Players, Please Board the Train

Once the matter was laid bare, Xie Ling stopped sneaking around to guard against others and instead displayed her items openly.

Aside from combat-type items, many items took the form of small accessories, such as rings, bracelets, buttons, and so on. Xu Huo toyed with the Similarity Seeker, noticing that the items appearing on Xie Ling afterward were mostly D-grade, with only three being C-grade.

Xiao Ling, on the other hand, was much more discreet—at least on the surface, there was no sign of her wearing any items.

Xie Ling kept her distance from everyone, including Xu Huo, who had saved her.

“Why isn’t Yu Guangnan back yet?” Xu Ruosi glanced outside and then asked Xiao Ling, “Do you know his background?”

The implication was that over a dozen more players had entered the dungeon, and Yu Guangnan might seek new allies.

“Probably not,” Xiao Ling said. “We met on the bus here. I saved him once on the bus, and last night at the Beheaded Cemetery, he almost died too…”

Before she could finish, they sensed several players rushing toward them from not far away. Xu Huo kicked through the door panel and charged out of the shop. Though Xu Ruosi and the other two hadn’t detected the danger closing in, they immediately followed him. The four of them exited almost simultaneously, and the spacious shop was sliced into cube-like chunks by three horizontal and three vertical beams of light!

The attackers came with the intent to kill, so they naturally didn’t bother announcing their moves. Besides, in the game, killing needed no reason.

“Watch out for the red light!” A voice from ahead blocked Xu Huo and the others. As a massive red lamp lit up, they were forced to stop, unable to move even half a step forward!“There are more coming from behind!” Xiao Ling warned, releasing a metallic flying eagle. The eagle soared into the air and tossed several smoke bombs at the pursuers behind—ordinary poisonous gas bombs had limited effect in combat, so smoke bombs that obstructed vision were far more useful.

Before the smoke cleared, Xu Huo slashed horizontally with the Crimson Sword. Though the Crimson Sword could injure from a distance, its lethality was limited and it couldn’t destroy items, so this was merely a feint. He then leaped onto the adjacent rooftop.

Items often had limited ranges of effect. As soon as he was on the roof, the red light’s hindrance vanished. Simultaneously, another player rapidly closed in on him. Using Concentrated Air, he flashed in front of the opponent within a second, his sword transforming into the Eye of the Dead.

The opposing player looked startled at his sudden approach but quickly adjusted, a sword appearing in his own hand!

The barrier formed by Concentrated Air dissipated. When the two swords clashed, the opponent’s blade snapped in half at the hilt. The moment the sword broke, Xu Huo punched him square in the face!

At such close range, the player had no chance to dodge. A floating metal shield appeared in front of him, but Xu Huo’s fist didn’t stop—it punched straight through the shield and lunged for his throat!

“Smooth Skin Lotion!” The opponent used the item to slip out from under his grip, simultaneously extending his other hand!

It seemed there was an item hidden in his sleeve, but Xu Huo didn’t retreat. He conjured a barrier in front of him and charged forward, using Straight-Line Distance to accelerate, slamming the man straight into a nearby shop.

Blocked by the air barrier, the player crashed into the building and swapped through several items to no avail—until he pressed a cone-shaped thumbtack against the barrier.

“Crack!” The air barrier showed fractures. The player sneered as several spider-leg-like appendages spread open behind him, seemingly to cage them both together and prevent Xu Huo from escaping.

Xu Huo didn’t disappoint him. He had no intention of fleeing. Instead, he grabbed one of the metallic spider legs, and in the next instant, those legs crumbled into dust in the air!

“Bowshot Range!” With his item destroyed, the player quickly distanced himself from Xu Huo. Meanwhile, a slender arrow shadow appeared on the ground between them, its head and tail swaying as they moved, always keeping them separated.

Their eyes locked. The player suddenly pulled out a whistle and blew it. In the next second, he vanished from where he stood and reappeared on the street behind a wall. Through the window, he exchanged a distant glance with Xu Huo, then flipped over the building and fled.

The players grappling with Xiao Ling and the others outside also retreated. Both sides had suffered some losses, but they fought cautiously with no casualties. Even Yu Guangnan, who had returned midway to help Xiao Ling, watched as the group withdrew without a moment’s hesitation at the sound of the whistle.

“Who are these people…” Before Yu Guangnan could finish, Xiao Ling knocked him to the ground and pressed the sharp tip of her sword to his throat. “Did you bring them here?!”

Yu Guangnan froze for a second but didn’t resist. “Absolutely not! I went to see where those mannequins went and wandered a bit too far. I rushed back as soon as I heard the commotion. If I was behind this, why would I stay?”

“It’s too much of a coincidence. You leave, and they show up right after. Those people were disciplined and came straight for us. Do you think I’d believe you?” Xiao Ling didn’t let up; instead, she pressed the sword deeper. Blood trickled from Yu Guangnan’s neck, but he still didn’t fight back, only kept explaining.

Xu Huo and the other two watched coldly. After a moment, Xu Ruosi said, “Enough. If he wanted to kill, he’d have done it already. This hypocritical interrogation is pointless.”

First, they had suspected Yu Guangnan, and now Xiao Ling was also being marked as suspicious.

Xiao Ling stopped arguing with Yu Guangnan and turned to look at Xu Huo—it was clear he was the decision-maker among the three. “So, does this mean we can’t work together anymore?”

They couldn’t work together.

The appearance of those attackers indicated that more players had entered Zone 009’s dungeon as a group than they had imagined. Whether they were after the dungeon rewards or the Perfect Potion rumored to be in Museum City, according to the dungeon’s rules, the number of players would only grow. Some might even be members of trained organizations.

The number of people who knew the dungeon would only last one day was increasing. It was impossible to kill all of them. Forming separate factions was currently the most reasonable self-preservation strategy. Going alone or with only one or two companions might make someone the first target.

Those people had genuinely tried to kill, but they had also been probing their strength. When they realized they couldn’t win quickly, they decisively withdrew to avoid overextending their own power.

By now, they had encountered most of the players who arrived during the day. The few Player-Eaters they had killed earlier, the Tattooed Player and others who had been watching, and the ones who had just ambushed them—over a dozen players in total, with only one or two missing.

This wasn’t a good sign. Coordinated action proved that these players had formed alliances either before entering the dungeon or shortly after.

“If you want us to trust you, you need to prove it.” Xu Huo’s gaze landed on Xiao Ling.