Chapter 10: A Warning

“Are you a fool to become a nun?” Li Fei looked at Yan Jiayu as if she were insane. A kind heart? Ridiculous.

But the elderly man and He Yang quickly agreed. The female students followed Professor Han’s lead, and after his nod, the rest were a minority; the stronger will prevailed.

Professor Han and Li Fei stood on opposite sides of the door, while Xu Huo opened it.

Pushing a wheelchair was a tall man who stopped and pushed it forward slightly. “She can’t walk well. She won’t survive the night in third-class. Can you take her in?”

The young woman in the wheelchair was pale and frail, her expression timid and still dazed from a day and night of terror. Her eyes held nothing but fear as she looked at Xu Huo and the others.

“Are you siblings?” Xu Huo bent down and lifted the hem of her nightgown. Indeed, her legs were somewhat deformed.

“No.” The man did not stop him.

“No way!” Li Fei objected immediately. Even though the woman looked feeble, he couldn’t take the risk. “What if she’s a cannibal player?”

The young woman reacted, “I’m not a cannibal player…”

But likely recalling a scene she had witnessed, she began to gag before finishing her words.

Xu Huo stepped aside. “Come in.”

The man did not enter the carriage himself; he only pushed the wheelchair inside.

The young woman glanced back at him. He said nothing, not even a glance, and turned back to the third-class carriage.

“You didn’t get the others’ consent to bring someone in. Is this your compartment?” Li Fei was furious. “One more person means one more risk…”

Before he finished, Xu Huo pulled the wheelchair to the side, grabbed Li Fei by the collar, shoved him toward the door, and slammed it shut. “This is just right, no more, no less.”

Li Fei’s face darkened. He desperately pulled at the door, yelling curses, but Xu Huo held the handle firmly, expressionless.

Professor Han thought this was unwise and was about to intervene when Yan Jiayu rushed over, holding the door and sternly saying, “Let’s be reasonable. You agreed, so she’s coming in!”

Xu Huo tugged the door but found her strength impressive, so he stopped and stepped back.

Li Fei’s face was full of resentment, but the looks cast from third-class felt like needles in his back. With no choice, he said, “Fine! I agree to let that woman in!”

The door behind them rattled. Li Fei suddenly changed his tone, pale-faced, shouting, “I admit I was wrong, madam, please open the door…!”

As the players from third-class lunged forward, Yan Jiayu quickly loosened her grip and pulled Li Fei through the door crack, then slammed it shut with a bang, isolating the cannibal player outside!

The anticipated prey slipped away. The player outside angrily punched and kicked the metal door, but the glass was specially reinforced; after more than ten strikes with no mark, he could only leave with a scowl.

Li Fei collapsed inside the carriage, panting heavily, his fear and fury mingling as he stared hard at Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu.

Yan Jiayu’s eyes widened. “You want to back out?”

Li Fei was about to retort but caught the cold glare from Xu Huo beside her and swallowed his words, averting his gaze. “If she really is a cannibal player… I won’t be the one regretting it.”

With Li Fei’s example, the middle-aged woman also kept silent and quietly found a seat.

After a while, hearing no rule violations announced, Xu Huo pushed the wheelchair by the window and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Wang Xiaohui.” She clenched her fists on her knees, nervously saying, “I’m not a cannibal player.”

“I know,” Xu Huo said. “I’m not responsible for protecting you. There are cannibal players in second-class as well. Be careful. By the way, how many players remain in third-class?”

“Seven, including me,” Wang Xiaohui replied quickly.

Xu Huo nodded.

Yan Jiayu handed her a packet of compressed biscuits soaked in purchased water. “Are you hungry? This is safe to eat.”

Tears welled in Wang Xiaohui’s eyes as she took it and stuffed it into her mouth. “You’re so kind.”

Time passed swiftly. The night watch shifts were set, everyone took their turns at the restroom, and then returned to the carriage.

This time, Professor Han and the female students guarded the front door, while Yan Jiayu and Li Fei stood watch at the back.

The back door was less problematic; the main concern was the front door. So Professor Han blocked it with tables and chairs in advance and reminded the players, “No matter what happens, do not turn on the lights or use your phones. Keep them off tonight.”

“I don’t see the need to be so paranoid. There are no punishments for breaking rules, after all,” the woman in heavy makeup glanced at Wang Xiaohui.

“What if it affects the game’s ending rewards?” Professor Han said sternly. “No punishment now doesn’t mean there won’t be later. I’m watching the switch myself tonight. Liu Jia, stand nearby.”

The female student Liu Jia glanced nervously at the switch and stepped back.

Xu Huo observed her movements, frowned, and looked outside the window again.

“Can everyone except those guarding the doors sit in the middle seats?” Professor Han surveyed the group. “That way, there’s some buffer distance between us.”

Keeping distance was essentially to guard against attacks from cannibal players.

“Are there not three corpses in the carriage?” He Yang said coldly. “If you’re hungry, you can eat them. Isn’t that easier than attacking others?”

All players harbored such subtle thoughts: using the dead to keep peace and survive until disembarkation was the best outcome.

The heavily made-up woman moved aside and sat down. Xu Huo chose a seat diagonally opposite her. The middle-aged woman and the elderly man sat at a nearby table.

Wang Xiaohui, uncertain whom to trust, instinctively wheeled herself closer to Xu Huo.

“Mr. Xu…” Just before lights out, Liu Jia suddenly spoke to Xu Huo. “Be careful.” She glanced at the heavily made-up woman.

Because of Chen Yi’s incident, others assumed she was merely worried for her savior and paid no heed. But Xu Huo confirmed one thing: last night, the female student must have “seen” something.

At first, he thought Chen Yi was also a cannibal player, but since Chen Yi attacked him first last night, it proved otherwise. If Chen Yi was truly driven by hunger, attacking Liu Jia would have been easier.

The elderly man and the slender-faced woman in the carriage had also been attacked.

Chen Yi’s killing him was likely for the game itself, to earn higher rewards.

Liu Jia’s screams were not due to an attack, and now her warning to Xu Huo was a subtle hint that the heavily made-up woman was the cannibal player.

The heavily made-up woman’s behavior did not seem like that of a cannibal player. She had reminded others to keep quiet upon boarding. Liu Jia had initially liked her but kept her distance after the lights came on today.

The slender-faced woman bore three wounds of varying size. Besides the square-faced man and Li Fei, the elderly man by the door, the heavily made-up woman nearby, and the silently moving Yan Jiayu in the dark were all highly suspicious.

These three were prime suspects. Liu Jia’s hint might not be true, so the matter of cannibal players was temporarily set aside. Xu Huo looked to the two guarding the light switch. They were visibly tense. Although Professor Han had emphasized the importance of turning off lights and phones yesterday, it wasn’t this extreme. This change came after their information exchange today.

“You saw what was outside the window too?” he suddenly asked.