Chapter 2014: Stranded
"Isn't it strange," the red-scarf female player continued, "I feel like they died so inexplicably. Not only were they willing to die, but they even broke free from the human survival instinct, showing no resistance or struggle at all."
"That's not necessarily true," the female player crouching beside the corpse pointed at their fingers. "Look, their bodies are covered in water. That means the Xenomorph's body is mostly likely made of water. Even if they struggled, it would be hard to leave any traces of trauma."
The red-scarf pointed back at the scratch marks outside the window.
"Nobody said there's only one type of Xenomorph." The female player stood up and patted her legs as she did so. "What's actually strange is that not a single person in your own carriage witnessed their deaths."
"Didn't two people see it? Too bad they both ran off." The red-scarf said flatly. "Are you trying to pick a fight by saying that?"
"Why would I?" The female player glanced at Xu Huo and then continued, "I just think that Xenomorph is too strange. Could it involve some special power, like mental interference or something?"
This might be related to the special evolution of the Xenomorph, and the special evolution of Xenomorphs is often linked to the game. Those few boxes that were brought on board were deliberately opened at night, most likely for some kind of secret experiment.
At this moment, the players who had gone to the front of the train and the back to search returned one after another. Unsurprisingly, the search yielded no results. It was unknown whether the two who had run off were killed or had changed their appearances. In any case, there was no trace. The players who had checked the front of the train told everyone that the train had been forced to stop because a section beneath the locomotive had been corroded, creating a gap. The main kinetic component of the train was destroyed, making it impossible to start again. Fortunately, the locomotive hadn't been completely penetrated, so overall, the train was still intact.
"The bad news is that the train's emergency distress system has also been destroyed. We don't know if the staff notified anyone to repair the train before they left. Players can't immediately contact the nearest Orbital Supply Department." The male player from Carriage 2 straightened his tie.
The players gathered in Carriage 2 organized the information they had gathered.
First, the train was essentially broken and couldn't move again. The only thing they could do now was wait.
Second, this attack on the train might be related to Stellar Corporation, so they should mentally prepare for the possibility that no one would come to rescue them.
Third, the murderous Xenomorph was outside the train. They had checked all the carriages and found no traces of water or the Xenomorph, and the windows were not broken.
Fourth, the two missing players from Carriage 2 and the boxes that disappeared with them could become a potential threat.
If they were just ordinary players, for their own safety, they probably wouldn't take the boxes out again. But if they had rocks in their heads or were simply working for the Star Group, then it was a different story.
Now, the front and back doors of all carriages were open, so information was shared. The worst-case scenario they currently faced might be that they were chosen as experimental subjects by the Star Group and abandoned on the tracks. If that were the case, the only thing waiting for them would be death.
"To test the Xenomorph's abilities, there's no need to kill an entire train full of players, right?" someone said. "Wouldn't achieving the experimental goal be enough? This whole train is full of high-level players."
Most of the players on this train were C-level and B-level, which is considered high in terms of player rankings. After all, excluding Super Evolvers, the top players are A-level. But how many high-level players are there in the game? Why would the Star Group care about them?
"Anyway, we should still find those two people from Carriage 2 first," the red-scarf said. "Let's check carriage by carriage. Does anyone have any objections?"
Now that they were trapped here, besides reinforcing the train, the only thing left to do was to find out where those two boxes had gone.
"Who will keep these three boxes?" the tie-wearing male player pointed at the ones Xu Huo was holding.
"Of course, he should keep them," the female player from the same carriage said. "He was the one who brought them over in the first place. He's the least likely person to open them."
Most people had no objections. Those three boxes weren't safe, so why would they want to take them?
However, a small minority still felt that keeping the boxes out in the open was unsafe. At the very least, they should be put into the luggage compartment for complete isolation. What if the boxes themselves had some special coating that could release a scent attracting Xenomorphs?
Xu Huo also acknowledged this possibility and directly pushed the boxes forward. "You can store them in your own luggage compartments."
With the boxes right in front of them, the person who had spoken hesitated. While the luggage compartment was indeed safer, the fact that the first person to get the boxes would rather hand them over than put them in his own luggage compartment inevitably raised suspicion.
In the end, the three boxes were left on the table, untouched. Someone just put a defense item over them.
Xu Huo didn't bother with the three boxes anymore. The various carriages had been repeatedly sealed off by players using items, so for the most part, the view from inside and outside was different. Although the lights were off inside the carriages, everyone was still worried about attracting the attention of the Xenomorph outside. Therefore, when replacing items, they would deliberately seal off the surroundings.
"Don't rush." He stopped a player who was about to replace an item and looked outside. The area on both sides of the tracks wasn't completely dark, so he could still make out the surrounding scenery. From this side, there was no sign of Xenomorph activity. In fact, even the water stains left by the Xenomorph earlier had completely dried up.
"Where did that Xenomorph go?" Xu Huo asked.
"Who knows?" The player he had stopped saw him step back and quickly came over to seal the window, then said, "I asked the people in Carriage 15 earlier. That Xenomorph should have moved from the front to the back of the train, then disappeared without a trace. I don't know if it's gone far."
"Honestly, I think the chances of finding the person are very slim."
"When the train stopped earlier, everyone was in chaos. The two who left Carriage 2 could easily have killed a player and taken their place. Since we're not familiar with each other, how could we possibly find them? And searching for them is completely unnecessary. It would be better to go out and find that Xenomorph."
Xu Huo turned his head. "Do you have an idea?"
The other person was about thirty years old. At this age, he possessed both the maturity honed from navigating society and the drive of someone in their prime. He said frankly, "If the Star Group is determined to use the entire train as an experiment, rather than waiting to die, it's better to take the initiative. Maybe if we kill that Xenomorph, the Star Group people will be forced to show themselves. They can't keep this track sealed forever just because their experiment failed, can they?"
"As far as I know, special instruments have been placed on the tracks. Players can move freely within a certain area near the tracks, but if they leave this range, the danger becomes unpredictable," Xu Huo said.
The relatively safe space created on both sides of the tracks was mainly to provide a travel environment for the train. Otherwise, how could such a fragile train travel through different spaces without damage?
"Besides, are you sure there's only one, or one type, of Xenomorph outside?"
(End of Chapter)