Players, Please Board the Train

Xu Huo remained perfectly clear-headed. He knew Xu Zhi was already dead, and even though he had seen Xu Zhi in the hospital, it was merely his own hallucination.

This hospital might not be the actual dungeon location, but it undoubtedly affected people’s mental states.

The ”real world” seen after escaping, the ”family members” who forcibly delivered him to the hospital for treatment, the visiting ”relatives”—they were all steps designed to destroy one’s inner mental world.

When your most certain, deeply ingrained beliefs are overturned, anyone would start to doubt themselves. Everyone who entered this place was affected to some degree, and the worse a person’s mental state became, the more complete this psychiatric hospital seemed to grow.

”Xu Huo?” Yu Qingqing waved her hand in front of his eyes.

”I want to change clothes,” Xu Huo said as he walked toward his ward. Entering the room, he opened his wardrobe to find a complete set of new clothes and shoes inside.

After changing out of his patient gown, he headed to the Visiting Room.

By now, night had fallen.

Xu Huo’s Father and Ms. Fang were leaning against each other, their eyes reddening when they saw him. Xu Zhi stood to the side, looking considerably more mature and somewhat more weathered than Xu Huo remembered.

”You didn’t shave,” Xu Huo pointed at Xu Zhi’s chin.Xu Zhi smiled faintly, ”I’ve been swamped lately, didn’t have time to tidy up. You look pretty well-groomed though, that’s good.”

They all sat down. Ms. Fang first asked how he was doing in the hospital, if he was in good spirits, if he had enough food and supplies, then pulled out a large bag of clothes she had prepared in advance.

Xu Huo took the items, then turned to Xu Zhi, ”I heard you went abroad. What kind of work are you doing now?”

”Nothing too formal, just giving lectures here and there,” Xu Zhi appeared quite weary. ”I still want to open my own research institute and work for myself. Being an employee means taking orders from others—it’s neither free nor comfortable.”

”Working for yourself is good. Do you need money?” Xu Huo asked.

Xu Zhi chuckled, ”If I needed money, could I really ask you for it?”

”Don’t worry, I’m not short on money, and neither is the family. Mom, Dad, and I are all doing fine. We just miss you sometimes. Stay here and behave yourself. I’ll come pick you up in a little while, and then our whole family can go on a road trip together.”

Xu Huo reached his hand out toward him.

”What’s this for?” Xu Zhi looked at him strangely.

”Did you bring the key?” Xu Huo asked.

Xu Zhi’s expression slowly changed. The gentle smile vanished, replaced by a cold sternness tinged with sorrow. He asked, ”Can’t you just live a normal life properly? Mom and Dad are both hoping for you to come home.”

”Family remains family whether together or apart. That doesn’t change based on whether I’m normal or not,” Xu Huo withdrew his hand. ”All these years, I’ve kept remembering how you looked when you were shot. You left without saying a single word. Mom was depressed for two years, then divorced Dad and went abroad. Dad started a new family. On the surface, it seems we’ve all moved forward, but this chapter can never be turned.”

”Now there’s a chance to turn this chapter.”

Xu Zhi began to cry, slowly taking a key from his bag and placing it on the table. ”Xu Huo, please don’t forget me.”

”I won’t,” Xu Huo picked up the key. The door appeared before his eyes once more, and he stepped back onto the Spiral Staircase, starting to run downward at an accelerating pace.

Soon, the first figure appeared, followed by a second, then a third.

These three figures followed behind him. After none could catch up to the others, they disappeared one by one. After some time, the process repeated itself.

A full twenty-four hours passed like this before he finally reached the bottom of the tower. This time, the Circular Tower wasn’t as bright as before. In the dimness, the black slip on the round table had enlarged, while the Playing Card, the blood-stained dagger, and the White-covered Book all appeared dull and faded.

Xu Huo walked over and sat down, placing both hands on the table. The White-covered Book began to glow first.

Several minutes later, the black slip shrank. Simultaneously, the interior of the tower began to brighten. The light became so intense it was blinding at one point, causing him to instinctively close his eyes. But when he opened them again, three additional chairs had appeared around the round table. Sitting on them were three mannequin-like silhouettes—three featureless black shadows without facial contours. They all turned their heads to look at him.

Xu Huo didn’t speak. Instead, he tried to open the book in front of him, but it wouldn’t open.

After a half-hour standoff, one of the shadows raised its Playing Card and asked him, ”What suit do you think this is?”

The voice was identical to his own, but the pitch was slightly higher, with a mocking tone.

”Hearts,” Xu Huo answered the question.

The Playing Card was placed back on the table, this time face-up. It was an ”Ace of Hearts,” but the suit visibly melted away.

Xu Huo frowned. The shadow behind the Playing Card disappeared.

The second shadow picked up the dagger, its voice flat and emotionless: ”Whose blood?”

”Xu Zhi’s.”

The shadow stabbed the dagger into its own chest, then promptly vanished as well.

Now only one shadow remained, along with the black slip in front of it.

The third shadow didn’t ask a question. Instead, it patted the black slip. The object, which had been lying on the table like paper, suddenly transformed into a shadow and rapidly expanded, submerging everything including the Circular Tower and the Spiral Staircase, leaving only Xu Huo and the White-covered Book in front of him.

Xu Huo couldn’t see himself. He could only see the book before him, so he reached out, took hold of it, and opened the cover.

White spread out from the book, quickly carving a path through the pure blackness. It led to the Spiral Staircase, then coiled upward, dyeing all the stone steps white. The uneven stone surfaces churned violently like boiling water, only calming down after several minutes, gradually becoming smooth and level.

Xu Huo glanced around his surroundings. Without lingering too long, he stepped back onto the Spiral Staircase.

The new steps felt like water surfaces; with each step, ripples spread out in circles, and the white color diffused slightly around him. As he walked, the originally regular step edges curved and overlapped in arcs, their area expanding accordingly.

Exiting the Circular Tower led directly to his own room. Xu Huo rubbed his temples and sat down on the bed, contemplating how he could gain control over that Circular Tower.

”Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang!” Urgent knocking sounded on his door. Turning, he saw it was the tall dark man and said, ”The door isn’t locked.”

The tall dark man frantically turned the door handle, but the door wouldn’t open. He said in a panicked voice, ”Please, open the door for me...”

Xu Huo realized the other man’s mental power had strengthened. He quickly went over and opened the door. The tall dark man squeezed inside and immediately slammed the door shut, locking it while saying, ”There’s a weirdo chasing me!”

”There’s nothing out there,” Xu Huo glanced outside.

”There is! There is!” The tall dark man was extremely agitated, leaning against the door and peeking cautiously through a corner of the glass window. ”He has stitches on his face! Clearly a man, but he’s attached a woman’s hand, and it has manicured nails... Ah! I overheard the doctors talking when I came out! They’re going to use us for human experiments, turn us into monsters too!”

Xu Huo knocked the man out with one punch, then dragged him to a corner. ”Stay put for a while. If you actually manage to imagine that weirdo into existence, I’ll be in trouble too.”