Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 1224: Aren’t You Very Clever?

Chapter 1224: Chapter 1224: Aren’t You Very Clever?

After equipping the Defense Prop, Xu Huo also prepared the "Kitty Grants You Three Lives," then used Spatial Power to ascend into the air. Thankfully, the grid-shaped laser beams didn’t pursue him and instead converged mid-air, dissolving into fine specks of light before disappearing.

Seeing the beams vanish, Xu Huo couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow before descending back to the ground.

The man with glasses looked puzzled, but Mu Yan didn’t care. She urged, "This place isn’t safe. Let’s quickly move somewhere else!"

"If the other side is dead set on following us, and they’re in the shadows, it doesn’t matter where we go—it’ll always be the same," Xu Huo remained unmoved. "Rather than running every time, we might as well confront them openly. If we keep avoiding, he might actually think I’m afraid of him!"

The man with glasses picked up on a hint, "Is it someone who has a grudge against you two?"

"Most likely a nutcase," Mu Yan said, "haunting us like a phantom."

She didn’t distinguish herself from Xu Huo in that statement.

Surprised, the man with glasses asked, "A wise man doesn’t court immediate losses. Since you know someone’s tailing you, why not just run far away? Or are you waiting here to get ambushed?"

Mu Yan fell silent at that. The stalker hadn’t acted during the day but chose to make minor moves at night instead. While the intent remained unclear, the methods were sneaky yet puzzling. Strong? Maybe not, considering the underhanded tactics. Weak? Clearly not either, as they had trailed them undetected and even set up a trap. The motives remained maddeningly elusive!

"In a maze instance, where do you think we can run to?" Xu Huo said coolly then. "The fact they don’t dare show themselves means they’re not confident of winning outright against us. It looks cautious, but in reality, it’s cowardice—a pathetic farce. No matter the place or time, sneaky types never change their ways."

"Aren’t you worried about provoking them like this?" The man with glasses glanced nervously to both sides. "What if they really show up? Next time, you might not be lucky enough to escape those lasers."

"They won’t dare," Xu Huo replied with a sneer.

Mu Yan and the man with glasses said no more but stayed on high alert, closely monitoring their surroundings.

The mist-shrouded maze corridors were particularly silent, so still that even the occasional rustling of leaves on the maze walls sounded exaggeratedly loud—nothing happened.

"Relax, no one will show up," Xu Huo said again. "If they jumped out now, wouldn’t that just confirm they’ve been lurking nearby eavesdropping and couldn’t resist rising to the bait?"

"It’s less humiliating to maintain their façade."

The resting spot from before could no longer be used, so the trio had to relocate. As they each took out Props for resting, Mu Yan leaned toward Xu Huo, angling her back to block the man with glasses and asked, "Do you already know who’s stalking us?"

"I don’t." Xu Huo truly didn’t. Even though he suspected the stalker might know him, there were simply too many potential candidates—including people from Zone 014 Special Defense Department and elite government troops he’d never even encountered before.

Mu Yan felt both confused and annoyed. "Then what’s their goal? Doesn’t seem like they’re out to kill us in the instance."

Not unwilling to kill, but merely probing due to some other purpose.

"Before the instance concludes, people will always show their hand," Xu Huo said, glancing back at the man with glasses, now setting up his chosen Prop. "By the way, I still don’t know your name."

"Xue Lang." The man adjusted his glasses and seemed disinclined to exchange more words. He entered his resting Prop ahead of them.

"Looks like we’re not getting any sleep tonight," Mu Yan said, settling into her sleeping bag. She placed a few Props nearby for defense and also consumed a Potion to prevent herself from drifting off.

Yet by midnight, she still fell asleep.

In the dead silence of the misty maze, someone approached, footsteps halting momentarily by her side before heading for the shelter.

The shelter door was ajar, left partially open intentionally to catch sounds from outside.

As the figure’s hand reached toward the door, Xu Huo’s voice came from the opposite side, "Is your real name Xue Lang?"

The man—Xue Lang—froze mid-motion. The corridor under his feet stretched apart ahead of him, splitting into two paths that extended in both directions, rapidly increasing the distance between him and Xu Huo.

It was futile. In the blink of an eye, Xu Huo stowed away the shelter and teleported directly in front of him.

Though the ground beneath them continued to shift and grow, each time the gap widened, Xu Huo moved instantly back to block Xue Lang’s path. After several repetitions, the back-and-forth subsided as they maintained their tense distance.

Facing each other, Xue Lang’s cautious glare was evident. He subtly revealed several Props, clearly wary of Xu Huo.

"Good performance," Xu Huo said. "But you overlooked one thing: a normal person subjected to such an ambush earlier would think of fleeing, not teaming up with me at the risk of danger."

Xue Lang let out a cold laugh. "Nice try. You’re hoping I’ll leave and act as bait?"

"Something like that." Xu Huo slowly took a cigarette, lit it, and said, "But that’s not the real reason."

"Initially, I only suspected you might know me. But now, it seems I might know you too." Letting the cigarette smoke curl up between them, he added, "To my knowledge, no Player from my zone has reached your level yet. Even if they had, they wouldn’t waste so much time stalking me. You remind me of some unpleasant memories."

His cold gaze pierced through the smoke, locking eyes with Xue Lang. "Perhaps I might even recognize you. Why don’t you take off that mask you’re wearing?"

Xue Lang’s expression shifted unpredictably. After a moment, he raised his hand to his face, as if to remove the mask—only to suddenly cover the lower half of his face and begin trembling. Laughter erupted from him, at first soft, then louder, escalating into uncontrollable, maniacal laughter. His body shook uncontrollably as he covered most of his face with his hand, and when the laughter abruptly ceased, his visible right eye stared unflinchingly at Xu Huo through the gaps between his fingers:

"You’re so smart, aren’t you? Take a guess."

Xu Huo took a deep draw from his cigarette and exhaled, his expression icy. "Sometimes I really don’t get it—how a man like Doctor Zhang could tolerate someone like you. Seeing such an idiot prance around every day, doesn’t that drive him nuts?"

Xue Lang’s gaze grew sharp and cold as his hand slid off his face. "Tonight, no one’s coming to save you."

Xu Huo flicked off the ash from his cigarette and extinguished it with his foot. "If you truly had the guts, you wouldn’t keep poking at me again and again. What’s the matter? Think you’ve finally figured out my cards?"