Players, Please Board the Train

The group exchanged some practical small items, though of course each kept some reserves. Therefore, when devising the detailed division of labor, they chose their roles based on their own characteristics and items.

The plan had two key points: first, luring the Black-Armored Soldiers at the entrance of Sifang Palace City, and second, a feigned attack on Sifang Palace itself.

The Black-Armored Soldiers were too numerous and not easily constrained by ordinary characteristics or items, putting players at a disadvantage in direct combat. So the best approach was to draw them out of Sifang Palace City.

Of course, it was impossible to lure all of them away. Therefore, after creating chaos at the entrance, someone had to immediately launch an attack on the Sifang Palace side, drawing part of the Black-Armored Soldiers’ fire.

Only then could they maximize the distraction of the Black-Armored Soldiers, making this the best cooperative strategy given their limited manpower.

After that, Xu Huo would set the fires.

The process of setting fires was also delicate. Burning down just a few buildings might not catch the Dungeon Boss’s attention, but if the fire posed too great a threat, Xu Huo would become the primary target of the Black-Armored Soldiers. Therefore, the fire needed to cover a large area, but it couldn’t burn for too long.

This required advance preparation.

Using the living people and corpses within Sifang Palace City to carry accelerant was convenient but impractical. There was plenty of open flame inside the city, and the accelerant would self-ignite within fifty meters of any fire. If it burned bit by bit like that, even the Black-Armored Soldiers wouldn’t need to act, as the puppet-like corpses and residents could extinguish it themselves.

So the accelerant had to be placed slightly away from the crowds, and the fire needed to start from the center.”Our target is the eye totems in the city and that drum in front of Sifang Palace, especially the drum,” Fang Penghui looked at the Black-Shirted Player. ”Whether we destroy it or steal it, once we succeed, we must retreat immediately. Don’t blindly enter Sifang Palace. If the entire palace is a single item, going in would be doom.”

The Black-Shirted Player nodded. ”Before I get close to Sifang Palace, I’ll seal off my vision first. If even that doesn’t work, you all need to be even more careful.”

Everyone nodded. Apart from Fang Penghui and one of his companions, who were responsible for the entrance, the rest would head toward Sifang Palace, placing accelerant items along the way, then support the Black-Shirted Player and Yi Pei, who would be in front of Sifang Palace.

Xu Huo and another player would handle the fire, splitting up to cover one street each.

Of course, relative to the city’s considerable size, two people were indeed insufficient. But for now, this was the best they could do.

”Everyone, though we’ve met by chance, we’re in the same boat now. I won’t waste words with empty promises. I hope we all survive and clear this dungeon.” Fang Penghui looked around at the group. ”Also, I want everyone to be aware: our desperate plan only aims to destroy some of the dungeon’s mechanisms. This dungeon’s danger level has long surpassed D-grade. If we provoke the Dungeon Boss, we might face even greater risks. So don’t think about sending others to their deaths while you hide behind. Those who lag behind alone will only suffer worse. Only by working together do we have a glimmer of hope.”

”There’s nothing to say to people who still can’t get a clue at this point.” Fu Danhong said, ”This Dungeon Boss doesn’t follow the game rules. Those who die early might get a quick death. But if we really piss it off, it might torture players to death. Haven’t you seen those players whose brains and organs were eaten?”

That said, before the operation even began, a defeatist atmosphere had already settled among the players.

”Sorry, but I don’t plan to die here.” Xu Huo ignored their ”pre-battle speech” and checked the time. ”Can we start now?”

”You’re a demon, you know that?” Fu Danhong rolled her eyes, took the initiative to sync her watch, then stood up. ”I’m going first. If I’m unlucky and get killed by Black-Armored Soldiers before support arrives, you all need to be strong and avenge me.”

Yi Pei couldn’t help but chuckle. ”You’re really something.”

”Anyone who can escape the Black-Armored Soldiers and make it here isn’t going to die that easily,” Xu Huo said. ”Just be careful.”

Fu Danhong refused to talk to him anymore. She nodded to the other two players and slipped back into Sifang Palace City, avoiding the Black-Armored Soldiers’ sight.

Next were Yi Pei and the Black-Shirted Player, who could head directly to Sifang Palace.

Xu Huo and the other arson player lagged behind, first hiding near the city entrance, waiting for the signal from Fang Penghui and his companion.

Xu Huo put on his stealth coat and went to his pre-selected position. Through a window, he unexpectedly spotted Xiao Yun’s brother, who was sitting expressionless in the corner of a room, his eyes vacant as he watched the ceaseless celebration.

Xu Huo tapped lightly on the wooden wall. Sure enough, Xiao Yun’s brother stirred. He didn’t turn around immediately but only stood up after Xu Huo knocked a second time, keeping his eyes closed as he faced the window.

”I can’t see you,” he said. ”The ritual isn’t over yet, so you’re not part of Sifang Palace City. You can speak to me with your eyes open.”

”Once the ritual ends, all your eyes can be used by your god?” Xu Huo said in a low voice. ”Truly shared eyes... Do you even know what you’re worshipping?”

”I don’t know.” Xiao Yun’s brother answered bluntly. ”Probably some kind of monster.”

”I know you’re players and this place is a dungeon. Many, many players came before you. Some people told me about the outside world. Some wanted to save us. But they all died in the end.”

”I want to know—has this dungeon really broken the rules? Why hasn’t anyone come to deal with it? We’re not players. We’re just ordinary people.”

”Under normal circumstances, it should count as breaking the rules,” Xu Huo said. Mental interference plus the Suitcase Man’s puppets—the dungeon should have upgraded long ago. But, ”The outside world is vast. A few small dungeons probably don’t get noticed.”

In truth, the game generally didn’t care what happened inside dungeons, unless someone seriously violated game rules. Even dungeons like the Skinner’s, which slaughtered living people for ingredients, were ”very popular.” That alone showed the game couldn’t care less how many people died inside a dungeon, let alone cases of borderline rule-breaking.

”But you can look at it from another angle,” he added. ”With all this heavy fog and black rain, all this secrecy, it shows that the ’god’ ruling this place isn’t that strong.”

High-level players destroying low-level dungeons was a serious violation. Of course, the Suitcase Man’s puppets didn’t count as a high-level player directly entering a low-level dungeon. But since this dungeon had introduced his puppets, its danger level was different.

Generally speaking, fixed dungeons had slightly stricter rules than random ones. If a dungeon had an actual holder—a real person as the Dungeon Boss—then the holder would have greater authority after the dungeon upgraded. Judging by the state of this dungeon, it was highly likely that the Dungeon Holder didn’t want to upgrade it.

There could be multiple reasons for this, but Xu Huo thought two possibilities were most likely: either the Suitcase Man’s reputation as an infamous wanted criminal in the game would bring negative consequences, or the Dungeon Boss simply wasn’t strong enough and just wanted to stick to its corner, kill to its heart’s content, and deliberately avoid upgrading.