Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 627: What Medicine is Sold in the Gourd

Chapter 627: Chapter 627: What Medicine is Sold in the Gourd

The mental-type copies were the most "interactive" among all copies; they were influenced not only by the holder of the copy but also by the players. So far, apart from the siblings Ah-Yi and Ah-Yin, no other players had entered Building Two. It must have been some player who had conjured up this kind of delusion.

He returned to Building One, where it was still morning. Nearly ten players had succumbed to themselves during the psychological treatment process, and when they walked out, they looked a bit off mentally.

Two players who were mixed in with the crowd were tackled by fully armed security guards, who then bound their hands and feet and sprayed a special disinfectant on them.

"These two people are infected with bacteria," a security guard said, pulling open the players’ clothes to reveal skin covered in black spots, "This kind of bacteria is highly contagious, and anyone who has been in close contact with them should get checked by a doctor as soon as possible."

The security guards were neither well-intentioned nor truly trying to save the patients. After going through the motions, they took the two players away, claiming they were going to take them to Building Three.

Building Three was a quarantine building, protected by an electric grid, and it was obvious that it was a place one wouldn’t be able to leave once they had entered.

However, the players were not concerned about the fate of those who were taken away; they were worried about their own circumstances—they didn’t know if the contagion was real.

"Did any of you see someone going to Building Two?" someone asked.

The other players looked at each other, each trying to provide proof, but someone said, "Last night, most people were asleep in their rooms and had no idea if anyone had gone out. How could we know who had gone to Building Two? Even if someone did, we wouldn’t know; after all, there was a task to complete there."

With that, no one could be sure anymore. If it was true that someone had gone there, then they all might have been infected with the disease!

"Don’t even think that way!" a player immediately interrupted everyone, exclaiming vehemently, "Haven’t you figured out the feature of this copy yet? Almost anything you imagine could become reality. Whoever thinks that way is endangering all of us!"

The players fell silent for a moment when several young nurses at the nurse station gathered to chat, and one of them said, "I just love watching them gather and act out scenes as if they’re in a soap opera. Today they must be acting out ’Resident Evil’."

"Do you think what they’re saying is true? What if there really is a player world and we just don’t know about it?" another one commented.

"You believe that? You’re not far from being admitted yourself," the nurses laughed, "Dimensional Rift is just a game. I played it before it was banned. Though I thought it was too bloody and violent. I really don’t know why people would get obsessed with such a game."

"Of course, it’s because they’re too frustrated in real life," the first nurse continued, "Players are like they have superpowers. If it were me, I’d want the same, to do whatever I like without the need to work. But dreams are dreams; we need to stay grounded."

"They’re really pitiful, to be stuck in a game and unable to get out."

"What’s there to pity? They’re all delusional, not considering ordinary people as humans. Haven’t you heard they even attacked a police station? You could tell they’re not decent people by their usual behavior."

As the nurses chatted with each other, the players around them began to feel that maybe everything was just their imagination.

Soon, the security guards returned and began driving all the patients back to their rooms to disinfect the entire building. The medical staff announced that all family visitations scheduled for that afternoon were canceled.

Most players had no objections to this, but what took them by surprise was that some people started causing trouble in the hospital because of it.

"Has that person gone mad?" Zheng Liang and others were incredulous, "This is a copy, and they’re treating it like a real hospital!"

Brother Liang, however, looked very serious, "If we’re not careful, the symptoms could worsen over time. It looks like we’ll need to take a risk tonight."

*

A whole day had passed inside the copy, but in reality, it was still night outside.

Only two hours had passed since the copy began, and the Special Defense Department members, while conducting random copy lockdowns, discovered this Mist Area, determining it to be a large, suddenly-emerged entrance to a random copy. Thus, after notifying headquarters, they withdrew.

Normally, Special Defense Department members would actively test the range of a copy’s entrance. But given the current circumstances, with players running amok everywhere, there was no need to waste resources, so they used thermal imaging cameras to monitor the area around the copy, determining the copy’s boundaries based on the disappearance of players.

"According to nearby surveillance, at least seventy to eighty people have been swallowed by this copy, including a considerable number of Cannibal Players. The group that just went in must be from Twin Snakes," the secretary reported to Nie Xuan about the status of the copy.

At that moment, Nie Xuan had already dealt with the matters at the prison. With the long winter night and poor visibility, many players had already voluntarily left the battlefield, significantly reducing the pressure on the Special Defense Department. As for any Cannibal Players or foreign players who might have escaped by blending in, they currently lacked the resources to sort them out.

"Haven’t you seen Xu Huo?" he asked.

Xu Huo should have arrived by now, given his bold challenge to the Cannibal Players; he was not likely without preparation, at least there should’ve been some commotion.

"This is strange too," the secretary said as she pulled up several video clips, "The individual captured in these footage is Xu Huo, appearing almost simultaneously. But after comparison, they just share similar features; they should not be the same person."

Nie Xuan recognized Zheng Liang, Brother Liang, and others, then asked, "Did anyone among them enter that Mist Area copy?"

The secretary nodded. "Several of them did."

Nie Xuan looked at the videos himself, saying, "The one who first appeared here must be the real one; the others are disguises."

He paused, then asked, "Have you found Li Chun?"

"She’s not with Xu Huo. She was spotted alone near the commercial street five hours ago," the secretary said with an expression hard to describe, "reportedly... job hunting."

Nie Xuan was momentarily stunned, "Looking for what?"

"Job?" the secretary replied, "Someone from the Special Defense Department already approached her, but she didn’t seem to like us much and wasn’t willing to accept a job offered by the department. She wanted to work as a kitchenhand in a restaurant."

"Why?" Nie Xuan was momentarily at a loss, puzzled by her targeted approach to job hunting.

"She didn’t say, but Chief Wu still managed to get her into a hotel through connections," the secretary said, "After she entered, she never came out again. There’s currently no work for her to do, I heard she’s sleeping."

Nie Xuan’s expression darkened. Xu Huo was clearly using himself as bait to lure players into the random copy, but with so many players inside, he couldn’t possibly deal with them all without Li Chun’s help. Why, then, did he let Li Chun go? What was he really planning?