Players, Please Board the Train

”A smart person should know when to stop pushing, to know when to quit digging deeper...” Bai Kou looked at him, ”Do you have a grudge against the Phantom Sound Knights?”

”You could say that,” Xu Huo said. ”But I’m not so foolhardy as to think a D-level player can challenge B-level and A-level players.”

”But you’re still going.”

Bai Kou put down the half-assembled gun in her hand, her purple pupils fixed on him. ”Why?”

”Mr. Fan Xiao,” Xu Huo smiled. ”He treated you like a daughter. I can’t take his things for free and watch you go off to take risks while acting like nothing’s wrong.”

”You’re just a D-level player,” Bai Kou’s voice lowered slightly.

”I know. So what?” Xu Huo tapped his finger on the desk. ”With so many weapons here, surely there’s one for me?”

Bai Kou stared at him for two full seconds before breaking into a smile. ”See anything you like? Take your pick.”

Xu Huo knew she was planning to drag him into this mess. Better to take the initiative than be passive.

Having earned a sliver of Bai Kou’s goodwill, she proceeded to explain in detail the usage of various weapons.The firearms she had modified had the power of a hand grenade in a single bullet.

”Firearms have immense destructive power. Generally, they are not allowed to be stored in the luggage compartment. You can carry some on your person, but there’s also a chance the system will filter them out.”

”However, new energy firearms are different. They can be carried in separate parts. As long as the quantity isn’t too large, some components can be stored in the luggage compartment. Especially some that are conveniently custom-made.”

As she spoke, Bai Kou disassembled the cannon barrel from earlier. After taking it apart, she installed the components onto three different small machines. As for the energy plates, they were also detachable. A light twist on both sides, and the embedded tooth clasps loosened, turning into two chip-like objects.

”Compared to heavy weapons, ordinary items just don’t measure up.”

”But note that spacetime items can affect these brand-new energy weapons. Typically, they’ll malfunction.”

After listening, Xu Huo said, ”The raw material for crafting items includes a new type of energy stone. Higher-level spacetime items can affect lower-level items, and at the same time, spacetime items can cause new energy weapons to malfunction. Can it be understood that both utilize the same type of energy stone?”

Spacetime items are relatively rare and powerful items in the game. They have certain effects on time and space. From another perspective, the game system’s control over players and game partitions also revolves around these two major concepts. Does this mean the game’s foundation is built upon some new type of energy or its derivatives?

”Your guess is correct,” Bai Kou said. ”So, you can imagine how important energy stones are within the game partitions.”

”Is the game wiping out certain partitions for energy?” Xu Huo quickly thought of another matter.

”That’s part of it, but not the whole reason,” Bai Kou said. ”The game’s operating mechanism is arguably the biggest secret within the Dimensional Rift. It’s still far too early to uncover it. How about we focus on the firearms instead?”

Xu Huo made a gesture of invitation.

Next, Bai Kou introduced about twenty types of large, medium, and small weapons. Among them were two or three that would be kicked out of the luggage compartment even when disassembled into parts. She looked down on them but suggested they could be carried on one’s person to mislead others.

”What kind of place is Platinum Eye?” Xu Huo asked during a break.

”A place full of metal,” Bai Kou said casually. ”People who love war go there and never want to leave. But for most, it’s a nightmare.”

”To this day, countless people have died under weapons manufactured in Platinum Eye.”

”The knife itself has no good or evil; it’s the person wielding it who does,” Xu Huo offered a word of comfort.

Bai Kou stared at him and suddenly ”pfft” laughed. ”Why are you comforting me? I didn’t kill those people.”

”I’m comforting myself,” Xu Huo also laughed.

Bai Kou stroked the cannon barrel on the table and suddenly said, ”I wonder what we’re eating today.”

Mr. Dong, who had just reached the doorway, stopped in his tracks. ”Sir, dinner is ready.”

Bai Kou seemed to take pleasure in seeing Mr. Dong unhappy, standing up with a cheerful smile. ”Was it prepared according to my tastes today?”

Seeing Xu Huo giving him a meaningful look, Mr. Dong squeezed out a near-perfect smile. ”Everything is prepared.”

”Can an item’s face also cramp up?” Bai Kou covered her mouth with a laugh.

After saying that, she went downstairs first. Xu Huo walked over and patted Mr. Dong’s shoulder. ”Holding grudges is a common human trait.”

”Mr. He Pu didn’t hold grudges,” Mr. Dong defended.

”He held grudges fiercely. Otherwise, who set all those fires?” Xu Huo smiled and walked past him.

Just after dinner, Ran Ying suddenly invited him out for drinks.

Xu Huo politely declined, saying he had a guest at home.

”Is this playing hard to get?” Bai Kou had also seen the projection message.

”No, it’s valuing my life,” Xu Huo said. Captain Ran Ying changed targets every so often. Who knows if the past ones died or ran away. Keeping a distance is best.

”I think she’s set her sights on you,” Bai Kou said. ”Tonight might just be a test.”

”If there’s a first time, there will be a second,” Xu Huo wasn’t concerned. The advantage of District 011 is the absence of Random Dungeons, but there are other game partitions without Random Dungeons too.

Sure enough, after another day, once the clubhouse turmoil had completely died down, Ran Ying invited him on a liner voyage.

”It’s a ship from the Rongxin Group. Both Vicen Meni and Duke Tal have invited me. I’ll be boarding that ship too,” Bai Kou said after finding out.

Xu Huo immediately sensed something. ”Could the Rongxin Group’s arms trade be happening on the ship?”

”District 011 has had continuous incidents. The station is no longer a suitable location for transactions. Taking the ship to a lawless zone far from the partition for trading is also suitable for inspecting some ultra-heavy weapons,” Bai Kou explained.

”So the liner voyage is just a cover,” Xu Huo said. After brief consideration, he replied to Ran Ying and asked about the route but didn’t get a definite answer.

Bai Kou investigated through her own channels and only found out the liner would head to an independently existing sea area. That place isn’t under District 011’s jurisdiction and currently remains untouched by the game, meaning there are no dungeons there.

”This isn’t uncommon. Desolate, uninhabited places hold no value; the game can’t even be bothered to glance at them,” Bai Kou said. ”But there’s one drawback in such a place—train tickets can’t be used.”

”For a space to be connected to the game via train tickets, it must be incorporated into the game. It’s like the track distance between two stations. Train tickets usually can’t be used there.”

Their eyes met, and both sensed something else in the air, then simultaneously laughed.

After three days of preparation, Bai Kou, with several large pieces of luggage, was picked up by Duke Tal. Meanwhile, Xu Huo was invited into a car by the uninvited Ran Ying. They headed to the docks one after the other.

The number of fellow travelers far exceeded Xu Huo’s estimate. Over one-third were nobles. All those seen at the clubhouse before were present. Additionally, each noble had players with them—some for security, some for entertainment, and others of unknown status but receiving noble courtesy.

The rest were new elites like Ran Ying.