Players, Please Board the Train

Xu Huo already knew that Mr. Dong could control the ancient castle. So when the castle began to change, he thought the other man had made his move. But when he looked back, he found the man was no longer in his original spot. Meanwhile, everything inside the castle seemed to shrink and become dark, old, and dilapidated. The walls and floors began to warp and overturn. The luxurious light fixtures, decorations, and even the tableware were all enveloped by an indescribable substance, instantly turning ashen and dull.

As for the second and third floors, as the staircase shrank, the structure between the floors also began to transform. Everything in the corridors was swallowed by the walls. The carpets and wall paintings vanished one after another, revealing mottled floors and walls.

”What’s going on...” Fleischer’s voice came from the third floor. He had just run to the stairwell entrance when, with only time for a single scream, the staircase twisted and pulled him into the floor, causing him to disappear.

The fake He Pu on the first floor watched this scene with hatred flashing in his eyes. But the next second, a beam of rainbow light shot into the castle from outside. He could no longer afford to worry about the castle or the other players. He directly jumped into the black hole at the center of the ring. That beam of rainbow light immediately followed him in. One second later, the ring on the ground rapidly contracted, gathering at the center in an instant before vanishing along with the black hole!

”Government players are here,” You Qiwen said, supporting the resurrected Wei Landeng. ”Let’s go!”

The two of them vanished from the spot simultaneously. The remaining three also had no desire to deal with the District 011 government. Yu Shuai left first. The Chen Brothers glanced at Xu Huo, clearly having no intention of honoring their previous promise. After exchanging a look, they directly left as well.

Xu Huo did not linger either, leaving the castle from the right side at the fastest speed possible.

He had no immediate plans to leave District 011, so he didn’t use his return ticket. That rainbow light earlier was aimed at the fake He Pu, so the attention probably wasn’t on him...

This thought had just flashed through his mind when two figures, a man and a woman dressed in black uniforms, abruptly appeared before him. Both had waist-length hair and exquisitely similar, delicate features. Regardless of gender, they could be described as beautiful, yet they carried an inhuman sense of coldness.

Xu Huo remained standing where he was, allowing the two to scrutinize him.He clearly saw a faint glimmer flash in their right eyes. Then he heard the woman speak. ”Evolution rate 20%. No traces of high-level spatial item usage. Not the marked target.”

After saying this, the two lost all interest in him and continued rushing toward the direction of the castle.

These two are probably androids, Xu Huo thought, watching their retreating backs. Judging by their words, they didn’t seem to be after stolen goods, nor were they here because they had prior knowledge of a wanted criminal. They were simply attracted by the high-level spatial item... The rainbow light that flew toward the fake He Pu earlier was likely the ”mark” they mentioned.

He wasn’t clear on exactly what faction these two androids belonged to, or whether they could catch up to the fake He Pu. But it was fortunate they had intervened; otherwise, the fake He Pu wouldn’t have given up so quickly.

Xu Huo turned and sprinted away from the castle. But at that very moment, the grassy lawn suddenly turned into a patch of black water. The moment he stepped onto it, he immediately began to sink—someone was pulling him from under the water!

It was that fake He Pu. He actually hadn’t gone far!

From the appearance of the black water to him being half-submerged was merely the blink of an eye. Xu Huo grabbed his sword and stabbed downward. It had little effect on the black water, but the hand gripping his ankle clearly flinched. He immediately struggled to climb out, but under the constraint of the item, his strength was negligible. Seeing he was about to sink completely, he hugged the ”Fifty-Fifty Air Window” to his chest!

*Boom!* Like a massive inflatable swim ring, the air window suddenly bounced up on the black water, lifting Xu Huo along with the fake He Pu who was pulling him from below.

”Fine, let’s go together!” Xu Huo tilted his body and fell into the air window. The fake He Pu was greatly alarmed and tried to let go, but it was already too late. A large tongue materialized from the air window, wrapped around him, and pulled him in along with Xu Huo!

”Fuck me!” The curse still echoed across the empty grassland, but the two men, along with the air window, had vanished from the spot.

His vision went dark for only a few seconds before light returned. Having learned from last time, Xu Huo pulled out his piano wire the moment he emerged from the air window. Sure enough, the height this time was even greater than last. Looking down from above, a vast expanse of grid-patterned glass reflecting light in the darkness rapidly grew larger in his view. Surrounding it were futuristic buildings he had seen during the day at the Game Government base. Not far away, two flags, one black and one white, intertwined and fluttered—these were the representative flags of the District 011 Game Government. Their presence here meant the air window probably hadn’t sent him too far!

Adjusting his position mid-air, Xu Huo slashed a sword energy toward the fake He Pu, who was also falling. The cutting surface of the sword energy converged on the tuning fork, becoming slender and elongated. Although it didn’t cause any visible injury to the fake He Pu, he appeared furious. Before even landing, he pulled out that disc item from before.

At that very moment, intense beams of light suddenly shot out from the surrounding buildings, followed by an invisible shockwave!

The moment he was swept by it, Xu Huo felt his limbs go weak and his vision darken. The fingers gripping the piano wire slowly loosened. But the sense of crisis from the rapid descent immediately jolted him awake. He hastily wound the entire piano wire around his arm and landed safely a few seconds later.

After retracting the air window, he looked up to see the fake He Pu land over ten meters away. The disc in his hand failed to open successfully. However, his attention was no longer on Xu Huo. Instead, he flashed toward the building in the southwest corner, deliberately striking the tuning fork with force!

*Zheng!* The tuning fork vibrated heavily. Bricks and stones were pulverized, the rubble forming into the shape of an arrowhead that shot from his feet toward the building ahead!

Xu Huo understood he was trying to destroy the device emitting the shockwave. This open area was surrounded by four buildings releasing shockwaves. Although positioned at the four corners, they formed a complete closed loop. This shockwave probably didn’t just affect people; the fake He Pu’s spatial item failing to activate was likely also due to this reason. That’s why he targeted the building first after landing.

However, this place was flying the Game Government’s flags. Even if it wasn’t a crucial location, it was at least a relatively formal public area. The fake He Pu wouldn’t escape!

Before Xu Huo could even turn around, five distinct presences, sharp as spikes, appeared within the range of his perception. Three of them headed toward the fake He Pu, while two came to his own side.

Xu Huo had no chance to resist. A hand pressed the back of his head, forcefully slamming his face into the brick and stone ground. Immediately after, someone stepped on the small of his back. He heard a crisp, pleasant female voice say, ”Huh? Why is this guy so weak?”

Xu Huo struck back with his elbow, but the other party caught it with a palm and pushed him back down.

”Coming to brawl right at the Enforcement Department. Haven’t seen players with such big guts in a long time,” the female voice behind him said with a laugh. ”But it seems you’re not the main event here.”

The main event was over at He Pu’s side.

Intercepting him were a short-haired man and the two androids who had gone to Rose Castle earlier. The short-haired man intercepted the tuning fork attack. He clenched his five fingers in the air, and the fake He Pu’s limbs in the distance suddenly jerked inward. As if being squeezed by something, he was slowly lifted off the ground.