Chapter 1890: Head Prairie
Xu Huo took two steps back and soon pressed against the carriage wall, while Natural Curls held a double blade in front of him, lowering his voice to say, "You might not have much experience, but it's best not to use overly powerful weapons when fighting on the train. Otherwise, if the train gets damaged, everyone will be screwed along with it."
"Look at the others—they're all holding back."
"Is that so?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow slightly, pushing forward with his hand, and the Tangent embedded itself in the air in place of the Space Ray Blade, closing in on Natural Curls.
"Creak... creak..." The Tangent was blocked by several floating metal plates, and the two items strained against each other, making a groaning sound under the pressure, but neither advanced an inch. As they were deadlocked, the interference from other players' item effects caused several items to collide, mutually neutralizing their functions.
However, the battle didn't end. The players who had been separated by the item effects drew closer again, fighting in the cramped space while trying not to damage the carriage as much as possible.
Everyone was holding back their combat power, and with items too densely packed and interfering with each other, the fight couldn't be resolved quickly. Players near the front and rear carriage doors intended to spread people out a bit, but before they could act, the train's broadcast suddenly rang out:
"Attention all passengers. Based on feedback from the detection system, the train will encounter a B-class risk level xenomorph migration event within five minutes. It is estimated that tens of thousands of xenomorphs will cross the tracks, covering the train for approximately three minutes."
"Please note that this xenomorph group is not a single species. High-risk level xenomorphs account for more than one-third. Passengers are advised not to turn on lights, not to make sounds, and not to move freely within the carriages, as this could easily trigger an attack on the train."
The announcement was made three times, but from the moment it started, the players in the carriage consciously stopped their actions, because unless there was a major problem, the train generally wouldn't broadcast at night.
After the announcement ended, a player couldn't help but curse, "Can't these xenomorphs just line up and pass through the tracks?"
In truth, everyone knew that the xenomorphs appearing near the tracks had likely learned the train's patterns, so they habitually spread out along the rails. Otherwise, given the train's speed, it wouldn't be completely covered every time it encountered a xenomorph group.
This time was clearly the same situation.
The carriage fell silent for another moment, then Natural Curls spoke up, "Since that's the case, how about we temporarily cease hostilities? Whether there's a grudge or someone covets another's items, we need to stay alive to continue. If we get stranded on the tracks, with no village or inn in sight, wouldn't that be even more troublesome?"
"Makes sense," someone agreed, voluntarily stepping back and putting away their weapon.
With someone taking the lead, the rest also backed off to show sincerity, especially the players from the front carriage, who directly retreated into the transition car.
In the silence, the players used their items to reinforce the train's walls, standing ready through those five minutes. As a rumbling sound like thousands of troops trampling suddenly descended, everyone on the train clearly felt the vehicle lurch to a halt—not as if slowed by heavy weight, but as if it had gotten stuck!
The train seemed about to stop, and everyone's hearts sank, but after a few seconds of stalling, it started moving again, though cracks appeared on the carriage walls.
Not all items could perfectly protect the windows, so when cracks formed, players couldn't help but worry. The train had warned against moving inside the carriage—movement wouldn't just produce sound; it meant some individual xenomorphs in the group were especially sensitive to vibrations. They might be able to distinguish between the train's own vibrations and those caused by people moving inside. If window glass shattered, it would be hard to avoid attracting the xenomorphs' attention.
Without needing to communicate, players spontaneously divided into areas for defense. Fortunately, they were lucky—the train windows didn't break, holding out until the trampling sounds ended.
After the trampling ceased, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but since the train didn't broadcast, they weren't sure if all the xenomorphs outside had disappeared. So they maintained their positions until dawn.
When daylight came, everyone on the train finally relaxed. They withdrew their items and looked at the cracks on the windows, finding that some areas could be reconstructed into huge footprints.
"No way, these footprints are at least twice the size of an elephant's," a player measured. "There are xenomorphs this big?"
"Any animal can mutate. What if it's an elephant that mutated?" another said, then couldn't help complaining, "I really wonder what these trains are made of—can't they even withstand being stepped on?"
This was a common complaint; the rail trains themselves were another way to reduce the number of players.
Because of the previous night's xenomorph incident, the players had lost their edge from yesterday. Everyone wanted to rest, and the players in Xu Huo's carriage ultimately couldn't find the marked player, so they gave up.
The daytime journey was relatively peaceful. Apart from exchanging a few words while reinforcing the windows with items, players minded their own business to avoid a repeat of yesterday's events.
But the day passed safely. When night fell and the lights went out, the space outside the tracks was unusually bright. Two moons hung high on either side, their pale light clearly illuminating the surroundings.
And because everything was so clear, when the train passed through a prairie, everyone immediately saw the heads thrown into the grass.
Not just one or two heads, but patches of them—men's, women's, long-haired, short-haired, some just starting to swell, others already rotted through to the bone, or reduced to white skeletons. These heads were scattered messily in the grass, but all were eerily facing the tracks. Judging from the "fresher" heads, the neck wounds appeared to be from animal bites.
Though the weeds stood tall like rice stalks, subtle movements within the grass suggested hidden animals. The people on the train remained silent until they left the head prairie behind, only then seeing goat-like xenomorph heads sneakily emerge from the grass far from the tracks.
"They... are they fishing for people?" Square Face said. "The train never stops while moving. Who are they fishing for?"
"Who said there's never anyone near the tracks?" Natural Curls replied. "Maybe these eerie zones close to the rails are part of high-risk random instances."
"At the very least, there are track maintenance workers from the Game Government. They do this because it's worked before." (Chapter End)