Players, Please Board the Train

After that fleeting moment of paralysis, Xu Huo was still standing behind the door, one hand on the doorknob while his gaze remained fixed on the wall clock hanging to the side.

Suddenly his eyelids trembled and his eyes regained their light.

The wall clock’s time rewound to three seconds earlier, and he returned to the moment before opening the door and being shot. The instant his reason snapped back into place, he leapt aside!

But in the very moment he dodged, that black arrow inexplicably appeared behind the door, ignoring the heavy door panel and passing through it in a manner that defied reality, flying toward the spot he had just been standing!

This was the very arrow that had struck him as he opened the door!

An arrow that could pass through doors and walls was not something Xu Huo could take lightly. He rolled into the corner, quickly braced the Ox Shield, blocking the front while retreating further into the house.

Unexpectedly, a second arrow followed closely behind, this time penetrating from another direction and heading straight for him on the stairs!

Xu Huo swung the shield and knocked the arrow aside, then vaulted to a corner on the second floor.

This was a blind spot; no window from the house could see that position.

The two arrows had come from different directions. He had no idea how many attackers there were. They deliberately avoided being seen. If their arrows could continue to appear and disappear like ghosts, that meant the item didn’t require the attacker to “see with their own eyes.”He placed the shield on his back and had just picked up his bright-red sword when a ripple-like wave formed on the left wall. An arrow shot out, matching the height of his crouch and heading straight for his heart!

He raised the sword and slashed; the arrow pinged off. Xu Huo had already jumped out the window—shield in one hand, sword in the other—and ran without pausing, using the houses for cover as he sprinted toward the main street!

As he ran he kept his eyes peeled, but he could see no one in sight.

Had they left?

Xu Huo’s thoughts shifted. Passing a street corner, he plucked the Bell off the door of a clothing shop. No sooner had he stepped inside than an arrow shot through the shop’s rear wall and struck his shield!

The arrow pinged away and stuck in the wall. Xu Huo quickly stepped out of the shop. This time he did not flee; he stood at the doorway and scanned the surrounding buildings again.

There was no sign of anyone within view, and the “friendliness values” above their heads didn’t appear either, but that didn’t mean there was no one nearby. The person who ambushed him had to be close—someone hiding in the town? Or a player from the same bus?

He avoided the toys on the ground and moved into the open center of the street, sheathing sword and shielding and stopping where there was a clear view.

Three minutes passed without another arrow. Instead, the bus ambled back into view.

Everyone who had gotten off had returned to the bus. Under hopeful stares, he boarded and stood in the aisle, examining everyone.

It was unlikely that Ke Liang or Nian Hong’an had left the bus. Based on sequence, Wang Chaoqing should have been the first back on board, followed by Wu Qiuyi and Gu Yu. Those three wouldn’t have had the opportunity to strike in that timeframe, and they were farther away. That left Shen Yi, Shen Xin, and Lin Pei.

He suspected those three because during the calm three minutes—with the bus not there and no other players on the street—that would have been the perfect time to kill him. If the attacker intended to be brutal and kill on first contact, they should have taken that chance. Yet they didn’t act, which likely meant they needed time to return to the bus.

Boarding order couldn’t be random; each player’s time moving in public areas is fixed. If a player failed to appear at the expected time, others would notice first.

“Did you find anything usable?” Wu Qiuyi asked. “The rest of us found nothing.”

“I found a metal room in Master Nise’s house,” Xu Huo said, sitting down with a serious expression. “It looks similar to the black metal used to make the Pit Cage. It should be useful, but it needs cutting. Also—another matter—I was just attacked.”

Every face on the bus changed. Gu Yu asked, “Could there be someone else living in the town?”

“No way.” Wu Qiuyi frowned. “Players have been here on and off for almost half a month. We’ve been to many places in town. If someone were hiding here, how could we not have found them?”

“That’s not certain.” Shen Xin said, “You guys never had more than three people get off at once, you just rode around the town on the bus—this place is huge. Hiding a person here is too easy.”

Shen Yi asked puzzled, “If such a person exists, why would they suddenly attack Xu Huo after so long of everything being calm?”

“Shen Yi has a point,” Lin Pei said, stroking his chin. “Maybe it’s a new player who randomly attacked without knowing the situation.”

“Should we find him, then?” Wang Chaoqing asked. “If he’s wandering the streets, what should we do next?”

Xu Huo watched the “friendliness values” above these people’s heads—each hovered around five. None of them showed murder intent toward him.

“The attacker used arrows; I don’t know how many there are,” he said. “But I estimate only one. Their arrow is strange: a person standing in an enclosed space, and the arrows can fly out from any angle, passing through doors and walls—spatial in nature.”

“However,” he smiled lightly, “those arrows might not work well in wide-open areas. On the road a while ago the attacker didn’t make another move.”

Wu Qiuyi’s pupils flickered as realization dawned: only someone who knew him well would avoid a face-to-face encounter. She did not state it outright, but the attacker must be among the players on the bus!

But none of the players visibly used a bow or arrows.

She subtly sized up everyone on the bus and suddenly met Gu Yu’s glance. They locked eyes for a second, then both looked away.

Everyone on the bus had thoughts of their own. The gullible Wang Chaoqing adjusted his glasses and said, “This item is terrifying! What if, when we go back in, he’s hiding somewhere we can’t see and ambushes us?”

“Then it’ll be whoever’s unlucky,” Gu Yu replied coldly.

“I think,” Shen Xin said slowly, “the attacker doesn’t want us to leave Decibel Town.”

Everyone turned to look at her. Shen Xin explained, “Think about it—whether it’s a local or a new player, why suddenly attack Xu Huo?”

“Because he found the black metal and the rest of us didn’t,” she said.

“That excuse is a little thin,” Lin Pei objected. “If Xu Huo doesn’t say anything, who knows he found black metal?”

“Maybe he has X-ray vision.” Shen Xin offered a reasonable-sounding point. “If arrows can lock onto a target through walls, what’s impossible?”

Xu Huo let their conversation drift without interrupting, watching them quietly.

Whether or not someone had X-ray vision was one thing. As fellow players all trapped in this town, killing each other without cause was the least rational action. If someone chose to target him, it was simply because he had entered Master Nise’s residence.