"...There's a good chance he's a Random Player. We don't know whether he has the same task as us, or whether we need to watch out for him attacking us..."
Peng Fengnian was lying in the grass, keeping an eye on the Factory. He glanced away for just a moment, and Xu Huo, who had been in his sight a second earlier, had vanished. His pupils contracted in shock. Before he could even get up, a sharp force locked around his throat and lifted him off the ground!
"That Paper Phone of yours looks pretty good. Mind lending it to me?"
Peng Fengnian stared at the young man who had walked up in front of him, his face flushed. He couldn't believe it. "When did you notice me?"
"Earlier than you think." Xu Huo folded his arms and looked at him. "If I were you, I'd be more concerned with whether I was friend or foe."
Peng Fengnian glared at him. His right hand, which held the Omnipresent Strings, suddenly reached forward and grabbed at the air in Xu Huo's direction. More than a dozen darts appeared out of nowhere and shot at him from all sides!
Xu Huo spun and caught the three darts on his left, swiftly and cleanly dodging the rest. When he saw the green liquid smeared on their tips, he raised his brows. He was just about to speak when Peng Fengnian suddenly seized the Strings and threw his head back—he had actually managed to break free. The Strings, which had been flexible a moment earlier, had stiffened like a gymnastic ring. It took them two seconds to respond to Xu Huo's control.
As he pulled the Strings back and retreated to dodge Peng Fengnian's darts, Xu Huo saw the distance between them growing. He abruptly sped up and charged straight at Peng Fengnian!
Startled, Peng Fengnian recalled the darts, which could only catch up to Xu Huo's heels, and instead took out a bottle of liquid and poured it on the ground.
The red liquid spread across the ground on its own, instantly covering a radius of several yards. Xu Huo's foot slipped, and he pitched forward. Peng Fengnian seized the opportunity to conjure a pitch-black Stone and bring it down on the back of his head!
At that moment, the Omnipresent Strings slipped beneath Xu Huo's arm and yanked him forcefully to the side. He used the momentum to right himself, grabbed the Strings through his clothes, and was lifted into the air!
But the black Stone came flying after him, circling around from the front to the back and doggedly trying to smash into the back of his head!
A midair kick sent it flying. Xu Huo turned and kicked Peng Fengnian, who had already turned to run, to the ground. He landed in the liquid he had poured out, his hands and feet as slippery as if they'd been greased. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't get up.
Xu Huo caught a dart that shot toward him and watched Peng Fengnian thrash around for several minutes, until he finally grew tired.
"What the hell do you want? If you're going to kill me, just do it!" Unable to get up, Peng Fengnian gave up and lay flat on the ground.
"Middle-aged men get hotheaded and go bald easily." Xu Huo tossed the dart back to him. "I'm a Random Player. I'm alone and outnumbered, so I want to discuss working together."
Peng Fengnian craned his neck. "You don't exactly seem to be in a cooperative mood."
"It never hurts to sound you out, especially since you were keeping an eye on me too." Xu Huo lifted his chin. "Want me to give you a hand?"
"No!" Peng Fengnian immediately said. "The Potion will wear off in two minutes."
Xu Huo smiled. "Then I'll wait." While he was at it, he went to retrieve the black Stone.
When he returned, Peng Fengnian had just gotten to his feet. He brushed the grass off his clothes, still carrying himself with confidence. "You'll have to prove you're a Random Player first. What's your Dungeon task?"
"Rare item, little pig, day labor." Xu Huo kept it brief.
Peng Fengnian relaxed. "We have the same task."
"But that Paper Phone is my item. If you try to take it by force, we'll both go down fighting!"
"If I'd only wanted to steal your item, I could've killed you just now." Xu Huo let his edge fade and spoke amiably. "I'm sincere."
"Your combat ability isn't up to par, so you're hiding out here alone and directing things to avoid holding your team back. But your companions have already gone into the Factory. The skin stripper has three tasks there, and even stealing a collection item won't be easy, will it?"
"We all want to make it out alive. Our goals don't conflict."
That was true. Peng Fengnian hesitated before asking, "You've thought of a way?"
Xu Huo didn't deny it. "There's some risk."
Peng Fengnian's expression turned grave. "The survival rate for the skin stripper Dungeon is nearly zero. Even C-class players have a hard time clearing it, let alone us D-class players. It's only natural for the task to be difficult, so we'll have to use our heads."
"We're not planning to lose our lives over this Dungeon."
So they were D-class players.
Xu Huo nodded. "You won't be able to use your head to clear it while hiding outside."
Peng Fengnian's face flushed instantly. He seemed to want to defend himself, and raised his voice. "My Ability is better suited to that, and it's more useful to us."
"Every Dungeon is risky. How can you possibly clear one without taking any risks?" Xu Huo glanced at him. "Did you look into the skin stripper before coming here? How much do you know about him?"
"One Station can have multiple Dungeons. Only people who've made it out alive know exactly what they are. The information that makes it out is limited, and it's hard to tell what's true. There's even less information about Dungeon Bosses."
"I spent fifty thousand White Cash to buy one confirmed piece of information: the skin stripper can't use his Skinning Knife during the day."
Peng Fengnian saw Xu Huo looking at him, so he explained, "The other five players know this too. Since you have the same task as us, there's no harm in telling you."
"They say that when the skin stripper has his knife, he can carve someone open along their muscle fibers without leaving a trace. He can even peel off a person's entire skin while they're still alive. If he can't use his knife during the day, then operating in daylight should be relatively safe for us."
Normally, everyone thought it was better to act under cover of night. The skin stripper worked in the Factory during the day, leaving little time and few opportunities. But this was a deadly trap. Armed with his Skinning Knife, the skin stripper was twice as dangerous. If he caught anyone, their fate was easy to imagine.
"Do you really have a way?" Peng Fengnian pressed him. To be honest, even after hearing Tang Pei's report, he still didn't have a good plan.
Xu Huo thoughtfully rubbed his chin but didn't answer. Instead, he held out his hand. "Let me borrow your phone."
Peng Fengnian gritted his teeth. "Give me my item back first."
Xu Huo handed him the black Stone that specialized in smashing the backs of people's heads. Only after Peng Fengnian took it did he pull out the Paper Phone. "This phone can only contact its paired Paper Phone, and it can't send text messages. You have to hold it to your ear to talk."
Xu Huo weighed the keypad-style Paper Phone in his hand. It was so light, it felt like it had no weight at all.
"Does it have a range limit?"
"No," Peng Fengnian said. "As long as the phones are paired, they can call each other from anywhere, even if they're not in the same Station or the same space. But they can only make calls."
He had mentioned the same space. Did that mean the game train really traveled through different times and spaces?
Xu Huo didn't ask about it. He put the phone to his ear and tried it. A series of beeps sounded, and a few seconds later the call connected. The female Player immediately asked, "Peng Fengnian?"
He chuckled. "Sorry, wrong number."
Before you continue