For The Emperor CH2
Chapter 2: The Hellish Otherkind (2)
Every participant receives the "race start reminder" at the same time, but not everyone can digest the information and understand the essentials immediately.
Differences in upbringing, varied experiences, and habitual ways of thinking often lead people to make instinctive choices in unexpected situations.
Therefore, many are bewildered, few are calm, and none are contemplative. Some even take it lightly, jokingly commenting that this prank show is interesting, demanding ordinary guests to undertake a mainline task...
Only Li Yundan calmly retracted her foot, allowing the car door to close, isolating the inside from the outside.
This was not her instinctive reaction of seeking advantage and avoiding disadvantage, but rather a judgment made based on her years of living in the vortex of struggle, enabling her to instantly discern the pros and cons of "going out" and "staying," and making the most beneficial decision for herself.
After all, foreign lands are unfamiliar, and she does not speak the language. Instead of being passive in various aspects outside, it's better to stay in the metal long cage where she has the initiative.
At least she is more "familiar" with it.
Before long, the subway slowly started moving.
However, this time the ride was not smooth. After moving just a few yards back and forth, it seemed to have jammed on the tracks. With a prolonged screeching of metal, it abruptly came to a halt.
The lights inside the carriage flickered momentarily before returning to normal. Passengers stumbled a few steps with the inertia, and after regaining their balance, they immediately began cursing in annoyance.
"Did someone lie on the tracks? Why stop!"
"What shoddy company made this mainline? I want to complain!"
There were many complaints, but they quieted down quickly. People settled down to wait for the subway to restart, but unusually, it remained stationary as if it had a major malfunction.
And because it had not traveled far, the subway had not left the station. The sudden incident immediately attracted the attention of the guards and passengers waiting for the next train.
"What happened? Is the subway broken?"
"Contact the conductor."
However, it was futile, the cause of the malfunction was unknown.
A minute passed, and a shrill whistle blew. The guards outside became visibly panicked as they began to evacuate the crowd, grabbing the walkie-talkie: "Please remain calm, don't panic! Jan? What's going on, I heard screams?"
"Help..."
The line went dead, disconnected.
"Jan?"
Inside the subway, crew members in different carriages turned pale.
Perhaps sensing something was wrong, emergency calls were made one after another. They tried to calm the passengers while heading towards the carriage from where screams were heard. Urgent calls for rescue grew louder, and the atmosphere tensely escalated.
The noise continued, amplifying any emotion in the confined space, like fear.
The chaos began to show signs, as small groups huddled in the corners of the carriages looked at each other.
The entire subway, the whole station, even a city, thousands of foreigners... Which reality show could afford such an elaborate prank, and just for a few of them?
"It can't be real, can it?" muttered a skateboarder.
Realizing that this was not a drill but actual combat, they felt a chill rise from their feet, making their scalps tingle.
"This is bad... trouble!" a white-collar man said tremblingly, "In big cities, subways run every 3 minutes, every 1 minute and 50 seconds during peak times. If it doesn't leave the station soon, the next train will be arriving!"
With a subway speed of 80 kilometers per hour, even with deceleration when entering stations, the impact force is extremely terrifying. If two subways were to collide, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Hearing this, everyone truly became restless.
"Stay calm," the flight attendant said. "There are emergency measures. Even with just a 50-second gap, it's enough to stop the next train."
"50 seconds? You're talking about domestically, but we're abroad!" The white-collar worker became even more panicked. "Can the efficiency of foreign operations be described as 'reliable'?"
Everyone: ...
Faintly, screams could be heard from other carriages.
The subway carriage began to shake eerily, as if a stampede was happening.
People were panicky and agitated. In the event of an incident, people instinctively gather together, hoping to find a sense of security within the group.
They stood up and moved towards the center of the carriage, with a sense of unease and caution, watching the sliding doors at both ends carefully, then stretching their necks to peek through the glass doors to see the situation on the other side.
Aside from the sound of someone making a call for help, this carriage suddenly became eerily quiet.
"Are they fighting next door?"
"I don't know, they're pushing and shoving together..."
In the dimness, Li Yundan's hand had already grasped the handle of her knife.
In her understanding, a carriage that suddenly stops on its way, if not due to an assassin's ambush, then it was tampered with in advance. There are cases of carriages breaking down, but they are very rare.
Therefore, she speculated that this was an ambush.
Only the occurrence of an ambush could correspond to the "survival" mentioned in the mission.
But some questions, once delved into deeply, lead to conclusions that are inevitably chilling.
On the battlefield, a chariot pulled by eight fine horses could be invincible, making thousands of strong opponents helpless, and the speed of a metal long cage far exceeds that of eight horses' power—then, what is it that could make this huge object unable to move an inch?
The confusion didn't last long before fear spread to her side.
"Bang, bang!"
Something was hitting the bottom of the subway.
Noticing the movement under their feet, the people gathered quickly dispersed, creating a large "no-man's land." They turned their backs to the windows, staring at the ground, holding their breath without realizing it.
What...what is underneath the subway?
The ground went silent, then after a few seconds, abruptly, a segment of black iron-colored scythe-like limb came from below, piercing through the matte tile floor like cutting tofu.
Debris splattered, and the limb forcefully pulled back, tearing open a dark long crack.
Air from below flowed into the carriage through the crack, spreading a thick earthy smell. Then, an unknown creature emitted a sharp and short cry, and another scythe-like limb cut through, making the crack even larger.
"Ah, ah, ah! What kind of devilish thing is this? Help!"
"Don't let it in! Get out, don't come here—"
The self-rescue alarm sounded, and those who reacted quickly immediately rushed to the adjacent carriage.
But under a collapsed nest, there is no intact egg. The centralized outbreak of disaster did not spare any carriage.
They ran to the next one, and the people from the next one also ran towards them."
Through a not-so-large sliding door window, the face of a terrified man is reflected. His hand has already touched the door; with a strong push, he could enter this place.
Unfortunately, his chest suddenly bursts with large blossoms of blood as a scythe-like limb pierces through his spine and heart, then strikes through the window in another blow.
"Crack!"
The glass fractures, creating a spider-web-like fissure, dipped in human blood, weaving a net of death.
The man's expression freezes, as he stares fixedly at his heart, still beating in muscle memory as it emerges from his torn body, before his head slants, dying with eyes wide open.
Those attempting to escape the carriage stare fixedly at the dead man, their brains blank with sheer terror, incapable even of screaming.
Rooted to the spot, they watch numbly as the scythe-like limb retracts, tossing the man's corpse aside carelessly... The covering falls, revealing the murderer's true face.
Not human, lacking any human form...
It is a non-human monster, its body covered in lead-gray.
Standing about two meters tall, it has a serpentine body, roughly as thick as an adult's waist. Its skin is wrinkled, devoid of hair or scales, resembling the sandworms of the desert.
The upright end should be its "head," but it has no eyes, only an orifice for feeding, lined with spiral, interlocking sharp teeth. Its neck has two thin limbs, ending in black iron-colored scythes.
At this moment, it props up its upper body with its limbs, probably sensing the presence of living beings, moving towards the hole in the glass.
"Sizzle!" The ground cracks open in a cross, and another monster's head emerges.
With danger in front and behind, people panic, banging and shouting for help at the doors and windows, only to find monsters breaking through the windows from inside the subway, leaping towards the people outside...
Suffocation!
In the corner, a flight attendant shouts loudly, "A gun! Who has a gun?"
This wakes the people as if from a dream. A lady with a gun frantically searches her bag, but the more nervous she becomes, the harder it is to find.
The monster's scythe embeds into the matte tiles, slowly lifting its body. It opens its feeding orifice, its sharp teeth rotating sequentially, as if threatening its prey.
Humans, accustomed to a comfortable life, have never seen such a nightmarish scene, almost fainting from fright. A skateboarder, however, gathers his courage, swinging his skateboard to break the window, hoping for a chance at survival.
"Bang bang" the sound echoes, the monster glances sideways.
The safety glass is hard to break, and it seems their lives are at stake.
The monster from another carriage hears the noise and chops at the door, while the monster in this carriage "looks" towards the young man. At this critical moment of life and death, Li Yundan moves aside the people blocking her with her left hand, and with her right hand, she draws her meteorite broadsword.
The opportunity is fleeting, but she does not miss.
She remembers clearly, the initial sounds were two impacts...
Does the monster circle back to probe? No, it doesn't seem to have a brain.
If it were truly smart, it wouldn't use such a brutal method to kill people, which would only scare away its prey, making it harder to feed. Therefore, she leans towards the second possibility: it first tries to collide with the metal cage, but the cage is harder, so it can't break through.
Her broadsword, forged from meteorite, cuts through iron like mud—
Taking advantage of the flickering light, Li Yundan silently approaches the monster.
Just as the monster "turns" to look at the young man, she grips the sword with both hands, her movement swift as lightning, fiercely chopping down.
With a faint silver glow, the blade's edge like a shooting star, the monster doesn't even realize it has been split in two.
It still bent its body, with a strong move of its limbs, it lurched toward the corner. In a blink, it was decapitated mid-air.
The head fell downwards, while the torso slid upwards, then abruptly stopped amidst the shrill screams of the white-collar man, landing with a "thud" at his feet, splattering foul-smelling fluid all over his leather shoes.
"Ah ah ah—ah? Gah..."
Wait, it's dead? Who did this?
An eerie silence.
With a "snap", the light inside the car went out, leaving only the light from the station outside coming through the windows.
Li Yundan flicked off the viscous fluid from her blade, just as she was about to kill the second monster, she heard the divine voice again.
【Ding! Successfully killed 1 "Prehistoric Species", completed difficulty level "Geng", rewarded 100 points.】
【Congratulations on becoming the first "Knocker" in this trial field, additionally awarded 100 points and a "Wu" level brocade pouch.】
Geng, Wu?
These are terms from the Heavenly Stems sequence, often used in the imperial examination rankings of the Great Li.
Geng ranks seventh, Wu ranks fifth...
Li Yundan was momentarily stunned. The monster she killed, known as a Prehistoric Species, was only a Geng?
Differences in upbringing, varied experiences, and habitual ways of thinking often lead people to make instinctive choices in unexpected situations.
Therefore, many are bewildered, few are calm, and none are contemplative. Some even take it lightly, jokingly commenting that this prank show is interesting, demanding ordinary guests to undertake a mainline task...
Only Li Yundan calmly retracted her foot, allowing the car door to close, isolating the inside from the outside.
This was not her instinctive reaction of seeking advantage and avoiding disadvantage, but rather a judgment made based on her years of living in the vortex of struggle, enabling her to instantly discern the pros and cons of "going out" and "staying," and making the most beneficial decision for herself.
After all, foreign lands are unfamiliar, and she does not speak the language. Instead of being passive in various aspects outside, it's better to stay in the metal long cage where she has the initiative.
At least she is more "familiar" with it.
Before long, the subway slowly started moving.
However, this time the ride was not smooth. After moving just a few yards back and forth, it seemed to have jammed on the tracks. With a prolonged screeching of metal, it abruptly came to a halt.
The lights inside the carriage flickered momentarily before returning to normal. Passengers stumbled a few steps with the inertia, and after regaining their balance, they immediately began cursing in annoyance.
"Did someone lie on the tracks? Why stop!"
"What shoddy company made this mainline? I want to complain!"
There were many complaints, but they quieted down quickly. People settled down to wait for the subway to restart, but unusually, it remained stationary as if it had a major malfunction.
And because it had not traveled far, the subway had not left the station. The sudden incident immediately attracted the attention of the guards and passengers waiting for the next train.
"What happened? Is the subway broken?"
"Contact the conductor."
However, it was futile, the cause of the malfunction was unknown.
A minute passed, and a shrill whistle blew. The guards outside became visibly panicked as they began to evacuate the crowd, grabbing the walkie-talkie: "Please remain calm, don't panic! Jan? What's going on, I heard screams?"
"Help..."
The line went dead, disconnected.
"Jan?"
Inside the subway, crew members in different carriages turned pale.
Perhaps sensing something was wrong, emergency calls were made one after another. They tried to calm the passengers while heading towards the carriage from where screams were heard. Urgent calls for rescue grew louder, and the atmosphere tensely escalated.
The noise continued, amplifying any emotion in the confined space, like fear.
The chaos began to show signs, as small groups huddled in the corners of the carriages looked at each other.
The entire subway, the whole station, even a city, thousands of foreigners... Which reality show could afford such an elaborate prank, and just for a few of them?
"It can't be real, can it?" muttered a skateboarder.
Realizing that this was not a drill but actual combat, they felt a chill rise from their feet, making their scalps tingle.
"This is bad... trouble!" a white-collar man said tremblingly, "In big cities, subways run every 3 minutes, every 1 minute and 50 seconds during peak times. If it doesn't leave the station soon, the next train will be arriving!"
With a subway speed of 80 kilometers per hour, even with deceleration when entering stations, the impact force is extremely terrifying. If two subways were to collide, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Hearing this, everyone truly became restless.
"Stay calm," the flight attendant said. "There are emergency measures. Even with just a 50-second gap, it's enough to stop the next train."
"50 seconds? You're talking about domestically, but we're abroad!" The white-collar worker became even more panicked. "Can the efficiency of foreign operations be described as 'reliable'?"
Everyone: ...
Faintly, screams could be heard from other carriages.
The subway carriage began to shake eerily, as if a stampede was happening.
People were panicky and agitated. In the event of an incident, people instinctively gather together, hoping to find a sense of security within the group.
They stood up and moved towards the center of the carriage, with a sense of unease and caution, watching the sliding doors at both ends carefully, then stretching their necks to peek through the glass doors to see the situation on the other side.
Aside from the sound of someone making a call for help, this carriage suddenly became eerily quiet.
"Are they fighting next door?"
"I don't know, they're pushing and shoving together..."
In the dimness, Li Yundan's hand had already grasped the handle of her knife.
In her understanding, a carriage that suddenly stops on its way, if not due to an assassin's ambush, then it was tampered with in advance. There are cases of carriages breaking down, but they are very rare.
Therefore, she speculated that this was an ambush.
Only the occurrence of an ambush could correspond to the "survival" mentioned in the mission.
But some questions, once delved into deeply, lead to conclusions that are inevitably chilling.
On the battlefield, a chariot pulled by eight fine horses could be invincible, making thousands of strong opponents helpless, and the speed of a metal long cage far exceeds that of eight horses' power—then, what is it that could make this huge object unable to move an inch?
The confusion didn't last long before fear spread to her side.
"Bang, bang!"
Something was hitting the bottom of the subway.
Noticing the movement under their feet, the people gathered quickly dispersed, creating a large "no-man's land." They turned their backs to the windows, staring at the ground, holding their breath without realizing it.
What...what is underneath the subway?
The ground went silent, then after a few seconds, abruptly, a segment of black iron-colored scythe-like limb came from below, piercing through the matte tile floor like cutting tofu.
Debris splattered, and the limb forcefully pulled back, tearing open a dark long crack.
Air from below flowed into the carriage through the crack, spreading a thick earthy smell. Then, an unknown creature emitted a sharp and short cry, and another scythe-like limb cut through, making the crack even larger.
"Ah, ah, ah! What kind of devilish thing is this? Help!"
"Don't let it in! Get out, don't come here—"
The self-rescue alarm sounded, and those who reacted quickly immediately rushed to the adjacent carriage.
But under a collapsed nest, there is no intact egg. The centralized outbreak of disaster did not spare any carriage.
They ran to the next one, and the people from the next one also ran towards them."
Through a not-so-large sliding door window, the face of a terrified man is reflected. His hand has already touched the door; with a strong push, he could enter this place.
Unfortunately, his chest suddenly bursts with large blossoms of blood as a scythe-like limb pierces through his spine and heart, then strikes through the window in another blow.
"Crack!"
The glass fractures, creating a spider-web-like fissure, dipped in human blood, weaving a net of death.
The man's expression freezes, as he stares fixedly at his heart, still beating in muscle memory as it emerges from his torn body, before his head slants, dying with eyes wide open.
Those attempting to escape the carriage stare fixedly at the dead man, their brains blank with sheer terror, incapable even of screaming.
Rooted to the spot, they watch numbly as the scythe-like limb retracts, tossing the man's corpse aside carelessly... The covering falls, revealing the murderer's true face.
Not human, lacking any human form...
It is a non-human monster, its body covered in lead-gray.
Standing about two meters tall, it has a serpentine body, roughly as thick as an adult's waist. Its skin is wrinkled, devoid of hair or scales, resembling the sandworms of the desert.
The upright end should be its "head," but it has no eyes, only an orifice for feeding, lined with spiral, interlocking sharp teeth. Its neck has two thin limbs, ending in black iron-colored scythes.
At this moment, it props up its upper body with its limbs, probably sensing the presence of living beings, moving towards the hole in the glass.
"Sizzle!" The ground cracks open in a cross, and another monster's head emerges.
With danger in front and behind, people panic, banging and shouting for help at the doors and windows, only to find monsters breaking through the windows from inside the subway, leaping towards the people outside...
Suffocation!
In the corner, a flight attendant shouts loudly, "A gun! Who has a gun?"
This wakes the people as if from a dream. A lady with a gun frantically searches her bag, but the more nervous she becomes, the harder it is to find.
The monster's scythe embeds into the matte tiles, slowly lifting its body. It opens its feeding orifice, its sharp teeth rotating sequentially, as if threatening its prey.
Humans, accustomed to a comfortable life, have never seen such a nightmarish scene, almost fainting from fright. A skateboarder, however, gathers his courage, swinging his skateboard to break the window, hoping for a chance at survival.
"Bang bang" the sound echoes, the monster glances sideways.
The safety glass is hard to break, and it seems their lives are at stake.
The monster from another carriage hears the noise and chops at the door, while the monster in this carriage "looks" towards the young man. At this critical moment of life and death, Li Yundan moves aside the people blocking her with her left hand, and with her right hand, she draws her meteorite broadsword.
The opportunity is fleeting, but she does not miss.
She remembers clearly, the initial sounds were two impacts...
Does the monster circle back to probe? No, it doesn't seem to have a brain.
If it were truly smart, it wouldn't use such a brutal method to kill people, which would only scare away its prey, making it harder to feed. Therefore, she leans towards the second possibility: it first tries to collide with the metal cage, but the cage is harder, so it can't break through.
Her broadsword, forged from meteorite, cuts through iron like mud—
Taking advantage of the flickering light, Li Yundan silently approaches the monster.
Just as the monster "turns" to look at the young man, she grips the sword with both hands, her movement swift as lightning, fiercely chopping down.
With a faint silver glow, the blade's edge like a shooting star, the monster doesn't even realize it has been split in two.
It still bent its body, with a strong move of its limbs, it lurched toward the corner. In a blink, it was decapitated mid-air.
The head fell downwards, while the torso slid upwards, then abruptly stopped amidst the shrill screams of the white-collar man, landing with a "thud" at his feet, splattering foul-smelling fluid all over his leather shoes.
"Ah ah ah—ah? Gah..."
Wait, it's dead? Who did this?
An eerie silence.
With a "snap", the light inside the car went out, leaving only the light from the station outside coming through the windows.
Li Yundan flicked off the viscous fluid from her blade, just as she was about to kill the second monster, she heard the divine voice again.
【Ding! Successfully killed 1 "Prehistoric Species", completed difficulty level "Geng", rewarded 100 points.】
【Congratulations on becoming the first "Knocker" in this trial field, additionally awarded 100 points and a "Wu" level brocade pouch.】
Geng, Wu?
These are terms from the Heavenly Stems sequence, often used in the imperial examination rankings of the Great Li.
Geng ranks seventh, Wu ranks fifth...
Li Yundan was momentarily stunned. The monster she killed, known as a Prehistoric Species, was only a Geng?
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