Players, Please Board the Train

It all happened very suddenly. Xu Huo was still sorting through the Player-Eaters’ belongings when, the next second, he found himself outside the train. The players from his carriage had all vanished. He was standing in an abandoned metropolis, where the broad, cracked roads rose and fell in ways that blocked his line of sight. Looking either forward or back, an ordinary person could see no farther than fifty meters.

On either side of the road stood towering buildings scarred by fire, explosions, and tilting. This city’s civilization was clearly more advanced than that of Zone 014. Its buildings had all been designed around gardens, so after they were abandoned, the unchecked plants had grown rapidly and covered most of their surfaces. In the darkness, they looked eerie, and the rustling leaves seemed to conceal unpredictable dangers.

As soon as Xu Huo appeared, he used the “Vacuum Ring.” Although he hadn’t made much noise, he still alerted some animals lurking in the night.

After determining their positions, he moved thirty meters forward, then used “Gentleman’s Bearing” to rise into the air.

“Gentleman’s Bearing” was faster than he’d expected. Combined with the change in his position, it let him effortlessly evade several Mutants as they pounced out.

These Mutants had evolved to nearly five meters tall. Their massive bodies had powerfully developed limbs, and even on flat ground they could leap more than ten meters into the air, let alone on terrain that was already uneven.

The three Mutants moved like shadows threading through the night, running without a sound. Using the raised ground as a springboard, they leaped up and opened their jaws to bite at the man in the air.

Xu Huo drew the “Crimson Sword” and slashed at the nearest Mutant from a distance. Just then, a flying arrow shot from a nearby building and struck the blade. The sword veered aside, and its sword energy only shaved off a tuft of the Mutant’s fur.

He glanced at the Mutant, which had landed and was still prowling in place, then looked up in the direction the arrow had come from.

The archer was moving quickly through the building. Judging by their speed, they were probably not a player. However, they hadn’t made a sound either, and had most likely been disguised nearby all along.

Non-players had very few items at their disposal. The fact that this person could survive in an abandoned city where Mutants roamed freely meant they were good at concealing their tracks. Perhaps they had made use of something left behind by the civilization.

In no hurry to pursue them, Xu Huo put on the Invisibility Cloak and landed on a balcony on a middle floor of the building. It wasn’t that he wanted to stop there. While ascending, he had spotted a cocoon twenty meters long clinging to the top floor, with all sorts of things writhing inside it.

He entered the apartment from the balcony and quickly surveyed its layout. Only after confirming it was safe did he open his personal panel:

【Player Passerby has successfully entered W37 Base Station and is automatically participating in the dungeon “Encrypted Information.” This is a C-level dungeon. Players may choose to clear it in team mode.】

【Background: The original name of W37 Base Station can no longer be determined. It collapsed rapidly after the first Mutant tide erupted. Along with the loss of a vast number of people, civilization also crumbled quickly, and the technological achievements once held in such high regard were completely wiped out. The survivors had no choice but to retreat to thirty-seven temporary safe cities. W37 Base Station was named after them.】

【However, unpredictable changes in the weather and the rampant breeding of Mutants greatly reduced the amount of land available for growing food in the base cities. To survive, the base cities had no choice but to send out armed forces to search for suitable places to cultivate crops. After a long time, the armed forces found several habitable locations, but they also brought back a virus that humans could not resist. Ten base cities became quarantine zones as a result. Cut off from resources from outside, they were then attacked by Mutants. Within three months, their defensive lines had been completely lost, and the cities became Mutant habitats.】

【Because protective measures had not been stringent at the start of the outbreak, the virus later spread to base cities that had previously sent rescue teams and evacuated people. Five safe cities fell. The spread of the virus was only successfully halted after the other base cities completely refused to accept people from infected cities and established isolation zones.】

【However, after prolonged research, W11 Base discovered a human Mutant with antibodies. After reaching agreements with several other bases, its armed forces began hunting these Mutants alive and transporting them to the bases.】

【But crossing regions with harsh natural environments and active Mutants was no easy task. It took more than ten armed forces taking turns before the last three living specimens were delivered to W19 Base. After the most recently dispatched armed force sent out a distress signal and then went missing, W11 Base assigned the task of transporting the living specimens to the players.】

【Dungeon Task: Deliver one living specimen to W37 Base.】

【Dungeon Time: Thirty days in this zone.】

【The method for calculating time in this dungeon world differs from that of the wormhole point the players originated from. Players may complete the task according to the time in this zone. Each player will receive a Tracker, which will indicate the direction of a living specimen when nearby.】

Two sets of different times followed. The first was for E27 Wormhole Point, and the one below it was for E21 Wormhole Point. The seconds ticked at different speeds, and each had its own countdown.

E27 had a countdown of seven days, while E21 had one of thirty days, though each day was still twenty-four hours long.

Xu Huo exited the panel and checked his watch. Its hands were moving as usual, but the passage of time in both E21 and E27 no longer matched it.

He stood still for ten seconds, counting, then checked the time on his personal panel again. His own perception of time had also diverged from the time in this zone.

In other words, the corresponding lengths of time in the two districts differed. From a person’s perspective, the length of a unit of time had also changed. Although the twenty-four-hour clock was still being used, the total amount of time had changed.

For the time being, it could be treated as seven days passing in E27 for every month that passed in E21.

However, the effects of time on a person did not change. Since the length of each unit of time had changed, and players had long lifespans, discrepancies of a few or even dozens of days could be ignored.

He took off his watch and switched to the item “Complete Time.”

This item could automatically convert time according to the district, so he wouldn’t have to keep checking his personal panel.

He set the countdown to thirty days, then began searching the apartment.

The first step of the task was to go to a location in W19 Base and retrieve a living specimen. Although he had a Tracker, its maximum range was still unknown, and he also didn’t know whether he had been transported to W19 Base. So the first thing he needed to determine was his location.

That was easy. A paper calendar issued by the base was in the living room, and it bore the marking W18.

He couldn’t find a map of the base station, so Xu Huo opened Under Dimension and bought one from another player. According to the map, W18 and W19 were not far apart. He only needed to cross a stretch of desert.

The map’s accuracy was uncertain. After taking a look, he put it away and went out. He didn’t find a stairway, but instead saw several single-person elevators. They no longer worked, though there were signs that ropes had once been threaded through them.