Players, Please Board the Train

Taking out a handkerchief to cover Pan Siming’s face, the Gloomy Man stood up and turned to face the other players. ”You all understand what this means, right?”

”There’s a hidden Player-Eater among us,” Li Weiran said.

Ni Tian’s eyes flickered downward toward the floor.

”While we were searching for paintings, someone was actually hiding in the back waiting for an opportunity to kill. It’s truly terrifying,” Xu Huo said. ”If we don’t find this person, no one can search for paintings with peace of mind tonight.”

”That’s right!” Xie Man spoke up first. ”We need to check player numbers!”

”But will checking numbers actually help?” Xu Huo shook his head instead. ”Can’t player numbers be forged? Although my player level isn’t high, I do know there are plenty of strange items in the game. Modifying number colors shouldn’t be difficult.”

”You’re right,” the Gloomy Man continued. ”Actually, I can identify the killer without even checking numbers.”

”Who is it?” Ni Tian immediately asked.

The Gloomy Man’s gaze swept across everyone. ”You might not have noticed, but someone opened and closed a door during the attacks on Da Xiong and Pan Siming last night. Why would anyone open their door at that critical moment?”

”Coming out in that situation would be suicide. Taking the risk to open the door was to kill someone. Whether judging by distance or sound, this person opening the door was in the left corridor.”As he spoke, he took a step back and pointed out You Huanhuan, Lu Gang, and Fan Shiji. ”The Player-Eater is among you three.”

”What nonsense are you talking!”

”You’re lying!”

Fan Shiji and You Huanhuan shouted simultaneously. The former glared at the latter before adding, ”Well you guessed wrong! I didn’t lock my door at all last night. I figured since the monster would knock, if the door wasn’t locked, it might not attack randomly.”

”You all saw Deng Yu’s room - if it chopped through in one strike, I’d have no escape route. So I planned to sneak out while it was entering, then head to the exhibition hall to try my luck.”

The Gloomy Man nodded, indicating this explanation was reasonable, then turned his attention to You Huanhuan and her companion.

”Why are you targeting us again!” You Huanhuan felt deeply wronged and said, ”We didn’t open any door! Besides, there were empty rooms next door. It’s possible Pan Siming hid in one himself but the monster found him. Wasn’t Deng Yu also caught up in this?”

”Impossible!” Fan Shiji immediately refuted. ”When I came out this morning, both adjacent rooms were closed. Do monsters close doors after killing people?”

”Besides, Deng Yu disappeared - he wasn’t killed and eaten!”

You Huanhuan gritted her teeth while glancing at the corpse on the floor, then suddenly remembered something. ”Maybe the monster hid on the chandelier after killing someone! Deng Yu might be up there too!”

”That’s simple enough - we’ll know the truth by going up to check,” Xu Huo said.

Everyone looked at the height of the crystal chandelier and hesitated. ”How do we get up there? It’s so high, and we don’t have any tools.”

”We could probably climb using the painting,” Xu Huo said, pointing back at the huge mural on the wall. This mural wasn’t flat and had decorative carved frames that were just the right height.

”I’ll go up,” the Gloomy Man said.

”I want to see too!” You Huanhuan quickly added.

”You stay put,” the Gloomy Man stopped her. ”I can record it with my phone.”

You Huanhuan retreated angrily and helplessly back to Lu Gang’s side, while Lu Gang appeared remarkably calm.

The Gloomy Man went up and came back down, showing everyone the recorded video. ”There’s no second person on the chandelier. The theory that Pan Siming was killed by a monster doesn’t hold up. Do you have anything else to say?”

”Why waste more words on her!” Fan Shiji pushed the Gloomy Man forward. ”Better to kill by mistake than let escape! What if she comes out to attack people again tonight?”

Under everyone’s sharp gazes, You Huanhuan grabbed the edge of Lu Gang’s clothes. Lu Gang instantly flew into a furious rage, throwing a punch at the Gloomy Man’s nose!

Fan Shiji’s push and Lu Gang’s strike happened almost simultaneously. The Gloomy Man, pushed forward, didn’t have time to completely dodge. As he turned his head, his left cheek took the full force of the blow, sending him flying and tumbling across the floor!

Xu Huo, standing nearby, stepped in to intercept Lu Gang. Palm meeting fist, he deflected the attack but was forced back several steps until he reached Li Weiran and Fan Shiji.

Fan Shiji supported him from behind. ”Be careful, brother.”

Xu Huo shook his slightly trembling hand and advanced again as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile, Xie Man joined the fight, sneak attacking Lu Gang from behind and slicing his arm. Ni Tian, who had both new and old grudges against him, leaped forward and kicked him to the ground, then grabbed a painting frame from a nearby pillar and smashed it down on his head!

The painting and frame shattered together, but the other players couldn’t worry about the painting now. While they surrounded and attacked Lu Gang, Li Weiran, Fan Shiji, and the Gloomy Man surrounded You Huanhuan!

Although Lu Gang wasn’t particularly fast, his strength was tremendous. His body alone could withstand the combined attacks of several players, making him extremely troublesome in their eyes. Xie Man called out while fighting, ”Come help us once you finish over there!”

However, to everyone’s surprise, You Huanhuan, who appeared weaker, turned out to be unexpectedly strong in combat. Her leaping ability was astonishing - she could jump three times her own height. In their initial exchange, both Li Weiran and Fan Shiji suffered losses, each taking a kick!

”Player-Eaters have better physical abilities than black and white players! Don’t hold back anymore!” Li Weiran pulled out giant scissors, splitting them with both hands as she tried to cut You Huanhuan in half at the waist!

You Huanhuan propelled herself backward, reaching the pillar area in two leaps. Pushing off with her feet against the pillar, she turned to attack the Gloomy Man!

”Be careful not to damage the paintings!” the Gloomy Man said as a folding fan appeared in his hand. Opening the fan with a flick, he swept it downward from above. The strong wind created resistance that actually slowed You Huanhuan’s momentum!

At that moment, Li Weiran moved in from the side, her scissors cutting through half of You Huanhuan’s palm!

Blood flowed as You Huanhuan cried out in pain. Her expression was no longer the innocent indignation from before, replaced instead by cold viciousness. Her eyeballs suddenly bulged outward, muscles swelling on her petite frame, instantly stretching her maid outfit two sizes larger. She opened her mouth wide, licking her teeth while staring fixedly at Li Weiran.

Li Weiran’s expression didn’t change in the slightest as she said coldly, ”Don’t ruin that outfit looking like that!”

You Huanhuan howled and lunged at her, stomping heavily on Li Weiran’s closed scissors and forcing her back several steps while simultaneously thrusting fingers toward her eyes!

”Watch out!” Fan Shiji shouted, throwing a glass bottle from several meters away!

”Smash!” You Huanhuan raised her hand to catch it, but when she turned her head, she saw a triumphant smile on his face. She instinctively tried to throw away what she held, but the glass bottle rapidly melted in that split second. The liquid that flowed out corroded her palm, revealing bone in less than a blink!

”Ahhhh!” You Huanhuan screamed in agony. Li Weiran seized the opportunity to shove her away and thrust the scissors forward!

Although injured, You Huanhuan didn’t panic. After dodging the scissors, she retreated toward Lu Gang’s position, grabbing his clothes and roaring, ”Kill them all for me!”

However, as soon as she finished speaking, a knife that had suddenly appeared in Lu Gang’s hand stabbed straight through her abdomen!