Players, Please Board the Train

[Congratulations to Player Extra for obtaining a Super Item. As this Super Item is the first Super Item in E27 Wormhole Point Zone 014, and the third Super Item in E27 Wormhole Point, the game will issue a system-wide announcement. All players in E27 Wormhole Point will receive this information in ten seconds.]

[This announcement conceals player nickname and ID number, only publicly disclosing the Super Item acquisition zone. Players, please continue your efforts.]

At the first glimpse of the message, Xu Huo’s back instantly stiffened, only relaxing after reading the second half.

Ordinary items were enough to make regular players fight to the death, let alone a Super Item that triggered a full wormhole point announcement upon acquisition. Not just ordinary players, but even government agencies like the Special Affairs Department would be tempted.

His nickname information wasn’t completely confidential—at the very least, all players from the Headhunter Demon dungeon knew it, and the Special Affairs Department had captured Player-Eater Liu Yuanyuan, so they should know some of his information.

It wasn’t surprising that the game might have player level rankings or dungeon rating leaderboards—nicknames and ID numbers couldn’t be kept secret forever. But he never expected a system-wide announcement would suddenly happen because of a Super Item. Fortunately, the game concealed identity information, otherwise the first ones coming after him wouldn’t be players from other zones.

”Brother Xu!” Yuan Yao suddenly got excited, pulling out his phone and typing a line: ”You got the announcement too?”

Xu Huo narrowed his eyes at him, scrutinizing his expression.

”Holy shit! This is amazing! A system-wide announcement! Even though I don’t know what it actually is, anything that makes the game announce it to players must be a top-tier item!”

”No idea what this E27-014 place is either, but someone actually got a Super Item there!”Huang Junjie reached over from beside them and tapped the numbers on the phone screen. ”This number—it’s on our return tickets.”

The return tickets obtained from the Headhunter Demon dungeon had the same numbering.

”You mean...” Yuan Yao’s mouth hung open, opening and closing several times before he managed: ”It’s from our side...!”

”Can’t say for sure.” Huang Junjie shook his head. The game only notified about 014, but their return tickets actually had several more digits after that.

”Brother Xu, analyze this for us.” Yuan Yao nudged Xu Huo with his elbow.

Huang Junjie could tell Xu Huo was in a bad mood and lowered his voice: ”Let’s talk after we get back.”

The car soon arrived at Xu Huo’s home. Once the three closed the door, Yuan Yao started talking nonstop like firecrackers: ”Brother Xu, what does this E27-014 actually mean?”

”I know the game world is huge, maybe even parallel worlds exist, but these numbers mean that player is like us, right?”

”Do you think they might be from our country?”

”If they’re from our country that would be great! Any player who can get a Super Item must be super strong. If nothing else, when countries clash later we’ll have an advantage!”

”If unfortunately they’re not our compatriot, at least don’t let them be from those major powers, so everyone can remain balanced.”

Xu Huo pinched the bridge of his nose. ”This isn’t good news.”

”Why do you say that?” Huang Junjie immediately asked.

Xu Huo glanced at him, his gaze turning cold.

Huang Junjie met his look frankly, clearly hinting at his suspicion.

That’s right—Huang Junjie suspected that he was the one who obtained the Super Item. His reaction when receiving the notification had been too strange.

”Why why? I want to know too.” Yuan Yao didn’t notice the tension between the two.

Xu Huo withdrew his gaze and briefly explained about the game’s zone divisions. ”E27-014 represents the 14th sub-zone under E27 Wormhole Point. My return ticket has A07 after it—this should be a regional code.”

”Mine is A07 too, so that means us three are in the same region of the same sub-zone under the same wormhole point.” Yuan Yao said: ”But the game didn’t notify which region that player is from. It would be terrible if they’re on the other side of the ocean.”

Xu Huo shook his head. ”That’s minor. Zone 014 is a new game sub-zone—there are at least thirteen sub-zones before it. Evolvers have appeared in Zone 009 for over five years—the earlier zones must have been around even longer.”

”That means countless high-level players.” Huang Junjie understood, his expression turning grim.

”What about high-level players?” Yuan Yao said: ”Zone 014 just entered the game recently, there should be some kind of newbie protection period, right?”

”Whether it exists or not doesn’t make much difference.” Xu Huo said: ”Players can move between sub-zones. With this announcement, countless players will find ways to come to Zone 014. While low-level players might be restricted, high-level players won’t be contained. Whether a hundred come or just ten, this world will be thrown into turmoil.”

Actually, this newbie protection period was more like Schrödinger’s cat—it might exist or it might not, because in the Slaughterhouse dungeon, players from other zones had come with tickets, and Eagle who tried to establish the Holy Sword Society organization had come from another sub-zone planning to stay permanently.

”Hunting players, slaughtering ordinary people, even taking control of countries—all of these could happen.”

Gloom lingered in Xu Huo’s eyes. What worried him now was that high-level players might have methods to detect Super Items.

Nothing could leave absolutely no traces. ”Three Seconds of a Life” could rewind time, causing changes in space and time. Since Super Items reached this level, there must be items that could detect these signs!

In an instant, he simulated many methods to eliminate traces, but decided to abandon them just seconds later.

Because whether he destroyed the surveillance or simply burned the villa down, the commotion would only draw attention. On the contrary, doing nothing would make it harder to trace it back to him amidst the numerous random dungeons worldwide.

There was another problem too—Painting Woman who followed him.

Painting Woman was also a Super Item.

Although he learned this from other players, now that he knew the characteristics of Super Items—that Painting Woman could transform from painting to human and possess intelligence—she undoubtedly fit the description as a Super Item.

How should he handle her?

”It can’t be that serious, right? No matter how powerful, it’s just an item. Would it really start wars?” The living room remained quiet for a long while before Yuan Yao finally spoke with a shudder.

”Even the tip of the iceberg we’ve seen shows how advanced the Dimensional Rift game is. Trains that can travel through space—this is something our current technology can’t even imagine! And those items that defy common sense—what we’ve obtained are only the lowest level!” Huang Junjie now understood the gravity too. ”The power possessed by high-level items is unimaginable. In this intensely competitive game, this is also players’ foundation for survival. What do ordinary people and ordinary countries matter in the eyes of players wielding such advanced power?”

”Then what should we do?” Yuan Yao looked at them.

”If players from other zones truly can’t be blocked... when the time comes, we can only rely on the power of the state machinery.” Xu Huo said.

*

In the brief time they were talking, worldwide, the leaders of countries that knew the truth gathered at the fastest possible speed to vote on a highest-level military operation.

Just thirty minutes later, various commands were sequentially issued, spreading through the nation’s branches and leaves at maximum speed.

Ting City First Research Institute also received notification three minutes earlier.

Nie Xuan listened to Team Leader Wu’s words with shock and anger: ”Transfer me to Capital City? Why!”

”Isn’t the top priority right now finding that player?”

Team Leader Wu gestured for him to calm down. ”Finding one player nationwide is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Even if we search, the other party won’t reveal themselves willingly.”

”The country needs to prepare for potential major disasters, planning to protect a group of promising players in advance.”

”You’re a rare outstanding talent and the nation’s future. Whether this catastrophe comes or not, preserving the seeds gives us hope!”

”What about the other players?” Nie Xuan said coldly. ”The players the country has integrated so far are only a minority. Many promising players are still being recruited. Are we just abandoning them?”

”The country can’t protect everyone.” Team Leader Wu said seriously. ”Those players, the Special Affairs Department, ordinary public servants, and even me—we all must become barriers protecting the nation!”

Nie Xuan’s gaze turned icy. ”Simply put, you’re giving up on them?”