Players, Please Board the Train

”Xin Hui.” The voice speaking was unexpectedly female, which even brought a trace of surprise to Xu Huo’s gaze.

Xin Hui seemed accustomed to such looks. ”I’ve been like this since I was little, like a man. Thank you both just now. If it weren’t for you, I might not have survived.”

It was more than just ’like’. Whether it was build, appearance, or mannerisms, she looked completely male, with a prominent Adam’s apple and large joints. Apart from her voice, there were no feminine characteristics.

”You saved me once too,” Zhuo Wangsun said with gentlemanly courtesy, then asked her when she had entered the cleanup area.

”Three days ago,” Xin Hui replied, glancing at him and Xu Huo. ”What about you two?”

”We’re about the same,” Zhuo Wangsun sighed. ”Are you a player from Clown City?”

Xin Hui shook her head. ”I came from another Game Partition.”

”So you probably don’t know the inside story of Clown City then.” Zhuo Wangsun looked back, seeking Xu Huo’s consent with a glance. Seeing him nod, he continued, ”Actually, we’ve all been deceived.”

He then explained the truth about Clown City and the cleanup area. The more Xin Hui listened, the more shocked she became. ”How did you figure it out? Are you players from Clown City?”

”Of course not,” Zhuo Wangsun said. ”It’s just that this game has too many loopholes. My friend here saw through it.” Xin Hui couldn’t hide her shock and admiration as she glanced at Xu Huo. ”You’re really impressive, daring to draw such a conclusion based on so little information.”

”You don’t believe us?” Zhuo Wangsun gestured for her to take out her flag. ”You’ve crossed the canyon too, so you should only have one task left. Just plant the flag in the ground, and you can clear the stage right now.”

Xin Hui hesitated, asking them, ”If you’ve cleared the stage, why haven’t you left?”

”We want to see what the Clown City on the other side looks like,” Xu Huo answered this time. ”It sounds like a fantasy. Seeing it with our own eyes will make everything clear. I’m also very curious about what kind of government would treat human lives as a joke.”

Xin Hui put the flag back in her bag. ”I want to see too.”

The Mutant tide hadn’t completely passed yet. Listening to the rumbling vibrations, after a while, Xin Hui asked Xu Huo, ”If the truth about the cleanup area is like this, why do you think the people of Clown City are doing this?”

Xu Huo turned to look at her. Although the cave was backlit, he could see her expression clearly.

Pausing briefly, he said, ”It might be a competition between the two divided halves of Clown City.”

This was just his speculation, based on the excessively poor equipment and overly high bounties. The purpose of the high rewards was to encourage more killing, while Clown City was also using policies to attract population.

”Could they be conducting some kind of human experiments?” Xin Hui speculated. ”The cleanup area is full of infection sources everywhere.”

”That’s also a possibility,” Xu Huo didn’t shut the door completely on the idea.

The three of them didn’t continue the topic further. Instead, they briefly shared information relevant to themselves.

Xin Hui’s profession was Surveyor. She didn’t have many items, but they were all long-range, like shoes that could be launched and a watch that could freely time any explosive device.

She was very frank. Zhuo Wangsun also briefly mentioned his profession: Perfumer. His main items were mostly used to distinguish scents and material compositions. Practical combat items were all bought with money and had nothing to do with his profession.

In this atmosphere, Xu Huo also spoke about himself. ”Architect. My items are mostly thread-based.”

”The Mutants this time are different from the ones we saw before,” Zhuo Wangsun said. ”This proves Mutants really do exist in the cleanup area.”

But it also indirectly illustrated another problem: that after Warriors are infected, it’s indeed difficult for them to completely degenerate into Mutants. Perhaps in most cases, the Warriors who enter are killing their own compatriots, and companions who might still be saved.

Fortunately, none of the three present were from Clown City. Faced with such a tragedy, they only felt sympathy, not overwhelming hatred or regret.

Only after the Mutant tide had moved far away did Xu Huo and the others emerge from the cave. The river ditch outside had been trampled beyond recognition. Some mycelium dragging fungi floated on the water’s surface, looking at a glance like a blanket of jellyfish.

Zhuo Wangsun quickly stopped Xu Huo and the other. ”Be careful! This stuff is highly poisonous!”

”It’s not poisonous,” Xin Hui glanced at it and said. ”This type of fungi should be quite common in Clown City. I saw someone using it as rations in the Arena before. They said it’s highly nutritious. It’s probably not the type of fungi you’re thinking of.”

In the distance, fish were pecking at the mycelium without being poisoned.

Xin Hui scooped up a few right there, wrung out the water, and put them in her mouth.

”You can’t eat things from the cleanup area...” Zhuo Wangsun hurriedly tried to stop her.

However, Xin Hui said, ”I’ve already eaten quite a lot before. A little more won’t hurt.”

”You eat this stuff without any problems? No hallucinations or irritability symptoms?” Zhuo Wangsun asked, puzzled.

Xin Hui swallowed the food in her mouth. ”No.”

”That’s strange.” Zhuo Wangsun took out an item to test the river water’s composition and said in surprise, ”This water is actually clean! Logically, a water source running north-south should have been polluted by players long ago!”

”Maybe the river self-purified,” Xu Huo glanced at the fungi in the water. ”Let’s move.”

Perhaps out of instinct, Zhuo Wangsun still filled a canteen with water to take with him.

”You’d better change into a different Protective Suit,” Xu Huo said to Xin Hui. ”And cover your glasses.”

Different glasses would be directly identified as Mutants by the other side. The reason he and Zhuo Wangsun hadn’t been frequently attacked by the Blue Faction was precisely because they weren’t directly flagged as Mutants by the Holographic Glasses. As for backpacks and shoes, those were minor details that could be scavenged or looted. Neither side would use those to judge friend or foe.

Xin Hui refused, saying she hadn’t prepared a second set of Protective Suit, and she had no intention of concealing her Holographic Glasses either. On the contrary, she was actively seeking out targets, extremely eager for combat.

”You should know it’s very difficult to return to Clown City, right? No matter how many Mutants you kill, the rewards might not be honored,” Zhuo Wangsun was still a decent person and tried to advise her.

”I’m really short on money,” Xin Hui said. ”Even if what you say is true, if in the end not a single person leaves the cleanup area, the people in Clown City will definitely become suspicious. Being a little careful should be fine.”

After a pause, she added, ”This is my personal decision.”

Since their paths differed, there was no need to force it. The three prepared to go their separate ways. Just as they were about to head in different directions, who knew two Mutants with builds exceeding ordinary humans would suddenly pounce from the side, their eyes blood-red as they charged to kill them!

Zhuo Wangsun fired his gun immediately. Xu Huo also swung his sword to follow up. However, the Mutants were cunning, deftly dodging the sword energy while ignoring the bullet attacks as they barreled forward recklessly!

”Their skin is too tough!” Zhuo Wangsun yelled while retreating. Not just him, Xin Hui was also forced back by the other Mutant.

The three huddled together. Xin Hui first threw a sticky bomb at one of the Mutants, waiting until the thing adhered to the Mutant’s skin before detonating it. However, because the Mutant’s skin had formed thick armor, this small bomb didn’t kill it, only injuring one of its arms.