Bai Cheng stared at the dagger in her hand, its blade gleaming coldly in red and black, and her eyes widened instantly.
"So, all I need to do is scratch that hyena with this, and it'll die?"
This is pretty much a divine weapon!
She glanced at the stone spear at her feet, wrinkled her nose in disgust, and kicked it aside.
Turning back to the screen, she didn't hesitate to bind it.
[Once bound, items cannot be traded!]
Bai Cheng didn't care. Right now, it was unlikely that other survivors could afford this dagger.
And even if they could, she wouldn't trade it.
Gaining another attribute point, she once again allocated it to her Strength attribute.
[Strength: 5]
[Constitution: 4]
[Spirit: 5]
Feeling the surge of power in her body, her confidence grew.
Yet, she couldn't help but wonder. Red should be the highest rank, so why could both the earlier matches and this dagger only be upgraded to gold?
"Is there some special restriction for the final tier? Or is there a cap on item upgrades?"
Bai Cheng muttered to herself, then she dismissed the thought.
Looking up at the sky, the sun was half-hidden behind clouds in the west, staining the horizon pink.
It wouldn't be long before nightfall.
"The time before transmigrating was noon, so it seems that the timeline is synchronized." Bai Cheng made a mental note.
But this also meant that while the safe period was supposedly five days, they only had four and a half days left.
Glancing at the hyena that was still lazily resting nearby, Bai Cheng's expression darkened.
"I have to kill it before dark!"
With Fatal Edge in hand, her confidence soared. She immediately began testing the creature.
Carefully stepping off the rail cart, her small leather shoes made no sound on the grass, but the hyena's eyes snapped open.
Seeing her movement, it rose to its feet, baring its teeth.
Bai Cheng knew that the train's protective barrier mechanism extended three meters, but she only had a rough estimate of the exact boundary.
She couldn't pinpoint the distance precisely, so she could only advance step by step while ensuring that she remained inside the safe zone.
She deliberately took a bold step forward in front of the hyena, closing the gap between them to nearly a meter.
But the beast remained in place, either wary or hesitant, making no move to attack.
"Right, this thing's been tailing me, so it knows that it can't approach the train."
Frowning, she took another small step.
This time, the hyena arched its back and retreated slightly, as if intimidated by her boldness.
"It's this smart?"
Annoyance flickered in her chest. If it kept this up, she would never determine the barrier's exact range.
"Guess I'll have to provoke it."
She frowned and grabbed the piece of wood, now mangled beyond recognition by the dagger, from the train.
Suddenly, she charged forward and hurled it with all her enhanced strength.
The abrupt movement startled the hyena, making it flinch, but the wood struck its spine dead-center.
"Yelp!"
It snarled, but when it turned its head around, it saw that the human was merely bluffing and had retreated again.
Furious, it bared its fangs, drool dripping from its jaws.
Then, it watched as she stepped forward once more.
"If I can't provoke it, then I'll have to resort to this."
Biting her lip, Bai Cheng moved to what she estimated was the three-meter limit, the farthest she could go while staying safe.
"Oh, so you're a proctologist, huh?"
She turned around, bent over, and planted her hands on the ground, exposing the Holy Light beneath her skirt to the hyena.
For a proctologist, this is an irresistible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
She even wiggled her hips provocatively.
That did it.
Unable to contain itself, the hyena launched itself at her with full force.
With a top speed of 60 km/h, it covered the short distance in an instant.
In the next moment, it was within an arm's reach.
But Bai Cheng had already sprung up the moment she saw the hyena move and darted back toward the train.
THUD!
The invisible barrier rippled as the hyena slammed headfirst into it.
Dazed, it collapsed to the ground, its fate unknown.
Bai Cheng's lips twitched.
"…Alright, I'll take it back. This thing isn't that bright."
She hadn't even attacked yet, and it had already taken care of itself.
But it probably wasn't dead, so she swiftly moved in, crouched, and plunged the dagger into its belly.
Blood gushed out as she yanked the blade free and retreated to safety.
Then, she watched as the hyena's body convulsed, with black curse-like patterns spreading from the wound across its fur.
Within seconds, the markings dissipated, and the beast went still.
A notification popped up:
[Congratulations! You have slain a Beast-Class Hyena!]
[Obtained Employee Card ×1, Infinite Coin ×1, Hyena Meat ×6, Leather ×2]
Bai Cheng watched as the corpse disassembled itself into perfectly cubed chunks of meat, while the internal organs and blood flowed across the ground.
The hyena's head rolled to her feet, causing her to kick it away in disgust.
Pinching her nose, she considered gathering the loot, but found it too repulsive. Instead, she grabbed the stone spear and used it to skewer and haul the pieces onto the cart.
This is all food!
Her face lit up with excitement. She was about to strike it rich!
After loading everything, she didn't even check the items before pushing the cart forward.
The overwhelming stench of blood might attract predators, and she had lingered for too long.
She didn't dare to delay, pushing the lever faster and faster.
Soon, the sun began to set, and darkness swallowed the world.
By the time Bai Cheng could no longer see the tracks, the night was eerily silent, with only the rail cart's screen casting a pale glow.
Checking the odometer, there was still 470 km to Station One.
"The cart really is moving faster now."
However, it was also related to her enhanced Strength.
Just as she considered stopping to rest, a new message flashed:
[The Silent Night Descends!]
[Danger Level Increased! Treasure Chest Spawn Rate Boosted!]
[Even ordinary beasts now grant EXP, but their meat becomes tainted and inedible!]
[Risk and reward walk hand in hand. The night… belongs only to the strong!]
Just as Bai Cheng finished reading the notification, a wolf's howl echoed through the silent night.
"Awooo~"