Players, Please Board the Train

Of course there were people walking on the ground, but every now and then, a gust of air would shoot up from under someone’s feet, and they would fly up into the air. Robots were also a common sight everywhere.

Some maintained road cleanliness, some greeted customers inside and outside shops, and some were stationed at intersections specifically to provide route guidance for passersby... The electronic screen on an oval-shaped airship flying across the sky displayed a recruitment notice:

”Rongxin Group is currently hiring artistic professional players at high salaries. Models, singers, performers are all welcome. Upon successful application, our company will provide safe train tickets to the hired candidates.”

Walking forward a couple of steps, a holographic projection in a public space displayed a woman with a lovely appearance. Wearing a nurse’s uniform, she smiled sweetly, ”Family Fortune Potion Company urgently seeks newbie players willing to volunteer for new drug experiments. Signing up gives you a chance to obtain the latest evolution agent developed by the Stellar Pharmaceutical Research Group.”

Not far ahead, there was also an item trading place openly displaying its signboard. However, the electronic screen showed only home appliance-type items, with many housewives shopping inside.

”Feeling a bit dazzled?” At that moment, someone sneakily walked up behind him.

Xu Huo glanced back at him, ”Did you buy those items of yours from here?”

Skinny Monkey grinned, giving a thumbs-up, ”I knew I couldn’t fool your sharp eyes, bro. You’re more impressive than the other players on the train. Ahem, I admire strong people the most, so I wanted to be friends with you.”

Xu Huo continued walking forward, ”No time.”

”Time’s still early anyway. You keep walking, I’ll keep talking. Listen if you find it agreeable, just ignore me if you don’t.” Skinny Monkey caught up to him, chuckling, ”Don’t be fooled by the surface prosperity here. It’s easy for an outsider to get taken advantage of when they first arrive.””Although I wasn’t born at this station, this place is practically my second home. If you want to buy potions or trade items, you need someone who understands the market.”

”The city does have public exchanges, but you won’t find many practical items or potions there, and there’s the danger of getting on the government’s radar. I know some places where you can get some seriously lethal stuff, just depends on whether you need it, bro.”

He spoke while watching Xu Huo’s expression. Seeing his indifference, he changed his tune, ”Of course, someone as strong as you probably doesn’t lack items or potions. But I can tell at a glance that your evolution rate isn’t actually that high, I mean, it doesn’t quite match your status as a D-level player. You must have traded your potions for items.”

”Let me be honest, you’re digging yourself a hole. Physical fitness is what matters in critical moments. Items are secondary. Some stations have highly developed technology, where items aren’t of much use.”

Just as he finished speaking, numerous virtual screens suddenly projected across the city. On them was a 3D projected figure, labeled ”Extremely Dangerous” on the head. Beside it was a route map with a danger level gradient from green to yellow to red, accompanied by a broadcast:

”Attention, city residents. A wanted player is fleeing from Taitai Le Road towards Crown Road. The duty squad is conducting an arrest!”

Sirens blared from a distance. Xu Huo looked up to see a car swerving out from around the corner at the end of the road, swiftly and deftly dodging the shells fired from behind. However, the pursuers weren’t just the three cars behind; four more flying vehicles emerged from the left and right, firing a series of shells. One hit the airborne car, electrical interference disrupting its instruments, causing it to uncontrollably plummet towards the ground.

Duty robots not far away rushed over from different directions, using their bodies to block the crashing car. After successfully stopping it, one robot tore open the car door, reaching inside for the person who seemed to have fainted, head hanging low. But before it could touch them, it froze in place, malfunctioning and repeatedly making the grabbing motion.

The player inside seized the chance to escape. With a flash, they broke out of the encirclement, appearing directly a hundred meters away, clearly having used the power of an item.

All the arresting forces converged on the accident site. The wanted player seemed to have successfully escaped, but Xu Huo sensed an unusual energy fluctuation directly ahead of them. Sure enough, as soon as they ran into it, an invisible net immediately wrapped around them. The small flying instruments pulling the net revealed their presence, spinning around to administer supplementary potion shots. The player, who had been struggling in the net just a second ago, instantly fell unconscious and was quickly carried away by the flying instruments.

”Alert cleared! Residents may proceed normally!”

Skinny Monkey watched with great interest, even clapping along with the city’s residents, and sighed, ”This is the power of technology. Players of slightly lower levels can only keep their tails between their legs and behave.”

Xu Huo didn’t find this rapid arrest particularly astonishing. Even in his own country in Zone 014, well-trained special forces could accomplish this kind of coordination. It would be strange if this technologically advanced city couldn’t do the same.

Robots had already begun cleaning up the crash site. Skinny Monkey turned back to him and said, ”If you hadn’t intervened yesterday, that car-slaughtering monster might have targeted me. This favor, I, Deng Xuan, will definitely remember!”

At this point, Xu Huo’s expression finally changed slightly. He said, ”Weren’t you claiming not to know about the car-slaughtering monster?”

”I didn’t know,” Deng Xuan said with a smile, ”I figured it out when I saw the people from the Track Supply Department. That guy with the leather suitcase was probably from the Holy Sword Society’s suicide squad. I thought there was something good in that suitcase.”

”Holy Sword Society?” Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.

”Bro, you’ve heard of the Holy Sword Society?” Deng Xuan was surprised, ”Didn’t expect your information network to be that wide. The Holy Sword Society has never gotten along with the game government. Fights are common. People often go cause trouble on the trains, but I never thought they’d lure Mutants to slaughter the train.”

”I bet that little Mutant was probably their doing too, trapping all the players on the train. Truly devoid of conscience!”

Whether the man with the leather suitcase yesterday was from the Holy Sword Society or not was unclear, but he certainly harbored deep hatred for the Track Supply Department. He was likely a player opposing the game government.

The game world had a complete social system. Xu Huo knew from the beginning that the game controlled the players’ most vital resources. Moreover, even something as crucial to a player’s lifeblood as the evolution agent had probably been tampered with. It was no surprise at all that there were player organizations resisting.

Seeing him preparing to board a vehicle, Deng Xuan quickly said, ”Why the rush? Wouldn’t it be better to prepare more thoroughly before entering the dungeon?”

”Let me treat you to a meal at a nice place. How about we chat while we eat?”

Xu Huo’s gaze lingered on his face, ”Your friend was killed. Don’t you need to handle his funeral arrangements?”

The smile on Deng Xuan’s face stiffened. He then rubbed his chest, ”Bro, you saw through that, huh? He wasn’t really a friend, just a business partner I teamed up with.”

”In that case,” Xu Huo said, ”If you have any flammable materials that can be brought into a dungeon, I’ll buy them at a high price.”