Chapter 857: Beheading in Sleep

The train attendant smiled and walked toward the next person.

With Xu Huo setting the precedent, the players behind him also generously gave tips and wrapped red envelopes—there was no need to offend the train attendant over a bit of money.

Of course, there were also those who didn't give. The yellow-haired female player was one of them. Not only did she not tip, but she didn't even order a meal set, only asking for a bowl of noodles.

The train attendant showed no reaction and walked away with a composed expression.

"It doesn't seem like such a big deal after all." Another elderly man who had given a gift package shook his head with a pained expression.

"You're pretty well-off." The medicine-selling player sat down next to Xu Huo and introduced himself, "My name is Xiao Xianglin. Brother, let's be friends. Who knows, we might even be heading to the same stop."

"Yu Cong." Xu Huo glanced at the backpack player across from him. The other party spoke up, "Xu Jinfeng."

Aside from his name, he didn't seem inclined to say more. Afterward, he put on his earphones and closed his eyes to rest.

Xiao Xianglin chatted with Xu Huo for a bit, revealing that his destination was Sea World. Upon learning that Xu Huo was also heading there, he smiled and said, "Maybe we'll even run into the same dungeon. If so, please look after me."

"Mutual care, mutual care." Xu Huo replied politely.

After the train had been traveling for three hours, the train attendant pushed a dining cart into the carriage.

Except for the yellow-haired female player, everyone else ordered the five-thousand meal set. Players who had wrapped gifts received an extra pudding, said to be a token of gratitude from the Head Chef.

Spending a bit more money on the train wouldn't do anyone harm—most players in the same carriage clearly understood this principle. Xiao Xianglin was the first to eat his pudding, nodding at Xu Huo with a smile.

The yellow-haired female player glanced backward, then said to the female player at the neighboring table, "Miss, with a figure like yours, you probably don't like sweets, right? How about you give me your pudding? I love sweet things."

The female player didn't bother responding and picked up her spoon.

The yellow-haired female player then turned to the black-mole player across from her, "The cake on the menu is too expensive. How about I give you a hundred White Bills and you sell it to me?"

"Do you think I'm stupid?" The black-mole player swallowed his pudding in one bite.

The yellow-haired female player let out a cold laugh, "Not afraid someone poisoned it!"

The time after lunch passed fairly peacefully. Perhaps because today was special, the afternoon broadcast played soothing music, and the pretty female player took the initiative to invite the black-mole player across from her to dance.

Beautiful people dancing was also a pleasure to watch. The atmosphere in the carriage was relatively relaxed, and Xu Huo and Xiao Xianglin each took turns inviting the female player to dance.

Unlike her cold demeanor when first boarding the train, the female player seemed to be enjoying herself. Before long, her cheeks flushed, and she even pulled out a bottle of liquor from her luggage compartment. When slightly tipsy, she left the carriage to go to the restroom.

The black-mole player was the first to follow her out.

The others found it unremarkable, merely wearing a look of "the world has gone to ruin" contempt before turning their attention away.

Not long after, the female player returned, her lips an unusually vivid red.

"Youth is wonderful." The elderly man said enviously, then asked the female player with a hint of another meaning, "Where's that young man?"

"Him?" The female player lowered her voice, "He went to another carriage."

Those words choked back whatever else the elderly man was about to say. The yellow-haired female player also withdrew the contempt from her face.

"Heh!" The female player let out a charming laugh, walking steadily back to her seat. Sipping her liquor, she said, "Some people are just annoying. The other person doesn't even want to talk to them, yet they keep chattering on."

Xiao Xianglin's embarrassment was mixed with a hint of fear. When the female player looked back at him, he averted his gaze first.

Xu Huo, however, smiled and nodded at her.

The female player gave a light smile, raised her glass toward him, then withdrew her gaze.

Time quickly arrived at evening. After the lights went out, the carriage plunged into darkness along with the sky outside.

Right when the lights went out, there was some commotion in other carriages, but it soon calmed down and fell back into silence.

The sound of breathing inside the carriage gradually became slow and deep.

Under the steady, rhythmic breathing, Xu Huo also felt drowsy. He closed his eyes, planning to rest for a while, but his consciousness gradually grew hazy—until a foul, fishy stench rushed into his nostrils. He suddenly snapped awake, and opening his eyes, he saw a broad shadow standing before him, an axe raised in its hand.

Xu Huo swung his sword out of reflex, but the shadow was shattered by the single sweep, vanishing like an illusion.

He stood up and found that half the players in the carriage were slumped over the tables, fast asleep. The elderly man and the yellow-haired female player had already been decapitated, their bodies leaning against the tables, blood pooling on the floor.

The young female player and the severed-finger player were both wide awake. The Raincoat Man who had been leaning against the seat during the day was now sitting upright as well, while the man still holding a cigarette between his fingers was half-lidded, looking drained.

Xu Huo kicked Xiao Xianglin.

Xiao Xianglin struggled to sit up, forcing his eyelids open before pulling out a speaker-shaped item. He pressed the switch, and a piercing, elongated sound instantly cut through the carriage. Most of the slumped players were startled awake, and upon catching the smell of blood in the carriage, they were immediately jolted into full alertness.

Some people put on special item glasses and, upon discovering that someone had been killed, immediately pressed themselves against the carriage walls. "Who did this?!"

The few who could see couldn't help but turn their gazes toward Xu Huo, who was holding a sword.

"Everyone, stay calm!" Xiao Xianglin quickly said, "It definitely wasn't Yu Cong. He's the one who woke me up just now. Otherwise, you'd still be asleep right now."

"Then what exactly is going on?" The backpack player, Xu Jinfeng, rolled his eyes suspiciously. He couldn't see, so he could only judge others' positions by sound.

"When I opened my eyes, the people were already dead." Xu Huo said, "I was almost the third."

"Then whoever was awake before him must be under suspicion." Xiao Xianglin immediately said.

"Before he got up, I was awake." The female player in the front seat said, "And it wasn't just me—three other people were awake too."

She extended her finger, pointing out the severed-finger player, the Raincoat Man, and the smoking player one by one, then said to Xiao Xianglin, "Why don't you take a look and see which one of us it is?"

Xiao Xianglin's face darkened in the shadows. Just as he was about to say something, the carriage ahead also erupted in noise. Shortly after, someone opened the carriage door and rushed up to their carriage—but rather than coming inside, the person sealed the door with an item.

Xu Huo immediately looked toward the rear. The two carriages behind them showed no movement at all.

"Looks like something happened up front too. No sound from behind—could they all be dead?" The female player stood up and peered around.

At this point, no one would recklessly head outside. Xiao Xianglin cracked open the door and shouted twice toward the rear carriage. Receiving no response, he immediately shut the door and locked it.

"It's not just one or two carriages with problems." The severed-finger player spoke for the first time since boarding, "It's been less than two hours since lights out. Under normal circumstances, players wouldn't be asleep at this time. Even with external inducements, they wouldn't have reached a deep sleep state. There's no way a player could have moved through each carriage in such a short time, picking out targets."

"So the problem lies within the carriage itself."