Probing the Depths

"...It is highly likely he is a random player. It is unclear if his mission is the same as ours, but we must remain wary of him making a move against us..."

Peng Fengnian, lying in the grass, was keeping a close eye on the factory's movements. In the blink of an eye, he realized Xu Huo, who had been in his line of sight just a moment ago, had vanished. His pupils trembled in shock, but before he could even rise, his throat was locked by a sharp, powerful force that hoisted him from the ground into mid-air!

"That Paper Phone of yours looks decent. Could you lend it to me?"

Peng Fengnian looked at the youth standing before him, his face flushed with blood, and asked in disbelief, "When did you discover me!"

"Earlier than you thought." Xu Huo crossed his arms and watched him. "If I were you, the thing you should be most concerned about is whether I am a friend or a foe."

Peng Fengnian glared at him, his right hand—which was gripping the Omnipresent Strings—suddenly thrusting forward. With a grab into thin air toward Xu Huo, a dozen throwing knives appeared out of nowhere, shooting at him from all directions!

Xu Huo spun around, catching the three knives on his left, and dodged the others with swift, clean movements. Seeing the green liquid coating the tips of the blades, he raised an eyebrow. Just as he was about to speak, Peng Fengnian suddenly grabbed the strings and threw his head back—he had actually managed to escape on his own, while the previously flexible strings became rigid like gymnastic rings, only reacting to Xu Huo's control after a two-second delay.

While controlling the strings to return and retreating to avoid the other's throwing knife attacks, Xu Huo saw the distance between them widening and suddenly surged in speed, lunging straight at Peng Fengnian!

Peng Fengnian was startled, his retrieval only catching the knives that were trailing behind the opponent's heels, so he switched to pulling out a bottle of liquid and pouring it onto the ground.

The red liquid spread across the ground on its own, instantly radiating out for a distance of several yards. Xu Huo slipped, his body pitching toward the ground, and Peng Fengnian seized the chance to manifest a pitch-black stone and smash it toward the back of his head!

But at that moment, the Omnipresent Strings passed under Xu Huo's armpit and yanked him hard to the side. He used the momentum to stand upright, grabbed the strings through his clothes, and launched himself into the air!

However, the black stone followed him, circling from the front to the back, persistently trying to smash the back of his head!

With a mid-air flying kick, he sent it away, then turned to kick the fleeing Peng Fengnian to the ground. He fell into the liquid he had poured out, his hands and feet as slippery as if they had been greased, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get back up.

Catching the incoming throwing knives, Xu Huo watched him from the side for several minutes until he was tired from struggling.

"What exactly do you want? If you're going to kill me, just do it!" Unable to get up, Peng Fengnian simply lay on the ground.

"Middle-aged men with high tempers are prone to going bald." Xu Huo tossed the throwing knives back to him. "I am a random player, alone and weak. I want to discuss cooperation with you all."

Peng Fengnian stretched his neck, "That doesn't look like a cooperative attitude to you."

"Testing the waters is never wrong, especially since you were monitoring me too." Xu Huo tilted his chin, "Do you want me to pull you up?"

"No!" Peng Fengnian said immediately, "In two more minutes, the effect of the potion will wear off."

Xu Huo smiled, "Then I'll wait." He took the opportunity to go and retrieve the black stone.

When he returned, Peng Fengnian had just stood up. He brushed the grass clippings off his body, his momentum undiminished, "You have to prove you are a random player. What is your instance mission?"

"Treasures, Piglet, Odd Jobs." Xu Huo said concisely.

Peng Fengnian breathed a sigh of relief, "Our missions are the same."

"But the Paper Phone is my item. If you want to play hardball, we'll just end up both destroyed!"

"If I only wanted to snatch your item, I could have killed you just now." Xu Huo withdrew his edge and said amiably, "I am very sincere."

"Your combat power isn't up to par, which is why you're hiding out here giving orders to avoid dragging your team down. However, your companions have already entered the factory. With the three missions here at the skin stripper's place, even stealing the collection items won't be that easy to complete, right?"

"We all want to survive and get out; our goals don't conflict."

That was the truth, and Peng Fengnian hesitated before saying, "You thought of a way?"

Xu Huo did not deny it, "There is some risk."

Peng Fengnian's expression was grave, "The survival rate for the skin stripper instance is almost zero. Even C-class players find it hard to clear easily, let alone us, who are all D-class players this time. It's normal for the mission to be difficult, which is why we must win through wit."

"We didn't intend to throw our lives away for this instance."

So they were D-class players.

Xu Huo nodded, "You can't win through wit by hiding outside."

Peng Fengnian's face flushed red instantly. Seeming to want to prove himself, he raised his voice, "My trait is better suited for this, and it is more advantageous for us."

"Every instance has risks. How can you clear it without taking risks?" Xu Huo glanced at him, "Did you investigate the skin stripper before coming here? How much do you know about him?"

"A single station has multiple instances. Only those who have survived an instance know which ones they are. The amount of information that leaks out is small, and it's hard to distinguish truth from lies. There is even less about the instance boss."

"I spent fifty thousand White Cash to buy one piece of accurate information: the skin stripper's Skinning Knife cannot be used during the day."

Seeing him looking at him, Peng Fengnian explained, "The other five players know this news too. Since your mission is the same as ours, it doesn't matter if I tell you."

"It is said that when the skin stripper holds the knife, he can flay a person along their muscle fibers without leaving a trace, and he can peel off an entire skin while the person is still alive. If his knife cannot be used during the day, our daytime operations are relatively much safer."

Normally, everyone thinks it is better to act in the dead of night, because the skin stripper is active in the factory during the day, time is tight, and the timing is poor. But this is a death trap; the skin stripper holding the Skinning Knife is twice as dangerous, and once caught, the outcome is predictable.

"Do you really have a way?" Peng Fengnian pressed. To be honest, he didn't have a good strategy after hearing the feedback from Tang Pei.

Xu Huo touched his chin thoughtfully. He didn't answer the question, but instead reached out, "Lend me the phone."

Peng Fengnian gritted his teeth, "Give the item back first."

Xu Huo handed him the black stone that specialized in smashing the back of the head. Once Peng Fengnian put it away, he took out the Paper Phone, "This phone can only contact its paired Paper Phone, and it cannot send text messages. You have to hold it to your ear to communicate."

Xu Huo weighed the button-style Paper Phone; it was as light as if it had no weight.

"Is there a distance limit?"

"No." Peng Fengnian said, "As long as it's the paired phone, you can talk regardless of where you are, even if you aren't at the same station or in the same space, but it is limited to voice calls."

He mentioned the same space, so was the game train really traveling through different time and space?

Xu Huo didn't press for details. He held the phone to his ear to test it. A beeping sound rang out, and a few seconds later, the call connected. The female player asked immediately, "Peng Fengnian?"

He chuckled, "Coincidentally, no."

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