Players, Please Board the Train

Gu Yu was startled and hurriedly shoved Zheng Liang, who opened his eyes and slowly came to, “I just fell asleep!”

“This is not normal.” Brother Liang also woke Guan Zuhong. Who would dare sleep in this situation, especially after sitting on the bed for only two minutes.

“Don’t touch the bed, and don’t close your eyes.” He said, “Wake each other up so nothing unexpected happens.”

They didn’t dare touch the bed and sat on the floor instead. For the first ten minutes they managed to stay awake, but after Zheng Liang was the first to fall asleep, Wen Xuelin leaned against Gu Yu and closed her eyes, then Brother Liang and Guan Zuhong collapsed to the ground.

Bang bang bang! The ward door was knocked. After several tries with no answer, the knocking turned into banging, and the bedframe leaning against the door soon toppled along with the door…

Boom! Scar Player and several others were in a room on the fifth floor. They clearly heard banging from upstairs, but the door that fell was theirs. A dark brown creature the height of the door walked in — roughly human in torso and limbs, but its exposed skin was patchy and of mismatched colors, its chest and arms bearing visible sewn-up seams.

It held an axe with a chain looped around its forearm. After it smashed the door, it lunged at the nearest player, pinching his throat while swinging the axe at Scar Player.

All the people in that room were Player-Eaters. Lacking the ability to develop characteristics, they were generally stronger in evolution rate and had augmented muscle strength, so the player grabbed the creature’s hand at once, flipped to the side, and twisted, snapping the creature’s wrist!

Scar Player dodged the axe and used an item to nail the chain from the axe to the wall, then pulled with all his might; the creature’s right forearm flew off!

The other players joined in. One scattered a handful of powder that ignited on contact with the creature and burned it to death.The creature’s screams echoed through the building, but before that sound died down, other noises came from the corridor.

“There’s more than one monster roaming the hospital.” Players scattered across rooms realized this.

Although no one opened their doors to go out, some players found ways to catch glimpses of the monsters. The stitched-together abominations resembled bizarre medical experiment subjects from evil legends. This place was a hospital, and those coming in were stripped of rights as “psychiatric patients,” so it wouldn’t be shocking if some doctor experimented on them.

With the situation unclear, no player dared to risk going out. Scar Player and his group simply moved to another room and locked the door again.

But footsteps and door-banging in the hallway did not stop, and the trend only grew. In unseen corners, more monsters materialized and joined the nocturnal parade. Most looked like twisted experimental products, and several Mutants appeared.

The most unreal was the “female ghost” Wen Xuelin imagined.

Xu Huo came downstairs and found the female ghost roaming the corridor.

When she walked, the lights flickered with her movement. She advanced only when the lights went out, and when the lights came on, she stood still.

As she walked toward him, Xu Huo raised a hand and the lights lit up one by one, illuminating the entire corridor.

Her head drooped forward, hair hanging past her knees, dripping water drop by drop.

He placed a door in front of her, but she refused to pass through, her toes always pointed at him.

Xu Huo tapped his foot on the floor and the corridor’s surface turned into a blurred black mist. The female ghost fell through, and a scream soon rang out from a room on the fourth floor.

One scream wasn’t enough. He walked back and forth down the corridor, stuffing “things” into several rooms. Players started running out, and he chose a ward at random, opened it, and walked in to the room where Gu Yu and the others were.

He woke them. Gu Yu looked at him with delight, “You made it in too!”

Xu Huo nodded, “Earlier than everyone else. This is a mental-type Random Dungeon. Imagined things can become real here, so it’s best not to dwell on anything.”

Wen Xuelin’s face changed and she quickly pulled out her phone, “We can’t get out anyway. I’ll play a couple rounds and wait for daylight.”

“Things you imagine in this dungeon can become real?” Brother Liang could hardly believe it, “Does imagined stuff have attack power?”

“It does, if people believe it has attack power.” Xu Huo said, “The more people consider it real, the more real it becomes. When I came through I saw Mutants and ghosts outside. Don’t go out tonight; wait until morning.”

“I checked the back floors too, don’t go there. Of the three tasks, the first one should be the easiest to complete.”

“Do our items work against ghosts?” Wen Xuelin hurriedly asked.

Xu Huo paused, “Can you still open your personal panels right now?”

Gu Yu and the others’ faces changed, “This dungeon is that intense!”

Xu Huo nodded, “Most of what happens in the hospital is fake, but because of the dungeon’s power, players will believe it’s true.”

“This is amazing! I have a bold idea.” Zheng Liang looked at them, “If players who enter can’t open their personal panels, wouldn’t everyone be on the same footing?”

“Good idea.” Gu Yu said, “But you can’t guarantee every player will be affected that way.”

“That’s true.” Xu Huo replied, “But it should apply to most players.”

“Then that’s settled!” Zheng Liang clapped, “When we get out we’ll notify the Special Defense Department and have them herd the Player-Eaters over here.”

“We still haven’t cleared it.” Brother Liang reminded calmly, then looked at Xu Huo, “Can you handle it?”

“We’ll know when we try tomorrow.” Xu Huo listened to the sounds outside, “I’m going out for a bit. Don’t look for me. If you can clear it, go ahead and leave.”

He didn’t wait for anyone to speak and simply pulled the door open and left. Gu Yu ran a few steps after him and leaned on the door to talk, but Xu Huo was already gone and the corridor was silent!

She shivered and turned back, “What we saw earlier—it wasn’t a hallucination, was it?”

“Probably not.” Wen Xuelin stammered, “Can we even imagine living people into existence?”

Guan Zuhong said, “Do you think the nurses and security guards were real?”

The room fell silent. Zheng Liang waved his hand, “It had to be Xu Huo. Just look at his face—still that annoying expression. It can’t be fake.”

Gu Yu stared at him speechlessly, then after a few seconds said, “Let’s wait until tomorrow.”

They waited and, involuntarily, fell asleep again. When they woke up, the previous night felt like a dream. Their clothes had become patient gowns, and stepping outside they saw everyone wearing patient gowns. Middle-aged nurses moved through the corridors delivering medicine to wards; downstairs vehicles arrived and family members carrying fruit and bread came up.

“Room 407, it’s time to take your medicine.” A nurse walked toward them.