Players, Please Board the Train

Tao Chengxin rolled her eyes, then looked at Tang Yuan across from her and asked, ”Did you really meet that Yang Sheng at the Fresh Meat Sausage Shop? Was there anything unusual about him?”

”Unusual?” Tang Yuan paused for a moment. ”I didn’t notice anything.”

Tao Chengxin pursed her lips. ”You just met him for the first time, yet you trust him so easily?”

”It’s not really about trust—I can protect myself.” Tang Yuan scratched his head. ”Besides, regardless of trust issues, players need to unite to complete the mission.”

”That makes sense.” Sun Jirou’s expression turned slightly cold. ”Actually, clearing low-level dungeons isn’t that difficult. The problem is players don’t trust each other and even go out of their way to sabotage one another, which is why the mortality rate is so high.”

”If you have something to say, just say it directly instead of making insinuations.” Tao Chengxin said irritably. ”You come from a wealthy background—you don’t understand players like us who started from nothing. One wrong move and we could lose not just our assets but our lives too. Who else brings bodyguards into dungeons like you do?”

Sun Jirou looked somewhat embarrassed and pressed her lips together, saying nothing more.

The three of them waited in silence, while Xu Huo was the only one who bought some items and called a server over to tell a story.

Everyone in Fairytale City was passionate about storytelling, and telling stories to guests was considered a service. So whenever a tourist requested it, servers would put aside their current work.

The story the server was telling now was a fictional tale about a king and his knight. The plot roughly revolved around the king losing his sanity, forcing his loyal knight to flee far away. The king even invited wolves into the house, using enemy soldiers to hunt down the knight. Eventually, after enduring countless hardships, the knight fought his way back, drove the enemy forces out of the kingdom, and awakened the foolish king.”This knight is too stupid,” Tao Chengxin said. ”If it were me, I’d just become king myself.”

”Knight’s code of honor. If the knight became king, he would betray his own principles,” Sun Jirou held a different view.

”But the ending is pretty good, right? The king and the knight reconciled,” Tang Yuan said.

”What kind of good ending is that?” Xu Huo said calmly. ”Both sides suffered heavy losses—there’s no way they could truly reconcile.”

”This gentleman is correct,” the server said with a smile. ”But stories need a perfect ending so the listeners won’t feel upset.”

Xu Huo turned to look at the bustling street outside, then suddenly stood up and said, ”Let’s go find the female tour guide first.”

Tao Chengxin and the other two didn’t understand why he suddenly changed his mind, but it was clear Xu Huo wouldn’t listen to them. Since they also wanted to know what he was planning, they actively followed him.

Arriving at the small courtyard they had visited that morning, Xu Huo knocked on the door. A middle-aged man came out and asked, ”Who are you looking for?”

”Why did the person change... and the sunflowers are gone too!” Tao Chengxin glanced inside—the courtyard that had been full of sunflowers was now a lawn, and the house’s exterior looked different too.

”Is your special ability really reliable?” Sun Jirou mocked.

Tao Chengxin also began to doubt herself. Tang Yuan then asked, ”The person you were looking for is gone?”

”I’m afraid we were deceived from the very beginning,” Sun Jirou looked at Xu Huo. ”What’s the plan now? Go find the other storyteller?”

”But why would she trick us?” Tao Chengxin couldn’t understand. ”She didn’t need to do this at all.”

What benefit was there in going to such lengths to deceive them?

”I heard from Sun Jirou that they asked you to help find something, right?” Tang Yuan said.

”Seems like some jade token, but we’re not clear what it’s for,” Sun Jirou paused. ”Maybe the other storyteller knows.”

”No time to waste, let’s head to the Fresh Meat Sausage Shop first.”

The four of them hurried nonstop to the Fresh Meat Sausage Shop.

Meanwhile, Yang Sheng was about to notify them that the old woman refused to leave the shop when he saw them arriving on their own. He couldn’t help but sneer, ”So you came after all.”

Xu Huo didn’t respond and entered the Fresh Meat Sausage Shop with the others.

The meat sausage shop had a layout similar to Building Block Buns—small on the outside, spacious inside. Passing through a narrow alley where sausages were drying, they reached the inner courtyard.

A white-haired old woman sitting in a wheelchair was poking holes in the freshly stuffed sausages.

Wang Qiao and Gao Baimei were indeed here too. The two glanced triumphantly at Xu Huo—although they got the clue by following him, they were the first to find the person.

”You’re here to listen to a story too,” the old woman invited them to sit and repeated the story she had told before. When she reached emotional parts, she continuously wiped her tears.

Xu Huo listened calmly until she finished, then handed her the drawing given by the White-Dressed Girl. ”Elder, do you know what this is?”

”This...” The old woman scanned their faces. ”Where did you get this drawing? Haven’t they given up yet?”

”Grandma, what exactly is this? Is it an item?” Tao Chengxin pressed.

”This is no item,” the old woman shook her head. ”This is an access card for the Government Hall research institute. Only those who have contributed to Fairytale City can obtain it. With this access card, you can access any department in the research institute to obtain potions.”

”Aren’t the identity markers for high-level access cards supposed to be unique?” Xu Huo asked. ”Others shouldn’t be able to use it even if they get it, so why are the Player-Eaters looking for access cards?”

”The targeted identity for the access card is unique, but there’s no biometric facial recognition,” the old woman explained. ”There are items in the game that can alter appearance—height, looks, even blood type checks aren’t very useful. That’s why management is strict, and not many people have access cards.”

”They probably want the access card to steal potions.”

As she spoke, hatred flashed in her eyes. ”What kind of heinous evil are they planning to do with those potions now!”

Sun Jirou and the others exchanged glances. Tang Yuan asked, ”Grandma, our dungeon mission requires us to find one more thing—have you lost any teeth?”

The old woman opened her mouth, revealing two bare gums. ”You kids don’t think the teeth the dungeon is looking for are my dentures, do you?”

”Now the item is in their hands—there’s no way you could get it.” She shook her head. ”Listen to me and leave Fairytale City quickly.”

”I actually think this is an opportunity,” Tang Yuan said. ”Since the other side is using a special item to conceal their tracks, we definitely won’t find them if we actively search. But she wants the access card—if we bring the access card to her, she’s bound to show up.”

”And then what?” Tao Chengxin picked up. ”All of us sacrifice our lives to hand her a Pandora’s box key?”

”Of course we’re not the ones who will retrieve the item,” Tang Yuan looked at the old woman. ”Aren’t there Government Hall players in Tourism City? We could ask them for help.”