Players, Please Board the Train

”Ahhh!!!” Eagle screamed in agony as he scrambled backward, only to have his knee shattered by Xu Huo who closed in immediately.

With one arm and one leg broken, plus two bullet wounds in his body, Eagle panicked as he felt the masked man approaching him again. ”Who exactly are you?” he cried out.

”You have a Super Item, so why are you bothering with a low-level player like me?”

”What do you think?” Xu Huo countered.

Eagle was too terrified to think clearly and blurted out, ”I haven’t offended anyone before... Did those Player-Eaters somehow provoke you?”

”I don’t know anything! I just arrived here recently. I only came to District 014 to recruit some people. Please spare me! I’ll leave immediately and never come back!”

”Too late for that.” Hearing approaching footsteps in the distance, Xu Huo cleanly snapped his neck before melting into the darkness.

Just as Eagle breathed his last, his items disappeared too. The Special Affairs Department players who arrived only found a corpse.

Soon after, screams erupted from nearby residential buildings, and police sirens approached from all directions.

While the Special Affairs Department and local police station personnel continuously converged on the incident location, Xu Huo avoided surveillance cameras and found an unnoticed corner to open his game panel and examine Eagle’s remains.[Player Nickname: Soaring Eagle]

[Player Type: Black Player]

[Occupation: Broker]

[Player Level: D]

[ID: 33238715]

[Evolution Rate: 18%]

[Assets: 23,050 White Bills]

[Trait: Stealth]

[Items: ① Crimson Sword ② Ox Shield ③ Noblewoman’s Folding Fan ④ Mimicry Doll ⑤ Swordless Token]

[Ticket Folder: Clay Station (D)]

There were also some potions among the remains.

So he was just a D-level player after all.

Though this D-level player didn’t seem particularly wealthy. He had distributed quite a few items to others, so the ones he kept for himself should be decent.

Xu Huo opened them one by one to examine.

[Crimson Sword: Rumor has it the artisan who forged it dripped cursed blood into the gem, granting it the ability to cleave any object in two. When the gem glows crimson, it will inevitably claim the life of the first person it touches. First object works too.

Note: The maximum cutting area of its sword energy is a rectangle fifty meters long and twenty meters high. It can be reduced but not enlarged.]

[Ox Shield: Crafted from the horn of a mutated rhinoceros, this nearly silver horn has gained popularity among players for possessing metallic hardness while being lighter than metal, especially with its metallic sheen. These numerous advantages have made this mutated rhinoceros an endangered species. Each shield contains the blood and tears of both adult and young rhinos. To commemorate their sacrifice, this shield is named Ox Shield.]

[Noblewoman’s Folding Fan: A fashionable silk folding fan highly sought after by high society, said to be the beloved possession of a high-ranking official’s mistress.]

[Mimicry Doll: A limited edition human skin doll brimming with living energy. It can imitate anyone’s appearance. As long as that person has seen you, the moment they look away, you can use it to replace yourself. Absolutely no one will see through its disguise. Please note: Its usage duration is only thirty minutes, requires one month cooldown between uses, and can only be used three times.

Note: Only one use remains now.]

[Swordless Token: A blank token issued by the mysterious organization Holy Sword Society, indicating you are a prospective member. When the small groove on the token is inlaid with the holy sword provided by the Holy Sword Society, the token holder becomes an official member.

Note: The Holy Sword Society doesn’t have good relations with government organizations. Players should use with caution.]

Xu Huo took out the token. The palm-sized black token had a triangular groove pattern of three interconnected swords, matching the design he saw in online pictures.

He had originally thought the Holy Sword Society was just a small temporary gathering of Player-Eaters, but it turned out to have significant origins.

Recognized by the game system with a selection mechanism—it appeared to be a player organization with considerable influence.

But this was temporarily irrelevant to him. Putting away the token, he looked at Painting Woman and slowly revealed a smile.

”From what that person said earlier, it seems only high-level players have Super Items. Still not willing to say why you’re following me?”

Painting Woman shyly approached him, wrapping her arms around his and rubbing against him, her slightly flushed cheeks and pouted lips seemingly conveying affection.

Xu Huo pressed his hand against her forehead and mercilessly pushed her away.

Painting Woman pouted with grievance.

Xu Huo smiled and took out the Gentleman of Light medal, tossing it to her. ”You helped a lot today. You can play with this.”

Painting Woman immediately clutched the item to her chest, looking utterly delighted and completely unconcerned about his earlier indifference.

”What exactly is this medal for?” Xu Huo asked curiously.

Painting Woman looked somewhat confused, thinking for a moment before typing: ”Don’t know. Feels comfortable to hold.”

Although Painting Woman was an item, she was clearly different from other items. She had intelligence and thoughts, just not fully developed—perhaps this was the special nature of Super Items themselves.

And since the medal was officially issued by the game system, it might have some indescribable benefits for intelligent items like Painting Woman.

After some thought, Xu Huo said, ”Later I’ll make you a chain to wear the medal around your neck.”

Painting Woman happily jumped up, habitually trying to pounce on him. Xu Huo sidestepped and said, ”Change this habit. Outsiders think you’re a real person, so you need to act like one.”

”What’s acting like a real person?” Painting Woman asked humbly.

Xu Huo patted her head. ”First, you can’t run around naked. Second, you can’t pounce on people whenever you see them. Master these two rules and you’ll be successful.”

”But that’s not how they act in the phone.” Painting Woman pulled up a web popup, pointing at the moving people inside as she typed: ”They’re real people too.”

Xu Huo reached out and took the phone. ”Confiscated.”

By the time they reached the hotel, dawn was approaching. Huang Junjie, Yan Jiayu, and the other four had gathered in one room, staying up all night waiting for him.

”Did you take care of the Holy Sword Society?” Yuan Yao asked as he opened the door. They had let Zhao Sheng go precisely to follow the trail and eliminate the Holy Sword Society.

”Some captured, some dead.” Xu Huo entered the room. ”Probably there will be an announcement on the forum today.”

”This Holy Sword Society isn’t very strong after all.” Yuan Yao said disdainfully. ”All this fuss and they were just a bunch of riffraff, wiped out in one night.”

Xu Huo didn’t elaborate on Eagle’s situation. At their current level, it wasn’t yet time to deal with those high-level players.

”But these people were quite impressive,” Huang Junjie said. ”In such a short time, they managed to gather so many Player-Eaters. Fortunately we discovered them early. The survival environment for us Ordinary Players is already harsh enough. If Player-Eaters joined forces to target us, that would truly be fraught with danger.”

Xu Huo nodded in agreement. ”Indeed. Those people even kept several Ordinary Players captive. Probably in a couple more days they would have become food too.”

”Actually, it’s not just Ting City. Player hunting incidents are happening all across the country.”

Liu Jia rubbed her arms. ”With the Holy Sword Society as an example, it should definitely deter other Player-Eaters.”

”Enough about the Holy Sword Society,” Yan Jiayu said cheerfully. ”Let’s divide the loot.”