Chapter 893: This Train Is About to Cross a Dense Xenomorph Zone
He was still somewhat restrained, using a silencing item before saying, "How did you do it! You're actually ranked over four thousand!"
Xu Huo noticed the bandaged man's movements had a slight pause. He looked at the other person with no particular expression. "Are you sure you're not seeing things?"
"The Lord of All Gods" covered his mouth with his hand and lowered his voice. "Don't worry, I understand. Geniuses are easy to envy, so before we grow up, we have to be more careful."
"You must have stayed at D-rank for quite a while, right?" he added. "To be ranked this high, your instance ratings are probably B or A. I'm a bit inferior—it took me two years to level up."
His eyes were eager, as if hinting for Xu Huo to reveal how long he had taken. But Xu Huo didn't take the bait. Instead, he asked, "What's your name?"
"I almost forgot," the other man said, extending his hand. "Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Shangguan Xi. Born from the morning sun, beginning from the light!"
Xu Huo had already given a fake name earlier. After shaking hands, he focused on the food in front of him.
"I know a lot of high-ranked players are older. It's rare to see young ones like us. In the future, the top thousand on the leaderboard will definitely have a place for us." Shangguan Xi spoke animatedly while eating, then casually asked, "Brother Xu, how old are you this year?"
"Forty." Xu Huo said without changing his expression.
Shangguan Xi was surprised, with a hint of barely concealed delight. "Can't tell at all."
"Young-looking face." Xu Huo said.
"Haha, we players have long lifespans. Twenty and forty aren't much different!" Shangguan Xi said with a grin.
"Unlike you, you're a true genius." Xu Huo said politely.
"Not at all, not at all." Shangguan Xi quickly waved his hand. "You're the impressive senior."
After a few rounds of mutual flattery, Shangguan Xi offered to treat Xu Huo and proactively paid for his meal.
After dinner, they returned to the carriage. Shangguan Xi added another remark, "Brother Xu, watch out for that one-eyed guy. He's not a good person..."
The bathroom door of the transition car suddenly opened. The one-eyed player they had just mentioned walked out, staring at Shangguan Xi with a sinister look.
Having witnessed his fight with the female player earlier, Shangguan Xi frowned slightly. But at this moment, Xu Huo spoke up. "Two against one, your chances aren't great."
The one-eyed man glared at them, sneered coldly, and turned away.
Shangguan Xi breathed a sigh of relief. "What bad luck, being targeted by him."
"He's injured. He won't act rashly." Xu Huo said. "Besides, there are two of us. Even if we can't kill him, we won't lose out."
Shangguan Xi looked at him gratefully, brimming with boldness. "Brother Xu, I'll cover your meals for the next few days!"
"Thanks."
"And your accommodation too!"
"No need for that."
"Don't be polite, don't be polite. How about we just share a room? We can look out for each other!"
Xu Huo smiled at him.
Shangguan Xi coughed lightly. "I'm definitely not scared, but it's better to be safe than sorry. We're about to enter an instance. It's better to conserve energy."
It sounded reasonable, but Xu Huo still rejected his proposal.
Until lights-out, the train remained calm. The few people in Car 16 had all entered their single rooms. Xu Huo and Shangguan Xi were next to each other, across from the player who hadn't shown his face since boarding.
The dog-owning player and the short-haired female player were on the right side of the back door, while the one-eyed man was on the left.
Just before midnight, an announcement suddenly rang out on the train:
"Dear passengers, the train is about to cross a dense xenomorph zone. The duration is uncertain. Please be careful not to emit strong light or loud noises to avoid attracting xenomorph attention."
Two minutes after the announcement ended, the train shook slightly. Xenomorphs, dense as raindrops, began to swarm onto the train, quickly covering the entire outer wall. Unlike the somewhat sluggish xenomorphs on the preliminary train, these ones outside kept sniffing and tilting their ears, tapping and knocking on the car walls as if searching for cracks.
Everyone in the carriage instinctively lightened their breathing and movements—silencing items often had time limits, and the duration of a xenomorph attack on the train was unpredictable. Items were better saved for emergencies.
A change came quickly!
Whether it was a player infighting or not, a flash of light suddenly appeared at the rear of the train—the storm-like xenomorphs crawled and surged along the train, followed immediately by heavy pounding sounds. The two noises intertwined and gradually merged, making it hard to distinguish the xenomorphs' movements. But after two or three seconds, a sharp sound like nails scraping against hard objects rang out—in just over ten seconds, one carriage was breached!
The players understood the rules and fought silently. However, faced with such an overwhelming number of more violent and ferocious xenomorphs, the best option was to escape to another carriage first. Once surrounded, breaking free would be difficult.
The incident occurred in Car 20. From Xu Huo's position, he could detect what was happening inside. Only four players managed to escape into Car 22 before the xenomorphs entered—the unprotected car walls and players tripping each other up caused Car 21 to fall next, trapping another six players.
Ordinary defense items were completely useless against this torrential onslaught. Even house-like items were swept off the train, and the player hiding inside naturally fell onto the tracks.
It only lasted half a minute before the first player died.
A minute later, two more died.
The remaining three struggled to move to the back door of Car 19, only to be blocked by the players inside. The two sides stalemated with items for about five minutes, finally ending when the outside players, on the verge of death from severe injuries, managed to open the door.
Thus, Car 19 was also filled with xenomorphs.
The players in Car 19 used items to block the first wave of xenomorphs that rushed in, retreated to the transition car ahead, and sealed the door with items, finally stopping the xenomorphs' charge.
The dead players had long since disappeared. The xenomorphs that had cleaned out Cars 19, 20, and 21 didn't leave immediately. They clung to the front and back doors, continuously banging their heads against the car walls, as if waiting for something.
Why weren't the xenomorphs leaving?
This was probably the thought of every player on the train at that moment.
Without any external stimulus, these xenomorphs were still probing the train, appearing more intelligent than those on the preliminary train.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak—!" The scraping sound rang out again. This time, it wasn't from a single carriage but from almost all the carriages outside. The xenomorphs seemed to be communicating information to each other.
This time, the players waiting with bated breath inside the carriages couldn't sit still. Just as they were about to act, a not-so-obvious explosion came from the rear of the train. But this sound effectively attracted the xenomorphs. In an instant, all the xenomorphs poured off the train like water down the tracks.
The rumbling sound faded into the distance, and the train returned to calm.
Ten minutes later:
"Ding-dong! Dear passengers, this train has safely crossed the dense xenomorph zone. Due to severe damage to Cars 19, 20, and 21, please proceed with caution."
(End of chapter)