Players, Please Board the Train

”It’ll still take two days to clear.” Wei Xian didn’t know much about the situation at Sifang Palace, and blowing up the sluice gate hadn’t put his mind at ease. Instead, he worried it might provoke the Dungeon Boss into retaliation.

”If it wanted to kill people, whether the sluice gate was blown up or not wouldn’t make a difference.” Xu Huo offered a faint smile, then said to him, ”We still have two days left in the game. Bian Jin and Yi Pei are seriously injured. Let’s send them back to rest first. We have other things to do.”

Wei Xian opened his mouth, but the question didn’t come out. Instead, he reached over and carried Yi Pei on his back.

By the time the group returned to the county, dawn was already breaking on the horizon. They casually found a courtyard to stay in. After resting and tidying up, Xu Huo and Wei Xian went to the residents’ homes to gather some flammable items and placed them in the hotel, which was only half standing.

Burning down the hotel wouldn’t be difficult, but once they left, the Dungeon Boss could rebuild it at any time. It was of little use.

”What’s the point of this?” Wei Xian was following Xu Huo’s instructions, pulling the stone statues out from the forest and carving childish graffiti onto them. ”Once we leave, the Dungeon Boss can just control the locals to destroy all this stuff.”

Xu Huo was doing the same thing. ”At least it’ll be a nuisance. How can you say it’s useless?”

Wei Xian choked on his words, muttered ”What’s the point of just being a nuisance,” and continued burying himself in the work.

Doing all this didn’t take much time. By the time they finished, people were gradually returning from the water pool area. Their expressions were still numb, crossing the stone bridge and the forest like puppets, then heading back to their own homes to wash up.

”Do they really have no awareness at all?” Wei Xian couldn’t help asking.The only ones who could remain completely oblivious afterward were probably just the children. Moreover, the reason Xiao Yun had degenerated into a Mutant so quickly might have something to do with her having eaten the flesh and blood of a player.

By noon, the residents of the county were gradually coming to their senses. They seemed accustomed to the situation in the county, though they panicked a little upon discovering the changes to the water pool. But that was all. They lacked the ability and the courage to investigate or resist.

In the afternoon, the men, women, old, and young in the county started repairing the damaged houses. Someone contacted the bus driver who had brought the visitors and asked him to send over materials.

As for Xu Huo and the others, who were still alive, no one bothered with them. Aside from a few children, everyone else kept their distance.

Xiao Yun and her brother hadn’t returned, and the grandmother and grandson hadn’t made it either. The county had lost more than half its people, making it feel somewhat desolate.

In this atmosphere, Yi Pei and the other two were unwilling to interact with the locals. Only Xu Huo boarded the bus and went along with the driver for a trip.

Since he hadn’t cleared the dungeon yet, he couldn’t leave the dungeon grounds. The farthest he could go was the spot where he had gotten on the bus.

After confirming that the driver would come every day, he booked a travel package through the driver with a travel agency from outside the area, agreeing to pick people up in two days.

With nothing else to do in the remaining time, he spent it playing with the children left in the county.

Yi Pei and the others found it hard to believe, especially Wei Xian, who had been on edge ever since learning that the Dungeon Boss might have business dealings with a super player. He found Xu Huo’s behavior even more incomprehensible.

”How can he stay so calm?” Wei Xian even felt a hint of resentment. If Xu Huo hadn’t stirred up such a big mess, the Dungeon Boss might have just handed over its stockpile of corpses to Suitcase Man and called it a day. But if Suitcase Man had made the trip for nothing, how could he not take it out on them?

”What’s done is done. There’s no other way.” Bian Jin lay flat. ”Maybe Suitcase Man will be furious enough to flatten this entire dungeon too. Taking a Dungeon Boss down with us wouldn’t be a bad deal.”

Yi Pei laughed as well.

Compared to the two seriously injured people, Wei Xian naturally felt resentful. He had hidden underwater and hadn’t been caught in the crossfire. If none of this had happened, he could have definitely survived until the dungeon ended!

Xu Huo was teaching two kids how to throw darts and added from the side, ”If Sifang Palace hadn’t been blown up, could you have held your breath underwater for three days? Or do you think the Black-Armored Soldiers can’t go underwater?”

Wei Xian had nothing to say in response and didn’t dare to push back. He turned and walked away.

”Uncle, I want to play!” The children, quick to forget, had already put the county’s upheaval behind them and crowded around him eagerly.

Xu Huo smiled and handed over his spot and the darts to them. Leaning against a nearby tree, he toyed with the paper airplane the Paper Artisan had given him.

Two days passed just like that. By the afternoon of the third day, the group safely received the clearing notification. The travel bus Xu Huo had booked also arrived in the county. He herded everyone—whether willing or not—onto the bus and set the county on fire one more time.

Wei Xian left right after clearing the dungeon. Yi Pei and Bian Jin hadn’t left yet; they planned to leave the county with the travel bus. Now that the dungeon grounds were unlocked, they could come and go as they pleased—it was up to them when to leave.

The convoy departed from the county. Xu Huo turned around and made another trip to Sifang Palace. Without the Black-Armored Soldiers blocking him, he walked straight into the palace, left behind the cultivated Bone-Eating Bugs, and then used a pen to write on the pillar: ”Guess who’s here? So-and-so was here.”

This audacious move probably truly angered the dungeon’s master. The ceiling of the second floor suddenly caved in, as if a twisted, alien creature was slamming down toward him!

Caught off guard, Xu Huo was sent flying. His entire body crashed through the charred mountain of corpses and slammed into the wall opposite. But he patted the dust off his clothes, stood up, looked up at the third floor, and smiled. ”See you later.”

”Boom, boom, boom!” The floor of the third floor completely collapsed, bringing down the corpse mountain and the second floor along with it. Amidst the rolling and splashing smoke and dust, a white paper airplane was buried deep beneath the rubble.

”...Train E2497 will arrive at the station in three minutes. Players, please prepare to board.”

Just as Xu Huo arrived at the station, the announcement rang out. Scanning the station, he walked over to a corner and, like an ordinary traveler, pulled out his phone to browse.

This was a normal thing for regular people to do, but inside a dimensional train station, it was quite conspicuous. Usually, players played with items. So, when he took out his phone, a few nearby players moved away as well.

There were no corpses at the station, and everyone boarded the train without incident.

Entering the carriage, Xu Huo could tell there were quite a few players heading to District 011 this time. He paused briefly, then called over a train attendant, paid extra, and moved up to the front.

”Sir, here is today’s special menu.”

Elegant music, rich and flavorful food. Xu Huo sat by the window, eating while enjoying the view outside, his tense nerves relaxing a little.

It was lucky he hadn’t run into Suitcase Man before the dungeon ended. Although he still wasn’t sure if Suitcase Man would actually show up, he had used ”Truth Transcends All” to go to Sifang Palace and leave the paper airplane there.

Of course, in his fondest hopes, there might be an unexpected encounter between two super players. But he also knew the chances were slim. More likely, the paper airplane would end up in the hands of the Dungeon Boss.

Still, in his view, that slim chance was well worth a try.