Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 1204: The Passage and Player

Chapter 1204: Chapter 1204: The Passage and Player

"But each player can hold a maximum of six cards," Lin Qian said. "If you have too many cards, they will randomly disappear."

"Can the cards we obtain be discarded voluntarily?" Xu Huo asked.

Lin Qian and Da Hu exchanged a glance. "Previously, yes, but now we’re not sure."

Xu Huo understood. In truth, the game’s public rules were quite suggestive. For example, certain numbered cards could assist with clearing the stage, suit cards could directly transport players to the correct passage, and the labyrinth walls would reveal secure pathways corresponding to card faces.

These three rules appeared to aid players with clearing the stage, but they also carried a hint of misdirection.

For example, while some numbered cards might assist with clearing the stage, this didn’t mean all numbered cards could do so. The same logic applied to the labyrinth walls — players could find cards there, but most of them would undoubtedly trigger traps.

These three rules essentially lured players into competing for the playing cards. Compared to clearing the instance, the second rule regarding the changes in the number of participants on each side seemed far less significant.

When Xu Huo unleashed the power of the cubic space, he could advance 300 to 400 meters through the winding maze corridors — however, with the labyrinth walls enhanced by the force of the instance, even his current evolutionary ability couldn’t see through them. In a sense, all ordinary players would be unable to penetrate the labyrinth walls, reducing the effectiveness of the cubic space’s ability.

A range of 300 to 400 meters wasn’t enough to determine ahead of time whether the corridor was a dead end, leaving him to trial-and-error his way forward.

According to the background information, out of the 162 correct passages, the overlapping sections accounted for less than one-third of the entire correct path. This made the maze unbelievably vast. In comparison, 54 cards and 54 players felt overwhelmingly sparse.

"Never mind whether cards can be discarded, where are we supposed to find people?" Da Hu looked around, front and back.

Indeed, aside from the five individuals they’d met upon entering, they had yet to encounter a sixth player.

Regarding the game rule that stated certain playing cards would benefit players in clearing the instance — though they’d acquired their first card, they had no idea what effect it might have.

It wasn’t clear whether the first card lacked special features, whether the instance had deliberately concealed information about it, or whether they could only uncover card characteristics by acquiring someone else’s card.

Among the three of them present, if they wanted to test this theory, there was only one method.

The three knew implicitly what it was, but none voiced it aloud. Instead, they heightened their vigilance, creating a slight distance between each other.

Xu Huo took the lead, Lin Qian followed in the middle, and Da Hu dawdled at the back.

Rule four of the game stated that upon the death of a cardholder, their playing cards might return to the labyrinth walls. Two scenarios caused this: one, where the cardholder was killed by a labyrinth wall trap; and two, where someone exceeded the six-card limit, triggering random card loss.

Regardless of which situation, playing cards rarely appeared on the labyrinth walls early on. Thus, none of the three touched the labyrinth walls during this initial stretch.

However, around half an hour later, a rumbling noise echoed through the maze, as if something was moving.

"It’s coming from underground..." Da Hu began, but before he could finish, the nearby labyrinth wall suddenly split down the middle. A white figure shot out at high speed, followed closely by three others. The wall closed rapidly, allowing only the first two to emerge successfully while the last person was trapped and left silent inside.

The two pursuing individuals obviously targeted the young man in white up front. One of them hurled several liquid pills, which exploded upon hitting the maze’s mutant plants, seemingly releasing a growth agent. The agent caused the plants to grow rapidly and even become aggressive!

The man in white, originally heading for the corridor’s turn, was forced back by the attacking plants, cornered by the two pursuers blocking his retreat. One of them raised a massive bubble blower, blowing out hundreds of human-head-sized transparent bubbles. The bubbles burst upon contact, encircling both the man in white and Xu Huo’s trio.

The previously rampantly growing vines now began to entangle Xu Huo’s group. As the bubbles flew, they burst one after another against their defensive barriers. Da Hu’s large arc-shaped barrier was particularly vulnerable, getting bombarded by bubbles and turning into a shield for the man in white.

While the bubbles couldn’t thoroughly breach the barriers, their bursts produced dense light spots that disrupted visibility, making it feel like being reflected upon by hundreds of mirrors simultaneously.

"Damn it!" Da Hu cursed, raising a cannon-like prop and pressing its switch toward the direction the bubbles were coming from!

The hum of spinning blades heralded a powerful gust of wind, pushing the bubbles back and pinning the pursuers in place — the wind seemed to form an invisible wall!

Mere seconds later, a finger-sized black metallic shard shot against the wind straight into Da Hu’s prop. With a "bang," the strong wind device was rendered useless!

The man in white hadn’t made his move. He held four transparent crystals, each under ten centimeters long, between his fingers, tossing them into the air. The eight crystals soared, exploding mid-air into countless droplets raining down!

The droplets weren’t actual rain, but corrosive liquid as potent as sulfuric acid. The labyrinth walls and corridor floor hissed under its destructive force!

The two pursuers and Xu Huo’s trio retreated in separate directions, leaving Xu Huo’s group standing together with the man in white — conveniently avoiding the corrosive rain entirely by slipping into the next corridor!

The labyrinth walls functioned both as traps and safeguards. When the four turned into the next passage, the man in white and Da Hu triggered the walls on either side. Two massive mutant plants emerged, blocking off the entire corridor!

However, the proximity meant the pursuers could still catch up. Hence, the two began sprinting with all their might, determined not to stop unless they thoroughly shook off their tail!

Midway, Xu Huo slowed slightly, observing the two ahead who blindly charged forward without verifying the corridor’s correctness. He suspected the suit cards weren’t entirely reliable.

Seeing him pause, Lin Qian furrowed her brows and asked softly, "What’s wrong?"

"Let’s take another path," Xu Huo responded, turning toward another fork.

Lin Qian hesitated, glancing left and right, but ultimately chose to follow Xu Huo, given the two pursuers were catching up, with one sneering, "They went down a dead end!"

Da Hu and the man in white had indeed entered a dead end, meaning they’d have no choice but to backtrack. Blocking them required merely waiting at the fork!

Soon enough, sounds of movement emerged from the corridor.

The pursuers exchanged a glance and collaborated to deploy a barrier roughly 50 meters wide and 2 meters thick, completely sealing off the corridor while deflecting the hidden weapon prop sent by the man in white!