Players, Please Board the Train

”What did you do to Peng Fengnian!” Tang Pei immediately demanded. ”Without him, we can’t possibly clear this dungeon. If you’re also a player, you’d better release him. Given how dangerous this Skinner dungeon is, as long as one person completes the mission, everyone can clear it!”

”Calm down, he’s not dead,” Xu Huo glanced at the man beside him before continuing, ”We’ve already decided to cooperate. He wants you to bring the paper phone over—just you alone.”

Peng Fengnian’s expression changed abruptly as he frantically reached to snatch the phone back. However, Tang Pei on the other end automatically interpreted Xu Huo’s words as a threat. After saying ”I’ll be right there,” she proactively ended the call.

”What exactly are you trying to do by tricking Tang Pei into coming here?” Peng Fengnian asked warily. ”She won’t actually come.”

”This paper phone... can only be heard by the person holding it? No third party can listen in?” Xu Huo paused before asking.

”Of course,” Peng Fengnian replied. ”This is a Grade B item. I spent a fortune and went through hell to get it. How could it lack such basic confidentiality features?”

”But don’t get any funny ideas,” Peng Fengnian warned. ”With just a thought from me, the paper phone will self-destruct. Even if you get both phones, it’ll be useless.”

Xu Huo remained expressionless as his gaze settled on Peng Fengnian. ”That’s a nice suit you’re wearing. Lend it to me.”

Peng Fengnian’s facial muscles twitched. Just as he was about to speak, Xu Huo cut him off: ”How about trading your suit and one phone for a chance to clear the dungeon tonight?”

Peng Fengnian stared at him in disbelief, his mouth opening and closing several times without managing to utter a word. He wanted to say Xu Huo was spouting nonsense—even Grade C players wouldn’t dare claim they could clear the Skinner dungeon in one day. But seeing Xu Huo’s confident demeanor, it almost seemed like he could actually pull it off.Where was this confidence coming from?

Suddenly struck by a thought, Peng Fengnian cautiously asked, ”Are you... a Grade B player?”

Ticket-holding players usually only enter dungeons matching their grade. Few would voluntarily challenge higher-level dungeons, and high-grade players rarely accompany low-grade ones—unless randomly dragged in.

”Guess,” Xu Huo sidestepped the question.

Peng Fengnian reconsidered and dismissed the idea. If Xu Huo were a Grade B player, how could he not have heard of the famous Grade A player Paper Artisan’s creations?

”You’re a Grade C player, right?” he asserted. ”I can tell you’re skilled, but the Skinner isn’t so easy to deal with. If you’re planning to brute-force it, you definitely won’t succeed.”

Xu Huo’s proficiency with items and combat didn’t resemble a newcomer’s at all, so Peng Fengnian never considered he might be lower-grade. If anything, he assumed Xu Huo was stronger.

Xu Huo stayed silent, tacitly agreeing.

Peng Fengnian made his decision. ”I’ll trust you this once.”

*

When Tang Pei arrived with the paper phone, Xu Huo was already gone, leaving only Peng Fengnian sitting on the ground in an oversized T-shirt and shorts.

”What happened to you?” Tang Pei cautiously remained at a distance.

Peng Fengnian waved her over. ”Come here first.”

Seeing he didn’t seem coerced and detecting no one else nearby, Tang Pei hurried over. ”What’s going on? Did something happen? Qin An and the others are covering for me. I don’t have much time—I need to get back before the Skinner notices.”

Peng Fengnian quickly explained about Xu Huo. Tang Pei frowned. ”You gave him the paper phone without even hearing his plan? What if he ditches us and clears it alone? Random players and ticket-holders share the same mission, but his success doesn’t guarantee ours.”

”I don’t have any better ideas right now,” Peng Fengnian said. ”You know the collection room situation better than I do. Our original plan won’t work. Xu Huo might be a Grade C player—he’s worth the gamble.”

”Fine, I trust you.” Tang Pei handed over her paper phone. ”Did he say what he wants us to do?”

”No.” Peng Fengnian shook his head. ”He said he’d contact us when needed.”

Tang Pei’s frown deepened. ”I need to get back. You’re the one who agreed to cooperate with him. While I trust you, the others might not. If Xu Huo’s plan falls through, I won’t be the only one taking action.”

Peng Fengnian nodded. ”Absolute trust doesn’t exist between players. Do what you must.”

After urging him to be careful, Tang Pei returned to the factory. Slipping back in through the pigpen, she sighed in relief upon seeing Qin An and the others still cleaning the workshop.

”What happened with Peng Fengnian?” Yang Can hurried over.

”We’re cooperating with that random player,” Tang Pei said. ”Peng Fengnian gave him the paper phone and wants us to assist him.”

”Is Peng Fengnian insane?” Zou Weichang said irritably. ”We made him leader because his brother’s a Grade C player and he knows more than us. Some random player—what qualifies him?”

”That random player might also be Grade C,” Tang Pei countered. ”The Skinner told us to feed forty-one adult pigs, but when I went to count earlier, there were only forty.”

”If he has a special item, it’s possible for pigskin to shed prematurely before fully growing,” Qin An mused before asking, ”What did Peng Fengnian say about the collection room?”

”He doesn’t have a solution yet,” Tang Pei admitted. ”That’s why he wants us to wait and see if Xu Huo can make a breakthrough.”

Zou Weichang scoffed. ”He can afford to wait—I can’t. Peng Fengnian can give his items away if he wants, but I’m not stupid enough to blindly follow orders!”

”As long as our missions align, we have a chance,” Qin An urged him to lower his voice before asking, ”When does he plan to enter? If it’s after dark, we might be able to stall the Skinner.”

Before Tang Pei could answer, Zou Weichang interjected, ”I refuse. I won’t risk my life as someone else’s stepping stone. If you insist on this, we go our separate ways!”

Qin An’s expression darkened. ”Do you have what it takes to handle the Skinner alone?”

”Maybe not, but I could probably survive until the time limit.”

Ticket-holding players had a fifteen-day limit. Even if they failed to clear the dungeon, surviving until the end would let them proceed to the next one with their tickets.

”Random players must complete their mission to escape. Their mortality rate exceeds ninety-nine percent. That random player Xu has far more at stake than us—of course he wants our help. Who knows when the next dungeon will open after this one? Dying by the Skinner’s hand is inevitable sooner or later.”

”You—” Qin An started to argue when Xian Dazhi, who’d been keeping watch at the front, hissed, ”Stop fighting! He’s coming in through the front door!”

The group rushed over just in time to see a tall, handsome man with long hair standing at the entrance. Dressed in Peng Fengnian’s suit with a small wildflower tucked in his pocket square, he looked up at the Skinner—who towered a full head taller—and declared:

”Tax inspection. Call your boss out here!”