Time Traveler Help Hotline

[Checking the number of players currently in the instance... 6... 8...]

[Warning! There is an anomaly in the number of existing players. Administrator—]

Before the remaining words could be broadcast, a hand reached out to the blood-red screen around them and grabbed its corner.

Error! Command could not be executed...

The cold voice abruptly stopped.

The virtual screen, resembling an error message in a holographic game, was easily torn apart like paper, turning into specks of light that reflected Ji Mo's calm and unwavering eyes.

"Shut up, can't you see me? I'm the administrator, and I declare that there are no problems." There were also a bunch of error-reporting screens around Jiu Chonglou. Her approach was completely different from Ji Mo's. She chose to hack into the nearest screen and modify its underlying logic. The screen that was originally reporting errors quickly returned to its normal fluorescent blue color.

The modified underlying logic spread like a plague, rapidly contaminating other screens.

[Administrator-assisted re-inspection completed... No abnormalities found...]

[Correction in progress... The current number of living beings in the instance is 25 Tier 1 Mysteries, 6 players, and 2 administrators.]

Ji Mo glanced around and found that they had landed on an empty, old-fashioned platform.

There weren't many passengers waiting on the benches, and their appearances were all quite varied. They were all uniformly silent, ignoring the two people who suddenly appeared.

Jiu Chonglou hacked into the system, quickly scanned the area, and raised an eyebrow: "The person seeking help is at station seven, we're at station eleven. Wow, they have a pretty reliable guy in their group. As for the rules here…"

The train will pass through thirteen stations, stopping for two minutes at each station, for a total of ten minutes between stops. Pass condition: Survive to the final stop.

"No, it's the deeper, more nuanced underlying rules."

Jiu Chonglou blinked, making a photographic gesture with his hands, and cast an appraisal spell.

The superficial summary of rules gradually dissipated, breaking them down into a dozen or so new clauses, including but not limited to:

The instance consists of two parts: the platform and the train. A single instance cycle is defined as the train traveling from the initial station to the final station.

[Lifeforms assigned the identity of "players" may only disembark at the starting station or the final station; they may not leave the train during the journey.]

[While a platform or train exists, beings with the identity of a "passenger" have a respawn buff and will automatically revive at the start of the next instance after death.]

Each platform can accommodate a maximum of 3 "passengers," and each time the train stops at a platform, a "passenger" can kill a maximum of one "player." Passengers on the same platform share the same number of kills.

……

More than a dozen rules intertwine to ultimately construct the operating logic of this instance beneath our feet.

Jiu Chonglou shared the newly deciphered rules with Ji Mo.

"What do we do now?" Ji Mo asked.

"If it's a head, be aggressive and clear out all the remaining monsters so the players can comfortably clear the level without any obstacles; if it's a tail, be conservative and dismantle the entire dungeon so they can clear it ahead of time." Jiu Chonglou took out a coin, rubbing its shiny silver surface with his thumb, eager to try.

"Do you mean 'too conservative, not radical enough' when you say 'conservative'?" Ji Mo couldn't help but complain.

"Nonsense, this is called the official way to clear the level. Do you think any freak with a brain these days would leave a survivor after every kill?" Jiu Chonglou curled his lips, mimicking a certain tone, his seriousness tinged with a hint of mockery: "You mean, the enemy is holding out in this large building, and there are no hostages?"

She raised her right hand high, vaguely holding an imaginary wine glass, tilted her head slightly, and gazed at the seemingly real moonlight.

—Fine wine in a moonlit cup, you and the bunker fly together.jpg

Ji Mo stared speechlessly at Jiu Chonglou, who was putting on a dramatic act. Fortunately, the other side also knew that time was running out; if they didn't make a move soon, the players might clear the level on their own—or be wiped out.

The coin was tossed high into the air and landed steadily back in Jiuchonglou's palm.

As expected, it was the opposite.

"I'll go protect them, you can dismantle the dungeon."

……

The atmosphere inside the train carriage was oppressively suffocating.

The previous station had only one "passenger," whose most distinctive feature was that he had multiple hands and a huge body, like a person made up of arms.

They thought they could quickly win by relying on their numerical advantage, but they found that the enemy's strength far exceeded their previous strength.

Mosang's shirt was tattered, so he tore off the rags to reveal his muscular body, which was covered with faint bluish-purple handprints, as if he had just experienced a chaotic groping.

In contrast, the person lying on the ground was in a much worse state, with multiple fractures and indented handprints covering his body. He was barely breathing and was on the verge of death.

Everyone was filled with sorrow, and this sorrow turned to anger. A man in a suit pointed at Mo Sang: "If this continues, only you will survive! You should share the props with us!"

The previous monster was terrifyingly strong. Mo Sang was able to withstand it not because he was equally strong, but because everyone saw a transparent shield appear on his body. With a little thought, they would realize that it was something like a prop.

Mo Sang looked at him coldly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

"You're a veteran player, your physique is stronger than ours, you can make it to the end even without items! Don't be so selfish!"

The remaining people remained silent. Chen Zhuzhu said in a panic, "Brother Mo..."

"Shut up!" The man in the suit completely lost his temper, unable to tolerate even being called "brother" at the beginning. He pointed at her nose and yelled, "You're the only one without a scratch, so you have no right to speak! I bet you two are having an affair, right? Otherwise, why would he keep protecting you? Did you secretly give him the props from the train in exchange for his protection? How much experience do we newbies have? There's no way we could possibly have that many props!"

Even though it was their first time participating in the dungeon, they could feel that it would become more and more difficult as they progressed. Mo Sang, who seemed to be the leader, kept rushing forward, but he was the second least injured.

First is Chen Zhuzhu, who was basically unharmed. At the last stop, she even escaped the most bizarre event so far by running to another carriage.

Given the current situation, with one person dying at each station, there aren't enough people to fill the remaining stations.

The will to survive distorted reason. No one echoed the man in the suit, nor did anyone speak up for Mo Sang; they simply exerted pressure through silence, awaiting his response.

"No...no, what I mean is..." Chen Zhuzhu pointed out the window and stammered, "There's..."

From the beginning of the game until now, no one has ever thought of jumping off the train to escape—firstly, the mortality rate is too high, and secondly, this train is not traveling in a regular tunnel, but rather hugging the steep mountainside.

At the critical moment of life and death, no one was in the mood to appreciate the scenery halfway up the mountain, as everyone's attention was mostly focused on the interior of the carriage.

It was only then that they noticed a woman floating outside the window.

Jiu Chonglou had somehow gotten to the window, flicked his fingers, and knocked twice on the glass, greeting the players inside: "Hey, I hope I didn't disturb your drama of turning against each other?"

Then her gaze shifted to the tense-looking man in the suit, and her tone immediately turned playful:

"A refined person is a refined person; they want someone to give them a lot of gold coins, but they do it so subtly."

The man in the suit turned pale and then flushed, his shame and anger at having his thoughts exposed intertwined with his fear of the person in front of him.

Just then, Jiu Chonglou raised an eyebrow and looked ahead at the train as if he had sensed something.

Without her prompting, a chillingly sharp intent swept over them—

"Sigh, old man Ji is too fast." Jiu Chonglou complained, but his movements were as fast as a ghost. He casually slapped the car window, and the entire glass turned into dust. A force surrounded and lifted everyone up.

As the player left the train, he felt a strong resistance. Jiu Chonglou clicked his tongue in disdain, as if something had shattered and the resistance disappeared.

……

The terminal station was a complete mess.

The ground was littered with twisted and bizarre remains. Judging from the shocking dents and fractures on them, it was easy to see that they were killed by pure force.

Ji Mo stepped expressionlessly over a still convulsing body, his foot slightly pressing down, the soft sound of bones breaking was particularly clear on the platform.

He looked up in the direction the track extended: "It should be this way? Xiao Jiu should have picked up the person by now."

Ji Mo no longer hesitated, took a deep breath, and his aura became extremely sharp.

Long ago, Ji Mo clearly realized that he and Jiu Chonglou were on completely opposite paths.

Jiu Chonglou's fighting style is ever-changing, like a dazzling kaleidoscope; but his methods remain consistent, pure to the extreme.

He didn't understand many complicated techniques, but he possessed the ultimate power.

As usual, he simply swung his sword forward.

Just one sword!

The vast sword energy surged like a monstrous wave, tearing through space with its most savage force, and crashed violently into the towering mountain beside the track. Wherever the sword's edge struck, tens of thousands of tons of rock crumbled inch by inch like fragile glass.

The entire ridge was forcibly cleaved in two by an irresistible force, emitting a dull thud amidst the lament of the laws of physics, and slowly collapsed to both sides.

Sword after sword!

Until the copy crashes.