Players, Please Board the Train

Xu Huo was not a particularly polite person, so after knocking on the door, he simply sliced it in half and entered, immediately spotting a person stuck in the window.

Their eyes met, and the hoodie-wearing young man in the cap didn’t hesitate for a second before jumping out of the window.

Xu Huo took a few steps to the window. The young man was already sprinting down the street, and he wasn’t slow.

A second later, Xu Huo also flew out, gripping the piano wire, but he wasn’t in a hurry to give chase. Instead, he took out his water jet gun and fired at the wall two or three houses down the street.

The water jet easily pierced through the wall. Hearing the sound of someone collapsing inside, Xu Huo then landed and accelerated, judging the fleeing player’s route based on his earlier escape direction.

With ”Straight-Line Distance” acceleration, he didn’t have much trouble intercepting the man. A direct kick sent the target flying, crashing through a line of trash cans before tumbling into the intersection.

However, that blow didn’t cause serious injury. The man used the momentum to leap to the opposite side, jumping into a park with dense tree cover.

The moment Xu Huo stepped inside, the scenery before his eyes suddenly changed. The trees on both sides rapidly receded into the distance, the path beneath his feet stretched infinitely long, and a thick fog surged up directly ahead. Shadows flickered within it, accompanied by eerie sounds, and numerous hands and feet extended from the fog’s edge, all reaching toward his position.

Putting on the ”Oxygen Supply,” Xu Huo tossed the ”Desert Windmill” onto the ground. A sandstorm swirled up, and the fog, shadows, everything vanished in an instant. Three seconds later, he retrieved the item, took a swift step forward, and delivered two consecutive sword slashes at different spots in the woods. As trees toppled, two players leaped out from the forest.

They were clearly with the man from earlier, dressed in similar outfits, with only their eyes visible.”The rest of you, stop hiding. Come out together,” Xu Huo said, holding his sword and gesturing with his chin toward another spot where four more were concealed.

The two players opposite exchanged a glance, then one of them nodded. The other four also stepped out from behind the trees. Out of caution, they didn’t get too close, and even the front two maintained a certain distance.

”People from the Double Snake organization?” Xu Huo asked. While chasing the player earlier, he had spotted a black envelope in the room where the man was hiding.

”We are not from Double Snake,” the player who had nodded spoke up. ”We followed a Double Snake member here. We stayed to observe a bit longer after discovering they were delivering an invitation to you. If we’ve offended you, I apologize.”

”So, among those surveilling me, there were members of the Double Snake organization,” Xu Huo said. He had killed one incidentally while chasing the man. ”The one next door to you?”

He asked the young man.

The young man standing at the back nodded, then glanced forward again.

The speaking player spoke again, ”That person was the Double Snake messenger. That invitation... you’d better not go. Those people are not kind or devout.”

After saying this, the group prepared to leave. However, Xu Huo swung his sword, cutting off the path ahead of them. ”If you were only following the messenger, you wouldn’t have taken up positions in that location. The person has been killed by me. With no survivors, I can’t be sure whether you’re actually together or not... Consider yourselves unlucky today.”

As his words faded, he vanished from his spot, flashing to appear right in front of the speaking player, his long sword sweeping toward the man’s throat!

Unexpectedly, this person reacted swiftly too, ducking low to avoid the sword, only losing his cap to the blade. He then quickly reached out toward Xu Huo’s side!

Xu Huo used ”Like Repels Like.” Before the other could even touch his clothes, an invisible force slammed him three meters away. Raising his left hand, the Power of Writing forced all the players present to focus their attention on him.

Delaying the moment several players could simultaneously use items or characteristics, he moved two steps and tossed out the item ”Constraining Star Sphere,” pulling all six present into his mental world.

The park ceased to exist, the surroundings turning pure black. All six players were panicked. Looking back to where Xu Huo had been standing, there was no one there!

”Brother Liang, what’s going on?” the young man asked the player who had spoken with Xu Huo.

”Don’t panic, this might be an item effect. Be careful, don’t be fooled by what you see. We’re still in the park. He must be nearby. Defend yourselves!” Brother Liang said loudly, simultaneously taking out a defensive item to protect his vital points.

The other five did the same. They could see each other but not Xu Huo. To be safe, they simply gathered in a circle, pulling out items and weapons to wildly strike at their surroundings.

”What’s really happening? There’s no one here,” the young man said. ”If it’s an illusion, he’d definitely attack us while we’re distracted, right? Liang...”

Before he could finish, the young man suddenly vanished. Brother Liang looked back and immediately shouted nervously, ”Be careful...”

Before his voice even settled, another player next to him disappeared. This time, he saw it vanish with his own eyes. He rushed over, shouting and grabbing, but the person was truly gone.

”Brother Liang, Little Zhang and Big Head are probably in grave danger,” another player said urgently. ”Quick, think of a way to escape! Don’t worry about us!”

”If we go, we go together!” Brother Liang was saying when he watched the companion urging him to flee get swallowed by the darkness, disappearing right before his eyes. The two others nearby tried to pull him back, but were unexpectedly dragged away along with him.

”Li Qun! Jin Yong!” Brother Liang charged forward headlong, only to run straight into Xu Huo. His eyes blazed with fury. ”Where did you take them? Did you kill them? We have no grudge against you! Why did you kill them!”

Hearing this, Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. ”You’re the ones who came after me.”

Brother Liang gritted his teeth. ”I already explained. We followed the messenger here.”

Xu Huo studied him for two seconds. ”You followed the messenger because you want to find the Double Snake organization? Why?”

Brother Liang stared at him fiercely, not speaking. Xu Huo, however, smiled slightly. ”I’m not from Double Snake. On the contrary, I’m quite interested in this organization as well.”

His interest stemmed from the fact that the Special Defense Department had sent people to investigate but found no significant issues, which was clearly abnormal.

If it were an ordinary player organization, there would be no need for such cryptic methods to hold gatherings or recruit members. In this situation, the more secretive they were, the more likely they had something to hide. Holding a tea party didn’t require such formality. The posts on the Vanguard Players forum seemed more like an intentional attempt to draw the Special Defense Department’s attention.

The tactic of many people playing along with one person’s game wasn’t uncommon. The Special Defense Department investigated twice and then let it be. But this organization was still selecting targets to send invitations. He had just returned, moving from Ting City to Yang City, and this organization had already found him so quickly. It was evident their information channels were extensive. This was definitely not just a bunch of low-level players gathering to exchange insignificant gossip.