Players, Please Board the Train

Xu Huo entered the room. The stack of metal square boxes originally placed on the chair automatically flew up, moved onto the table, and neatly arranged themselves alongside those already on the table, then shifted to both sides of the table.

A projection light flickered on behind the square boxes, but from his angle, he could only see static snow.

”So you’re the player who dumped the train carriage on the tracks. Thanks to you, the Track Supply Department’s budget for this month has pretty much all gone into towing and repairs,” a voice came from behind. A messy, curly-haired head popped up halfway—it belonged to a middle-aged man who looked somewhat advanced in years.

Xu Huo smiled apologetically. ”I didn’t know at the time. I just wanted to get rid of the carriage-chasing monster quickly.”

”In a situation like that, making that choice is understandable. But players willing to deal with us afterward usually have one of two goals: either they want to infiltrate the base, or they want to join the base to escape the endless dungeons,” the curly-haired man said, his hands constantly sliding over the square boxes, clearly just taking a brief break from his work to chat. ”Which one are you?”

This wasn’t surprising. The train ticket was essentially a portable teleporter. As long as they weren’t in a dungeon, players could use the ticket to leave from anywhere. Ordinary methods couldn’t restrain players. Under normal circumstances, players wouldn’t specifically come to the Game Government base to register. Those willing and daring to come naturally had other motives.

Xu Huo didn’t avoid the other man’s gaze and answered frankly, ”To settle down in a new place, you at least need a place to stay.”

The curly-haired man lifted his eyelids to glance at him. ”The base doesn’t offer any protective measures to players. If you’re seeking the base’s protection, you might have miscalculated.”

Xu Huo smiled. ”Of course not. The base is a fortress. If even a base built by the Game isn’t safe, then I don’t know where in the Game would be safe.”

The curly-haired man curled his lip, pulled out a metal square box, and opened it. After the projection started, a bee-like flying device aimed at Xu Huo’s face.”Answer if you know what I’m asking about,” he said, appearing nonchalant. ”Have you ever seen a player who released small blood mutants before?”

”No.”

”Did you notice anything unusual related to that during the journey?”

”That person harbored deep hatred for the Track Supply Department. He probably came specifically to sabotage the train,” Xu Huo said. The Track Supply Department should have known this already, otherwise they wouldn’t have arranged people to guard the train in advance.

The curly-haired man wasn’t surprised. ”Anything else?”

”That carriage-chasing monster didn’t seem like a living thing,” Xu Huo said in an uncertain tone. ”When I fought it, I realized it didn’t have a heartbeat.”

The curly-haired man looked up. ”You’re a D-level player with an evolution rate of only 20%. How did you discover the blood mutant had no heartbeat?”

”Special evolution in hearing,” Xu Huo replied without changing his expression. ”I can occasionally hear some unusual sounds.”

”Your observation skills are quite good. But that blood mutant was alive. Some individual mutants undergo mutations during degeneration,” the curly-haired man explained. ”That mutant had a sac-like cavity growing outside its heart. Its internal organ structure was completely different from a human’s, which is also why it grew wing bones.”

”So that’s how it was,” Xu Huo said. After answering a few more trivial questions, the curly-haired man tapped the communicator attached to his forearm. ”Old Shi, come over here.”

Shi Youzhi arrived quickly. The curly-haired man said, ”Take him to get an identification document.”

Then he turned back to Xu Huo. ”Whatever your reason for coming here, you helped us on the train. Consider this a token of gratitude, to save you the trouble of applying at the District 011 government office. Their procedures are a hassle.”

Xu Huo expressed his thanks. Shi Youzhi glanced at him. ”Follow me.”

The two went to the room Shi Youzhi had entered earlier. While it was called processing identification, in reality, they just gave Xu Huo a diamond-shaped crystal chip, as thin as a layer of adhesive tape. There was no identity verification or input of personal information.

”This is a citizen certificate. It’s unregistered, only has a serial number. Anyone who gets it can use it. If it’s lost or stolen, you can report it,” Shi Youzhi explained. ”This thing is equivalent to a recognition certificate issued by District 011. You can use it to enter some high-end public places. It’s usable in the Game Partition where District 011’s main city is located and in other subordinate partitions.”

”Can’t everyone enter public areas?” Xu Huo realized that the highly advanced District 011 actually stratified locals and outsiders.

”Of course not,” Shi Youzhi said, giving him another look. ”But there aren’t many places that require identification.”

”By the way, if I want to buy or sell items, where can I go?” Xu Huo asked again.

”The main city district has many government-established exchanges with transparent prices, though they sell for a premium. There are also private shops opened by players. Some nearby city districts have underground channels too, but I advise you not to go to those places,” Shi Youzhi cautioned.

Xu Huo smiled and thanked him, handing him a pack of cigarettes bought from the hotel. ”I’m new here, don’t have anything impressive to offer.”

Shi Youzhi snorted and took it.

The tobacco in District 011 was long different from what Xu Huo knew. What was called cigarettes were actually closer to potions, usable for drinking or vaporization.

District 011 had a deep level of gamification, and its potion industry was rich in variety. Adding mild hallucinogens and stimulants to cigarettes was legal, with all sorts of effects available. The pack he gave Shi Youzhi was specifically for relieving fatigue and was priced high.

At that moment, Xu Huo’s communicator flashed. Shi Youzhi glanced at it and paused his smoking motion. ”You know Ran Ying from the Enforcement Department?”

”Ran into her by chance after coming out of a dungeon,” Xu Huo said. Ran Ying had already called several times. He had just switched the communicator to visual mode before entering the door.

Walking outside, he answered the call. ”Captain Ran, hello.”

Ran Ying’s projection appeared in the corridor. Her voice was bright and cheerful. ”Where did you run off to so early in the morning? Didn’t we agree to have a meal together?”

”You said that. I never agreed,” Xu Huo shook his head helplessly, then added, ”But I do have some business. I came to the base to handle something.”

Ran Ying paused. ”You have acquaintances at the base?”

”Not exactly acquaintances...” Before Xu Huo could finish, the glass door behind him opened. Shi Youzhi walked out and said to Ran Ying’s projection, ”It’s me, Shi Youzhi. I asked Xu Huo to come process a citizen certificate.”

The communicator could only transmit the appearance of the two parties on the call in real-time, not record the surrounding environment, but sounds could still be heard.

Upon hearing this, Ran Ying raised her voice. ”Captain Shi, why are you stealing from me? I finally met a young guy I click with. If you get him his certificate, what am I supposed to do?”

Shi Youzhi’s attitude wasn’t exactly friendly. ”Use the old method—throw money at it. You’re constantly clicking with people every other day.”

”Don’t slander me. Those are all rumors,” Ran Ying emphasized, then steered the topic back to Xu Huo. ”Let’s have lunch together later, okay?”