Players, Please Board the Train

Chapter 445: Dying from Carelessness

The battle between Kong Hui, Wu Xiaonan, and Miao Yu was not yet over, but Xu Huo did not step forward to help. He headed straight for the elevator instead, because most of the area in the direction where Dr. Deng and Tong Jian had fled was flooded by the swamp. The best escape route was to go upstairs via the elevator.

The swamp swept through the laboratory like a flood. Xu Huo, carrying Chu Yuan, soared into the air. When passing over the highest point of the swamp, he saw Gan Qing and Lou Fu standing bent over on the swamp's surface.

The swamp was Lou Fu's characteristic. It was no problem for him to stand on it as if walking on flat ground, but Gan Qing also seemed unaffected by the swamp. No matter how the swamp churned, he could stand firm.

Seeing Xu Huo and the other, Gan Qing looked delighted. "You killed Kong Cheng? Hurry and come help!"

"Would love to, but can't!" Xu Huo didn't even look back. As he was about to leave, he seemed to throw a few Porcelain Dolls towards Lou Fu's direction out of goodwill.

Lou Fu seemed to absolutely detest this. He knocked several into the swamp in a row, and finally reached out to catch the last one flying straight at his face.

He caught it quickly enough, but unfortunately, under the interference of the flickering green light, he didn't see clearly whether the last one was a Porcelain Doll or a wooden doll.

The Real Wooden Man, once stuck on someone, can make them rigid for three seconds. Whether it's stuck on someone or actively grasped by someone, the item's effect is the same. Therefore, the moment Lou Fu caught the wooden doll, Xu Huo, who was originally about to leave, had already turned around and swung his sword.

Lou Fu's head flew off, and his corpse fell into the swamp along with the wooden doll.

Gan Qing, with a complicated expression, walked over, fished out the wooden doll, and tossed it back to him."Brother Xu, you're amazing!" Chu Yuan said with admiration. "I was wondering why you kept throwing these useless Porcelain Dolls. Turns out it was a diversion tactic."

This was actually just a small trick to sow confusion. If Lou Fu had been a bit more careful and attentive, instead of just assuming it was another foul-smelling attack, he might not have died in such a frustrating way.

Xu Huo was just improvising. Whether it would have any practical effect depended entirely on luck.

"My luck was good this time," he said.

The swamp was now flowing in all directions. The three of them didn't delay any longer and returned to the ground floor via the elevator.

Dr. Deng had been taken away by Tong Jian. Previously, it was Chu Yuan and Wan Yunrong who went after them. After Chu Yuan lost track and returned to Xu Huo's side, only Wan Yunrong was actually following them.

"She wouldn't try to fight them alone, would she?" Chu Yuan said.

If she really ran into them, it wasn't a matter of just running away whenever she wanted. There was still a gap between D-level players and C-level players, and Tong Jian was likely a C-level player. Wan Yunrong probably wouldn't fare well against him.

Sure enough, when the three of them went upstairs, they found Wan Yunrong already lying on the ground. Her eyes were wide open and bloodshot; she was already dead. A transparent plastic bag was covering her head, clearly the thing that had killed her.

Tong Jian also looked surprised to see Xu Huo and the other two, probably not expecting Xu Huo to have survived Kong Cheng. He was just about to speak when he noticed that Dr. Deng, who was several meters away from him, was suddenly being dragged towards Xu Huo by something tightening around his neck!

"Dr. Deng!" Tong Jian pushed off with his feet and charged forward to snatch him back. But how could Xu Huo's group give him the chance now? Chu Yuan threw a hedgehog toy at him and uttered, "Relationship Ruptured."

Tong Jian was indeed moved over ten meters away, but at the same time, the hem of his gelatinous coat suddenly grew, nimbly reaching out to wrap around Dr. Deng!

Gan Qing leaped out from the side, holding up a paper megaphone. He gave it a hard blow, and the gelatinous coat, which was like cloth, was blown back onto Tong Jian, wrapping him up instead.

In that brief moment, Xu Huo had already secured Dr. Deng in his grasp.

With a dagger pressed against his throat, Xu Huo didn't look at Tong Jian but slowly retreated while facing the elevator direction.

The elevator that had just brought them up was in operation. A few seconds later, the elevator doors opened, and Kong Cheng, along with Kong Hui who was holding Miao Yu hostage, walked out.

"It looks like most of my people are dead," Kong Cheng said, his face gloomy as he looked at Xu Huo and the others.

Gan Qing and Chu Yuan moved closer to Xu Huo, forming a triangular standoff with the Kong siblings and Tong Jian.

Xu Huo pressed the dagger in a little tighter. "Dr. Deng is in my hands now. If you want him alive, you'd better not make any rash moves."

Kong Hui pinched Miao Yu's neck. "You also have a companion here with me. Do you want her dead or alive?"

After all, they had fought side by side, and without Miao Yu's help, things might not have gone so smoothly. Gan Qing and Chu Yuan immediately found themselves torn between conscience and morality.

However, Xu Huo didn't even bat an eye. "Do whatever you want. I'm not familiar with her."

As he spoke, he secretly drew an "S" on Dr. Deng's back.

"We're just passing acquaintances, happening to be in the same dungeon. We cooperate because we have common interests, not because we're sworn friends who would die for each other. You can't threaten me with her."

"Dr. Deng is different. You brought him, a non-player, in here. There must be something only he can do. If he dies, you'll be the ones in trouble."

This hit right at the heart of the Kong siblings' concerns. Kong Hui looked at her brother. "Since this person is of no use anyway, let's just kill her along with the others."

Hearing that they weren't planning to protect him, Dr. Deng quickly said, "I already know where the potion is hidden!"

Kong Cheng's expression changed, his gaze sharpening as he looked at him. "Truth or lie?"

Dr. Deng lowered his eyes to look at the dagger he couldn't actually see, swallowed, and said, "I can't leave this place anyway. What good would lying do me?"

"So you're here looking for a potion," Xu Huo interjected at the right moment. "It seems the potion you're looking for is very important to you. How about considering this: Dr. Deng's life, or our lives."

Kong Cheng's expression shifted several times. "I can let you go."

Xu Huo laughed at that, a smug look on his face. "Do I need you to? If you want me to let him go, you'll have to behave."

"Brother, I think this Deng guy is just lying to save his own skin," Kong Hui said darkly, looking at Xu Huo. "The potion isn't going to run away. We can just come back next time."

"Come back next time?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. "You came in with eight players, but only five came after us. What about the other three?"

The player with the vacuum device, the female player whose arm was cut off, and the player who was found dead from suffocation. And their other collaborator, Zhu Rumin. Dr. Deng, who should have been heavily protected, was with Kong Cheng's group. It was clear the others were likely dead.

"They're all dead, right?" he continued. "Now you also know that besides ticket-holding players, there are other people in Deep Blue Laboratory. Can you guarantee your next visit will go smoother than this one?"

Kong Hui's eyes were frenzied, but Kong Cheng seemed to have his own considerations. He said, "What do you want?"

"Simple. Just guarantee I stay alive until the dungeon ends," Xu Huo said. "You cannot leave the laboratory, nor can you use a train ticket to exit the dungeon. Otherwise, we'll all be destroyed together!"