Trickster Hunter.

Chapter 602 Insufficient Balance
……

A month passed quickly, and this time, Xiaojiazhuang was much more lively than last month after the shutdown.

The entire station was densely packed with surveillance equipment, and countless long guns and short cannons were aimed at the direction from which the ghost train was coming. Hundreds of researchers and field agents stood ready, some staring intently at the deep tunnel entrances in their gun sights, and others at the constantly flashing electronic screens in front of them, but not a single person uttered a sound.

Sun Hang sat on a waiting chair on the platform, with seventeen elite agents selected as the advance team beside him. Among these seventeen were hunters and researchers from Tian Shu Tower, as well as elite soldiers and technical backbones from the army. In the previous month, they had been sent to the Tengger Desert for a twenty-day "simulation training".

During these twenty days, they not only built a temporary research station using the materials they carried with them, but also successfully eliminated more than ten monsters that had been placed there as "hostile targets".

To simulate the movement of the giant sand worm, Tian Shu Tower even brought in six nuclear-powered tunnel boring machines to travel back and forth in the desert. The advance team also successfully avoided the movement path of the tunnel boring machines several times by monitoring underground vibrations.

From any perspective, their performance in the simulation training can be considered excellent.

"23:22." Sun Hang glanced at his bracelet. "It's coming."

He turned and glanced at the advance team members standing beside him; their faces all showed a hint of tension.

Tension is normal—using the abilities of the Type A monster to travel to a lost territory that has been unexplored for nearly a century and is separated from human civilization by half the globe is crazy enough just to think about.

The sound of wheels rubbing against rails came from deep within the tunnel, followed by two dim headlights—not just the seventeen people, but almost everyone in the station involuntarily held their breath at that moment.

The ghost train pulled into Xiaojiazhuang Station and slowly came to a stop under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

Including Sun Hang, the group of eighteen had already swiped their subway cards five minutes in advance.

The carriage door opened, and Sun Hang went in first.

The seventeen people following behind did not hesitate and immediately followed.

But just as the fifth person stepped into the carriage, something unexpected happened!

A red light suddenly flashed across the carriage door frame, followed by a emotionless, synthesized electronic voice inside the carriage: "Your transportation card balance is insufficient!"

The fifth person's body instantly turned into a blood mist, but the next second, a phantom that looked exactly like him walked out of the blood mist, walked into the carriage expressionlessly, and calmly sat down in the seat.

Everyone was stunned.

"So that's how these phantoms came about," Sun Hang muttered to himself.

Those who hadn't yet entered the carriage wiped the blood and grime from their faces, their eyes filled with fear as they looked towards the carriage door—no one knew whether their transit card had enough balance.

This is an Egyptian metro card. The balance information on the card is stored in the database of the Egyptian Metro Company... But this data has long since turned to ashes with the fall of Egypt. Even the most skilled hacker cannot break into a database that no longer exists.

"The train will depart in thirty seconds. Passengers who have not yet boarded, please board as soon as possible." The announcement from the ghost train sounded like a death knell—to the remaining thirteen people, the open carriage door looked more like the feed chute of a meat grinder.

"Damn it... whatever, I'll risk it all!" A hunter gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and jumped into the carriage. Nothing happened.

"Thank God..." another person muttered, and he too entered the carriage unharmed.

"Phew... This should only be a low-probability event." A female researcher carrying a huge backpack took a deep breath and stepped forward with her right leg.

"Boom."

The female researcher's body instantly turned into a bloody mist. Her clothes and heavy backpack, now unsupported, fell to the ground. A platinum ring rolled across the ground and landed in the gap between the platform and the tracks.

"The doors will be closing in ten seconds. Passengers who have not yet boarded, please board as soon as possible."

The remaining few looked at each other, steeled their resolve, and rushed into the carriage in one go.

Fortunately, this time no one exploded into a bloody mist.

The carriage door slowly closed, and the scenery outside the window began to blur. Sun Hang looked at the "survivors" who were breathing heavily, then turned to look at the two illusory figures sitting in their seats, their expressions calm as if they had no idea what had happened. He asked the illusory figures, "Can you... hear me?"

The phantoms did not answer; they simply sat there quietly, their eyes fixed straight ahead.

Although Sun Hang was sitting right opposite them, he could clearly feel that they weren't looking at him—Sun Hang was like a transparent person, and the two gazes from the phantoms passed right through him and stopped on the carriage wall behind him.

"The two people killed by the ghost train were Captain Xu Hao of the 1st Reconnaissance Company of the 407th Airborne Brigade, who was proficient in desert warfare and wilderness survival skills, and was also an engineering expert; and Dr. Lyudmila, a senior researcher at the Tian Shu Tower, whose mission was to conduct ecological observation and recording in the operation area... Both of them were irreplaceable to us." The advance team leader sighed and said to Sun Hang.

"How important is it?" Sun Hang asked.

“The mission can continue, but without Dr. Lyudmila, we may miss a lot of detailed data on the ecological environment that we could have collected; and without Captain Xu Hao, the efficiency of building the base will also drop significantly,” the advance team leader said.

“That’s not a big problem. As long as you can survive in that desert for a month, everything you need will be provided after that,” Sun Hang said.

He retrieved the subway cards from everyone else's hands. As for Xu Hao and Lyudmila's subway cards, they were turned to dust the moment they were killed—the only thing on their bodies besides their physical forms that was destroyed by the ghost train.

Sun Hang was not a member of the advance team. His task was to bring the subway cards back and then send the next group of people to the desert a month later.

“There’s another problem,” another researcher in the team suddenly spoke up, “There’s something we can’t be sure about.”

"What is it?" The advance team leader looked at him.

"We can't be sure if the ghost train will deplete the card's balance... If it will, the balance will decrease every time you swipe the card to board... In other words, the number of times these keys can be used may be... limited."

(End of this chapter)