Players, Please Board the Train

Chapter 356: The Breakthrough

Dinner time arrived quickly. Xu Huo once again had the maid bring his food upstairs. After Wei Landeng gave the signal from below that it was safe to move, he went from the balcony to the third floor and entered He Pu's bedroom.

The moment he stepped into the room, an ear-splitting drumbeat suddenly boomed—it was from the sound system.

Although He Pu had left the room, the sound system was still on, playing rhythmic drumming at a certain frequency.

This was likely a mental-attack type item, causing brief discomfort upon first hearing it.

Xu Huo was unaffected. He put on his glasses and began searching the room.

He Pu's room was fully equipped with music devices and even had a small soundproof booth for recording tapes. Apart from that, it wasn't much different from an ordinary living room, except the color scheme was predominantly black, giving it a dark, cold, and gloomy feel that was quite different from the style of the other rooms.

There were no corpses here.

Had the vanished people been disposed of immediately?

If He Pu was determined not to let the players clear the dungeon, such a disposal method wouldn't be strange.

However, this was still a dungeon setting. A dungeon must have a certain clearance rate;

otherwise, setting a background and conditions would be meaningless. Even if someone intended to cause trouble within the dungeon, they wouldn't need to use such a self-destructive method.His thoughts shifted, and he planned to head to the lounge. Just as he was about to leave, he sensed an abnormal energy fluctuation in the corner of the room. Looking back, he saw only an empty wall.

Not doubting his own senses, he walked straight over to inspect the wall, but found nothing.

Frowning, he took out the Crimson Sword. The energy within the wall stirred, then quickly fled along the wall surface towards the window.

Xu Huo was about to give chase when someone approached from the corridor outside. At the same moment, the toy in his palm dented. Before it could bounce back, he was already outside the window.

Almost the instant he slipped down, the bedroom door opened. He Pu stood at the doorway, sniffing the air, and grinned, revealing a sinister smile. "Two little lambs."

Returning to his own room, Xu Huo retrieved the piano wire and calmly sat down on the sofa to continue his dinner.

Wei Landeng hadn't even finished transmitting the message before He Pu reached the third floor. In such a short time, either He Pu was an extremely powerful player capable of instantaneous teleportation, or He Pu was the genuine Dungeon Boss, able to move freely within the ancient castle.

Whichever it was, making a breakthrough from He Pu's side would be very difficult. The united players might not be his match.

If they couldn't find "The Vanished Guests" before the music appreciation event, then Mr. Dong might be a potential breakthrough point.

What Xu Huo told the Ma couple wasn't entirely lies. The one who attacked him was undoubtedly Mr. Dong.

Among the twelve players who arrived, he was the first to be ambushed. The Spider-Man had scouted the area on the first night. There were likely two factors for choosing him as the first target.

First, because he was a Player-Eater.

Second, because he was a guest invited by He Pu.

First of all, Mr. Dong couldn't be killing indiscriminately. Otherwise, after failing to attack him on the first night, there would be no need to keep targeting him specifically.

Furthermore, Mr. Dong had seen the invitations and clearly knew which players were non-mission players. He chose the first target from among the non-mission players.

Yesterday, after he killed the Ma couple, he deliberately revealed the number on his back. Mr. Dong, outside the window, did not take the opportunity to attack him, even though it was actually a very good moment to strike.

Overlapping these facts leads to a rough conclusion: Mr. Dong's first choice is to target guests invited by He Pu, but he gave up on Xu Huo because he is not a Player-Eater.

Of course, it's also possible that Mr. Dong simply despises Player-Eaters, and choosing a non-mission player was just a coincidence. However, considering the connection between Mr. Dong and He Pu, it's highly likely he's deliberately interfering with He Pu's affairs. At the same time, he seems to hold a positive attitude towards non-Player-Eaters.

Last night, he deliberately separated the Chen Brothers, and Mr. Dong didn't go after Chen Nan either.

A person's actions and behavior have underlying psychological factors. This indicates that at the very least, he wouldn't deliberately target dungeon players. This, then, is the players' opportunity. It's unlikely they could find a second person more familiar with Rose Castle than him. Furthermore, the Ma couple who were taken away yesterday also count as "The Vanished Guests." It would be best if they could complete the first task through him.

However, the uncertain factor lies in the degree of opposition between Mr. Dong and He Pu. If the conflict between Mr. Dong and He Pu is merely in a state of being optional or negligible, then it's highly probable Mr. Dong wouldn't help the players clear the dungeon.

"Knock knock!" An urgent knocking sounded. Before he could speak, the doorknob began to turn. Liu Zhengping's voice shouted from outside, "Are you in there? Open the door!"

Xu Huo went over and opened the door.

Wei Landeng and You Qiwen visibly relaxed. The former said, "It was too dangerous at the dinner table just now. He Pu said he was leaving and then he was gone in the blink of an eye. I was afraid I wouldn't have time to warn you."

Xu Huo nodded, indicating he was fine, but that he had gained nothing.

"Now it seems certain that He Pu is the Dungeon Boss," You Qiwen said. "Before, I thought he was constrained by Mr. Dong."

"The situation is terrible," Liu Zhengping said. "This makes it difficult for us to go to the third floor again, unless we force our way in."

"We are no match for them," Fleischer said. "That Hu Shan can turn a human body into ceramic. The activation conditions are unclear, but she's definitely a troublesome opponent."

"Let's just set a fire and burn the castle down! I refuse to believe we won't smoke out a few corpses!" Liu Zhengping declared.

"With what?" Chen Nan retorted. "Even the things we brought with us were taken by Mr. Dong."

Being able to enter the dungeon world early, of course they had to make preparations within the possible range. Some things couldn't be placed in the luggage compartment, so they carried them personally. But after arriving, they never saw them again. They had taken the chance to search, but couldn't find their own suitcases.

They had also asked the other maids, who all said Mr. Dong had personally collected and stored the items, and they didn't know where they were.

"In my opinion, it's better to pick them off one by one," Fleischer proposed. "We have no chance against many, so we can eliminate Mr. Dong first."

Xu Huo looked at him. "Why choose Mr. Dong?"

"The castle isn't that big, yet we can't find our things. It's very likely he stored them in an item. We need to get them back. Additionally, Mr. Dong is He Pu's right-hand man. Having one less person is also a good thing for us," Fleischer explained. "Choosing Hu Shan is also an option, but she's often on the third floor, rarely leaving the main building. Only Mr. Dong moves around everywhere, giving us an opportunity to strike."

It was a very risky decision, but after brief consideration, Xu Huo agreed.

"We might even be able to interrogate him about the whereabouts of the corpses," Liu Zhengping said, cracking his knuckles.

Night fell. Mr. Dong, having finished handling the castle affairs, left the main building alone and headed for the annex. The players followed from a distance. However, it was raining again tonight, with no moonlight. The lights at the annex were dim, and the woods behind the maze garden were pitch black, allowing only a vague recognition of shadows.

The group trailed Mr. Dong from afar, but as a wind swept through the woods ahead, he suddenly vanished!