Nothing but a Dud

Just as the fist was about to strike Zhao Xun, he burst free of Shen Yalong's grip and immediately grabbed his shoulder.

With a sharp crack, one of Shen Yalong's arms fell limp at his side.

The searing pain made Shen Yalong's other five arms flinch instinctively, and his face twisted.

Seizing that brief two-second opening, Zhao Xun used both hands to swiftly dislocate the elbows of two more of Shen Yalong's arms.

Shen Yalong finally let out a scream and stumbled backward.

"Trying to run?" A faint note of excitement crept into Zhao Xun's voice as he pursued him.

Shen Yalong stared at Zhao Xun's face. His expression had barely changed, and he even wore a slight smile, but in that instant, something about him had become completely different. A surge of dread sent a chill down Shen Yalong's spine.

He instinctively turned and ran, forgetting all about the suitcase.

All he knew was that he had to run for his life.

It was like an animal's survival instinct.

At 183 centimeters tall, Zhao Xun stood considerably taller than Shen Yalong, which naturally gave him an advantage in both reach and stride.

Shen Yalong had only taken two steps and was still well within Zhao Xun's reach.

All Zhao Xun had to do was take one long stride and stretch out his arm to catch Shen Yalong's arm with ease.

Before Shen Yalong could retaliate, Zhao Xun exerted his strength again and broke two more arms.

Now Shen Yalong had only one uninjured arm left.

"Boss!" Shen Yalong's face was drenched in sweat, whether from pain or panic. "Boss, I was wrong! Please spare me this once! I swear I'll never try anything against you again!"

Zhao Xun merely took hold of Shen Yalong's last uninjured arm at a leisurely pace and deftly dislocated its elbow.

Shen Yalong's face had gone deathly pale. He could no longer even scream.

From the moment Zhao Xun had effortlessly broken free of his restraint, Shen Yalong had realized their strength was nowhere near the same level.

Zhao Xun's strength clearly exceeded human limits. It had to be the effect of a special ability.

At that moment, Shen Yalong had regretted acting so rashly.

He had thought that as long as he found a chance to get close, he could make full use of his special ability's advantage in close combat.

He had never imagined his luck would be so rotten that his opponent's special ability happened to be enhanced strength.

All he had were a few extra arms. His strength was still that of an ordinary person, so how could he possibly stand a chance against Zhao Xun?

But regret was useless. He did not even have a chance to escape.

Even when he begged for mercy, his opponent had not held back.

Was he going to die here?

All six of Shen Yalong's arms hung limply as he stared at Zhao Xun in terror, his heart sinking.

His legs still worked, but fear had left his mind in a daze.

Something inside him screamed for him to run, but his body refused to obey. He did not move an inch.

Zhao Xun clapped a hand on Shen Yalong's shoulder.

He had not used much force, but Shen Yalong's entire body instantly went rigid.

Zhao Xun chuckled, seemingly in an excellent mood.

He slowly exhaled, calming the faint restlessness within him.

Shen Yalong sensed another change in Zhao Xun. It was still the same face and nearly the same smile, yet something subtle about him had shifted in a way he could not describe.

That sense of dread was gone.

"Since you're so reluctant to leave, you can stay here for now." As he spoke, Zhao Xun punched and broke both of Shen Yalong's legs, then picked him up like a chick and set him in seat 013.

Shen Yalong's face contorted with pain. He sucked in breath after breath, unable to muster even the strength to scream.

Zhao Xun casually pulled down the nearby window curtain, tore it into strips, and used them to tie Shen Yalong to seat 013.

Only after securing Shen Yalong did Zhao Xun turn and sweep his gaze across carriage 14.

Everyone else turned away, pretending to be busy with their own affairs.

Whether or not they had the strength to contend with Zhao Xun, none of them would invite trouble at a time like this.

Everyone understood perfectly well that the first rule here was self-preservation.

Stay out of other people's business.

Zhao Xun returned to his seat and looked at Shen Yalong. "Your special ability lets you grow four extra arms?"

Shen Yalong was in too much pain to speak, but he nodded in response.

He was terrified that failing to answer would be taken as defiance. If Zhao Xun dislocated a few more of his joints, he really would be done for.

Zhao Xun clicked his tongue twice.

Good thing the ability I "devoured" earlier wasn't his. With its effects reduced by half, how useful could two extra arms possibly be?

This special ability only offered a slight advantage in close combat, yet it could not even beat strength enhancement reduced by half... it was nothing but a dud.

Shen Yalong had no idea what Zhao Xun was thinking, but those two clicks of his tongue made him nervous.

He hurriedly explained through the pain, "That really is my special ability. I may have a few extra arms, but my strength is no match for yours."

"I know," Zhao Xun replied casually.

Seeing that Zhao Xun was not accusing him of lying, Shen Yalong breathed a sigh of relief.

He did not know what Zhao Xun intended to do by tying him up, but it seemed he was not planning to kill him.

The thought that he still had a chance to survive greatly weakened Shen Yalong's will to resist.

After all, resisting might get him killed immediately, while obeying might let him live.

Shen Yalong looked at his own pitiful state, with all eight limbs immobilized, and simply deactivated his special ability.

He returned to having only two arms.

Although that did nothing to change the fact that his arm joints had been broken, having two aching arms was much easier to bear than having six aching at once.

Zhao Xun paid Shen Yalong no further attention. He took his suitcase down from the luggage rack and opened the combination lock with his back to Shen Yalong, then took out a bag of crackers, two ham sausages, and a bottle of mineral water.

He had brought the largest size of suitcase available. Naturally, he would not have filled it with nothing but changes of clothes.

Food was essential. He had not brought much, but if he rationed it carefully, it would last him five days.

Besides that, he had packed a few "treasures," though it was not yet time to take them out.

Before deciding to board the [Endless Train], he had looked up plenty of information about it.

Although the outside world knew very little about the [Endless Train], the photographs in the regular monthly reports showed that the volunteers sent by the authorities all carried hiking backpacks.

Perhaps even the authorities did not know whether supplies could be brought aboard, but it was worth trying.

So Zhao Xun had done the same.

The reports had never disclosed exactly what supplies the authorities provided to the volunteers, so Zhao Xun had packed a suitcase according to his own needs.

He had to at least give it a try. At worst, he would be forced to throw everything away.

If he managed to bring it aboard, wouldn't he have more useful things than everyone else?

As it turned out, the [Endless Train] had no security screening. It did not prevent passengers from bringing suitcases aboard, nor did it inspect their contents.

This was the slight advantage enjoyed by passengers who boarded voluntarily.

Why hasn't Mount Fuji erupted yet?!

I live right on the coast. I'm so worried...