Players, Please Board the Train

The female player had nothing to say to him, but the big man beside her stepped forward to block him, warning him with his eyes not to approach.

Xu Huo snorted coldly and distanced himself from them.

Soon a large coach came driving from one end of the street. It screeched to a halt in front of them, and before it had even fully stopped, a long-faced man opened the door and shouted, ”Hurry up, everyone, hurry up! Time waits for no one.”

Xu Huo followed the female player and the other two onto the bus, and once aboard, he couldn’t help but pause: there were far too many people on the vehicle.

This bus resembled the coaches from his own world, only more spacious, with a table in front of each pair of seats. The vehicle could seat thirty people, and now with their group, it was almost at full capacity.

Could a single dungeon have this many players participating?

It seemed unlikely.

But if all these people were players, that wouldn’t be good news for them either.

The female player walking ahead subconsciously frowned before heading toward the last row, where the only three empty seats remained.

”Stop standing around, everyone take your seats,” the clearly identifiable long-faced tour guide said toward the front of the bus, calling out ”Drive!” The self-driving coach automatically started up and began moving forward smoothly and rapidly.Once the vehicle was in motion, he stood at the front addressing the full bus: ”Today’s final group of tourists has arrived. Everyone rest assured, the bus won’t make any more stops along the way. We’ll definitely reach the tourist city before dusk.”

The other tourists laughed, with one woman saying, ”I’ve traveled this route so many times, how could I not trust you? You’re famously punctual.”

”Since we have plenty of time anyway, why don’t you tell us more about the mutants in the old district!”

The long-faced tour guide smiled and said, ”It seems everyone is very interested in mutants.”

”Then everyone take out the brochures under your tables.”

Xu Huo followed the others in retrieving the thin booklet from under the tabletop—a slim color pamphlet. Aside from the first page featuring a brief introduction to Building Block Fairytale Tourist City, the rest was filled with illustrated guides to mutants, totaling up to sixteen different types.

Xu Huo followed the others in retrieving the thin booklet from under the tabletop—a slim color pamphlet. Aside from the first page featuring a brief introduction to Building Block Fairytale Tourist City, the rest was filled with illustrated guides to mutants, with up to sixteen different types.

”Everyone’s lucky today—we’ve caught the corrosion sea at low tide. This time every year, the most valuable type of fish-form mutant comes ashore to migrate,” the long-faced tour guide said.

”The algae-shell mutants!” the woman who had spoken earlier answered first.

”Exactly, the algae-shell mutants,” the long-faced tour guide clapped his hands once. ”After twenty years of evolution, the once-corrupted sea has now become farming grounds for algae-shells, and the mutants that entered ocean life after mutation became their perfect habitat.”

”During high tide, these algae-shells scatter their seeds onto the mutants’ skin. New algae-shells then parasitize the mutants, drawing nutrients from their bodies to grow, becoming exceptionally plump by low tide.”

”So not only will everyone get to see the rare algae-shell mutants later, but you’ll also get to taste exceptionally delicious algae-shells.”

As he described this, numerous swallowing sounds could actually be heard throughout the bus.

Even the long-faced tour guide himself jokingly wiped the corner of his mouth. ”Just thinking about that flavor makes my mouth water.”

Xu Huo flipped to the algae-shell mutant page. The photo showed a thin, emaciated person crawling out of purple seawater, its body surface covered with fish-scale-like lesions, which in turn were covered with rooted shellfish growths.

The roots of those shellfish dug into the mutant’s skin like plant rhizomes, crowded together like veins, apparently feeding on the mutant’s flesh as nutrients.

The appearance of being covered in shellfish was somewhat bizarre, but one could still recognize it as human.

”Mutants were originally human too. Can we really eat things that grow from their bodies?” a young man suddenly said from the front.

Seeing everyone on the bus turn their eyes toward him, he explained somewhat awkwardly: ”I was just asking casually...”

The long-faced tour guide didn’t mind, instead saying: ”You and the three friends who boarded later must be visiting the tourist city for the first time. I could tell at a glance.”

”None of us have eaten those algae-shells,” the female player said at this point.

The long-faced tour guide smiled. ”Of course not. Anyone who’s tasted algae-shells would never remember where they grew from.”

”You won’t understand even if I tell you now. When we get to the tourist city later, I’ll point out a few restaurants that serve algae-shells. Whether they’re delicious or not—you’ll only know by trying them.”

The female player nodded calmly and confidently.

Xu Huo flipped through the booklet and muttered: ”I wonder if they’re expensive.”

As the bus drove onto a suspension bridge, the long-faced tour guide spoke again: ”Everyone, this here is the feeding area.”

”Below are omnivorous mutants famous for their enormous appetites. Although their external degeneration isn’t obvious, their habits and instincts are no different from wild beasts, and they’re particularly vicious.”

”There have been accidents before where tourists fell to their deaths. Once you fall down, you’ll be completely devoured by the mutants before you even stop breathing. Everyone be careful when feeding.”

The guide’s words didn’t scare people; instead, they excited the returning tourists even more. They skillfully leaned out the windows, throwing down meat they had prepared in advance while pointing at particular mutants and laughing excitedly in their conversations.

At this point, the long-faced tour guide brought over a cage. When opened, it revealed some small live animals.

”Would you three like to try? Clearly marked—fifty white bills each.”

The female player’s expression darkened slightly as she turned away. ”Disgusting.”

”I’ll take one!” Xu Huo instead handed over a hundred white bills.

The long-faced tour guide pulled out a small monkey-like animal, gave him his change, and said: ”Hold on tight now. These dwarf monkeys are quite nimble.”

”You think I’d let it escape?” Xu Huo patted his chest confidently, but as soon as he took it, the little monkey clawed him twice, kicked off his face, and leaped out the window!

Amid the bus tourists’ uproarious laughter, they all looked toward where the little monkey had escaped. ”This should be good entertainment!”

The suspension bridge’s railings were made of some unknown material—the little monkey couldn’t get stable footing when it jumped onto them and fell directly toward the bridge below. Simultaneously, three mutants leaped out from different directions, tearing it into pieces mid-air. The blood and organs that sprayed down were licked clean by other mutants surging forward.

In two to three seconds, nothing remained except some blood stains.

Xu Huo narrowed his eyes, but then heard the long-faced tour guide say: ”Aside from the tourist routes in this farming area, everywhere else is mutant territory. Anything living that goes in won’t come out intact.”

After speaking, he handed over a tube of ointment. ”Specialized scratch medicine. Fifty white bills.”

”Did you do that on purpose?” Xu Huo turned back angrily.

”When you’re traveling, don’t be so stingy. That monkey was captured from the contaminated zone. If you get scratched, your wound might fester. Fifty white bills to avoid a rotting hand—that’s a good deal.” The long-faced tour guide forcibly took the white bills Xu Huo hadn’t yet managed to pocket.