Players, Please Board the Train

After the game of hunting rebels began, the light in this place grew dimmer and dimmer. All the lights went out, leaving only a few small candles on the corridor walls that didn’t illuminate far. Some of these had been deliberately extinguished, so most of this palace was plunged into darkness.

The corner where Xu Huo stood had no candle, but there was one on the opposite wall. In the faint, low light, the purple pupils beneath the butterfly mask seemed to shimmer with a luster, brilliant as stars.

”Your eyes, are they a game effect?” he spoke up.

Other masks covered the entire face, but this woman’s did not. The butterfly mask only covered the upper half of her face and didn’t mimic any animal expression. Her nose and lips were exposed. She smiled and said, ”You haven’t heard of Purple Puppet Eyes? When they want to kill someone, their eyes glow.”

Xu Huo admired those beautiful eyes. ”I don’t see any desire to kill me.”

The woman’s red lips curved upwards. ”So you really don’t know me. You’re looking for the fleeing Fox, right? He went that way.”

Xu Huo glanced in the direction she pointed. When he looked back, the woman was already walking towards the candlelight ahead. Vicen Meni, who had disappeared earlier, was now standing in the glow of the flames, elegantly extending his hand. ”Madam, are you satisfied with this little greeting gift?”

The purple-eyed woman placed her right hand lightly on his palm. Only after he kissed the back of her hand did she speak. ”Lost lambs are everywhere. Mr. Meni, you have a heavy responsibility.”

”Just call me Vicen,” Vicen Meni said reluctantly, releasing her hand. ”This isn’t the best viewing spot. Please follow me. I’ve prepared some light refreshments for you, Madam.”

Watching them leave the candlelit area, Xu Huo finally relit the candlestick in his hand and headed in the direction the woman had indicated.In the corridor, people occasionally emerged from the darkness to approach him. Apart from two who insisted on harassing him, others chose to maintain a safe distance. However, not everyone was busy with religious activities. From some rooms came the sound of excited panting, both men and women.

A distance away from the main hall, ”corpses” appeared. Several were Foxes, their masks tossed aside, bodies slumped against walls or sprawled on the floor.

The game guide stated that if the game was interrupted or an accident occurred, players would exit the game, but the ”corpses” would remain preserved within it.

Xu Huo approached and examined the ”corpses’” appearances. None were the one who had met with the middle-aged man.

So many Foxes being killed indicated that players in the game had already begun blindly sniping anyone wearing the same mask.

The first two targets Vicen Meni wanted to kill were the same ones Xu Huo was watching. It was hard to believe it was a coincidence.

The middle-aged man had been keeping watch near the beverage shop. Xu Huo classified him and those who had chased him the previous day as part of the same group. The reason these people had come after him was likely because he had happened to go to the place where Deng Xuan was staying a few days ago, accidentally stumbling upon some special situation that brought about a fatal threat.

They were most likely associated with Deng Xuan.

So why did Vicen Meni want to kill them in this game?

The several individuals chosen for this religious sacrifice were clearly connected. Vicen Meni had already learned their identities in advance. There was no need to alert them here, and even less reason to use such a cumbersome hunting mode... Thinking of the Black Wolf who secretly met with Fox, perhaps his target wasn’t these few individuals, but rather aimed to lure out others.

”Don’t move!” A fruit knife was pressed against his neck from behind, and someone forcefully dragged him into a nearby room.

The candlestick in Xu Huo’s hand fell to the floor. He complied and followed inside. However, the moment the door closed, he pried open the arm of the person behind him, snatched the fruit knife, and stabbed it back into the door panel.

”You know killing people in the game is useless, right?” he stared at the hyena mask opposite him.

The person behind the mask gasped heavily a few times. ”You’ve been following me for days. Who are you really?”

Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. ”Who do you think I am?”

The middle-aged man clenched his fists, rubbing them against his trouser seams, and said sharply, ”Who are you really? If you don’t tell me, I won’t be polite!”

”A rabbit scared out of its wits. How exactly are you going to be ’not polite’ to me?” Xu Huo calmly walked over to the sofa and sat down, lighting a cigarette. ”Wouldn’t it be better to use this time to think about how to escape?”

”You think I don’t want to? Unfortunately, Rong Xin has closed the exit channels...” The middle-aged man’s rubbing against his trousers sped up. The hyena’s eyes bulged behind the mask. ”Are you Vicen Meni’s man? Is today’s game all about luring us into a trap?”

The cartoon white sheep mask felt out of place in this environment, but it still managed to convey a smile. ”For just a few of you, why go to such great lengths?”

”So that’s it...” The middle-aged man’s eyes grew unfocused. ”It must be Zheng An who exposed us, letting Vicen Meni follow the trail and target us. I said long ago we should cancel this meeting...”

He suddenly stopped speaking, a vicious expression flashing across his face as he lunged at Xu Huo.

The game couldn’t fully replicate a player’s abilities, but physical attributes were no problem. Xu Huo kicked him away, speaking urgently, ”I’m not Vicen Meni’s man!”

The middle-aged man, having absorbed the kick’s force, was about to swing a fist at Xu Huo’s mask. Hearing this, he paused. Seizing the chance, Xu Huo reversed the hold on his hand and demanded, ”Was it you who betrayed us?”

The middle-aged man was stunned by this series of moves. ”What are you talking about?!”

Xu Huo sneered coldly. ”If there wasn’t a traitor among you, how could Vicen Meni have detected it in advance?”

”What are you saying...?!” The middle-aged man’s expression became confused. ”No... who are you really? Didn’t Vicen Meni send you to monitor me?”

”Monitoring you is true, but it was to find out who the traitor is.” Xu Huo guided him towards misunderstanding. ”Someone among you has defected to Vicen Meni!”

”That’s absolutely impossible!” the middle-aged man denied. ”If we had defected to Vicen Meni, why would we be trapped here?”

”When Black Wolf was killed, I knew things weren’t that simple. It would be easy for him to finish off you few. Going through such a roundabout way, letting you escape in the game, his purpose is obvious!” Xu Huo pressed his arm down a little further.

The middle-aged man winced in pain, pushing back, then threw a punch to create distance between them. Staring at Xu Huo, he said, ”You’re lying. I’ve never seen you before!”

Xu Huo stared coldly back. ”Do you think we’re all fools?”

The middle-aged man’s expression twisted in struggle. His lips trembled a couple of times. Just as he was about to speak, the room’s doorknob suddenly rattled violently. Someone outside shouted, ”The door’s locked. They might be hiding in here. Let’s break it down!”

The middle-aged man’s face changed color. He immediately jumped out the window, fleeing towards the garden without looking back.

Xu Huo also climbed onto the windowsill. However, he didn’t enter the garden. Instead, he leaped up to a second-floor balcony, grabbed the railing, and nimbly swung himself inside. Below, the people who had rushed into the room had already spotted the middle-aged man and were calling for more people to chase and intercept him.