Players, Please Board the Train

Dr. Deng’s hands were both coated in glue. After Xu Huo pulled him up, he thought the glue wasn’t that sticky and intended to clean it off. To his surprise, the moment his hands touched it, the glue became extra tacky and couldn’t be torn apart.

“Be careful, don’t touch that glue with your hands!” Dr. Deng wailed.

Several players moved closer to the center. Xu Huo glanced at the surrounding trees, “We can’t go along the ground, climb the trees.”

The trees weren’t far away. Even the injured Chu Yuan could manage it without too much difficulty. Xu Huo helped Dr. Deng up into a tree and intended to head toward the laboratory, when something began dripping from the sky.

He stepped back reflexively. After he saw transparent adhesive liquid landing on the leaves, he immediately opened his umbrella.

Boom!

The glue poured down like heavy rain. Xu Huo sheltered Dr. Deng under the umbrella and avoided the main impact. Miao Yu leaped to a nearby tree first, but Chu Yuan and Gan Qing reacted a beat slower. Their actions to use items lagged, and more than half their bodies were soaked through with glue, their eyes and noses matted together.

“Don’t wipe it off with your hands!” Xu Huo warned, “Unless you want your hands stuck to your face.”

The two of them froze. Xu Huo quickly drew his sword and began hacking at the nearby trees.

After several trees crashed down, a figure hiding behind them bolted out, leaping along trunks as if trying to flank toward Chu Yuan and Gan Qing.“It’s Qiu Xiangdong!” Miao Yu recognized him, “I’ll handle him!”

Before she could act, Xu Huo closed his umbrella, tossed a Desert Windmill onto the ground, and a chaotic sandstorm rose. The swirling sand not only blocked sightlines but also covered the ground and tree trunks drenched in glue.

Tong Jian’s prior setup was nullified. Xu Huo identified Qiu Xiangdong’s position and cut across the sandstorm to intercept him head-on.

The sand could muffle players’ keen senses to some extent. The moment Xu Huo struck, he produced the Sound-Muffling Figurine and shoved it directly in Qiu Xiangdong’s path. By the time Qiu realized and tried to dodge, it was too late.

Xu Huo had predicted his escape route and used items to block it immediately. With less than three meters between them, killing him would have been effortless.

Yet when the sword edge came down at his neck, Qiu Xiangdong suddenly vanished from his spot.

Protected by the Oxygen Supply, Xu Huo turned expressionlessly and dashed off in another direction.

Tong Jian and Qiu Xiangdong were working together. One had stayed on the first floor and the other had escaped an explosion last night with only light injuries. They had intended to set up by the lab last night, but the nonstop rain ruined their plan. They had to go down three underground levels by the coast to search again.

They returned to the lab area before dawn. The glue on the ground and the adhesive suits hanging from the trees were Tong Jian’s preparations, all waiting for several players to walk in.

But the trick was poorly executed and couldn’t control all the players. Before any two-on-two matchups could form, a sandstorm started, blotting out the sky.

Tong Jian was some distance away from Xu Huo’s group and naturally saw the Desert Windmill come from Xu Huo, then headed in Qiu Xiangdong’s direction. Seizing the chance, he attacked Dr. Deng and the others from behind!

His evolution rate was higher than Qiu Xiangdong’s, so he detected someone approaching earlier. Instinctively he fired two shots at the front but heard no impact sounds.

Player instinct made him retreat, but at that moment a tiny noise sliced through the sandstorm and approached from behind!

Bang!

Sword met gun. One of the guns in Tong Jian’s hands was cut cleanly in two. Xu Huo forced the sword downward, but the next second it struck the protective shield.

Item shields weren’t easily destroyed, though it still left a thin scratch. He kicked Tong Jian away and casually reeled in the Desert Windmill with the kite string it was tied to.

The instant the sandstorm vanished, Tong Jian on the other side was pointing a gun at him.

Xu Huo dodged the incoming bullets, leapt to the side, and swept his sword in an arc.

Tong Jian reacted quickly. Though some distance remained, he used a protective item to block in front of him. The sword energy couldn’t slice through the protective item and instead gave Tong Jian the chance to fire in bursts.

Xu Huo slipped behind a tree, reached into his luggage compartment, and took out a thumb-sized metal sphere. He pressed its switch and threw it.

Click! Click! When the metal ball rolled to Tong Jian’s side, the gun in his hand suddenly malfunctioned and could no longer fire bullets. Realizing the effect was from the metal ball, he kicked at it to try to dislodge it.

Xu Huo wouldn’t give him the chance. A horizontal sword sweep split his shoe in two.

Tong Jian pulled his leg back in time or else his foot would have been sliced off. Seeing his gun unusable, he tossed it aside and rapidly grew his adhesive suit, surging crazily toward Xu Huo.

Xu Huo used the tree trunk as cover and opened his umbrella to shield the oncoming adhesive suit. While the sticky material was being stretched outward, he controlled piano wire to fly toward Tong Jian’s rear.

“Minor tricks!” Tong Jian had already noticed the small move. He quickly pulled out a Toy Gun and pulled the trigger at the piano wire; the wire in midair was glued to the tree.

Xu Huo wasn’t worried the item had been triggered. He casually hurled a few bottles of flammable liquid toward the opponent.

Sensing what Xu Huo intended, Tong Jian quickly tore off the adhesive suit he had grown. A sticky glob, like snot, slapped against a tree, pulling him backward at speed.

Seeing this, Xu Huo threw out a Fair Wallet.

He didn’t know whether Tong Jian wore other items. This move was just a setup for attack, but its result exceeded expectations. The moment the wallet flew out, Tong Jian’s adhesive suit automatically peeled off!

Hung in midair, Tong Jian’s face involuntarily showed surprise. He couldn’t go back to retrieve items; Xu Huo wouldn’t allow it!

Click! The lighter clicked crisply. Tong Jian’s outer jacket burst into flames. Though he wore items underneath, the flare burned toward his eyes. While he painfully ripped off the jacket, Miao Yu appeared from behind, dual blades aiming for his neck.

Tong Jian tumbled down from midair. He had just torn off his jacket and gotten to his feet when Xu Huo, who had already retracted his adhesive suit, finished the job with a sideways stab.

Tong Jian stood his ground and didn’t dodge, merely raising an arm to block the sword energy, but the next second his hand flew off!

“How could this be…!” Tong Jian looked more shocked than anyone. He raised his head and saw Xu Huo standing before him. It was as if he understood something. A violent hatred flared in his eyes as he reversed his grip on a dagger and charged forward.

A C-level player, even with one arm severed, should still beat a D-level player in close combat—everyone present thought so. But in the moment when he was half a meter from Xu Huo, Tong Jian suddenly froze, distracted.

Though it lasted only an instant, it was enough!