Chapter 18: The Beheading Demon

“What will happen?” The two of them trembled at his words, yet they couldn't help but press for answers.

To survive the preliminary train, some relied on strength and others on luck, but any player who had survived dared not take missing a dungeon lightly.

Under the watchful eyes of the group, Xu Huo flicked his cigarette and grinned, “I don't know either.”

The two players posing as station staff realized they had been played. Infuriated, they lunged forward: “We were going to leave you a way out, but you're looking for death yourself!”

“Ding!”

With his brass lighter still lit, Xu Huo quickly retreated several steps, raised his hand, and shouted “Burn!” twice in rapid succession.

Almost as he spoke, blue flames erupted from the edges of the two players' clothing. Ordinary fabric was covered by fire in the blink of an eye as if it were paper. The two, who had been ferocious just a second ago, immediately began screaming in agony, clawing at their clothes!

The other three players, who had been waiting for an opportunity to strike, were terrified by this display and instinctively retreated!

“He’s using a game item!” The tall, thin man threw off his clothes, staring at Xu Huo with a mixture of rage and fear. When he saw the lighter in Xu Huo's hand, a greedy light flickered in his eyes. He shouted to the other three, “You idiots, hurry up and help! He definitely has more than one ticket on him. You can only go to the next dungeon if you grab a ticket, otherwise, you'll just wait here to starve to death!”

However, before the three players could react, a series of “Burn!” commands echoed through the hall. The players' clothes caught fire one after another, and the duo of fake station staff, who had just stripped off their tops, were no exception.

A group of people rolled on the ground wailing. Standing to the side, Xu Huo watched this undressing for self-preservation with an emotionless expression, having roughly figured out what the "Arsonist's Tool" could ignite, as well as the size and speed of the flames.

It could only ignite clothing worn on a person; items thrown separately on the ground would not catch fire. The intensity of the flames was the same as a normal fire—it wasn't unextinguishable, nor could it melt metal.

There were two other necessary conditions for the fire to start: first, there had to be no obstacles between the lighter and the target—simply put, it had to be a straight line; placing the lighter behind one's back wouldn't work. Second, the target had to be able to hear him shout “Burn!”—just mouthing the word wasn't enough.

Of course, since Evolvers had enhanced hearing, the controllable distance was quite large.

Nodding in satisfaction, he checked the time on his phone and vanished from the station hall.

*

The train sped through a forest thick with heavy mist. The light outside dimmed visibly. Xu Huo checked the time on his phone again and found that after three consecutive changes in scenery, the timeline was completely scrambled. It looked dark now, but in reality, he had only been on the train for two hours.

There was no fixed time difference between the game and the outside world.

Just as he put his phone down, the game screen suddenly popped up

【Player Passerby A has entered the Hot Spring Mountain area and is defaulted to participate in the E-rank dungeon: "The Headless Demon." Please note: This dungeon is of a lower rank; players cannot carry non-game items.】

【Background: The Hot Spring Villa, famous for its natural hot springs, was once highly popular among players and non-players. However, over the past three years, guests visiting for leisure have mysteriously lost their heads, leaving no trace of a criminal at the scene. After several private detectives and police officers mysteriously disappeared, the owner of the Hot Spring Villa had to issue a high bounty to solve these bizarre deaths, but unfortunately, there has been no success to date.】

【To this day, the Hot Spring Villa has become a gathering place for detectives, journalists, and horror enthusiasts. Before twelve o'clock tonight, another batch of guests will arrive at the villa...】

【Dungeon Task: Protect our heads. (Note: Watch your head, or it might run away on its own!)】

【Dungeon Time: Five days.】

【Players must check into the Hot Spring Villa before 12:00 AM game time to complete the dungeon task. Failure to clear the dungeon will result in the inability to obtain a return ticket.】

【Countdown begins: 10, 9, 8, 7...】

When the countdown ended, Xu Huo was standing on a small path shrouded in thick fog.

The dense forest was soaked in heavy mist; visibility was practically zero beyond five meters. Under a dim, yellowish streetlamp stood a sign that read "Hot Spring Mountain Station" and "Hot Spring Villa - 500m Straight Ahead."

He walked a few steps to the side, but his vision did not expand as it would in normal heavy fog. The thick mist blocked his sight, leaving him unable to see anything other than blackness.

It seemed that aside from the dungeon requirements, other areas remained unlocked for players. If one failed to clear the dungeon and had no extra tickets, they would likely be trapped here.

“Hey, beautiful... wait!” Just as he was about to walk forward, someone called out from behind him.

Xu Huo turned around with one hand on his hip, seeing a thin man wearing glasses crawling out from the bushes. Once the man stood up, he actually looked as if he had been frightened by Xu Huo.

It was understandable; who would expect a figure with waist-length hair to turn around and reveal a 1.8-meter-tall man?

“Hello... you're a player too, right?” The bespectacled man scratched his head awkwardly. “The light was too dim just now, I couldn't see clearly.”

Xu Huo touched the hair at the back of his head. He had shaved it once on the road, and this was the regrowth.

Since it would all fall out again in a week anyway, he didn't care much.

“Heading to the Hot Spring Villa?” He offered a cigarette.

The man hurriedly took it. “Yes, yes! How should I address you, big brother? Why don't we walk together?”

Xu Huo nodded, and the two set off toward the villa, maintaining a certain distance between them.

On the way, the man gave a brief introduction. His name was Yuan Yao, a programmer who had survived the preliminary round by a stroke of luck, only boarding the train out of necessity on the very last day of his deadline.

He had arrived here in the morning and had been hiding in the roadside bushes. Eight players had already passed by. Seeing that the time was almost up, he guessed Xu Huo was the last one and quickly came out to find a companion.

After listening, Xu Huo asked thoughtfully, “Does every player arrive at a different time?”

Yuan Yao patted his chest and said, “Don't worry, Brother Xu. I know my way around these games. It notified twelve o'clock, so the dungeon definitely won't start until after that time. Maybe the people who went before couldn't even get through the door!”

That wasn't what Xu Huo was thinking about, but he didn't say so explicitly.

This Yuan Yao was hiding just three meters away, yet Xu Huo hadn't sensed him at all, nor had the eight players who had passed before him.

Turning his gaze back to the man, a slow smile spread across Xu Huo's face.

“Ah, we're here!” Yuan Yao pointed ahead.

(End of Chapter)