What a Coincidence

The Train Rules stated that every passenger aboard the Endless Train had to complete a Personal Mission each day.

But each day's Personal Mission completion was only assessed at midnight. In other words, as long as they got off before midnight, they would not have to undergo that day's assessment aboard the train.

So even if they did not do their Personal Missions, they would face no punishment.

For Zhao Xun, however, if he wanted to earn more points, he still had to complete whatever Personal Missions he could.

"Bro, I've told you everything I can. Can you let me go now?" Shen Yalong asked tentatively.

Zhao Xun smiled at Shen Yalong. Only when Shen Yalong began to feel uncomfortable all over did he suddenly ask, "What's your main quest in this game?"

Shen Yalong opened his mouth, but halfway through the first syllable, he caught himself.

"Bro, I might not be able to beat you, but I'm not an idiot. Why would I just tell you my quest?" As he spoke, he stood up and clenched both hands into fists, mentally bracing himself for a beating.

That was close. Way too close. I almost said it.

Shen Yalong watched Zhao Xun's hands warily.

If Zhao Xun really attacked, he would call for help immediately. He could not worry about the consequences of attracting everyone's attention anymore. Staying alive had to come first!

"Fine." Zhao Xun shrugged, turned, and walked away.

Shen Yalong looked stunned.

He watched Zhao Xun's retreating figure, so casual and unhurried, and took a long while to recover.

He's just letting me go?

Only when Zhao Xun had gone farther away did Shen Yalong believe he really had been let off.

Relief immediately flooded him.

He had no idea why Zhao Xun had suddenly grown a conscience and let him go, but at least he had managed to cling to his life once again.

Before Shen Yalong could enjoy his relief for long, he suddenly heard footsteps nearby.

They sounded rather heavy and hurried. He quickly hid behind the tree and cautiously peeked out.

By then, night had fallen completely, and the entire garden was pitch-black.

But an oil lamp shone up ahead, clearly illuminating the face of the person carrying it.

It was one of the players-the burly man who stood two meters tall.

The burly man was not wearing the outfit he had entered the game in, but a guard's uniform from the Duke's Manor.

Shen Yalong immediately realized that the role assigned to the burly man upon entering the game was probably one of the guards at the Duke's Manor.

At that moment, the burly man was heading into the tall grass.

Startled, Shen Yalong hurried to hide on the other side.

If another guard found him, they would only think he was a town resident attending the banquet. At most, they would tell him not to wander around the garden and send him back to the banquet hall.

But if the burly man saw him, he would definitely guess that he was there for his main quest.

The burly man was clearly an experienced veteran player, and he did not seem easy to get along with. He might kill Shen Yalong on sight without bothering to ask any questions.

Shen Yalong was not even particularly strong among the new players, much less willing to face a veteran.

Fortunately, Shen Yalong was not trapped in a dead end. There was another way out on the other side of the large tree.

He moved as quietly as possible, timing every step to coincide with a noise from the burly man. Before the man reached the tree, he finally managed to leave the area and hide in another small bamboo grove.

Shen Yalong was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he suddenly sensed someone behind him.

He whipped around and saw Zhao Xun, who had just left.

Although he could not make out his face in the darkness, his build, combined with their meeting in a place like this, made it easy to identify him.

Shen Yalong immediately felt awkward. "What... what a coincidence."

"Shut up," Zhao Xun warned in a low voice.

Shen Yalong fell silent at once.

Zhao Xun listened closely to the sounds outside. Realizing that the burly man's footsteps were drawing closer, he immediately headed deeper into the bamboo grove.

He had spotted the burly man before Shen Yalong did. Just as he had been about to step off the lawn, he had suddenly heard someone speaking.

The voice had sounded a little familiar, so he had instinctively ducked back into hiding and taken a peek.

The instant he saw the burly man, he understood what role the man had been assigned.

Although he did not know exactly what the burly man's main quest was, as an infiltrator, he was clearly on the opposing side from a guard.

Even without knowing whether their quests conflicted, eliminating a potential threat before it became a problem was standard practice, especially for a veteran like the burly man, who thought nothing of new players.

Besides, the burly man had probably already heard something, which was why he had suggested searching the tall grass for someone.

So Zhao Xun had immediately moved to another hiding place.

Sure enough, the first place the burly man searched was where Shen Yalong had been.

But having found no one there, the burly man probably would not give up easily. Zhao Xun could only keep moving deeper into the bamboo grove, playing cat and mouse with him.

Seeing Zhao Xun head farther in, Shen Yalong hesitated for a moment, then followed.

By comparison, the burly man posed a much greater threat to him than Zhao Xun did.

Since Zhao Xun had let him go earlier, there was no reason for him to attack now.

Following Zhao Xun was safer than exposing himself to the burly man.

Before long, the burly man began searching the bamboo grove.

By then, Zhao Xun and Shen Yalong had already reached the depths of the Bamboo Grove and were standing beneath a tall perimeter wall.

They were at the edge of the Duke's Manor. Climbing over the wall would take them out of the grounds.

But neither had made any progress on his quest, so leaving the Duke's Manor was out of the question. They could only follow the wall farther along and see whether they could get out of the bamboo grove.

After they had crept along like this for two or three minutes, the burly man's footsteps behind them suddenly stopped.

Zhao Xun stopped as well and strained to listen.

Shen Yalong also held his breath, trying hard to hear what was happening in the distance.

Another guard had stopped the burly man, saying that two town residents were fighting at the entrance to the banquet hall and that he needed to help restore order.

Then the burly man's footsteps gradually receded.

Only when he could no longer hear anything did Shen Yalong let out a heavy breath.

Looking into the pitch-black distance, Zhao Xun formed a rough guess about the burly man's main quest.

The fact that the burly man had followed them deep into the bamboo grove proved that he was certain someone was hiding there.

Normally, even if someone called him away, he should have insisted on finding them first.

Yet he had left.

That could only mean the other guard's request was something he could not refuse or disobey.

In other words, his main quest might be to fulfill his duties as a guard, including carrying out his superiors' instructions, the duke's orders, and so on.

If his guess was correct, then his main quest and the burly man's did not conflict all that much.

With that thought, Zhao Xun turned and continued along the wall toward the edge of the grove.

To be safe, he could not go back the way he had come. He had to find another suitable route out.

After just five steps, he suddenly spotted a statue as tall as a person up ahead.

The moon peeked out from the overlapping layers of clouds, bringing a faint light to the dark world.

One beam of moonlight passed through a gap in the bamboo leaves and fell across the statue's face.

In that instant, Zhao Xun thought he saw the statue blink.