Players, Please Board the Train

After a fruitless search, Xu Huo changed his strategy, fully materializing his Mental World and adding more structures on top of the existing foundation.

As he repeatedly reinforced his Mental World, the original structure of the book tower grew increasingly complex, and its area expanded again and again.

The strength and area of a Mental World represent the mental power of the person who created it. The stronger the evolution, the larger the area of the Mental World becomes, and correspondingly, it becomes easier to create various complex scenes.

After expanding the original area by three times, Xu Huo finally felt strained. He then stopped focusing on size and instead began rearranging the furnishings within the book tower.

Doors and books were symbols of himself. The dagger, Playing Card, and Black Fragment respectively represented the other three personalities. He controlled this Mental World, so books were the most abundant element within it. These books could be real or fake. However, since he had successfully created a frame before, he could also put some effort into the books.

Appearing arbitrarily in a certain room, he reached out and pulled a book from the shelf. With a light press on the cover, the pages automatically opened, stopping at a certain page where a clear image gradually surfaced.

In just a few seconds, a cityscape appeared on the paper, with the flowers and trees in the painting seemingly breathing, looking as if they were alive.

After perfecting this painting, Xu Huo plunged his hand into the image. However, he did not succeed in entering another illusory world as he had hoped; his hand passed through the back of the book.

Materializing scenery outside the Mental World should be another level of achievement altogether.

He let go of the book. Upon hitting the ground, it expanded into a frame. He stepped inside, and the black zipper appeared before his eyes once more.The giant zipper symbolized the portal to Madame Butterfly’s Mental World. After a brief pause, he began shuttling back and forth among these portals again.

After about an hour, the repetitive and monotonous situation finally changed when he found a golden zipper.

”Click! Click, click, click!” The golden zipper opened into a vertical pupil. Behind it was no longer a blank space, but a massive wall of metal gears, so large it couldn’t be fully taken in by the eye.

Circular, square, even irregular polygonal gears connected one after another, forming a giant, moving wall of doors from bottom to top. Logically, based on their shapes, these gears shouldn’t be able to mesh together perfectly, but within this wall, they rotated in an orderly fashion.

Xu Huo attempted to open a door on these gears. However, the moment he tried to get close, the gears would suddenly alter their rotation trajectory at a certain point, causing the entire wall’s operational speed to change, like a complex password lock. It even crushed one of his doors.

Just as he was about to continue his attempts, the scenery before his eyes suddenly changed back to the main hall of Rose Castle. Mr. Dong was still nearby, but Madame Butterfly was gone.

”The two corpses have been disposed of. This was found on one of them.” Mr. Dong handed over a badge bearing the black and white dual-color emblem symbolizing the District 011 government.

The wooden sword player was carrying a government badge?

Clutching the badge, Xu Huo returned to his room and took out all the wooden sword player’s belongings.

Besides items and potions, he found a District 011 Government Field Personnel Work Manual and two sets of uniforms in the luggage compartment. They were not the uniforms of Enforcement Department personnel, but the distinctive uniforms of the police department under the Municipal Works Office.

Xu Huo had always believed those chasing him were either players from the lower city district or internal traitors from Rongxin. He never expected someone from the Municipal Hall to be involved. The fact that he was followed right after leaving the lower city district suggested this person might have been in that small courtyard at the time.

Was it the seller or the buyer? Did he represent an individual or the Municipal Hall?

If he represented the Municipal Hall, even though he had been missing for so long, no new players had come looking from the Municipal Hall’s side. Even if only the wooden sword player had used a special method to track him at the time, their subsequent fight in the shopping mall wasn’t some top-secret affair. It wouldn’t be difficult for the Municipal Hall to investigate and find him.

Yet, on the day of the transaction with Deng Xuan, only one retired former employee of the Rongxin Group had followed him.

However, players sometimes enter dungeons under special circumstances, which isn’t unusual in District 011. Unless there really was only the wooden sword player at the time, if the other side remained inactive, there must be another reason.

Xu Huo’s gaze lingered on the work manual for a few seconds before shifting to the items beside it.

Besides the ”Undying Wooden Sword” that could sprout flowering vines, the amber ”Lament of Plants,” the glass protective shield ”Oxygen Supply,” the transparent raincoat ”Invisible Protection,” the golf ball-sized ”Irresistible Straight Shot,” and the ”Do Not Disturb” that could be stuck on a door—all of which he had seen during the fight—there were also ”Real Wooden Man,” ”Actor’s Mask,” ”Fresh-Scented Dried Flowers,” ”See or Not See,” and ”Dating Artifact.”

Among them, ”Lament of Plants” and ”Actor’s Mask” were Special Items.

”Lament of Plants” was an indiscriminate sonic wave attack item that could temporarily deafen and blind people. With better effect, it could cause unconsciousness.

”Actor’s Mask” was an item that could change one’s appearance. However, it could only fix three faces. Once determined, until it changed owners, one could only switch between these three faces.

”Undying Wooden Sword,” ”Real Wooden Man,” and ”See or Not See” were C-grade items.

The ”Undying Wooden Sword” was simply a wooden sword that, empowered by characteristics, could automatically grow plants. It was a very suitable item. Coincidentally, the wooden sword player’s characteristic was plant-related, so he used this item very skillfully. For Xu Huo, however, it was useless.

”Real Wooden Man” was a palm-sized wooden figurine. Sticking it on a target could make them rigid for three seconds.

This item had been taken out by the wooden sword player but hadn’t been put to use before it was stolen by the Greedy Snake item. Xu Huo only saw it fall to the ground and disappear, not paying much attention at the time. It was only when he checked the items stolen from Madame Butterfly the previous day that he discovered the wooden man was also in the Greedy Snake’s belly.

”See or Not See” was a flower seal that could be stamped on any object, including people. The pattern stamped by the seal was invisible. Only the person stamped could see it, making it a very high-safety route marker item.

The rest were D-grade items.

”Oxygen Supply” allowed one to breathe in harsh environments.

”Invisible Protection” was fireproof, frostproof, and not easily corroded.

”Irresistible Straight Shot” would automatically fly and smash into the target’s face as long as it was aimed at them, even if the thrower’s aim was poor.

”Do Not Disturb” meant exactly what it said—it could make people unconsciously overlook it.

”Fresh-Scented Dried Flowers” could continuously release a fresh floral fragrance for twenty-four hours, to some extent resisting unbearable stenches for humans.

”Dating Artifact” was a sachet that, when carried on the body, could make one’s body odor fresh.

In addition, there were over one hundred and thirty thousand White Bills, a large quantity of potions, and some illegal smuggled goods.