With the help of the blade's curse, Bai Cheng didn't think obtaining an Employee Card would be difficult in the early stages.
At the very least, it wouldn't be much of a challenge during the safety period.
She planned to reuse her old tactic. Even though more and more white wolves were gathering around the train, it didn't affect her much.
"Visibility is limited at night, and wolves probably won't be as reckless as that stupid hyena during the day," Bai Cheng mused, raising an eyebrow.
Is there a low-risk method?
Her gaze fell on the stone spear at her feet, the one she had just used for grilling. "If I attach Fatal Edge to the tip, wouldn't it become Fatal Spear?"
She didn't have any rope, but Bai Cheng was a girl, she had hair ties!
Without hesitation, she pulled off her hair tie, letting her silky white hair cascade over her shoulders. She wrapped the tie around the spear a few times, but the dagger remained loose. There was no way it would hold like this.
"If I swing it, the dagger might just fly off…" She frowned. "If Fatal Edge landed outside the safe zone, that'd be troublesome."
Her eyes drifted downward, settling on her white thigh-high socks.
Without a second thought, Bai Cheng took off one sock and shoe. At the same time, she didn't forget to give it a quick sniff.
"Ugh, sour."
She promptly used the sock to reinforce the binding between Fatal Edge and the stone spear. After a few test swings, she was confident that the dagger wouldn't fly off easily.
After all, she didn't need to stab through a wolf's belly. Just leaving a scratch would be enough.
"This should do."
Her gaze shifted to the nearby white wolves lurking in the darkness, their crimson eyes flickering under the dim light of the fire.
Bai Cheng picked up a piece of hyena meat, stepped off the train, and flung it forward.
Thud!
The bloody meat rolled across the fallen leaves before stopping near one of the wolves. The scent of fresh blood immediately spread, making the surrounding wolves salivate.
But Bai Cheng noticed that none of them tried to attack her.
"So they know they can't attack the train."
However, she didn't think the creatures were particularly intelligent. More likely, the system had programmed them with certain restrictions. If all the beasts were as dumb as that hyena, survivors would have an unfairly easy time exploiting the rules to kill them.
Then again, maybe the creatures of the Silent Night were just smarter and more dangerous.
The white wolf closest to the meat remained cautious, refusing to pounce immediately. But another wolf, driven by hunger, suddenly lunged forward and snatched the meat.
Baring its teeth, it let out a low growl, warning the others. Seeing this, the wolf beside it grew agitated, eager to fight for the prize.
Meanwhile, the first wolf had no intention of fighting. Instead, it turned around and tried to flee with its prize.
Neither wolf paid any attention to Bai Cheng. To them, she was just prey. Why would hunters ever guard against their food?
The two wolves were now barely two meters away from her, with at least one meter still within the safe zone. Combined with the spear's length, it was more than enough.
Seeing that the meat thief was about to escape, Bai Cheng didn't hesitate. Gripping the spear tightly, she thrust forward—
Slash!
Fatal Edge effortlessly sliced one of the wolf's hind leg.
Without pause, she swung the spear toward the second wolf.
This one reacted instantly, twisting its body into a defensive stance. However, it wasn't fast enough. The blade still grazed its paw.
Under normal circumstances, such a minor wound wouldn't even count as an injury. It certainly wouldn't affect its combat ability.
But reality proved otherwise.
The wolf crouched low, ready to pounce. However, before it could leap, black curse markings spread across its body. In an instant, it collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
The whole thing happened in an instant.
The other wolves hidden in the darkness seemed to realize that Bai Cheng had stepped out of the safe zone, and they immediately sprang into action!
All four sides were shrouded in darkness. Countless pairs of crimson eyes flickered, rustling the leaves as they darted closer.
There were far more wolves lying in ambush than Bai Cheng had anticipated!
And they were fast, leaving only blurs in her vision.
In the blink of an eye, three wolves lunged at her from the front, left, and right.
But Bai Cheng had been retreating the moment she killed the first two. She never strayed more than a meter away from the barrier.
Still, she hadn't expected the wolves to be this quick.
Panicking, she wildly swung the spear—
Slash!
She felt the blade cut into two wolves, but the impact knocked the spear from her grip.
Thump!
The last white wolf slammed into the invisible barrier!
Bai Cheng fell backward, landing hard on her rear, her face pale.
"Hah… That was close!"
By now, the weak campfire had completely died out, plunging the area into darkness.
Unable to see, Bai Cheng scrambled to get up and retreat to the rail cart.
Bust as she pushed herself up, her hand brushed against a branch.
She quickly pulled out her lighter and ignited it. The flickering flame pushed back the darkness around her.
She saw several wolves sniffing at their fallen packmates.
As the light illuminated them, the entire group scattered, fleeing into the night.
Bai Cheng blinked. "Did they sense the danger of Fatal Edge?"
Under the fire's glow, she examined the three wolf corpses, and suddenly understood.
She had cut two of them, while the third had impaled itself on the Fatal Blade when it charged.
The dagger was still lodged in its stomach, which was why she had lost the spear.
In just a few moments, she had somehow killed five wolves.
"If their meat is edible, I'd be rich right now." She sighed in disappointment.
Still, she was pleased. She had finally obtained the White Wolf's Employee Card.
Even if the meat was useless, they still dropped leather!
For Bai Cheng, that was just as valuable, and they weren't heavy either.
As the corpses dissolved automatically, she cautiously retrieved her weapon and gathered all the leather, hauling it back to the train.
The total was 10 leather.
Meanwhile, the screen on the train flickered, displaying several freshly generated Infinite Coins and a white Employee Card.
A series of messages dominated the display:
[Congratulations! You have slain 5 Eternal Night White Wolves, gaining 5 EXP!]
[Congratulations! You have advanced to Common Rank 1! All attributes +1!]
[You have now unlocked the Level System!]