Wits Against Crisis

The cacophony of screams from the other passengers was deafening, nearly shattering the carriage's glass windows. 

Those few seconds stretched interminably for Eric. 

Her mind, once a chaotic whirl, seemed to explode. 

She yearned to scream, to flee from her seat. 

Yet, she remained motionless, scarcely able to believe her own resolve. 

What transpired afterward, Eric scarcely registered. 

Presumably, the harried security officers arrived, retrieving the severed head and removing the lifeless body. 

"Can't we stop the train? I want to get off!" 

"Yes, yes! We want to get off! Stop the train!" 

The officers hesitated, "We're in a perilous desert zone; stopping the train is impossible. Please remain calm; we'll reach the next station soon!" 

As the body was carried away, the metallic tang of blood lingered in the air. Gradually, Eric regained her composure. She steeled herself, urging her mind to think swiftly, to devise a means of survival. 

"How are we supposed to get through this quest? What on earth is happening?" The player who had acted alongside the youth was unraveling, shouting and grabbing at Eric. 

"Why did he die? What did you do to him? What do you know? Tell me!" 

Eric wrenched her arm free, "I did nothing!" 

The player, clearly unhinged, attempted to seize her again. Eric warned, "If you wish to be killed, then continue your madness!" 

The player froze. 

The unknown breeds fear, leaving one adrift. 

Amidst the pandemonium of the carriage, surrounded by shell-shocked passengers, the player vanished into the chaos. 

Eric's mind raced as never before. 

This quest harbored several unseen killers, slaughtering indiscriminately, like phantoms! 

Phantoms… 

This resembled a supernatural quest! 

Yet Eric was certain she had entered an ordinary quest. 

Uncertain of the discrepancy, Eric knew she could no longer remain passive. To wait was to risk sudden, inexplicable death. 

Her gaze fixed on the emergency hammer by the window. Resolute, she stood and seized it. 

She could not remain here; this realization was crystal clear. 

Clutching the cold hammer tightly, Eric struck with all her might— 

Bang! 

"What are you doing?" 

Passengers turned, startled. 

Eric remained silent, continuing to strike. Her tension was palpable; she feared her actions might invite death, and thus sought to shatter the window swiftly.

With a few determined strikes against the same spot on the glass window, cracks began to form. Eric, silent and resolute, continued her assault until the entire pane shattered. Without hesitation, she stepped onto the table and onto the window frame, poised to leap—only to feel an arm wrap tightly around her waist.

"Don't do something so reckless! This is a train! You'll lose your life if you jump!" The woman's face was etched with urgency, and Eric felt a profound shock—this NPC felt alarmingly real.

Freeing herself from the woman's grasp, Eric replied steadily, "I know what I'm doing. Thank you, goodbye."

Then she leaped.

The train was moving at a considerable speed, but Eric's experience from countless ordinary quests came to her aid. She jumped as far as she could, shielding her head upon impact and tumbling to the ground.

She rolled several times, her body aching, but she had managed to clear the tracks.

Rising to her feet, Eric looked up at the receding train. A player from her carriage leaned out of the broken window, watching her.

Soon, the entire train disappeared into the distance, its long tracks winding ahead, pointing Eric toward the next station. She resolved to follow the rails.

Looking down at her palm, she frowned as she picked out embedded grains of sand. She rinsed the wound with bottled water, applied iodine, and wrapped her hand with a clean cloth. Ignoring the pain in other parts of her body, she prepared for the journey ahead. The scorching heat outside—likely around forty degrees—demanded careful planning. She retrieved a cap from the clothing aisle on the second floor, fashioned a makeshift sunshade by taping together a cardboard box, donned a mask, and opened an umbrella. Thus equipped, she set out.

Inside the train, air conditioning provided a stark contrast to the barren desert outside. With seven hours still to the next station, Eric anticipated the arduous road ahead. Yet she preferred this hardship to the unfathomable dangers aboard the train. Venturing out alone across some eight hundred kilometers, she couldn't guarantee survival, but she resolved to face death on her own terms—whether from exhaustion, heat, or wild beasts, she would embrace it.

As the train roared into the distance, the player from her carriage hesitated, ultimately choosing not to jump.

He fidgeted nervously in his seat, the ceaseless screams from other carriages driving him to the brink of fear. Having completed ten ordinary quests, he'd never encountered anything like this. Should he follow the woman's example and leap?

But outside lay the desert—seven hours from the next station. Survival seemed impossible.

As he pondered, the frantic voice of a man on a desperate phone call abruptly stopped, followed by the sickening thud of a severed head.

The player held his breath.

In another carriage, Jessica furrowed her brows. "This is all wrong. I've heard intelligence on this quest—it's a serial killer massacring passengers on the train. The killer follows a pattern; avoid it, and you'll be safe," she explained. She had entered this ordinary quest to rest, fortuitously finding herself in the [Slaughter Train] quest, which should have been manageable.

"The quest seems to have mutated," another player remarked, his face pale.

Jessica's frown deepened. "This difficulty level resembles a supernatural quest. I've heard of ordinary quests mutating into paranormal ones—that would explain all these anomalies. We cannot stay on the train; the quest has spiraled out of control. Chaos is the true reaper of players."

Her gaze fell upon the emergency hammer on the carriage wall.

Half an hour later, the train's situation worsened. Seasoned players began leaping from the windows to escape.

Three hours later, the train bore no survivors. A black mist seeped through the carriages, spilling outward to envelop the entire train. Unearthly laughter echoed as the train seemed to awaken, crawling swiftly into the distance.

A full day had passed. Eric was utterly exhausted. Without her supermarket's provisions, she might have chosen to leap from the train, but then she'd likely have perished, requiring medical aid and depleting all her hard-earned points by journey's end.

She drank water ceaselessly and took meticulous care to shield herself from the sun, enduring until nightfall.

Eric decided to rest for two hours, then continue her trek.

Her makeshift tent was fashioned from cardboard boxes. She set an alarm, which roused her precisely two hours later. Though rested, her body ached more deeply, and her nose remained congested.

She drank a saline solution, then ate half a salt-baked chicken with two small loaves from the cooked foods shelf before pressing onward.

The desert's night was profoundly silent, overwhelmingly eerie. Eric dared not unleash the flashlight's full beam, choosing instead to wrap it in a sock, allowing only a sliver of light to illuminate the tracks.

She walked tirelessly along the rails until dawn approached at five in the morning. After a brief pause and sustenance, she rested another two hours before resuming.

Each day was a trial. Several times she believed death was imminent, yet she persevered, buoyed by her endless supply of water and food from the supermarket. She clung to optimism.

For half a month, Eric followed the train tracks. Despite the relentless heat, she encountered no threats.

This defied all logic. How could such a vast desert be utterly devoid of danger?

Where were the beasts?

Indeed, she had yet to encounter a single mosquito or insect.

The quest was profoundly eerie—her sole option was to march ceaselessly along the rails.

When she finally glimpsed the train station, she exhaled deeply yet braced herself anew.

That train was corrupted. Even if it reached the station, could the platform be trusted?

Eric didn't rush forward. She found a spot to rest, replenished her strength with food and water.

While eating bread, she noticed vague shapes flickering nearby. Immediately, she packed her belongings, restoring herself to the state she'd been in upon boarding the train.

After a moment, seeing the figures remained still, she resolved to investigate.