Chapter 10: Warning

"Did being a nun make you stupid?" Li Fei looked at Yan Jiayu as if she were insane—a kind heart?But the elderly man and He Yang quickly agreed. The female student followed Professor Han's lead, and once Professor Han nodded, the remaining passengers were outvoted—you can't fight the majority.

Professor Han and Li Fei stood on either side of the door while Xu Huo opened it.

Pushing the wheelchair was a tall man who remained outside, merely shoving the wheelchair forward. "She has limited mobility and won't last the night in third class. Can you take her in?"

The young woman in the wheelchair was pale and frail, her expression timid, clearly still shaken from the horrors of the past day and night. Her eyes held nothing but fear as she looked at Xu Huo and the others.

"Are you siblings?" Xu Huo bent down and lifted the hem of her nightgown—just as he suspected, her legs were slightly deformed.

"No," the man said, not stopping him.

"Absolutely not!" Li Fei objected immediately. Even if the woman in the wheelchair looked fragile, he couldn't take the risk. "What if she's a Bloody Player?"

The young woman reacted, "I'm not a Bloody Player..."

The mere memory of what she'd seen made her gag before she could finish.

Xu Huo stepped aside. "Come in."

The man didn't enter the carriage, only pushed the wheelchair inside.

The young woman turned to look at him, but the man said nothing, didn't even glance at her before returning to third class.

"You let her in without everyone's agreement—do you own this carriage?" Li Fei fumed. "Another person means more danger—"

Before he could finish, Xu Huo yanked the wheelchair aside, grabbed Li Fei by the collar, and shoved him out the door, slamming it shut. "Now the numbers are even."

Li Fei's face twisted with rage as he yanked at the door, cursing nonstop. But Xu Huo simply held the handle, staring at him impassively.

Professor Han frowned at the situation and was about to intervene when Yan Jiayu rushed over and braced against the door, declaring sternly, "We're reasonable people. Agree, and we'll let you in!"

Xu Huo tested the door and found her grip astonishingly strong, so he stepped back.

Li Fei's face contorted with resentment, but the glares from third class made his skin crawl. With no other choice, he spat, "Fine! I agree! Let the damn woman in!"

The door behind him creaked open, and Li Fei's anger vanished, replaced by terror as he shrieked, "I was wrong, auntie! Please open the door—!"

Just as a Bloody Player lunged from third class, Yan Jiayu loosened her grip, yanked Li Fei through the gap, and slammed the door shut, locking the Bloody Player outside!

Enraged at losing his prey, the Bloody Player pounded and kicked the metal door, but the reinforced glass didn't even scratch under his assault. After a dozen futile strikes, he finally retreated with a snarl.

Collapsed on the carriage floor, Li Fei gasped for breath, his face a mix of fear and fury as he glared at Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu.

Yan Jiayu widened her eyes. "Are you going back on your word?"

Li Fei opened his mouth to retort, but a cold glance from Xu Huo beside her made him swallow his words. He turned away, muttering, "If she really is a Bloody Player... don't say I didn't warn you."

Having witnessed Li Fei's ordeal, the middle-aged woman kept her mouth shut and quietly took a seat.

Xu Huo waited a moment. When no rule violation announcement came, he wheeled the chair to the window and asked, "What's your name?"

"Wang Xiaohui," she whispered, fists clenched on her knees. "I'm not a Bloody Player."

"I know," Xu Huo said. "I'm not your bodyguard. There are Bloody Players here too. Watch yourself. By the way, how many passengers are left in third class?"

Wang Xiaohui quickly answered, "Including me, seven."

Xu Huo nodded.

Yan Jiayu handed her a pack of reconstituted compressed biscuits. "Hungry? These were soaked in purchased water."

Wang Xiaohui teared up as she stuffed them into her mouth. "You're all so kind..."

Time passed quickly after that. Once night watch shifts were assigned and everyone had used the restroom, they returned to the carriage.

This time, Professor Han and the female student guarded the front door, while Yan Jiayu and Li Fei watched the rear.

The back door wasn't a major concern, so Professor Han barricaded the front with chairs and tables, warning the others, "No matter what happens, don't turn on the lights—not even your phones. Keep them powered off tonight."

"Breaking the rules doesn't seem to have consequences. Why be so paranoid?" The heavily made-up woman glanced at Wang Xiaohui.

"What if it affects the game's final rewards?" Professor Han said sternly. "No penalty now doesn't mean none later. Tonight, I'm guarding the light switch. Liu Jia, stand nearby."

The female student, Liu Jia, nervously backed away from the switch after sharing a look with him.

Xu Huo noted her movement and frowned at the window again.

"Can everyone except the door guards sit in the middle seats?" Professor Han scanned the group. "That way, there's buffer space between us."

Maintaining distance was really about preventing Bloody Players from attacking others.

"Aren't there three corpses in this carriage?" He Yang said coldly. "Wouldn't those be more convenient targets?"

The unspoken thought had crossed every player's mind—using the dead to ensure everyone survived until disembarking would be the ideal outcome.

The heavily made-up woman took a seat, while Xu Huo chose a spot diagonally across from her. The middle-aged woman and elderly man sat at the next table.

Unsure who to trust, Wang Xiaohui instinctively wheeled herself closer to Xu Huo.

"Mr. Xu..." Just before lights-out, Liu Jia suddenly spoke up, "Be... careful." She glanced meaningfully at the heavily made-up woman.

Given the incident with Chen Yi, others assumed she was just worried about her savior and paid no mind. But Xu Huo now had confirmation—last night, the female student must have "seen" something.

Initially, he'd thought Chen Yi was also a Bloody Player, but the fact that Chen Yi had attacked him first suggested otherwise—Liu Jia would've been an easier target.

The elderly man and the oval-faced woman, both seemingly weaker, had been attacked too.

Chen Yi's attempt on his life was likely just for the game's high-score rewards.

Liu Jia's scream hadn't been due to an attack. Now, her warning implied the heavily made-up woman was a Bloody Player.

The heavily made-up woman hadn't acted like one—she'd even reminded others about secrecy earlier, earning Liu Jia's initial goodwill. But since daybreak, Liu Jia had kept her distance.

The oval-faced woman bore three wounds of varying sizes. Aside from the square-faced man and Li Fei, the elderly man by the door, the heavily made-up woman nearby, and Yan Jiayu—who'd moved silently in the dark—were prime suspects.

These three were highly suspicious, but Liu Jia's hint might not be reliable. Setting aside the Bloody Player issue for now, Xu Huo studied the two guarding the light switch. They were too tense. Professor Han had stressed rule compliance yesterday too, but not with this level of urgency. This change came after today's information exchange.

"Did you see something outside the window too?" he asked abruptly.