Players, Please Board the Train

"You're smart. I won't hurt you," Xu Huo said. "The other routes aren't safe, no one can go that way. Since we're stuck here with nothing to do, we might as well chat to kill time."

A group of girls cried tears of joy. The one clutching his handkerchief said, "My name is Peng Ya, and this is Tian Ningning. The two of us grew up in the Shang Welfare Home."

The girl with the bloody head forced a smile toward Xu Huo.

"This welfare home is the very place where Mr. Shang Shuming once lived."

The Shang descendant who rebuilt Sun Museum City was named Shang Shuming.

"Wasn't Shang Shuming adopted and taken abroad by his elders?" Xu Huo asked. Teacher Pan's file had no record of Shang Shuming living in a welfare home.

"It wasn't immediate." Peng Ya said, "After Mr. Shang's mother committed suicide, his mental state was unstable. He couldn't suddenly change his living environment, so he spent over a year receiving treatment at the welfare home before leaving."

According to the game background and Shang Shuming's investigation file, he was born sometime between fifty and forty-five years ago. The first closure of Museum City, which served as an experimental base, was forty-three years ago. Because quite a few children were born during those years, and Shang Shuming's mother had already committed suicide after being rescued, it was difficult to determine his exact birth date.

But the file stated he was already four years old when rescued, stayed at the welfare home for over a year, left Mao City around age six, and returned around age thirty. He died a few years after coming back, which was over a decade ago—when Peng Ya was just a little girl.

Peng Ya nodded. "The old director told us. She often mentioned Mr. Shang. Because of him, we could receive a good education. After growing up, we could even directly work at some public welfare organizations. All the children who came from the welfare home are very grateful to him."

"Do you have a photo?" Xu Huo paused before asking.

Finding it strange, Peng Ya still pulled out her phone and showed him pictures of the welfare home. "This is a group photo from back then. Mr. Shang is standing in front of the old director."

"Which one was his psychological counselor?"

"This one." Peng Ya pointed to a honest-looking middle-aged man on the side.

Xu Huo felt a flash of disappointment. The moment he saw this person, he knew this wasn't who he was looking for.

"Just him?"

Peng Ya glanced at him cautiously. "Big brother, do you have some connection to Mr. Shang? If you want to learn more about him, I can take you to meet the old director."

Xu Huo suppressed his emotions and returned her phone.

This old director was also mentioned in Teacher Pan's file. She was still alive, in good health, with no dementia, just slightly hard of hearing. She now lived in a nursing home funded by the Shang family.

He was planning to visit her anyway on this trip to Mao City.

The vehicle ahead finally started moving. Xu Huo said to the driver, "Head straight to the Shang Welfare Home."

As the bus rumbled along, Peng Ya, prompted by her companion, asked in a low voice, "Big brother, could you let Tian Ningning and the others off first? Several of them are injured. If you're going to the welfare home, I can be your guide. I know everything—the room Mr. Shang lived in, the toys he played with—all of it."

"Wherever you say." Xu Huo didn't care.

After reading Teacher Pan's file, he had a hunch that this Shang Shuming was just like those children who had received treatment at the Seventeenth Hospital.

An ordinary person's growth has limits. At the time, that high-IQ sociopathic child he was treated with could only manage to poison his entire family to death in one go. But Shang Shuming had been able to carry out this kind of torture and murder for years without a single leak. Besides his rock-solid psychological resilience, what mattered more was his ability—he had likely already become a player.

Zone 009 hadn't been gamified that early. So who trained him into a cold-blooded criminal and then turned him into a player?

Thinking of the doctor who appeared in his dreams but whose face and name he never knew, Xu Huo's gaze darkened. The doctor who gave Shang Shuming psychological treatment wasn't necessarily the person in that photo.

A checkpoint appeared ahead. The driver suddenly slammed on the brakes, jumped out, and scrambled toward the armed personnel up front. "There's a Player-Eater on the bus..."

Before he could finish, a gunshot ended him.

A player in black leather jacket checked his phone. "Matches. Five more on the bus."

"That's my brother!" A curly-haired girl on the bus shouted in surprise.

A dozen players and over twenty armed personnel quickly surrounded the bus, gun muzzles aimed at the vehicle. The player who had just killed called out, "Get off and you won't die. You have half a minute. If you don't come down, we're opening fire!"

These people meant business. They didn't even bother negotiating about hostages or anything. Bald Man and his crew, driven by desperation, snarled, "Grab someone and use them as shields. I don't believe they'd dare to..."

A bullet pierced through the glass and hit him square in the temple.

The moment he dropped, the remaining three, all bark and no bite, immediately raised their hands in surrender. Several players pulled them off the bus and handcuffed them. The girls scrambled off in a rush, with the curly-haired girl throwing herself at the black-leather-jacket player, crying and laughing at the same time.

"Two left on the bus. One dead, one alive." The armed personnel checked and reported.

"He's a good person!" Peng Ya quickly explained. "If he hadn't saved us, who knows what would have happened!"

"Yeah, brother," the curly-haired girl added. "The dead one was the real bad guy. He tried to mess with Junjun. If Ningning hadn't stabbed him with all she had, and Xiaoya hadn't successfully called for help, we'd definitely all be dead by now!"

The black-leather-jacket player wiped her tears. "Don't run around anymore from now on."

After speaking, he took the initiative to walk over to Xu Huo. "Ye Yingdong. Thanks for saving my sister and the other girls."

As he spoke, the captured burly man was dragged behind the vehicle and summarily executed.

"Surname Xu." Xu Huo wasn't in the mood to chat. "Mao City isn't locked down, right? Can I pass through?"

Ye Yingdong nodded, waved for the people in the distance to open the checkpoint, and handed Xu Huo a business card. "The Ye family is somewhat known in Mao City. I know Mr. Xu is above such things, but if there's anything the Ye family can help with, please don't hesitate to ask."

Xu Huo took the card and heard him add, "There are quite a few out-of-district players coming to Zone 009 lately. For safety, Mr. Xu, please don't go to remote places."

After saying that, he gave Xu Huo a more detailed city map, with some random dungeon ranges marked on it.

Xu Huo accepted his kindness, borrowed a car on the way, and was about to leave when Peng Ya took the initiative to open the car door. "I promised to take you to the welfare home."

Xu Huo smiled, started the engine, and glanced in the rearview mirror. The burly man and his crew were already pinned down and executed on the spot.

Players with firearms killing people in the streets... the original government had almost completely lost its hold over its citizens. Zone 009 was now ruled by players.

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