Chapter 115
Xing Nuo, sleepy-eyed, looked at the haggard Qi Yao and his team, and shyly hid half his face in his brother’s jacket, only his eyes peeking out.
He looked around, then whispered in his brother’s ear:
“Big Brother, where Uncle Qi go?”
Shen Yan, reading the train regulations posted on the seat in front of them, looked up at Qi Yao, who was surrounded by people, his expression unreadable.
“Isn’t Uncle Qi right there?”
Xing Nuo blinked, confused, and looked at Qi Yao in the crowd.
Qi Yao looked the same as always, his square face framed by his scruffy beard, his brow furrowed with exhaustion, patiently explaining something to the other passengers.
“We went to that car, but all we found were bodies. No one knew what happened, so we came back.”
The players in the back, also listening, exchanged glances and remained silent, taking notes.
Xing Nuo also listened attentively, but when Qi Yao’s gaze met his, he quickly looked away.
Qi Yao, as usual, grinned and, after the crowd dispersed, walked over to Xing Nuo.
“Xing Nuo, are you scared?”
Xing Nuo, back in his brother’s arms, shook his head, his voice soft.
“No. Big Brother pwotects me.”
Shen Yan held Xing Nuo protectively and glanced at Qi Yao, his voice cold.
“Mr. Qi, you should attend to your duties. Your team is waiting for you.”
Qi Yao scratched his head, not leaving, but complaining softly:
“This is so annoying. Why did I end up in this stupid dungeon?”
One of his teammates, a plump man, also ran a hand through his hair, cursing.
“We shouldn’t have come in unprepared. We don’t even know where the monster is hiding. How are we supposed to kill it?”
For ordinary people, the only way to escape a dungeon was to kill the core monster.
The other passengers, realizing their predicament, their faces filled with despair.
Someone started crying, and soon, the car was filled with soft sobs and whimpers, adding to the already tense atmosphere.
Xing Nuo, looking at Qi Yao, who was still complaining, leaned closer to his brother and whispered:
“Big Brother, that not Uncle Qi.”
Shen Yan’s eyebrow twitched. He held Xing Nuo closer and asked:
“Why do you say that?”
Xing Nuo, peeking at Qi Yao, counted on his fingers.
“Uncle Qi had gween tag…on his chest…but now gone. And Uncle Qi vewy enthusiastic…never complains.”
His unwavering optimism and enthusiasm were probably the reasons he had become the Rongcheng SIA team leader at such a young age.
Xing Nuo, having interacted with Qi Yao many times, admired his unwavering spirit.
He covered his mouth with his hand, lowering his voice so no one else could hear.
“I tell you secwet, Big Brother. I think…Uncle Qi is fake!”
Shen Yan’s eyes widened in surprise, a wave of astonishment washing over him, seeing the little one’s confident expression.
Although the little one’s reasoning was simple, based on his familiarity with Qi Yao, his perceptiveness was remarkable!
He had always assumed it was Lu Qi who had helped Xing Nuo escape those monsters.
But now, he wasn’t so sure.
Sometimes, intuition was more effective than the most carefully calculated plan.
Shen Yan, hiding his surprise, hummed and patted Xing Nuo’s back.
“Fake is fake. Xing Nuo, go to sleep.”
It was getting late, almost midnight.
But Xing Nuo’s eyes were bright, not a trace of sleepiness in them.
“Big Brother, why fake Uncle Qi came back? Where’s weal Uncle Qi?”
Shen Yan didn’t know.
He wasn’t familiar with this train dungeon. If it weren’t for Xing Nuo being dragged in, he wouldn’t have anything to do with it.
“Don’t think about it. Big Brother will take you home after you fall asleep.”
Xing Nuo, ignoring him, his little head peeking out from his brother’s arm, continued to observe Qi Yao.
Qi Yao still held a certain authority among the passengers, having saved several of them from a monster attack earlier.
They trusted him implicitly, their faces filled with anxiety and frustration as they looked at the hazy, gray barrier separating their car from the next.
“Qi-dui, you’re the strongest among us. What do we do? How do we go home?”
Qi Yao seemed to be thinking, discussing something with his teammates in hushed tones.
The players in the back, watching the ordinary people’s struggle, their faces expressionless,
one of them scoffed softly.
“Fools.”
Without abilities or props, how could they possibly find the real monster?
Lin Tezhu scratched his head and asked his cousin:
“Cousin, should we help them? Wouldn’t it be faster if we worked together?”
His cousin, a cigarette dangling from his lips, unlit, chuckled coldly.
“Lin Yan, you’re not in the human world anymore. Don’t worry about them. Players are different from ordinary people.”
At some point, players had developed a sense of superiority over ordinary humans.
They weren’t willing to share the information they had risked their lives to obtain.
Some high-level players didn’t even want to return to the real world anymore.
They craved violence and bloodshed, their moral compass twisted, finding the dungeons and Central City more appealing than the rule-bound human world.
Lin Tezhu, still relatively new to this, his mouth opening slightly in protest, felt a pang of sadness.
They were all human. Shouldn’t they help each other survive against the monsters?
A female player, glancing at Lin Yan, gently touched his finger.
Lin Yan’s eyes widened, as if finding a kindred spirit, and he looked at her.
The female player shook her head slightly, telling him to be quiet.
Lin Yan quickly looked away, his gaze fixed on Qi Yao.
Qi Yao, surrounded by the other passengers, had come up with a plan.
“Based on the previous pattern, the monster appears every three hours, and its appearance is random.”
“We killed a monster earlier, but the train didn’t stop. So, that wasn’t the real one.”
“We can’t afford to waste our energy. We have to wait for the real monster to appear. How about we split into teams and work together?”
Several young people eagerly volunteered.
“I work out regularly. I can handle the danger!”
“Good idea. Otherwise, we’ll just be stuck here, waiting to die.”
Xing Nuo watched as Qi Yao assigned everyone to different teams, a group of strong young people guarding the doors to the other cars, ready to investigate.
Even the players in the back, having overheard Qi Yao’s plan, started making their own preparations.
Xing Nuo saw Uncle Lin discreetly call out to Uncle Qi, whispering something.
He walked over, squeezing between them, tilting his head, trying to hear their conversation.
“…So, let’s cooperate. I can share some information about the dungeon…holy crap! Xing Nuo?!”
Xing Nuo, startled, patted his chest, taking a deep breath.
“Uncle Lin, you yelled so loud!”
Lin Yan, rubbing his forehead, seeing the female player frantically gesturing at him, stopped talking to Qi Yao.
He took Xing Nuo’s hand and led him aside, tapping his head lightly.
“What are you doing here?”
Xing Nuo just giggled, not answering, and tugged on Lin Yan’s arm.
“Uncle Lin, don’t twust that Uncle Qi. He’s fake.”
Lin Yan, puzzled, was pulled away by his cousin, and just as he was about to sit down, he suddenly stopped.
“Cousin! What was our mission again?!”
His cousin, thinking he was being silly, replied casually, smoke billowing from his mouth:
“Find the real monster and the safe car. We clear the dungeon by getting off the train at the safe car. What’s wrong, Lin Yan? Can’t even remember that?”
Lin Yan, a chill running down his spine, whispered:
“Cousin, do you think that Qi Yao…is the real Qi Yao?”
Xing Nuo, having warned the silly Uncle Lin, returned to his brother’s arms and watched as Qi Yao continued to organize the other passengers, sending them to other cars to gather information.
He sighed, thinking that sending people to other cars was like sending them to their deaths.
He peeked into the next car, then shook his head.
“I wonder when Uncle Qi will come back.”
Just then, Qi Yao called out to him.
“Xing Nuo, you’re the youngest. Just stay here and don’t run around. Mr. Shen, would you like to join us?”
Qi Yao smiled, his gaze fixed on Shen Yan.
“There’s safety in numbers!”
The other passengers, looking at the tall, imposing Shen Yan, also tried to persuade him.
“Join us! If something happens, we can fight together! Better chances of survival!”
An elderly woman also chimed in:
“Young man, I’ll look after your little brother. You go with the others.”
Xing Nuo, looking at the crowd of faces, some real, some fake, huddled closer to his brother, clutching his sleeve tightly.
