Players, Please Board the Train

Everyone present, including Sima Xiao Er, believed Xu Huo was going to call for backup. But this place was far from any town; even if he could get someone to come, it would take at least an hour or two of driving, making it completely pointless—this was also the reason Bao Jiali hadn’t tried to stop him.

However, the name Tan Yang was known to everyone. He was the president of the First Players Association, now officially recognized by the government. Originally, he called himself the vice president, but after receiving the official stamp, he became the president.

Tan Yang answered the phone quickly, speaking politely, ”Mr. Xu, you’ve returned safely to Zone 014. This trip back must have been quite fruitful.”

”Two people for you to identify: Bao Jiali and Wang Meng. Are they players from the First Association?” Xu Huo asked.

There was a brief pause on the other end, presumably for a handoff. A moment later, Tan Yang said, ”Indeed, there are these two people. Have they offended you?”

Xu Huo placed the phone on the table and pressed the speakerphone button. ”Does your position as president give you no authority over the players in your association?”

Tan Yang paused before replying, ”The core players in the association are currently busy trying to raise their game ranks.”

Xu Huo let out a short laugh. ”Is that what you told me two months ago when you approached me? Players uniting to help each other through thick and thin? I haven’t seen any ’through thick and thin.’ What I’ve seen is a bunch of people committing outrages.”

”It’s understandable that some people get a bit carried away after gaining some strength. But if you only bully your own kind, aren’t you afraid you’ll one day provoke a major disaster and get wiped out in one fell swoop?”

Silence fell on Tan Yang’s end, but Xu Huo, from the subtle sound of airflow, could hear the breathing of more people.”Are you thinking that with several hundred players in the First Association, such a thing could never happen?” He tapped his finger lightly on the table once, then took the withered leaf stuck to Sima Xiao Er’s back. Glancing at a player standing several meters away, he said, ”If you had come in with the intent to kill just now, the situation wouldn’t be like this.”

”Where is the First Association’s base located?” Xu Huo asked Sima Xiao Er, who was now free to move.

Sima Xiao Er stretched his limbs, saying fiercely, ”The central tower in Yang City. The place was even specially approved for their office use.”

”How many players are usually in the tower?”

”Generally around a hundred. Players don’t all enter the game at the same time.”

”Only a hundred people.” Xu Huo turned back to the phone. ”A hundred E-grade players and one E-grade player make no difference.”

”What arrogance!” Bao Jiali sneered coldly.

Xu Huo took out his lighter and lit a cigarette, ignoring the person opposite him. He exhaled a puff of smoke before saying, ”Want to test that?”

Bao Jiali slammed the table and stood up. ”President, don’t interfere. Leave this punk to me...”

”Shut up!” Tan Yang roared, then added, ”Mr. Xu, please, give me some face.”

Xu Huo didn’t speak. Amid the simmering, angry silence from both the people on-site and those on the phone, Huang Junjie stepped forward to speak. ”Brother Xu, what happened today was the association’s fault. I’ll have Bao Jiali and Wang Meng apologize to you properly. When you have time to come to Yang City, President Tan and I will host a banquet to toast you.”

”Bao Jiali, Wang Meng,” he then turned his words to the players present, ”No matter how many of you went, apologize properly to Mr. Xu. Don’t cause trouble for the association. Joining the association is easy; getting expelled isn’t hard either.”

Bao Jiali’s face flushed red with indignation, clearly unwilling to comply with this arrangement.

Before he could speak, Xu Huo stood up first. ”That’s enough.”

He hung up the phone and called for Sima Xiao Er to leave.

Wang Meng and the others reluctantly made way. Sima Xiao Er’s beat-up car wasn’t there, so the two still planned to use the sports car. However, as they passed Bao Jiali’s car, Xu Huo glanced inside: a woman with her clothes half-undone was lying on the back seat. Her feet were shackled with iron chains, and there were several needle marks on her dangling arm. She was mumbling something incoherently, but no sound came out when she opened her mouth.

Sima Xiao Er started the car. Over there, Bao Jiali and the others also came out of the service area. Seeing Xu Huo standing by their car, the group advanced menacingly, but suddenly, a flash of sword light swept past, followed by Bao Jiali’s head flying into the air.

Before the others could react, the person who should have been by the car suddenly appeared in front of them. A flick of a thin wire, and several players were bundled together. The two players standing at the edge had their throats slit on the spot!

The remaining players reacted, immediately using items and characteristics against Xu Huo. Unfortunately, Xu Huo had already used ”The Power of Writing” and ”Forced Forgetfulness” a step ahead. In the brief span of a few seconds, the remaining players were killed until only one was left.

That one was the fastest to react, using an item to block his neck while throwing a sticker toy at Xu Huo. However, it had no effect because the item ”Universal Lubricant” could negate the effects of C-grade and below items that required physical contact to work. So, this item was useless.

Naturally, the person died.

The sole survivor, Wang Meng, went weak in the knees and knelt on the ground, begging incessantly, ”Don’t kill me! I won’t dare again! I won’t dare again!”

Xu Huo flicked the blood droplets off ”Hurt Others, Not Yourself.” ”Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. Go back and explain things clearly to the First Association. If you seek death yourself, you can’t blame others. Take the person in the car to the hospital. As for the rest...”

”I’ll definitely take her to the hospital! I’ll pay for all the medical bills and compensation for emotional distress! After that, I’ll turn myself in... But this matter has nothing to do with me! I didn’t lay a finger on that girl! It was all Bao Jiali! That girl is a rich kid. Bao Jiali pursued her before but failed, so he deliberately tormented her...”

”No need to say more.” Xu Huo cut him off.

Over there, Sima Xiao Er checked the girl’s condition, closed the car door, and viciously kicked Bao Jiali’s corpse a few times. ”I just can’t understand how scum like this survives in dungeons!”

”Brother Xu, how about we take her to the hospital ourselves? I don’t trust this Wang Meng kid. What if he brings a bunch of people back for revenge? We shouldn’t endanger this girl further.”

”Absolutely not!” Wang Meng swore, pointing to the sky. ”If I dare cause trouble again, may I be struck dead by a car! I mean it, Brother Xiao Er! Believe me!”

Sima Xiao Er, unable to contain his anger, kicked the man over. ”I used to think you were just foul-mouthed. I never imagined you’d dare hang out with this kind of person!”

Wang Meng was crying and sniveling, not daring to provoke Xu Huo, so he clung to Sima Xiao Er’s leg, pleading, ”Brother Xiao Er, give me a chance! I don’t want to die...”

”How about... letting him drive and follow us?” Sima Xiao Er suggested hesitantly. ”We’re going to Yang City anyway.”

”Fine.” Xu Huo didn’t object.

After Sima Xiao Er notified the nearby branch office to handle the aftermath, the two set off again. Wang Meng drove ahead. Even though he was driving alone, he surprisingly didn’t dare call anyone from the First Association along the way. He obediently drove all the way to Yang City. After entering the city, he waited for Xu Huo’s nod before taking the girl to the hospital himself.

”Utterly inhuman.” It was only after driving through the city for a long while that Sima Xiao Er finally managed to spit out the words.