Players, Please Board the Train

”Double Snake generally only sends invitations to players with special professions or those who are exceptionally strong,” Brother Liang said, having calmed down by now. ”It seems you belong to the latter category.”

He took an invitation out from inside his clothes. ”I received one too.”

”This organization is very sinister. After I got the invitation, I tried to find out more about Double Snake. Some players mentioned friends who received invitations, attended the gathering, and then never appeared again.”

”That’s impossible,” Xu Huo said. ”If players who received invitations all disappeared, the matter would have blown up long ago. The missing players you mentioned are people you know personally.”

”Correct,” Brother Liang didn’t deny it. ”But it’s true that players who attended the gatherings have gone missing, not just the two I know.”

”They might have encountered danger and entered a dungeon, or they could have been targeted and killed by other players attending the same gathering. Why are you so certain the Double Snake organization itself is the problem?” Xu Huo asked.

”Intuition,” Brother Liang said solemnly. ”My intuition has never been wrong.”

Xu Huo looked at him for a few seconds before saying, ”It’s a characteristic, isn’t it?”

He also possessed the ”Fifty-Fifty” characteristic. It wasn’t strange for intuition-based characteristics to appear in other professions.

Putting away the ”Constraining Star Sphere,” he said to Brother Liang, ”The messenger is already dead. You’ll have to find another lead through other channels.”Seeing his five companions standing unharmed in place, Brother Liang looked astonished and said, ”You’re willing to let us go?”

”You don’t want to leave?” Xu Huo paused his movements.

Brother Liang quickly indicated that wasn’t the case, his expression quite complicated.

Xu Huo had clearly not gone all out against them. Killing them would have been easy. Six players added up to quite a few items and potions. Not taking what was offered for free would be a waste. He never expected someone would spit out fat meat already delivered to their mouth.

Fat meat was definitely an overstatement. Xu Huo only saw six rookies who had been led around in circles just tracking a single messenger.

But there were benefits too.

”Can invitees bring family members?” he called out to stop Brother Liang.

”Bring family members?” Brother Liang looked at him hesitantly. ”You’re really going? You can bring people, but one invitation can only bring two additional people. Otherwise, you’ll be turned away at the door.”

Xu Huo nodded, took out his phone, and said, ”Let’s exchange contact information.”

The two exchanged contact details. Before leaving, Brother Liang still said, ”I think unless absolutely necessary, it’s best not to risk yourself. There’s always someone better. Those players invited to attend also had capable individuals, but they all disappeared in the end.”

Xu Huo gave a slight nod, straightened his clothes, and walked out of the park.

Behind him, Brother Liang and the others watched his departing figure before they too soon vanished into the mist.

Out of the eight people surveilling him, after Xu Huo dealt with three groups, the remaining few had already fled without a trace. He went to the restaurant and called out Sima Xiao Er, who was only halfway through sobering up.

”Brother Xu, is there something going on?” Sima Xiao Er’s mind was still relatively clear. ”I already notified our department colleagues nearby earlier.”

”Nothing major, just dealt with a few people tailing me,” Xu Huo mentioned casually and gestured for him to send back the Yang City Special Defense Department members who had already arrived.

Probably having received orders from above, the Special Defense Department personnel didn’t leave. Instead, they arranged people inside and outside the hotel where he was staying, specifically to protect his safety, and guaranteed that nothing extra would appear in his room after he went out next time.

Team Leader Wu specifically contacted him, saying he could arrange for two players to go with him to the gathering.

This time, Xu Huo didn’t refuse. Early the next morning, the people chosen by Team Leader Wu arrived. Coming along with them were Zhou Ning and Hu Wenhu.

”Long time no see,” Zhou Ning greeted him with a smile, her expression carrying weariness.

Xu Huo glanced at the listless Hu Wenhu. ”That serious?”

”The Special Defense Department couldn’t do anything either. There’s no targeted antidote,” Zhou Ning said. ”He’s already used many types of potions, but it still recurs. I heard Team Leader Wu mention the fungi matter, so I brought him to find you overnight.”

”I’ll help him detoxify in a bit,” Xu Huo said, turning to greet the two people selected by Team Leader Wu.

The two were named Guan Sheng and Qian Xuwen. The former’s profession was combat coach, proficient in various martial arts with strong practical combat ability. The latter’s profession was recorder, skilled at fast writing and memorization, possessing a photographic memory, and also adept at tracking.

After letting them make themselves comfortable, Xu Huo took out a pre-prepared syringe and handed it to Zhou Ning. ”This medicine will cure the disease.”

Zhou Ning immediately injected Hu Wenhu. Seeing his condition visibly improve, she got so excited her eyes turned red. The two huddled together, thanking him profusely.

”No need to be so polite,” Xu Huo said, looking at Zhou Ning. ”Go wash your face.”

Zhou Ning touched her face and realized her makeup was smudged. Somewhat embarrassed, she went into the bathroom. A moment later, she came out looking fresh and clean, her long braid undone.

After sitting down, she said, ”Oh, right. I obtained a pretty good item this time.”

She took out a pair of gloves as thin as a cicada’s wing and placed them on the table. ”Density Extraction Gloves. They can change their own density based on the different objects they touch. It’s a bit like the Deteriorated Glove, but this one should be closer to what you mentioned about being usable multiple times without repetition. It can switch density twenty times a day.”

Xu Huo was looking for glove items to use with the ”Omnipresent String.” For the same object, the string could only work once. To use it, he had to constantly change the contact object. So far, he had been using disposable gloves.

Previously, he speculated that items might judge whether something is the same object based on the object’s inherent traits, such as color, hardness, or material, etc. Up to now, he still hadn’t found a suitable item to adapt to the string.

”Let me try,” he said, putting on the gloves. He lightly tapped the table and immediately felt the gloves’ hardness change. Although they hardened, they didn’t leave the category of being gloves. After grabbing the string once, he touched another object to change the gloves’ density. The gloves after the second density change could still grab the suspended string.

”Not bad,” Xu Huo said. The gloves only needed to casually touch an object to switch density, which was very convenient. Additionally, wearing these gloves was like covering one’s hands with a layer of fake skin. They could cover fingerprints and palm prints while not being easily noticeable. They were a good item for concealing traces.

”I’ll exchange a D-grade item with you for them.”

”No need,” Zhou Ning said with a light laugh. ”You saved Hu Zi’s life. It’s just one item; it’s only right.”

”We’re all friends,” Xu Huo said, giving her the Lucky Bracelet he obtained from this dungeon. ”Increases luck by 10%. I haven’t used this item myself, so I’m not clear on its specific effects.”

It could be considered an item with both effect and aesthetic appeal. Zhou Ning didn’t refuse either, putting it on as soon as she received it.

Xu Huo also gave them some potions: besides evolution agents and healing potions, there was also Hair Growth Potion.

”This is a C-grade potion. It should be more effective than the previous hair growth potions.”

Putting other things aside, Hair Growth Potion was very useful for Zhou Ning’s characteristic. She needed the potion, but she just couldn’t obtain hair growth potions after each dungeon ended.

At this moment, Hu Wenhu voiced a question from the depths of his soul. ”Besides essential potions like evolution agents and healing potions, the potions the game generally gives are based on players’ hidden needs. Brother Xu, why can you always get so many hair growth potions every time?”