Players, Please Board the Train

[ID Beautification: Different worlds, but the same ID photo problem. According to incomplete statistics, seven out of every ten ID photos are ones the holder can’t bear to show anyone. At the request of the vast user base, ID Beautification is now available in bulk. No matter how ugly the face on an ID card is, it can be modified into whatever the holder dreams of.]

[But please use moderation. If the ID photo differs too much from the person’s actual appearance, it may cause unnecessary disputes over proving one’s identity. As everyone knows, proving that you are yourself is quite difficult.]

[Note: This item is suitable for worlds with lower technological development.]

Xu Huo swapped on a fake face, used ”ID Beautification” to take a photo, then printed it onto his identification. In the span of a single stamp and lift, the photo had been replaced with his false face.

When he walked out, the woman was still loitering nearby, scanning the area. Seeing him, she turned tail and fled in terror.

Xu Huo stepped onto the street, used the freshly acquired ”car key” item to casually unlock a vehicle, floored the accelerator, and left the city behind.

There was still a considerable distance to the capital, but since no more convenient mode of transportation existed, he could only drive there himself using the map.

Along the way, there were many convoys migrating toward the capital’s vicinity. Word was that a mid-tier safe area had been attacked, and the players had only agreed to a temporary truce—things weren’t over yet. So the living, in order to keep on living, could only flee into the night.

If even a safe area could be attacked, nowhere else was truly secure. The only option was heading for the capital.

”Why not go to some small place?” someone asked during idle chatter. ”No one pays attention to small places, so no one would bother causing trouble there. The big safe areas are the ones that get targeted first.””You idiot, even if a safe area gets targeted, rescue arrives in time. Unless it’s a really formidable intruder, nothing much happens. But in a small place, if a few random players show up, you’re completely screwed—no one to call, no one to turn to. You haven’t seen those small places. Every now and then, truckload after truckload of corpses get hauled out... Sigh, ordinary people’s lives aren’t worth much.”

”That’s true, but ordinary folks can’t even get into the capital’s safe areas.”

”You wouldn’t know this, but there are people who sell new IDs specifically. As long as you’ve got money, you can get one.”

That remark drew the surrounding crowd in, everyone eagerly asking how to do it and whether the channel was reliable.

”Of course it’s reliable. The ones running it are players themselves. They’ve got special connections, real tight with a certain player organization.” The promoter said smugly, ”Besides, the money for these IDs isn’t just pocketed by the middleman. Some people need their cut too.”

The people gathered together by the traffic jam pressed in eagerly, scrambling to buy contact information.

”I think Zone 009 is doomed.” In the car right next to Xu Huo’s, a girl with an eyebrow piercing and a leather jacket leaned on her window, grinning. Noticing his gaze, she turned back and winked at him. ”Don’t you think so?”

Xu Huo rolled up his window.

The cars started moving again. After nightfall, many people chose to cluster together and rest, leaving the roads relatively clear. He drove all the way to the next service area before stopping.

Even here, there were quite a few people. Fortunately, the restaurant was still open. Xu Huo ordered a meal and sat down to eat. Before long, the eyebrow-piercing woman who had tried to chat with him walked in with her companions.

Her companions went to order food, while the woman walked over and took a seat next to him, chin resting on both hands, staring at him with unwavering intensity.

As if completely unaware of being watched, Xu Huo continued eating, paying her no mind, until the woman’s companion returned and asked her, ”What are you staring at him for?”

The woman giggled and asked Xu Huo, ”Brother, have you ever played Fate Cards before?”

”I drew a card this morning before heading out. The card told me I’d have good luck today. My intuition’s always been pretty sharp, and the moment I saw you, I just felt you were a good fit. This card of mine works both ways—you bring me luck, and I bring you luck. How about we team up and travel together?”

Xu Huo had already finished his meal and was leaning back in his chair resting. He clearly had no intention of entertaining her.

The eyebrow-piercing woman instead took the initiative to sit across from him, placing a stack of gold-and-pink speckled cards on the table.

The moment the cards spread across the table, Xu Huo opened his eyes and stared at her coldly.

The woman smiled. ”I mean no harm. It’s just that once the cards are on the table, you have to draw one before you can leave.”

”My cards usually show a person’s fortune for the next three days. Don’t you want to try?”

Xu Huo crossed his arms, still not intending to make a move.

Items have time limits on their effects, and he had plenty of time to spare.

After a while, the eyebrow-piercing woman spoke again. ”I’m not lying to you. This item only ends when a card is drawn. Otherwise, we’d just be sitting here until dawn.”

”There’s another way.” Xu Huo said coldly. ”I kill you.”

Her companions immediately stood up, but she herself waved a dismissive hand. ”Like I said, I’ve got good luck today. I’m definitely not dying here.”

Xu Huo tapped his fingers on the table, then suddenly said, ”Did you know that luck is a fixed quantity?”

”Generally speaking, a person’s good luck and bad luck balance out. If you hit a streak of bad luck, good fortune follows afterward. And so it goes, back and forth.”

”For example, you calculated that you’d have good luck today. Finding money on the roadside counts as good luck. Relying on that luck to dodge death over and over again and still survive also counts as good luck. But if the latter uses up a larger share of your lifetime’s total luck, then you’re either in for a longer stretch of bad luck, or you’re due for one massive fall.”

When he finished speaking, the eyebrow-piercing woman’s expression was no longer as relaxed as before. Her companions also looked somewhat unsettled. Clearly, they all bought into this line of thinking.

But Xu Huo simply smiled at that moment, pointing at a card. ”I was just messing around.”

The eyebrow-piercing woman couldn’t just laugh it off. When she flipped the card over, the knives and swords in the illustration clashed together, then began to drip blood.

Her face showed surprise as she repeatedly studied Xu Huo. ”That can’t be right. Why is your card the opposite of mine...”

She muttered to herself, reshuffled the deck, and drew another one herself. This time, it was a person struggling desperately, stabbed through the abdomen.

When the eyebrow-piercing woman saw the card, her expression slowly relaxed.

”Did my luck throw yours off?” Xu Huo said with a smile.

The woman glanced at him. ”Looks like my good luck hasn’t run out yet.”

”Let me introduce myself. My name’s Chi Nan. These are my brothers—Old Zhou, Little Ma, and Big Bu. Big Bu is mixed-blood. He’s not great with languages, so he’s a bit slow to speak.”

”Brother, what’s your name?”

”I’m not planning to team up with you.” Xu Huo stood up and left.

Chi Nan and her group didn’t even bother with their food as they followed after him. ”It’s so dangerous out on the road. You never know when a dungeon might suddenly spawn. Getting jumped and robbed is also a huge headache. More hands make lighter work!”

”You’re heading to the capital’s safe area, right? So are we. Do you have an ID? I know some people. Getting one made is no problem!”

Xu Huo flashed to his car in an instant. Chi Nan stood by the roadside, yelling, ”Brother, you need someone to keep watch at night or what!”