What does death feel like?
For Xia Jing, the moment before death was extremely exciting. Adrenaline was rapidly secreted, his heart beat faster, blood rushed through his limbs, and he felt as if his whole body was about to boil.
But when they realize that no matter how hard they struggle, a mere human body cannot withstand a force that is dozens or even hundreds of times greater than theirs, the instantaneous feeling of freezing despair and the pain of being shattered to pieces that follows are enough to be engraved on the human soul.
It's the real death that is so boring that it makes people feel tedious.
Just like the chaotic land that the safe house often drifts to, you stare into the darkness and the darkness stares back at you.
You can't get any pleasant feedback from that eternal darkness.
…
Xia Jing's eyelashes moved slightly, and when he opened his eyelids, the first thing that came into his eyes was the familiar scene inside the carriage.
The train clicked smoothly across the field. He lay on the ground, and Song Yang was beside him.
After the two regained consciousness, they looked at each other and quickly got up from the ground. The rest of the people in the car also woke up one after another with groans.
At first, they were a little slow to react, but as their memories gradually revived in their brains, they finally showed looks of surprise on their faces.
They died... and came back to life?!
"What happened?" An Ruming looked at himself in disbelief. "What on earth just happened? We're not dead?"
He clearly remembered that after the group of dinosaurs attacked in the rainforest, everyone in the carriage was trampled to death, including himself!
The feeling of being trampled into mud was so real that An Ruming was still trembling slightly.
Fei Shengxiao climbed up and leaned out the window, shocked, "Are we back to square one? This is actually a looping instance?"
Li Mian rubbed his forehead and stood up. He glanced at the front of the car and paused.
After Ye Xiang woke up, he touched his left chest. There was no knife wound there, not even a trace of blood.
He breathed a sigh of relief, and in the blink of an eye, he pulled Wang Zhi up from the ground with a ferocious look on his face: "What did you just do--"
Perhaps because a special game mechanism was triggered, Wang Zhi stabbed him but was not locked up in a small dark room.
Wang Zhi screamed in horror: "I didn't mean to do that! I thought you were going to kill me, I'm sorry, I'm sorry——"
The first thing Sha Yu did after opening his eyes was to look for Yang Leliu. He rushed over and hugged his wife tightly, hugging her so hard that his whole body was shaking.
Yang Leliu was also in shock, but fortunately, she was still alive.
With red eyes, she hugged Sha Yu back, raised her eyes, and said in a hoarse voice: "Song Yang, did you discover something just now?"
This is also the question in everyone's mind at this moment.
Their eyes were all fixed on Song Yang and Xia Jing, the two guys who had just done something astonishing.
Just like Li Mian, Xia Jing and Song Yang were also looking at the front of the carriage.
Xia Jing spoke first, his tone was calm, as if he had not experienced the catastrophe with them.
"First of all, I don't think this is a true loop instance. To be more precise, what we're doing is, 'reloading and restarting'?"
Everyone followed his gaze and their pupils suddenly contracted.
The familiar body of Cheng Jiayu came into view.
Diagonally above Cheng Jiayu is the square pipe.
At this moment, a large lump bulged out in the middle of the square pipe, and the moment they looked over, the lump quickly deflated.
Fei Shengxiao exclaimed.
——If I'm not mistaken, it should be Ma Qiu's body that is being corroded in the pipe!
Sha Yu and Li Mian subconsciously wanted to rush over to save him, but before they could move a step, they remembered that Ma Qiu should be completely dead by now...
"We should be back to the beginning of this level," Xia Jing thought thoughtfully, "that is, when we just finished the tornado."
*
Time continues to move forward without stopping.
No matter how overwhelmed they were, the group had to sit down quickly and go over the whole thing.
The "reload and restart" mechanism was beyond everyone's expectations, but it was also set in stone.
Based on their experience in this round, it is not difficult to infer that the copy was automatically saved every time they passed a level before.
When all of them are killed, the copy will automatically send them back to the beginning of the level.
This is why this three-star instance will give out stars based on the number of deaths of all members at the very beginning, and why they will pass through the same station repeatedly.
This is because this copy gives them the opportunity to be resurrected after they all die!
However, after listening to Song Yang and Xia Jing's analysis, An Ruming suddenly stopped laughing: "So the basis for your taking such a risky action is just these two points?!"
Ye Xiang's face was even more gloomy.
Although he wanted to kill Wang Zhi, after calming down at this moment, he also clearly remembered who gave Wang Zhi that sudden reminder before the accident happened.
His sinister gaze fell on Xia Jing.
Noticing his gaze, the young man turned his head, glanced at his chest, then raised his eyes to meet his.
That look was calm yet mixed with a hint of teasing.
Xia Jing looked away.
Ye Xiang clenched his hands so hard that his teeth were almost broken.
This person did it on purpose!
This person had already guessed the game mechanics of this dungeon at that time. He was basically using it as an experiment to see if the people who died in the middle of each level would be resurrected after the dungeon was reloaded!
He was actually treated as a chess piece by this guy and played around with at will!
At this moment, Ye Xiang wished he could swallow Xia Jing alive.
In response to An Ruming's question, Song Yang's attitude was very calm and frank: "Yes, it is indeed very risky. We made this decision based solely on our gaming experience. I'm very sorry for not discussing it with everyone in advance."
What Song Yang didn't say was that after the nine stars rose, both he and Xia Jing had already felt very confident.
Song Yang acted decisively at the time. On the one hand, it was because the situation was urgent and he really didn't have time to explain. On the other hand, it was also because -
He knew that it was very difficult to gain the trust of others, and sometimes he had to use very tough measures to advance the copy.
Many players have perished due to repeated lack of trust and cooperation.
Song Yang would never let the dungeon game he was in fall into such a stalemate, but he couldn't say such words directly.
An Ruming is the most typical example. When he heard Song Yang's answer, cold sweat poured down his face.
He forced a smile and said, "Xiao Song, next time you encounter this situation, don't rush to practice it immediately. We still have time..."
"It's so easy to make sarcastic remarks," Sha Yu interrupted An Ruming coldly, "How could we have had the time back then? The time you're talking about is after this stage is over, right?"
"You were just certain that Le Liu would die. Even if Song Yang didn't act on his suspicions in time, you wouldn't have suffered any loss now!"
An Ruming shut up.
Without any extra knowledge about the train conductor, they all knew that players who entered the cab would be in great danger.
An Ruming was able to handle the situation with ease precisely because he was not the one chosen.
After Sha Yu ruthlessly exposed his thoughts, he coughed lightly and said no more.
Li Mian said decisively: "Okay, time is running out. I think we should quickly discuss what to do next. Although this copy allows players to be resurrected after all members die, it seems that the resurrection opportunities are not unlimited. Look at that advertisement screen-"
She pointed forward and everyone turned to look.
Hanging at the front of the car is a small screen that is always playing advertisements, with the time displayed in the corner of the screen.
And at this moment, there is a new thing on the screen——
They gathered around and looked closely, frowning.
At the very top center of the screen, a symbol similar to a progress bar appeared.
On the left side of the progress bar is a Q-version human head with blond hair and blue eyes, sticking out his tongue and looking cute.
This was clearly a cartoon image of a train conductor, and it gave several people a chill.
The progress bar itself had already moved forward a little bit, and at the bottom of it there was a line of small words: "Attention, one resurrection opportunity has been used up!"
Fei Shengxiao leaned forward and compared the ratio of the progress bar's length to its total length with his fingers. He exclaimed in amazement, "If the progress bar moves this much every time we revive, then we'll probably have ten chances to revive!"
"Ten times?" Wang Zhi swallowed and said hesitantly, "That's quite a lot, right?"
In stark contrast to his relief, the expressions of the others remained very serious.
If they let their guard down, even twenty chances wouldn't be enough for them to die.
They must carefully consider their next move.
They have a deeper understanding of the mechanism of this dungeon, but they still don't know how the train conductor attacks players.
Although Song Yang had said a lot to Yang Leliu before, those were all last resorts and the only suggestions the players could think of when they had to face the unknown.
But now that they have the opportunity to trial and error, there are more things they can try.
Song Yang thought for a moment, then looked up and said, "Let's try to break through from the outside."
Everyone was stunned.
"If we want to open the cab door from the front, we must follow the conductor's rules. But breaking through from the outside might be different," Song Yang pointed to the row of windows on the side. "Based on the situation in the previous rounds, the train windows can be broken from both the inside and the outside."
"--As long as the cab's windshield and these windows in the cabin are of the same nature, then perhaps we can enter the cab from the outside."
As soon as this suggestion came out, they immediately thought of it - there was a ladder in the small open platform at the back of the second carriage, which allowed players to climb onto the train!
It's risky, but it's an option!
Sha Yu immediately said, "I'll go with you!"
An Ruming immediately asked, "What if it doesn't work? We only have a dozen minutes left. What if this plan fails?"
Xia Jing stood aside. Hearing this, he chuckled and said, "Then wait for this round of disaster to happen again. When all nine players die, we can revive them again."
The young man casually mentioned the death of everyone, which made many people present stand on end.
An Ruming said with a stiff face: "It's not good to waste resurrections like this..."
When Xia Jing heard this, his smile became even wider.
He curled his lips and looked at An Ruming, his voice sounding gentle: "If all other methods fail, then we will naturally have to go back to the path of breaking through the cab head-on. There will be no chance of resurrection."
"——This is the same for every player who will be selected next."
The second half of the sentence silenced An Ruming.
The young man narrowed his eyes and smiled, not at all looking like he had just issued a death threat.
No one had any more objections, and everyone unanimously approved Song Yang's plan and immediately took action.
The only small episode was that Xia Jing also wanted to participate in the "Train Roof Operation", but since Sha Yu was determined to charge for everyone, and there were not too many people suitable to climb onto the top of the train, they finally decided on only Song Yang and Sha Yu.
Xia Jing naturally did not expect this to happen. He was a little dissatisfied and wanted to replace Song Yang. This suggestion was ruthlessly rejected by Song Yang.
Song Yang found it a little funny: "Next time you want to participate in an event, remember to raise your hand faster."
Xia Jing stared at him.
This look is exactly the same as when Song Yang got the Dream Demon props.
Song Yang wasn't buying it now. He said lazily, "Eye rebuttal is useless."
Yang Leliu, Fei Shengxiao, and Li Mian stayed in the carriage near the driver's cab as planned.
In this copy, they did not have any communication tools. Li Mian held her sword. Once a broadcast was made from inside the train, she would use her sword to tap the roof of the train twice to give a reminder to Song Yang and Sha Yu.
If they successfully break into the cab, Li Mian and the others can also provide support outside the cab depending on the situation.
Xia Jing was guarding the tail of the second carriage, so that he could help at any time if there was any unexpected situation.
There were only twelve minutes left, so they had to hurry.
Song Yang and Sha Yu stepped out of the second carriage and came to the open platform. Strong winds were blowing from all directions.
The top of the open platform is connected to the left and right sides of the two outlets of the square pipe.
The originally clean and tidy platform now had a small pool of black, red and yellow flesh paste, mixed with vaguely visible school uniform fragments. Obviously, part of Ma Qiu's body had been transported here through the square pipe.
It was used as a small garbage dump.
Sha Yu suppressed the physical and psychological discomfort, closed his eyes, held his breath and climbed up the ladder.
Song Yang followed him and set off. Before leaving, he thought for a moment and turned around to face Xia Jing.
Xia Jing raised his eyebrows and heard the man whisper a warning to him: "I know you are very unhappy now, and you probably want to use this second carriage as a scapegoat."
Song Yang was right. Although he couldn't get on the roof of the train, Xia Jing was indeed very interested in the secret of the second carriage.
Song Yang finished his words: "But don't forget, corrosive liquid will gush out of the pipe, don't put your fingers in it casually this time."
When Xia Jing heard this, he smiled and said, "Song Yang, are you my dad?"
Song Yang: "..."
He said coldly: "Then are you going to call me dad?"
Xia Jing blinked: "Dad."
Song Yang: "..."
Song Yang: "Aren't you afraid of being beaten up by your own father when you return to the real world?"
Xia Jing thought, he couldn't go to the real world, and he didn't have a father.
"Okay, I know," Xia Jing kindly reminded, "It's been a minute, Doctor Song."
Xia Jing was rarely obedient, so Song Yang pressed his head without thinking, turned around, and climbed up the ladder.
Xia Jing paused.
He touched his head and looked at his palm.
There are eleven minutes left until disaster strikes.
Nine players, acting in three sides.
Yang Leliu, Li Mian and Fei Shengxiao were waiting outside the cab in a tense and vigilant manner.
Wang Zhi huddled in the corner, not saying a word.
An Ruming leaned against the window, staring outside, feeling a little restless.
Ye Xiang glanced around and saw that everyone's attention was on the top of the train. He then silently cast his vicious gaze towards the second carriage, deep in the dark corner.
In the second carriage, Xia Jing was slowly turning back and forth between the square pipes.
He scanned the maze-like winding pipes that spread throughout the carriage, thinking secretly, his eyes spinning dimly.
And on the train—
As soon as Song Yang and Sha Yu climbed onto the top of the train, they felt a golden light pouring down from above their heads.
They raised their heads, faced the strong wind, and stared at the sky above the train in astonishment.
A huge golden three-dimensional number "378" is rotating in the night sky.