Chapter 1698: Chapter 1698: You Cannot Attack the Referee on the Arena
The carriage gradually fell silent, as no one could persuade or win anyone over; thus, all players chose to keep their distance to ensure their own safety.
Under such circumstances, no one could truly rest. Any movement by anyone drew the attention of the others, keeping the atmosphere tense.
The first few hours passed without issue, and the front and rear carriages were eerily quiet. However, half an hour before entering the Alien Activity Zone as indicated by the sticker doll’s premonition, a sound emerged from the rear carriage door, accompanied by two soft "clicks," reminiscent of scissors cutting through paper.
"Tap..." The rear carriage door drooped to the ground like cloth, followed by numerous small scissors flying over from the transition carriage. Almost as if they could automatically target, they spun toward the person closest to the door upon entering.
Xu Huo, along with the Fire Borrowing Female Player and the Buzz Cut Player, were near the rear door; the scissors’ primary targets were them. However, Xu Huo had shut the door in advance, and activated a Defensive Barrier, completely blocking the scissors in the corridor.
Yet, this did not entirely stop the scissors’ attack. With their fierce assailing momentum gone, these small scissors began to unleash Wind Blades on the Defensive Barrier, making tiny tears with the "click, click" sounds. But even such minor attacks led to the Defensive Barrier collapsing entirely within seconds. What followed were needles as numerous as cowhide. Not only could these needles cause injury, but they could also stitch a person’s body directly to the carriage’s furnishings. Within seconds, the Fire Borrowing Female Player and Buzz Cut Player were pulled into a small compartment, either hands or feet intertwined with the room’s setups.
Xu Huo maintained his room door slightly ajar, and after blocking those incoming scissors and needles, he controlled the Spatial Ray to pierce through the transition carriage, precisely finding the Golden-Eyed Player through the opened rear door and speared the seat where he sat into a porcupine.
But this did not truly harm the opponent. The Golden-Eyed Player dodged a few steps, moving to the middle of the corridor, and stomped his foot. An unseen force arose from the ground, forming a barrier across and charging toward the front carriage. Similarly, upon entering, it quickly turned and split the room door into two halves.
The "Unassailable Territory" Barrier blocked this attack, as Xu Huo also stepped out of the room, standing centrally in the corridor.
Facing each other across the transition carriage, Xu Huo gestured a spatial barrier to push the eager Fire Borrowing Female Player back to her own room, stating, "Don’t block the way."
The Fire Borrowing Female Player’s expression shifted slightly but wisely retreated together with the Buzz Cut Player.
People occupied both front and rear carriages, and seeing Xu Huo and the Golden-Eyed Player in action, each harbored individual thoughts. But it hadn’t reached the peak of battle yet; no one rashly intervened.
"Your profession wouldn’t be a tailor, would it?" Xu Huo began, his tone distinct from earlier discussions in the carriage, "Scissors and needles again?"
Now the Golden-Eyed Player appeared calm, "Do you think merely lasting until the train stops will suffice?"
He examined the damaged carriage door; things seemed to move freely between him and Xu Huo, but in reality, the rear door had long been sealed by Spatial Power, and even the smallest, most concealed props couldn’t pass through the main door.
"That’s hard to say," Xu Huo calmly replied, "Being inexplicably hunted down, chased to the station, unable to kill you, of course, only lasting it out is left. Or are you planning to follow me off the train?"
"The item I want is on you." The Golden-Eyed Player declared openly, "I must obtain it."
"Is it very important to you?" Xu Huo assessed him, "Unlikely, I bet you don’t even know what’s inside."
"True, I don’t know, but it is worth fifty million White Notes." The Golden-Eyed Player intentionally or unintentionally remarked, "I’ve been commissioned to take the item back."
The figure "fifty million White Notes" caused those behind Xu Huo to pause their breath, also concentrating their gaze on him.
Yet, Xu Huo didn’t mind, stating, "You won’t get it, at least not from me."
The Golden-Eyed Player raised his right hand slightly, and a long blade as tall as a person stood beside him. Gripping the handle, he said, "Then I’ll first kill you and then find your friends."
Unlike the murderous Golden-Eyed Player, Xu Huo approached in a negotiated tone, "Since you say the item is worth fifty million, how about I give you fifty million White Notes and you turn away?"
The Golden-Eyed Player squinted, "Have you ever heard the rumor of a bounty hunter abandoning a task midway? No one can let me set this precedent."
"Then there’s no room for resolve." As Xu Huo spoke, he wielded the Black Blade, while simultaneously, the nearby Buzz Cut Player was pierced through with multiple unseen Spatial Blades, revealing traces of red blood but quickly splattering to the floor.
"Next time you plan to ambush someone, don’t make so many moves." He spoke without turning his head, also serving as a warning for other carriage players.
"Stay calm, stay calm," the Hat Player stood up with a smile, "Why not let me..."
It’s unfortunate his words went unheard, both Xu Huo and the Golden-Eyed Player in the rear carriage put on noise-cancelling headphones simultaneously, having avoided traps at the station, and refused to falter on the train.
Seeing their actions, the other players in the carriage similarly prepared themselves defensively.
The Hat Player remarked rather helplessly, "I just want to be a referee, why is it so hard? Since you’re going to fight anyway, what’s wrong with having a witness?"
No one could hear, nor did anyone bother to read his lip movements, so no response came.
But the Hat Player remained unaffected, enthusiastically blowing a whistle. In the next second, black and red smoke wafted from beneath his feet, spreading quickly along the carriage floor and occupying at least more than two carriages.
Red concentrated on the Golden-Eyed Player’s side, black on Xu Huo’s side, demarcating two regions with the transition carriage’s centerline as the boundary. The Hat Player flashed from the center of the front carriage to the transition carriage, raising a hand, seemingly saying something.
Neither Xu Huo nor the Golden-Eyed Player heard him; when the Hat Player moved to the transition carriage, both wielded weapons ready to fight, yet unexpectedly, they were blocked in the middle!
More accurately, an invisible barrier at the center line blocked them. They held Rank A Props, but astonishingly couldn’t inflict any damage on the central barrier!
Almost simultaneously as their attack failed, both spun around to strike at the Hat Player!
With two muffled "thumps," their props halted half a meter from the Hat Player, likewise obstructed by an unseen barrier.
The Hat Player solemnly declared, "It’s common knowledge that you can’t attack the referee in the arena."