Chapter 1698: You Can't Attack the Referee in the Arena
The carriage gradually quieted down, because no one could convince anyone else, and no one could win anyone over, so all the players could only choose to keep their distance to ensure their own safety.
In this situation, no one could rest; any movement by anyone would draw sidelong glances from the others, the atmosphere remaining tense.
The first few hours passed without issue, and the front and rear carriages were also very quiet. But half an hour before the sticker doll's forecast that they would enter the active area of the xenomorphs, sounds came from the rear carriage door. With two very soft "crack" sounds, like scissors cutting through paper.
"Thud..." The rear carriage door drooped from top to bottom like a piece of cloth, followed by several small scissors flying in from the transition car. As if they could auto-target, they entered the door and, with a spin, attacked the people closest to the door.
Xu Huo, the fire-borrowing female player, and the buzz-cut player were all near the rear door. The scissors' primary targets were them, but Xu Huo had already closed the door and activated a defense barrier, completely blocking the scissors in the corridor.
However, this didn't fully stop the scissors' attack. Losing their fierce momentum, these small scissors began to unleash wind blades against the defense barrier. With "crack, crack" sounds, small cracks appeared on the barrier. But even such minor attacks caused the defense barrier to completely collapse within a few seconds, followed immediately by a flurry of needles as fine as cow hair. These needles could not only injure people but also sew a person's body directly to the objects in the carriage. In just a few seconds, the fire-borrowing female player and the buzz-cut player, whose defense barrier had been cut open, were dragged into the small compartments, their hands or feet pierced through and connected to the room's furnishings.
Xu Huo kept his room door slightly ajar. After blocking the flying scissors and needles, he controlled a Space Ray to pass through the transition car, then through the open rear carriage door, accurately locating the golden-eyed player who had initiated the attack. He turned the spot where the man was sitting into a pincushion with a Space Blade.
But this didn't truly harm the opponent. The golden-eyed player dodged, took a few steps to the middle of the corridor, and stomped his foot. An invisible force rose from the ground, forming a barrier slice that shot straight toward the front carriage. It entered and quickly turned, slicing the room door in half.
The "Inviolable Domain" barrier blocked this attack. Xu Huo also came out of the room and stood in the middle of the corridor.
The two faced each other across the transition car. Xu Huo raised his hand, using a Space Barrier to push the fire-borrowing female player, who wanted to step forward, back into her own room. "Stay out of the way," he said.
The fire-borrowing female player's expression changed slightly, but she wisely retreated along with the buzz-cut player.
People were in both the front and rear carriages. Seeing Xu Huo and the golden-eyed player fight, they all had their own thoughts, but since the battle hadn't reached its climax, no one rashly intervened.
"Your profession wouldn't happen to be a tailor, would it?" Xu Huo spoke, his tone completely different from when he participated in the carriage discussion earlier. "Scissors and needles."
The golden-eyed player was now calm and composed. "Do you think dragging this out until we get off the train will settle things?"
He examined the damaged carriage door. The path between them seemed unobstructed, but in reality, the rear door of the carriage had long been sealed with space power. No matter how small or hidden a prop was, it couldn't get through the main entrance.
"That's hard to say," Xu Huo said flatly. "Being inexplicably hunted down, even chased to the station, and unable to kill you—of course, I have to drag it out. Are you planning to follow me off the train?"
"The thing I want is on you," the golden-eyed player stated his purpose clearly. "I must get it."
"Is it that important to you?" Xu Huo scrutinized him. "I doubt it. You probably don't even know what's inside."
"I don't, but it's worth fifty million white notes," the golden-eyed player said, intentionally or not. "I was entrusted to bring the item back."
The number "fifty million white notes" made the players behind Xu Huo's breath catch, and they all focused their attention on him.
But Xu Huo didn't care. "You won't get it. At least, not from me."
The golden-eyed player slightly raised his right hand, and a long blade as tall as a person stood by his side. He gripped the handle and said, "Then I'll have to kill you first and then find your friend."
Xu Huo wasn't as murderous. He spoke in a negotiating tone, "Since you say this thing is worth fifty million, how about I give you fifty million white notes, and you turn around and leave?"
The golden-eyed player narrowed his eyes. "Have you ever heard of a bounty hunter abandoning a mission midway? No one can make me break that precedent."
"Then there's no other way," Xu Huo said, pulling out his Black Blade. At the same time, the buzz-cut player not far from him was pierced through by several invisible Space Blades. The spurt of blood somewhat revealed the traces of the Space Blades, but it quickly splattered all over the floor.
"Next time you want to ambush someone, don't make so many small moves," he said without turning his head, also a warning to the other players in the carriage.
"Calm down, calm down," the hat-wearing player stood up again with a smile. "Why not let me..."
Unfortunately, before he could finish, both Xu Huo and the golden-eyed player in the rear carriage simultaneously put on noise-canceling headphones. They hadn't suffered a loss at the station, and they certainly wouldn't on the train.
Seeing their actions, the other players in the carriage followed suit, preparing their defenses.
The hat-wearing player said helplessly, "I just wanted to be a referee. Why is it so hard? Since you're going to fight anyway, what's wrong with having a witness?"
No one could hear him, and no one bothered to read his lips, so no one responded.
But the hat-wearing player didn't mind. He eagerly took out a whistle and blew it. The next second, two streams of smoke, one black and one red, seeped out from under his feet, quickly spreading along the carriage floor and occupying at least two or more carriages.
The red concentrated on the golden-eyed player's side, and the black on Xu Huo's side. With the center line of the transition car as the boundary, the two sides were divided into different areas. The hat-wearing player teleported from the center of the front carriage to the transition car, raising his hand as if saying something.
Neither Xu Huo nor the golden-eyed player listened. When the hat-wearing player moved to the transition car, they both wielded their weapons and clashed. However, unexpectedly, they were stopped in the middle!
More precisely, they were blocked by an invisible barrier at the center line. The weapons they held were both A-grade props, yet they didn't cause any damage to the barrier in the middle!
Almost at the same moment the attack proved ineffective, the two of them, without any prior agreement, turned and charged at the hat-wearing player!
With two muffled "bang" sounds, their props stopped half a meter away from the hat-wearing player, also blocked by an invisible barrier.
The hat-wearing player said to them, enunciating clearly, "It's common sense that you can't attack the referee in the arena."
(Chapter End)