Players, Please Board the Train

Xu Huo looked down at his own hands. Whether it was vision, touch, or body shape, everything felt incredibly realistic, though the skin was slightly beautified, and his clothes had been changed to the selected game formalwear.

He was wearing the same tailcoat as the other four people in the room. The other four wore masks of a lion, a tiger, a seal, and a fox respectively.

The group exchanged greetings, and one of them spoke, ”No idea what the specifics of tonight’s night tour are. Rongxin’s kept it pretty tight under wraps.”

The person who spoke was the one Xu Huo was looking for; he wore the fox mask.

”I’ve never been particularly interested in games with no real substance, but the promotion for this one was very mysterious. I heard they even invited some big shots to join the fun. Putting that aside, it would be great just to get to know some higher-ups,” Seal said bluntly.

”If that’s your plan, then I think you came to the wrong place,” Lion said. ”Where doesn’t respect strength? Either you need money, power, or resources. Otherwise, those high-and-mighty types won’t even spare you a glance... heh heh, but if you’re good in bed and handsome, finding a couple of rich ladies isn’t a bad idea either.”

Seal didn’t refute this; instead, he let out a lecherous laugh. ”Even though it’s not real people in the game, it retains ninety-five percent of the real sensation. Those female players usually act all reserved and pretentious, but plenty come here looking for fun. It’s just playing around anyway, not the real deal.”

Lion joined in the laughter, as if this were merely a fun hunting trip.

”With your sorry looks, I guarantee no female player would give you a second glance,” the Tiger, who hadn’t spoken until now, said. Judging by the voice, it was actually a woman.

The four others in the room looked over. Tiger wore a man’s formalwear, had a tall and sturdy build, broad shoulders and back, and a crew cut. From appearance alone, it wasn’t obvious she was a woman.Seal fell silent for a couple of seconds, then said with some embarrassment and anger, ”What are you pretending for? Someone like you, no man would want either.”

”Alright, alright, everyone, let’s talk less. We’re all here to have fun,” Fox quickly tried to smooth things over. ”Shouldn’t we be heading out?”

At that moment, the lights in the room suddenly went out. Several clusters of flames lit up from the four corners, and music began to play from somewhere outside.

”Is the banquet starting?” Lion walked over and pulled open the door, glanced out, and turned back. ”It’s really dark out there.”

”There are candles here,” Seal said, taking the lead to grab a silver candlestick from the nearby round table.

”Five candlesticks, probably one for each of us,” Tiger said, also going over to take one.

The five of them, each holding a lit candlestick, walked out and discovered that people holding candlesticks were gradually emerging from other places in the corridor as well.

The range illuminated by the candles was limited. Even with this many, it wasn’t bright enough for the exceptionally wide corridor. Additionally, Xu Huo noticed his night vision ability was gone.

”It’s just a game, after all. It can’t completely replicate a player’s physical functions,” Tiger remarked at this point, clearly he wasn’t the only one feeling the discrepancy.

”We’re not going to have the night tour in this pitch-black place, are we?” Seal said. ”Can’t even see the reliefs.”

The group followed the crowd moving in one direction. Fox asked, ”What’s so interesting about reliefs? Aren’t they all pretty much the same?”

”That’s where you’re wrong,” Seal said. ”The art director for the Palace Night Tour was specially invited by the Rongxin Group from Wormhole Point D12. He’s very famous in other game worlds. I heard it’s the final work of a super player. Any paintings based on it or replicated reliefs are infused with that player’s characteristics and can cause hallucinations in some people.” Seal paused deliberately here. ”You don’t know the benefits of having hallucinations, do you?”

”Stop being so mysterious,” Fox urged.

”I’ve only heard about it too. They say it can make people evolve again,” Seal said mysteriously.

”Could it be Super Evolution?” Lion asked.

”How could that be? Even if you saw the super player’s original work, it wouldn’t necessarily lead to Super Evolution,” Seal said smugly. ”It’s said some players suddenly become very powerful, as if a certain bodily function has been activated.”

”How powerful?” someone passing by also leaned in to listen.

”How would I know?” Seal was unwilling to say more.

Some people nearby couldn’t help but raise their candles higher to look at the relief murals on both sides of the corridor.

Xu Huo also moved closer to the murals, slowing his pace to look at them carefully as he walked forward.

Viewed consecutively, these murals depicted a scroll of a pilgrimage. The gist of the fragmented story was that a group of believers, while pursuing sacred footsteps, encountered Mutants. When surrounded, a divine miracle suddenly descended. All the believers suddenly became brave and skilled in battle. After slaughtering all the Mutants, they finally caught up to the sacred presence.

But by then, most of the believers had died. Only three exceptionally strong individuals survived. These three received guidance from the sacred presence and spread the miracle to more believers.

It was imbued with strong religious overtones and had kept up with the times, replacing common religious demons, diseases, or sufferings with Mutants.

Xu Huo lost interest after looking for a while.

This wasn’t strange at all.

Ultimately, religion serves people; it’s a form of spiritual guidance and support. In the game world, the most terrifying existence became Mutants. Some people, to combat fear, would fabricate this kind of spiritual support. Especially in wormhole points that had been gamified for a long time, such religiously tinged things were more likely to develop.

Take Zone 014, for example. In such a short time, a bunch of people had already popped up brainwashing others. One could imagine what other game partitions were like, especially after players gained characteristics and items, making it easier for some hypnotic suggestions to influence people.

Combining what Seal said with the mural’s content, it was actually easy to understand. Players are also human, with instincts of fear, dread, and cowardice in battle. Through suggestion, these emotions can be weakened, allowing actions that surpass ordinary human capabilities.

Of course, this influence has both positive and negative sides. Like certain cults brainwashing followers to sacrifice themselves for their faith’s deity, some people actually commit suicide or murder, akin to lunatics, difficult for normal people to comprehend.

Most people weren’t interested in these paintings. Following the flowing light gathered from the candlelight, they gradually congregated in a great hall.

In the center of the great hall was a circular platform for announcements, already surrounded by a crowd of people. Xu Huo and his group arrived relatively late and could only be blocked outside. He glanced at Fox, who was squeezing into the crowd, then headed for the second floor instead.

The second floor was just a narrow corridor encircling the great hall, located just outside the hall’s pillars. Many who found the first floor too crowded had come up here. From here, most of the great hall was visible.

Xu Huo kept his eyes on Fox and soon spotted the middle-aged man he was tailing. The other man wore a hyena mask and wasn’t making contact with Fox. On the contrary, he maintained a certain distance, observing.

As the crowd surged, he noticed a black wolf mask deliberately, yet seemingly casually, approaching Fox.

His gaze lingered on these three for a few seconds. Then Xu Huo looked toward the announcement platform at the center of the great hall, where the figure of a white-haired man was slowly being projected.