Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!

Chapter 2454

(Wait, revise) "No need, right?" The woman stepped back cautiously, afraid he might capture her in the photo.Xu Huo laughed, "As far as I know, there’s no prop in the game that can kill a player just by locating them with a photograph."

The woman chuckled, "Not knowing doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. What if there really is one?"

Xu Huo didn’t force her, letting a group of children take photos to their heart’s content, then developing and laminating the photos, allowing each to claim their own.

The children came with their parents like offering prayers, queued up, took their photos, and left behind a few mushrooms.

The Girl in the painting played with the mushrooms, turning back to Xu Huo, "I just saw rabbits in the grove, let’s catch a couple and stew them for soup."

Xu Huo glanced towards the grove, then said to the thin woman, "You go with her."

The woman was pleasantly surprised, "Really?"

She had already noticed that the Girl in the painting seemed not very bright.

"Don’t think of running, the nearest village from here is Zhongmu Village, There are a dozen dungeon players in Zhongmu Village. It’s the safest there. If you don’t want to be isolated and trapped alone, it’s best not to go alone," Xu Huo advised.

The woman smiled broadly, assuring she wouldn’t, and followed the Girl in the painting happily.

They walked for a while, then across the creek, came three more players, two females and one male. The man walking in front saw Xu Huo and the others and smiled, "I told you, there’s definitely a village around here."

"Brother," he greeted Xu Huo, "Where did you come from?"

"Behind Zhongmu Village," Xu Huo pointed in a general direction.

The three hesitated, deciding to stop by the creek, "We’re not in a rush, why don’t we go with you later?"

"This grove is too large, it’s easy to get lost. We’ve circled around for days to find here."

"Is that so?" Xu Huo looked at the man with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, "You must have walked long enough."

The man pretended not to catch the implication in Xu Huo’s words, introduced himself, saying his name was Lao Chai, the two female players with him were Zhi Zhi and Yue Shangliu Shao—fake names, just a code, enough for others to address them.

Then he began inquiring about the dungeon but kept quiet about the information he knew.

Xu Huo had no interest in bickering with them, used the excuse of being a "non-dungeon player" to brush them off and proceeded to collect mushrooms.

The Girl in the painting returned quickly, the two of them each carrying several rabbits, while the thin woman had fine, long wounds on her arms and face from a sharp instrument.

As it turned out, the thin woman actually knew Lao Chai; the moment they met face-to-face, both changed expressions, seemingly to divert attention, the woman pointed at Lao Chai, "He’s the one I told you about, the first to leave!"

From the group of eight, two went missing, leaving six who naturally felt uneasy. After entering the dungeon, there was no killing; the wise choice was to stick together, both to guard against the Hidden Friend and the actor.

Lao Chai was the first to sneak away, unlike the two who went missing, he didn’t leave without a trace. Once he left, those remaining had their own thoughts, and the woman, being isolated, ran away too.

Lao Chai wasn’t upset even after being exposed, "Friend, no need to be so excited. In the dungeon, it’s normal to team up then separate."

Xu Huo nodded, "A chance encounter, not a life-debt bond, very normal."

It was late, the kids needed to go back for lunch, naturally, Xu Huo and others would join them.

Originally, Lao Chai and company were determined to follow along, but seeing the thin woman’s reverent attitude towards Xu Huo, they started to hesitate, even distancing themselves subtly.

"Since you’re here, why not come along?" Xu Huo glanced back at them, "Forgot to mention, there are quite a few players in the village, safety in numbers."

It wasn’t a kind suggestion but rather an insistence for them to go.

The trio’s expressions slightly changed; just as they were about to speak, Chi Cai and Bubble Bean appeared—they were out looking for Xu Huo.

Once they met, Lao Chai and the others realized they absolutely couldn’t leave, so they had no choice but to smile and enter the village.

With plenty of rabbits caught, the village prepared a large communal meal at noon, and the players joined in. This time the atmosphere was much better, as everyone quietly ate their own meal.

After the meal, Xu Huo shared his experience of being isolated in the grove with others, along with mentioning hearing Chi Cai’s voice calling him.

"Impossible!" Chi Cai was astonished, "I didn’t leave the village all morning; when we went looking for you, I was with several people, they can all vouch for me."

"I didn’t say it must be you," Xu Huo gestured for him to calm down, "I mean, acting alone might trigger changes in the dungeon. To be safe, everyone should avoid leaving alone and stay within each other’s sight."

*

Both the actor and the Hidden Friend, the people they kill are what meets the dungeon requirements.

Both the actor and the Hidden Friend, the people they kill are what meets the dungeon requirements.

Both the actor and the Hidden Friend, the people they kill are what meets the dungeon requirements.

Both the actor and the Hidden Friend, the people they kill are what meets the dungeon requirements.

Both the actor and the Hidden Friend, the people they kill are what meets the dungeon requirements.

So, very possibly, if one day the actor successfully kills the "friend," that day, the Hidden Friend won’t come out and kill. The dungeon’s time limit is thirty days, but there were forty-two players who entered the dungeon. Ideally, less than a day should have one actor, which is also hinted in the dungeon description. Over the past seven days, there should have been at least seven actors appearing.

Considering that in the past few days, some might have wandered aimlessly in the forest encountering no one, adding to the nine who died, among the remaining ones, Xu Huo and the others accounted for almost half. Statistically, it should be their turn among them, so anyone insisting on leaving the group might be randomly assigned the identity of the Hidden Friend.

Of course, the middle-aged man could have genuinely left on his own.

Even while playing by the creek, the kids didn’t make much noise, apart from mushrooms of all kinds, they also caught some small fish and shrimp from the water.

"See, I didn’t lie to you, once the fog rolls in, lots of mushrooms grow out." The little girl remembered what was said before and brought her basket to Xu Huo to see.

Xu Huo nodded, then saw the Girl in the painting running over, asking him for the old-fashioned camera, wanting to take pictures of the children.

Now, technology in the game is advanced, the holographic projection of the communicator nearly replaces the function of photos. But for this village, they still prefer tangible photographs.

Xu Huo bought one and stood by the creek taking pictures of those standing in the water.

"Why don’t you go over too, I’ll take one for you?" he asked the thin woman standing next to him.