Players, Please Board the Train

Xu Huo didn’t give the other players a detailed battle plan, only assigning general positions, leaving the players to improvise when the time came.

”Wait, you’re not going to screw us over, are you?” Wu Xiaonan said, ”Since the Bolun Family can bring in so many players to kill, finding one or two train ticket players isn’t difficult. How can you prove you’re not a hired thug for the Bolun Family?”

”Xu Zhi absolutely can’t be,” Chu Yuan said, ”You didn’t hear the explosion earlier; at least two players from that side almost died at our hands. If he had been bought by the Bolun Family, I wouldn’t have survived until now.”

Wu Xiaonan’s eyes darted, sizing him up, ”True, the Bolun Family definitely wouldn’t recruit you to mix in among the train ticket players.”

Chu Yuan’s face fell, ”Do you know what happens to people with big mouths?”

Wu Xiaonan scoffed.

Chu Yuan’s face flushed red, but it was Gan Qing who cut them off, ”Let’s hurry and find a place to set up the ambush.”

”Shouldn’t we look for Wan Yunrong and Ge Pan? More hands are better,” Miao Yu said.

”There’s no time. Being short two is just short two,” Xu Huo paused before adding, ”The Kong Siblings will definitely search the entire laboratory. If they run into anyone who gets separated, they’ll just have to blame their own bad luck.”

They were strangers brought together by chance. If not for the need to unite against a common threat, the players wouldn’t have gathered at all, and of course, they wouldn’t specifically go looking for two separated players.But just as he finished speaking, Wan Yunrong silently emerged from a corner.

Xu Huo turned around, unsurprised; he had noticed her earlier. He said, ”The Humans Catch Ghosts game is secondary now. You can safely cooperate with us.”

Wan Yunrong had been nearby ever since Wu Xiaonan met up with Xu Huo and the others. After using an item to eavesdrop on their conversation, she decided to come out. Compared to the foreseeable player slaughter, the Kong Siblings were the greater danger.

”I heard everything you said. I can cooperate with you,” Wan Yunrong said, ”But we must agree not to continue the game until the cooperation is dissolved. I believe there are definitely other players who have become ghosts here. Since none of us knows if we are a ghost or when we might turn into one, it’s best to abide by this agreement.”

”If you agree, I can open the elevator door.”

”You can open it?” Gan Qing was pleasantly surprised.

”This kind of tree resin can be washed off with a special potion,” Wan Yunrong nodded.

Just as everyone was eagerly urging her to open the door, Xu Huo suddenly heard a faint ”click” sound, a noise made by a person. He was about to turn around when Wan Yunrong, standing beside him, leaped back in alarm, staring at them with suspicion.

”You guys were the ones who blocked this door, weren’t you!” Wu Xiaonan sneered.

Xu Huo sharply looked up at her.

”Impossible!” Chu Yuan, as if meeting them for the first time, began repeating what he had said when he first met Wu Xiaonan. The wording wasn’t exactly the same, but the gist was identical.

And Miao Yu and the others didn’t find anything strange about it either, as if hearing this conversation for the first time, even chiming in with some additions.

The only difference this time was that Wan Yunrong interjected, but the overall direction of the conversation was largely the same.

The same words, the same scene, were eerily repeating, as if time had rewound... No, this wasn’t simply time rewinding. If it were purely time reversal, Wan Yunrong from before the conversation started shouldn’t be here.

Someone was tampering with things.

Xu Huo played along with the other players’ conversation while staying alert to the surroundings.

If Dr. Deng and his group had come over, he would definitely have noticed. Had they not made a move because they weren’t confident?

Within his perception range, one person was moving. Xu Huo immediately called out in a moderate tone toward that direction, ”Ge Pan!”

The moving person halted, then started moving again.

”Do you think Ge Pan is a ghost?” Xu Huo deliberately paused before saying.

The person indeed stopped again.

”Why bring him up? Are you going to look for him?” Wu Xiaonan looked at him strangely.

”I just think since he’s the only one left, it would be better if we could find him. If not...” Xu Huo sensed the person moving away and quickly said to Wan Yunrong, ”Take out your potion and wash off this tree resin.”

Wan Yunrong was feeling surprised when she heard him immediately continue, ”I’ll tell you how I knew after we go down. Let’s go now!”

In this second conversation, they were only discussing cooperation. Because Wan Yunrong’s entry sequence had changed, Xu Huo hadn’t had time to mention the personnel arrangements he had planned earlier.

Nevertheless, Wan Yunrong complied. She splashed the potion onto the elevator door. The tree resin began to melt, turning into water that dripped down.

The elevator door was able to open. The group entered the elevator, quickly descended to the third underground floor, and passed through the corridor with the corpses to return to the eastern half of the laboratory.

”Just hide behind the corpses,” Xu Huo said.

”You still haven’t said what happened,” Wan Yunrong said. Compared to Wu Xiaonan, her memory gap was more pronounced. Given her previous conflict with Xu Huo, it was impossible for her to approach these players without any precautions.

But just now, for some reason, she looked up and saw Gan Qing and the others.

”Most of what we just said in front of the elevator door was said a few minutes ago,” Xu Huo said, ”You were the one who said the tree resin could be dissolved with a potion.”

”Impossible!” Wan Yunrong found it hard to believe.

”Otherwise, how would I know?” Xu Huo retorted.

”Wait a minute,” Chu Yuan was a bit confused, ”Are you saying all our memories have problems? Why don’t I feel anything at all?”

Xu Huo was silent for two seconds, ”Perhaps because you’re not sharp enough.”

Chu Yuan’s face darkened, ”Calling me stupid in a roundabout way.”

”Actually, I also felt something was off,” Wu Xiaonan said, ”But how can you prove what you’re saying is true? Maybe you’re the one who tampered with us. Otherwise, how do you explain that everyone else’s memory has problems except yours?”

”I’m immune to certain characteristics and items,” Xu Huo gave a casual excuse and added, ”But the other party probably heard our plan for dealing with the Kong Siblings.”

”What!” Gan Qing was stunned, ”We’re still going to deal with two B-rank players?”

”Wu Xiaonan alone can delay one B-rank player,” Xu Huo passed the topic to her.

”It’s indeed true,” Wu Xiaonan touched her hair, took out her phone from her pocket, tapped it, and played an audio clip. It was the recording from when she first met Xu Huo and the others, during which Wan Yunrong wasn’t present.

Then there was brief static noise, followed by the sound of Wan Yunrong’s movement, and Wu Xiaonan repeating her own words.

”Holy crap, it’s actually true!” Chu Yuan exclaimed in amazement.

Miao Yu patted his shoulder, signaling him to step aside, ”Since someone heard our plan, they’re probably waiting for us with Dr. Deng and his group right now. The previous ambush method won’t work.”

”And we also have to guard against a player who can cause short-term memory loss.”