Players, Please Board the Train-Chapter 284: New Ways to Play the Game (1)

"Don't be so discouraged," Yan Jiayu patted his shoulder, "There are three of us."
Tang Xiao couldn't accept this, "Returning to the ticket area means the Small Hats reset to zero. Even if we buy tickets to enter again, we have to start from scratch. How could I possibly complete those games in my current condition? And even if we go back now, the random question-and-answer game in Black Maple Valley must have ended. Missing this opportunity makes clearing the level even more difficult... I'm doomed!"
Xu Huo pondered for a moment and wrote: "After buying tickets this time, you and Yan Jiayu follow the Travel Guide's route map to every game location. Only go to the game spots, ignore the question-and-answer games."
"Why do it this way?" Tang Xiao didn't understand.
Xu Huo didn't explain clearly, but Yan Jiayu had already grasped it. Among their two previous speculations, he believed the travel route was genuine.
"No problem, leave this to me," she wrote.
Xu Huo nodded, "Tang Xiao knows many people, you can find a few trustworthy ones to help."
This wasn't difficult, but Tang Xiao still wanted clarification, "Do you already know how to clear the level?"
"I have a rough guess," Xu Huo said calmly, "I have other matters to attend to, so I can't accompany you."
"Can we really clear it?" Tang Xiao showed hesitation. Like Peng Ru, after being sent back to the ticket area and punished, he actually felt some resentment. After all, it was Xu Huo who suggested going to the ancient castle at the back. But Xu Huo didn't coax or force them to go, so when Peng Ru left, he chose to stay. First, because his situation was worse, and he trusted Xu Huo and the other a bit more than Peng Ru. Second, he knew he shouldn't blame Xu Huo under these circumstances.
If this trip could truly exchange for a method to clear the level, taking the risk would be worthwhile.
"I can't guarantee one hundred percent," Xu Huo looked at him, "But you can take a gamble. Rather than spending day after day trapped in this amusement park, try my method. Your current situation can't be changed—only clearing the level quickly can save your life."
"Trust Xu Huo," Yan Jiayu told him, "He's very clever."
Tang Xiao's gaze shifted between the two of them before he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I'll listen to you."
The three bought tickets again to enter the amusement park. After entering, Yan Jiayu and Tang Xiao went to find new companions, while Xu Huo headed straight for Black Maple Valley.
By now, dawn was approaching, but traveling under cover of darkness allowed him to avoid other players' sightlines, saving considerable trouble.
When he reached Black Maple Valley, the question-and-answer game hadn't ended yet. Using the Sound-Muffling Figurine, he infiltrated the ancient castle and began searching from the first floor.
Of the six people encountered earlier, the twins and the female player had already been killed by him. The remaining members included one dwarf, one elderly man, and "Brother Tu," whom the six regarded as their leader.
The three dead individuals didn't have the Desert Windmill on them, so the item was most likely with that Brother Tu. But he was probably also the strongest among the six. As for that elderly man—despite his advanced age, he could be brought into the group—he must excel in either combat ability or personal experience. Therefore, his first target was the dwarf player.
Using the night as cover, with sound silenced and moving from ordinary people's blind spots, Xu Huo didn't expend much effort to locate the dwarf player, who was eating with his back to the window.
"Pah! Tastes awful," the dwarf player spat out a piece of meat from his mouth, then grabbed a severed limb from the ground and stuffed it into his mouth.
The white-haired player was right beside him. Seeing this, he frowned and was about to say something when suddenly a shadow flashed through the window. He instantly leaped away from his original position, and the chair he'd been sitting on immediately shattered into pieces!
"Who's there!" he shouted, charging forward while simultaneously throwing out a pair of scissors with a long handle but broken blades. The scissors spun halfway around the room toward the figure who had entered, the cold gleam of the blades briefly illuminating the other's face, revealing a pitch-black mask.
The white-haired player's attention was momentarily diverted by the swirling vortex on the mask. Meanwhile, the dwarf player leaped forward, fingers clawing at the other's throat: "Playing mysterious games!"
Player-Eaters held advantages in physical strength. With abundant stamina and agile movements, the dwarf player was much faster than Xu Huo had anticipated. He blocked the other's hand with his sword, his foot barely lifting before forcibly retracting it mid-air. Swinging his sword to force the opponent back, he retreated two steps sharply.
"Smart move," the dwarf tugged his clothes, revealing the Small Hats densely covering his chest and arms, laughing triumphantly, "Think twice before throwing a punch—can your fist actually land?"
Xu Huo tilted his head to avoid the scissors thrown by the white-haired player, his gaze shifting between the two before he crouched and charged toward the dwarf player.
The dwarf player let out a sharp laugh, kicked over the cabinet behind him, leaped up, and stepped toward Xu Huo's head, bending forward as if to embrace him, "Your head belongs to me!"
Xu Huo narrowed his eyes. The other dared to expose his chest and abdomen so openly, relying entirely on the Small Hats attached to his body. Destroying Small Hats meant death. Even if he attacked from below, whether with sword or fist, it would be difficult to strike.
But that was fine—this wasn't his plan anyway!
As they passed each other, Xu Huo suddenly stopped, straightened his body, retracted his long sword, and with both hands flicking mid-air, the Tangle-Free Thread looped around the dwarf player's neck. He then lifted the person and violently threw him toward the white-haired player attacking from behind!
The two collided. The white-haired player reached out and grabbed the dwarf player's foot while simultaneously controlling the flying scissors to attack Xu Huo. However, his flying scissors weren't particularly fast. Xu Huo held the thread with one hand and swung his sword with the other, deflected the scissors, then jumped out through the window.
The white-haired player, still holding the dwarf's foot, naturally wouldn't let him drag the person away so easily. But he underestimated the other's strength—both were dragged onto the windowsill.
"Untie the rope for me..." the dwarf's words were cut short as his head, dangling outside the windowsill, was cleanly severed, leaving behind a blood-spurting corpse.
The white-haired player immediately released his grip and retreated, turning to flee. But before he could reach the door, a thread also looped around his neck. After being dragged two steps, he used both hands to pull forcefully, creating a gap, then escaped into the corridor.
Xu Huo followed him in, but upon entering the corridor, he sensed the white-haired player hadn't gone far—instead, he was hiding around the corner.
His expression shifted slightly as he swapped the mask for glasses to examine the corridor floor—the floor tiles showed slight unevenness.
Using his sword to lift one of the tiles, he discovered a Small Hat concealed beneath it.
While he was prying open the floor tile, the white-haired player quickly left from around the corner.
Although he could avoid walking on the ground, pursuing a player who could set traps along the way posed considerable risks. So Xu Huo raised his hand and smashed the floor tile against the wall at the corridor's end, confirming the sound had attracted the Living Bear before retreating from the ancient castle.
He didn't leave but returned to the room where they had rested earlier, picking up several tied Puppets and stuffing them into his luggage compartment. By this time, the hide-and-seek game had ended, and players who hadn't been caught began answering questions.