Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 1195: An Invitation from the Hat Player

Chapter 1195: Chapter 1195: An Invitation from the Hat Player

The matter concerning Rose Castle was entrusted to Mr. Dong, and Xu Huo went to the third floor alone.

Tan Qi was waiting for him outside the study.

"Something you need?" Xu Huo opened the door.

Tan Qi followed behind him, and after entering, he stood by the door: "Aren’t you going to ask me about Doctor Zhang?"

Xu Huo sat down behind the desk, organizing the notes on it as he spoke: "Anything you’d like to say?"

Since he had his head lowered, it was difficult to see his expression, so Tan Qi tilted his head to observe him for a moment. After failing to glean anything, he mimicked Xu Huo’s posture and lowered his head as he spoke, "Didn’t you bring me out because of Doctor Zhang? You can ask me."

"That’s part of the reason." Xu Huo glanced at him, "You can live an ordinary life like Xiao Yuan—attend school in Zone 011 and choose your own path in the future."

"I can help you." Tan Qi said, "Are you planning to deal with Doctor Zhang? Give me a few more years, and I’ll be of use to you."

Xu Huo smiled faintly, "I’ve seen your experimental records. You’re particularly sensitive to Doctor Zhang and the medications during the experiments. Were you faking it?"

"For self-preservation," Tan Qi replied. "If they knew everything about Doctor Zhang, I might have died."

After pausing briefly, he added, "I’m not a successful experimental subject."

"Did the laboratory doctors tell you that?" Xu Huo asked.

"No," Tan Qi walked to the opposite side of the desk and met his gaze. "Doctor Zhang said it."

"Before administering the medications to me and the other children, he informed us that we were failed prototypes."

"But then he said he wanted to cultivate a finished product from the failed prototypes."

"Doctor Zhang didn’t take anyone with him when he left, so we’re all failures."

Xu Huo was silent for a moment before asking, "Do you have any illnesses?"

Many children in District 002 had congenital diseases at birth; many died young, but Tan Qi appeared to be healthy.

"Doctor Zhang cured us," Tan Qi’s eyes showed a flicker of light.

"If that’s the case, Doctor Zhang would seem like a good person to you. How can I trust you’d stand on my side?" Xu Huo paused his actions.

Tan Qi didn’t fabricate another lie and instead answered bluntly, "You’re no match for Doctor Zhang."

"I see." Xu Huo nodded slightly, "What you’re implying is that I lack the strength to confront Doctor Zhang, so your stance doesn’t matter."

This wasn’t the point Tan Qi wanted to emphasize, but he didn’t correct Xu Huo’s deliberate misinterpretation and allowed it.

However, Xu Huo raised an eyebrow, "You can dismiss yourself as insignificant, yet you’re taking a stance to have this conversation with me. Why?"

"As you said, you’re a failure. Doctor Zhang certainly wouldn’t reveal more information to you, and his approach to cultivating failed subjects is unremarkable—useless to me."

"It’s not useless information," Tan Qi stressed. "You can’t even meet Doctor Zhang; you can only learn about him through me. Otherwise, why would you bring me here?"

"You want to prove your worth," Xu Huo nodded slightly, "Reluctant to live as an ordinary person?"

"I want to become a player," Tan Qi met his gaze.

His mindset was easy to understand: if everyone lives in hardship, then hardship can be endured.

But once you’ve learned this world offers a better way to live, no one would willingly continue to suffer.

Doctor Zhang had opened that door for him, and he wanted to walk through it on his own.

"As I just said, you can choose freely. Whether you want to become a player or live as an ordinary person, it’s up to you," Xu Huo replied calmly. "You don’t need to sacrifice anything to exchange for it. I’ll simply support you for a few years; you can repay the money later."

Tan Qi firmly believed there’s no such thing as a free lunch and remained standing where he was.

"How about this," Xu Huo added, "You can look after Xiao Yuan."

"How should I look after her?" Tan Qi asked in confusion, "Back at the orphanage, I could give her my food and donated candies, but there’s no shortage of food here."

"Not in terms of basic living necessities—like a typical child. Help her with her homework," Xu Huo explained, then reminded him, "But don’t write it for her."

Tan Qi looked at him with an expression that seemed to say, "Even though I’ve never been to school, I suspect you’re insulting my intelligence."

"Go now," Xu Huo had already immersed himself back in his own matters.

"Shouldn’t we deal with the guy outside?" Tan Qi asked again, offering a suggestion, "I can lure him in."

Xu Huo didn’t even look up, "Go to bed early. Kids who stay up late don’t grow tall."

Tan Qi retreated, defeated.

After leaving for a while, Xiao Yuan knocked on the door holding a tray with milk and snacks, "Uncle Dong asked me to bring these."

Xu Huo gestured for her to set them down. After Xiao Yuan placed the tray on the table, she hesitated before asking, "Is Tan Qi a good person?"

"For now, yes," Xu Huo replied.

Xiao Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, "Then should I go to school with him?"

"He also hasn’t attended school before. You’ll get a head start and can help each other," Xu Huo didn’t hide anything from her just because she was a child. "But you should be cautious and not trust him completely."

"You don’t need to avoid mentioning this in front of him."

Children don’t spend long hours together; it’s better to be upfront.

"But my words may not be correct. You can judge for yourself."

Xiao Yuan nodded seriously and left the study obediently.

Xu Huo finished reviewing the last batch of video footage brought back from the laboratory before dawn. After stretching, he turned off the lights and went to bed.

Nothing happened that night.

The Hat Player waited outside the castle for a while before leaving to find a place to stay in the Ancient City District. In the morning, he returned with a basket of fruit to visit the castle.

Xu Huo asked Mr. Dong to let him in and said directly, "Do you remember the prophecy from the train?"

The Hat Player chuckled, "Of course! That’s why I’m here to find you."

Xu Huo invited him to sit down.

"I think we’re pretty connected, don’t you? Look, you accidentally saved my life on the train, then we happened to get off at the same station, and coincidentally ended up heading in the same direction... It’s practically fate!" The Hat Player chuckled.

Indeed, he wasn’t in an instance now. If there was danger, he could use his tickets to leave, so he felt emboldened.

Xu Huo didn’t point out that the other had followed him to the castle but instead said, "Let’s cut to the chase. What do you want from me?"

"I know of an instance that offers extremely generous rewards and want to invite you to join me," the Hat Player said immediately. "Don’t be quick to refuse. At the end of this instance, you might obtain an extraordinarily powerful prop that’s worth more than a human life."

"You know how most props don’t have autonomy and depend on how players use them, right? But this one can even actively cooperate with players in battle if wielded!"