Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 388 Behind the Purpose

Chapter 388: Chapter 388 Behind the Purpose

Shi Youzhi had finished making the call and, after greeting his teammates, was ready to lead Ai Jia into the station city beyond the desert.

Only after the pair left did She Ping complain, "Fixing the station benefits everyone, yet some people just have to stir up trouble for no reason."

A female teammate tossed him a pack of biscuits, "Eat something first; we don’t know when the captain will be back. Fill your belly before you grumble."

Wan Tingfang went over to get some food and took the opportunity to ask, "We can’t go into the station city?"

Although the relations between the two sides were not great, base personnel were free to enter and exit all the major cities.

The female teammate shook her head, "If we can avoid going, it’s best not to. You saw it yourself, the repair equipment has a self-destruction device. If we bring it inside and it destroys itself for no good reason, we’ll lose all our rewards."

"So that’s how it is." Wan Tingfang simply sat down next to her and started chatting.

"You’re quite agile," She Ping said as he came over and handed Xu Huo a bottle of water.

Xu Huo thanked him and accepted it, making conversation, "Does the supply department often encounter this kind of thing?"

She Ping said calmly, "Not too often, but not too infrequently either. Some players are not here for the equipment at all; they’re just causing trouble."

It wasn’t surprising for players trapped in the game with no way out to develop animosity towards game personnel under the pressure of extreme emotions.

Avoiding this topic, Xu Huo then asked, "Which area’s player were you originally?"

"I’m not a player," She Ping glanced at him, "You should have heard about the Game Government’s Grey Players."

Xu Huo nodded.

"Although some Grey Players evolved from game players, most were not originally players but Evolvers, who joined the Game Government and received a Grey Player status that allows them to use weapons."

She Ping paused then added, "They’re quite different from the truly battle-hardened players."

Without saying it, Xu Huo could guess that working for the Game Government came with security as well as high risk. A small portion of players might use other avenues to become copyholders or directly join the Game Government, but they would be opposed by the vast majority, and the contradictions were irreconcilable.

"Ordinary players, even if they join the base, cannot obtain Grey Player status," She Ping reminded him, "Perhaps they don’t live long enough to do so."

"I want to gain a foothold in Zone 011; whether I can obtain Grey Player status is not that important," Xu Huo said after taking a sip of water.

It was their first meeting and they were not well acquainted, so the conversation stopped at that point.

The other teammates, not in the mood, did not express friendliness toward their potential new ally, taking turns resting and keeping watch, barely interacting.

Shi Youzhi and Ai Jia returned only as the sky began to darken, bringing two transport vehicles with gloomy expressions. After loading the equipment, he called everyone to head back to the Base City, suggesting those who couldn’t fit in the back squish together in the front.

On the way back, Xu Huo learned from the exchanges of Ai Jia and the others that it wasn’t just one station that had been damaged in Zone 011 recently. Other subdivisions that had to be reached by the dimensional train had stations needing repair, and after bringing back the Blood Alien, Shi Youzhi and his team had already dealt with those. However, their situation was similar to today’s, with local player interference followed by bureaucratic delays with the local government for a couple of days before they could return.

What should have been a day’s work ended up being intentionally delayed by the local government, and it was unlikely they’d attempt repairs again for the next month or two.

It was unexpected that, just half a month later, the main subdivision of Base City in Zone 011 also faced the same situation.

"Has any other station in this subdivision been shut down?" Xu Huo suddenly asked.

"There’s another one, in a different direction, roughly the same distance from Base City," Shi Youzhi looked at him, "Why do you ask?"

Xu Huo smiled, "I don’t know what signs precede a war breaking out in the game divisions, but back in my hometown, destroying transportation routes was a common pre-war tactic."

Everyone present was startled by his words, and Ai Jia quickly responded, "Impossible, the main subdivision of Zone 011 has several stations, and the one located in the base city here is the most central..."

He trailed off, his complexion changing.

"Garden Castle Station, this station is in the bustling city center; it’s not that easy to damage, besides..."

"Besides, if someone is looking for trouble, the forefront Base City in main subdivision of Zone 011 is a very good target," Shi Youzhi finished his sentence.

"I’ll contact Uncle San Yang right away," She Ping said.

Both Shi Youzhi and Ai Jia stopped him, "If there really is a big event happening, even the communication equipment won’t be safe."

"There may not really be anything wrong, maybe I’m just overthinking it," Xu Huo added, "It’s just that the motives of those people earlier seemed a bit strange."

Shi Youzhi and the others, used to players picking fights, took no surprise at hit-and-run tactics, treating it routine as clockwork—fight a skirmish and everyone heads home, without ever considering there might be other reasons behind it.

A war outbreak in a major game zone, especially one with a high degree of game implementation, wouldn’t be so lukewarm. At this level of game subdivision, it would either involve two comparable subdivisions or require the hand of a Super Player; otherwise, it wouldn’t escalate into large-scale warfare.

Xu Huo’s words were initially alarming, but on a calm reflection, seemed highly improbable.

That said, it didn’t necessarily mean everything was fine behind the scenes.

She Ping was furiously uneasy, "We’ll conduct a thorough investigation when we get back. If anyone has deliberately sabotaged the stations, I won’t let those bastards off the hook!"

Xu Huo’s goal had been achieved.

The return trip was uneventful since the vehicles were bound for the base. Xu Huo and Wan Tingfang, who didn’t live nearby, got off the vehicle early.

One of the apparent benefits of technological progress was increased speed and time savings. It was still not too late when the pair got off, and Wan Tingfang invited him for a drink at a bar.

She hadn’t heard Xu Huo’s startling remarks in the car and was in a good mood, "This time we put in some effort, and it shouldn’t be long before the reserves can be confirmed as official."

"Didn’t they say that even if you join, you can’t get the status of a Grey Player?" Xu Huo replied, "And besides, they don’t seem to be short of people."

"How can they not be short of people? I heard through the grapevine that the base fired a lot of players recently, they are in need of manpower now, or else they wouldn’t have called us on such short notice today," Wan Tingfang said confidently, "Actually, calling us signals that they are considering it, just assessing us."

As she spoke, she took a deep breath, "Even if you can’t become a Grey Player, joining the base is still good, much better than joining the Enforcement Department of Zone 011. At least it’s much easier to apply for weapons, nowadays good weapons are selling way too expensive, you can’t afford them if you don’t eat or drink; I’ve been saving up money to buy weapons, and if I can make do with two meals, I absolutely don’t go for a third."

Xu Huo just listened to her words with a smile, having no money for food but still having money to partake in a simulation game with dubious effectiveness.

"Are you a Rank-C Player?" Wan Tingfang stopped her complaints to probe him.