Players, Please Board the Train

The corridor was extremely crowded for over a hundred people. They didn’t dare enter the glass rooms, nor could they touch the potted plants along the walls, so they had no choice but to rest around the perimeter of the glass rooms, standing for a while then taking turns sitting.

With the lack of fresh air, Gu Yu and others stopped searching after finding nothing and began conserving their energy.

Seeing Xu Huo still pacing around the glass rooms, Zheng Liang couldn’t help but ask, ”What is he looking for?”

”Who cares what he’s looking for? With so many of us searching and finding nothing, do you really think he can find something?” Wei Bin wiped sweat from his forehead. ”So many people, it’s so hot.”

Not long after, Xu Huo entered a glass room alone. He found a handcart inside and began moving some potted plants out.

”What are you doing with those flowers?” Kang Hong came over to offer help.

Xu Huo gestured for him to step back. ”Better safe than sorry.”

After speaking, he squatted in the corridor and carefully picked up two potted plants that could spray poisonous powder, placing them in the cart.

Kang Hong couldn’t help but step back, then seeing Xu Huo continue reaching for more, said, ”If you bring these along, how will we ride the elevator later?”

Xu Huo didn’t respond, only stopping when the cart was completely full.”He wouldn’t actually be planning to use these plants against the mutated animals, would he?” On the other side, Wei Bin said in surprise.

”That’s insane. How could a few potted flowers deal with mutated animals? It’s not like we haven’t seen how terrifying those damn things are. Before he could even shake out the poison powder, he’d probably be dead.” Brother Tie sneered.

Dai Wenqian gave them a somewhat disdainful look, nodded to his companion, then the two of them also followed suit by getting handcarts to load with potted plants.

Xu Huo noticed their movements too. After leaving the handcart with the Flower Basket Girl and her companion, he returned to continue wandering around the glass rooms.

He wasn’t taking these things to actually use against mutated animals in combat. Rather, compared to the previous two floors they’d passed through, the thirteenth floor was very clean. Aside from some traces left by humans, there were no signs of other species running rampant.

Mutated plants and animals could definitely move around the building, yet there were no traces here. Perhaps these plants were serving some protective function. Given their current limited understanding of the dungeon, bringing some along couldn’t hurt.

”These breeding scientists seem particularly obsessed with colors.” Dai Wenqian walked over to him, looking at the vividly colored flowers in the glass room. ”Aside from the green plants in the corridor, all the other flowers are bright reds and purples.”

Xu Huo turned his head to look at him.

”I’m Dai Wenqian.” Dai Wenqian extended his hand, waited two seconds without receiving a response, then withdrew it. He smiled indifferently. ”Don’t mind what they say. After all, that’s just normal human behavior.”

Xu Huo withdrew his gaze, glanced at several withered potted plants in the glass room, and said as if a beat slow, ”Perhaps the scientists at this research base all prefer brightly colored flowers.”

Dai Wenqian actually laughed at this. ”Everything in nature has its own evolutionary rules. Some camouflage themselves to avoid being preyed upon, others display vibrant colors to attract prey. This has nothing to do with human selection—it’s the fairest competition.”

He paused, then added, ”If our numbers remain the same when we reach the tenth floor, we might consider cooperating.”

Xu Huo turned to look at him again. ”You don’t want the ready-made manpower?”

Dai Wenqian adjusted his glasses, speaking with implied meaning. ”Although evolutionary competition is brutal, it’s fair.”

After saying this, he walked away.

Xu Huo returned to where Kang Hong and the others were resting with an expressionless face. As soon as he sat down, the Flower Basket Girl came over and said, ”That Dai Wenqian—his energy value is even higher than yours, and he doesn’t seem like a good person. Don’t fall for his tricks. Just now, when his companion died right in front of him, he didn’t even blink, and even had the leisure to clean his glasses. When we were fighting the spiders, I clearly saw that guy named Wu Kun protecting him.”

”Afraid I’ll cooperate with him?” Xu Huo said lightly.

The Flower Basket Girl gave an embarrassed smile. ”I’m just a bit curious—why did he say he’d cooperate with you if the numbers remain the same by the tenth floor?”

”Go ask him.” Xu Huo lowered his head to look at the notebook he’d brought.

The Flower Basket Girl pressed her lips together, glanced back at her companion with some disappointment.

The Burly Man comfortingly patted her shoulder. ”Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

The Flower Basket Girl forced a weak smile.

Six hours passed quickly. Compared to the previous two floors, this time when the elevator doors opened, everyone became somewhat impatient.

Xu Huo pushed his cart into the elevator, only allowing three other people to enter.

After safely arriving at the twelfth floor, the first thing they noticed was an intense rotting stench. Someone raised a flashlight, and only then did they discover numerous corpses lying in the illuminated area. Some had died recently, with maggots wriggling on their bodies.

Those with weaker stomachs knelt to the side and vomited. Xu Huo found the light switch and turned it on, his eyes momentarily stung by the overwhelming crimson view.

The entire floor looked like a crime scene. Bloodstains were everywhere—on the floor, walls, and ceiling. The time of death for the corpses didn’t vary much. Only a few bodies remained intact; the rest had been chopped into pieces. There were about twenty-some people in total.

”Why are there so many dead people here?” the Flower Basket Girl asked, covering her mouth.

”This place was probably originally for dining and resting.” Xu Huo scanned the area. Aside from circular dining tables, there was a room with a service window on the side, and vending machines at the other end, though all were now riddled with holes and covered with meter-long slash marks.

Similar slash marks also covered the floor and walls.

Dai Wenqian’s group checked the personal belongings on the corpses and said, ”These people all entered the dungeon later. None are staff members.”

”They died so horribly...” The Wealthy Young Girl slumped to the ground, her eyes glazed over. ”Will we end up like them, dying here with no one even knowing we’re rotting with maggots...”

”I can’t take this anymore!” Someone rushed to the window holding their head, pulled the window open and looked down. ”There are windows here! Let’s find a way down from the windows! Maybe if we leave this building we can survive!”

Others had the same idea. Several more people rushed over one after another, taking off their outer pants and tying them together.

Others also seemed tempted, but at that moment Dai Wenqian took a dagger from his companion, walked over, grabbed the hair of the person at the window, dragged them back facing inside with their back to the window, and slit their throat right in front of everyone.

Even Gu Yu and the others paled when the blood sprayed out, staring at him with shock and uncertainty.

Dai Wenqian shook the blood off his blade and said indifferently, ”I won’t cause trouble for you all, and I hope you won’t cause trouble either.”

”It was already made very clear back on the fifteenth floor—there might be things beyond our understanding in the fog. If anyone tries to bring danger from outside in here, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

He looked at those who had stripped off their clothes. ”Just stay put quietly. You only have one life, and killing people in a dungeon isn’t against the law.”