Players, Please Board the Train

”I think it’s an illusion,” Xu Huo said. ”If there were isolated red wristband players, they probably wouldn’t come to provoke so many of us.”

Everyone looked at each other. After a moment, the skinny player vigorously rubbed his eyes and said, ”Looks like it’s because we haven’t rested for a long time.”

Everyone tacitly agreed with this explanation. After being hunted by the red and black wristbands for several hours, they finally had a chance to catch their breath.

”Then let’s hurry and rest while the other players aren’t here.”

The white wristbands believed the red wristbands were just temporarily isolated in other parts of the dungeon, and not encountering them just gave them a chance to rest and recover their items. However, the red wristbands weren’t having an easy time either.

On the red wristband side, a proper outpatient hall had also appeared. However, they were now patients wearing wristbands, waiting for doctors to give them psychological treatment.

Some hot-tempered players tried to attack the hospital and nurses, but security guards would immediately swarm in, tie them up, and drag them into wards.

Some players who realized the people in the hospital might be illusions began looking for ways to save themselves, such as loudly calling for help from Captain Matt or trying to escape through windows. But after getting no response and seeing two players fall from the building and go completely silent, the others quieted down and started considering how to clear the dungeon and leave.

”It’s your three’s turn,” a nurse walked over, pointed at three red wristband players, then left without looking back.

”I’d like to see what tricks this so-called psychiatrist can come up with,” a noble player said. ”Isn’t the way to clear the dungeon just to kill a doctor? Perfect!”This person was Ellison, who had been watching the bloody ”performance” in the club with the now-deceased Palada.

”Ellison, don’t act recklessly,” someone next to him warned. ”Didn’t you attend the classes? In mental-type dungeons, the more emotional fluctuations a player has, the higher the difficulty of clearing it.”

”No matter how difficult, it’s just an E-grade dungeon,” Ellison waved his hand dismissively. ”This thing only works if you believe in it.”

Most people present shared this thought, mainly because the level of this random dungeon was simply too low.

After Ellison and the others left, a man and a woman, both red wristbands, separated from the main group. The woman said to the man, ”Brainless idiots. If this dungeon was really that simple, Ahsis Vilner wouldn’t still be missing. It’s not like an A-grade player would just clear the dungeon and leave.”

”But didn’t we search this floor earlier? The second floor is empty, no one else is around.”

”I understand Matt’s items. The central elevator is the key. Even if the ship’s body is damaged, as long as it doesn’t sink, the elevator can still be used.”

As she spoke, the woman took out a detector, circled the building twice, and finally located the elevator’s position. The only problem was that the spot corresponding to the elevator was a solid wall.

The man took out an explosive device.

As these two prepared to blast through, Ellison and the others entered separate treatment rooms.

The nurse just told them to go in, but once inside, they didn’t see any doctor. The empty office only contained a simple file with some information about them, such as their life story, background, hobbies and interests, things they had done, and an evaluation of them.

The overly general evaluation could apply to many people, especially since Xu Huo had seen Ellison before and had a basic judgment of him. But Ellison was still provoked. He smashed the office and prepared to leave, only to discover a small door hidden beside a cabinet. Without hesitation, he walked over and opened it.

Stepping inside, it was still an office, not much different from the outside, just with an extra bed for resting. There was also another small door on the inner side.

”Playing mystical tricks!” Ellison continued opening doors. Behind the door was still an office, but this room was covered in photos. Some were of him, some were of his family members. Seeing a particular photo in the middle, veins suddenly bulged on his forehead. He rushed over, tore the photo down, and ripped it apart, roaring, ”If you have the guts, come out! Don’t hide and play these petty tricks!”

The ticking sound of a clock echoed. The furious Ellison quickly realized he was being led by the nose. He immediately turned to go back. Just as he touched the door, he heard faint noises from outside, like explosions, but they were too distant to hear clearly. Still, he quickened his pace to retrace his route.

Passing through several offices, he finally reached the outermost door. But opening it didn’t lead to a corridor; it was another office.

Someone was sitting behind the desk. Hearing the sound, they looked up. ”You’re here. Sit down.”

”It’s you?” Ellison frowned. ”Aren’t you that little player introduced by Duke Tal?”

Xu Huo was writing something on a document. ”There’s new content today. Can you describe what this Duke Tal you mentioned looks like?”

Ellison laughed with a sense of absurdity. ”Good one, coming into a dungeon to pretend!”

As he finished speaking, he suddenly reached out toward Xu Huo, making a throwing motion, but nothing actually appeared.

Ellison was stunned. He repeated the motion several times, then said in shock, ”How is this possible!”

”Sit down first,” Xu Huo pointed to a nearby chair. ”Calm down. I’m not your enemy. Didn’t we get along quite well before?”

”Before?” Ellison instinctively sneered, but then suddenly noticed several photos pressed under the desk. They were all pictures of Xu Huo in a white coat with various people. One of them was with him. In the photo, they were holding a brocade banner together with the words ”Skilled Hands, Benevolent Heart” written on it.

Ellison’s eyes trembled slightly, as if recalling something.

”Your condition had improved before, reaching the discharge standard. I thought you would never come back,” Xu Huo sighed, looking at him sincerely. ”Have you become addicted to holographic games again recently?”

”What game?” Ellison asked reflexively.

”Dimensional Rift,” Xu Huo said.

”Right, Dimensional Rift!” Ellison slammed the table. ”This is a dungeon! You just need to kill one doctor to clear it!”

Xu Huo frowned, reached under the desk and pressed something. Straps immediately shot out from Ellison’s chair, binding him securely. Then he took a syringe from a drawer and walked over. ”This is a sedative. It will be good for your condition.”

Watching the approaching figure, Ellison struggled frantically. ”I don’t want an injection! What kind of ghost thing are you trying to inject me with? Let me go! This isn’t real! This is an illusion!”

Xu Huo stopped walking, calling out to warn him, ”Do you still want to use sleep medication? Disobedient patients get isolated treatment for twenty-four hours. Look at how many needle marks are on your arm.”

Ellison uncontrollably looked at his right arm and saw over a dozen needle marks of varying ages.

Noticing the change in his expression, Xu Huo added, ”Using too much sleep medication damages the brain. You don’t want to stay in the hospital forever, do you?”