Chapter 260: Train 444 – Part 23

Chapter 260: Train 444 - Part 23

At exactly four o'clock in the afternoon, the train arrived at the station on time.

The scene outside the window was identical to the last time, the same station where the players had first arrived.

In the half-remaining train, the players silently crowded by the windows.

The cold snap from last night had still caused some damage; although no one died, many were injured.

These frostbite injuries were difficult to recover from. Even though the cold snap had ended, the healing potions had minimal effect on them.

Frostbite could only be healed with food, but the food on the train had long been distributed, and there was no way to obtain new supplies.

Car 6 was basically unusable, with the accumulated snow slowly melting, leaving dirty water all over the floor.

Due to the shattered windows, gray fog had seeped into the car, making everything inside hazy.

Today, neither breakfast nor lunch was served in the dining car as usual, and the NPCs were nowhere to be seen. The stewardess and her trolley also failed to appear.

Until fully recovered, the frostbite would continuously drain the health of the injured players.

Now, their movements were severely restricted, and they could only rely on consuming healing potions to maintain their health at a dangerously low level.

Fortunately, the train finally arrived at the station.

Several players with severe injuries looked around the car with complex expressions.

Those who managed to survive until now were all aiming for the core nightmare ahead, but the current situation did not allow them to continue.

No one knew how long it would take to reach the final station or what might happen during that time, and they couldn't hold out any longer.

Moreover, entering the core instance with weakened bodies wouldn't necessarily be a good thing.

They wouldn't get the good stuff, and instead, it would only hasten their deaths.

As the doors opened, the dirty players reluctantly jumped off the train, limping away.

The people on the train watched those figures until they disappeared completely within the station before the train started moving again, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Phew—"

Xiong Li slumped in his seat, exhaling deeply. "I saw clearly this time; the scene outside didn't change until the train started moving."

The second stop was indeed a safe world.

Victory was near.

Not far away, Cui Wenxuan and Gala whispered to each other, then called everyone over.

"These are all the rule cards we obtained last night." Gala laid out the black cards with golden letters on the small table.

After removing duplicates, they had received twelve new cards, but most of these new cards weren't very useful.

Some rules concerned the order of the three stations, while others related to the weaknesses of the corpses.

The group had already found solutions to these traps without the rules.

"We gathered everyone here to see if we can find more insights from these rule cards," said Cui Wenxuan.

Last night, it was dark, and in the morning, Cui Wenxuan sorted through the new rule cards and wanted to ask Xiao Qin for another look.

But Xiao Qin, after collecting money all night and dealing with other players, seemed tired and was curled up in his seat, looking out the window, indifferent to everything else.

When Cui Wenxuan approached, he hadn't even spoken when the NPC next to Xiao Qin suddenly looked up.

For a long time, Cui Wenxuan had subconsciously ignored this NPC, but now he realized the immense pressure hidden in those seemingly calm eyes.

Just a glance made Cui Wenxuan feel as if a mountain had suddenly pressed down on his shoulders.

Cui Wenxuan was stunned, and when he looked back, the NPC had already turned away, showing no intention of acknowledging him.

Cui Wenxuan: "..."

Captain Cui wisely turned around and returned to his seat.

He decided not to disturb Qin Fei's rest and instead called everyone else over.

—If the smart one couldn't be bothered, they would have to rely on the strength of numbers.

Unfortunately, having more people didn't seem to help this time.

A crowd surrounded the table against the wall but failed to decipher anything valuable.

Lu Cheng and Mi Yang were huddled together, their brows furrowed deeply, while Xiong Li had given up and stared blankly at the pile of similar-looking cards.

Amidst the scratching of heads, Cen San Ya suddenly spoke up: "These two cards."

Cen San Ya's speech style was peculiar, just like the rule cards in this nightmare, often leaving people confused.

Xiong Li immediately perked up: "Which two?!"

At such a critical moment, he was still keeping them in suspense. If it were anyone else, an impatient player might have slapped him already. But since it was Cen San Ya, Xiong Li dared not touch him.

The white-haired youth didn't open his eyes but extended his finger, picking out two cards from the spread on the table and placing them together.

"'Purchase' is the most important. The items sold on the train will play an unexpected role."

"Getting off the train."

These two cards had originally been mixed among numerous rule cards, failing to attract anyone's attention.

Xiong Li quickly scanned the words on the two cards and couldn't help but pause.

The importance of "purchasing" was already known to everyone—it involved improving NPC favorability and stockpiling sufficient supplies to combat the next day's cold wave.

But wasn't this also a rule that had already been used and become invalid information?

Cen San Ya continued unhurriedly, "These two cards form a set."

In the Strange Tale Train, there were many rules that were originally complete but had been broken down into scattered and disordered cards, scattered throughout the train.

This was something the players had experienced before.

These two cards were the same; the two contents written on them should have been combined into one.

This was indeed a significant discovery, and the group immediately became excited, discussing it animatedly.

"Does this mean that what we bought can still be effective within the core strange tale even after getting off the train?"

"But didn't we only buy blankets and food?"

"Perhaps the core strange tale is also related to extreme cold weather?" someone from Dark Fire speculated, "The food from the train can be used to replenish stamina in the core strange tale, and the blankets can provide warmth?"

"If that's the case, does this imply that the next strange tale is highly dangerous and prone to injuries?"

If it were just a common puzzle-type strange tale, there would be no need for a special supply preparation phase.

"There is a possibility."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"But..." Xiong Li scratched his head, "Didn't we sell all the food?"

They had no food left, nor did they have any money.

Xiong Li sighed regretfully, "But it doesn't matter anyway. After all, if we don't have food, neither do others."

Moreover, since the NPC vendor never appeared, everyone had nowhere to buy anything.

"Excuse me, may I interrupt?"

A voice came from another seat nearby.

It was Qin Fei, who suddenly spoke up, "Actually, we still have money."

"Huh?" Xiong Li opened his eyes wide in confusion, "Didn't we spend it all?"

Before the cold wave hit, they had exchanged all the money they had swindled from the Butterfly Guild and other players for supplies, leaving nothing behind. Xiong Li had seen Xiao Qin empty his pockets with his own eyes.

Qin Fei nodded, "Yes, but I got more money."

He stood up after resting enough and walked to the table across the aisle.

Lu Cheng took out a sour little apple from his pocket, took a bite, and explained while chewing, "Last night, when we said we didn't have enough supplies, Xiao Qin added an extra charge when those players came to trade, asking for a bit more money."

Not much, about 30 to 50 each, which most players who had searched bags on the train could afford.

This money could only be used within the strange tales, so players didn't care about giving it to Qin Fei. Even if some suspected the reason why Black Feather was collecting this useless prop money, they dismissed it as trivial.

What? You think Black Feather must have received some insider information, suggesting that money would still be useful later, so you shouldn't give it away easily?

How ridiculous. If they didn't give the money to Black Feather, would they even survive to see "later"?

Survival was paramount; let others earn the rewards from some instances.

"This time, Xiao Qin was openly robbing," Lu Cheng commented with amusement.

Taking all the rule clues and props, others still thanked him, almost praising him as a living bodhisattva.

A shrewd merchant.

Truly a shrewd merchant.

Qin Fei took out a stack of money, not a small amount, around 500 yuan.

"Also, I think what the rule meant by 'purchasing' isn't necessarily food."

As he spoke, a mysterious glint flickered in his eyes.

He flipped his hand, revealing a small porcelain bottle, only a few centimeters tall, in his palm.

Qin Fei placed the bottle in the center of the table, "Do you remember the porcelain bottles we collected specifically?"

Xiong Li nodded.

The bottles were one of the important items players had collected during their search for supplies. The fact that so many appeared on the train simultaneously was clearly abnormal, likely related to the next strange tale.

Thinking about it, Xiong Li couldn't help but frown again.

Qin Fei said, "Yes, the presence of so many porcelain bottles on the train is strange."

He turned around and looked toward the front of the carriage.

Before the Black Feather meeting, they had specially assigned two people to guard the front, separating them from the other players. Those players couldn't hear what Black Feather was discussing but were curious and kept looking back frequently.

"In a moving train, under normal circumstances, who would typically be on board?"

Qin Fei whispered.

"The answer is that anyone could have it."

Men and women, young and old, the wealthy and the poor, the healthy and the sick—various types of people.

They came from different places and were heading to different destinations.

"Why would so many different people be holding the same thing?"

"There's only one possibility." Qin Fei turned around and looked back at the person from Black Feather. "This item must be sold on the train."

"Did you ever pester your parents to buy something from the vendors on the train when you were a child?" Qin Fei asked. "Most trains have such sales activities, usually selling souvenirs from the stations along the route."

Snacks, toys, various models—all kinds of products.

What about if the train passed through a station known for its ceramics?

"Of course, this is just my speculation; it might not be correct."

Qin Fei smiled and sat back down. "We can simply ask the attendant when she appears again to confirm it."

Given the attendant's fondness for him, she wouldn't refuse to answer such a small question.