Accidents and deaths come too suddenly, and everyone has been shocked to some extent, so they should take it easy.
However, the reality is that time is running out and they cannot afford to waste even a second.
Inside the train, everyone covered Cheng Jiayu's body with their coats with heavy hearts, not caring about Ma Qiu who was still crying. They tried to overcome their fear and started a discussion stiffly.
"...What on earth was that just now?"
"Did the train recover automatically?"
"Could it be that the death mode of this dungeon is this kind of disaster?"
"Then there might be all sorts of things happening next. It's impossible for rocks to fall every time!"
Xia Jing leaned towards the train window that had become intact again and observed the scenery outside.
The train passed through the mountains and was now speeding across a field.
The night sky was pitch black. The stars that Fei Shengxiao had just mentioned suddenly shining had disappeared, and there was not a single star in the entire night sky.
After Fei Shengxiao bandaged Li Mian, his eyes remained red.
She pointed out the window diagonally in front of her and said with effort, "There really was a star that lit up over there just now. This must be a clue!"
Sha Yu pondered and said hoarsely, "Could it be a disaster warning or something?"
Song Yang rubbed the corners of his eyes, let out a breath, and immersed himself in thinking again.
He shook his head in denial: "No, the train announcement itself is a warning of the disaster. There's no need to add extra steps to the copy. The stars must have other meanings."
While listening to them, Xia Jing looked at the time again.
Fifteen minutes had passed since the disaster.
Assuming that the disaster occurs every half an hour, they now only have fifteen minutes to find a way to resist the next danger.
At this moment, everyone was a little anxious.
There was an indescribable smell in the train.
Although Shayu covered the shocking pile of corpses in the corner with his coat, the smell of blood could not be covered up.
Next to the corpse was a pile of Wang Zhi's vomit, which smelled a bit sour.
Ma Qiu was crying non-stop. He was frightened by the death of his brother and no longer had the arrogant look he had just had when he was shouting at Ye Xiang.
In the face of death, everyone is vulnerable.
Xia Jing and Song Yang moved at the same time.
After one of them finished observing and the other finished thinking, they both took out their weapons and walked towards the cab.
The others looked at them.
As soon as they took a step, Song Yang and Xia Jing looked at each other.
Song Yang twitched the corner of his lips and said calmly, "You just watched the fire from the other side for so long, and now you want to come over and snatch the monster?"
"Just now, I was stunned by the way Mr. Song taught others a lesson." Xia Jing retracted his gaze, walked to the door of the cab, and said softly.
There was a hint of teasing in this remark, and Xia Jing was obviously still pretending not to be familiar with him. If it were any other time, Song Yang might have laughed along and fought back.
However, someone died just now.
Song Yang was not in the mood.
As for Xia Jing.
He is obviously not someone who can empathize with ordinary people.
This young man naturally would not gloat over the death of others, but he would not feel sad about the death of others either.
Rather than being a human being, his inner soul seems more like a cold monster.
Of course, it's right that Song Yang doesn't hate him - although it's difficult for ordinary people to empathize with this young man, he has never done anything disgusting in principle.
Song Yang came to the other side of the cab door.
His gaze fell on the bright red spot on Xia Jingzheng's chest again.
The crimson area was covered with irregular dots.
Is this really the shape that would be formed when someone else's blood splashes over?
Song Yang looked at Xia Jing's face carefully - this rugged face didn't look like he was injured.
Moreover, this person seemed to have no reason to hide his injuries.
Song Yang withdrew his thoughts and focused his attention.
Seeing the two men preparing to deal with the train conductor, the other eight people gathered around.
After opening the cab door, they will face three situations.
In the first case, the train conductor is the main monster, then things are much simpler. They can just join forces to knock the guy down. However, a three-star copy will obviously not be that simple. This is the possibility with the lowest probability.
In the second case, the train conductor is an NPC, so they naturally cannot take action against the NPC. After that, they will probably be back to the situation where there is no clue at all, and face the coming of the second disaster at a loss.
In the third scenario, the train conductor is a secondary monster. If they kill the train conductor, they will not be punished by the dungeon's small black room. At the same time, they will completely occupy the driver's cab...
Li Mian whispered, "But there's a question. If the train conductor is a secondary monster, then after killing him, how do we control the train?"
This was a question that no one had ever thought of, and everyone was really stunned for a moment.
Song Yang was also silent for a moment, and said: "... Let's take it one step at a time."
The dungeon will never let players die collectively just because they "can't drive a train".
Li Mian nodded seriously.
Everyone held their breath.
Inside the cab, the blond conductor was shaking his head as if he was dancing to music.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on his leisurely figure.
They couldn't open the cab door from the outside. There wasn't even a handle on the door. Song Yang had just tried it, but it couldn't be opened by pushing it unilaterally.
A violent break-in would break the rules of the Smiley City dungeon game, so in theory the dungeon would not give such a setting.
So what other methods are left to get them into the cab?
Xia Jing thought for a moment, knocked on the door, and everyone was stunned.
"Will this work?" Ye Xiang muttered softly.
Unexpectedly, the conductor heard the sound and quickly walked to the door.
He glanced at them through a small glass window and gave them a friendly smile, as if asking them what they wanted. He was very friendly.
Song Yang gestured to open the door.
The train conductor looked at Song Yang's hand movements and actually understood what he meant. He squinted his eyes, smiled, and nodded.
Everyone was surprised and Ye Xiang was choked.
Coming to their senses, they took a deep breath, prepared themselves, and waited vigilantly for the conductor to open the door.
But the train conductor lowered his head and fiddled with something, and with a "pop", he pressed a piece of white paper hard against the glass window.
"What is this?" An Ruming asked first with a frown.
They looked closely and saw that on the white paper were written extremely unfamiliar and crooked Chinese characters:
"Only passengers who meet the following conditions may open the door of the cab and enter the cab:
1. Male;
2. Under 20 years old.
——And only qualified players can push the door open?!
Everyone withdrew their gazes, with different expressions.
Regardless of what the train conductor is planning, since he has given the entry conditions and set up such a subtle link, there must be clues related to the entire copy in the cab.
But the requirement of "male, under 20 years old"...
Only seven men were left out of the ten people present.
Not to mention An Ruming, Sha Yu, and Ye Xiang, all three of them looked to be in their thirties or forties. The remaining four men—
They all looked at Song Yang.
Song Yang was silent for a moment, then said, "I am twenty-three years old."
Everyone was a little disappointed. After all, Song Yang looked the most capable man present. It would be best if he could open the door.
However, although he is young, he does not look like he is less than 20 years old.
Their eyes immediately focused on Xia Jing again.
Facing Xia Jing's distorted face that was used to conceal his true appearance, their eyes were inquiring. Xia Jing hesitated for a moment before saying, "...I should be, under 20 years old?"
Song Yang was a little surprised.
Although he had never seen Xia Jing's true face, he always thought that Xia Jing should be about the same age as him, maybe just a little younger than him. But the result... ?
But what does "should" mean?
The others obviously had the same suspicion as Song Yang.
"'Should'?" Ye Xiang looked Xia Jing up and down. "You don't even know how old you are?"
As a person who was "born" in the City of Smiles and looked like this since birth, Xia Jing really didn't know how old he was now.
But to be precise, Smile City has been running for more than two hundred days, so he thinks his age should also be more than two hundred days, not even one year old.
So Xia Jing blinked and said very sincerely: "I think I should be quite young."
When everyone heard this, their expressions became even weirder.
What do you mean by "I feel I'm quite young"? They all think they are eighteen years old!
At this moment, Song Yang felt that he might know what Xia Jing was planning.
He said calmly, "It's written on the white paper that only players who meet the requirements can push the door open. If you try to open it, you'll know if you're under 20 years old."
Xia Jing turned his head and glanced at him. Song Yang was waiting for him.
Xia Jing decisively stepped forward and pushed the door open.
Everyone stared at his quick and decisive movements and took two steps back as if facing a formidable enemy.
However, he pressed hard on the door, but it didn't budge at all.
Song Yang laughed mercilessly.
He knew that Xia Jing wanted to kill monsters but couldn't, and he felt upset.
Xia Jing narrowed his eyes and stared at the door expressionlessly, which made people feel cold all over.
Since Song Yang and Xia Jing couldn't enter this door, they only had two options left.
Wang Zhi and Ma Qiu noticed the gazes of the crowd and their faces turned pale instantly.
"I'm not going in. I'm not going in!" Ma Qiu hadn't recovered from his friend's death when he saw this development. He quickly shook his head and pointed at Wang Zhi, saying, "Let him go in. He really always survives every time he falls into a monster pile. It's either because he has a lot of health or he's lucky. Let him go!"
Wang Zhi was terrified and waved his hands vigorously: "I...I was saved by kind-hearted people those times, otherwise I would have died long ago!"
As an elder, Sha Yu strongly disapproves of school violence, but he also cannot bear to see his children fighting for them.
He sighed and turned back to discuss with Song Yang: "Is there no other way?"
Song Yang didn't say anything. Ye Xiang spoke first, coldly: "If you can get the conductor to change the conditions, then you can go, but do you think he will pay any attention to you?"
Ever since he pressed the white paper against the glass window, the conductor has disappeared, seemingly leaving them no room for maneuver.
Song Yang thought about it and decided to try violent means first. At this time, he didn't care whether he would be deducted points or locked up in a small dark room.
However, he took out an axe and smashed it twice, but not only did he not leave a scratch on the door, even the small glass window was not moved.
Everyone frowned. It seemed that they couldn't force their way in through the door. They could only follow the conductor's rules.
Seeing that the situation was about to reach a stalemate again, An Ruming gritted his teeth.
He put on a kind face and said to Wang Zhi and Ma Qiu, "Kids, just push the door open. Once the door is open, we adults will go in and deal with the conductor. It's not really necessary for you to do it!"
Ma Qiu wouldn't buy it. He angrily said, "Then why don't you let Wang Zhi do it? It's just a door, can't you just let him do it?"
When Wang Zhi heard this, he kept crying and shaking his head, and even urinated in front of everyone.
His crotch turned dark and the smell of urine spread out. His face turned red from crying because of shame, and he squatted down and hid between the seats.
As a result, no one wanted to approach him.
Only Fei Shengxiao awkwardly handed him a piece of clothing to cover his lower body.
Ma Qiu realized something was wrong and took a few steps back in anger, saying angrily, "He's just pretending. He's determined to do this, and you guys shouldn't force him! Everyone can pee. I'll pee for you too, okay?!"
At this moment, another announcement was made in the train.
"Ding Dong!"
When everyone heard this voice, they tensed up and looked at the time in disbelief.
——There are still five minutes left before the half-hour deadline!
An Ruming was shocked and said, "Why is it announced in advance?!"
No matter how surprised everyone was, the train continued to announce in a polite and ruthless voice:
"The train will now cross the desert, and the winds there are strong. Please hold on tight."
After a second of silence.
An Ruming no longer cared about pretending to be kind. He glared at Ma Qiu and growled, "Hurry up and push the door!"
Ma Qiu also started to panic.
His good brother's body was right next to him, and he was afraid of the unknown disaster that might come next. But he was unwilling to open the door, fearing that he would die as soon as he went in!
His voice was shaking. "Why, why does it have to be me? And if I go in, it will definitely be useful?!"
An Ruming's eyes were bloodshot: "The key point must be in the cab. It may not be helpful if you go in, but if we don't go in, we will definitely die!"
In fact, the other people present were unwilling to do such a thing as forcing the child.
Song Yang rubbed the corners of his eyes.
He thought about it and took out a monster prop that looked like a devil's claw.
Even for a player like Song Yang, obtaining monster items is not easy.
This is the only offensive monster item he currently has.
Song Yang said, "This is an attack item that allows you to attack wherever you look. It also has a protective function. Once activated, it can be used for a full hour. As long as you aim at the target, ice blades will automatically shoot out from the item and attack the target."
After briefly explaining how to use it, Song Yang handed it over and directly punctured the beautiful illusion An Ruming had just created for the two children: "To be honest, none of us knows what will happen after the door is opened. Maybe we can rush in for you, maybe not. But I can give this prop to the one of you who is willing to go in."
A stalemate is not a solution. Even if they can still share each other's protective gear, can the gear definitely withstand the ensuing disaster?
This is an unknown.
What's more, the protective props are also monster props, which are very rare and will eventually be used up. If they want clues later, they still have to break into the cab.
And they will eventually need one of them to open the door.
All Song Yang can do is to lend a hand to those who are willing to go in.
Upon hearing what Song Yang said, Wang Zhi shut up, swallowed his saliva, and a hint of hesitation appeared in his eyes.
He also knew that monster props were rare, let alone a monster prop that was so lethal and defensive at the same time. With this, it would indeed be a great layer of protection.
Not to mention Wang Zhi, even An Ruming and Ye Xiang were a little envious when they saw this prop.
Xia Jing had been looking out the window since he heard the announcement. At this moment, he whispered, "We've entered the desert."
Several people's expressions changed slightly and they quickly looked out the window.
The wilderness turned into an endless white desert, and the white color under the night sky gave people a feeling of suffocation and despair.
Time is running out and there is no choice.
Ma Qiu gritted his teeth, cursed, and grabbed the monster prop from Song Yang's hand!
After a pause, he still kept his greed in the midst of fear: "This, this thing will belong to me after it comes out, right?"
Song Yang said calmly: "If I give it to you, it's yours."
"...Okay," Ma Qiu took a deep breath, turned around, and gave Wang Zhi, who was hiding behind a chair, a ferocious smile. "When this is over, you're done."
He shook the monster prop in his hand.
Wang Zhi shrank his neck and looked terrified.
Sha Yu frowned and said, "Hey!"
Song Yang didn't say anything.
He gave the monster props to this kid, but whether he would allow the kid to do whatever he wanted with the weapon after he came out was another matter.
Yang Leliu said in a trembling voice: "I heard the sound of the wind."
As soon as she said this, everyone noticed that sand was blown by the wind and began to hit the train windows continuously.
Upon hearing this, Ma Qiu's arrogance turned into fear again.
He gripped the monster prop tightly, turned on the protective function, moved forward, and walked to the door of the cab with difficulty, swallowing his saliva constantly. His face looked very ugly at that time.
Song Yang and Xia Jing stood on both sides, while Sha Yu squatted behind Ma Qiu.
Song Yang opened his last remaining protective prop, covering him, Xia Jing and Sha Yu.
Yang Leliu also had a protective prop in hand. She gathered together with Fei Shengxiao, Li Mian, and Wang Zhi, and An Ruming shamelessly hid in their prop protection circle.
Ye Xiang originally wanted to go with An Ruming, but looking at Ma Qiu's back, he narrowed his eyes, walked forward quietly, and hid in Song Yang's protection circle.
Ma Qiu kept taking deep breaths, his face tense.
Song Yang calmly reminded him, "Remember, after opening the door, look at the conductor's feet first. If he's an NPC, then the player will only cause damage to the NPC, and the system won't open the small black room, it will only deduct some points. After the ice blade is fired, if you can hear the system announcement of deducting points, get out of the way immediately. If you don't hear it, then the conductor is basically a monster and you should just look at his head."
Since his life was at stake, Ma Qiu listened very carefully.
He kept tightening the props in his hands, veins appeared on the back of his hands, and his chest heaved.
At the same time, Li Mian and Fei Shengxiao stared at the night sky together.
Almost two or three seconds after Yang Leliu finished reminding him of the wind, something suddenly flashed in the dark night sky ahead—
Li Mian was surprised and said, "Ten stars?!"
Ten?!
Everyone was shocked.
The last round had one star, but this round has ten?!
An Ruming's expression suddenly changed: "Could this be a sign of the level of disaster?!"
"No," Xia Jing lowered his eyes and thought. An idea flashed through his mind. He raised his head and his voice was slightly cold. "This may be... the number of players who will die in this round."
The moment the words fell, the train began to shake violently, and sand outside the window began to swirl in the air with the naked eye.
This round is a desert tornado!
Ma Qiu's face turned pale. There was no time!
He took one last deep breath, raised his hand—
But because of fear, he stopped again!
Ma Qiu gritted his teeth, his heart about to jump out of his throat. He held his breath and was about to push the door hard -
But he didn't expect that a force suddenly appeared from behind and kicked him hard towards the door!
Ma Qiu opened his eyes wide because of the sudden attack from behind!
His body pressed against the door panel, and the door in front of him opened with the force!
When Ma Qiu was sucked in by the power behind the door, his mind went blank. He forgot all the preparations he had made. He didn't have time to react at all.
Ma Qiu disappeared from the spot, and the door of the cab slammed shut.
Song Yang immediately pushed the door, but the door became motionless again!
Ye Xiang stared at the door fiercely and exclaimed, "What the hell? The door actually closed again?!"
Sha Yu roared, "He was already about to go in, why did you kick him?!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Xiang sneered, "Huh? Then I'll give him another kick, it won't hurt. Who told him to be so slow—Hmm!"
He was punched by Song Yang and flew out, hitting the wall where the protective equipment was deployed.
The next second, the entire train was swept into the sky by the tornado!