Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 1341 - 1342

Chapter 1341: Chapter 1342

"This poison is really potent!" Dr. Duor observed the dead mass of vines and discovered that even when the mother plant abandoned its branches, the toxin could still spread along the ground to surrounding areas, quickly contaminating other vine branches. As a result, the vines covering this area had to continuously retreat.

The vehicle got moving again, and he turned to Xu Huo, "How long can the contamination last?"

"It won’t reach the level of completely destroying the mutant plants in this area," Xu Huo replied, "The contamination will soon be cut off."

This was a variant of the pollution bacteria extracted from Yuguo’s Severed Hand, to which he added some toxins. However, the speed and degree of contamination were far from reaching the levels of Yuguo’s Severed Hand. Even if it wasn’t cut off, it wouldn’t grow indefinitely.

Dai Song, however, wasn’t as entranced by the novelty like Dr. Duor. His gaze hovered over the Mechanical Being, the medicine gun in Xu Huo’s hand, and the various props he wore, showing a hint of disillusionment.

Compared to the flourishing and vibrant other zones, Zone 023 felt like a person struggling in a deathly mire, barely clinging to life. Players there generally weren’t very strong, meaning their expectations for future missions were mere illusions.

Inside the vehicle, the group could somewhat sense his emotions, much like someone who has always been at the bottom in every aspect, watching enviously as people around him excel. After being outmatched in every way, this subtle envy often turns into endless despair, especially when such comparisons involve life and death stakes.

"Could I buy a vial of this poison?" Dr. Duor, nervous, asked tentatively.

Dai Song immediately looked up at him, "Doctor..."

"No problem, I could even give it to you as a gift." A voice interrupted him. Xu Huo directly produced a box of injections, saying, "We have all grades of contamination levels, a set of five."

Dr. Duor regarded the box like a treasure, "This must be quite rare, right?"

Even he knew that some of the oddities in the game couldn’t be bought, even with money.

"It’s indeed very rare," Xu Huo simply remarked. At least from the source, it was so.

"I’m truly grateful to you," Dr. Duor, unlike Dai Song, didn’t feel the need to protect his pride and hesitate to express gratitude to an outside-zone player. More than anything, he appreciated this gift as a scholar would.

"I have nothing to give you in return," he said, taking a half-finger-length potion from his coat pocket and handing it to him, "This is a gene disease treatment I’ve developed. Although it might not be of much use for outside-zone players, since you carry such potions with you, you must be interested. When you get the chance, you can show it to the right people, and maybe it could serve other purposes."

After Xu Huo accepted it, he added with a sigh, "I hope no one from any zone suffers from genetic diseases."

"They won’t," Xu Huo replied. He then said to the others, "Someone’s coming ahead."

The group immediately went on alert. When the vehicle drove forward, they saw three injured players hiding behind a defensive barrier. Surrounding the barrier was a proliferation of Man-Eating Flowers, each the size of a human face. When their mouths opened, the flower stems were lined with sharp thorns.

These flowers bore traces of fresh blood. They ignored Xu Huo and the others as they passed, crowding eagerly outside the barrier.

Despite the situation, the three players weren’t entirely trapped by the Man-Eating Flowers. As Xu Huo’s group approached them, they suddenly turned to look at the forest across the road.

"Something’s coming!" Dai Song warned softly. In the next instant, a massive shadow lunged at the vehicle, knocking it askew and causing cracks to appear in the surrounding defensive barrier. Then something continuously pummeled the vehicle with thudding sounds.

In that moment, Xu Huo and the others saw what it was. If they had to liken it to an animal, it would be a giant owl, also known as a Night Owl. This type of mutant animal was mentioned in the alien compendium in the Twin Cities. On average, their wingspan spanned ten meters, with some approaching twenty meters. After evolving, they altered their habits, preferring to live in groups of dozens with their proficiency in group combat.

"They’re highly sensitive to moving objects!" shouted a player hiding within the defensive barrier.

The vehicle had to stop because the successive onslaughts of Night Owls had buried it. The front half had already been clawed out of shape. Trying to force through might result in the vehicle being dismantled quickly.

Ordinary firearms were ineffective; Night Owls’ heads and chests had evolved to have highly resilient feathers that bullets typically couldn’t penetrate or potions couldn’t infiltrate.

"Boom!" Since the defensive barrier was already breached, Qiu Ming lunged out of the empty front window and swung a sword, pushing away the Night Owl blocking the front.

But the Night Owl wasn’t dead. Despite its massive size, it wasn’t sluggish and even knew how to use its evolved hard feathers to reduce the power of weapons’ attacks. Qiu Ming’s sword only glanced off without killing the Night Owl, leaving a notch on the car’s hood.

"This thing’s resilient, ordinary props..." Qiu Ming hadn’t finished his sentence when cold flashes flickered, and the bisected Night Owl corpse, along with its blood, fell on the car. Amid the collisions, the number of Night Owls approaching dwindled further.

A peek outside revealed Xu Huo standing on the car roof with a black sword, slashing through the flock of Night Owls like slicing through cake. Apart from the few at the start, not a single one could even reach the vehicle!

Mutant avian beasts proud of their hard feathers, daring to crash into the vehicle, were now as fragile as newly hatched chicks.

The twenty or so Night Owls were quickly wiped out, leaving only the largest one circling high above.

Xu Huo wasn’t planning to spare it either. With a push-off using "Gentleman’s Stance," he soared into the air, slicing it in two with "Cake Cutter" amidst the dense branches and leaves of mutant trees.

In no time, a rain of blood ensued. Xu Huo returned to the vehicle just in time before it roared to life, speeding over the Night Owls’ bodies and fresh blood.

Dai Song, who hadn’t yet had the chance to act, felt a bit self-doubt, also suspecting Xu Huo wasn’t a Rank-C Player. He had met many Rank-C Players from the outside zones. Normally, they should be like Qiu Ming or those three huddled in the defensive barrier outside. Handling fierce mutant animals might allow escape, but not to the extent of walking through a no-man’s land.

Of course, he didn’t voice this aloud.

The three players who had been besieged by Night Owls followed them. The one who appeared straightforward and honest grinned and negotiated with them, "Could you give us a lift?"

Even though Xu Huo was strong, there were still several days of travel ahead. He couldn’t be the main force all the while, so Qiu Ming sought Xu Huo’s opinion with a glance.