Chapter 180
Inside the train car.
Xing Nuo sat near the middle, observing his surroundings, trying to understand the situation.
The car looked like a normal train car, with two-seater benches on the left and three-seater benches on the right.
The space was cramped, with no tables, and no signs or markings indicating their destination, all information coming from the strange, disembodied announcements.
A few people sat scattered in the front and back, but the middle section was more crowded.
That’s why Xing Nuo and An Zimuo had chosen seats there as soon as they boarded.
The two office workers who had entered after them, finding the middle section full, had reluctantly sat in the front.
Xing Nuo guessed that people avoided the front and back because they were closer to the doors, everyone wary of the unknown dangers.
After all, they didn’t know who, or what, might board the train.
As Xing Nuo observed the other passengers, they, in turn, were observing him.
Seeing his youthful face, his clear, innocent eyes, both he and An Zimuo carrying backpacks, they assumed they were high school students.
A friendly-looking woman across the aisle turned to them.
“Are you students? Did you get on this train by accident?”
An Zimuo, the talkative one, almost bursting from the oppressive silence, was about to answer when Xing Nuo stopped him.
“Accident? Not really. Just…didn’t expect it to be so strange.”
The woman, who had been trying to determine if they were players or ordinary people caught in the dungeon, frowned slightly, Xing Nuo’s vague answer and calm demeanor making her suspicious.
She had initially assumed they were ordinary people, but their quick thinking in grabbing the seats in the middle, their silence and composure, made her reconsider.
Could they be experienced players?
Unable to get a read on them, she gave up and went to talk to the two office workers in the front.
The office workers, less cautious, readily shared their information.
“What is this place? Why is everyone so quiet?”
“Is this some kind of horror movie? I’m stuck here after working overtime! That damn company! I’m quitting!”
“Dude, you work for them too? Which department? I haven’t seen you before.”
Xing Nuo, hearing this, looked at the two office workers, his gaze lingering on one of them, and the beep in his mind suddenly intensified.
He felt a surge of unease, and just as he was about to say something, the man who had been complaining, his eyes suddenly turning wild, a crazed grin on his face, his skin cracking like a spiderweb,
lunged at the female player, who had been talking to them, and bit her head off.
He devoured her, then, turning to the other office worker, who had scrambled back, his eyes wide with terror, his voice dripping with a chilling satisfaction, said:
“Delicious. Another one tricked. Hehe.”
“You next, okay?”
The office worker, scrambling back, his back against a seat, his legs trembling, his face pale with terror, stammered:
“Y-you’re a monster!”
The monster’s grin widened, blood dripping from his chin, his appearance grotesque and terrifying.
“Of course I am. Too bad the train is moving. I can only eat one. You’re next. Don’t worry.”
The terrified office worker scrambled to his feet and ran to the back of the car, hiding in a corner, his body shaking.
The gruesome scene, unfolding so quickly, stunned not only Xing Nuo and An Zimuo, but also the other passengers, their faces pale, their eyes filled with a growing despair.
An Zimuo, who had been hoping to chat with the other passengers, his face blank, his mind reeling, sat down heavily.
“So…this is a dungeon?”
Xing Nuo nodded, his gaze lowered, his mind racing, not looking at the carnage in the front.
After a few minutes of silence, the oppressive atmosphere making An Zimuo feel like he was about to die, he leaned closer to Xing Nuo and whispered:
“Xing Nuo, how are you so calm? Aren’t you scared?”
Xing Nuo looked up, his dark eyes, usually bright and cheerful, now strangely calm, and nodded, his voice low.
“Scared. But we can’t show it.”
An Zimuo, ever curious, asked, “Why?”
Xing Nuo glanced around, making sure everyone was still focused on the monster in the front, and whispered:
“Forty-eight people in this car. But they’re not all the same.”
“Look closely. Some look calm and collected, even though they’re unarmed. Others are just pretending, their eyes filled with fear and despair.”
“Notice anything?”
An Zimuo, thinking of his cousin, then of this terrifying dungeon, his eyes widening in realization, said:
“Could it be…those calm ones…are the ‘players’ my cousin mentioned?”
Xing Nuo nodded, his eyes crinkling in approval.
“And if there’s danger, do you think those players will sacrifice the ordinary people to save themselves?”
An Zimuo, his blood running cold, his face paling, stammered:
“But…but we’re all human! Just because they’re players…they can sacrifice us?”
Xing Nuo also didn’t want to believe it, but his mind, sharp and analytical, had already assessed the situation.
“I don’t want it to happen either. But that’s the reality. Look, the boy two rows ahead, his arm is missing, still bleeding.”
“His eyes are filled with despair and resentment, glaring at those players, as if he wants to kill them.”
“What does that tell you? He was probably used as a shield by those players, losing his arm to survive.”
The more Xing Nuo analyzed, the more terrified An Zimuo became.
His lips were now completely bloodless, and he couldn’t speak.
“There are fewer ordinary people than players, maybe only a dozen or so. And someone tried to question us when we boarded, which means even the players can’t identify each other in this dungeon.”
Xing Nuo, his mind calm and calculating, had quickly assessed the situation.
“We can’t let them know we’re ordinary people. Not yet. We have to make them think we’re players, that we have props and abilities, to survive.”
An Zimuo, stunned, could only stare at Xing Nuo, his voice filled with awe.
“You really are the top student!”
Xing Nuo, accepting the compliment, his usual optimism returning, his smile infectious, said:
“We survive the first wave…then see what happens.”
An Zimuo nodded, also observing the other passengers.
With a monster having revealed itself, everyone was on high alert.
Xing Nuo noticed that the players seemed to be divided into different groups. One group was loud and boisterous, one of them even playing with a toy gun.
The other group was quiet and reserved, a girl repeatedly glancing at the injured boy with the missing arm, then, after hesitating for a moment, discreetly handing him a spray bottle.
The ordinary people who had boarded earlier, having witnessed more of the dungeon’s horrors, although not knowing what “players” were, had sensed that these people were different, more capable and resourceful.
Some were even ruthless, using other people as shields against the monsters.
After all, the monster could only eat so many.
The injured boy, surprised by the girl’s approach, but then, as she sprayed his wound, the bleeding stopping almost instantly, his eyes widening, quickly took the spray bottle and hid it in his pocket.
The girl turned and walked away.
The boy, although grateful, his heart still heavy, his lips trembling, wanted to ask if he would ever go home.
But he just lowered his head, remaining silent.
Xing Nuo, having witnessed this from the back, sighed softly, a flicker of hope in his eyes.
At least some of the players still had some humanity left.
Just as he looked away, he felt someone staring at him.
An intense, unwavering gaze, making his scalp tingle.
He calmly met the gaze.
It was the man with the toy gun,
the same man the injured boy had been glaring at.
The man, surprised that Xing Nuo had met his gaze, grinned and made a gun gesture with his hand, then, seeing no fear in Xing Nuo’s eyes, scoffed and turned away, his arms crossed, clearly not believing his act.
“What’s wrong, Feng-ge? You think that kid is the monster?”
His teammate glanced at Xing Nuo, then shrugged.
“Of course not. Monsters aren’t that subtle. Tricking us the moment they board?”
The monsters they had encountered, like the one disguised as an office worker, were always impatient, eager to reveal their true nature and devour humans.
“I just think…he looks like someone…Sang, our Guild Leader, asked us to kill in a dungeon.”
His teammate, stroking his chin thoughtfully, said:
“Then he must be a player.”
Feng-ge chuckled coldly, his eyes narrowed.
“No, quite the opposite. He’s definitely not a player.”
