Players, Please Board the Train-Chapter 60: Painting Girl

Gentleman of Light Medal: Congratulations to the player. This medal represents your glorious history. Players who own this medal are more highly recognized in the game because you stand on the side of light.
Distorted Mask: Although it looks like a simple piece of paper, once worn, anyone who sees it—including high-level players—will experience dizziness. For three minutes, no one can see the face beneath the mask clearly. Cooldown time: 24 hours.
Xu Huo tossed the medal aside, put on the mask, and stood in front of the mirror. The mask that seemed unremarkable just moments ago now appeared like a slowly rotating black vortex, revealing only a pair of exposed eyes.
“This is a special item.”
Ordinary items' effects depend on the user's ability, but this special item seemed indifferent to who used it, applying its blinding effect uniformly.
However, its duration was short.
Putting the mask back into his inventory, Xu Huo cut off his long hair, washed his head again, and stepped out of the bathroom. Unexpectedly, he saw a woman silently resting in the living room, her nearly naked body sprawled across the sofa, clutching the discarded Gentleman of Light medal pressed against her chest. Her familiar face was flushed, a satisfied smile playing on her lips.
“Yu Qingqing?” Xu Huo frowned. Suddenly, she ran at him naked and kicked him back onto the sofa.
The woman floated like a paper doll, a strange crack appearing on her abdomen but instantly healing. She knelt on the sofa, looking wronged and tearful. Where the tears ran, her skin developed abnormal folds.
“That painting by the Skinner… you’re the person in the picture. How did you come out?”
The woman in the painting above the fireplace in the Skinner’s secret room could take on anyone’s appearance. Although she looked human, she was essentially just a piece of paper. She should be the Skinner’s tool and, even if the dungeon collapsed, she shouldn’t exist outside the game.
The woman pitifully pointed to his pants pocket, implying she had hidden inside and followed him out.
Xu Huo didn’t see any stats above her head, so he asked, “Since you’re an item, can you be put into the inventory?”
The woman hesitated.
Xu Huo scowled and threw her a piece of clothing. “Then leave.”
She started crying again, but Xu Huo stared at her without flinching until her face was swollen from tears.
Wiping away her tears, her features smoothed out, and she coquettishly winked at him.
Xu Huo expressionlessly lit a cigarette and pulled over a chair to sit down.
After an awkward performance, the woman pitifully grabbed a broom and rag and started cleaning.
Xu Huo snorted coldly. The woman knelt with the rag in hand, looking humble and gesturing that she could clean, cook, and do laundry—she was good at housework.
The man with an iron heart finally relented, “Can you move things?”
The woman jumped up and lifted the three-seat sofa with her hands.
Xu Huo smiled in satisfaction, grabbed his tablet, and casually searched for a photo of a passerby. “Change into this appearance. Don’t keep showing this face… Where did you get this face from?”
The woman immediately searched under the coffee table, in the sofa seams, inside the TV cabinet, and some unexpected places to find photos of Yu Qingqing.
Xu Huo ordered, “Find all her photos in this house and burn them.”
He then held out his hand, “Medal.”
The woman twisted her hands reluctantly and handed over the medal, her watery eyes full of longing.
Unfortunately, Xu Huo felt no pity for this face. He put on running shoes and left the rented apartment.
An item that looked like a person and even had some thinking ability—although he didn’t know why it followed him—was not a bad thing in his eyes. He accepted anything that could help him understand the game.
The house he rented was in a rather remote area, but a large natural park was a few miles away. Xu Huo set his timer and planned to run straight there.
He ran several miles at a good pace and, upon reaching the park, barely changed his breathing. Though sweating, he felt no fatigue, especially in his legs, which felt like perfect machinery without the usual tiredness after long-distance running.
Stopping to check, he ran a few more laps around the park. After several laps, he felt tired, but if he didn’t consider the heart’s burden, he believed he could keep up this speed.
The “Tireless Legs” trait didn’t mean he truly didn’t get tired but that his endurance had multiplied. It was like a machine with some parts replaced by the latest and best components. Correspondingly, other parts needed upgrading to keep the machine running better and faster.
To reach the limit of his legs now, his body had to continue evolving.
Thus, the evolution agent was indispensable again.
Wiping sweat from his raised shirt, Xu Huo took off his soaked top, left the park, and hailed a car.
Returning to the residential complex, he saw Nie Xuan’s car downstairs again.
Going upstairs, he found his small rented apartment packed with people. Besides Nie Xuan and some special operatives, there was a middle-aged man with a kind face.
The middle-aged man came forward and shook his hand as soon as he saw him. “You must be Xu Huo. I am the team leader of the Ting City First Research Institute investigation team. I came specially to thank you for saving nearly forty innocent victims. On behalf of the state and those dozens of families, I thank you. I also brought some of the institute’s latest research results, hoping they help you.”
Xu Huo glanced at the dejected red-haired man beside him, expression calm. “Just lucky. I was trying to save myself too. At that time, I was already ready to give up on those dozens of people.”
Sima Xiao Er immediately looked up at him.
After counting the rescued people, Xu Huo realized the two children he first sent into the warehouse passage, as well as several employees of Golden Light Tower who forced their way in, were missing—no bodies or signs. It was clear his judgment had been wrong. That passage he entered was a dead end; he had personally caused the deaths of those two kids. If he had waited a little longer, maybe everyone could have been saved. Now, Xu Huo’s words gave Sima Xiao Er huge psychological relief.
“No matter what, it was you who saved those people. Our research staff were also rescued. We owe you one. There was some misunderstanding earlier over a minor issue. I asked Sima Xiao Er to apologize to you.” Team Leader Wu smiled and pushed the red-haired man forward.
Sima Xiao Er’s face turned red as he finally managed to say sorry. Team Leader Wu explained that someone had given false information, causing the arrest incident. Now the matter was settled, and people had died, so the previous issue should be considered never to have happened.
“There are five P1 Evolution Serums here, three Muscle Enhancers, and one Detoxifier.” Team Leader Wu produced three aluminum cases.
“Detoxifier?” Xu Huo’s gaze paused.
Team Leader Wu nodded. “Research found that all Evolvers carry a toxin in their bodies. Without regular use of evolution agents, the toxin destroys the Evolver’s body. The detoxifier can’t eliminate the toxin but can delay its onset.”
“Is it effective? Any side effects?” Xu Huo asked bluntly.
“Experiments on twenty Evolvers showed it can at least double the time from onset to death.”
Xu Huo thought of Professor Han. “Does it work against the toxin carried by the mutants on the Preliminary Trial Train?”