Players, Please Board the Train

The meditation player paused for a moment, ”Is this dessert on the menu?”

On the first day, the train attendant had provided a specially prepared menu. Aside from that five-thousand-yuan set meal, everything else was basic fare, and the selection wasn’t extensive either.

Yesterday had been a regular menu, but there had been no pudding either.

Without needing to ask further questions, Xu Huo confirmed that the situation on the train was likely truly amiss.

Just then, a man with bronze-colored skin emerged from the carriage ahead. He stood behind the meditation player, ”Brother Sha, is this guy a friend of yours?”

The meditation player, ”Brother Sha,” gave Xu Huo a nod before turning back into the carriage and closing the door.

Xu Huo returned to the Sixth Carriage.

The atmosphere inside the carriage wasn’t good. The Female Player stood at the front door, facing the others in the carriage, while the Burly Player had already retreated to Xiao Xianglin and Xu Jinfeng’s side. The Severed-Finger Player, You Si who was smoking to quit drinking, and the Raincoat Man hadn’t moved. The remaining few had also grouped together, positioned on the other side near the rear door.

”Brother Yu, hurry over!” Xiao Xianglin quickly waved to Xu Huo.

Xu Huo avoided the Female Player and walked over, ”What’s going on?”Xiao Xianglin hurriedly explained that during the brief window when he’d left, Xu Jinfeng and the Female Player had nearly come to blows. Xu Jinfeng insisted that the one who committed the murder and induced hallucinations was the Female Player, so he intended to move to the empty carriage up ahead. However, the Female Player refused to let him leave.

Xu Huo glanced over. More precisely, it seemed she wouldn’t let anyone leave.

Even if the train had fallen into some kind of magnetic field, the decapitator could very well be one of them.

”You say I committed murder. If I just let you walk away like that, wouldn’t I be suffering this injustice for nothing?” The Female Player said, ”Anyway, we get off tomorrow. Today, none of us are going anywhere. If everyone makes it through alive to tomorrow, the truth will naturally come to light.”

It was plain to see she didn’t actually care about this so-called ”injustice.” It was just a convenient excuse.

It was precisely because the other players could see through it that they had slightly adjusted their positions.

With a dungeon about to begin, it was best not to waste energy and items on the train if they could avoid it.

Just as the standoff was ongoing, You Si, who was sitting nearby, stood up and walked toward the front door.

The Female Player meant what she said. She planted herself in front of the door, and a faint blue barrier spread to cover both her and the entire front entrance.

You Si didn’t stop his steps, but as he reached the barrier, his hand shot up in a quick motion. The barrier burst apart like a bubble, and his speed suddenly accelerated, closing in on the Female Player in an instant.

He advanced, but the Female Player instinctively retreated while knocking on the door. The metal door automatically melted and formed over a dozen sharp spikes that stabbed into the doorway, creating a grille.

”Crack, crack, crack!” But immediately afterward came a continuous series of snapping sounds. Those metal spikes were severed from the middle, leaving just enough space for one person to pass through.

You Si didn’t even look at the Female Player as he headed straight for the restroom.

The Female Player, whose first attempt to ”shut the door” had failed, turned completely cold. Gone was the leisurely, careless demeanor of yesterday. She turned back to look at Xu Huo and the others.

”They say you should pick the softest persimmon to squeeze.” The Severed-Finger Player rested both arms on the table, his left hand naturally covering his right.

The Female Player let out a cold laugh and simply sat down in the first row.

Before long, You Si returned, a cigarette pinched between his fingers. As he came in, he asked, ”Lights-out time is almost here. If you need to use the restroom, go now.”

Xiao Xianglin and the others didn’t see the need to go to the front, so they simply headed to the restroom in the rear.

Xu Huo didn’t plan to stay in this carriage tonight. He waited until the time was about right before walking toward the front.

As he passed by the Female Player, her hand made a slight movement. He tilted his head slightly, his gaze landing on her.

Their eyes met, and the Female Player’s movement couldn’t help but freeze. In less than a second, Xu Huo had already walked out of the carriage and gently closed the door behind him.

The door to the Fifth Carriage wasn’t sealed shut. After entering, he briefly moved the tables, chairs, and corpses aside, then placed the ”Emergency Shelter No. 101” inside the carriage.

Whether it was players or some other situation, as long as the other party couldn’t destroy this item, he could spend the night in peace.

He locked the door, did a simple cleanup, and lay down to rest.

In a half-awake, half-asleep state, he vaguely saw someone standing beside him again. Instinctively grasping his sword and sitting up, the shadow beside him automatically vanished. It didn’t seem like a genuine attempt to keep him from sleeping, but rather like a fuse designed to provoke him into making a move.

If he had reacted more strongly the night before last, a fight might have broken out in the carriage as well.

Xu Huo took out his container and let some blood. Fine threads of King Fungus mycelium could be seen within the wound. His condition was good.

He performed a simple test with his blood, and the result showed that there was absolutely nothing wrong with it.

That was good news for him.

He played some music to help him sleep. Xu Huo closed his eyes and lay on the bed, seemingly hearing some commotion outside, though it didn’t reach the Shelter No. 101’s side.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Xu Huo put away his item and walked out, only to find two more people in the carriage. One was the injured Female Player, and the other was Brother Sha from the carriage ahead.

”Morning.” Xu Huo greeted them.

The Female Player’s lips twitched with what seemed like a hint of sarcasm, but she didn’t speak.

Brother Sha, however, let out a sigh.

Xu Huo saw that his clothes were covered in blood and deduced that the battle in the Fourth Carriage last night had been intense. He turned to look back at the Sixth Carriage, whose doors were wide open. The only ones still alive were the Raincoat Man, You Si, the Severed-Finger Player, and Xiao Xianglin.

”Ding-dong!”

”Attention all players. We will soon be arriving at Sea World ahead. Please prepare to disembark.”

The train didn’t stop at the station. The view shifted, and Xu Huo found himself standing on a tourist sightseeing bus. The vehicle was driving across a vast, azure sea. Beneath its wheels was the only traffic passage over the ocean. The end of the road seemed to be at the junction of sea and sky, where a massive white city could barely be made out in the distance.

Just then, the game announcement came through:

[Player Passerby has entered Sea World and is automatically enrolled in the D-rank dungeon ”Friendship Lasts Forever.”]

[This dungeon is the only dungeon at the Sea World station. The venue is detached from land. Players are advised to take note.]

[Background Introduction: Sea World is an island city. Its solitary position in the middle of the ocean grants it uniquely advantageous development conditions. Its inexhaustible marine resources have made it an economically advanced and highly integrated city. It not only attracts capital from other districts but also draws players and evolved persons from various game partitions. To this day, the city’s population is predominantly made up of outsiders.]

[Due to the complexity of its settled population, Sea World has become a city of absolute tolerance. It welcomes any outside friend to visit and settle down. It doesn’t care about your past, nor does it mind whether you are ugly in appearance. As long as you come here and become one of their own, you will be entitled to their friendship.]

[However, the residents of Sea World believe that true friendship must withstand trials, so they have specially created a unique program for guests who intend to settle here.]