Players, Please Board the Train

Deng Xuan stared at the young man in the tracksuit until he had walked back the same way he came, then reached out to grip his shoulder. ”Friend, are you looking for someone?”

The young man looked at him strangely. Deng Xuan let go of his hand. ”Sorry, my mistake.”

The young man nodded and walked out. Deng Xuan spoke into his communicator behind his back. ”Brother Jing, I’m heading back first.”

Deng Xuan left the store and walked into the crowd. His two companions outside also dispersed in different directions.

Xu Huo, sipping his juice, chose a different direction to walk. Deng Xuan and his two companions’ attention on him lasted less than half a minute. From the moment he left the drink shop, they didn’t focus on him anymore. However, two other people, positioned further apart, kept their eyes on him until he left the shopping mall’s area. One of them even followed him all the way to the comprehensive transit station.

Pretending not to have noticed the tail, he entered the station but didn’t board a vehicle. Instead, he sneaked over to the luggage storage area, chose a passerby who looked well-off, swiped his electronic card to access a mobile storage locker, fumbled around inside for a bit, then closed it. As he was leaving, he accidentally knocked over his half-finished cup of juice.

He didn’t bother with the spilled juice on the floor and hurried out, boarding a suspended train.

The person tailing him didn’t follow. Instead, they turned back and headed for the storage area. As the other person’s line of sight shifted, the friendliness values also began to drop. Xu Huo knew they were going to check that storage locker.

He rode the train to the next stop, went into a restroom, changed into the Clown Set, and took out the ”Elusive Screaming Chicken.” He fed it a little juice.

Feeding the Screaming Chicken food allows it to track a target, but the prerequisite is that the target must also have contact with the same substance—like a grain of rice stuck to a shoe sole, chewing gum, or juice pulp mixed with special materials.Cleaning robots at the station would arrive to clean up any stains within one minute of detection. That tail went to check the storage locker. If luck was on his side, the Screaming Chicken would lock onto the target.

”Guh!” The large rubber yellow chicken tilted its head, its red eyes bulging. It kicked off his hand, landed on the floor, flapped its fake wings once, pecked symbolically at the ground, and then started walking out.

Xu Huo took out the prepared sticker flyers and followed it out of the station.

In District 011, there were quite a few businesses using items to attract customers, so it wasn’t unusual to see some entertainment-type items on the streets. Therefore, a rubber chicken walking in front of a flyer-distributing clown didn’t attract attention.

Thirty minutes later, Xu Huo spotted the middle-aged man who had been tailing him. He followed the man through the bustling downtown area to a building housing a live-action simulation game center.

This avant-garde entertainment venue was a place where a company had invested heavily to purchase some dungeon walkthroughs and turn them into holographic simulation games, specifically for those who sought thrills but didn’t want to take the risk of actually entering the game.

Xu Huo picked up the Screaming Chicken and hung it from his belt. He started circling the building. It wasn’t until he had almost finished distributing the flyers in his hand that the Screaming Chicken’s head finally stopped pointing directly at the game building.

This time, the middle-aged man didn’t linger on the road. He took a vehicle to a residential area and got off outside one of the buildings.

In District 011, slightly more upscale residences all boasted the title of ”natural oxygen bars.” They had independent gardens both outside and inside the buildings. Although the buildings were separate, each building had anti-riot electronic walls outside. Those without an Access Card could only walk through the external passageways.

Seeing that the person didn’t seem to be going out again, Xu Huo went to a nearby independent reading room. Using the network, he looked up information about the game building and this residential area. He discovered they were both assets under the Rongxin Group.

The Rongxin Group was very famous in District 011, involved in multiple industries like real estate, home furnishings, film and television, and gaming. Advertisements for this conglomerate were everywhere on the streets. It had substantial capital and ambiguous relations with the government. Ran Ying, a captain in the Enforcement Department, had even endorsed this company’s holographic games.

Xu Huo hadn’t been in District 011 for long. The connections he had made were limited to a few individuals: Ran Ying from the Enforcement Department, Shi Youzhi from the game base, and the trader Deng Xuan.

He had agreed to a transaction with Deng Xuan, but the other party had come on aggressively. It wasn’t hard to guess it was probably about the player he had captured.

He definitely wasn’t going to release the person. Originally, he had planned to return to Zone 014 first. Now, this matter had become interesting. The business of retrieving the item could be put on hold.

After tailing this middle-aged man for three consecutive days, Xu Huo finally saw him meet up with the other person who had been tailing him. The two greeted each other from a distance on the street and then entered the game building one after the other.

”Sir, would you like a mask?” A young, vibrant girl came over to greet him. ”Today, Rongxin has launched a new animal-themed palace night tour game. It’s only 9999 to experience it! This is a new customer discount. If you come tomorrow, it might not be available! It also comes with a free simulation mask!”

The so-called simulation mask was just a curved screen the size of a human face, using animal imagery to simulate human expressions. In District 011, the technology wasn’t particularly advanced.

”Sounds quite fun,” Xu Huo said.

The young girl pulled him into the building. The entrance led to a circular hall. In the center was a sales counter. Elevator doors were spaced several meters apart around the perimeter, with guests coming and going, going up and down from time to time.

Under the girl’s guidance, Xu Huo selected a cartoonish white sheep mask with a pink, tender-looking face. He smiled and said, ”I heard girls like cute things.”

The young girl pursed her lips in a smile. ”Sir, you’re so humorous. You’re so handsome; even without pretending to be cute, you’d definitely have many girls who like you.”

A square beam of light projected down from above the sales counter. The mask descended at a steady pace from above. The girl took it and helped Xu Huo put it on, then led him to an elevator. In a few seconds, they reached the thirtieth floor.

”We have single-player mode and multiplayer mode here. In single-player mode, you can enjoy a private operation pod. For multiplayer, usually three to five guests share one room. In both modes, you can move around freely. Special item rooms will ensure you don’t bump into walls or fall. Everything you do in the room will be faithfully reflected in the game. Also, this time it’s a palace night tour. The game will provide a set of game formalwear for free. You can choose as you like, sir.”

Following her introduction, Xu Huo toured the rooms along the corridor. He caught a glimpse of the man who had met with the middle-aged man entering one of the multiplayer rooms. He chose that same room.

”Perfect, there’s one spot left. This is a five-person room.”

Five fully enclosed, cocoon-shaped operation pods were arranged in a circle in the center of the room. When the girl pushed the door open, one of the operation pods was just closing.

”I’ll activate the operation pod for you.” The girl pressed an invisible button on the outside of the pod to open the hatch. She added, ”The operation pod cannot be opened from the outside once you confirm entry into the game. You will be very safe inside. If you wish to interrupt the game, you can operate it yourself. Enjoy your game.”

Xu Huo stepped inside. Following the operation guide, he put on a pair of in-ear headphones. The previously snow-white interior of the operation pod instantly switched to a luxurious room with a somewhat Baroque architectural style.