Nairui Town

As for why there were only two veteran players, even fewer than the newcomers... he had no idea.

Still, fewer veteran players was a good thing for Zhao Xun.

If the players turned out to be enemies in this game, fewer veterans would be easier to deal with.

He waited a little longer, but heard no more footsteps nearby, and no new players appeared.

Everyone looked at one another in silence. No one spoke.

Then a pop-up appeared in front of each of them.

The instant Zhao Xun saw his own pop-up, he glanced at the others.

Finding that he couldn't see anyone else's pop-up, he knew this was another message only he could see.

Only then did he turn his attention to his own pop-up.

[Welcome to the [Nairui Town] Platform Game.]

[This is an ancient, peaceful town. Its residents are warm and friendly, and everyone gets along beautifully.]

[Recently, however, something has appeared in town that disrupts this harmonious atmosphere. All the townspeople are working hard to restore things to normal.]

[We look forward to you joining the townspeople in preserving the town's harmony.]

Zhao Xun patiently read through the messages.

For now, he found no useful information. It seemed to be nothing more than an introduction to the story's setting.

The pop-up slowly faded, and a new one appeared.

[Player Zhao Xun's main quest: obtain the Sculpture's Heart.]

Zhao Xun: "..."

The introduction had gone on at length, yet the main quest was only a few words.

This main quest seemed to have absolutely nothing to do with the preceding backstory.

The quest didn't even specify which sculpture it meant.

It looked like he would have to explore on his own.

Still, those few words did confirm one useful piece of information for Zhao Xun.

"Player Zhao Xun's main quest" meant that this was his own individual quest in this game.

The other players would have main quests of their own, too.

Combined with the fact that the quests were delivered through pop-ups visible only to their recipients, this might mean that every player had a different main quest in this game.

Their quests might even put them at odds with one another.

For instance, his quest was to "obtain the Sculpture's Heart," while another player's quest might be to "destroy the Sculpture's Heart."

Before Zhao Xun could think any further, the scene before him suddenly lurched.

He instinctively shifted his feet to steady himself, and a second later, everything became stable again.

Only now, the other five players were no longer beside him, and he was standing in an open-air fountain square.

He stood right beside the fountain's pool. The little angel sculpture inside was quaint and charming, and he could feel the coolness coming off the water.

A short distance away, a street performer played the violin, his case filled with bills and coins tipped by passersby.

The place bustled with everyday life, a stark contrast to the empty stretch of grass from before.

Zhao Xun quickly realized that he must now be inside Nairui Town.

The grassy area where the six players had gathered must have been outside the town.

Zhao Xun looked around and soon found a secluded, deserted corner.

It was a corner between walls, with two large trees directly in front of it, enough to conceal anyone hiding there.

Zhao Xun took his suitcase out of the System Storage Slot, opened it, and found an exquisite little metal box the size of his palm hidden in an inner pocket of its lining.

Inside the metal box, thick foam padding cradled a dark brown glass bottle.

Zhao Xun turned the setting of the ring on his right index finger, revealing the tiny needle concealed inside.

Then he carefully opened the glass bottle, dipped the needle inside, and coated it with the liquid.

Once that was done, he put the glass bottle away as before with his left hand, while keeping his right hand still and waiting for the liquid on the needle to dry.

This liquid was the poison that had killed the heavily bearded man instantly.

Since Zhao Xun had devised a way to conceal a weapon in his ring and coat it with poison, he naturally had no intention of making it a single-use weapon.

That was why he had brought an entire bottle of poison as a reserve-if it hadn't been so difficult to obtain, he would have prepared several more.

After killing the bearded man with the concealed weapon in his ring that night, he hadn't immediately reapplied the poison.

For one thing, the train was too crowded. He couldn't take out the poison in front of everyone, or the ring would lose its value as a concealed weapon.

For another, he hadn't unlocked the Storage Slot back then, so he couldn't hide his suitcase. Dragging it straight into the restroom would also attract attention.

That would only make others more likely to covet his suitcase.

So it was only now that he had coated the ring with poison again.

After returning the suitcase to the Storage Slot, Zhao Xun didn't rush to leave.

He leaned against the wall and sorted through his thoughts.

What concerned him most was that this game had no difficulty rating.

Although he wasn't particularly interested in gaming, he knew perfectly well that nearly every kind of game had different difficulty levels.

Even simple match-three games varied in difficulty.

The score awarded for clearing a game would change according to its difficulty.

The greater the difficulty, the higher the score.

Yet this Platform Game hadn't announced its difficulty level or how many points he would receive for clearing it.

If there were no difficulty levels and every player who cleared the game received the same number of points, it would be hard to create any gap between their scores. Surely the daily points rankings couldn't depend on how much players spent aboard the train?

That just didn't seem right.

But so far, there really hadn't been any difficulty rating.

Could the difficulty only be revealed during the quest?

Well, I'll just have to wait and see how it works.

Zhao Xun straightened up, smoothed the creases in his clothes, and stepped out of the corner.

His immediate task was to gather information about sculptures.

The sky grew steadily darker, yet not a single light came on in the square.

For now, though, he could still make out his surroundings.

Zhao Xun was about to stop a passerby before it became completely dark and ask whether the town had any particularly famous sculptures, when he saw everyone running in the same direction.

After a moment's thought, he followed them.

Only when he reached the Bulletin Board in Fountain Square did he discover a freshly posted notice.

[The witch who escaped this afternoon poses a grave threat to Nairui Town. All townspeople should take care of their own safety and avoid going out at night whenever possible.]

[If anyone discovers any trace of the witch, please report it to the Public Security Office immediately.]

[If you discover anyone sheltering the witch, you may also report them to the Public Security Office.]

[Anyone who provides accurate information about the witch's whereabouts will receive a reward of one gold coin.]

[Anyone who helps the Public Security Office capture the witch will receive a reward of ten gold coins.]

[We hope all townspeople will stand united in friendship and work together to find the evil witch threatening the town's safety.]