Chapter 2018: Highest Survival Rate
What attracted the xenomorph was clearly not the blood on the protective suits, because there were quite a few injured players on the train, but the three who were killed were not originally injured.
If that water-like thing that flickered and disappeared was a xenomorph, it apparently lacked both smell and sight, yet it could accurately find the protective suits. Since there were no traces of moving water around, it was likely that it had a unique reaction to similar traces.
Xu Huo turned to the fortune-telling female player who had followed him again and said, "Ask the second car if anyone else has touched the water on the xenomorph's body, including those who changed protective suits or used cleaning agents."
Upon hearing this, the fortune-telling female player immediately headed toward the second car.
Actually, the doors between the cars were all open, so there was no need for her to relay the message, but the others were more concerned about Xu Huo's intention in asking this.
"Could it be that the xenomorph uses the water on them to choose its targets?" the red headscarf frowned and said. "We don't know if the two who died in the second car touched the boxes, but no one in the seventh car should have touched them."
Earlier, when they were gathering information, everyone had already learned that there were only five boxes brought onto the train—two in the second car and three taken by Xu Huo.
"Could the person who died in the seventh car be one of the two who originally left the second car?" the flat-top asked.
This statement made people even more displeased, because when the seventh car had been counting people earlier, the players there had confirmed that no one had entered their car after lights out. Moreover, the other dead player wasn't wearing any appearance-altering props or masks.
The player blocking the window quickly explained, "There are quite a few people in the seventh car too. It's not like they would cover for a complete stranger, right? Maybe this person is a Super Evolver who can reshape their own face?"
Changing appearance without tools had already been achieved in the current game world. It was generally done by self-controlled Super Evolvers, whose evolution was directed toward mastery of their own bodies, altering obvious features like facial structure, skin color, or even evolving abilities like poison resistance or poison generation. The player who died in the seventh car might have been that type.
"Regardless of whether this person was originally from the second car, let's get back to the xenomorph matter," the veterinarian said. "Who else has touched the boxes? Those who touched the bodies are also included."
Xu Huo, the fortune-telling female player, and a male player from the same car with a skull tattoo on the back of his hand had all touched the boxes.
The red headscarf, the tie-wearing man, and two other male players from the original second car had examined the bodies, cleaned themselves with cleaning agents, and put on protective suits and face masks.
In the seventh car, the additions included the bearded man who had participated in the dissection, the player blocking the window, and the yellow-haired player who had stepped in the water flowing from the bodies.
The white-suited man and several other players had opened the boxes together, but none of them had directly touched the boxes.
"I handled the surgical kit you used," the veterinarian belatedly recalled. When he had packed it up, he hadn't cleaned it and had just stuffed it into the luggage compartment. So he quickly changed his protective suit.
Everyone else who had touched the boxes, without exception, even those who had already washed their hands, all changed their protective suits again and used high-grade cleaning agents for extra measure.
"Don't throw away the changed protective suits," Xu Huo called out to stop the window-blocking player and the bearded man. He had them put the intact suits on the three corpses, treated two of the suits with cleaning agents, and deliberately rubbed the remaining one in the water on the floor.
At the same time, the players also cleared out the second and seventh cars. Since the front was too crowded, they expanded backward by two cars to ensure enough people could observe the corpses from another direction.
As for the boxes, they were still placed in the second car—one was covered with a prop, and the other two were locked.
Of course, at this point, it wasn't just the three corpses and the boxes that were being isolated. Xu Huo and the others also became targets of suspicion for the other players, who were not only worried about being implicated by them but also feared that they might drag others down due to their own predicament.
Xu Huo voluntarily proposed going to the eleventh car. This wasn't a discussion with the others; after saying it, he opened the door and walked to the back on his own.
The remaining red headscarf and the others, though also isolated, joined forces with the bearded man and others, making their numbers considerable. Since the others didn't dare to confront them head-on, they successfully stayed in the tenth car, while the players who had originally planned to stay in the tenth car were forced to squeeze into the ninth.
"Are you planning to stay alone in the eleventh car?" the red headscarf asked Xu Huo.
The eleventh car didn't even have any protective measures. Xu Huo leaned against the sofa in the middle of the car, looking somewhat tired, and said, "My situation is different."
The red headscarf thought he was referring to the dissection. After a moment of implicit silence, she said, "Then be careful. I'm going to close the door."
"Wait," the fortune-telling female player suddenly spoke up. Before the door closed, she jumped into the transition car and walked into the eleventh car with a smile. "The air is better here. I'll stay here."
Since she was willing to go, no one objected, and the doors between the front and back cars were closed.
"Is your trait accurate?" Xu Huo asked the person sitting across from him.
"Not a hundred percent, but ninety percent," the fortune-telling female player said confidently. "This is how I've survived until now."
Xu Huo smiled. "Then what do you think of the man in the white suit?"
The fortune-telling female player raised an eyebrow. "He's the same as you."
This was a very vague concept. It could mean they had the same lifespan, or it could mean that, compared to the others on the train, both of them had very long lives.
"On this train, he's one of the top-tier strong players," Xu Huo said calmly. It wasn't just because of the other's higher evolution rate, but also his intuition. "Strength is the basis for your judgment of a player's lifespan."
"But strength is relative. Sometimes someone who looks stronger doesn't necessarily live longer. The eleventh car has only one person, while the tenth car has ten players. Obviously, the tenth car is safer, yet you unhesitatingly chose the eleventh car. This shows that, beyond strength, your trait might also assist with a certain probability judgment—judging that, in the current environment, my survival rate is higher. That's why you gave up the tenth car and chose the eleventh."
"Lifespan is just a vague and misleading term."
Going a step further, perhaps even the game itself couldn't calculate a player's lifespan, let alone a trait evolved by a player.
After hearing this, the fortune-telling female player leaned forward onto the table, propping her chin with one hand and staring intently at Xu Huo. "A capable man is really charming. I'd love to invite you home for tea."
Seeing that Xu Huo didn't respond, she leaned back into her chair. "You've guessed most of it. And I can tell you part of the basis for the survival probability judgment. I think you've already figured it out."
"Since the xenomorph excels at mental attacks, and on this train, your evolution rate isn't the highest, such a high survival rate can only be due to Mental Super Evolution."
The life of not having to code every day is really great, hahaha! Expect a return to normal updates around New Year's Day! O(∩_∩)O
(Chapter End)