Chapter 42: Turning into a Pig

“What’s the situation?” Nie Xuan rushed back to the research institute and asked the others for an update.

Although the red-haired person on the phone hadn't said a single word after the connection was made, it was enough to trigger serious concern among the institute staff; they immediately dispatched personnel to lockdown the building.

“Forty-six people have gone missing so far. The entire 28th floor has been wiped out, and half of the personnel on the 27th floor have vanished. The dungeon entrance is now closed,” explained the person in charge, Team Leader Wu. “Our only player who entered was Xiao Er, who was already on the 28th floor.”

“I remember Sima Xiao Er was supposed to go to Xingfu Community today. Why was he at Golden Light Mansion?” Nie Xuan said while reviewing the files of the missing personnel. Before Wu could answer, he looked up. “Were they there to make an arrest?”

Wu nodded and pulled up a photo. “We received a report this morning. Zhu Tao, the general manager of Kairen Building Materials Company, reported a man-eating Evolver. Xiao Er brought twelve people and cooperated with the criminal investigation brigade to make the arrest. That’s the man they were after.”

Nie Xuan stood up the moment he saw the photo. “Xu Huo? He’s a player—and someone I am currently trying to recruit.”

“I know that, of course.” Wu gestured for him to remain calm. “With so many recent disappearance cases and the need to investigate dungeon entrances, the arrest of the Evolver was never reported to me, so I was unaware until now.”

“However, this is a good thing. Look at this.”

He handed over a document. “Fresh off the press. Based on clues provided by Xu Huo, the Luoshi authorities have captured the Red Player, Liu Mei. 'Liu Yuanyuan' was a pseudonym.”

Nie Xuan flipped through it and said in surprise, “B-rank evaluation? He even obtained an item from a dungeon boss?”

“That’s not all. According to Liu Mei’s confession, Xu Huo was the first to find the stranded players and deduced that the Hot Spring Villa might have previously been a non-closed dungeon. This aligns with the documents issued by the Beijing office,” Wu said.

“Which means this game, 'Dimensional Rift,' truly existed long before the appearance of Evolvers.” Nie Xuan slowly sat down.

“The Headless Demon dungeon serves as evidence.” Wu’s voice was heavy, yet tinged with relief. “So, Xu Huo stumbling into the game by accident is an opportunity for both us and the missing people.”

“On your 301st Preliminary Trial Train, only one player survived in third class; he’s currently in the ICU. Between first class and yourself, two people made it out. Special class was a total wipeout. Only second class saw success—not only did four people survive, but they also rescued a player from third class.”

“Although Han Ming, Liu Jia, and Wang Xiaohui are currently unwilling to say much, since you were on that train, it will be easy to pin down Xu Huo. Based on his performance on the Preliminary Trial Train, if the conditions are right, he will save people.”

Nie Xuan’s brow remained furrowed. “What I’m worried about now is that troublemaker Sima Xiao Er. He passed the Preliminary Trial Train by bribing the chef; he has zero dungeon experience and is young and hot-headed. I’m worried he’ll ruin things.”

Wu patted his shoulder. “For now, all we can do is wait.”

***

Everything was pitch black.

The moment the Special Affairs personnel vanished, Xu Huo knew he had encountered a dungeon. The instant he jumped from the window, his vision went dark, and it felt as if his body had been wrapped in a layer of airtight fur. He began rolling down a slanted slope.

His nasal passages were filled with the stench of animal hide. His hands were stiff, his legs were folded backward, and his limbs were bound so tightly he couldn't move. His mouth and eyes were similarly sealed shut. In the absence of light, he rolled for several minutes before coming to a stop.

As he settled, more than ten heavy objects came crashing down after him one after another. They were crowded into a narrow space, struggling and emitting muffled, indistinct groans.

Unable to open his eyes or mouth, and trapped in such a cramped space, Xu Huo ignored the kicking and hitting around him and listened intently to the surrounding sounds.

After about fifteen minutes, footsteps approached. Then, someone opened a door, letting out a raspy laugh. “This batch of goods is quite fresh. Let me count... forty-six in total.”

“We won't use them all in one day. Let's fatten them up first.”

Then came the sound of dragging. Amidst a pile of overlapping whimpers, the rhythmic sound of blades slicing through leather rang out. They came in sets of three. With every slice, a voice—whether crying, angry, or pleading—became clear. It was no longer a muffled thud, but a high-pitched, bright sound, though it sounded more like the howl of a beast than a human voice!

There was a brief interruption when the man took away the previous group, returning after a while to continue his work.

Finally, it was Xu Huo's turn. He was hoisted up by a hand. *Slash, slash, slash.* A cold sensation hit his eyes and mouth—he could open his eyes!

The first thing he saw was a tall, muscular foreign man with a red nose. The man lifted Xu Huo with one hand, shook him slightly, muttered "mute," and tossed him aside.

With his legs tied behind him, Xu Huo was forced to land on his knees. His line of sight dropped below the foreign man's waist. He looked up to see the man grab a fat pig, quickly slice a line across its eyes and mouth, and then the pig would be able to open its eyes and squeal before being tossed back to the ground.

Only then did Xu Huo realize he was in a place resembling a warehouse. There was a square pipe exit above where he had fallen; everyone must have dropped in from there.

The people who fell were all wrapped in a layer of pigskin and enclosed within a fence. Their eyes and mouths were sealed; only after the red-nosed man sliced open their eyes and mouths could they see and make sound again. However, it wasn't normal speech, but howling—howling like pigs!

Being wrapped in pigskin really turned them into pigs?

Xu Huo saw the words "Good Taste Fresh Meat Supply Plant" printed in large letters on the red-nosed man's blackened apron. His eyelids twitched

Not only had they become pigs, but they were about to be slaughtered!

By this time, the red-nosed man had finished his task and was driving everyone toward the exit.

Xu Huo followed the panicked crowd. As soon as they reached the outside, two people attempted to flee, but because they were wrapped in skins—long in the front and short in the back—they could only crawl on the ground. They couldn't even stand up, let alone outrun a healthy person.

“Quite a lot of spirit,” the red-nosed man laughed loudly. He chased them down and crushed their "pig heads" with two punches. Before the red and white fluids could even flow out, he grabbed them one in each hand and hung them on meat hooks.

“Fresh brains. We'll add a side dish to dinner tonight.”

Two people in the crowd began to vomit. The red-nosed man's eyebrows knit together. “Don't tell me these are diseased pigs. No one buys diseased pork.”

The crowd gasped in terror. Even those who were vomiting instinctively held their breath. Just as they were at a loss, a "pig" next to Xu Huo collapsed to the ground, wailing in a way that suggested it was dying of illness.

By the sound, it was the previous Manager Zhu.

Following suit, two others lay down as well. Under their pigskins, the eyes of the others gleamed, seemingly seeing a glimmer of hope

*No one buys diseased pork. Can we escape our fate?*

But before they could act, the red-nosed man dragged the three of them out. “I'll slaughter you three first today, just to make sure you don't die of disease before we can eat you.”