"Don't joke around with me." Huang Junjie couldn't afford to be as relaxed as Xu Huo. He had already seen through the situation—Double Snake hadn't placed many players at the resort yet, but where they were heading now could very well be the organization's main lair, with who knew how many D-grade players.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one thinking this. As the convoy moved forward, one of the players suddenly leaped off ahead, making a dash for the roadside.

The convoy didn't stop, and no black-cloaked person went after him, but the moment that player stepped off the main road, he simply vanished.

"Did he use a train ticket?" Huang Junjie asked, startled and uncertain. "Or did the gray-robed person pull something?"

There was no way to know which it was, but after that, everyone in the convoy kept obediently to the middle of the road until they left the resort and entered a small town not far away.

This small town was a midway rest stop, with complete facilities, but now it had been cleared of people entirely.

After the convoy stopped, the gray-robed person finally explained to everyone that the resort area contained random dungeon entrances—unknown in number and with unclear trigger conditions. That's why the Special Defense Department had relocated all nearby residents. Now, there was barely anyone to be seen around here.

"Everyone should avoid wandering off. If you don't want to join Double Snake, you can leave after dawn," the gray-robed person said. "This place is more dangerous at night than during the day."

After that, he left the remaining six white-masked players and Huang Junjie's trio in a small building, with only a few black-cloaked individuals watching over them. Everyone else followed Sima Xiao Er away, as if they couldn't care less about those left behind.

"Can we really leave when morning comes?" the female player asked the others in a hushed voice. "Do you think Double Snake is reliable?"

"Hard to say," one male player said, arms crossed behind his head as he leaned back on the sofa. "Anyway, it seems legit to me. Didn't you see how they all crowded around that Sima Xiao Er guy?"

"Besides, we're all E-grade players. What would they want from us? Why go through all this trouble?"

That made sense, so another person chimed in. "I'd say it's about sixty percent trustworthy. You might not know this, but I heard the Special Defense Department has players with prediction characteristics who can foresee where some random dungeons will appear. They evacuated people ahead of time with zero casualties."

"Is that for real?" Guan Zuhong asked skeptically. "Are characteristics really that amazing?"

"Of course they are, we just haven't met such rare talents," the player said. "Anyway, I'm definitely joining Double Snake. Maybe I can make something of myself in the organization."

"Then why not join the Special Defense Department or the Players Association?" Huang Junjie asked.

The player was honest about it. "I'm not that strong to begin with. Joining the Special Defense Department wouldn't get me any attention, and I'd probably have to take on their missions. Whether it was the Harbor City riots before or the recent border conflicts, it's always the Special Defense Department's players charging ahead. They even have to scout random dungeons."

"How many people have died? I don't think I have that kind of luck. I'd rather get stronger first and worry about the rest later."

"Either way, it's a gamble. What difference does it make where I place my bet?"

These words left the others deep in thought. They felt more settled than before, and no longer rushed or hesitated to leave.

Soon, the players each found a room to rest in. Xu Huo didn't stay with Guan Zuhong and the others. Instead, he took a room for himself. The winter night was long, and after everyone else had fallen asleep, he changed his face and slipped out of the room. The black-cloaked individuals weren't guarding every player's door. He easily left the small building, avoided the night-watch black-cloaked personnel, and chose a high spot to settle. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

After entering this small town, his phone had once again lost signal. About twenty minutes ago, a few more vehicles had driven into the town, heading toward a warehouse in the back.

He watched from the rooftops for a while but couldn't find a good opportunity to sneak in. So, he simply tapped his back to call out the Painting Woman.

She had been pressed against his clothes all night, finally free to move. Her thin paper form landed on the ground and became a person, enthusiastically lunging at Xu Huo.

He held her forehead at arm's length. "Go check out what's in the warehouse."

The Painting Woman gave an "okay" gesture, then turned back into a piece of paper, drifting toward the warehouse and squeezing in through the gap in the door.

Inside the warehouse, the corpses that had been hauled in by truck were being laid out one by one on a large central table. About twenty black-cloaked individuals stood around the table, carefully washing each corpse clean, dressing them in clean white robes, positioning them properly, and then carrying them into temperature-controlled glass cabinets beside them.

The whole process resembled a solemn funeral preparation. But before the glass cabinets were closed, they sprinkled some flowers inside and sprayed perfume over them.

"Is this really necessary?" one black-cloaked person grumbled quietly. "Perfume and flowers, and we have to work overtime all night. What's the difference between this and before we became players?"

"Just do your job!" another next to him snapped, then added, "Bring up another corpse."

The complaining player clicked his tongue and dragged another corpse off the truck. "At least there aren't many people today."

Footsteps moved away from the truck again, but Zhou Ning, hiding deep inside the vehicle, felt no relief. Earlier, the group marked with the number "four" had gone downstairs. She had thought it was something unusual and quietly followed. But the moment she entered the activity room, the black-cloaked people had started a massacre. After taking a syringe of anesthetic, she realized there was no escape. So when the black-cloaked person made his move, she used a small trick and an item to make everyone think she was dead.

The item's effect lasted only a few minutes, barely enough to get her moved from the hidden passage and onto the truck. The anesthetic hadn't fully worn off yet. She could move now, but there was no way she could escape from so many players. With the corpses inside the truck dwindling, once they got to her, the black-cloaked personnel would know she was faking her death…

Just as she was about to use her train ticket to flee into a dungeon, the lights in the warehouse flickered twice, and then she saw someone who absolutely should not have been here crouching in front of her:

Lichun!

The Painting Woman grinned at her and made a "shh" gesture, then reached out her hand. The next second, the lights in the warehouse went out. Zhou Ning felt herself being wrapped up and carried out of the truck. When the lights came back on, she found herself in a pile of junk in the corner of the warehouse. Peering through the gaps, she saw the black-cloaked people hauling a female corpse off the truck.

She was the only "female corpse" left in the truck. She wasn't there anymore. In her place was Lichun!

Just as she was about to go out and save her, Lichun was carefully placed on the table. The two washing black-cloaked people even remarked on her nice figure and lamented that a beauty had died young, then smoothly changed her clothes and carried her into a glass coffin.

Zhou Ning was utterly baffled. She reached into her pocket and touched Lichun's phone, immediately suppressing all her thoughts. If Xu Huo had brought Lichun, he must have his reasons.