Ch 301: Apocalypse Star House Hoarding

The Fourth Calamity refers to players. Because players’ actions are unpredictable, they can cause significant impacts on the game situation. It can also refer to console players.

In this case, “players” obviously do not refer to the native residents or travelers caught in the blue light and various devouring games. Instead, it refers to those who exist beyond all of this, the true controllers hidden behind the blue light.

Because the disasters are so terrifying and immense, whether it’s ordinary citizens or expert teams, their assumptions and suspicions will always be limited to within the scope of the disaster itself.

Maybe it’s some secret and massive unknown organization carrying out an anti-human extinction event, or perhaps a terrifying experiment funded by a powerful financial group… In short, those within the crisis find it difficult to step outside the situation and analyze this disaster from another perspective.

But what if, to those behind it, this wasn’t a disaster? What if the real focus was the game rather than the slaughter?

Thinking back, even the shattered platform at the train station supports this idea—because, at its core, that too was a game.

All of these seemingly terrifying disasters are only so from the perspective of those trapped inside. But stepping out of this framework, it’s just a game. And they aren’t even the main characters—just collateral damage at the edges of the game.

Yu Xi shook her head, pressing down on the various thoughts this speculation triggered.

The third point, and also the most important one: Their mission is not to simply avoid the disaster but to find the station, or possibly even greater rewards, and ultimately leave the Endless Train world for good.

Xing Min and Xi Yuan were well aware of this.

Earlier, they had all received the same message: “Congratulations on surviving the black hole devouring.” From this, they inferred that certain information and rewards might only appear after accumulating multiple survival instances.

In other words, they shouldn’t be avoiding the disasters—what they needed was inside the blue light zones.

Xing Min poured two cups of coffee, adding fresh milk and a small amount of sugar, and handed one to Yu Xi. “Do you want to switch locations tonight?”

Yu Xi looked at another map in her hand. It displayed a rough layout of the city, with all previously recorded blue light zones marked. There was no discernible pattern.

“Avoiding the blue light and waiting for it are essentially the same thing. No matter where we stay, it’s just a matter of probability. Luckily, we still have over forty days. As for tonight—” She paused, her expression turning serious as Xing Min and Xi Yuan looked at her.

Then, from her space storage, she took out a coin.

“…Let’s flip a coin to decide whether we stay here or move.”

Xing Min: …

Xi Yuan: …

**

At eleven o’clock that night, the piercing sound of the alarm filled the night sky.

No matter how much people prayed, the blue light still appeared. This time, it covered as many as seven or eight different locations at once.

Yu Xi’s treehouse remained in place as she watched the ruins outside the glass wall turn blue. In an instant, she retracted the glass treehouse.

As the treehouse vanished, the three of them dropped to the ground. They had already changed into athletic clothing for easy movement, all looking up at the countdown appearing in the sky.

4, 3, 2, 1—

…

Two consecutive nights of extreme tension and sleeplessness had left many of those who relocated to the black hole zone utterly exhausted.

Although most people remained on high alert, as the night deepened, many began dozing off, wrapped in blankets.

When the alarm blared, some people failed to react in time. Even those who did instinctively thought they were in a safe zone—that they wouldn’t be unlucky enough to be targeted again.

That was until the first scream of terror rang out.

As they shakily unzipped their tents, they saw the creature devouring tents and people just a short distance away.

Short forelimbs, massive teeth, and a long tail—it was a dinosaur. A terrifying creature that had long disappeared from the pages of history.

Compared to the detailed 3D reconstructions in scientific records, this dinosaur was rougher in appearance. Its deep green body had a painted texture, its limbs were oddly proportioned, looking as if it had been cut and pasted from some cartoon.

But its crude design didn’t stop it from creating a scene of absolute carnage.

Inside one torn-open tent was a young couple. The husband’s leg was already halfway inside the dinosaur’s mouth, while his trembling wife clung desperately to his hand, trying to pull him free. But compared to the dinosaur’s teeth, her strength was insignificant.

Blood soaked the husband’s pants, his screams turning shrill and broken. He pried his fingers free from his wife’s grasp and told her to run.

Run! Just run—

Somehow, the wife found the courage to grab a kitchen cleaver they had been using as a makeshift weapon. She swung it at the dinosaur’s neck with all her might.

A moment later, the husband, whose leg had been bitten off, suddenly fell to the ground.

The dinosaur that had attacked them was gone.

The wife, overwhelmed with relief, collapsed onto her husband, sobbing. But before she could process what had happened, a massive shadow fell over them.

They turned around to see a giant, tooth-filled mouth descending upon them.

It was another dinosaur—five or six times the size of the previous one. With a single bite, it swallowed them both whole.

Inside a nearby tent, several people who had witnessed the entire scene were frozen with terror, too paralyzed to move.

How could this be!?

Wasn’t this place already devastated by the black hole?

Blue light zones weren’t supposed to overlap—how had this area become a slaughterhouse again?

That night, nearly every newly affected blue light zone had already been previously attacked by either the black hole or the devouring snake.

As Yu Xi used her drone to scan the surroundings, Xing Min, browsing the internet, relayed what he had found.

“…This actually breaks the assumption that blue light appearances are random and chaotic.”

Xi Yuan furrowed his brows, quickly catching on. “Could it be—because of the number of people?”

“Exactly. The black hole zones weren’t covered again before because the population had drastically decreased after the disasters, and some people were still observing from a distance rather than moving in. But after last night, most people believed the blue light wouldn’t appear in the same place again, so they started relocating. This must have happened in every ruined area, which is why these locations were hit first tonight,” Xing Min explained while continuing to browse various online videos.

“The devouring dinosaurs that appeared this time function similarly to the devouring snakes from last night. They consume a certain number of small objects or people, then grow larger and start swallowing bigger things. Eventually, they begin demolishing buildings… There’s not just one devouring dinosaur in each blue light zone. Dinosaurs of different sizes also devour each other. Some civilians have tried to fight back. If they manage to deal a fatal blow, the dinosaurs disappear…”

Xi Yuan’s red electronic eyes flickered with excitement. “Should we try it too? Maybe they drop rewards.”

Yu Xi had the same thought. She used the drone to lock onto a devouring dinosaur’s location, then led Xing Min and Xi Yuan there quickly.

This particular devouring dinosaur had already grown twice, now about the same size as a regular Tyrannosaurus rex.

It was crouched outside a half-collapsed two-story building, aggressively tearing through the outer wall. There were people inside the building—their terrified screams echoed as the dinosaur’s destruction progressed.

Yu Xi tossed two hot weapons to Xing Min and Xi Yuan, and the three of them raised their guns, aiming at the dinosaur and opening fire.

The bullets struck the dinosaur’s deep green skin with a series of muffled thuds. After a round of shooting, the dinosaur bore no wounds and showed no signs of disappearing.

However, their attacks did attract its attention. The massive dinosaur let out a deafening roar and charged at them with full force.

All three were startled. Xing Min and Xi Yuan immediately tossed their guns back to Yu Xi. She stowed away the submachine guns and switched to the air blower, while Xi Yuan drew his bound weapon, a black longsword. Meanwhile, golden specks of light shimmered between Xing Min’s fingertips.

As they retreated, they launched another round of attacks.

Xi Yuan swung his black sword, generating a scorching heat wave that scorched the nearby trees into charcoal. But the dinosaur remained completely unharmed.

The air blower fired a burst of compressed air against the dinosaur’s neck with a loud bang, but it only provoked another furious roar—there wasn’t even a scratch.

Xing Min’s golden shards formed into thin blades, shooting toward the dinosaur’s weak points.

By now, all three of them had anticipated the worst. When they saw that their attacks still had no effect, they immediately stowed away their weapons and turned to flee.

Their attacks were useless against the devouring dinosaur.

Why?

Was it—because they were travelers?

There was no time to analyze the situation. The enraged dinosaur, having suffered repeated attacks from them, was now in full pursuit, letting out furious roars as it chased them.

Yu Xi kept her 3D display screen open, tracking their escape route via drone while running as fast as she could. But since part of her focus was on the high-altitude drone feed, even though Xing Min held her hand to guide her, her speed and agility were somewhat compromised.

As they dashed through the ruins of a building, a half-collapsed skyscraper ahead of them suddenly shook violently, as if something inside had crashed through it. The building tilted, and countless fragments of concrete, steel, and glass rained down on them like a storm.

A collapsing building in front and a rampaging dinosaur behind—Yu Xi was just about to shut off her 3D screen to concentrate on escaping when she suddenly felt herself being lifted off the ground.

Xi Yuan, running beside her, had reached out and hoisted her onto his sturdy metal arm, holding her securely in place.

“Keep using the drone for reconnaissance. I’ll make sure we get through safely,” Xi Yuan declared, carrying her while keeping pace with Xing Min.

Xing Min glanced at the towering mechanical figure beside him but said nothing at the moment. He reached out, summoning a golden shield, and the two of them sprinted forward in sync, weaving through the cascading debris at full speed.

Behind them, another dinosaur’s furious roar echoed through the ruins.

They came to a sudden halt and turned back—only to see that the dinosaur chasing them had collided with another, much larger dinosaur that had caused the building collapse.

Apparently, the second dinosaur had consumed a significant amount of debris, making it even larger than their pursuer.

The larger dinosaur attacked without hesitation, sinking its teeth into the smaller one and biting off a massive chunk of flesh. The smaller dinosaur screeched in agony, trying to flee, but the larger one pinned it down with its powerful claws. Soon, a cloud of dust rose as it was torn apart and devoured bite by bite.

The three of them watched, momentarily frozen, as this brutal, primal Jurassic battle unfolded before them.

Finally, at Yu Xi’s signal, they took another route and escaped the area.

After ten minutes, the blue light vanished. Yu Xi’s 3D display screen once again displayed a familiar message.

congratulations on surviving the dinosaur devouring.

At the same time, the endless train phone, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly vibrated.

notification: congratulations on surviving two rounds of the devouring game. you have leveled up. awakening level: -3. gamefication duration: 30 seconds.

gamefication duration (30 seconds): activate? (yes/no?)

awakening level?

gamefication duration?

What did this mean?

After confirming each other’s safety through the life assistant device, Yu Xi and Ya Tong’s team began discussing and analyzing the new notifications.

Since Ya Tong’s team had also remained in the black hole-affected area, they too had been caught in the blue light and attacked by devouring dinosaurs.

Like Yu Xi’s group, they had received the congratulations on surviving message on their life assistant device, but since they had only experienced one blue light attack, they had not received any additional notifications on their endless train phones.

The messages appearing on the life assistant device were also visible to the native residents of this station, not just travelers. However, for the natives, it seemed to be nothing more than a line of text—they had not received any functional prompts.

But for the native residents, attacks inside the blue light were already effective. Whether or not they received extra notifications didn’t seem to make much of a difference.

As for Xi Yuan, he was both a native and a traveler, yet he was extremely unlucky this time. As a native, his attacks were ineffective against anything inside the blue light. As a traveler, he didn’t receive any notifications on his phone.

To sum it up, he was in an embarrassingly useless position. This time, he could only follow his companions, running for his life and helping out with minor tasks…

Inside the treehouse, the iron-gray mechanical man hung his head, looking somewhat dejected.

Yu Xi passed by him, patting his hard metallic head before walking to the bar counter. She retrieved two cups of brown sugar bubble milk tea, handing one to Xing Min, who was busy in front of a laptop, and sipping on the other herself.

She stared at the words “Gamefication Duration” on her phone screen. Rather than guessing, she decided to click and test it directly.

However, after clicking “Activate,” a line of text popped up: No game zone detected, unable to use!

“Game zone?” Xi Yuan leaned over. “Does it mean the blue light-covered area?”

“Most likely. It seems this function can only be used within the blue light zone.” Yu Xi put away her phone and looked over at Xing Min. “Are you done?”

Xing Min had connected a laptop to his “Life Assistant Device,” hacking directly into an encrypted program of the city’s management system. To him, layers of security measures were nothing more than doors waiting to be opened.

“Done.” He copied the program onto his laptop, made some modifications, and then transferred the adjusted version back to his “Life Assistant Device.” Finally, he shared the program with the rest of the team. “Now, as long as we open this program, we can instantly locate the areas in the city with the highest population. If our hypothesis is correct—that the blue light appears based on the number of people—then we just need to move according to the most populated areas.”

“Whether the guess is right or not, we’ll find out soon enough.” Yu Xi checked the time. “It’s 11 AM now, seven hours until nightfall. Let’s have lunch first. After that, we’ll leave this place.”

That night, after relocating to the West 220 suspended zone, the three of them were once again covered by the blue light.

The hypothesis was confirmed—blue light did indeed appear based on population density. Although the number of blue light zones each time was random, every area covered by it was densely populated.

This time, a round flying object resembling a UFO appeared in the blue light. Its underside emitted a suction force, pulling in all small objects within range, including humans.

Initially, the UFO hovered just two or three stories above the ground. But as it devoured more objects and people, it grew larger and rose higher, increasing both the suction range and its strength, repeating the cycle.

By now, the city’s citizens had mentally prepared themselves for disaster. Compared to the tricky black holes, these UFOs seemed easier to attack.

Police officers and firefighters within the blue light zone sprang into action, fighting back with everything they had.

However, compared to the devouring dinosaurs, the UFOs had stronger defenses and greater agility. Like the dinosaurs, there was not just one UFO in each blue light zone.

Some police cars pursued a UFO, firing at it, but before long, another UFO descended and sucked the entire car—along with its occupants—into the air.

A newly emerged UFO hovered at a height of seven or eight stories, its massive circular body casting a deadly shadow as it chased the police cars below.

Several police cars swerved erratically as objects and fleeing civilians were pulled into the sky one by one. Officers inside the vehicles frantically called for reinforcements, hoping for backup from heavily armed police units stationed on the next street…

Amid the chaos, a sudden explosion erupted behind them. The UFO pursuing them had been struck by a magnetically controlled missile. For a moment, it glitched in midair, like a frozen frame in a faulty video, before abruptly shattering into countless fragments. Before the debris could hit the ground, it vaporized into mist.

Within seconds, the ominous shadow above them had completely disappeared.

The police cars screeched to a halt. Officers looked toward the source of the missile—on the rooftop of a three-story building, two masked individuals in black swiftly retreated.

One of them effortlessly carried the heavy missile launcher—normally mounted on a robotic unit or armored vehicle—as if it were a mere toy.

A voice crackled through the police radio, reporting that someone had infiltrated the city’s armory during the chaos and stolen several magnetically controlled missile launchers along with multiple boxes of missiles.

The suspects’ faces weren’t clearly seen, but the stolen weapons were highly conspicuous. A city-wide bounty notice was being prepared to track them down.

“Don’t issue the bounty!” Inside one of the police cars, a recently rescued captain grabbed the radio. “They’re not the enemy! Those strange things that suddenly appeared are! Notify all units—focus all firepower on taking down the UFOs!”

At the same time, Yu Xi and Xing Min descended the rooftop stairs, discreetly storing away the heavy weapon inside Yu Xi’s space.

In the driver’s seat of a cargo truck parked below, Xi Yuan started the engine the moment he saw them approaching.

This truck had a larger cab, allowing all three of them to sit inside together. However, due to its design, it couldn’t be driven by a regular human—only a mechanical being like Xi Yuan could operate it.

After getting in, Yu Xi checked her phone. The 30-second gamefication duration had expired.

During that time, she had been recognized as a game participant, meaning she could fight back against the devouring game entities beyond this station’s natural laws. That was how she had managed to destroy the UFO.

The moment the UFO was struck and shattered, a notification appeared on her phone.

notification: battle results tracking function unlocked. exchange function unlocked.

battle results: devouring black hole (0), devouring snake (0), devouring dinosaur (0), devouring UFO (1)…

exchange: gold reward (not available), silver reward (not available), colorless reward (available), hidden reward (not yet unlocked).

Yu Xi scoffed at the screen. “It really is a game.”

Just as she had suspected—this was the fourth calamity. The entire station had become a gaming world for higher-dimensional beings, but unlike the Sevenfold Prison World, this one was even worse.

The high-dimensional beings in the Sevenfold Prison World at least acknowledged bloodshed and violence. But here, everything in this station might just be a game interface to them.

Just like how, in Yu Xi’s original world, people playing mobile games never cared about the little animated characters on their screens.

Xi Yuan, now driving, glanced at Yu Xi. “Where to next?”

Xing Min pointed outside the window at another UFO wreaking havoc in the distance. “Head there. I still have 30 seconds of gamefication left. Let’s take another one down.”