Players, Please Board the Train

The Raincoat Man walked out of the room, looking noticeably paler than yesterday, his expression even more gloomy. It was obvious he hadn’t managed to clear the dungeon last night, and worse, he was stuck at the Alluring Female Player.

The two sides had clashed, and it seemed the Alluring Female Player had the upper hand. She smiled at the Raincoat Man and said, ”Come again tonight.”

The Raincoat Man said nothing, while the Baby-faced Player looked like she wanted nothing more than to charge at the Alluring Female Player and stab her two dozen times. But with four of them against the Alluring Female Player’s group, which included the two remaining players she’d united, the odds weren’t exactly in their favor. Especially since their main combatant, the Raincoat Man, looked seriously injured.

The Raincoat Man’s side backed down, and the Alluring Female Player looked quite pleased with herself. She turned around with a smug smile, only to find herself face to face with Xu Huo, who was watching her with an amused smile. Her smile instantly froze, and she let out a cold snort before hurrying away.

”What the hell happened last night?” Dong Qiu asked hastily. ”Did that woman stop other people from clearing the dungeon? Is she really that strong?”

Xu Huo glanced at the Raincoat Man, then went to check the guest rooms. As expected, the corpses had all been cleaned up, including the body in the Alluring Female Player’s room.

”I didn’t kill anyone last night, and I still couldn’t clear the dungeon,” the Raincoat Man said after a moment, following behind Xu Huo as he inspected the rooms.

”Then you can try again next time you’re the temporary master,” Xu Huo said.

”Can’t you see? That woman won’t let anyone clear the dungeon,” the Raincoat Man said. ”She was the one who failed the dungeon on the first night.”

Xu Huo already knew it was her. He walked over to her room, checking the closet and bathroom, and also had the Redhead and Feng Guang reinforce the crumbling wall.”Think what you want, but I’m warning you - she has a very powerful item. You know the trick box with swords in magic shows?” The Raincoat Man warned before leaving.

”That woman really does seem dangerous,” Liang Chong suggested. ”What if we take her out first?”

”One of the rules for becoming the master is cleaning the villa. Damaging the villa helps no one,” Xu Huo said. ”Besides, she’s not alone.”

His gaze lingered on the bed for two seconds before he said, ”Let’s head out.”

As the group walked out of the room, Lu Zhen couldn’t help asking, ”Who’s the temporary master today? Is it one of us?”

”It’s me,” Xu Huo said.

The others were stunned, then both happy and worried. Happy because Xu Huo taking a shot at it increased their chances of success, much better than one of them wasting the opportunity. But worried that if he cleared the dungeon and left, the rest of them might not figure out the real way to clear it, or at least wouldn’t be able to get the remaining players to cooperate.

But there was one obvious advantage: the Alluring Female Player clearly enjoyed sabotaging others for her own benefit, and she’d likely cause trouble tonight. If Xu Huo wanted to clear the dungeon, he’d have to deal with her first. The Raincoat Man was already injured, and the rest of them were all about the same level. There was no second player with absolute overwhelming power.

”Brother Xu, if you clear the dungeon, you’ve got to tell us the method,” the Redhead said, pressing his hands together in a prayer gesture. ”We’re all counting on you!”

The others naturally thought the same, just not as bluntly.

”I can trade with potions or items,” Lu Zhen said quickly.

Zhao Xiaojing also expressed her willingness. ”Even though our items aren’t that great, that’s just our limitation. If you agree, we won’t take advantage without paying.”

”But what if he takes our items and still doesn’t tell us the real way to clear the dungeon?” Dong Qiu muttered under his breath. When everyone’s eyes turned to him, he raised his voice defensively, ”Did I say something wrong? We don’t have as many items as he does. The few we have are for saving our lives!”

”Then don’t trade,” Lu Zhen said. ”No one’s forcing you.”

Dong Qiu choked on his words. After a pause, he said, ”I’m just thinking about everyone’s interests.”

”His concern is valid,” Xu Huo said, surprisingly understanding. ”If I wanted to scam everyone for items, there’s nothing you could do about it, and it would lower your survival rate.”

”How about this,” he thought for a moment and said. ”Tonight, I’ll knock on each of your doors. You can watch what I do. I’m not sure how to clear the dungeon yet either, but if I succeed, you can try following my example.”

”That’s great!” The Redhead clapped his hands, then said to the others, ”Brother Xu is a real one. We shouldn’t hold him back. Let’s check what else in the villa needs cleaning and tidying today. We’ll handle the grunt work!”

Liang Chong and the others naturally had no objections. They scattered, going room by room to tidy up.

They borrowed all the tools from the cleaning closet. Lu Zhen even found an unopened bucket of wall paint in the storage room. Meng San and the Redhead agreed in a flash and carried the bucket upstairs to patch the walls.

”Psychos...” the Alluring Female Player couldn’t help muttering as she watched them.

”This is the first time I’ve seen such a... lively dungeon-clearing scene,” the Baby-faced Player said sarcastically.

”Isn’t this good for everyone?” the two players who had bullied Zhao Xiaojing joined the conversation. ”If they clean the rooms thoroughly, won’t it save us trouble when we become temporary masters later? I’ve never seen a dungeon that has players doing cleaning work before.”

The other one shouted at Zhao Xiaojing and Dong Qiu, ”Put some effort into it! Haven’t you eaten? Can’t you see how thick the dust is on the windows?”

Dong Qiu was angry but didn’t dare speak up. A flash of viciousness passed through Zhao Xiaojing’s eyes, but she still held back.

Seeing this, those two became even more unrestrained. Verbal provocation wasn’t enough; they kept creating trash, making Zhao Xiaojing and the others come clean it up.

Dong Qiu was so angry he threw down his broom, but outnumbered two to one, he didn’t dare start a fight. He glanced at Zhao Xiaojing, whose face was still swollen, then hurried off to find Liang Chong and the others.

But it wasn’t Liang Chong who came down. It was Xu Huo.

In a flash, he stood before the two male players, scanning the mess on the floor. ”Are you going to clean this up, or am I?”

The two deflated, shooting a glance at the Alluring Female Player. She clearly was about to intervene, but the next moment, Xu Huo sat down beside her, one hand pressing down on her shoulder.

The Alluring Female Player’s body instantly went rigid, because what hit her was a murderous intent so sharp it felt almost tangible, as if the moment she dared move, her head would roll right off!

”What are you two idiots standing there for!” she screamed at the two fools. Only after they fetched cleaning tools from Zhao Xiaojing did she speak again. ”You’re so strong, why would you go into a D-rank dungeon? Strong players usually challenge higher levels.”

”I didn’t exactly choose to come to a random dungeon,” Xu Huo said. ”I heard the medium for this dungeon is fragrant wood. I’m more curious about what kind of person would carry fragrant wood around everywhere.”

The Alluring Female Player’s face twisted with hatred. ”That idiot deserves to die!”