Players, Please Board the Train-Chapter 109: Alienation

"Shut your mouth!" Gu Yu snapped angrily.
"Hah!" Lin Pei sneered, "Am I wrong? What's the point of saving someone who's destined to die? Better to free up your hands to kill a few more Mutants."
"Though I think you're actually pretty lucky - the ones inside the wall are all Mutants with mobility issues..."
BANG! A sudden tremendous impact from the outer wall made Lin Pei cut off mid-sentence and whirl around.
The darkness outside the door seemed unchanged from before, but he immediately moved toward Xu Huo and the others anyway.
At that moment, the Mutants swarming Shen Yi began climbing over each other upward!
Shen Yi, filled with desperate courage, looked up at Xu Huo and shouted, "Cut off my legs!"
The piano wire had already returned to Xu Huo's hand. He signaled to Gu Yu, then released his grip and swiftly flew out over the suspension bridge. Putting some distance between them, he descended slightly and raised his crimson sword.
But instead of severing Shen Yi's legs, he killed several Mutants in quick succession!
Freed from the swarm, Shen Yi was easily pulled up onto the bridge by Gu Yu and the others along with his sister.
The siblings embraced, weeping bitterly, while Xu Huo returned to the suspension bridge and positioned himself between them and Lin Pei, advancing toward the latter.
Lin Pei stood his ground, eyes fixed on Xu Huo, but controlled his flying arrow to target Shen Yi, who was comforting Shen Xin behind them.
"Brother!" Shen Xin let out a heart-wrenching scream as the cold arrow pierced through her brother's temple!
Everyone present was caught completely off guard. Xu Huo immediately swung his sword forward, but Lin Pei used Shen Yi's Spring Rope to leap into the air, evading the strike. Simultaneously, the flying arrow that had taken Shen Yi's life returned to his hand, and when it shot out again, its target had become Xu Huo!
Xu Huo's previous swing had only severed one steel cable. Lin Pei's flying arrow moved faster than the piano wire, so Xu Huo returned to the suspension bridge, deflected the incoming arrow with a backhand motion, and charged forward at high speed.
But just then, he suddenly felt a cold gust brush past his side. Reacting instinctively, he raised his sword but was violently slammed off the bridge by tremendous force!
He quickly grabbed the piano wire to stay airborne, and in the edge of the flashlight beam, he caught a glimpse of a gaunt, withered figure flashing by. Unlike the Mutants below the bridge with poor jumping ability, this one disappeared past the light source, and then heavy impacts and shaking sounds came successively from the iron mesh on both sides. It moved with astonishing speed, changing positions nearly ten times in mere seconds—sometimes to their left or right, sometimes ahead or behind.
Lin Pei, who was further away, and Gu Yu's group warily tracked the sounds. The Mutant changed position too rapidly; it wasn't much slower than the previous white Mutant. There was no chance for escape, but strangely, the Mutant didn't attack them immediately. Instead, chewing sounds soon emerged from the darkness.
"It's eating its own kind!" Ke Liang said in disbelief. "Can it not tell the difference?"
"Who cares if it can tell! This is our chance!" Gu Yu grabbed Shen Xin, trying to flee, but at that moment, the gaunt Mutant suddenly lunged at them!
THUD! Ke Liang tackled both women to the side. The white Mutant punched a hole through the suspension bridge and plummeted into the horde of Mutants below!
Countless Mutants pounced on it, biting and dragging until it was completely submerged.
"It won't come back out... right?" Gu Yu said uncertainly.
Xu Huo returned to the suspension bridge, blocking Lin Pei in the middle.
Now, Xu Huo was closer to the town side, Lin Pei in the center, and Gu Yu's group nearer to the outer wall.
Lin Pei glanced at Gu Yu's group, then turned back to Xu Huo with a sudden laugh. "You were scratched by that Mutant!"
Gu Yu and the others looked up in shock to see a cut on Xu Huo's jaw, the edges already covered in bluish-black fine blood vessels like branching twigs.
Lin Pei laughed heartily. "I never thought that Mutant's toxin would be so potent! Such a small wound can still infect someone. Looking at you, you didn't even have time to cut away the flesh, did you!"
Xu Huo's expression turned icy. Several seconds had passed after the gaunt Mutant brushed by him before he realized his jaw had been cut. The pain, different from an ordinary wound, made him immediately draw his dagger to slice away the flesh near his jawbone. He poured both healing potion and antidote into his mouth, but it still didn't slow the toxin's spread.
And the rapid healing of the wound indicated he was undergoing Mutant transformation!
"You thought getting Master Nise's item and opening the gate would win you this dungeon's reward?" Lin Pei said with grim satisfaction. "Man proposes, heaven disposes. What a pity, Xu Huo—you have to die here today!"
"Lin Pei, I'll kill you!" Shen Xin suddenly scrambled up and charged at him, but before she could take two steps, the gaunt Mutant broke free from the horde and slammed into the suspension bridge!
The bridge swayed violently from the impact. Everyone on it immediately grabbed the nearest steel cables. But in that instant, Xu Huo appeared behind Lin Pei, swinging his sword at the back of his neck!
Lin Pei was prepared. He controlled his flying arrow to deflect the attack while simultaneously whipping out the Spring Rope to lasso the gaunt Mutant that had just climbed onto the bridge. He yanked the Mutant toward himself, then leaped over the side of the bridge!
He didn't jump directly down, of course, but hooked onto the edge of the bridge plating, simultaneously retrieving his item!
The Mutant, originally attacking Gu Yu's group, was pulled off course. It attacked any living thing it encountered indiscriminately, so the moment its focus shifted, it locked onto Xu Huo!
At that moment, Xu Huo's jaw twitched, and his body shuddered involuntarily. He felt the toxin eroding his brain and body, his blood boiling with unprecedented power and violent impulses flooding his entire being!
Facing the Mutant charging at him, he erupted forward and crashed into it head-on!
In the brutal collision, both Xu Huo and the Mutant were thrown back. But before either could steady themselves, they charged at each other simultaneously!
Seeing him even discard his sword, Gu Yu urgently cried out, "Xu Huo! Don't give up on yourself! Let's get out of here first! Capital City must have antidote potions!"
At that moment, countless sounds amplified in Xu Huo's ears—every sound, previously audible or not, suddenly reverberated against his eardrums. His heart pounded at an ever-increasing rate, his eyes bloodshot. After slamming into the gaunt Mutant once more, he turned and sprinted toward the inner wall gate!
The Mutant poison affecting him was different from the slow-acting toxin Professor Han had on the Preliminary Trial Train. If there was any way to save him, it had to be inside Decibel Town!
But as he turned, the gaunt Mutant pounced on him from behind, tackling him to the ground. As he fell, he quickly rolled over, bracing against the Mutant's jaw, and the two wrestled fiercely together!
Seeing this, Gu Yu moved to help, but was blocked by Lin Pei, who had returned to the bridge. "Can't you see? He's turning into a Mutant too!"
In just a few dozen seconds, Xu Huo's mouth had already twisted into a grimace, his expression wild and frenzied. He fought the Mutant with complete abandon, no technique whatsoever, yet his explosive strength actually matched the Mutant's—now it was pure brawling!
Enjoying the sight of his painful, grotesque state, Lin Pei added triumphantly, "Special time, special item, hidden only where Master Nise might be found; unique shape, unique position, the only key to leave this town."
"That's a riddle I found on a slip of paper in the mayor's office building."