Players, Please Board the Train

After announcing the game rules, all the screens simultaneously went dark again.

As the broadcast ended, half the entire city fell into dead silence.

About thirty seconds later, everyone’s phones began continuously ringing with message notifications.

In an instant, the entire city boiled over like bubbling water. Within just a few minutes, videos and information about the Black and White Life-and-Death Game spread rapidly online.

Most people maintained an attitude of disbelief, but as more people attempted to exit the giant roulette wheel, the death toll sharply climbed. The government had no choice but to issue warnings, instructing everyone to remain in place and await rescue.

Xu Huo kept scrolling through videos. Whether on the ground or in the air, in vehicles or helicopters, once anything entered the black and white roulette’s range, attempting to exit only resulted in exploding into a bloody flower. Numerous cars and helicopters crashed or plummeted, with black smoke billowing around the black roulette area.

Some people experimented with cats and dogs, but they similarly couldn’t escape death.

”So once you enter the life-and-death game, unless you participate, there’s no way to get out alive?”

He frowned while staring at the black squares on the ground. Zone 014 had entered the game too recently—the vast majority of players were still completing closed dungeons. Even including himself, they hadn’t even grasped the basic rules, let alone understood the game system. They couldn’t even imagine what functions items might have.

But regardless, the current Black and White Life-and-Death Game didn’t seem explainable by items. However, dungeon backgrounds and missions should be announced by the game system. Could it be that advanced players who can initiate dungeons need to personally declare the rules?No, the Skinner’s dungeon was also a mobile dungeon, and its mission was notified by the game.

”Fake! It must be fake!” the chef suddenly shouted. ”What black and white life-and-death nonsense! It’s all lies meant to scare people!”

”There’s a madman planting bombs on people! I need to get out of here!” As he spoke, he threw off his apron and went to grab his keys.

”Master, don’t be impulsive!” his assistant quickly grabbed him. ”Look at the videos online—those people explode as soon as they step out of the roulette! Even police and military can’t escape! There’s no way out right now!”

”I don’t believe it! The videos must be fake too!” Veins bulged on the chef’s forehead as he shoved his assistant away. Just as he was about to open the door, Xu Huo intercepted his hand: ”The explosions so far have all been people outside. Staying here is currently the safest option.”

These words successfully stopped the chef. He stared at Xu Huo for two seconds, then dry-heaved at the blood clot on the door.

”Brother, what should we do?” Wang Chaoqing moved closer to ask.

Xu Huo looked at Painting Woman. ”Can you sense whether this is an item or a dungeon?”

Painting Woman shook her head.

”What’s the difference between items and dungeons?” Wang Chaoqing pressed, confused.

”If it’s a dungeon, players and non-players inside have no way out except by participating in the game. But if it’s an item, maybe we can escape using train tickets.”

Item rules shouldn’t override game dungeon mechanics.

”I don’t have a train ticket...” Wang Chaoqing first showed disappointment, then looked at Xu Huo with wild excitement. ”Brother! You must have train tickets!”

”Give me one! I’ll definitely listen to you from now on, I’ll do whatever you say!”

Xu Huo shook off the hand gripping him. ”Even if I give you one, can you guarantee you’ll survive other dungeons?”

”Who cares if I can or not! Anything’s better than being here!”

”You’ll do whatever I say?” Xu Huo asked again.

Wang Chaoqing nodded repeatedly.

”Fine. Before giving you a ticket, go to the skyscraper first.”

Wang Chaoqing’s expression immediately changed. ”That’s the center of the roulette! Even I’m not stupid enough to think that’s not dangerous! I’m not going!”

”Then no ticket.” Xu Huo didn’t force him.

Wang Chaoqing’s eyes turned furious, but before he could erupt, Painting Woman slapped him back into submission.

”Are you players?” The server who had climbed on the table earlier spoke up: ”You know so much, you must be players, right? Was the person who appeared on the big screen also a player?”

”If you’re all players, you must have some method, right?”

The two men sitting dejectedly to the side and the several servers huddled together all looked up at Xu Huo’s group of three.

”I have no methods.” Xu Huo said without changing expression.

”But you’re a player too!” a male server said instinctively.

”Never played online games?” Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. ”Can you just climb ranks whenever you want?”

”What about train tickets? You mentioned them earlier.” The manager hurriedly interjected.

”Wishful thinking! Only players can use train tickets!” Wang Chaoqing retorted bitterly, full of resentment.

The light in the eyes of the several people in the shop immediately extinguished again.

”I don’t want to die...” another female server began crying.

”Maybe the situation isn’t that bad, so many people are fine...” The chef’s assistant’s comforting words weren’t finished when his expression suddenly stiffened, then his eyes went vacant as he stared forward: ”There’s a roulette! A roulette appeared!”

Xu Huo followed his gaze but saw nothing. He quickly asked: ”Describe what the roulette you see looks like.”

But the assistant didn’t respond. Instead, he screamed ”The countdown has started!” and his eyes rolled back!

Xu Huo quickly grabbed him and pressed his philtrum acupoint. After a few seconds, the man came around, but his eyes still wouldn’t focus as he mumbled deliriously to himself: ”I’m going to die, I’m going to die...”

Painting Woman raised her hand and slapped him across the face. The assistant staggered and fell to the ground, simply sitting there shaking, completely deaf to the outside world and unresponsive to pain.

Xu Huo’s heart sank. He had initially thought this might be a luck-based game, but now it appeared otherwise.

Looking back out at the square, among those who hadn’t escaped in time and some who had returned, several were experiencing the same condition. No matter how much people around them kicked or hit them, they couldn’t regain consciousness. Their awareness seemed separated from their bodies—eyes wide open staring forward, some collapsing where they stood, others running around in a dazed madness—but all continuously repeating the words ”countdown” over and over.

Even under intense stress, ten minutes should be enough for someone to gradually calm down and regain rationality, not become controlled by fear to the point of madness like this.

This roulette game must definitely affect people’s mental state.

”How is he?” The people in the shop, frightened by the chef assistant’s condition, backed away. Only the female server who had climbed on the table earlier asked Xu Huo.

”Depends on his luck.” Xu Huo glanced at the man whose face had swollen, then added: ”Stay calm. This is just a game with a fifty percent survival rate. Don’t let fear control you.”

Hearing this made them even more terrified.

But Xu Huo didn’t give them time to adjust, continuing directly: ”Panic won’t help. Better to use this fifty percent survival chance to find ways to save yourselves.”

”So what should we do...” the table-climbing female server asked with trembling lips: ”I’ll listen to you...”

The others showed no reaction, but Xu Huo didn’t care, continuing: ”When the game starts and the roulette appears, others probably can’t see it. So if you enter the game, try to verbalize everything you see.”

”Even if you can’t perceive the external world, you can still speak and move. Focus your energy on the roulette—the more details you can describe, the better.”

”I suspect this game is connected to mental willpower. Maintaining clarity can only help.”

”So that means people who see the roulette earlier have a higher chance of dying...” The manager’s face turned pale as he lunged toward the chef’s assistant. ”Say something!”

But just then, the assistant suddenly raised his hand. ”I’m going to spin it I’m going to spin it I’ll definitely be fine my luck is really good...”

”Boom!” His entire body exploded!

”Ah!!!” The servers who had just washed their faces were again splattered with blood. As they screamed and ran for the door, consecutive explosions occurred among people in the square too!

Everyone inside and outside the door went completely mad with fear, with crying and screaming erupting everywhere simultaneously!