The Monster That Devoured the Train (5,000 Words)

Xiao Xiao, instead, fell into a strange silence.

Looking around at the silent and unassuming scene, comparing this bizarre yet normal situation to his own, and then comparing it to his companions who were asleep but still unusually tense in their dreams, his thoughts seemed to stretch out uncontrollably. "At this moment, who is truly awake?"

"Or perhaps the difference lies not in being asleep or awake, but in the difference in perception?"

"Lin Bo and the others are asleep and sharing the same dream, so they have unwavering faith in each other's world?"

"But now that I can wake up, what would happen if I woke them up?"

"..."

The more he thought about it, the more alarmed and suspicious he became. He even raised his hand, considering whether or not to slap Little Four across the face.

But after raising his hand, he hesitated for a moment and turned to look at Lin Bo in the back seat.

I think it would have been better to slap him across the face.

It's not a matter of how close or distant the relationship is; it's mainly because Lin Bo, as a researcher, probably needs more real-world experience.

But just as he made this difficult decision and was preparing to actually carry it out, the train, rumbling forward, suddenly entered a tunnel. Instantly, the carriage was plunged into darkness, and the cliff walls on both sides seemed to be drawn in by an invisible force, pressing towards the carriage. The lights in the tunnel were stretched into thin lines.

This is a natural phenomenon, but suddenly entering a tunnel can indeed give people a sense of visual oppression.

It was as if the world had collapsed at that moment.

The passengers in the carriage were used to this scene, except for the little children in their arms who looked out the window with curiosity.

Even children are just curious; they're not afraid or anything.

But Xiao Xiao suddenly noticed that as the train entered the tunnel, Lin Bo and the others lying in their seats suddenly became unusually tense. They seemed to have seen something terrifying, their expressions were tightly tense, and they seemed to be experiencing great panic.

What did they see at that moment?

Xiao Xiao stopped moving, looking at their tense expressions, and a lot of thoughts suddenly came to mind.

Soon, the train emerged from the tunnel but entered a mountain road. No matter how well the tracks were constructed, the vibrations seemed to be greater on such tracks in this unique environment than on the plains. Especially when turning a curved bend, the train seemed to experience a subtle centrifugal force. However, on the carefully designed tracks, this centrifugal force during the turn was negligible.

Lin Bo and the others, however, gripped the handrails tightly, the veins on the backs of their hands bulging.

"Hey, the signal was bad in the tunnel, I might as well have called you directly..."

Before the train had even come to a complete stop, a burly man in the back of the carriage picked up his phone and started talking loudly. "It's just a small business deal worth a few hundred million, can't you guys just get to the point? Damn it, I'm worth billions every minute, do I have time to play games with you guys?"

In the otherwise relatively quiet carriage, his phone call was extremely loud, drawing some dissatisfaction from the surrounding passengers.

"I'm not going to talk to you anymore, just send the prepayment quickly."

The man seemed unfazed by the stares of those around him, his voice growing louder and carrying an air of dominance.

"You think you can just quit like that? Do you think I don't need money to build connections? Do you know what my relationship is with Director Tang of Black Gate City? My own sister is his nephew's mistress, you know that? Let me tell you, if I don't see the money when I get back from this business trip, I'll throw paint in your face!"

"Didn't you even ask around? Do you think I'm the kind of person who's easily fooled?"

"..."

His voice was so loud and fierce that it scared the children nearby to tears. Someone hesitated and reminded him to speak softer.

"Small my ass!"

The man kicked the seat hard, glaring at the person who had reminded him and yelling, "You dare tell me what to do?"

The atmosphere in the carriage was tense because of the man's presence. Some people tried to persuade him with smiles, while others looked at him with dissatisfaction. Even the train attendant who was pushing a trolley couldn't help but say a few words of advice. But the man just sneered, lifted his legs up and put them on the armrest of the seat next to him, looking smug and fearless, almost like a dead pig that doesn't care about boiling water. He was just short of lighting a cigarette.

That was actually a dispute that had nothing to do with me.

But during this journey, in such a cramped carriage, Xiao Xiao also felt uncomfortable.

It's a vague sense of crisis; to an insightful observer, such a person is like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment.

But he knew perfectly well that the powder keg wouldn't explode, and even if it did, it wouldn't affect him.

So I only glanced at him before turning my head away.

But in that instant when he turned his head, he was suddenly startled, and his body involuntarily tensed up slightly.

Little Four, Lin Bo, and the three men under Lin Bo all leaned forward, staring intently at the man with empty eyes. Xiao Xiao even saw that Little Four's hand had reached for his belt, as if he was about to undo it at any moment.

This silent impact caused Xiao Xiao's mind to sink slightly, and the power of the Insightful One suddenly relaxed.

Just as a nearsighted person has to strain to see a word in the distance, when they relax, that word suddenly becomes blurry.

Layers of dark red mist and chaotic scenes once again engulfed everything he saw.

In his vision, he suddenly returned to that dark red, chaotic world. He saw the fields and mountains outside the window transformed into huge monsters crawling in deep and shallow abysses. He saw the railway tracks become twisted and thick nerve tissue. He saw the clouds in the sky become eerie eyes. He also saw the passengers in the carriage become dazed and asleep.

Beside them, Little Four, Lin Bo, and the others were all on high alert, staring intently at a sleeping passenger.

"What happened?"

Xiao Xiao took a deep breath and asked in a low voice.

"President Xiao, you have such a big heart..."

Lin Bo smiled wryly and said to Xiao Xiao in a low voice, "You can actually sleep on a journey like this..."

"Do you know how many crises we've encountered in just this short time?"

"..."

Xiao Xiao paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Tell me about it."

Lin Bo glanced worriedly out the car window and said, "Just ten minutes ago, in the Abyss level, a giant monster of at least Class A threat suddenly appeared. It almost swallowed our train whole, even consuming our train lights. It took more than three minutes for us to escape from the monster's mouth. The City Will forced it back."

"What was even more terrifying was what just happened..."

Just as Xiao Xiao was listening intently, Little Four spoke up tremblingly. It was his first time leaving the city, and he was already pale with fright. "The train actually drove over a huge monster. It was hiding perfectly fine in the abyss. After the train passed by, it suddenly flipped over. I thought the train was going to be overturned. I had even written my will in my mind... and then I realized that I actually have no relatives."

Xiao Xiao listened silently, offering no comment.

After a moment, he suddenly followed their gaze and asked, "What's going on here?"

"Shh..."

Little Four and Lin Bo, among others, simultaneously gestured for him to speak softly.

Where their gazes were fixed, there was still that burly passenger, but unlike the others who were in a "shutdown" state, several bloody cracks had appeared on his skin, a shocking sight. From within the cracks, sticky tentacles were slowly extending out from the skin fissures, wriggling in the air like earthworms.

"That indigenous person has a tendency to mutate..."

Lin Bo lowered his voice and said, "Once they leave the city, these natives will, to some extent, feel a sense of alienation from the City Will. Of course, this is just an illusion. In reality, they are still under the City Will. However, under certain specific circumstances, the City Will will exert less restraint on them, and some may lose control of their malice, resulting in Shedding Skin' phenomenon..."

"That guy is showing signs of Shedding Skin."

"We are strangers in this land, and when he Shedding Skin, there is a high probability that he will be driven by instinct to attack us."

"..."

Xiao Xiao looked over and found that the Shedding Skin monster, with its two dull and eerie eyes, was indeed looking at him.

Between the stranger, who was on high alert, and the Shedding Skin monster, a dangerous spark seemed to fly between their gazes.

"Don't be nervous."

Thinking about what he had just witnessed, Xiao Xiao suddenly said, "Lower your head, don't look at him, and he won't attack us."

Little Four, Lin Bo, and the others were all taken aback and looked at Xiao Xiao in confusion.

Even though everyone present was at least at the level of several thousand points, and wouldn't be threatened by such Shedding Skin native, it was like being in a narrow window where a teddy bear that might bite at any moment would make people nervous. But facing that native who was about to Shedding Skin and even unleash his malice on them, Xiao Xiao told everyone not to care and to just pretend nothing had happened.

"Listen to me."

Xiao Xiao didn't explain, he just silently said something, then looked away and looked ahead.

The others were stunned for a moment, but Little Four immediately sat up straight, withdrew his hand from his belt, and kept his eyes straight ahead.

Lin Bo and the others hesitated for a moment, but slowly withdrew their gazes and sat down properly.

The Shedding Skin monster's Shedding Skin became increasingly severe, its sticky tentacles reaching into the air, almost brushing against their cheeks. It emitted a provocative sound and gesture, as if it were about to uncontrollably attack them.

But under Xiao Xiao's orders, everyone present sat up straight and ignored him.

After a while, he actually slowly retracted his tentacles, and the cracked skin on his body slowly closed up.

They actually reverted to their harmless indigenous state.

Lin Bo looked on in utter astonishment, then leaned forward and asked Xiao Xiao, "Is this your first time leaving the city?"

Xiao Xiao thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "I guess so."

Lin Bo was even more surprised. "Then why aren't you nervous at all? And how do you know that Shedding Skin guy won't attack us?"

"I..."

Faced with his question, Xiao Xiao was momentarily speechless:

"Because I still have a normal side?"

"..."

At that moment, his heart was filled with a sense of absurdity and alienation.

Could it be that the strangeness and immense crisis perceived by strangers actually originated from this?

They are too tense, under too much pressure, or rather, too neurotic. Their cognition and thinking have been severely distorted, so any pressure in the normal world will trigger their panic. Therefore, the tunnel in their eyes is a giant monster that swallowed the train, and the rugged mountain road is a monster in the abyss trying to overturn the train they are riding.

Even the slightest argument in the carriage would be treated as a major threat, as if they were facing a vicious malice.

In their eyes, this malice would definitely threaten them.

Wouldn't that be a threat?

Because when that man looked at everyone around him provocatively, everyone else remained indifferent and didn't care. Only these few guys stared at him stupidly. Since he felt provoked, wasn't it normal for him to take his anger out on them?

So what kind of journey is this?

Essentially, it's just a strange world adventure for a semi-normal person and a few mentally ill people.

A great deal of doubt and frustration welled up in Xiao Xiao's heart, and he remained silent for a long time.

"Do you even need to ask this kind of question?"

While Xiao Xiao remained silent, Little Four turned to look at Lin Bo with surprise and said, "This is our guild leader."

"Who has our president ever been afraid of? It's always others who are afraid of him..."

"Don't even mention such a small thing. It was Class A mutant monster back then, and the guild leader even gave it a hug..."

"..."

Lin Bo listened, clearly somewhat unconvinced, and pouted.

"Hehehehe..."

But at that moment, the train suddenly entered a strange environment. The surroundings suddenly turned pitch black, and many of the monsters crawling on the ground and the crisscrossing flesh and blood disappeared. Only outside the windows on both sides, one could see an endless sea of blood, with huge waves of blood rolling and crashing against the windows of the carriages.

The man who had just returned to normal not far away suddenly had his skin crack open again.

Staring with empty eyes, it looked at Xiao Xiao, its tentacles already extending out and touching Xiao Xiao's face.

The sudden change startled Little Four and Lin Bo once again.

"Call..."

Xiao Xiao let out a slow breath, his Eye of the Seer instantly opened, and once again used all his strength to look towards the end.

My vision shifted, and even my thoughts were momentarily disoriented.

He returned to the clean, bright train window and saw that the train was crossing a bridge spanning a great river. Inside the carriage, the expressions of the indigenous people were all angry but dared not speak out. When they looked up, they saw the burly man staring at them.

The other person sneered, their voice piercing his ears. "President? What president? Is this some kind of fucking idiot association?"

What are you looking at?

"I already said, if you glare at me again, I'll gouge your eyes out!"

"Where did this little brat come from, trying to act tough in a sports car..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao blinked, confirming that the other person was insulting him.

The passengers around him were a little nervous. Some of them secretly winked at Xiao Xiao, signaling him to ignore this kind of person. Xiao Xiao remained expressionless, but he tried his best to use his Insight Eye to trace back the scene in the carriage. He gradually saw what had just happened: it was exactly when he saw Lin Bo and Little Four staring straight at this man.

The man looked at the entire carriage defiantly, and no one dared to meet his gaze, except for Lin Bo and his group.

This immediately angered the man, who yelled at Lin Bo without any politeness, "What the hell are you looking at? Looking for trouble?"

Lin Bo and the others became even more nervous, their bodies shifting slightly, as if they were ready to take action.

The man was even more dissatisfied, but fortunately, he quietly instructed them to sit properly and not respond to the man's provocation.

The tense atmosphere in the carriage immediately eased a lot. However, the people next to them couldn't help but feel a little strange looking at Lin Bo and the others, who were as nervous and upright as children. They even felt that something was not normal about them.

But thankfully the crisis is over.

The situation changed when Lin Bo asked a question, his voice not loud, but also directed at Xiao Xiao: "How come you're not afraid of anything?"

But the carriage was too quiet, so Little Four's words were overheard.

Little Four said that the president wasn't afraid of anyone, only others were afraid of him, which angered the man.

He felt that this was mocking him, mocking him for suddenly shutting up because he was scared.

So he mocked again, even more rudely than before.

After Xiao Xiao figured all this out, he felt a sense of powerlessness, but also had more questions.

He suddenly stood up and walked straight to the man.

The man was also taken aback, but not to be outdone, he suddenly stood up and glared at Xiao Xiao: "Come on, come on!"

Xiao Xiao seemed to be deep in thought when, in response to his provocation, he suddenly pulled out Silver Revolver from his lower back.

Chaos erupted in the surrounding carriages as everyone stared in shock at the gun in Xiao Xiao's hand. "How did he bring it up here?"

Even the man was clearly taken aback, but quickly recovered and retorted sarcastically, "A toy?"

Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Xiao suddenly aimed at his head and pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

The loud noise instantly reverberated throughout the entire carriage.

The man looked terrified, his eyes suddenly rolled back, and he fell straight to the ground.

The surroundings instantly descended into chaos, with some screaming and others getting up and running away.

The man's smashed head and shattered brains instantly stained this sunny journey with blood.

"Not good!"

Even Little Four and Lin Bo were taken aback, leaping up to stand beside Xiao Xiao.

But at this moment, Xiao Xiao's expression was extremely calm. He just stood there somewhat bewildered, carefully recalling everything that had just happened: he had fired the gun, the man had fallen to the ground, everyone around him was frightened, and he even vaguely saw a shattered head and blood everywhere. However, in his state of extreme insight, he clearly knew one fact.

There were actually no bullets in his gun.

Since I started using this silver pistol as a weapon, I no longer need to load bullets into it.

Therefore, he fired a blank shot.

But this man was still killed by his own gun.