Players, Please Board the Train

Closing the door, Xu Huo first sized up the room’s layout.

In ordinary aesthetic terms, this room was almost unbearable. The relief-carved walls were filled with complex, unrecognizable patterns, and the carpet and sheets matched them; even the bathroom tiles and the curtains were similar.

Under the dim yellow light, the room felt suffocating. The only things that stood out were the toilet, the sink, and the mirror above the sink.

He went into the bathroom, casually pulled a towel over the mirror, and rolled up his sleeve to deal with the wound on his arm.

The long gash’s area of ulceration had expanded again. Although he could see the mycelium inside, the discomfort from the injury hadn’t eased.

He dug out part of the wound with a knife, bandaged it, then came out and draped his coat over a chair. “I’m not going out tonight.”

The Painting Woman tucked against the inside of his clothing blinked, keeping her original posture hidden inside the coat.

He was just preparing to lie down when someone knocked on the door. Xu Huo opened it and found the hotel attendant standing there holding a boxed meal. “This is the hotel’s free delivery, and I included an apple.”

His clean jacket had been changed to work clothes, and he smelled faintly of perfume.

“Can I order off the menu?” Xu Huo asked.“That’s probably not possible,” the attendant said. “Another colleague called in sick. There’s only me left at the hotel, so we can only provide boxed meals. If you want something else you’ll have to go out. Also, people here go to bed early; the doors are locked by ten.”

Xu Huo handed him a few White Bills. “I want to order a late-night snack.”

The attendant accepted the money and grinned. “Alright, give me a call when you’re ready. The food cost will be extra.”

Xu Huo didn’t say more. He closed the door, set the boxed meal down, and fell asleep.

He slept deeply until a rapid knock on the door woke him.

“Get lost!” he shouted out, and the knocking stopped abruptly. A moment later, someone hurried away outside.

He tossed off the bed and felt his energy return somewhat. Checking the time, it was already one in the morning.

Peering through the edge of the curtain, the outside was shrouded in fog. The street had no lights or sounds; only faint glows came from hotel windows.

There was a faint knocking sound from upstairs, “knock knock knock!” Xu Huo washed his face, opened the door, and walked out. Just as he reached the third floor he saw Wei Xian standing at his door looking around. When he saw Xu Huo, Wei Xian hurried over. “Did you see You Jun just now?”

“No. Do you two share a room?” Xu Huo glanced into the room; two pairs of shoes were neatly arranged on the floor, and Wei Xian was wearing slippers.

“He’s gone.” Wei Xian said with some unease. “Someone knocked earlier. He said he’d go check, I heard the door open, then I came out—and he was gone!”

At that moment Yi Pei came out of the neighboring room. “Maybe he went to other players’ rooms?”

“No,” Wei Xian said decisively. “Why would anyone change rooms in the middle of the night?”

Unexpectedly, the adjacent room was occupied. A curly-haired man opened the door and snapped irritably, “Maybe he ran into some female player’s room.”

Fu Danhong and Tian Kunwen were staying on the second floor. Xu Huo didn’t hear any movement as he passed their door.

“Go downstairs and ask around.” he said.

The curly-haired man slammed his door shut. The three of them went down to the second floor and knocked on Fu Danhong’s door to ask if she had seen You Jun.

“Why would he come to my room?” Fu Danhong said. “Even if I had knocked on his door, given how we are, he wouldn’t necessarily open it for me.”

There had been friction between the two on the train; they didn’t get along. If she had been outside begging for help, You Jun might not have opened.

“Why would he open the door?” Tian Kunwen frowned. “Knocking at this hour is already strange. We’re in a dungeon at D-grade—how could he make such a rookie mistake?”

His reminder made the others realize You Jun might be in danger.

“This is off.” Wei Xian said. “I was in my room and didn’t hear anything else. If something happened he’d at least shout out, right?”

“So you mean he was taken away without any resistance?” Fu Danhong pondered briefly. “Or maybe he left on his own?”

“If he encountered danger, instinct would make him resist a bit. Whether player threats or unknown dangers, the lack of noise and absence of signs of struggle is very strange.”

“What if he couldn’t resist?” Yi Pei said. “Maybe whoever knocked had a way to render someone stunned in one strike.”

“Did anyone else get knocked on?” Xu Huo asked.

They all shook their heads, but Yi Pei added, “I heard a knock on the next room’s door—not You Jun’s. It was the man who came out and talked to us earlier, but he didn’t open.”

“He didn’t seem eager to talk to us,” Wei Xian said. “His attitude was bad.”

“The player who came first might have an advantage. Maybe he knows something,” Tian Kunwen said. “Fu Danhong and I will ask around. You others look for You Jun nearby. If you don’t find a living person, you’ll at least find a corpse.”

They split up. Xu Huo, Yi Pei, and Wei Xian went to find the attendant to get keys, but he wasn’t in the lounge.

“He’s not here. Maybe he lured You Jun out,” Wei Xian suggested.

“Unlikely.” Yi Pei felt the sheets. “There’s no warmth at all. The attendant probably doesn’t sleep here at night.”

“His cup is gone too.” Xu Huo added.

If the person who knocked were the attendant, he wouldn’t have taken his cup with him.

Besides, three rooms had been knocked on tonight within a short window, on both the second and third floors, meaning at least two people were operating.

Xu Huo picked up the registration log and checked room numbers against player names. Some names had been crossed out, but the earliest check-in dated back three days. That meant there was still a player who had been in the dungeon for four days staying at the hotel.

On the third floor the curly-haired man was Fang Penghui. Liu Shiyan, whom Xu Huo had met once on the first floor, had checked in two days ago.

Besides them, three people had checked in three days ago, three checked in two days ago, and four checked in one day ago but had checked out the next day.

The names of those who checked out weren’t crossed out.

“Those crossed out are probably dead, right? And the ones who checked out—did they all go to the guesthouse?” Wei Xian said. “Are those people still alive?”

Who could say. He hesitated, then added, “That Liu Shiyan earlier said he’d only been here a day, but he’s been staying at the hotel for two days!”

“People don’t have to tell you the truth.” Xu Huo set down the log and looked toward the stairs. Fu Danhong and Tian Kunwen came down; both looked pale. The latter shook his head. “We tried asking, but the door wasn’t opened and he gave us a tongue-lashing.”

After a moment’s silence, Yi Pei said, “We searched the corridor and the empty rooms and didn’t find You Jun. If we want to keep looking, we’ll have to go outside.”

“Go if you want,” Fu Danhong folded her arms and pointed her chin toward the door. “I’m not taking that risk. Look outside and see what the situation is.”