Players, Please Board the Train

”Zone 014 never experienced such a terrifying war,” Xu Huo stated.

”Maybe I remembered wrong,” the Little Girl stopped running and touched her small braids, saying: ”New game zones are most vulnerable to attacks from other zones when they first form. Worlds getting destroyed happens pretty often, you know. Didn’t Zone 014 have a Super Item appear? I remember the previous new game zone at E27 Wormhole Point that had a Super Item got completely destroyed, and the Super Item was stolen.”

”How strange, Zone 014 wasn’t destroyed?”

Xu Huo’s expression darkened, ”Don’t you need special methods to enter game zones from dungeon worlds?”

”Of course players do,” the Little Girl noticed Yan Jiayu at her feet, crouched down to fish several candies from the small pockets of her patched robe and stuffed them into her mouth, mumbling indistinctly: ”But if it’s Stellar Corporation, they don’t need any special methods.”

”You’re saying the game development company would destroy new game zones?” Xu Huo continued asking, ”Under what circumstances would Stellar Corporation choose to destroy a new game zone?”

”How would I know? I don’t work for Stellar Corporation,” the Little Girl pouted.

”Aren’t you considered part of it?” Xu Huo looked at her, ”You’re a dungeon holder, doesn’t that count as working for Stellar Corporation?”

The Little Girl’s eyes widened, ”My dungeon world was naturally born! Even though I receive game rewards, I’m at most in a cooperative relationship with Stellar Corporation. I’m definitely not some laborer!”

Xu Huo frowned, ”You’re not a player? Some Random Dungeon bosses are players.””Those are special players recognized by the game. Once you become a dungeon boss, you don’t have to do monthly missions anymore,” the Little Girl said proudly, ”But I’m different. The entire amusement park belongs to me, nobody can boss me around. I’m only cooperating with Stellar Corporation to earn some pocket money.”

Xu Huo understood now. The Little Girl appeared human, but like Painting Woman, she was actually a special item that had gained consciousness. You could call her a special kind of person. They inherently possessed power beyond ordinary players and could control space within a certain range, which allowed them to become dungeon bosses.

Besides fixed dungeons and Random Dungeons controlled by players, there were probably many more naturally occurring dungeons like the amusement park in the game. Similar to some items, they formed under special circumstances and were later incorporated into the game.

Once incorporated into the game, they might become items, might become dungeon bosses, or otherwise simply exist in certain places as special locations.

That entering the real world of game zones from dungeon worlds required special items was almost certain. As for whether the game company would choose to destroy a zone, the situation might be similar to Fairy Tale City, probably based on the zone’s potential.

Thinking this, even Xu Huo couldn’t help feeling a sense of belated fear.

”Are they dead?” the Little Girl poked Sima Xiao Er’s face.

Returning to the main topic, Xu Huo said seriously, ”Their consciousness is trapped in a special area of mental pollution. Do you have any way to bring them out?”

The Little Girl turned her head with a ”you’re being unreasonable” expression, ”Since it’s a special space, it might give birth to a dungeon. How would I have any method?”

”How did you come out?” As she spoke, she paused, scrutinized Xu Huo suspiciously, and without waiting for his answer, suddenly understood, ”You must have evolved.”

”Super Evolution,” Xu Huo followed her lead.

”I knew it!” The Little Girl was happy she guessed correctly, but soon pouted again, ”But mental enhancements aren’t very useful.”

When he entered that Circular Tower, Xu Huo had sensed he was undergoing secondary evolution, with the direction being mental control. As she said, he had split into three personalities, which didn’t seem particularly powerful in terms of attack, but that wasn’t necessarily true.

”The Phantom Sound Knights have a hypnotic player who can directly command people to commit suicide. Isn’t that the result of mental Super Evolution?” he deliberately retorted.

”That’s completely different,” the Little Girl immediately said, ”That person is a high-level player, and a genius at that. Not to discourage you, but among all Super Evolutions, secondary evolution in mental aspects is useless—you can only play with yourself.”

Xu Huo knew he had asked the right person, but now wasn’t the time to press for details. This space could appear suddenly and might disappear just as suddenly, so they needed to get people out quickly.

According to Sima Xiao Er, the fog zone could be freely entered and exited, but with these people mentally trapped, he didn’t dare casually move them out from here.

”You really don’t know any rescue methods?” he narrowed his eyes, ”Children shouldn’t lie.”

”How could children have bad intentions?” The Little Girl stuffed another candy into her mouth, ”I haven’t even held it against you for tricking me out.”

”But I really don’t know.”

”Can spatial items work?” Xu Huo proposed a solution, ”I have an item that can move within the same space. Could it sever this mental connection?”

”Better not use spatial items in unstable spaces, because collisions might occur,” the Little Girl touched her doll, ”Even I’m taking risks being here—might get whooshed away. Getting flung away isn’t so bad, but if the space gets destroyed, who knows what might happen.”

”Anyway, they’re not dead yet. Why don’t you just move them out?”

”Taking them out might not wake them up either,” Xu Huo decided to try other methods.

The Little Girl tilted her head and watched him for a while before saying, ”Then just bring them out the same way you got out yourself.”

Her clearly mischievous words actually reminded Xu Huo. Since he could escape the mental pollution area after his secondary evolution, logically he should be able to bring others out too. This building served as a link for mental projection—he could completely connect with others and transfer them from the mental pollution area to his own mental world.

”You go back now,” he pressed the Little Girl toward the doll.

”Kicking down the bridge after crossing the river! You’re so unreasonable!” the Little Girl wailed loudly, but still entered the doll. Xu Huo put the shrunken doll back into his item slot and re-entered that door.

After entering the Circular Tower, he opened another door and returned to the mental hospital.

Sima Xiao Er was waiting in his room, not in great mental condition. The tall dark man on the opposite bed had woken up, muttering to himself. The two weren’t communicating with each other, both seeming rather abnormal.

Xu Huo’s sudden disappearance and reappearance scared the tall dark man into shrinking into the corner, while Sima Xiao Er blinked hard.

”It’s really me,” Xu Huo spoke, ”I succeeded. I came back to take you all out.”

Only then did Sima Xiao Er react, rushing forward to hug him, ”Brother Xu! You really came back!”

Xu Huo grabbed the back of his collar first, keeping some distance between them, ”First wake up all the Special Defense Department members and help me find someone.”