmosphere and couldn’t help but ask, ”Is Laurence Li a very famous player?”

Xu Huo glanced at him. ”You’ve been to so many places, haven’t you heard of him?”

”The game world is so vast, who knows how many famous players there are.” Dr. Deng wore an expression that said, ”How could I possibly know everyone?”

”Laurence Li is a super player,” Vivi spoke up, already able to make sounds again. ”He’s a wanted criminal with a high bounty from the Game Government. Wanted information on him exists in every Game Partition.”

Even if you haven’t seen his face, you should know his name.

Unfortunately, Dr. Deng was a fake player, but he immediately grew nervous again. ”Will he kill people?”

Xu Huo didn’t answer. Instead, the little girl Vivi somewhat agitatedly snapped, ”What do you think?”

Dr. Deng fell silent, as if having already given up struggling.

During the time Laurence Li was gone, aside from two players getting off the train, no one else moved.As night fell, it was time for the lights to go out, but the lights in the carriage were not turned off for a long time. The train continued along the tracks like a strip of light.

”What’s going on?” the players grew restless.

Regardless of whether Mutants might attack the train, the lights were usually turned off at night because it was uncertain if Mutants might be attracted from afar by the light.

”What on earth is happening?” Vivi said unhappily. ”The train attendants can’t be found either.”

”We’re done for, done for... the glass in our carriage window is already broken...” Dr. Deng muttered.

”Calm down. There are plenty of ways to seal the windows,” Xu Huo spoke up, his gaze shifting to Vivi and the others.

There were seven players on Vivi’s side. They no longer concealed their identities and had tactically positioned themselves together. Upon hearing Xu Huo’s words, Vivi’s ”parents” exchanged a glance. The two of them jointly picked up a scroll. After unfurling it, the pure white canvas sealed the windows on both sides.

Carriage Two was in a similar situation, completely sealing the glass on the left, right, and rear carriage door with metal. However, both sides subconsciously left the windows in the middle connecting carriage unsealed.

Laurence Li never returned to the carriage. Around ten o’clock at night, the first sound of a heavy impact came from outside the train windows. Then, like a downpour, the *thump-thump-thump* sounds became incessant. No one knew how many Mutants had gathered outside the train, but everyone clearly felt the train’s movement becoming somewhat sluggish under the increased weight.

The players inside the carriage paid close attention to the commotion outside. As the train’s speed slowed, the sounds of Mutants boarding the train gradually decreased but still did not stop.

”There must be several layers piled up outside now,” Vivi said.

”If the items had blocked the light, this situation shouldn’t have occurred,” Xu Huo said.

Vivi’s mother took out a telescope and pressed it against the windowpane. After a look, she said, ”Our item didn’t block the light at all!”

”How is that possible?” Vivi’s father frowned, then suddenly realized something. ”Could someone have tampered with it?”

The players in the same carriage immediately looked at Xu Huo.

”I’m not insane,” Xu Huo glanced at them. ”What benefit would I get from attracting Mutants?”

This argument wasn’t very convincing, but there was a more obvious suspect up ahead.

”It couldn’t be Laurence Li, could it?” Dr. Deng looked around nervously.

Just then, music suddenly began playing inside the carriage.

Xu Huo’s expression changed. Among the Mutants that liked to attack dimensional trains, those stimulated by light sources were considered the weakest in combat power. Deprived of light, they would quickly lose vitality. They were much more docile than Mutants attracted by sound, scent, or air vibrations!

The Mutant he encountered near the end of the Preliminary Trial Train was one of them. Although its hearing wasn’t particularly sharp, it was still a relatively difficult Mutant to deal with. That situation had occurred due to a game error, and the subsequent game compensated with a train ticket.

Now, with music playing on the train for no reason, it was undoubtedly attracting other Mutants!

”What benefit does he get from attracting Mutants?” Dr. Deng shouted, losing control. ”The train could derail!”

*Boom!* As if responding to his words, a tremendous noise came from the rear of the train. Like a snake whose tail had been stepped on, the entire train slammed on the brakes. After a violent jolt, a sharp, ear-piercing screech of friction erupted from the tracks. Immediately after, the roar of a ferocious beast came from the tail carriage!

Even staying inside the carriage, the sound felt deafening. But what filled everyone with despair was that the location of this roar clearly shifted forward the very next second!

Screams, the twisting and tearing of metal sounded continuously. These screams weren’t just from players but also from those Mutants. However, after a short while, all these sounds stopped, leaving only the furious roar of the beast. Yet, it seemed to be trapped, remaining in the same spot.

”Someone made a move,” Vivi and the others’ gazes swept over Xu Huo and the escorts.

Xu Huo knew the effect of ”Counting Squares” had taken hold. This was originally meant to deal with Vivi’s group. If they and the escorts fought over that coffin-like box, the best method would be to move the box to the rear, lure those people away, and then discard the rear carriage. That way, no matter how they fought, it wouldn’t affect the entire train.

But unexpectedly, it didn’t trap people; instead, it trapped a Mutant.

With the Mutant trapped, the players in the rear carriage spontaneously detached the carriage. As the train accelerated, the roar was left behind.

Unfortunately, this was only the first one.

The music didn’t stop. Within a few short minutes, another Mutant caught up to the train and began slaughtering wildly on the roof.

The roof deformed under the intense stomping. Blood flowed down like water. The players inside, learning their lesson, used items to block sound, temporarily preventing the Mutant from being attracted inside.

But that didn’t mean they could peacefully coexist. Some items had time limits. Once those limits passed, breathing, heartbeat, anything could draw the Mutant’s attention.

*Screech, screech, screech...* The sound of metal being scratched came from Carriage Three. Just as others thought the players in that carriage had exposed themselves, the glass on the roofs of Carriages One and Two was also torn open by a sharp fingernail—a finger that looked both human and primate-like slowly scraped across. Then the finger retracted, and a crimson eye pressed against the crack, screaming and shrieking into the carriage!

The next second, players in both the front and rear carriages took action. An escort in Carriage Two reached towards the ceiling and made a pinching motion. That Mutant exploded, blood dripping down through the crack.

Meanwhile, a short-haired female player in Carriage One flicked her middle finger towards the Mutant’s location. The shrieking Mutant also fell silent.