Chapter 245: Train No. 444 – Part 08

Chapter 245: Train No. 444 - Part 08

Qin Fei looked up towards Penggang's direction.

If there had been any lingering concern for the unfamiliar player in his heart before, it had now settled into calmness.

Qin Fei was certain that Penggang would not die.

As long as Red Hair and Wen Tao handled the situation properly, saving one person should not be an issue.

In the aisle, the player, weakened by rapid blood loss, stumbled with unsteady steps.

Under the influence of the medication, he could still hold on, but this was merely a temporary reprieve. The drugs could stabilize his health bar from dropping immediately, but they did nothing to alleviate the negative effects of his injuries.

His reactions were slowing down, and the number of wounds on his body was rapidly increasing.

Before hearing Red Hair's shout, Penggang had almost given up all hope.

However, the voice of his teammate was like a beam of light piercing through the darkness.

Penggang felt a surge of strength returning to his limbs. He wiped away the blood from his eyes and shakily ran forward.

The players in Carriage No. 1 all curiously looked ahead.

Most people shared similar thoughts with Lu Cheng, believing that Red Hair might have suddenly developed a burst of compassion, unsure if it would end well.

Only a few, upon seeing the adjacent seats of Red Hair and Wen Tao, wore thoughtful expressions.

In the aisle, several rotting corpses roared.

Penggang, eager to move forward, no longer cared about engaging the rotting corpses, swinging his steel pipe wildly. In just a few meters, he accumulated several more wounds.

Red Hair did not look at Penggang. Before he arrived, she kept getting up and sitting back down, as if testing something.

Wen Tao, the bespectacled man, watched nervously from beside her.

Three meters.

Two meters.

One meter.

Penggang finally approached his two teammates.

What happened next unfolded exactly as Qin Fei had predicted.

The moment Penggang neared Red Hair, she unexpectedly reached out, grabbed the rotting corpse sitting between her and Wen Tao, and with all her might, flung it out of the seat!

The sleeping rotting corpse abruptly opened its eyes the instant it left the seat, locking gazes with Penggang.

The shock of facing the monster face-to-face froze Penggang in place, but Red Hair did not give him time to daze. She grabbed his collar and pulled him towards the now empty seat.

Penggang found himself sandwiched between Wen Tao and the female player Red Hair.

The rotting corpse's decaying face, with its blurred features, showed a dramatic mix of surprise and anger. It bared its yellow, sharp teeth, ready to lunge at Red Hair.

However, Red Hair had already sat back down in her seat.

Players holding tickets and seated correctly were protected by the rules. The rotting corpse let out a furious roar but could not harm the players at all.

The distance between the old train seats and the central table was very close, effectively blocking the monsters from squeezing through once a player was seated.

The rotting corpse could only climb onto the table, attempting to attack the only vulnerable target—Penggang.

But this path of attack was too difficult.

Previously surrounded, Penggang now only faced one monster, which was restricted in movement and unable to fully utilize its strength. This made things much easier for him.

With occasional assistance from Red Hair and Wen Tao, Penggang managed to survive the remaining minutes without further incident, despite exploiting a bug.

...

Luck and camaraderie did not extend to all unfortunate players.

In Carriage No. 3, a figure standing amidst the rotting corpses was drenched in blood.

Not far from him, another ticketless player lay sprawled on the ground, his body mangled, with a massive hole in his head and wide-open eyes, unable to rest in peace even in death.

The surviving player continued to struggle fiercely.

The train sped forward, the windows still pitch black, enveloped in an endless night filled with the scent of death, seemingly never-ending.

Until the minute hand of the clock completed half a circle.

"Ding-ding—ding-ding-ding—"

The familiar, cheerful music rang out.

In an instant, all the rotting corpses in the carriage froze as if turned to stone, their movements halted.

The monsters' forms quickly faded away, as if an invisible eraser swiftly erased their existence.

In Carriage No. 2, Penggang panted heavily, his hair soaked with sweat.

...Safe.

The monsters had vanished, and the players, dazed, stood up.

"Gurgle, gurgle."

The stuttering sound of wheels came from behind, and this time, instead of the previously sweet-smiling saleswoman, a young male sales clerk with brown hair and freckles on his face appeared along with the music.

Penggang's eyes lit up instantly upon seeing the sales clerk.

Although there were definitely still tickets in the first three carriages, those remaining few were hidden in some obscure corners, making them extremely difficult to find.

The appearance of the NPC sales clerk meant that the doors leading to Carriage 4 and even further back were about to open. Penggang was eager to rush towards the new eerie scene to seek a chance at survival.

"Hello—" he said, limping towards the NPC with large strides.

Red Hair and Wen Tao exchanged a glance and followed suit.

They still remembered that when the previous NPC appeared, all the Black Feather players had bought something from him. Although they hadn't figured out the purpose of doing so yet, it was always safe to follow their lead.

Although the rotting corpses had disappeared, their traces remained on the train.

The sales clerk pushed the cart over pools of blood and chunks of flesh, the wheels constantly stuttering, but the person pushing the cart ignored it all.

Penggang quickly moved next to the NPC, about to speak, but was stopped by a force.

"Don't talk to him." A faint warning voice came from behind.

The player turned around in surprise.

The youth who had somehow appeared behind him had clear, shallow eyes, and his slender wrists didn't seem threatening.

But Penggang felt a heavy weight on his chest as he looked into his eyes.

"What are you doing..."

The four words that came out subconsciously grew softer one after another, and Penggang reluctantly withdrew his hand.

What's wrong? He looked at his teammates, only to receive equally confused responses.

"This is a fake train attendant," Qin Fei's words not only stunned Penggang but also surprised the approaching Dark Fire players.

Xiong Li frowned. "How did you figure that out?"

The NPC seemed completely oblivious to the players' conversation nearby and continued pushing the cart further away.

Xiong Li stared at his back, unable to find any flaw.

Whether it was the style and color of the uniform or the goods on the cart, everything was identical to the previous sales clerk.

Someone in the Dark Fire team suddenly understood something and ran to the end of Carriage 1.

At the spot where the NPC sales clerk always appeared, the player bent down and picked up something behind all the seats.

"Brother Li, it's this!" He quickly returned to his original position, holding it high.

In the player's hand was a red jacket, identical to the one worn by the NPC.

"Before that sales clerk appeared, there was no such jacket behind the seats," Lu Cheng stepped forward, explaining for Qin Fei.

The clothes on the rotting corpses that boarded half an hour ago were dirty and torn, but this jacket was clean and new, indicating it must have been brought by the newly appeared NPC.

If not for Xiao Qin's reminder, Lu Cheng wouldn't have thought to use his skill to check the carriage again.

Naturally, he wouldn't have discovered this trap either.

Penggang broke out in a cold sweat, staring at the two people in front of him, speechless. He hadn't seen the rule about "blue," but the hidden clothing clearly hinted at something strange, impossible to ignore.

Under the gaze of dozens of eyes, the NPC dressed as a train attendant pushed the cart and slowly left.

The players in Carriage 3 witnessed what happened in Carriage 2 and did not approach the sales clerk, silently watching him walk to the end of the carriage.

Carriage 4 unexpectedly opened up to everyone.

A thick smell of blood swept over, quickly mixing with the murky air in Carriage 3.

Several people had died in Carriage 4, with rivers of blood on the ground, dismembered bodies, tattered clothes, and bloody footprints everywhere.

There were seven living players in the carriage.

The slightly eerie atmosphere in the first three carriages failed to make the players in Carriage 4 realize the danger. Upon seeing the NPC, someone immediately approached with a smile.

"Hello, Mr. Sales Clerk," said a player dressed in neat black attire, speaking and acting efficiently, looking like the leader of that carriage.

"We'd like to buy something," the black-clad player stated calmly.

As he spoke, all the players in Carriage 4 faced the NPC with smiling faces, their expressions unnervingly consistent.

"I suspect the rules in each carriage might be repeated," Mi Yang whispered to Qin Fei, "Those people probably found the rule about being friendly with the NPC."

Otherwise, they wouldn't be so enthusiastic, almost overly so.

Qin Fei nodded, agreeing with Mi Yang's speculation.

The players in Carriage 4 were quite united.

Unfortunately, their unity was misplaced.

The black-clad player spoke the moment the door opened. Even if Qin Fei wanted to warn them, it was too late. He raised an eyebrow and waited quietly for what would happen next.

Click—click.

That grating sound, like an un-oiled machine, came again.

The salesperson stopped, turned, and locked eyes with the player in black.

“What—do—you—want?” The NPC's lips moved, emitting a flat, monotonous voice.

The player looked into the NPC's eyes, seeing his own face reflected in those abnormally dark pupils, distorted and unsettling.

He swallowed, suddenly feeling hesitant. But remembering the clear words on the rule card, he took a deep breath and continued, "We have one hundred dollars; you choose something for us."

"Give—the—money—to—me."

The salesperson extended a hand.

A porcelain-white, bloodless hand reached out to the player.

The player's face began to twitch slightly as he handed over the money, trying to pull his hand back.

But the salesperson suddenly grabbed him.

"Hey, hey."

The NPC grinned, letting out an oddly inappropriate laugh.