Players, Please Board the Train-Chapter 12: Monster

"Keep your voice down! What if you attract those monsters again?" the middle-aged woman scolded anxiously.
"Those things don't seem to react to sound," Yan Jiayu said. "There were noises in every carriage yesterday, and they didn't respond. It was only when third class turned on their lights that..."
So this was the meaning behind the train rule about keeping lights off. Just some residual light from second class had attracted several monsters - third class must have been completely wiped out.
"This is such a scam!" the middle-aged woman complained. "What kind of crappy train is this? If they're going to make rules, they should explain them clearly. They're basically sending us to our deaths. Who would dare go to the bathroom in complete darkness at night? Of course people would turn on lights..."
"Are those monsters really transformed players?" the heavily made-up woman asked, ignoring her. "How could normal people suddenly turn into monsters?"
The terrifying swallowing sounds outside the carriage hadn't stopped yet. First they had to fight for their lives against cannibal players when boarding, nearly became monster food, and now they might transform into those completely irrational, grotesque monsters themselves? No one could accept this!
The carriage fell deathly silent until Xu Huo finally spoke up after a while: "Liu Jia, my arm is injured. Come help me."
Liu Jia hurried over, but as soon as she touched the table, her hand was grabbed.
Xu Huo traced words on her palm while speaking aloud: "Most of those things outside are probably mutated players, but that doesn't mean every player will turn into one."
Even without Liu Jia's input, based on what he'd seen earlier, he could guess the true identity of those "monsters." Their forms resembled humans, but their arms and legs seemed to have undergone abnormal secondary growth, becoming extremely long. Though their bodies appeared withered, their speed and strength were astonishing - essentially resembling evolved humans.
"I suspect only cannibal players who haven't eaten since boarding will mutate."
They had all eaten food from the train, so that wasn't the issue. It must be related to the special nature of cannibal players.
After the oval-faced woman died, three people had eaten. If the elderly man wasn't among them, then that was likely the key to the mutation.
"The old man was a cannibal player? How did you know?"
"How do you know he didn't eat?"
Yan Jiayu and the heavily made-up woman asked almost simultaneously.
"The orientation of the bite wound on his shoulder. If someone had attacked him from the front, it would have left different marks." It wasn't just the wound - scent, clothing fabric, even hair length could provide clues. But the old man had only mentioned being bitten once without providing other details, so those tooth marks were likely self-inflicted to suppress his urge to feed.
"Maybe he was among those who bit that woman last night, and the bite wound has another explanation," the heavily made-up woman said skeptically.
"If eating could also cause mutation, there should be more than just him in our carriage tonight," Xu Huo said coldly.
"He saved my life even while mutating. I believe in that elder's character," Professor Han said.
The heavily made-up woman sneered, "He was a cannibal player."
"He saved a person," Wang Xiaohui spoke up this time.
"Regardless, he's dead now. Arguing about it is pointless," the middle-aged woman said. Now that she knew those monsters were once human and that she wasn't at risk of mutating, her courage returned. She clicked her tongue regretfully: "What a shame about that young girl He Yang though. So young and pretty, gone just like that."
Li Fei was killed by Yan Jiayu, the old man turned into a monster, but He Yang had disappeared without a trace - no one knew whether she was killed by monsters or murdered by cannibal players in the chaos.
"Rather than worrying about the dead, we should focus on the monsters outside," the heavily made-up woman said. "Who knows if they'll come back in?"
"There were so many of them..." She suddenly turned the topic to Liu Jia: "Have the monsters decreased at all?"
"I don't..." Liu Jia began instinctively before catching herself. "No, they're all still lying there motionless."
After a two-second pause, the heavily made-up woman said with amusement in her voice: "That's quite an ability you have - night vision."
Liu Jia's heart leapt into her throat.
Yesterday she'd been too terrified by the things outside the window. She only saw Chen Yi attack Xu Huo, and by the time she regained her senses, the oval-faced woman was already dead. She barely caught sight of the heavily made-up woman retreating from the scene, wiping something against her mouth that made all traces of blood disappear instantly.
Not daring to speak carelessly, she'd only told Professor Han about this. Now that the heavily made-up woman knew about her night vision and was testing her, she must have guessed Liu Jia's ability had time limits. To protect herself, she would definitely target Liu Jia!
Terrified but forcing herself to stay calm, Liu Jia traced out what she knew about the heavily made-up woman to Xu Huo, also mentioning how Wang Xiaohui seemed surrounded by a protective film that repelled attacks - a monster had actually collided with her earlier but was bounced away.
This surprised Xu Huo. Whether it was a special trait or an item, this was far more powerful than ordinary physical enhancement. Given Wang Xiaohui's physical condition, mere strength wouldn't be enough for survival - this ability suited her well.
The train rules prohibited randomly entering other carriages. Wang Xiaohui had violated this - who knew what consequences she might face?
But since she could still protect herself, the penalty probably wasn't life-threatening.
"How many cannibal players are there in one carriage anyway?" Liu Jia couldn't help asking. She didn't dare trust anyone easily now, even regretting her soft-hearted decision to let Wang Xiaohui in.
"Probably half and half," Xu Huo said. "Six cannibal players, six normal players."
"Then how many are left in our carriage?" the middle-aged woman chimed in.
"Likely two more," Yan Jiayu said. "The two who died last night, plus Li Fei and the old man - they were all cannibal players."
"That woman who was killed might have been one too," the heavily made-up woman added.
Hard to say, since she was murdered.
"Liu Jia, did you see anything last night?" the heavily made-up woman tossed the question at her.
Liu Jia tensed up, but following Xu Huo's silent cue, replied: "I didn't see anything. I was too scared at the time, and with Mr. Xu and Chen Yi right there, I was focused on watching them."
The heavily made-up woman fell silent. Xu Huo quickly continued: "I tend to think that woman was a cannibal player too. When she boarded, she carried a strong scent of blood."
"But our carriage has one extra person," the middle-aged woman pointed out.
"I'm not a cannibal player," Wang Xiaohui explained. "I can't even stand or walk. How could I eat people?"
The faint sound of fabric rustling came through the darkness. After a few seconds, Professor Han said: "There's only one cannibal player left. No need to worry too much - there are six of us."
Though he spoke reassuringly, Professor Han remained concerned. He'd stopped Liu Jia from talking about the monsters precisely because he feared players might act recklessly in extreme situations - third class's self-destruction being a prime example.
Knowing the heavily made-up woman was a cannibal player and that the carriage's corpses had been taken by monsters, he wasn't sure if she'd eaten before. Right now, his greatest worry was for Liu Jia.