Players, Please Board the Train

The situation was urgent, so the gray-robed person had no choice but to nod.

Huang Junjie hesitated, standing rooted to the spot, but Xu Huo said, ”Follow along. Staying here means death.”

Huang Junjie jolted alert and instinctively followed.

The group passed through the hidden passage and took the elevator to the underground parking lot. The second basement level was sealed off. Through a concealed doorway, the Double Snake members drove cars or rode motorcycles, leaving the resort at maximum speed.

Naturally, they didn’t take the main road they’d used to enter.

Xu Huo deliberately lagged a step behind, letting Huang Junjie drive him on a motorcycle while he called the others one by one.

Only Guan Sheng picked up, immediately demanding to know where Xu Huo had gone.

Xu Huo asked carefully about the situation at the garden, then paused before saying, ”The resort just had an explosion. Didn’t the Special Defense Department get the news?”

Guan Sheng and Qian Xuwen had contacted the Special Defense Department as soon as they left the resort, but the local Water City officer had been dispatched for emergency rescue half an hour ago and was still on the way.

”Zhou Ning is missing. Go find him.””What about your end?” Guan Sheng asked.

”Don’t worry about me. Just look for Zhou Ning.” With that, Xu Huo decisively turned off his phone.

Huang Junjie was baffled. ”Why not let the Special Defense Department help investigate? You came along to find Double Snake’s real base, right?”

”The Branch Office isn’t necessarily trustworthy.” Xu Huo said and then asked, ”How did you end up here anyway?”

”I followed the chairman. He received an invitation.” Huang Junjie said. ”The people who came with you left. Maybe he left too, since he’s not the one Double Snake is looking for.”

Xu Huo let out a laugh. ”Do you believe that yourself?”

The gathering changed location, an extra fifth of the people showed up midway, the players were split up and gathered separately, then individual transactions were held—this whole series of operations was only meant to cover up one thing: the number of players at the gathering was decreasing.

While visiting the statues, Xu Huo had already swapped masks and wristbands with Yan Jiayu. The numbers on the wristbands were also a form of screening, designed to separate the genuinely invited players. He had asked the white-masked players about their numbers earlier, and like Yan Jiayu, they were all fives.

From Guan Sheng, he learned that Yan Jiayu, who had replaced him in the garden, had disappeared after her individual transaction. She definitely wouldn’t have left on her own. Even if she’d been attacked, it shouldn’t have happened so silently. Moreover, when Guan Sheng and the other went to check, they found no signs of struggle. One possibility was that she had entered a random dungeon.

There were portable random dungeon entrances like the Awakening Doll, or perhaps somewhere in the resort itself was an entrance.

From the white-masked players’ side, Double Snake’s repeated screenings might have been for player classification—strength, psychological fortitude, evolution rate, player grade could all be screening factors. Double Snake couldn’t possibly know every player, hence the rough classification.

Some people joined Double Snake and were taken away, some participated in an ordinary gathering and left, some disappeared during the gathering—all converging on the wristband numbers.

”Number four players went to the seventh deck and came back. Brother Liang went to check on them and never returned.” Guan Zuhong had also called Brother Liang and the others. The two players who had been with Sima Xiao Er and Big Head all left safely, but Brother Liang’s whereabouts were unknown.

”How many people were still in the venue when the gathering finally disbanded?” Xu Huo asked.

”Less than eighty.” Huang Junjie said with certainty.

”What numbers were Tan Yang and Pu Kang?” Xu Huo continued.

”One and two.”

Counting Xu Huo and the three with Huang Junjie, they basically covered all six numbers. Number six was the most common, taking up seven people. Including Guan Zuhong and Little Zhang, who had accidentally followed, five had left smoothly, with only Zhou Ning and Brother Liang’s whereabouts unknown.

Number five had only two people. Xu Huo had replaced Yan Jiayu with the white-masked group, and Sima Xiao Er had become a ”White Envoy.”

Number four was missing. Number three had Guan Sheng, Qian Xuwen, and Huang Junjie—the first two also left smoothly, while Huang Junjie was in the same situation as Guan Zuhong and the others: he couldn’t get away.

Number two was Yan Jiayu, who had replaced him, along with Pu Kang—both missing.

Number one had only Tan Yang, and his whereabouts were also unknown.

Leaving number four aside for now, looking at the other five numbers, Double Snake’s targets were clearly on numbers ”one,” ”two,” and ”five.” Numbers ”three” and ”six” were just a smokescreen, like those Special Defense Department players who came in, took a lap, and left. Missing one or two wouldn’t draw attention.

”Tan Yang and Pu Kang—are they Player-Eaters?” Xu Huo thought for a moment and asked Huang Junjie again.

”Of course not.” Huang Junjie was shocked. ”Do you think their disappearance is related to Player-Eaters?”

”Can’t be certain. Is Pu Kang a D-grade player?” Xu Huo pressed.

”No, but his evolution rate is high, and his family is pretty wealthy. He bought two good items through Special Defense Department connections.” Huang Junjie replied, then after a moment’s silence, he couldn’t help asking, ”Do you think what Double Snake said about predicting the future is real or fake?”

”Even fortune tellers with street stalls don’t use cheap crystal balls these days. That was just an item.” How could an item predict someone’s future, and on a wholesale scale? Anyone could walk up and get a reading—just a scam.

”I think most of the players at today’s gathering might be Double Snake’s people.” Huang Junjie said coldly. ”They didn’t even need to pick. All they had to do was bring in players who weren’t their own.”

”Some, but probably not too many.” Xu Huo’s group alone added up to over ten people. ”The understanding that ’Double Snake gatherings are safe’ also needed people to spread it around.”

Although the information was incomplete, looking at the big picture, ”two” and ”five” were likely the stronger and weaker groups. The only exception was Yan Jiayu, an all-rounder who had been placed in the weaker group.

But even assuming his reasoning was correct, that was normal. Double Snake could only make rough divisions and couldn’t follow the plan perfectly. Just like when he and Yan Jiayu swapped positions, and Huang Junjie and the other two were forced into the restaurant.

”Why don’t we take the chance to leave now?” Huang Junjie hesitated. ”Since the savior thing is fake, Double Snake definitely has other motives. With this kind of setup, there might be someone behind it.”

Compared to Double Snake’s organizational and execution capabilities, the officially recognized First Association was like child’s play. But the more that was true, the more it showed that Double Snake was no simple matter. One or two players probably couldn’t accomplish anything.

”You can’t leave.” Xu Huo pointed ahead. ”See those gray-robed people? They’ve been using items. Anyone who leaves the group gets dealt with.”

”Take things as they come. Once you followed Sima Xiao Er into the restaurant, there was no way out. Even escaping wouldn’t work. Right now, the best way to stay alive is to join the Double Snake organization.”

”Congratulations,” he smiled. ”You’re about to hold two positions at once, shining bright in the player organizations.”