The boy looked at me with some surprise, seemingly wondering if I would believe him so easily, but he didn't deliberately delay and replied directly: "Ten... no, five minutes. At most five minutes later, everything will change."
Only five minutes? That's a bit tight.
What was the opportunity?
"Suddenly, a game-like object appears in front of everyone, which will issue the current main quest to everyone," the boy answered honestly, standing up from his seat with me. "And only those who complete the quest can survive."
The empty seat was quickly snatched up by someone nearby, but now wasn't the time to worry about that. If everything really went according to the boy's plan, everything here would soon be turned upside down. It was just a seat; let him take it if he wanted. There was no need to warn him further.
I put the plain white board into the shoulder bag I was carrying and led him toward the door, scrutinizing the square frame that kept catching my eye.
In any case, the thing in front of them was exactly the same as what the boy had described.
So the setting is to play games in a game world?
I suddenly became quite interested, and I wondered how the story would unfold.
The boy near me was indeed rather short, only reaching about my chest, about the height of my arm where I could easily put my elbow on his shoulder. But he was extremely agile, and with a few quick movements, he reached the doorway. His originally serious expression suddenly softened: "Luckily it's not 09-016B, we still have time to react."
I looked up at the spot he was pointing to, where the large, lead-black lettering "09-015B" hung directly above the car door, indicating our location.
"But that's not enough; we need to move forward a little further."
He suddenly reached out and grabbed me, and amidst the puzzled gazes of those nearby, quickened his pace toward what was supposedly the front of the train.
As we crossed a section of the carriage and stepped into the head section, a terrified scream suddenly erupted behind us, only to cease abruptly. Although I didn't actually see or hear anything, I did notice what sounded ominous mixed in with the noise.
The boy's hands began to tremble violently, and his steps quickened: "Damn it, that madman has already started!"
"who?"
"The protagonist of the game 【Tartarus】 is a madman who wields a hunting knife!"
He cursed loudly, ignoring the many people standing in front of him, and forced his way forward: "The game starts with this crazy lunatic going on a killing spree, and then the content is controlled by the players! We need to escape from here before we get killed by this lunatic!"
“We have no weapons to fight back, and the enemy may arrive even faster than we leave,” I pointed out.
"How did you even think of going up against a madman?! He's the only protagonist in the story who's supposed to survive until the apocalypse after everyone else has died... Damn it! He's catching up! Everyone, run! Train conductor! Open the exit ahead!"
Most of the people around us who heard the shouts stared in astonishment at our actions. But soon, like the waves crashing on the shore, people who felt the direction of the wind began to move slowly forward, layer by layer. Some people looked back blankly, their faces pale, while others who had fallen behind shouted and rushed forward recklessly.
Some waves were overturned and remained in place, but many more began to slowly surge forward with the rising ripples.
The anxious calls and the commotion from behind seemed to have caught the attention of the uniformed man at the front. I noticed him waving his hands and shouting in front of the gradually gathering crowd, before finally moving to the side and pressing a button. After some maneuvering, as we approached the front, the sounds of mechanical operation and airtight sealing came in succession, and a crack opened in the front of the carriage, slowly opening to the side.
"Don't crowd! Don't crowd! Stay calm!"
Despite their efforts to shout loudly, they were unable to calm the panicked crowd.
The increasingly close sounds of flesh being torn apart, the cries of fear, and the growing stench of blood overwhelmed everyone, forcing their stiff legs to move and flee towards the only possible escape route ahead.
"This won't stop it."
I was acutely aware of this. The biting wind seemed real as it swept past my back. Not far away, the sound of something heavy falling over erupted from behind me, turning the scene of crying and wailing into a silent hell.
I tried to turn my head and look back, past the churning crowd, and saw a young man in a long black overcoat, the hem stained with blood, his head bowed, carrying a hunting knife that didn't match his attire, taking steps forward. His footsteps were like those of death approaching, clearly audible even in the chaotic and noisy carriage.
Then, a bright blue interface popped up again in front of me.
It was clear that everyone nearby froze for a moment, obviously having seen the same thing I had.
A new main quest has arrived!
Main Quest #1: Tutorial: Survival and Defense
[Difficulty: ?]
[Condition: Ensure your survival.]
[Timeframe: Before sunset.]
[Reward: Survival.]
[Failure: Death.]
What the hell is this lousy reward?! Is there any game mission this unreasonable?! This is blatantly admitting there's no reward! And it's a tutorial mission?! Damn it!
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