Chapter 465: Experimental Sample Transport
Vivian stopped taking out her anger on the cake, but her face had clearly turned ugly as she coldly stared at the woman across from her.
The woman didn't mind, curling her fingers to take a sip of tea before saying, "Be obedient."
The man across from her took the knife from Vivian's hand. "Children shouldn't play with such dangerous things."
Vivian said nothing, but soon her complexion returned to rosy, and she became happy again, cheerfully wandering around the carriage before heading to the one behind.
With two doors separating them, no voices could be heard, but Xu Huo sensed that she had gone to three different players, standing briefly before each before quickly moving on, then heading to the next carriage.
However, the players in this carriage were clearly not as easygoing. Soon she was chased out and escorted back by two players from the second carriage.
The little girl's skirt was stained with blood. The players from the second carriage said to her parents, "Better not let the child wander around. There are a few cannibal players in the third carriage. It's not safe for her to go over there so young."
"That's right. Some cannibal players specifically target young girls," another chimed in.
"We're truly grateful to you." The woman stood up to thank them and politely offered to treat them to a meal, but the two declined, instead giving Vivian some food and small toys.
Anyone with sound mind and judgment could see something was wrong here.
Last night, this couple had nearly wiped out all the players in the second carriage. Today, they were conversing so amiably, even showing goodwill toward a girl who was clearly a player—judging by their expressions, it seemed genuine.
The two parties clearly didn't know each other. Even without last night's slaughter, this scene shouldn't have occurred.
After the two players left, Vivian happily played with the things they'd given her and showed them off to Xu Huo. "Uncle, look, isn't this fun? So adults are different from other adults too."
Adults were different from adults, and children weren't necessarily the same either.
Xu Huo ignored her, put on his eye mask, and caught up on sleep.
By afternoon, more players boarded the train. The second carriage alone had ten new arrivals. These people carried a metal box resembling a coffin, with two of them somehow having their hands fused to the coffin using some unknown method. The other eight sat or stood around it in a circle.
"These people don't seem simple," Dr. Deng remarked, eyeing their clothes.
The ten wore similar outfits. The last time such a group appeared was the Orbital Supply Department of the Game Government.
"Who are they?" Vivian asked curiously.
Xu Huo's expression shifted slightly as he replied, "Probably some player organization."
"They're so strange, carrying a coffin around."
Ordinary items could be stored in the luggage compartment. If something couldn't be stored, it was either a corpse or a living creature.
"I'll go ask!" Vivian said, about to head out, but at that moment, one of the players stood up and sealed the front door of the carriage—the metal panels on both sides of the windows automatically grew toward the center, blocking the view, and then the door frame melted and re-formed, completely sealing the entrance.
Vivian stood in the transition car, staring wide-eyed, and had to retreat.
Inside the carriage, her father spoke up. "Don't run around everywhere. What if they hurt you?"
"Then you kill them," Vivian said, sitting down and resting her chin on her hands. "I want to know what's inside that thing."
The two adults looked disapproving, while the other four players were admiring the scenery outside the window, seemingly paying no attention to the second carriage.
They were putting on quite an act.
When those ten people boarded, this group had briefly shown intense focus, their gazes involuntarily fixed on the coffin.
Simple curiosity and a few extra glances weren't a problem, but deliberately looking away only made them more suspicious.
Dr. Deng suddenly shot him a meaningful look.
Xu Huo understood, grabbed his cigarettes, and headed for the crew-only passage.
Dr. Deng followed him out. "Use that soundproofing item of yours again."
"Go ahead," Xu Huo said, glancing at Vivian, who was peering through the doorway.
Dr. Deng cautiously covered his mouth and nose with the gesture of smoking, then said, "That group might be armed transport personnel from Stellar Pharmaceuticals."
Xu Huo took a drag of his cigarette. "The company that developed the game?"
"Exactly." Dr. Deng took a deep breath. "On the surface, Stellar Pharmaceuticals is a legitimate pharmaceutical company, but many of their projects use live human subjects."
Xu Huo wasn't surprised by this. So many xenomorphs were excellent research samples themselves, and with mutated samples, normal human samples would naturally be needed too.
"Armed transport usually means very important experimental samples. It might even be a living person." Dr. Deng looked anxious. "These strange players in first class are most likely after the experimental samples. There might be more players boarding later."
"What terrible luck. Why did we have to run into this?"
"Can't we just not get involved?" Xu Huo asked.
Dr. Deng's expression was strained. "There's a good chance things will go sideways."
"You know what's outside the tracks. Open, empty areas are the best-case scenario. If there's a xenomorph swarm..."
"Then we're in big trouble." Xu Huo's expression darkened. Tickets might not work near the tracks. Even if they didn't encounter a swarm, they could still face oxygen deprivation, radiation poisoning, or food shortages. And if the tickets were unusable, the random instance three months later might not even transport them there.
"Maybe it won't be that bad," Xu Huo said. "Even if someone wants to steal the samples, they'll at least need to ensure they can leave."
"I worked at Stellar Pharmaceuticals before. The probability of a train wreck with casualties isn't low." Dr. Deng's expression was bitter.
Xu Huo knew what he was thinking—nothing but regret for boarding this train.
"People can't predict the future. Another train might not be any better than this one."
He paused, then called over a conductor to ask if there were any empty carriages.
"The tail car and the sixth carriage are empty."
Xu Huo gave him some money. "Could you do me a small favor?"
He stated his request, but the conductor said he'd need to ask the head chef first.
A few minutes later, the conductor returned. Using the excuse of inviting passengers to sample new dishes, he gathered the remaining players from the seventh and eighth carriages into the sixth carriage, with Xu Huo covering the meal costs.
This was already an unexpected bonus for Xu Huo, so he went to the rear carriages and made some simple preparations.
Dr. Deng was waiting for him up front. When he saw Xu Huo return, he asked anxiously, "Do you really have a plan?"
Xu Huo glanced at him. "If you don't, can you jump off the train?"
Dr. Deng was at a loss for words.
The two walked back, only to run into Vivian's father, who was also heading toward the rear carriages.
Xu Huo glanced at him but said nothing, nor did he turn back to see which carriage he was going to.
Dr. Deng couldn't help but look back, only to see that player staring at them, which made him hurry forward.
"He didn't enter a carriage," Dr. Deng whispered to Xu Huo.
Xu Huo had expected as much. The other party must have learned from the conductor that the rear carriages had been cleared. Since Xu Huo had spent money, he certainly wouldn't do nothing. To be safe, that player wouldn't rashly step inside.
(Chapter End)