Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 594: Behind-the-Scenes Maneuvering

Chapter 594: Chapter 594: Behind-the-Scenes Maneuvering

All the corpses had been washed and embalmed before being loaded onto the refrigerated trucks and locked tight.

It was only then that a person in a gray robe came over to ask if there were any anomalies. The person in a black robe did mention the short circuit with the lights, but the person in gray did not consider it a big deal, "After today, this place will be useless. Have you counted the number of people?"

"A total of twenty people," the person in black responded. "They’ll be split across three vehicles."

The person in gray nodded. "The Special Defense Department has been keeping a close eye recently, so be careful when you head out."

A few of the people in black robes took off their cloaks and masks and disguised themselves as ordinary transport workers before driving the trucks out of the warehouse.

Once the vehicles had left, the remaining individuals also departed. Zhou Ning, who had been hiding in a pile of miscellaneous items, made her way to the entrance. After confirming there was no sound outside, she retreated deeper inside and used a tool to open a door on the wall.

She had not even gotten out when she suddenly felt a shadow looming over her. She instantly retreated, her hair transforming into black snakes and striking forward!

Xu Huo caught the snake-like hair, twisted them together with a countermove, and followed into the warehouse.

The moment she clearly saw him, Zhou Ning relaxed and quickly said, "Li Chun was taken away!"

"She won’t be in trouble," Xu Huo assured her as he took the Girl in the Painting’s cellphone from her hand and opened the video she had recorded.

"It seems these people are planning to transport the corpses to different locations," Zhou Ning said. "This group of people are the previous Number Four Players, and more than half of them belong to Twin Snakes. How are things on your end?"

"Similar situation; people have gone missing," Xu Huo said after watching the video, looking up. "Cunning rabbits have three burrows. With so many players involved, Twin Snakes won’t just have a single stronghold. Do you remember which vehicle Li Chun got on?"

Zhou Ning immediately caught on. "I marked one of the vehicles; it should be traceable."

"I can’t leave for now, but if you are able, follow the vehicles and find out where they’re headed. No need to put yourself in danger. If something isn’t right, and you can’t contact me, try to find the Special Defense Department," Xu Huo instructed. "The local Special Defense Department in Water City might have been infiltrated by Twin Snakes; they are not trustworthy, so be careful."

He gave her Chief Wu’s number. "This phone will definitely connect. Show him the video, and you won’t need to say much for the Special Defense Department to take notice," he added.

Zhou Ning nodded solemnly, then asked, "What’s your plan?"

"In addition to the dead, Twin Snakes is also planning to take away a group of living players," Xu Huo revealed. "Sima Xiao’er and Huang Junjie are among them."

Zhou Ning knew of Huang Junjie, having met him before. "The First Association is involved now."

"That’s why this matter is suspicious," Xu Huo said as he safely stored away Li Chun’s cellphone. "I’m headed over now."

Zhou Ning nodded. "I’ll leave after the Twin Snakes people are gone."

"Be careful; there could be an entrance to a random copy nearby."

After giving her one last caution, Xu Huo left the warehouse and returned to the small building where they rested. As his hand touched the doorknob, he turned his head to the right, where a person stood.

"Is it safe to go outside?" asked the bead player in his still-strange accent. "You look familiar; have we met before?"

"People can look alike; you might have mistaken me for someone else," Xu Huo answered as he entered his room, but the other person followed closely for two steps. "What do you think Twin Snakes is really up to? They verbally claim the twist of fate has nothing to do with the Special Defense Department, yet they don’t even know that Sima Xiao’er is from the Special Defense Department. Can you contact them? We need to prepare for both possibilities," they pressed.

Xu Huo looked at him with a not-quite-smile. "Why don’t you contact the Special Defense Department?"

The bead player paused, then responded with resignation, "What choice do I have as a foreigner? Different nationalities, especially at a time like this, aren’t trusted. I’d love to join the Special Defense Department, but they won’t have me. Do you have any connections?"

Now, Xu Huo was sure Abel had recognized him—what a coincidence that the few who had experienced the Beheading Demon Copy together had reunited.

The bead player, Abel, seeing that Xu Huo was not engaging, was not discouraged and instead said, "If there’s anything you need help with, just let me know."

"Sure," Xu Huo responded succinctly, promptly closing the door.

He rested in the room until dawn when the people in black robes came to summon them to participate in an initiation ceremony. Only after officially becoming members of Twin Snakes could they start the journey; otherwise, they wouldn’t take them along.

Before the rest, several players had already decided to join Twin Snakes. Now, hearing there was a ceremony, they didn’t protest and followed obediently.

Including Sima Xiao’er, the person in the gray robe asked them to soak together in a large pool for a cleansing ceremony. The ceremony itself was not special—it was mainly about the psychological effect, washing away their random thoughts and dedicating themselves from now on to the future of Zone 014, becoming pure, good people and heroes.

The pool was also tested in front of them, ensuring there were no issues.

Of course, they had no choice but to get in now.

Ten people entered the pool one after another. A person in a gray robe recited the oath of membership at the side. By the time he finished, the ten people in the pool were already groggy and sleepy. Then, the person in gray threw a toy bed into the water, and those standing immediately fell backward.

Black-robed individuals who were waiting to the side came over to catch and drag them away, lifting them one by one into glass cabinets. The person in gray said, "Split them into two groups; send these five to the Yang City Huimei Wellness Center and the other five to the Taole Club."

Both locations were in Yang City. Lying in the glass cabinet, Xu Huo felt the car leave the town and then switch vehicles twice along the way. As they neared Yang City, they met with people being transported from other places.

"...that Mr. Tan is really unappreciative. Not only did he refuse to join Twin Snakes, but he also injured a few of our men!"

"...so what? Now he’s in the hands of the Gray Envoy. Once we deliver him to the club, whether he lives or dies is up to the club owner. I wonder how these two will taste..."

The conversation was suggestive and ended with a couple of ambiguous, low chuckles before the vehicle started up again.

Xu Huo sat up from the glass cabinet and woke up the few people next to him.

Now that he could get a signal on his phone, he checked the two places mentioned by the person in gray. The wellness center and the club were upscale venues in Yang City, membership-only establishments where only the somewhat wealthy could become members. During unusual times, many leisure and entertainment places closed down, but these two were still operating normally, holding regular member gatherings.

Switching screens, he sent a message to Zhou Ning, whose response came swiftly. She had tracked one of the vehicles to a suburban hotel in Water City, where many players were staying, looking like they were about to hold some event.

"Do you see any Cannibal Players?" he asked.

"Yes," Zhou Ning replied succinctly.

By now, Xu Huo had a pretty clear idea of what the Twin Snakes organization was up to behind the scenes. He kicked open the rear door, leaped onto the roof, and straddled over to the driver’s seat to end a player’s life with a single shot. After pulling the person out, he jumped into the driver’s seat, first tossing a wooden decoy to control the driver who was trying to deal with him, then twisted his neck with both hands.