Chapter 194: Human Traitor (Double Request for Monthly Tickets

Whoosh!

Under the rainy night, a black train raced through the valleys, gunfire illuminating bizarre monsters surging from the darkness—their overwhelming tide resembling scenes from a horror film.

Onboard the carriages, all combat-capable individuals fought desperately, while some women helped transport ammunition.

Tap-tap-tap!

Bullets poured endlessly outside the train, rain and blood splattering across its armored hull, creating a scene of brutal carnage.

Yet the monsters seemed endless, emerging from the dark—just as Director Ding had said, the Infinite had been marked with the scent of blood, drawing a flood of dark creatures.

Only minutes later, the "Infinite" reappeared at the far end of Yuzhen Freight Station, its iron wheels crushing the corpses of previously slain parasitized pseudo-humans as it charged back, drenched in blood and stench.

Boom-boom~

As the train entered the range near the platform, the strange entities in the dark weakened as expected, gradually falling silent, and the train's return fire ceased.

Lin Xian and the others stood by the windows, watching the approaching dark platform, all poised and ready to launch a massive slaughter against the pseudo-humans right there; the PX05 engineering robot had already loaded the ammunition chain for 1130 and was ready to fire at any moment.

But strangely, after the heavy train charged back, the freight platform—once teeming with parasitized pseudo-humans—was now utterly silent, save for scattered corpses and fragments of parasites, leaving only a pitch-black platform.

The surroundings fell as quiet as when they had first arrived last night.

"Weird—just a moment ago there were so many disgusting pseudo-humans, why have they all vanished now?"

"Stay alert," Lin Xian scanned the area, picking up the communicator: "Don't lower your guard—rearm, check your firing ports, watch for ambushes from the parasites."

All carriages received Lin Xian's order and immediately began frantically reloading ammunition and clearing firing ports.

Everyone remained tense; they had barely gained a moment's respite. In the living carriage, no one spoke—they worked in complete silence.

Lin Xian and Kiki walked straight into Carriage 3, where the red glow from the Hell Black Chrysanthemum in the plant cultivation chamber now blazed with an ominous intensity, radiating a sense of ill fortune.

"Killing some parasites hasn't dimmed the red glow much—this mark must have been placed on us by the largest creature in this territory."

Ding Junyi closely observed the changes, then turned to Lin Xian with grave expression: "If we confirm this, this discovery could save many lives!"

"Let's survive until tomorrow first."

Lin Xian took a deep breath—he hadn't returned to play the savior or a hero, but to ensure everyone on this train lived to see tomorrow.

"So the herd-hunting effect has some relevance then," Kiki said. "Two groups marked by large numbers of dark creatures merging together drew even more trouble—so what about large convoys? Even the Phoenix Society's Dawn Center? Wouldn't they be in even worse trouble?"

"They never said it was easy," Lin Xian stared at the Hell Black Chrysanthemum. "Wasn't the Sky City—Qingluan already destroyed? I suspect the Phoenix Society's headquarters faced far worse than we imagine. The Phoenix Society is humanity's last strongest defense force, backed by the Nightwalkers and the Interstellar Army—I believe they still have fighting power. But if we can provide this intel, humanity might gain some initiative. Still, we must confirm it first."

"Lin Xian, what are you planning to do?" Kiki asked.

"Do you remember the storage tanks in that chemical plant?" Lin Xian turned to her. "That thing doesn't just explode—it obliterates." Kiki's eyes slowly widened: "Oh! You want to blow up the chemical plant!"

Lin Xian nodded. "We just need to repair the mechanical arm—or install a remote detonator on the metal mixing reactor. But even that won't guarantee we kill the monster beneath the lantern flower. It might just enrage it completely."

"Let it get enraged—I'm already furious enough!" Kiki puffed up. "That thing almost killed me—it deserves to be blown to pieces."

"But…"

She shifted her gaze to Lin Xian. "Logically, Ding Qing from the Diamond Convoy should have similar means. They knew there was a monster there—why didn't they just blow it up? Why lure us here to die?"

"In the ocean, there's a coral species called sea anemone. It has many toxic stingers but cannot move, and its hunting ability is limited. Yet there's a fish called the clownfish, clever enough to avoid the stingers, survive by feeding on the anemone's waste, and crucially, the anemone's stingers effectively protect the clownfish from other predators. This symbiotic relationship evolved over time—until the clownfish even became bait to lure other fish into the anemone's grasp…"

Ding Junyi recorded the information as she spoke: "The situation in this town matches the biology of sea anemones—it has a territory, hunts with toxins and traps. Though dangerous itself, for survivors like us, nights and days here are relatively safer than outside."

Kiki frowned. "So you mean those people treat this place as a refuge? They're coexisting with the monsters?"

"It's not impossible."

Lin Xian recalled the answering machine message: "Someone deliberately guided us in. Now it's clear—it was Ding Qing's group. Their warnings about danger were just a ruse. All those flesh-and-bone piles in the cinema and chemical plant? They're the remains of the town's original residents—and later survivors who hid here, only to be devoured by the lantern flower."

"But… but there are pseudo-humans in this town—they're terrifying. How could they only attack us and not them?" Kiki was confused.

!

"If that's true, then we're already surrounded."

"What do you mean?"

Lin Xian walked to the window, gazing at the dark platform. Farther down the train, Shu Qin and Daliu Shasha stood ready in vigil. "They won't dare come out at night either—they've figured out some of the pseudo-humans' habits. They're hiding in their refuge, but their situation isn't much better than ours."

Kiki nodded, took a deep breath, and muttered bitterly: "So these people are traitors, then?"

"Traitors?"

"Human traitors—servants of the monsters. Isn't that what a traitor is?" Kiki snapped.

"Crude words, but true," Lin Xian turned to Ding Junyi. "Director Ding, you assumed this giant parasite lacks strong defense or evasion against predators, applying Earth biology to these dark creatures. But we encountered it this afternoon—it didn't look that easy to handle."

"No matter the species, survival and reproduction are the primary imperatives," Ding Junyi adjusted her glasses. "This creature is rooted in this town, hunting through territory and traps—like sea anemones, it lacks mobility. The parasites are devastating, but their original hosts are extremely fragile. When we escaped earlier, all the pseudo-humans were parasitized, moving only by exploiting human muscles and joints. That confirms my point."

(End of Chapter)