There were many players present. Even though two of their companions had transformed into monstrosities right before their eyes, they didn't hesitate in the slightest to strike.
In this World of Horrors—
Hesitation meant defeat.
Soon, the two who had turned into monsters were dealt with. Their bodies seemed to melt away, leaving behind two puddles of black viscous liquid.
Two dark yellow tickets lay submerged in the slime, their edges blackened by corrosion.
Tian Xiaotian silently walked over to where they had been destroyed, bent down, and picked up the tickets.
Watching this, Ye Chuan couldn't help but feel that Tian Xiaotian had indeed changed a lot.
She was no longer that little girl with the mushroom bob cut who was so scared she had to cling to him for protection.
Regarding the shortage of tickets, Tian Xiaotian had voluntarily given up her own ticket, using a Sanctuary Card to temporarily ward off corruption. However, she knew that Ma Jiajun and Hu Wei would argue, thereby triggering the train's rules.
This way, it wouldn't look like Tian Xiaotian had abandoned her teammates. She not only secured the tickets but also maintained the squad's cohesion and their recognition of her as captain.
As for whether any team members would question Tian Xiaotian for withholding information, that no longer mattered.
Everyone's focus would be solely on survival.
If she had revealed from the start that the weakest would be eliminated, it would have caused infighting.
This was why Ye Chuan felt Tian Xiaotian's handling of the situation was mature.
After Tian Xiaotian returned to the seat next to Ye Chuan and sat down, she didn't explain much. She knew Ye Chuan understood the implications of her actions.
She paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Boss, I want to sleep for a bit. Can you keep watch for me?"
"Of course." Ye Chuan didn't mind.
Hearing this, Tian Xiaotian completely relaxed, closed her eyes, and began to rest.
Her exhaustion was visible to the naked eye, yet she let down her guard completely in front of Ye Chuan. She was effectively entrusting her life to him—a massive taboo in this World of Horrors.
Having struggled in the World of Horrors for so many years, Tian Xiaotian naturally understood this principle, but she did it anyway.
It was proof enough of her trust in Ye Chuan.
Even though they hadn't seen each other for decades.
Because Tian Xiaotian knew that if it weren't for Ye Chuan, she probably wouldn't have survived even her first dungeon.
...
...
Tian Xiaotian woke up. In reality, she had slept for less than half an hour before the broadcast sounded again—
"Hello, passengers... Welcome aboard the Rusty Pilgrim... bzzzt..."
"Bzzzt... Please observe the following rules..."
"Travel civilized, do not argue with other passengers... No smoking or drinking in the carriage..."
"Bzzz... Do not bzzzt..."
"Bzzzt... The next stop is in 20 hours..."
"Passengers without tickets, please purchase them immediately..."
The sound of the electric current was piercing. Tian Xiaotian noticed that Ye Chuan had stayed in the seat beside her the whole time. Even though he had the appearance of a child, he gave her an unparalleled sense of security.
"Boss, thanks for your trouble," Tian Xiaotian said. Although she had only slept for a short while, it had been incredibly refreshing.
"No problem."
Tian Xiaotian gathered her thoughts and continued, "The next stop for the Death Train is Plague Town."
"The background of this horror dungeon is a small town where an unknown plague broke out, infecting people and turning them into monsters," Tian Xiaotian explained.
"And Silent Hospital is where those infected patients turned the entire medical staff into monsters."
However, Tian Xiaotian wasn't clear on the specific details because she hadn't cleared this dungeon with the highest rating.
Clearing dungeons in the World of Horrors came with grades; meeting certain conditions allowed one to leave the dungeon and receive rewards. Generally speaking, the more thoroughly one investigated the dungeon, the higher the likelihood of receiving a high evaluation.
Ye Chuan hummed in acknowledgment, indicating he roughly understood.
If Plague Town was where the virus originated, perhaps there would be a considerable number of monsters?
In that case, it would be a good place to farm Essence Souls for Lilith.
"Boss, are you thinking about something?" Tian Xiaotian asked, seeing Ye Chuan lost in thought.
"I just realized that the Death Train shouldn't have just a few stops," Ye Chuan said. Could this Death Train be a transit hub?
"That..."
"Never mind, just treat it as me rambling." After saying this, Ye Chuan suddenly seemed to notice something and looked out the window. "We're entering a tunnel."
Entering a tunnel?
Tian Xiaotian looked out the window. What was so strange about entering a tunnel?
*Whoosh.* The next moment, the surroundings instantly went dim. In the silent space, only the sound of friction against the iron rails remained.
"..."
When the surroundings brightened again, Tian Xiaotian looked at Ye Chuan once more. "Boss..."
"Did you notice anything?" Ye Chuan suddenly asked.
Tian Xiaotian frowned, then followed Ye Chuan's gaze. There was nothing special.
Just empty seats.
Wait...
Empty?!
"Where are our teammates?" Tian Xiaotian stood up immediately, looking around in disbelief.
Why had everyone disappeared?!
"Is it the power of the supernatural?!"
"..." Ye Chuan retracted his gaze, speaking as if he had realized something. "They were probably randomly transported to other carriages."
Tian Xiaotian didn't quite understand.
"When I entered the Death Train, new passengers would appear every time we passed through a tunnel... I was thinking about the pattern," Ye Chuan explained.
"I think... every time we go through a tunnel, the people inside the carriage might be randomly teleported to other carriages."
"But why didn't that happen the first time I rode it?" Just as Tian Xiaotian finished asking, she realized the problem.
"The first time I cleared this dungeon, I was alone."
"Right, you were alone, so you didn't notice the pattern. You were lucky enough not to bump into other passengers," Ye Chuan said.
"The carriage was always just you. Even if someone had disappeared, you wouldn't have known."
"B-But what is the purpose of this rule?" Tian Xiaotian frowned and began to think.
"Who knows," Ye Chuan remained calm.
"But on this train, we aren't the only passengers, are we?"
"Boss, do you mean..."
"Perhaps there are very dangerous entities appearing as passengers," Ye Chuan said.
"Every time we pass through a tunnel, no one knows if they'll be placed together with some terrifying existence."
"If that's the case..."
"The train only prohibits arguing; it doesn't prohibit killing," Ye Chuan murmured, looking out of the car.
Outside the train at this moment, amidst the fog that shrouded the seemingly endless line of carriages, the windows of several cars were suddenly stained red with splattered blood. Faint screams could be heard, only to be drowned out by the roaring sound of the speeding train...
...
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
