Chapter 14: Scapegoat

“What nonsense are you spouting!” Liu Jia said, annoyed. “The professor is just injured!”

“Am I not making sense?” the middle-aged woman argued self-righteously. “There are no more Red Players in this carriage. We can make it through the last night safely. If he turns into a monster, won’t he kill us all?”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Xu Huo asked her.

The middle-aged woman choked, then said hesitantly, “Otherwise… kick him out…”

“It’s full of monsters outside at night! Kicking him out is just sending the professor to his death!” Liu Jia shouted angrily. “The professor has been protecting us all along. If it weren’t for him, you might have gone to turn on the lights and gotten yourself killed, just like the people in the third-class carriage!”

The first night had been manageable, but yesterday, when the old man suddenly mutated, anyone unaware of the situation would likely have rushed to turn on the lights. Before the third-class carriage self-destructed, there had been beast-like roars.

The middle-aged woman’s face twisted, spittle flying. “You have the nerve to talk to me? Since you saw it so early, why didn’t you say anything? Are you waiting for everyone else to die so you can show off how capable you are?”

Liu Jia was so angry her eyes turned red. Wang Xiaohui tried to intervene but couldn’t get a word in. The woman kept shouting, “Anyway, I’m not staying with this dangerous person…”

Xu Huo spoke up abruptly, “Then go to another carriage.”

The middle-aged woman was stunned. She glared at his calm face for a long while before swallowing her insults.

Xu Huo’s previous performance had left an impression. Professor Han smiled bitterly and said, “I’ll go to the third-class carriage. The transition carriage is still usable. If you lock the door at night, I won’t be able to open it even if I turn.”

“Let’s treat the wound first.” Xu Huo used a small knife to scrape away the rotting flesh from the wound, then squeezed out the pus and blood, only stopping when clean blood began to flow. “Go to a hospital as soon as you get off the train. Don’t die from a wound infection.”

Professor Han thanked him, but still wanted to leave.

“But the door to the third-class carriage is broken. What if those monsters get in?” Liu Jia was the first to object.

“I can keep an eye on Professor Han,” Yan Jiayu suggested.

“Are you sure?” Xu Huo looked at her. Professor Han’s situation was different from that of a Red Player, so no one knew what kind of changes might occur.

“No problem.” Yan Jiayu patted the table. “If I pin him against the back door, he definitely won’t be able to get out.”

Her combat prowess was plain for all to see. Xu Huo could tell that unlike him, who was only half-stepping into the threshold of power, Yan Jiayu had a solid foundation in martial arts. Combined with her monstrous strength, none of the players here, one by one, were her match.

“That works too.” With that insurance, Xu Huo stopped bringing it up and got up to check the front door.

The windows of the first-class carriage had been covered up. There was a faint pair of bloody footprints under the door. He rested his hand on the doorknob.

“Thank you for just now,” Professor Han said, walking over. “And thank you for saving Liu Jia. She said it was you who had Yan Jiayu take her place at the front door.”

“Yan Jiayu did the heavy lifting; I didn’t really help,” Xu Huo replied politely.

Professor Han continued to thank him repeatedly, then sighed, “I’ve seen some Evolvers who eventually became less than human… but I still believe in the radiance of human nature. If it weren’t for that old man, I would already be dead.”

“He was already beyond saving.” However, the old man had proven one thing: players who had eaten human flesh had absolutely no way back. The result of trying to hold out without feeding was turning into a monster devoid of humanity.

Xu Huo looked back at the others in the carriage.

“You’re so amazing! If it weren’t for you, I definitely would have died yesterday!” Liu Jia was thanking Yan Jiayu.

Yan Jiayu scratched her head. “I grew up in a temple. Carrying water and chopping wood were daily chores, so I’m especially strong.”

The two girls looked at her with envy and admiration.

“…Do you think we’ll return to normal after we get off this time?” Liu Jia added. “What if we get hungry again…”

They could barely endure it for a while, but if it lasted longer, who knew when they might fall into becoming Red Players.

“I don’t think so.” Wang Xiaohui shook her head. “Didn’t the train broadcast say this trip was to categorize the players? We aren’t Red Players, and we haven’t eaten anyone since getting on the train. So we’re different from Red Players; we don’t have to rely on eating our own kind to survive.”

“Once you’ve eaten, you have to eat forever. If it were me, I’d rather be dead!” Liu Jia said.

“Are you hungry? I have some food here.” The middle-aged woman, who had been staying in the corner, suddenly walked over with a smile, pulling several transparently wrapped sausages from under her apron.

Given the earlier argument, the three girls ignored her, but the middle-aged woman familiarly grabbed Liu Jia’s hand. “Little girl, you’ve got quite a temper. Don’t take what I said earlier to heart. Professor Han and Mr. Xu are injured; we still need to rely on each other to keep watch tonight.”

What she said made sense. Liu Jia and Wang Xiaohui each took one. The former turned back and asked, “Professor, Mr. Xu, do you want some?”

Xu Huo walked over. Under the middle-aged woman’s nervous gaze, he took one, sniffed it, and looked up at her. “The little girl just said a few unpleasant things. Was there really a need to try and kill her?”

The others froze. Professor Han was the first to react, immediately pulling the three girls back.

“What… what do you mean?” The middle-aged woman’s face stiffened.

Xu Huo loosened his grip and stepped on the sausage that had fallen to the ground, crushing it.

Liu Jia stared at the middle-aged woman in horror, while the latter began to complain incessantly, “Young people these days only know how to waste things…”

“You are the last Red Player.” Xu Huo interrupted.

“What Red Player… didn’t you say there were only six yesterday?” The middle-aged woman’s smile twisted slightly. “Why are you targeting me for no reason? I haven’t attacked anyone else…”

“You haven’t attacked anyone, but you have fed.” Xu Huo had already picked up a chair. The middle-aged woman looked wary, then shouted at Professor Han and the others, “One minute he says six, the next he says seven! I think he’s the Red Player. Don’t let him fool you, you idiots!”

“She really did eat something.” Liu Jia’s face turned pale. “I saw it the night before last, but I thought she was eating snacks… Ugh!”

“Don’t come over here!” Professor Han stopped the middle-aged woman from approaching, his voice stern. “If you come any closer, I won’t be polite!”

The middle-aged woman’s expression turned ferocious. She suddenly pulled a fruit knife from under her apron and lunged at Xu Huo, waving it. “You forced my hand!”

She was fast. Although Xu Huo pulled back quickly, a bloody scratch was still left on his waist. Seeing the middle-aged woman dash toward the front door, he stepped aside to clear the path.

But unexpectedly, the middle-aged woman turned halfway and charged at Liu Jia, determined to take her down as a cushion!

“Go to hell!”