Players, Please Board the Train

Compared to Huang Junjie’s deep concern and Tan Yang’s thoughtful contemplation, Vice President Pu Kang and the others present were not as tense. Pu Kang said, ”Let him come at us. I don’t believe he can walk out of here after coming in.”

Upon hearing this, Tan Yang turned to Huang Junjie, ”In your opinion, is Xu Huo the type of person who holds such a strong grudge?”

”Grudge isn’t quite the right word,” Huang Junjie said. ”But all smart people share one characteristic: they don’t place much importance on conflicts with others; it depends on whether someone crosses their path. However, he’s not an unreasonable person. Maybe he came to Yang City for other reasons. He just happened to run into Wang Meng on the way.”

”But incidents like Bao Jiali’s definitely need to be reined in. In the future, there will be more and more players. If we want to strengthen the First Association, we must first establish a solid footing in public opinion. If people start viewing the First Association as a criminal organization akin to a cult, it won’t do us any good. Players have families too; everyone has relatives. Compared to ordinary people, players are still a minority.”

”You make a valid point,” Tan Yang said. ”I’ll assign someone else to take over Wang Meng’s case.”

”Should we send a few people to keep an eye on Xu Huo?” Pu Kang inquired.

”Have people observe his movements from a distance,” Tan Yang said, still haunted by the memory of Xu Huo traversing cities out of thin air. ”Don’t let him discover it, and don’t interfere with him.”

”I’ll handle this well,” Pu Kang said with a smile.

Huang Junjie frowned, ”I don’t think it’s necessary. We absolutely must not create unnecessary complications because of this.”

Pu Kang slapped him on the back, ”You’re too timid. Even the Special Defense Department treats us with courtesy, let alone just one player. Huang Junjie, you’re supposed to be the strategist of the First Association. Don’t dampen our own morale.””The Special Defense Department simply doesn’t have the spare capacity to deal with us right now,” Huang Junjie said irritably. ”Wait until the border situation is resolved, then see.”

”What’s there to fear?” Pu Kang said. ”Our cooperation with the Special Defense Department is precisely to gain legitimacy. Even if they turn their attention back later, their targets will definitely be those cults.”

”Speaking of cults...” Huang Junjie took a hard-shell envelope from a drawer. ”How do you plan to handle this?”

*

”Double Snake Invitation?” Xu Huo looked at the black hard-shell envelope that had appeared on his desk after he had only been out for a few minutes. Seeing that Sima Xiao Er recognized it, he asked, ”What’s the story behind this?”

Sima Xiao Er picked up a notebook, opened the Vanguard Players forum, and accessed a hidden post. ”You’ll understand after reading this.”

”With so many players around, you get all sorts. Not all players are career-focused; some are downright mystical and love to flaunt their mystery. This Double Snake organization is one of them.”

”That group we encountered on the way back from Flower City last time was also a cult organization. They were later absorbed by Double Snake and stopped tailing people. Instead, they directly post encrypted messages on major platforms frequented by players. If you crack it, you can log in and get an invitation with an address written on it.”

”Just like the one on the table.”

Xu Huo quickly skimmed the post’s content. ”Are they recruiting people or looking for targets?”

”That’s not entirely clear either,” Sima Xiao Er said. ”Strangely enough, many people in the Special Defense Department have opened this post, but very few have actually received an invitation.”

”Those who got the invitation went to the address on the envelope. When they arrived, it was just a group prayer session. A bunch of people prayed in front of a bronze statue for ten minutes. The rest of the time was basically for mutual exchange, like if you wanted to know some game information, item details, or even trade. It ended after two hours, and everyone went home.”

”Hasn’t anyone analyzed their criteria for selecting targets?” Xu Huo asked.

”It seems random,” Sima Xiao Er said. ”The Special Defense Department tracked a few sessions and then stopped paying attention. I didn’t expect they were still sending out invitations everywhere.”

Xu Huo pondered for a moment before opening the envelope adorned with a silver double snake pattern and pulling out the invitation inside. ”An address. The time is five days from now.”

”Are you going?” Sima Xiao Er asked. ”If you just want to exchange information, the forum is better.”

Xu Huo set the invitation aside and glanced outside before saying, ”We’ll see in a couple of days.”

”Does this Double Snake organization have some problem?” Sima Xiao Er perked up. ”I knew they couldn’t be as simple as just holding tea parties!”

”Brother Xu, if you go, can you take me with you? I’ll run errands and help you. If we accomplish something, I’ll give you all the Special Defense Department’s bonus money!”

Xu Huo withdrew his gaze, turned to pour himself a glass of water, and asked, ”So eager to earn merit?”

Sima Xiao Er smiled somewhat sheepishly. ”Merit leads to promotions. With higher authority, I can apply for advanced items.”

Xu Huo didn’t agree immediately, similarly replying with a ”we’ll see when the time comes.” However, Sima Xiao Er seemed very excited and eagerly invited him out for a meal.

Having monitored the ”Master Craftsman’s Handicraft Shop” for two days, Xu Huo had a rough idea of what kind of place it was.

On the surface, it appeared to be an ordinary shop. After closing, the interior became completely dark, making it nearly impossible to see anything inside from the outside. Last night, a few thieves were stealing on this street but walked right past the shop as if they didn’t see it, entering the luxury brand store next door instead.

To some extent, this shop resembled a dungeon location, possessing the ability to evade outsiders.

Yang City was also a bustling metropolis with many wealthy people. Some affluent individuals, though not players, had taken a liking to items in the handicraft shop. Over the past two days, no fewer than ten groups had gone in, all leaving meekly, including two who had disputes with the boss.

It was the same with players. In two days, only one person managed to buy something.

Additionally, Team Leader Wu had informed him via phone that the Special Defense Department had also tried to obtain advanced items by offering higher prices but was refused. They didn’t dare to openly rob the place either—Sima Xiao Er didn’t know, but in another city, someone had robbed a toy shop. The next day, the shop was empty. Not only were the items gone, but even the interior decoration had been completely stripped away, as if the shop had never existed.

Viewed this way, the Artificers’ objective seemed quite clear: they only wanted ore.

Only they knew what specific ore could be traded. If the Special Defense Department wanted to get good items, they had to bring the mined ore to them.

In an instant, numerous hypotheses flooded Xu Huo’s mind. After connecting the information, he suddenly thought of another matter: Was there really only one Nüwa Stone in the underground nest of Clown City?

The diary from the Little Flower Red Red Building dungeon mentioned this underground nest, indicating people from other districts could also enter. Assuming special stones like the Nüwa Stone hadn’t only appeared in Clown City, wouldn’t the nest fungi being studied attract the attention of the Game Government or other forces?

”Perhaps it was left behind...”

The Nüwa Stone Xin Lang gave him might also be a piece of ore coincidentally left behind.

Taking out his phone, he sent a text message to Painting Woman, asking her to take a photo of the wormhole flower.