Chapter 13: Beatdown

There was still some time before dawn.They needed to block the windows and guard both doors, so after discussion, they decided to take shifts.

"But what if the cannibal player among us..." Liu Jia whispered nervously.

"If we let whatever's outside through the windows, everyone will be in danger. Nobody would be that stupid," Xu Huo reassured her.

Professor Han found this reasoning sound but remained wary of unforeseen circumstances, so he volunteered to guard the windows with the heavily made-up woman.

The heavily made-up woman raised no objections.

Wang Xiaohui and the middle-aged woman would guard the doors, while Xu Huo—"injured"—took temporary rest. Liu Jia and Yan Jiayu would take the first shift, with Xu Huo replacing them in two hours. He specifically asked Yan Jiayu if she needed rest.

Yan Jiayu replied, "I used to fetch water and chop firewood often, so my stamina is good. Let Liu Jia go guard the front door." Those guarding the doors could rest intermittently.

The carriage fell silent again.

To test whether Liu Jia was truly blind, the heavily made-up woman deliberately held her breath in the darkness and approached Professor Han, mimicking a biting motion. No reaction came from the other side.

Three minutes later, she struck!

The sudden movement of the table alerted Professor Han, but he didn't dare drop it. Turning his back to shield himself, he shouted, "Liu Jia, watch out!"

The heavily made-up woman sneered. So the little girl had been lying—pretending to be blind just to lull her into complacency. By daybreak, she’d undoubtedly become everyone’s target!

They had to die!

First Liu Jia, then Professor Han!

She had memorized Liu Jia’s position earlier—a simple motion would eliminate the threat. But instead of the soft flesh of Liu Jia’s neck, her hand met the cold, unyielding surface of a thick metal table!

**BAM!** The table smashed squarely into her face!

Stars exploded in her vision, her skull ringing as she staggered back several steps. Before she could steady herself, another gust of wind came from her right. She barely raised her arms in defense before the table—solid as an immovable stone wall—slammed into her shoulder, snapping the bone with a sickening crack!

She shrieked in agony, only to be struck again from behind. Blood sprayed from her mouth as she roared, "The cannibal player is attacking me!"

No one answered. The relentless pounding continued, each blow feeling like it was shattering every bone in her body. "Who are you?! Xu Huo?!"

She couldn’t hear any movement—no footsteps, no breathing—making it impossible to pinpoint her attacker.

"It's me," Yan Jiayu’s voice suddenly sounded behind her.

The heavily made-up woman whirled around, but the metal table was already descending toward her skull. This time, she heard the unmistakable **crack** of her own neck breaking...

A heavy thud followed. Seconds later, Yan Jiayu announced, "Amitabha. This benefactor has departed to hell to atone for her sins."

The nauseating sounds of bones breaking and flesh being pummeled still echoed in their ears. From the corner, the middle-aged woman stammered, "W-Why did you kill her?"

"She was a cannibal player," Yan Jiayu said. "Xu Huo confirmed she was the last one. And she just tried to kill Liu Jia."

"Oh!" The middle-aged woman’s voice brightened. "Mr. Xu is truly remarkable!"

"Now we can spend the last day peacefully!"

Xu Huo’s voice drifted calmly from the darkness. "Indeed."

By the time 8 a.m. approached, the train shuddered slightly, as if relieved of a burden, and its movement stabilized.

Dawn arrived.

**Ding-dong!**

"Welcome aboard..."

The announcement played on schedule, and everyone in the carriage exhaled in relief.

After two days and nights, the train felt eerily empty. No sounds came from either direction, and a quick glance confirmed no other passengers remained. Professor Han and the others sat down to rest.

Even Xu Huo felt drained from the night’s tension. Rubbing his sore arm, he dragged the heavily made-up woman’s corpse to a corner before surveying the third-class carriage.

The door was a mangled, blood-smeared wreck—claw marks warping the metal, some nearly piercing through. The force required defied human limits.

Through the twisted gaps, he saw that every window in third-class had shattered. Only a single metal sheet, dangling from the train’s rear, remained, crusted with dried blood and debris that rattled ominously with the train’s motion.

The complete annihilation of third-class caught him off guard. He’d assumed the six survivors there could hold out until the third day. But the cannibal players who failed to feed had mutated on the second night, dooming the entire carriage.

Last night’s monsters, though vaguely humanoid, had shed all humanity. Mindless, driven solely by hunger, they emerged at night, roused by light, and moved within a limited timeframe, seemingly indifferent to sound and scent.

These creatures were far more dangerous than cannibal players. Though irrational, they aligned with the heavily made-up woman’s claim—the more they ate, the stronger they became.

But their numbers... Could all those monsters really be failed cannibal players?

How long had Evolvers even existed?

Wang Xiaohui approached. Xu Huo glanced at her. "Don’t look."

Her eyes reddened. "If he’d come here yesterday, maybe..."

Xu Huo’s expression didn’t change. "Don’t be naive. He couldn’t have entered."

Under her stunned gaze, he added, "You were only allowed in because you’re disabled."

An extra player meant extra risk. Even if Xu Huo could fend off the others, he wouldn’t recklessly introduce an unknown variable. But Wang Xiaohui’s physical condition had mitigated concerns, minimizing objections.

Wang Xiaohui seemed to struggle with this. After a pause, she murmured, "I violated train rules. My Trait duration was reduced by a third. If I stay in second-class until the endpoint, the game will permanently deduct that time."

She wheeled away without another word. Xu Huo didn’t respond. This had been his intention all along—the world had few truly selfless people.

"A suicide note in the pocket." Yan Jiayu righted the overturned furniture and retrieved the old man’s coat. Likely fearing the letter wouldn’t be delivered, he’d written an address on it.

"It’s in the capital. My grandmother lives there—I’ll take it," Wang Xiaohui said.

Liu Jia lifted He Yang’s small backpack. "I’ll deliver this one."

One had saved her; the other was technically her student. Professor Han’s eyes reddened, his breathing ragged.

Xu Huo, having found nothing in the heavily made-up woman’s clothes, suddenly looked up at him. "Your wound might be infected."

"An Evolver’s recovery is strong. It should be fine..." Professor Han trailed off as he pulled his collar aside. The flesh near his shoulder had been mangled into something resembling minced meat, now purplish-black with dark brown pus oozing out.

"He’s turning into a monster too!" the middle-aged woman screeched, scrambling back. "Zombie movies always show this—bite victims become zombies!"