[Clear the Infiltrating Mutants] [Quest requirement: eliminate the intruders!] [Quest progress: 1/13] [Quest reward: Heavenly Blessing] [Heavenly Blessing: a blessing of utmost goodness and purity. Everything about you will be perfect!] [Duration: 3 seconds!]
As Lin Dong watched the quest notifications suddenly pop up, his expression gradually grew solemn.
The quest notifications were extremely simple.
But the fewer the words, the bigger the trouble!
Lin Dong gleaned at least two important pieces of information from those pitifully sparse notifications!
First, the mutation in the Train to Busan instance was definitely man-made!
And thirteen people were involved!
Those thirteen people had done something to trigger the mutation.
Second, this world, or this instance, had a Heavenly Dao or an overseer maintaining order!
This was not an unguarded place!
This was an instance with rules and regulations!
Perhaps, at this very moment, some lofty god beyond Lin Dong's perception was looking down upon this world!
Lin Dong thought for a moment, then accepted the quest without much hesitation.
His mission this time was to discover exactly why the instance had mutated. Without making contact with these intruders, he would never uncover the truth.
[Ding! You have accepted the quest 'Clear the Infiltrating Mutants'!] [Ding! Train Management Access has been temporarily granted to you!] [Ding! You have 30 minutes to eliminate the infiltrating mutants!]
"Thirty minutes?"
Lin Dong hadn't expected the Heavenly Dao to be in such a hurry. "Come on, this train is huge! Just walking from one end to the other takes ten minutes. Thirty minutes isn't even enough to find them!"
Ding!
The moment Lin Dong finished speaking, a schematic of the train suddenly appeared before his eyes.
With his keen eyesight, Lin Dong immediately spotted bright red dots scattered across the schematic.
"13, 4, 5, 2!"
Lin Dong quickly examined it, his expression serious. "These are the carriages the intruders are in?!"
No one answered Lin Dong, but the red dots grew even brighter.
Seeing this, Lin Dong was all but certain that these marked the intruders' locations and carriage numbers.
"There are actually two in carriage 13?!"
Lin Dong whipped his head around. He hadn't expected two mutants to be just one carriage away.
Click!
Just then, the door connecting to carriage 14 opened again!
A second later!
Two mysterious figures appeared in Lin Dong's field of vision, their bodies entirely shrouded in black robes that concealed their faces.
Lin Dong immediately held his breath and focused.
"Damn it! Why does Number Two get to be the supreme Guide while we're stuck doing all the dirty work?!"
A shrill complaint came from beneath one of the pitch-black robes.
"Number Seven, we're all Guides. We simply have different duties."
A deep voice came from beneath the other black robe. "Number Eight's 'Iron Body' bone is very important to us. We absolutely cannot lose it!"
"Our lord will surely be pleased if we recover it."
The black-robed figure called Number Seven snorted indignantly. "Number Three, stop playing the good guy. Don't think I don't know what you're scheming!"
"Ah..."
Number Three sighed, his voice growing even more mournful. "I only want Universal Salvation. I truly have no other intentions."
"If you don't believe me, you can have this. All I ask is that you don't clash with Number Two."
Hiding in a corner, Lin Dong saw everything clearly as Number Three took a fingernail-sized pill from beneath his black robe.
The pill was gray and white, its surface uneven and pitted. It looked like a shoddy product.
But after his mental attributes had improved, Lin Dong's eyesight had also grown significantly sharper. He could clearly see tiny ghostlike things struggling inside the pits on its surface!
They looked as though something had trapped them firmly inside the pill.
It was utterly terrifying!
Lin Dong had never seen a pill that could frighten someone.
This truly was a first for him.
"A Hundred-Soul Affinity Pill?!"
At the sight of the pill, Number Seven's voice filled with unmistakable shock. "You're willing to give this to me?!"
"That Korean has openly offered a Devil Fruit in exchange for one of these!"
"Sure, it's a useless piece of trash, but it's still a Devil Fruit."
Lin Dong's eyes widened silently as he stared incredulously at the Hundred-Soul Affinity Pill in Number Three's hand. He had never imagined that this was the thing the Korean had been longing for!
He was even willing to offer the Azure Dragon Fruit for it!
What on earth was this thing?!
"You should already know."
As though answering the question in Lin Dong's mind, Number Three volunteered an explanation. "Although this pill can increase affinity in a secret realm, it only works in the Douluo secret realm. Or, more precisely, it only works on Tang San."
"My secret realm is Resident Evil. I have no use for it."
"But if this pill can persuade you to stop competing with Number Two, that would be a tremendous boon to me!"
[It's actually an item specifically meant to raise Tang San's affinity?!]
Lin Dong had never imagined that this world had gone so far in its crazed efforts to please Third Brother that it had developed an affinity item specifically for him!
Incredible!
If Third Brother knew that so many people in this world worked day after day just to win his favor, he'd probably be grinning from ear to ear, wouldn't he?
Still, just how much could this pill raise Tang San's affinity for the client to offer a whole Devil Fruit in exchange?
Lin Dong marveled inwardly.
Meanwhile.
Number Seven showed no hesitation whatsoever. He took the Hundred-Soul Affinity Pill straight from Number Three's hand and sneered:
"Since you're willing to part with something so precious, I'll do you this favor and stop stooping to that idiot Number Two's level."
"Thank you."
Number Three showed little change in emotion, but he visibly relaxed and urged:
"Hurry up and recover Number Eight's Steel Bone."
"Our work on Universal Salvation isn't finished yet. We need to pick up the pace."
"The Heavenly Dao has already noticed us. We have to complete Universal Salvation before it acts!"
"I know. Stop rushing me!"
The voice beneath Number Seven's black robe sounded a little impatient, but also somewhat wistful. "I never expected Number Eight to step forward voluntarily and draw every zombie's attention."
"Without him, we probably would've lost a few more people."
"That's what makes the Guides great!"
Number Three's voice grew noticeably excited. "The Guides carry out Universal Salvation. Even though we suffer backlash from the Heavenly Dao, we bring love and hope to the world!"
"You're right."
Although Number Seven disliked Number Two, he wholeheartedly agreed with that statement. He nodded firmly before approaching Number Eight's corpse.
"Huh? Damn it!"
Number Seven took a close look and immediately noticed something wrong. He hurriedly said, "Someone stole Number Eight's 'Steel Bone'!"
"How is that possible?!"
Number Three rushed over. "Did that Korean from earlier take it?"
"Impossible!"
Number Seven shook his head repeatedly. "That Korean nearly pissed himself when the Mutant Tyrant attacked him! How could he have had time to steal the Steel Bone?!"
"If it wasn't the Korean, who else could it be?"
A deep, cold gleam flashed in Number Three's eyes beneath his black robe.
Shlick!
The answer Number Three received came not from Number Seven, but from the clear sound of a blade piercing flesh.
A second later!
Blood sprayed everywhere!
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