Players, Please Board the Train-Chapter 14: Meat Sausage

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Liu Jia said angrily. "The professor is just injured!"
"Am I not making sense?" the middle-aged woman argued forcefully. "There are no cannibal players left in our carriage. We can safely get through the last night. If he turns into a monster, won't he kill us all?"
"What do you want to do then?" Xu Huo asked her.
The middle-aged woman hesitated before saying, "How about we kick him out..."
"Outside at night is full of cannibal monsters! Kicking him out means sending the professor to his death!" Liu Jia shouted furiously. "The professor has been protecting us all along. If not for him, you might have turned on the lights yourself like those in third class and gone to your death!"
The first night was understandable, but when the elderly man suddenly mutated last night, anyone unaware might have recklessly turned on the lights. Before the third-class passengers self-destructed, there had been beast-like roars.
The middle-aged woman's face twisted as she spat, "How dare you criticize me! If you saw people eating others earlier, why didn't you say anything? Were you waiting for others to die to show how capable you are?"
Liu Jia's eyes reddened with anger. Wang Xiaohui wanted to mediate but couldn't get a word in as the woman kept shouting, "I refuse to stay with this dangerous person..."
Xu Huo suddenly spoke up, "Then you can go to another carriage."
The middle-aged woman was stunned, staring at his calm face before finally swallowing her curses. Xu Huo's previous actions carried weight.
Professor Han said bitterly, "I'll go to third class then. The connecting carriage is still usable. If you close the door at night, I won't be able to open it."
"Let's treat your wound first." Xu Huo used a small knife to scrape away the rotting flesh from the wound, squeezing out pus until clean blood flowed. "Go to the hospital immediately after getting off. Don't die from infection."
Professor Han thanked him but still wanted to leave.
"But the door to third class is broken. What if those monsters come in?" Liu Jia was the first to object.
"I can watch over Professor Han," Yan Jiayu suggested.
"Are you capable?" Xu Huo looked at her. Professor Han's condition differed from cannibal players, so no one knew what might happen.
"No problem." Yan Jiayu patted the table. "If I pin him against the rear door, he definitely won't get out."
Her combat ability was evident. Unlike Xu Huo who was halfway across the threshold, Yan Jiayu had solid martial arts foundations enhanced by freakish strength. Among all players present, none were her match.
"Alright." With this insurance, Xu Huo dropped the matter and went to check the front door.
First-class windows were covered. Faint bloody footprints marked the floor beneath the door. His hand hovered over the handle.
"Thank you earlier," Professor Han approached. "And thank you for saving Liu Jia. She said you had Yan Jiayu replace her at the front door."
"Yan Jiayu did the work. I didn't help much," Xu Huo said modestly.
Professor Han kept thanking him, then sighed, "I've met some Evolvers who eventually became inhuman... But I still believe in human goodness. If not for that old man, I'd be dead."
"He was beyond saving." However, the old man proved one thing—players who ate humans had no way back. Resisting consumption only led to becoming a monster devoid of humanity.
Xu Huo turned to observe the others in the carriage.
"You're amazing! Without you, I'd definitely be dead yesterday!" Liu Jia was thanking Yan Jiayu.
Yan Jiayu scratched her head, "I grew up in a temple. Fetching water and chopping wood were daily chores, so I developed unusual strength."
The two girls looked at her with admiration.
"...Do you think we'll return to normal after getting off?" Liu Jia asked. "What if the hunger returns..."
They could endure temporarily, but prolonged hunger might eventually turn them into cannibal players.
"I don't think so," Wang Xiaohui shook her head. "Didn't the announcement say this trip classifies players? We're not cannibal players and haven't eaten anyone onboard. We're different—we don't need to survive by eating others."
"If I had to keep eating people, I'd rather die!" Liu Jia said.
"Are you hungry? I have food." The middle-aged woman, who had been keeping to the corner, suddenly approached smiling and produced several transparent-wrapped meat sausages from under her apron.
Given their earlier argument, the three girls ignored her. But the woman familiarly took Liu Jia's hand, "Don't hold a grudge, girl. I misspoke earlier. Professor Han and Mr. Xu are injured—we need to keep watch tonight."
Seeing reason in this, Liu Jia and Wang Xiaohui each took one. Liu Jia turned back, "Professor, Mr. Xu, do you want some?"
Plump, springy sausages sat vacuum-sealed, their color enticing.
Xu Huo walked over and took one under the woman's nervous gaze. He sniffed it, then looked up at her, "Just because the girl said some unpleasant words—was it necessary to go this far?"
The others froze. Professor Han reacted first, immediately pulling the three girls back.
"W-what do you mean?" The woman's face stiffened.
Xu Huo opened his hand, letting the sausage drop before crushing it underfoot. An unnatural red meat oozed from the torn packaging, emitting a bloody scent.
"What kind of meat is this?" Liu Jia stared horrified at the woman.
"Pork, of course! Over thirty yuan per jin! If you don't want it, fine, but don't waste food! Young people these days—"
"You're the last cannibal player," Xu Huo cut through her rambling.
"What cannibal player... Didn't you say there were only six yesterday?" The woman's smile twisted. "Why accuse me without reason? I haven't attacked anyone..."
"You didn't attack, but you've eaten." Xu Huo already held a chair. As the woman grew wary, she yelled at the others, "First he says six, now seven! He's the real cannibal player—don't be fooled!"
"She did eat something," Liu Jia turned pale. "The night before last, I saw her... but I thought it was snacks... Ugh!"
"Stay back!" Professor Han blocked the woman's approach, his voice stern. "Come closer and I won't hold back!"
The woman's expression turned vicious as she suddenly drew a fruit knife from her apron, slashing at Xu Huo. "You forced this!"
Despite Xu Huo dodging quickly, the blade still grazed his waist. Seeing her dash for the front door, he stepped aside.
Unexpectedly, she suddenly veered toward Liu Jia, determined to take her down too!
"Die!"