Chapter 814: The Staff's Unique Skill
The scenery near the tracks was almost unchanging—no wind, no sounds of any animals or plants, beautiful and still like a blueprint.
By this time, it was nearly eight in the evening. The darkness near the tracks didn’t follow a normal sunset or sunrise process; the transition from day to night could happen in an instant.
“Do you think there will be Xenomorphs here after dark?” a female player asked.
“Probably not,” someone said. “Isn’t this area all water? Unless the Xenomorphs can swim or have fish-like functions. But as far as I know, Xenomorphs that have degenerated to this level aren’t very strong in combat.”
“Regardless, we shouldn’t light any lamps at night,” the old man in the same car as Xu Huo said. “That way, everyone stays safe.”
No one objected.
In less than twenty minutes, the bright sky suddenly darkened, transitioning to complete darkness within a few seconds.
“It’s so dark,” Yan Jiayu said.
It was pitch black, to the point where even players could only judge others’ positions by their breathing or the airflow stirred by movement. To avoid unnecessary conflict, everyone chose to stay where they were.
Xu Huo was on the edge. To his and Yan Jiayu’s left were the male players who had been playing cards in their car earlier. Since they had left early, they occupied the middle of the three-car section, and all of them had survived.
To the right were the old man and the knitting woman, then the two female players, and beyond them were people from other cars. The injured player and the middle-aged woman were in the middle.
After what had happened earlier, everyone naturally assumed the middle was safer than the edges, so the center was more crowded, while the sides were sparse.
The tracks weren’t much wider than a train car. Sitting back-to-back or face-to-face wasn’t very safe, so most chose the center of the tracks, not allowing other players to come from front or back.
Looking ahead along the tracks, Xu Huo saw a female player take out a piece of dried meat to eat.
The chewing sounds and faint smell drew the attention of those nearby. Some players instinctively looked in her direction. The female player noticed and smiled, saying, “Is anyone hungry?”
It was normal for Cannibal Players to be on the train. Even if someone felt righteous, they couldn’t attack her now. Everyone remained silent. The female player snorted and continued eating on her own.
But soon, two or three people in the group changed their expressions, showing greedy, intoxicated looks at those sitting near them in the darkness.
Within a few minutes, the atmosphere became tense.
“Clack!” With a sound, a light suddenly appeared in the middle of the tracks. The intense illumination instantly covered a radius of nearly a hundred meters. The train conductor, who had used a lighting item, patted the lamp and said, “Everyone, don’t worry. There are no Xenomorphs nearby. The environment in this space the tracks pass through is extremely harsh. Even Xenomorphs that can cannibalize each other would starve to death here. The light won’t bring any danger.”
A player suddenly stood up. “You say that, but what if some Xenomorphs haven’t died off? If you really attract them, are you going to drag us all to our deaths?”
The other players didn’t speak, because the staff beside the train conductor all turned to look at the male player.
“Idiot. Risking your life for a bite to eat,” a player wearing a skull-patterned cap mocked.
The train conductor surely knew the situation around the tracks better than the players. Since they couldn’t leave, daring to turn on the lights confidently meant there was no risk, or the risk was small enough for them to handle. Under such circumstances, turning on the lights kept everyone safe. What was the point of objecting? Wasn’t it self-incriminating?
“What did you say!” The player turned around.
“I said you’re an idiot,” the cap-wearing player said with a laugh. “No one else objects to the lights. You’re the only one making a fuss. Are you trying to do something while no one can see? Or are you so hungry you’ve lost your mind?”
A pink-haired female player nearby looked up from her game. “Cannibal Players better keep their tails between their legs. Haven’t you learned that by now?”
The player sneered and raised his finger toward the pink-haired girl. It wasn’t clear what item he used, but a pink bubble barrier rose beside her. The barrier was struck by an invisible force, forming a small vortex. The next moment, iron cones shot up from the ground, piercing through the male player’s feet!
The male player screamed, then pulled out his feet. With both hands, he grabbed four different small items and was about to throw them at the pink-haired girl when a transparent cylinder covered with water droplets descended from behind and sealed him in. Like gel, the male player was trapped inside, standing still like a mannequin. His eyes barely moved to the side, and then blood spurted from his entire body, turning him from a whole person into a blood-soaked figure covered in bubbles.
It looked like he had been crushed flat.
The transparent cylinder was retracted. Standing behind him was a train staff member.
The train conductor said meaningfully, “Everyone working on the train has a unique skill.”
No one dared to confront them after that. Everyone sat quietly in their places, including the arrogant female player who had been eating.
“The train staff were all players before, right?” Yan Jiayu said. “I wonder how they got on the train.”
“I heard that people who work on the train are old wormhole point players who have undergone long-term training,” the old man explained again. “Those wormhole points entered the game early. Many people were born in the game world. From the time they can remember, they’ve known a world of superpowers, so they don’t reject it at all. Coming to work on the train is like applying for a job before I became a player.”
“How can they not reject it?” the unlucky-looking male player leaned in. “The game world is completely abnormal, isn’t it? Doesn’t anyone resist?”
“Think about the world before, and you’ll understand,” the old man said. “Everyone gets used to it. Unfair things only cause controversy among a few. Most people just want to survive. Whether it was before or now, it’s the same.”
The difference was that before, people might have been used to petty theft, and now they’re used to murder cases.
That’s just the environment.
“If only there were no games,” the unlucky-looking player sighed. “I used to stay up all night playing games. Now, just hearing the word ‘game’ makes me sick.”
“You’re still young. Who knows how things will change?” the old man said with a smile. “Terminal illnesses from before are now no different from a common cold. Someone like me, who was on the verge of death, can still live another ten or twenty years. You can’t be sure.”
“When did the earliest games begin?” Xu Huo interjected. “Has it been a century?”
The old man shook his head slightly. “I don’t know that. But I’ve heard that in the C9 wormhole point, there’s a game district that places great importance on time. The clockmakers there record time generation after generation. Maybe they know the origin of game time.”
(End of Chapter)