Players, Please Board the Train

After the conversation, the female player told them her name was Ding Wei, and her profession was psychological counselor. Due to her special characteristics, she made people feel warmth upon first meeting.

”That feeling doesn’t affect people’s judgment, though. It hasn’t reached that level yet. It just makes first-time acquaintances a bit more amiable.” Ding Wei smiled. ”After being in the game for so long, everyone tends to overreact a little. But I think meeting on this train is a kind of fate. Why must it be a fight to the death? Wouldn’t it be nice to enter the dungeon peacefully and go home happily?”

”You’re right, but not every player thinks that way.” Shangguan Xi sighed, then added, ”Who knows if they’re Player-Eaters or player-killers. You could end up dead without even realizing it.”

”You two seem to get along well. Were you friends before?” Ding Wei glanced at Xu Huo.

Xu Huo had already finished his breakfast. He hadn’t touched the fish Ding Wei had ordered, nor did he pay attention to what she was saying.

Although Shangguan Xi hadn’t eaten either, he proactively picked up the conversation. ”We met at the station. Brother Xu is a veteran.”

Ding Wei looked quite admiring. ”I just advanced to C-grade and haven’t done a C-level dungeon yet. You two are experienced. Could I ask for some advice on doing C-level dungeons?”

Neither Xu Huo nor Shangguan Xi had the authority to answer that, but Shangguan Xi shamelessly took on the role of teacher, reciting information from the Under-Dimension Hall by the book.

”Actually, it’s not that different from D-rank Dungeons. Generally, the venue gets bigger, the time gets longer, and of course the tasks become more complex. When we used to do dungeons, the tasks were usually specified. C-level dungeons aren’t necessarily like that. And if you want a high score, besides completing the dungeon tasks, you can also trigger hidden tasks.”

”Hidden tasks are bonus scoring items, and there are corresponding rewards for completing them.”

”But keep in mind that C-level dungeons allow teaming up. If you want to be a lone wolf, be careful of being surrounded and gang-attacked by other players.”

”So it’s best to team up to clear the dungeon. There are quite a few benefits to doing so. First, more people means more ideas, so clearing might be easier. Second, if your teammates are strong, you can ride their coattails to a high rating. Of course, the clear rewards have to be split among everyone.”

”The rewards for clearing a dungeon are already scarce. If you team up with others, how much can you actually get in the end?” Ding Wei shook her head. ”People die for wealth and birds die for food. I’m afraid by the end you’ll be beating each other’s brains out.”

”Isn’t that the truth.” Shangguan Xi agreed. ”You can only leave the dungeon after all team members acknowledge the distribution results. That’s a huge risk.”

The reward distribution he mentioned, Xu Huo had already experienced once in The Headhunter Demon’s dungeon. Rewards could be split however everyone agreed, but every player had to acknowledge it and confirm on their own panel before they could use the return ticket. Otherwise, the dungeon wasn’t considered finished.

While this method protected players’ interests, it also created new problems, such as deliberately stalling for time or killing people to get a bigger share of rewards. For players, this was the final step before clearing.

But all of this was information that could be found in the Under-Dimension Hall. There was no need to learn it from someone else’s mouth at all.

”Let’s go back.” Xu Huo interrupted the endlessly talking Shangguan Xi.

Shangguan Xi hadn’t forgotten those two Player-Eaters in Carriage Seventeen. He hurried to get up and said to Ding Wei, ”You’re not from Carriage Seventeen, right? Be sure to be careful at night.”

Ding Wei smiled and watched the two off. When the carriage door closed, that book reappeared in her hand. Its pages turned without wind, and a faint light emanated from the blank pages.

Xu Huo looked back, casually adjusted his glasses along the way, lightly touched the edge of the lens with his finger, then left as if nothing had happened.

Passing through Carriage Seventeen back to Carriage Sixteen, Shangguan Xi shamelessly squeezed into his room. ”So, um, I’m absolutely not scared, but we just advanced to C-grade, so it’s easy to become someone’s target. It’d be such a shame to die here... I didn’t expect there to be so many new people on this train.”

”You mean Ding Wei?” Xu Huo looked at him. ”You didn’t notice she was fishing for information?”

Shangguan Xi looked surprised, paused for a moment, then said, ”But I didn’t say anything important. I got all of that from the Under-Dimension!”

”She wasn’t looking at what you said, but how you said it.” Xu Huo said. ”A person’s way of speaking and behavioral patterns carry a lot of meaning. Even Districts with average technological development can use these two data points to analyze a person’s past, infer their thought logic, and dynamically predict what actions a person might take. You think that doesn’t work in the game?”

Shangguan Xi was stunned. ”No way. That would at least require an instrument to analyze...”

He shut his own mouth before finishing. If such a functional item really existed, completing that whole analysis would be all too easy.

Seeing him full of regret, Xu Huo slowly said, ”I’m just guessing. It might not be accurate.”

Shangguan Xi clamped his mouth shut.

But not long after, he actually said with a hint of anxiety, ”What if she’s really targeting me?”

”Even if she can predict some of your behavior, the time cost, accuracy rate, and coordination during combat are all up for debate. There’s nothing to worry about.” Xu Huo comforted him.

Shangguan Xi was not comforted at all. His face fell. ”Then why did you even say it...”

Xu Huo smiled. ”I thought you talked a bit too much.”

Having been thoroughly frightened, Shangguan Xi left with a sheepish, crestfallen look. But not two minutes later, he came knocking again, carrying a big bag of snacks and drinks, beaming. ”These are local specialties from my hometown. Want to try some?”

Clearly, Xu Huo didn’t have the option to refuse. Not only did he come in, but he also made himself at home sitting on the edge of the bed and laying out his slippers.

Xu Huo leaned against the desk, scrutinizing this seemingly guileless person before him.

The number above his head when looking at himself was ”6,” and judging by the color, there was no ill intent.

”How did you figure out I’m not a Player-Eater?” he asked directly.

”You saw through me.” Shangguan Xi looked a bit embarrassed. ”It’s actually nothing special, just a prediction characteristic... And Brother Xu, your face clearly shows you’re a good person. Really!”

He paused, then mustered his courage. ”We just advanced to C-grade, so we should stick together! The world still needs us to change it. How can we die halfway there!”

Xu Huo felt there was something somewhat off about him, but he didn’t say much else.

Sleeping in the same bed was naturally out of the question. Shangguan Xi made a bedroll at the foot of the bed on the other end.

In the middle of the night, the door to the small room suddenly opened. Shangguan Xi flipped up and was about to throw an item, his hand already extended, before he saw it was Xu Huo. He stood outside the door, and opposite him stood that Player-Eater who hadn’t shown his face during the day. He hadn’t gotten a clear look at his face before, and now he still couldn’t see it clearly, because he seemed to be squeezed into a narrow box, limbs twisted, facial features deformed, and the skin exposed outside was covered in bulging blue veins!