Chapter 469: Hunter and Prey
However, this was only a prelude. The xenomorphs that had been attracted to the train by the lights earlier had not directly attacked the train itself, but after the carriage ruptured, those xenomorphs seemed to be awakened by the true light and began frantically smashing the windows!
The relatively sturdy window glass didn't last long under the xenomorphs' assault. Within a few seconds, the windows of several carriages were all broken!
The xenomorphs madly tore at Weiwei's parents' scroll prop, looking like countless grotesque freaks struggling desperately behind a thin film—shocking and horrifying—but they failed to tear through the prop.
The second carriage was much calmer, because a layer of metal blocked the outside. Aside from the initial strike, the xenomorphs now couldn't tear through the metal, only leaving some scratch marks on the surface.
The players in these two carriages were relatively composed and hadn't panicked due to the swarm of xenomorphs. The only one truly frightened was Dr. Deng, who crouched behind Xu Huo, repeatedly calling out Lawrence Li's name, trying to strike up a conversation across the carriages to get him to help.
Weiwei sneered coldly: "Lawrence Li is famous for killing people based on his mood. Would he help you? If he doesn't find you noisy and come over to kill you, that's already a mercy!"
But no one expected that Lawrence Li actually made a move. In the blink of an eye, all the frenzied, howling xenomorphs fell silent, replaced by a torrent of liquid splattering against the scroll. From inside the carriage, it was clear that the scroll was completely stained red!
"Thank you! Thank you!" Dr. Deng shouted gratefully.
"Deliberately luring the xenomorphs here and then killing them—isn't that... a bit of a waste of effort!" Weiwei held back for a moment before saying.
What she wanted to say was also what everyone else was thinking, but no one dared to say it outright.
"Mr. Li, there's no need for further testing now, is there?" In the second carriage, a man with a neck tattoo, one of the escorts, stepped forward and spoke toward the front of the train: "No matter how many xenomorphs you lure here, you won't deplete many of our props. Backed by Stellar Pharmaceuticals, we transport personnel have an endless supply of props."
After he finished speaking, he waited for Lawrence Li's reply, but half a minute passed with no response.
Probably feeling a bit awkward, the tattooed man raised his voice again: "Why not fight face to face? Save everyone's time!"
The only response he got was still silence.
"Pfft!" Weiwei laughed unceremoniously, drawing a cold glare from the tattooed man. When their eyes met, the next second, the tattooed man suddenly reached out and grabbed in front of his face, snatching a smoke-like insect out of thin air and crushing it. Then, sneering, he reached toward Weiwei...
"I think everyone can calm down a bit? Don't you want to know Lawrence Li's purpose?" Xu Huo spoke quickly, causing the tattooed man, who was about to deal with him as well, to pause.
"You know?"
"I can guess." Xu Huo smiled slightly. "If his goal were your personal belongings, he wouldn't need to lure xenomorphs. Ordinary xenomorphs wouldn't be a match for you anyway, and it's not like he lacks strength—he wouldn't need to wear down your combat power in advance."
"That makes sense." Weiwei chimed in beside him. "Then why is he here? To kill people?"
"Maybe it's for the xenomorphs," Xu Huo said.
"Xenomorphs?" Everyone was puzzled, and only Dr. Deng asked: "What value do xenomorphs have?"
"It can't just be for fun killing, right?" Weiwei added.
"Of course not," Xu Huo said. "Turning on the lights and music are both methods to attract xenomorphs. He should be searching for a specific type of xenomorph."
An empty train alone couldn't lure that many xenomorphs. In fact, they were acting as bait—that was certain—but what Lawrence Li's real goal was, he was just saying casually. The main thing was to stabilize these two groups.
"What kind of xenomorph?" the tattooed man pressed.
"That, I don't know," Xu Huo said. "Based on common sense, it should be related to his legs. After all, when one's strength reaches a certain level, even the best props or traits don't mean much."
"Are there methods on xenomorphs to treat post-evolution aftereffects?" Dr. Deng expressed doubt. "I've never heard of that."
"If a player with aftereffects is like a half-rotten piece of bread, then a xenomorph is a whole piece that's moldy and stinking. They're covered in viruses from head to toe. Researching them is extremely difficult and has very low value, let alone using them to treat illnesses!"
This was quite persuasive. The escorts from Stellar Pharmaceuticals also had some medical knowledge and agreed more with Dr. Deng's words.
"There's no need to talk to him anymore," the player beside the coffin box said to the tattooed man.
"Although I haven't studied medicine, don't you think the limbs of xenomorphs are somewhat similar to post-evolution aftereffects?"
Xu Huo explained slowly: "Game data shows that xenomorphs have very short lifespans because their bodies are full of toxins. But after they xenomorphize, certain genes mutate, and the limbs that take on animal characteristics become exceptionally strong."
"Their limbs also aren't covered in large amounts of muscle."
He was referring to the kind of xenomorph encountered on the initial trial train—long, thin limbs, but lacking neither strength nor speed.
"That sounds quite reasonable." Weiwei rested her chin on her hand. "But uncle, xenomorphs only develop those traits because they've degenerated, and they die soon after. Can they really be used on people?"
"No, no, no. If your theory were feasible, someone would have done it long ago." Dr. Deng's knowledge framework was under attack, and he waved his hands repeatedly.
At this point, Xu Huo employed the subtle brushwork of a schemer: "If xenomorphs were completely useless, why would the Game Government allow them to occupy some game zones? For a bit of economic value? Or just to serve as random instances?"
"Random instances aren't always set in xenomorph worlds," Weiwei said, as if convinced.
Xu Huo didn't care whether they believed him or not. He just wanted to shift their attention to the xenomorphs. If he could attach the label "something Lawrence Li has gone to great lengths to find," then the truth or falsehood of his words wouldn't matter much.
"What you've said has made me curious." After a brief silence, Weiwei's mother smiled at everyone and said: "Since there aren't many people left on the train anyway, why don't we all wait and see?"
The others tacitly agreed to her suggestion and returned to their original positions.
Soon, there was another tremor in the air, as if a layer of air waves had been pushed out of nowhere.
Within a dozen seconds, another swarm of xenomorphs came charging from afar toward the train, the rumbling sound like a herd of galloping horses!
"Could you really have called it right?" Dr. Deng pressed against the scroll, trying to see what was happening outside. At that moment, Weiwei's mother said: "My prop probably can't hold back this many xenomorphs."
Xu Huo also didn't have a defense prop of such a large area, so he said to the tattooed man: "Can we enter your carriage?"
The tattooed man looked back at the man holding the coffin box. After the latter nodded, he let Xu Huo and Dr. Deng enter.
(Chapter End)