Players, Please Board the Train

”Where is he?” Liu Zhengping was the first to lose patience and speak up, stepping out from behind the tree. At that moment, You Qiwen, who was nearby, suddenly shouted, ”Watch out!” and threw a bean-sized point of light into the sky. The bean flew seven or eight meters high before erupting in a brilliant glow, instantly illuminating the woods—within the tangle of branches and leaves, a giant spider was suspended, its scythe-like legs reaching down toward the ground!

”What the hell is that thing?!” Liu Zhengping kicked off the ground, abruptly retreating ten meters in an instant.

Wei Landeng, off to the side, raised a toy rocket launcher and pulled the trigger. The liquid it sprayed drenched the Spider-Man, forming long, sticky threads that dripped and stretched across its human torso and legs. ”Is that Mr. Dong?”

”It’s him! It’s an item!” You Qiwen held a sword hilt and slashed through the air. A blade composed of electrical current automatically manifested ahead, striking the Spider-Man. As the electricity hit, Fleischer, from behind, charged to the front of the Spider-Man, made a motion as if pressing his hands down on a table, and roared, ”Face-to-Face Negotiation!”

The struggling Spider-Man was bound by a special force, its legs uncontrollably lowering, further entangled by the electrical current. It convulsed and crashed to the ground.

”Draw the Ground as a Prison!” Chen Tu slapped the ground. Behind him, Chen Nan leaped into the air, driving both knees toward the Spider-Man. A golden arc shockwave struck the Spider-Man squarely in the lower back, slamming it hard into the muddy earth.

At that moment, Xu Huo swung his chainsaw down at the Spider-Man, but to his surprise, upon contact with the creature’s body, the chainsaw automatically softened into harmless rubber!

The ”Target-Specific Chainsaw” only works on people!

Xu Huo’s eyes flickered with a change. He swiftly disengaged from the fight. The Chen Brothers, having completed their combo attack, also retreated before their characteristic ability expired. Wei Landeng and Liu Zhengping promptly moved in to cover, one bombarding with corrosive bullets, the other manipulating the plants in the woods to bind the Spider-Man’s legs.

The group of players coordinated fairly well, but Xu Huo knew it was ultimately futile. If the Spider-Man’s attributes weren’t human, it was highly likely a sentient item. Special items aren’t easily destroyed. Moreover, from the moment they met, the Spider-Man hadn’t even attacked!Sure enough, the next second it moved. Breaking free from Fleischer’s ”Face-to-Face Negotiation,” it swiftly scurried toward the maze garden!

”Don’t let it escape!” Fleischer immediately gave chase, simultaneously shouting ahead, ”Intimate Distance!”

The ”fleeing” Spider-Man seemed to step onto a conveyor belt, visibly being pulled back a short distance. But it quickly used its spider legs to prop itself up and jumped into the maze garden.

The players stopped outside the floral walls. Liu Zhengping asked, ”Do we go in?”

”Go in! Everyone, be careful, don’t get separated!” You Qiwen was the first to vault into the garden maze.

Wei Landeng and Fleischer followed behind him.

The Chen Brothers looked at Xu Huo. The two brothers hadn’t spoken much along the way, but they harbored doubts in their hearts.

The missing players were presumed dead by default, but no one had witnessed the actual killings. The disappearances of Li Chao and the Ma couple were explained by Hu Shan and Mr. Dong respectively. In this dungeon, it seemed perfectly reasonable to assume they died at their hands.

Earlier, they found it strange why, if Xu Huo was the killer, Mr. Dong would proactively come out and say the two had left. Now, seeing the Spider-Man, they felt something was off again. Perhaps they had misunderstood. Xu Huo saying the Ma couple were dead didn’t necessarily mean he killed them; he might have seen Mr. Dong commit the murders.

Xu Huo, however, now took out the Sound-Muffling Figurine and said to them, ”Cover for me. I’m going back to the main building.”

Though the Chen Brothers looked puzzled, they didn’t press for details. Time was limited, after all. They nodded and entered the maze one after the other.

Xu Huo circled around from the side and headed back toward the front main building.

Realizing Mr. Dong might be an item made him aware of the earlier point of unease.

Mr. Dong had a very good relationship with He Pu from five years ago, but this current He Pu was clearly no longer the original one. Although Mr. Dong would create minor troubles, he didn’t exhibit the normal, expected reactions, such as hatred or reckless destruction. Instead, he still played the role of the butler.

This was likely because the item itself didn’t possess complete thoughts or emotions, appearing more ”rational.”

Then the relationship between him and He Pu wasn’t that complicated. Regarding the existence of the current He Pu, Mr. Dong was clearly dissatisfied, hence he killed the ”extra guests” He Pu invited. The reason he didn’t target He Pu might simply be because he couldn’t. Acting according to the butler’s identity had nothing to do with ”enduring humiliation to accomplish a task”; it might just be instinct.

Just like the Painting Woman. She looks human and imitates human behavior and emotions, but she herself has no intuitive concept of ”emotions.”

Applying this to He Pu’s situation: if Mr. Dong was his item, controlling an item should be easy. Why would he let Mr. Dong kill his guests? Precisely because he isn’t the original He Pu, even within his own dungeon territory, he can’t deal with Mr. Dong.

Thus, He Pu’s purpose in inviting non-mission players becomes obvious: he’s calling for external reinforcements.

Furthermore, the unsigned invitations have circulated for a long time, and the Rose Castle dungeon has a high mortality rate. Slaughtering mission players for amusement and targeting Mr. Dong aren’t mutually exclusive. Mission players have level restrictions; non-mission players do not.

The dungeon’s second task is to uncover the truth. The reason for the vanished guests certainly lies with these key figures in the castle, but the truth is something deeper. What Xu Huo has deduced from the information he’s gathered so far should be closest to the truth.

Although he mostly knows the truth, He Pu definitely won’t let players clear the dungeon easily. And while Mr. Dong harbors no malice toward players, that doesn’t mean he’ll show them mercy. Getting him to reveal the ”vanished guests” would be difficult.

However, luck was on his side; he discovered someone hiding within the castle.

The three dead players were nailed down facts, but the two missing ones weren’t necessarily dead.

If one of those two wasn’t dead, then the energy he sensed inside the wall of He Pu’s room during dinner was most likely a player.

There was no need to go to the third floor, nor to Hu Shan’s or Mr. Dong’s rooms. If the person hiding in the wall really was a player, they absolutely wouldn’t dare go there while those three were in their rooms.

Using the Sound-Muffling Figurine to conceal his own sound, Xu Huo didn’t have much trouble finding him in You Qiwen’s room.

That guy had noticed him. Perhaps thinking he hadn’t been exposed, he instead stayed hidden inside the wall without leaving.

Xu Huo didn’t even look in his direction. Flipping open the Adult Fairy Tale Book, he simultaneously sent the flying sword piercing toward the wall!

A trail of blood flowed down the sword blade. He strode over, pulled the sword out, and a human-shaped object was dragged out from the wall. The brick-like pattern covering its body receded like leeches—a person, gripping the sword, knelt on the ground.

[Congratulations, player Extra, for finding a ”Vanished Guest.” Will you submit the truth behind the guests’ disappearance?]