Players, Please Board the Train

Gu Yu’s face radiated intense confidence as she believed no player would refuse such an advantageous offer.

The Mutual Aid Society required minimal commitment beyond helping members find train ticket items or teaming up for dungeons, unlike government-affiliated players who had to obey official orders—even venturing into extremely dangerous dungeons when commanded.

Where else could one find such a beneficial arrangement that demanded little sacrifice while ensuring survival?

”If you’re referring to novice players huddling together for warmth, then no thank you,” Xu Huo said as he turned to walk upstairs.

Gu Yu paused in surprise before quickly catching up. ”Why? Your evolution rate is only 10 percent. Most Mutual Aid Society members exceed that number and are stronger than you. At the very least, someone would step up when you need help.”

Xu Huo merely smiled. ”You only get one life, yet dungeons are filled with endless dangers. How many times do you think your Mutual Aid Society members could actually provide meaningful assistance?”

”If every new member requires veteran members to carry them, your handful of core members won’t be enough to serve as cannon fodder for the dungeons.”

”Of course we wouldn’t expect veterans to guide newcomers through every dungeon,” Gu Yu countered. ”But the Society can provide channels for items like train tickets, or at least offer trading platforms. These are genuine conveniences.”

”So besides you, who else leads this Mutual Aid Society?” Xu Huo asked.

Gu Yu gritted her teeth. ”There’s one D-level player, also a close friend of mine.””Which means,” Xu Huo stated bluntly, ”you provide the funding while they supply the muscle, using mutual benefit and assistance as a slogan to recruit masses of players and control resources. Correct?”

”Must you phrase it so harshly?” Gu Yu’s expression darkened. ”Shouldn’t players unite together?”

”The Dimensional Rift game has become a catastrophe for all humanity. Besides black and white players, Player-Eaters and Player-Eater Evolvers keep emerging endlessly. If we don’t band together early on, things will only get harder later.”

”Your statement contains both truth and falsehood,” Xu Huo said, stopping on the stairs and looking down at her from two steps above. ”You’re right that players will face increasing difficulties, but if you genuinely believe you can turn the tide for all humanity—frankly, that’s impossible.”

Gu Yu lifted her chin defiantly. ”You’re underestimating women.”

”This has nothing to do with gender. No single individual could accomplish that.”

”You think becoming a player makes you strong? Setting aside other factors, you can’t even manage the trading platform aspect. A D-level player could be handled by just two or three E-level players.”

”Furthermore, do you know how many Player-Eaters have been killed by the government? They died under the gunfire of what you call ordinary people.”

”So what?” Gu Yu hissed angrily, keeping her voice low. ”Should we abandon our efforts because it’s difficult? Are my goals laughable simply because I’m weak? Players might not be strong enough yet, but there are far more ordinary people. Should they just wait to die?”

Xu Huo chuckled in surprise. ”That’s not what I meant.”

Gu Yu pushed past him, taking two quick steps. ”Forget it! Talking to someone who’s content to muddle along is a waste of breath!”

She entered the room first without looking back. ”Is this the room you mentioned?”

”Yes—” Before Xu Huo could finish, he saw her produce a gun and fire three consecutive shots at the wall.

The weapon resembled an ordinary firearm in appearance but produced minimal sound when fired, more akin to a paintball gun. The projectiles it launched also carried distinct colors.

Three cyan bullets liquefied upon impact with the wall, instantly dissolving the wallpaper covering the black metal and revealing the dark metallic surface beneath.

”Still not working?” Gu Yu frowned, then adjusted a colored dial beneath the gun’s grip to the white setting before firing at the wall again.

The white bullet also dissolved like the cyan ones, but unlike its predecessor, the white liquid etched a shallow depression into the black metal wall. The mixture of liquids dripped to the floor where it quickly dried, solidifying into a metallic strip.

Gu Yu tested it—unbreakable by hand—and smirked triumphantly at Xu Huo. ”I acquired this gun through the Mutual Aid Society’s channels.”

”Impressive,” Xu Huo replied perfunctorily as he approached to examine the edges of the peeled wallpaper.

”Hey? There are drawings on this,” Gu Yu commented, peering closer.

”Blueprints,” Xu Huo corrected. During his initial room inspection, he had only lifted the wallpaper corners, never expecting the center section to conceal such secrets.

He asked Gu Yu to move objects away from the wall, then carefully removed the entire wallpaper section, revealing the complete schematic.

”What are all these circles and lines supposed to be?” Gu Yu asked, unable to decipher the drawing.

”Circuit diagrams, though different from what we commonly use.” Xu Huo pointed to three specific locations. ”Each of these spots contains a Pit Cage with corresponding electrical switches nearby.”

The diagram displayed the entire wiring distribution of Decibel Town, showing electrical lines running beneath every inch of the town’s territory—even extending to the surrounding forests and the outermost perimeter walls.

”Strange,” he murmured, his gaze fixed on the diagram’s edges.

Gu Yu, who had been trying to locate the switches, paused. ”What’s strange?”

”There are too many electrical switches along the walls.” Electrified gates for opening mechanisms made sense, but having switches every twenty meters along the perimeter walls seemed excessively abrupt.

”Maybe they’re mechanically assembled—installed but removable later,” Gu Yu suggested. ”Otherwise, how would they install seventy- to eighty-meter walls?”

”But all those switches are useless now anyway. The whole town has no electricity except those clocks that keep ringing.”

”If the Pit Cage switches still work, we could simply turn them off instead of dismantling buildings.”

”Can’t be turned off,” Xu Huo stated. ”Those are automatic switches. They close when the clocks chime and reopen afterward. Since the town’s clocks remain functional, the Pit Cage switches should also be operating correctly. Forcibly closing them would be pointless—they’d just reactivate at the designated time.”

Gu Yu opened her mouth to respond, but he continued, ”Damaging them isn’t an option either. These wires connect to both gates. This dungeon’s objective is to leave town, and the two gates currently appear to be the only exits. Risking gate mechanism damage wouldn’t be worth it.”

”Besides, the switches are probably underground. In a town this size, where would we even begin searching for access points?”

”All that excitement for nothing,” Gu Yu finally managed after a long pause. She began slowly moving room items to other chambers, planning to remove all wallpaper sections for inspection.

Since they needed to clear the room anyway, Xu Huo assisted, carrying toys, bedding, and even the notes on the floor that Gu Yu had overlooked.

Soon the room stood nearly empty. Together they removed the wallpaper, though this time they found nothing particularly useful.

”Time’s almost up,” Xu Huo said. ”We need to head out.”

When they returned to the main street, the bus was already accelerating toward them. Lin Pei and the other two were aboard—they had completed exploration of the town’s final area.

Lin Pei reported, ”The Mutant we just discovered was the same one that attacked us at the mayor’s office building. Currently, it appears there are only three Mutants in town.”