Serial Player
Chapter 899 - 557 Boarding the Car

Chapter 899: Chapter 557 Boarding the Car

Inside and outside the tunnel, two separate worlds had formed.

The villagers of Ruhua Village remained as tranquil as ever, gossiping about village matters, discussing family anecdotes, or already slipping into slumber.

They were unaware that less than 300 meters away inside the tunnel, a quaint steam train had come to a stop.

The neatly attired conductor was now clipping each passenger’s ticket with small scissors.

This archaic method of ticket-checking oddly added to the train’s ritualistic and rustic charm.

Li Changhe had never boarded such a train before, but he knew quite a bit about them.

The conductors possessed peculiar abilities, carefully gauging dangerous individuals among the passengers. They could even sense malevolence before the train had arrived, which allowed them to evade official encirclement.

He now noticed four new passengers and conjectured they had aroused some suspicion.

However, Li Changhe, He Feng, and the Moon God all wore the "Insect God Vest".

Li Changhe and He Feng were clothed in magical attire, while the Moon God was draped in a black cloak. In contrast, Zhao Jiu was still wearing his epic yellow raincoat, standing out conspicuously among them.

The conductor couldn’t see through their disguise.

In the eyes of the conductor and the passengers with Startling Bells, Li Changhe and his two companions were just easy targets that would cause the bell to ring at most once. Instead, Zhao Jiu was seen as the strongest player among the four.

Of course, the passengers boarding at this platform probably thought otherwise. They were clearly aware it was this group of four that had eliminated the controller of this location.

Meanwhile, Zhao Jiu, greeted by the conductor, was feeling somewhat nervous.

Unlike the other three’s disguises, she was indeed the lowest level and weakest among them. After the Moon God gave her a ticket, making her a passenger, the Startling Bell rang seven times.

That might seem impressive, but her combat experience was limited. By the time Li Changhe was at her level, he had already completed the Seven Kings War and become a Champion-level player.

She rarely completed tasks alone; her last periodic task had almost killed her. That was also why Mr. All-known and the others had allowed her to come out.

She was a player with strong abilities on paper but average in actual combat. It was mostly a lack of battle experience, something that could be improved with more practice.

At this moment, faced with an existence surpassing her understanding, she inevitably felt anxious. But as a player, she didn’t show it and stood calmly among the three, her face hidden by the raincoat, so outsiders couldn’t tell anything was amiss.

On the other side, the conductor ultimately couldn’t make out any tricks; to him, this was a strange combination.

Three nothings and one slightly stronger girl. All were new passengers and appeared at the same time.

"One leading three? She must have some assurance... Her eyes seem quite special," thought the conductor, not minding much. He sometimes couldn’t understand human actions.

White Deer, observing the scene, said to a teammate, "Look, the three are protecting the girl in their midst. She must be their leader."

"But the three of them... the Startling Bell only rang once. They should be novice level," the teammate responded in [Friends].

"Foolish, could a novice whose bell rang just once have taken down the factory?" White Deer replied. "They must have some sort of powerful disguise, strong enough to deceive the Startling Bell!"

"And yet three such strong players willingly follow that female player," analyzed White Deer. "Stick to the original plan and curry favor with them."

"Understood."

Li Changhe, of course, was unaware of what the conductor or White Deer was thinking. He was sizing up the quaint train. One couldn’t see inside from the exterior of the train; it was unclear how many passengers were inside, but the movement of vague shadows was visible.

The train was predominantly black, painted with the figure of a seated human with the head of a sheep, holding a scale in its hands.

This represented the principle of equivalent exchange, the Lamb of Rest. It was the ghost train that appeared at various strange locations, difficult for authorities worldwide to guard against.

At that moment, He Feng contacted him in [Friends], "By the way, Li, how much longer until Old Lead’s reforging is complete? Is the reward from the recent task sufficient?"

He Feng was referring to the achievement reward from ’Nightmare Suppressor’: an acceleration of time in the [Forge] for three days.

This reward could hasten the Forge’s synthesis, reforging, and decomposition processes.

"Still not enough, even after using the three-day acceleration, there are a few more hours to go," Li Changhe responded.

There were currently three operations in the Forge.

[Boss Lead] was being reforged, with 93 hours left. Even after the three days of acceleration, there would still be eighteen hours to completion.

The spoils of the battle, Half Red Knife, was in the process of being decomposed, with 32 hours remaining.

The Abyssal Worm’s teeth were almost done decomposing, with seventeen hours left.

Li Changhe planned to wait for Bug’s teeth to finish decomposing, use the resulting materials to strengthen his equipment, and then use the acceleration. It was a slightly better value for the price.

"Makes sense. Since we’re finally on the train, let’s see if there’s any suitable material here. We can enhance and speed up together," He Feng responded. A rare opportunity to board the train meant maximizing benefits while achieving their objectives.

Then it was their turn to have their tickets checked. The conductor studied them while clipping a small notch in their tickets.

"You’re new passengers and might not yet be familiar with the train’s atmosphere. But... you’ll soon come to love it here," said the conductor with a congenial smile. "Almost anything you desire can be obtained here, as long as you’re willing to pay the price."

Li Changhe casually asked, "Oh? Do you serve hot pot on this train?"

"Hot... hot pot?" The conductor was momentarily baffled.

He had never been asked such a question before; most passengers sought favors or extra train tickets from him. None had ever inquired about food.

Indeed, there was food on the train, but players dared not eat it. They prepared their own food instead.

"If it’s just food, the train can satisfy your appetites," the conductor replied with a lift at the corner of his mouth, revealing sharp teeth. "Provided you pay enough, you can have whatever you wish."

"That’s great, trains and hot pot go well together," Li Changhe gave a thumbs-up. "My biggest wish is to enjoy hot pot on a train."

"You certainly are a passenger with peculiar interests," the conductor grinned. "I hope your journey and your meal are both pleasurable."

Having said that, he stepped aside to let the four board the train.

Then, he too boarded. The train slowly started moving, its shrill whistle disappearing into the tunnel.

The conductor, for now, had no idea of the gravity of the situation.