Chapter 1191: Deliberate Provocation
Xu Huo's table had four people seated: himself, Ye Bingxin, the buzz-cut player, and a middle-aged man.
When the two players said that, the four of them only lifted their heads to glance at them. The middle-aged man, whose face was half-buried in his collar, raised his head, revealing a chin covered in burn scars, and said to the two, "Can you switch to another car?"
The man's voice was damaged, speaking hoarsely and unpleasantly, but the tone combined with his expression carried a certain deterrent effect, making the two players feel a bit more cautious.
The two simply walked away, not because of the middle-aged man's words, but because someone in the car ahead was calling them—their companions.
They didn't go far; they stood in the transition car talking to their friends, glancing back and forth at the cars in front and behind multiple times.
"I have a bad feeling," the hat-wearing player said in a low voice.
Not long after, the two players returned to the car, along with two more companions. The four of them found a table, sat down, ordered a full spread of food, and devoured it ravenously, completely indifferent to the stares around them.
Clearly, the hat-wearing player's premonition was correct. These people had originally been scattered across different cars, but after meeting, they gathered their members into two separate cars, with one car in between as a buffer.
Only one car separated the two groups.
Even a fool could sense the tense atmosphere in the car. The male player whom Ye Bingxin had divined might die on this train left the car before lights-out and hid alone in the transition car.
Although the other players didn't retreat, they had all taken precautions in advance. The hat-wearing player, in particular, seemed very worried about a repeat of the previous night's events and sealed the windows with mechanical props beforehand.
The beautiful scenery outside was blocked by a thin metal wall, and the light inside the car dimmed early. The players' gazes were more focused on the four who had arrived later.
Those four players had numerical tattoos on the backs of their hands: "2," "15," "7," and "11." After eating, they leaned against the table to sleep, showing no concern for what was happening in the car. But after lights-out, the four suddenly woke up, stretched their bodies, and stood up. Two moved forward, and two moved backward.
Just as everyone was guessing what they were about to do, the two heading backward used props to open the door of the car behind them and tossed a lighting prop inside!
The transition car was instantly illuminated brightly, and after throwing the prop, the two calmly returned to their car—at this point, the train had not yet passed through the mutant gathering area, but as they closed the car door, a rumbling sound came from both sides of the tracks!
The faces of everyone on the train changed, but it wasn't over, because the car ahead suddenly lit up with a blinding light as well!
"Are you crazy..." The hat-wearing player's shout was cut off as the train shuddered violently under impact, and then both the front and rear cars were overwhelmed simultaneously!
The mutant siege from the previous night repeated itself, and tonight the number of mutants was clearly greater, almost instantly engulfing the entire train!
The players in the front and rear cars began fighting the mutants, and even the transition car wasn't spared. No one knew what had happened to the male player who had hidden in the back. Before the mutants boarded, there was some banging on the car door, but it was quickly drowned out by the dense sounds of impact. It was likely his fate wouldn't be good—if unlucky, he might already be dead; if lucky, he might have been thrown off the train, only to be abandoned on the tracks, equally unlikely to survive.
However, this didn't mean the car not under mutant attack was safe. While the other players were distracted by the mutants, the four tattooed players made their move, targeting Xu Huo's table first!
Number 2 struck first, splitting their table in two, separating the four of them, and then attacking in pairs. Number 11 dropped a bell prop on the ground, which, despite its seemingly small effect, produced an unbearable noise that temporarily deafened most players in the car—this move was quite effective, as not every player had evolved night vision, and some still relied on props to see in the dark.
These people worked in perfect coordination, first disabling the players' hearing, then detonating several colored balls in the car to disrupt vision, successfully achieving a surprise attack.
However, while this tactic caught other players off guard, it didn't mean it could truly incapacitate them. Even without sight or hearing, D-level players still had some environmental perception... but the problem was that this was a D-level train, carrying mostly D-level players. They were already a full level below C-level players, and the disparity in strength plunged the car's players into a bitter struggle.
Meanwhile, the four tattooed players, while separately engaging Xu Huo and his group, also killed two others in the gaps.
Number 2 wiped the blood off his blade and grinned viciously at Xu Huo and Ye Bingxin, "I know you two are C-level players too. Why hide it on this train?"
Xu Huo didn't even blink at the overwhelming few, "High-level players deliberately disrupting the order of a low-level train—aren't you afraid of being wanted? Or are you already wanted criminals?"
Number 2 laughed heartily, "You guessed it. So what if we're wanted? Do you think the train staff care about player lives?"
"Seeing how confident you are, you must have thoroughly studied the types of mutants this train encounters, otherwise you wouldn't dare use this method of luring mutant hordes to reduce player numbers."
"But there's one thing I'm curious about—you don't seem mentally unstable. Even if you lure the mutants here, you can't gain any benefit from the killed players. What's the point of this?"
This blatant mockery darkened Number 2's expression. He wiped his blade with his sleeve and said sinisterly, "I'll tell you after I kill you..."
Before he could finish, he was slammed against the window by an invisible force. Thanks to his defensive prop, the blade formed by spatial rays couldn't kill him instantly. Number 2, experienced in combat, immediately used props to break free. As he retreated, he pressed his ten fingers downward, triggering the prop rope blades he had pre-set in the car, which snapped back and forth, "Sh-sh-sh" as they slashed toward Xu Huo!
Unfortunately, these props broke apart a meter away from him. Xu Huo reached out and flicked the air, smiling slightly, "You use threads, and I use threads too."
Number 2's face changed drastically, and without a second word, he turned to flee. But before he could take two steps, he was sliced into pieces by the tangents filling the car. At that moment, Xu Huo also warned the others, "Please stay where you are, or face the consequences."
Number 11, seeing his companion killed, didn't care about anything else and raised his hand to throw a prop. But the moment he lifted his arm, it automatically severed into two pieces, falling to the car floor one after the other.
(End of Chapter)