Chapter 16: Arrival
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“I still think I should go out,” Professor Han said. “We’re already short-handed, and now someone has to stay behind to watch me...”
“One person more or less won’t make much difference,” Xu Huo said. “If light is the only condition required for those monsters to move, one person can hold the line. If it isn’t, having several people won’t help either.”
Professor Han was still worried that he might undergo a mutation. Summoning her courage, Wang Xiaohui said, “I’ll stay and watch Professor Han.”
“You saw my ability just now. I may have trouble moving, but I can seal off an area. Even if something happens to Professor Han, you’ll have time to react.”
The connecting carriage was unsafe, but there was no guarantee that Professor Han would mutate. They could not send him out to die simply because of that possibility.
Xu Huo had no objection. He stood by the window and quietly awaited the arrival of darkness.
Several minutes later, the light around the train gradually vanished. After racing through the darkness for roughly an hour, the train suddenly began to tremble. This time, the disturbance was clearly longer and more violent than it had been on the previous two nights.
Feeling the weight outside the window increase sharply, Xu Huo could not help frowning. Before the violent storm had passed, however, a tremendous crash suddenly rang out from behind. It sounded as though some massive object had landed on the carriage. The entire train was dragged to a halt for an instant, while at the same time, the weight pressing down on the tabletop receded like a tide.
Something had boarded the train!
Everyone in the carriage held their breath. Their minds were fixed on the piercing sound of metal twisting in the rear. The connecting carriage seemed to be coming apart. The rear of the entire third-class carriage sank slightly, followed by something slamming into the rear door.
Amid the creaking and groaning, wind seeped through the gap beneath the door, only to be blocked a moment later. After the air inside the carriage briefly stagnated, a warm breeze carrying a fishy stench slowly poured in from behind...
“Mm...” A faint sob slipped through Liu Jia’s fingers.
That tiny sound caused the heavy object clinging to the rear door to climb rapidly upward. It crawled along the carriage wall to the roof. Sharp scratching rang against the glass, followed by the shattering of the window. Water dripped down amid the noise, and powerful wind poured in through the roof. Something was swaying inside the carriage!
The front and rear doors were not transparent, so although the rear door had been clawed out of shape, Liu Jia still could not see what had caught up with the train. But the claw marks, far larger than those of any ordinary beast, and the foul wind blowing inside filled her with instinctive terror. She covered her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut.
Yet the creature was still drawn by the faint sound. When she heard the glass shatter, panic overwhelmed her, and she could not stop herself from opening her eyes.
At that very moment, she saw a gigantic tongue curling toward her!
Liu Jia was petrified.
A hand reached around from behind and covered her mouth, stifling her scream.
A shard of glass flew out of the carriage and struck the stone wall beside the train. The tongue, which had nearly licked Liu Jia’s face, abruptly withdrew. A moment later, the sound of stone shattering rang out, but the speeding train quickly left it far behind.
Xu Huo gently pressed Liu Jia’s shoulder and gestured for silence. Whether or not he could see her, Liu Jia did not care. She covered her mouth with both hands and nodded frantically.
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Xu Huo stepped away from her. Just as he returned to his seat, a blinding light suddenly flared ahead of the train. Though it lasted only an instant, in that ink-black darkness it was more conspicuous than a spotlight.
In the blink of an eye, the train, which had just regained its stability, began to lurch again. It roared as though a million soldiers were charging across its outer shell.
That enormous shadow caught up with the train once more, sweeping over the second-class carriage. Faint screams and cries for help were drowned out by howls and tearing sounds. The entire train rocked from side to side as though it were about to fall apart, yet after only a few minutes it returned to calm and continued hurtling forward through the eerie silence.
“Ding-dong!”
“Congratulations, prospective players. You have completed the Preliminary Review Train instance and become official players of the Dimension Rift. Due to staff error, the train encountered a Class D incident. As an apology, each player will receive one complimentary ticket. Please check your belongings.”
“This Train 301 service will arrive at the station in ten seconds. Players, prepare to disembark.”
“Countdown begins. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!”
...
When his vision brightened again, Xu Huo found himself alone in a pure-white space. The train and everyone else had vanished. Firework effects burst around him with loud pops, and his personal interface opened before him.
[Congratulations, Player A. During this journey, you did not eat a single player. You killed one cannibal player and one ordinary player, becoming an official Black Player. Please note: the Preliminary Review Train does not possess instance functions, so you cannot obtain items belonging to players you killed.]
[Your performance during the journey has been rated Excellent, Class C. You achieved the highest overall index among the surviving players of Train 301. You will receive the new ability “Informant’s Perspective,” the item “Super Running Shoes,” the additional Class C instance-completion reward “The Arsonist’s Tools,” 2,000 white bills, eight potions, and one gift package additionally presented by the Everstar Head Chef.]
[The following data has been updated.]
[Player Nickname: Player A]
[Player Type: Black Player]
[Occupation: Player A]
[Remark: As someone who is forever on the road, his chance of becoming the protagonist is only one in ten thousand.]
[Player Level: E]
[Identification Number: 556688]
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[Evolution Rate: 7%]
[Assets: 2,000 white bills]
[Remark: How could the game fail to reward a player who can both earn and spend money?]
[Primary Abilities: 1. Legs That Never Tire; 2. Informant’s Perspective]
[Remark 1: Congratulations on developing a new ability. Player A, who always gathers information without realizing it, naturally possesses a pair of exceptionally observant eyes.]
[Items: 1. Super Running Shoes
Remark: When your speed is lacking, let the running shoes make up the difference. Work for ten minutes, then charge for an entire day. Double-tap your heels to increase your speed by 30%.
2. The Arsonist’s Tools
Remark: Besides lighting cigarettes, they can also light people. Open the lighter and say “Burn” to the target, and their clothing will ignite spontaneously. Nudists are exempt.]
[Potions: 1. Three bottles of P0 Evolution Agent
Remark: As the lowest-grade evolution agent, it can only slowly improve a player’s physical abilities. Players with an evolution rate below 10% must take at least one bottle every month. Players can obtain evolution agents by clearing games, though perhaps some are hidden in unexpected places. Oh, there is also a P1 version.
2. Two bottles of Class E Self-Healing Agent
Remark: An obsolete product used only to relieve pain.
3. Two bottles of Class E Cleaning Agent
Remark: An effective product for erasing traces, durable and extremely common among game rewards. To increase the difficulty of the game, it is even given free of charge to cannibal players as a complimentary item. It has absolutely no dignity.
4. One bottle of Class D Hair-Growth Agent
Remark: Apply it lightly to obtain the smooth, lustrous hair of your dreams. The middle-aged professor who developed it is willing to give it to every player at risk of going bald. Note: Growing hair where none exists is difficult, so its effects last only one week.]
[Gift Package: One Everstar Restaurant membership card and one ten-percent discount coupon
Remark: A gift from the head chef. Anyone who respects food deserves to be respected.]
[Ticket Holder: Clown City Station, Hot Spring Mountain City Station, Garden Castle Station
Remark: These are one-way tickets only. You must clear an instance to obtain a return ticket.]
[Prompt: Within each calendar month, players must use a ticket to board one train. If they have not entered a game before the deadline, they will be forcibly teleported to the station three hours before the time limit.]
[Countdown to Next Game: 12 days.]
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