# Chapter 16: Arrival at the Station
"I think I should go out," Professor Han said. "We're already short-handed, and having someone watch over me..."
"One more or one less person doesn't make much difference," Xu Huo said. "If those monsters only need light to activate, one person can hold the line. If not, more people won't help either."
Professor Han was still worried about mutating. Wang Xiaohui gathered her courage and said, "I'll watch over Professor Han."
"You've all seen my trait just now. Although I can't move easily, I can seal off a corner. Even if something happens to Professor Han, you'll have time to react."
The transition car wasn't safe, but Professor Han might not necessarily mutate. They couldn't send him out to die just because of that possibility.
Xu Huo had no objections. He stood by the window, waiting quietly for the darkness to arrive.
A few minutes later, the light around the train gradually disappeared. They sped along like this for about an hour before the train suddenly began to tremble. This time, it lasted longer and was more violent than the previous two nights.
Feeling the weight outside the window increase dramatically, Xu Huo couldn't help but frown. But before this storm of activity passed, a loud crash came from behind—something heavy had landed on the train car. The entire train was dragged to a halt for an instant. At the same time, the weight pressing on the tabletop receded like a tide!
Something had boarded the train!
Everyone in the car held their breath, their minds focused entirely on the screeching sound of metal twisting from behind. The transition car seemed to be getting torn apart. The rear of the entire third-class car sank slightly, and then something slammed into the back door. Under the creaking and groaning, wind seeped through the door cracks but was immediately blocked. The air in the car stalled briefly before a warm, fishy-smelling breeze slowly pushed in from behind...
"Mm..." Liu Jia squeezed out a weak sob between her fingers.
That tiny sound made the heavy thing clinging to the back door move rapidly upward, crawling along the car wall to the roof. Sharp scraping sounds rang out on the glass, then the glass shattered, accompanied by a dripping, trickling sound. Strong wind poured into the car from above. Something was moving inside the car!
The front and back doors weren't transparent, so even though the back door was twisted out of shape, Liu Jia couldn't clearly see what had caught up to the train. But the claw marks, far larger than any ordinary beast's, and the fishy wind blowing in made her instinctively terrified. She covered her mouth and closed her eyes.
But that thing was still drawn by the faint sound. When she heard the glass break, her mind went into chaos. She couldn't help opening her eyes again, only to see a huge tongue curling toward her face!
Liu Jia's courage shattered!
A hand reached from behind and covered her mouth, stifling her scream!
A piece of glass flew out of the car and struck the stone wall beside the tracks. The tongue that was almost licking Liu Jia's face jerked away abruptly, followed by the sound of stone shattering, but it was quickly left behind by the speeding train!
Xu Huo lightly pressed Liu Jia's shoulder and made a shushing gesture. Liu Jia, not caring whether he could see her, covered her mouth with both hands and nodded frantically.
Xu Huo stepped back from her and had just returned to his seat when a bright light suddenly flared up ahead of the train. Though it lasted only an instant, in this ink-like darkness, it was more dazzling than a spotlight!
In that moment, the train, which had just stabilized, began to shake violently again. It sounded like thousands of troops were thundering across the outer shell!
That massive black shadow caught up to the train once more, sweeping over the second-class car. Faint screams and cries for help were drowned out by roars and tearing sounds. The entire train swayed left and right as if it were about to fall apart. But within a few minutes, it calmed down again, racing on in eerie silence...
"Ding dong!"
"Congratulations to all preparatory players for completing the preliminary train instance and becoming official players of the Dimensional Rift. Due to staff error, the train encountered a D-level incident. As an apology, each player will receive one free ticket. Please check your inventory."
"This Train 301 will arrive at the station in ten seconds. Players, please prepare to disembark."
"Countdown begins: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!"
...
When his vision brightened again, Xu Huo found himself alone in a pure white space. The train and everyone else had vanished. Firework effects exploded around him with popping sounds. His personal panel popped open in front of him:
[Congratulations, player Passerby A. During this journey, you did not eat any player. You killed one cannibal player and one ordinary player, becoming an official black player. Note: The preliminary train does not have instance functionality, so you cannot obtain items from killed players.]
[Your performance during the journey has been rated C-level Excellent, the highest comprehensive index among surviving players of Train 301. You will receive the new trait "Insider's Perspective," the item "Super Running Shoes," the C-level instance completion bonus "Arsonist's Tool," an additional 2000 White Notes in property, eight doses of potions, and a gift pack from the Eternal Star Head Chef.]
[The following data has been updated:]
[Player Nickname: Passerby A]
[Player Type: Black Player]
[Occupation: Passerby A]
[Note: As someone forever on the road, his chance of becoming the protagonist is only one in ten thousand.]
[Player Level: E]
[ID Number: 556688]
[Evolution Rate: 7%]
[Property: 2000 White Notes]
[Note: A player who can earn and spend money—how could the game not give rewards?]
[Primary Traits: ① Legs That Never Tire; ② Insider's Perspective]
[Note 1: Congratulations on developing a new trait. A passerby who always gathers information without realizing it can't do without keen eyes.]
[Items: ① Super Running Shoes (Note: Not fast enough? Running shoes to the rescue. Work for ten minutes, charge all day. Double-tap the heels to increase speed by 30%.)
② Arsonist's Tool (Note: Besides lighting cigarettes, it can light people. Open the lighter, say "Burn" to the target, and their clothes will spontaneously combust. Excludes nudity enthusiasts.)]
[Potions: ① 3 bottles of P0 Evolution Agent (Note: As the lowest-grade evolution agent, it only allows slow physical evolution. Players with an evolution rate below 10% must take at least one bottle per month. Players can obtain evolution agents by clearing games. Of course, evolution agents might also be hidden in unexpected places. Oh, there's also a P1 version.)
② 2 bottles of E-grade Self-Healing Agent (Note: Discontinued product, only used for pain relief.)
③ 2 bottles of E-grade Cleaning Agent (Note: Highly effective for eliminating traces, durable and long-lasting, the most common game reward. To increase game difficulty, it's even given away free as a bonus to cannibal players—utterly undignified.)
④ 1 bottle of D-grade Hair Growth Agent (Note: A single light application grants the smooth, lustrous hair you've always dreamed of. The middle-aged professor who developed it is willing to give it to every player at risk of baldness. Warning: Growing hair from nothing is quite difficult, so it only has one week of effectiveness.)]
[Gift Pack: One Eternal Star Restaurant Membership Card, One 10% Discount Coupon (Note: 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 (Note: One-way tickets only. You must clear the instance to obtain a return ticket.)]
[Hint: Players must use a ticket to ride a train once per calendar month. If the time limit is exceeded without entering a game, the player will be forcibly teleported to the station three hours before the deadline.]
[Next Game Countdown: 12 days.]