Chapter 1692: Chapter 1692: I Think You Need a Referee
The station quieted down.
Xu Huo and the Golden-Eyed Player both focused their attention on each other. Although they didn’t make a move, they didn’t relax their vigilance either. The other five players standing in the corner of the station watched them cautiously, neither provoking them verbally nor attempting to stop them, simply preparing their own Defense Props.
"You can’t use your Explosive Props a second time in a short period." The Golden-Eyed Player spoke first.
"Want to try?" Xu Huo stared at him calmly.
With just those few words, the atmosphere returned to a tense stalemate. As everyone concentrated on the situation, a player who had entered the station later observed briefly before suddenly stepping between the two, taking off his jazz hat and placing it on his chest. He glanced at them on either side before saying with a smile, "I see both of you want a decisive outcome, so why don’t I act as the referee?"
As soon as these words were spoken, both Xu Huo and the Golden-Eyed Player’s expressions changed. On Xu Huo’s side, the "Revolving Lantern" activated, causing the player with the hat in the middle to freeze in place. On the other side, the Golden-Eyed Player had a layer of shadow-like gauze appear over him, making his whole body ethereal. The next second, the shadow moved, and the Golden-Eyed Player shifted from facing Xu Huo and the player with the hat to another corner of the station.
This unexpected turn of events made the five players who had just experienced an explosion start cursing, while also trying to distance themselves from the three to avoid further trouble.
However, just as everyone prepared for the impact, Xu Huo and the other two did not make a move. The player with the hat even chuckled, "It seems you both don’t need a referee, I was being presumptuous."
It wasn’t presumptuous; though he was the last to arrive and hadn’t encountered the explosion, the attitudes of the other five players in the station were the clearest indication. Daring to meddle in such a situation wouldn’t rely on just one or two particularly impressive characteristics.
The evolution rate among players is relatively wide-ranging. Generally, Advanced Players have an evolution rate around 50%, but unless encountering unexpected circumstances, Rank-C players usually exceed this value. Since moving between different regions, the relatively cheap Evolution Potion is easier to obtain than Advanced Items, and enhancing personal physical strength and speed is a relatively worthwhile evolution direction, especially when good props are hard to come by or qualities aren’t favorable enough. Adequate speed and strength are critical survival means for players.
But as the enhancement numbers increase, the effect of each Evolution Potion diminishes accordingly. This is somewhat proportional to time, meaning players with evolution rates from fifty to ninety fall into various levels. Naturally, the stronger the body’s evolution, the higher the assumed evolution rate, and the higher the Player Level.
Thus, the player with the hat in the station center was judged by the other players, likely as a Rank-B player.
The trains players take are generally divided based on level. What tickets you get determines the train level you take, so under normal circumstances, each player level should take the train corresponding to their Player Level. However, there are instances of entering Low-Level Copies or crossing regions with Low-Level tickets, though using copies with a lower Player Level comes with strict limitations on frequency. With many players, unexpected encounters can happen, like the player with the hat and the Golden-Eyed Player.
Xu Huo, as a Rank-C player, of course, wouldn’t "insensibly" provoke a Rank-B player; thus, even if the player with the hat initiated an attack, he merely smiled and moved on, nodding towards the Golden-Eyed Player with his chin, "I think you two need a referee more."
Though having fought with Xu Huo for a considerable time, the Golden-Eyed Player was not significantly injured. The wounds on his body made by Spatial Body creation were only superficial, nearly healed by now, and he had already changed into new protective gear.
He assessed the player with the hat, his beast-like pupils holding an innate coldness.
As their gazes met, the Golden-Eyed Player flicked his fingers, and from dozens of meters away, he pulled the jazz hat off the player with the hat.
This wasn’t remote control but rather a trick he had prepared on the player with the hat when that player acted earlier. He used an extremely fine needle on the jazz hat, though the result evidently didn’t meet his expectations.
However, just as the Golden-Eyed Player was displeased and the player with the hat extended a hand to retrieve his item, the train arrived.
Xu Huo and the other five players boarded this train, with him and two others joining the same carriage as the player with the hat, while the Golden-Eyed Player and three others went to the rear carriages.
As Xu Huo looked back, the Golden-Eyed Player happened to glance his way. In the moment their eyes met, both rushed towards each other at the fastest speed; however, Xu Huo aimed to shut the door.
"Bang!" As the train door closed forcefully, separated by glass, the two stared each other down. After a couple of seconds of freezing, the Golden-Eyed Player turned back to his own carriage.
Xu Huo’s eyes darkened slightly. The opponent not acting on the train clearly showed restraint similar to at the station, but it suggested the opponent might know his disembarkation point, possibly even carrying the same ticket.
Unbelievably, the Golden-Eyed Player might just happen to have the same ticket as him, and by coincidence boarded the same train... Could it be a Temporary Pass?
In the game, a Temporary Pass is equivalent to a universal ticket, reportedly allowing boarding at the nearest option or selecting the most suitable transport station according to the player’s destination. Xu Huo recalled Dr. Deng mentioning that a Temporary Pass could fetch a billion in White Notes, sounding astronomical, yet for players capable of casually producing a billion, it seemed slightly overpriced. Of course, a Temporary Pass is extremely hard to obtain; money alone can’t buy it, leaving other uses ambiguous.
With this doubt, Xu Huo purchased a neighboring compartment, then opened the door and sat down.
The player with the hat was a very amiable person, already mingling with other players in the carriage, invited by a group playing cards to join, maintaining a good atmosphere.
Of those from the same station, two cautiously kept a distance from him, naturally avoiding Xu Huo as well, entering the front carriage instead whenever opportunity arose.
Additionally, three players chose to rest alone, not mingling with others.
A little while later, a female player
Inside the carriage, two players were like Xu Huo, resting alone and refraining from conversation.
Before long, a female player transitioned from the front carriage, going straight to the compartment opposite Xu Huo, but soon exited, holding a cigarette and asking him, "Hey, want one?"
Xu Huo looked at her, shaking his head slightly.
"Got a light then?" The female player casually rummaged through her pockets, coming up empty, then looked up again.