Train Survival: You're really trying to survive!

"Thank you," Su Li said to Principal Felton.

"You're welcome. If you'd like, could you share some information with us?" the principal said to Su Li. "You're from outside; what's the situation like out there?"

“We don’t know either. We were in the countryside before. We came to check on things after the fog cleared. But then we got stuck here again because of the fog,” Su Li said, making up a story. “We encountered some wolves and a werewolf along the way. It took us a lot of effort to kill the werewolf.”

"Wolfwalkers! You can kill Wolfwalkers?" a student exclaimed.

“Wolfwalkers?” Su Li narrowed her eyes. “Is this what you call them?”

One student shook his head and said, "That's basically what they call it all over Norford. Some people even call it the Lord of the Wolves. Aren't you a local from Norford?"

"No, look at my face, I'm Asian. I'm visiting relatives." Su Li lied again, and cleverly sent the message to Ivan in case he forgot.

He often uses his conversations with Ivan as a memo, and Ivan has almost gotten used to it.

"Is the wolf walker you mentioned a local legend in Norfolk?" Su Li asked, squinting her eyes.

“Yes, there was a wolf-child incident in Norford before, so there have always been legends of wolf walkers in the countryside.” The speaker was the principal.

Zurich continued, "Are there any other local legends in Norfolk?"

“There’s quite a lot more. You know, Norfolk is a place with a rich history. It’s always been an agricultural region of the country, with a strong rural atmosphere,” the principal said. “This library has a collection of materials on Norfolk customs, which I can give you, but it’s not free…”

"Alright, here's the task." Su Li shrugged. "So, what is it?"

"Tell me first, is it true that you killed the Wolfwalker?" the headmaster said seriously. "Don't lie, this is very important. Lying is bad for all of us."

“It’s true.” Su Li nodded. “That thing causes unfounded fear, it’s a bit difficult to deal with, and it’s not very intelligent, it’s stupid.”

The principal gave Zuli a deep look, then looked at Ivan and Sophia. Sophia's expression was calm, while Ivan seemed somewhat annoyed.

He decided to trust these people, so he said, "Next to the library is the second canteen. The second canteen is a small canteen, and we've almost finished eating there, so I'd like to ask you to take our students to the school's first canteen to get some food."

“Move it by hand? That’s a bit silly,” Su Li replied.

“No, we have a purchasing vehicle from the second canteen,” the principal said. “We can drive the purchasing vehicle over. That vehicle can hold a lot of food. You can also take some food with you.”

“There are scattered fungus people and wolf packs in the school, which we can handle. You only need to deal with the wolf walkers and mutated fungus people, how about that?”

“These are tough nuts to crack.” Su Li pouted. “We’re dealing with the legendary Wolf Walkers and Mutant Fungal People from Norfolk! I grew up listening to their stories.”

“You just said you’re not from Norfolk,” a student muttered quietly.

"You disagree?" the principal asked worriedly.

“No,” Su Li shook her head. “What I mean is, we need to pay more!”

"A little food and a book on folklore are not enough to make us risk our lives. You have to give us something else in return."

A burly man stood upstairs, holding a gun and shouting at Su Li, "The benefits are your lives."

Sofia instantly raised her gun and pointed it at the man. Su Li felt an invisible barrier appear around her. Su Li glanced at Ivan and saw that Ivan had used a shield to conceal the magical light emanating from his hands. Quite clever.

"If you can't negotiate, then don't talk." Su Li didn't even glance at him; he was just a brainless idiot. "Otherwise, I'll agree to your terms, then take the opportunity to run away. What can you do to me then?"

"Bob, stop this. I've told you so many times, calm down," the principal quickly said to the boy who was pointing a gun.

After calming them down, he looked at Sophia and Ivan and said slowly, "On the way to the first canteen, you'll pass the laboratory building. Inside, there are old lathes, metal parts, and other things. Not a lot, but enough to make some things."

"Does anyone here know how to use it?"

The old principal straightened his clothes and said leisurely, "I was a glorious engineer in that great war 60 years ago. All these years later, I haven't forgotten my skills."

"What can we do?" Su Li asked.

"An alloy shield, a few hand grenades, incendiary bombs, bullets, and even firearms." The principal pointed to his gun. "These were made there."

Su Li and the siblings exchanged a glance. The siblings then sent a message to Su Li in their friends list, saying that Su Li should make the decision.

Su Li considered the pros and cons.

The principal's words are all good; Ivan's shield needs to be replaced too.

Furthermore, their intention to go to the police station was to obtain firearms. However, there are many variables involved in going to the police station to find firearms; perhaps all the firearms there have already been taken.

If I agree, I'll only need to face the Wolf Lord or the Mutant Fungal Man. I'm somewhat tempted.

We also need to be wary of these people changing their minds. For Zuli, dealing with people is more annoying than fighting monsters.

Su Li knew he was just a foolish student who hadn't even left the ivory tower. He believed he couldn't outsmart those people, so he tried to approach others with a skeptical attitude.

After careful consideration, Su Li still felt the deal was acceptable. So she nodded in agreement.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to work with you."

Su Li shook hands with the principal.

Then Zuli took a book from a teacher. Zuli noticed that the book was taken directly from the table next to him, which meant that the people here had also discovered the relationship between folklore and monsters.

A Study of Norfolk Customs

Su Li didn't know the original title of the book, but the translation had a distinctly summery feel to it.

Su Li looked up at the second floor; his treasure radar told him there was a treasure chest there. However, after glancing at the wary crowd, Su Li felt it wasn't the right time.

After completing the task and gaining some trust, let's collect the treasure chest. The reaction was minimal; it's probably a wooden or iron chest, not particularly valuable.

Su Li lowered his head and quickly flipped through the book. Much of the content was irrelevant to him; only the monsters from rural legends held any value. Therefore, he read very quickly.

By the time the principal had organized the group and brought the car out, Su Li had already quickly finished reading the book.

"Well? Did you find anything?" the principal asked as he walked over.

“Hmm…I’ve learned something.” Su Li nodded. He glanced at the kind-faced old man, considered for a moment, and said, “I suspect that these monsters outside are derivatives of some kind of monster. They create monsters from the fears of the residents.”

"We have a similar guess. Because after those monsters were killed, they left nothing behind."

"If those monsters had always existed in Norfolk, just hiding in the mountains, then they would have left behind their remains after being killed. Because, according to legend, someone obtained the skin of the Lord of Wolves and commanded the pack of wolves. But after those monsters died, they melted into black water, which is more like some kind of creation."

Su Li nodded, losing interest in conversation.

This book merely proved his conjecture; it did not narrow down the scope of the monster.

Using fear to create monsters to attack people is a common tactic used by many dream-like and negative emotion-based monsters. Using this method to identify a monster is like using "the suspect is 173cm tall" to identify a criminal; although it narrows down the possibilities, it doesn't directly pinpoint the criminal.

Shooting him directly at this point would cause problems.

[Besides, who says there can only be one kind of monster? Perhaps one kind of monster releases the mist, while another kind creates the monster.]

Su Li mentally reviewed all the suspected monsters, memorized the corresponding countermeasures, and had a plan in mind.

The three of them then boarded the purchasing vehicle and followed the team to the first canteen.