Players, Please Board the Train

Everyone at the dining table looked up.

”My hand slipped,” Xu Huo said apologetically to He Pu with a smile.

”Just a glass,” He Pu waved his hand, signaling the maid Hu Shan to clean it up.

A smoked duck was served next, but He Pu frowned as he stared at the serving plate. The servant looked slightly flustered, but Mr. Dong walked over, took the plate away, and replaced the whole duck originally cut horizontally into pieces with one that had its head and tail removed, split vertically down the middle.

He Pu smiled at everyone, ”Only symmetrical things can be considered beautiful. This is a habit of mine, please forgive the amusement.”

The players could only force awkward smiles in response.

The final main course arrived quickly. Servants carried up a large roasting pan, lifted the copper lid, and the aroma of a golden-skinned, whole roasted lamb wafted out, its fat sizzling and bubbling.

”The ingredients for this roasted lamb are all the freshest—a lamb just one month old, spices and fragrant fruits picked and washed on the spot. The meat is tender and juicy.”

A servant had already cut a piece and placed it on his plate. He Pu picked up his knife and fork, skillfully sliced the meat into thin pieces, forked one into his mouth, and chewed slowly.

This roasted lamb was indeed fragrant. A few people at the table secretly swallowed their saliva.”Everyone, please eat,” He Pu gestured. The servants, holding carving knives, quickly and cleanly removed the lamb ribs, portioning the meat onto the guests’ plates.

Xu Huo’s gaze shifted from the lamb ribs to the chunk of meat on his own plate. He put down his knife, ”The food doesn’t suit my taste. I apologize, but I cannot continue.”

After saying this, he stood up and left, completely disregarding the reactions of the others in the dining room.

The Ma couple also fiddled with the lamb on their plates, exchanged a glance, then stood up and followed him out.

With the three of them leaving one after another, the remaining players looked at each other, not understanding what had happened, until someone took a closer look at the lamb ribs placed beside them.

”Ugh!” Wei Landeng’s face suddenly changed color, and she immediately bent over, spitting the meat from her mouth!

Her intense reaction made the other players realize something was wrong, especially Liu Zhengping, who had just eaten quite a bit of lamb. He ducked under the table, vomiting uncontrollably. The dining room was instantly filled with a sour, foul smell.

He Pu, who hadn’t minded Xu Huo and the other two leaving midway, now looked displeased. ”What? The food doesn’t suit your tastes either?”

He Pu was slightly angry. Mr. Dong remained expressionless. Hu Shan and the other servants stood on either side, their numerous eyes fixed motionlessly on them.

The broad dining room was dimly lit, but at that moment, the players couldn’t help but feel their hair stand on end!

”My stomach is just a bit off, spoiling everyone’s mood,” Wei Landeng said with a strained smile.

Liu Zhengping nodded in agreement.

”So that’s it,” He Pu smiled again. ”I have some common medicine here. I’ll have the butler bring it to you later.”

The brief tension vanished. With Hu Shan’s assistance, He Pu returned upstairs. The other servants resumed their silent tasks.

The players were ”escorted” out of the dining room. As they left, Mr. Dong mentioned he would bring the medicine and a late-night snack upstairs shortly.

The players’ expressions varied. Liu Zhengping retched dryly, covered his mouth, and left.

Once upstairs, the group didn’t return to their respective rooms. Instead, they gathered in You Qiwen’s room. After recounting the events at the table, You Qiwen said, ”So, you noticed something was wrong with the food because you paid attention to Xu?”

Wei Landeng nodded. Animal bones and human bones were still different.

”That doesn’t make sense. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be perfect for him?” Chen Tu said, puzzled. ”Him leaving... does that mean he’s not a Red Player?”

”Not necessarily,” Fleischer said. ”He might also be trying to deliberately make us lower our guard.”

”He also warned us earlier that there might be non-dungeon players in the ancient castle. I don’t think he necessarily has malicious intent,” Wei Landeng said.

”You believe that?” Fang Min glanced at her. ”We all know the game task. How could there be non-dungeon players? Even if there were, it should be him and that surnamed Ma couple, right?”

”I came in the same car as him. This guy is skilled with words. Whether there are non-dungeon players is uncertain, but he’s eighty percent trying to stir up conflict among players to reap the benefits,” Yu Shuai said, crossing his arms.

”If you ask me, you’re all overthinking it. What schemes that Xu guy has, what does it have to do with the task?” Li Chao said, eyes bleary with drink but his words clear. ”Whatever he does can’t affect me completing the dungeon task. If he causes trouble, just kill him and be done with it.”

The other players seemed convinced and returned to their rooms.

At that moment, Mr. Ma and Mrs. Ma also emerged from Xu Huo’s room. Meeting them, Xu Huo smiled and asked, ”Was the lamb tasty?”

Liu Zhengping and the others’ faces turned ugly. They turned and slammed their doors shut with a loud bang.

Mrs. Ma sneered, ”A bunch of blind fools.”

Xu Huo saw the two off and closed his door.

The main course lamb itself wasn’t the problem; it was the bones that were removed that were wrong. This was just a trick to mess with the players, but it also precisely proved one thing—the sender of the invitation must be among these three key figures: He Pu, Mr. Dong, and Hu Shan.

He turned back to check the cabinet where he had hidden the human skin. It hadn’t been touched.

Considering Mr. Dong had been in the dining room the whole time, he still closed the cabinet door.

After making some brief preparations, he turned off the light and sat in the single chair in the corner of the room.

Midnight struck. The night lights in the ancient castle suddenly went out. The moment the lights died, there were slight movements within the castle, but they quickly fell silent. Soon, the entire castle was submerged in darkness.

Xu Huo didn’t move, but the edge of the curtain fluttered slightly.

The next second, he violently sprang up from his seat. Almost simultaneously as he moved, a heavy force smashed through the sofa, breaking the floorboards along with it!

As the cracking sound of splintering wood rang out, a thick, heavy iron chain shot through the air, sweeping towards his back!

Xu Huo ducked and rolled behind another sofa. As he looked up, he saw the same iron chain chopping down from above his head. He swung his sword to deflect it, retreated several steps, and kicked the nearby table lamp outwards!

An arm, similar to a human’s but unusually long, reached out from behind the curtain, steadily caught the table lamp, and placed it over two meters away. Then it turned back, lunging fiercely towards Xu Huo. At that moment, the massive curtain was torn down, revealing the figure hiding behind it—it was actually a human-spider over two meters tall!

Its torso was a suspended human body, its face and body covered in long hair, with only a pair of large, round red eyes visible. Additionally, eight spider legs covered in steel-spiked bristles grew from its back. These eight legs could crawl like a spider’s and also support it to stand and move cooperatively like human limbs—this was the thing that had been peering at him outside the window last night.

Xu Huo dodged its attack, glanced at the destroyed sofa and floor, and suddenly laughed, ”It’s fine if you smash things yourself, but others can’t even break a water glass. Quite the double standard you have.”

The ”Spider-Man” paid him no mind. Its spider legs hooked the iron chain, whipping it through the air with a whooshing sound. During this, the chain smashed the cabinet where Xu Huo had hidden the human skin. Seeing the objects flying out, the Spider-Man appeared even more enraged!