◎ Capture of the Three Players ◎
On the huge screens, divided into small grid-like surveillance feeds, nearly every frame displayed a shocking scene.
The river split apart as if Moses had parted the sea, and the jungle seemed to be sliced by a hurricane, toppling to either side.
In the suburbs, invisible airwaves sent sand and dry branches flying.
In the air, flocks of birds screamed and fled, yet many were still swept up by unseen forces, twisted into clouds of mist.
Even houses at the city’s boundaries were shattered and collapsed, and mountainsides inexplicably slid.
All of this happened simultaneously, clearly announcing to everyone that a terrifying, massive, invisible, and dangerous barrier had descended, surrounding Spring City and locking it in.
For a moment, the surveillance room was so silent that even breathing could be heard.
Everyone’s mind had only one thought:
The dungeon has arrived; the survival game is real!
The disasters to follow—and even threats that could endanger the entire Blue Star—would occur in the future!
Though they had mentally prepared, when the moment actually came, it felt almost magical.
Zhang Zhengtian was the first to calm down. He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice:
“Everyone, as you have seen, the dungeon is real. The survival game is real. The real test begins now.
“For the next month, we must stay alert and fight against the extreme cold and these players. Our mission is: first, protect the people of Spring City from player harm; second, ensure the citizens safely endure the extreme cold;
“Third, seize the players’ identities, replace them on the survival train, and venture into other dungeons to gain more opportunities, resources, and technology—strengthening our nation and the Blue Star to face even greater challenges ahead!”
His gaze swept over everyone present. These were the core members of the command center, possessing the highest loyalty and professional skills. For the next month, they would gather information from the entire city in this underground command center and issue instructions, ensuring the city operated in the right direction.
Everyone stood at attention, chest out and spine straight, the atmosphere solemn and serious.
Jiang Qi looked at the determined expressions of people preparing to head to the frontlines, ready to face death, and felt her own heart surge with excitement.
Zhang Zhengtian continued, “I won’t say more. You understand the gravity of the situation. Now, execute your duties according to the plan.”
Everyone immediately got to work.
Reports began coming in one after another.
“Communication between Spring City and the outside world has been cut off.”
“Exit blocked at Route 1.”
“Exit blocked at Route 2.”
“All of Spring City is sealed.”
“City signal restored.”
“City surveillance system fully activated.”
“No unknown personnel detected so far.”
“Current city temperature: 21°C.”
Zhang Zhengtian issued orders one by one:
“Notify Xuancheng authorities to gradually release information to citizens that Spring City may be under unknown attack, and the city’s outskirts are extremely dangerous… Temporarily close all schools, hospitals, factories, and roads… Relax control at all target sites… Surveillance departments, monitor closely—if any players are detected, immediately register and track them.”
Telling citizens Spring City is in danger would cause panic, while having personnel move extensively would prevent the city from descending into chaos.
A city that appeared chaotic in words but was not fully disordered made the arrival of 100,000 players more conspicuous, yet still gives them places to hide, making surveillance and capture easier.
Jiang Qi looked at the map. Countless roads in Spring City had changed: red roads were completely blocked; yellow roads partially controlled; green roads open.
Players would naturally follow the green roads, moving toward locations the command wanted them to.
These locations were the so-called target sites—like the residential area where Jiang Qi lived, as well as urban villages and towns—places that naturally attract players. With this manipulation, players would gather in these specific areas.
Zhang Zhengtian turned to Jiang Qi, saluted formally, and then shook her hand firmly:
“Comrade Xiao Jiang, on behalf of the organization, I thank you again for your early report. You have spared the people of Spring City from an enormous disaster!”
“It’s what I should do,” Jiang Qi replied. She realized she had finally earned Zhang Zhengtian’s full trust. Others looked at her with astonishment and gratitude, not suspicion.
Proving her innocence through the arrival of a disaster was a complicated feeling.
“From now on, we will execute the plan step by step. You can proceed to the next task. Since you need to return to your residential area, go while the players haven’t arrived. I’ve prepared supplies for you. Pack them. Also, this knife is yours; take it with you.”
Zhang Zhengtian handed her a box. Jiang Qi opened it to find the black short curved knife inside.
Patting her shoulder, he said: “Protect yourself.”
He then turned to Dong Shengfeng: “Comrade Dong Shengfeng, I’m entrusting Comrade Xiao Jiang to you.”
Dong Shengfeng saluted: “Rest assured, Commander!”
After Jiang Qi and Dong Shengfeng left, Li Yue was waiting outside: “Come with me to collect supplies.”
They entered a small storeroom. Li Yue opened the door and pointed inside, “These are the supplies Commander Zhang prepared for you. Pack as much as you can into your backpack.”
Jiang Qi saw numerous stacks of boxes, each stack consisting of boxes of the same type.
She opened one: it contained weapons.
Dong Shengfeng examined it: “These are new firearms.”
The second stack contained new grenades.
The third, ammunition.
The fourth, medical kits.
The fifth, food.
The sixth, cold-weather supplies.
…
Jiang Qi’s train conductor backpack had 8 slots, each slot only for one type of item. Guns go in the gun slot, medicine in the medicine slot.
There were some loopholes: one medical kit could contain various medicines and tools, yet still count as one item; one slot could hold 99 medical kits. Similarly, one weapon pack could contain several weapons, and one slot could hold 99 weapon packs.
Yet there were strict rules: raw food and cooked food counted as different types; shirts and pants were different; they couldn’t be mixed.
Thus, the 8 slots were sometimes enough, sometimes not.
With Dong Shengfeng’s help, Jiang Qi quickly filled all 8 slots:
Weapons in one, medicine in another, cold-weather gear in another, food, high-tech communication equipment, tools for extreme cold, and the remaining two for personal important items.
There was a month ahead, so there would be opportunities for resupply. No need to overpack. When leaving the Blue Star, they would repack anyway.
After packing, they also carried ordinary bags, disguising themselves as workers hurriedly leaving their posts.
Li Yue led them to an inconspicuous car. “I’ll stay in contact with you and provide real-time updates. Any command from the command center will be passed on to you. I’m specifically responsible for Miss Jiang’s line. Any needs, report to me immediately.”
Jiang Qi replied, “Thank you for your help.”
Jiang Qi and Dong Shengfeng were escorted out of the command center. In the car, Dong Shengfeng contacted someone, then hung up and said, “My squad has already settled in the neighborhood and nearby areas. Everything is normal for now.”
Ten minutes later, the two were dropped off near a bus stop.
They got out of the car, exchanged a glance, and immediately went into action, hurrying toward the bus stop with their backpacks.
There were already quite a few people there, all coming out from nearby shops, small stores, and factories, each looking anxious and uneasy.
“What’s going on? I heard there was an earthquake in the surrounding areas of Spring City?”
“An earthquake could make cars fly? Have you seen the video? It’s terrifying.”
“The video of that plane exploding in midair is scary. My relative filmed it at the airport, everyone was stunned.”
“My sister’s in XX village. She said a kind of barrier appeared on the mountain there. The whole mountain can’t be crossed.”
“So surreal… what day is it today?”
“Why hasn’t the bus come yet?”
Jiang Qi and Dong Shengfeng stood among the crowd, holding their phones, wearing earphones, scrolling through the news, looking just as anxious. In reality, their eyes were scanning nearby, quickly spotting miniature cameras on the bus stop sign, advertising boards, utility poles, traffic lights, and street trees.
The setup was indeed quite dense.
Suddenly, Jiang Qi sensed something and looked toward the side of the bus stop.
Dong Shengfeng followed her gaze. “What is it?”
Jiang Qi whispered, “They’re here.”
In the next moment, the light flickered slightly, and several blurred, cocoon-like shapes appeared. The light gradually faded, revealing three human figures.
Dong Shengfeng’s pupils constricted.
The three were dressed in tattered clothes, looking thin and malnourished, their hair a messy yellow, wearing unfamiliar clothing styles. They looked as if they hadn’t bathed or eaten for days. As soon as they appeared, they looked around warily, tightly gripping their weapons.
Dong Shengfeng quickly averted her eyes but perked up her ears.
The three began chattering in a language Dong Shengfeng couldn’t understand.
Jiang Qi, equipped with a train conductor panel, had a built-in empathic translation function and understood perfectly.
Empathic translation allowed simultaneous interpretation, emotional resonance, and contextual understanding, ignoring cultural differences while conveying the speaker’s emotions, tone, and atmosphere.
It’s an extremely powerful feature.
Person A: “Is this the new dungeon?”
Person B: “Looks like the disaster hasn’t arrived yet. We can relax for a few days!”
Person C: “Wow, fresh women! I haven’t touched a woman in ages!”
Person A: “Stop daydreaming. Nothing’s gone chaotic here yet. First, stock up on supplies. When it does, how many women will there be?”
The three murmured to each other, but strangely, nobody around reacted to their sudden appearance.
Jiang Qi pressed her earphones and whispered, “Li Yue, can you see these three people next to us?”
Li Yue’s voice came through: “Yes, but their forms are very blurry, though they’re slowly becoming clearer.”
In an office at the command center, Li Yue and her team were monitoring multiple screens, all showing surveillance around Jiang Qi.
Several monitors focused on a nearby empty lot, where three distorted, blurred figures suddenly appeared. If you didn’t look carefully, you’d probably miss them.
This eerie sight made everyone’s spine tingle. These were players! The players had appeared!
Jiang Qi lowered her voice further: “Get ready, find a way to capture these three immediately.”
Li Yue was startled but didn’t ask why, saying only, “I’ll report it immediately.”
Dong Shengfeng, standing nearby, naturally heard Jiang Qi’s words and helped shield her so the three players wouldn’t notice she was on a call.
After Jiang Qi finished speaking, Dong Shengfeng asked, “Are they valuable?”
Jiang Qi nodded.
In her previous life, Jiang Qi had known some people on the train and in dungeons, and she already had a rough list of who was worth taking over and easy to take over. She didn’t expect to encounter three right away this time.
These three were a small, notorious team from the third-class carriage of the train. They were said to have come from a prison in their original world, all solitary individuals.
At this point, they were still low-level, but when Jiang Qi died in her previous life, these three had already risen from the third-class to the first-class carriage, becoming increasingly ruthless—not only cruel to the natives but merciless toward other players.
Thus, taking over their identities now would allow them to remain a small three-person team without holding back their power or worrying about being exposed by acquaintances. The only challenge would be mimicking the criminals’ temperament and habits—a perfect target to replace.
Moments later, the blurred light around the three fully dissipated. Someone finally noticed them. A young man disdainfully sneered, “Where did these homeless people come from?”
The three, equipped with empathic translation, naturally understood and became displeased. The one with the worst temper, Person C, angrily said, “You dead blockhead, who are you insulting?”
The young man replied, “What nonsense are you jabbering? Where did these savages come from?”
Person C: “Who did you call a savage?”
He stepped forward to grab the young man, but the other two quickly blocked him: “Don’t cause trouble! Wait a few more days, then deal with that brat however you want!”
Person C gritted his teeth and held back his anger: “Just wait—at most five days, and I’ll go find him again!”
At that moment, a thick arm suddenly shot in from the side. A burly man, who practically wore “I’m from a gang” on his face, grabbed Person C by the collar: “What the hell, you’re cursing my brother with piss in your mouth? Still thinking about hitting someone?”
Person C instantly felt like a little chick, his feet lifted off the ground. He froze in shock, and so did Person A and B, who instinctively reached for their weapons.
At the same time, through her earpiece, Jiang Qi heard Li Yue’s voice: “Miss Jiang, that big guy is on our side. Just step back and don’t expose yourself.”
Before Li Yue could finish, Jiang Qi’s gaze swept across the area. Two more shadows appeared—two more players had arrived!
Jiang Qi immediately pulled Dong Shengfeng back, just like the others, as if trying to avoid getting involved in the dispute.
Person C pulled out a blood-stained knife from his clothes and lunged at the burly man. The man raised his voice sharply, “What the hell, you even brought a weapon!”
People around the bus stop backed up several meters in fear.
“Whoa, carrying a knife—this guy must be a murderer, right?”
“There’s blood on the blade! So scary!”
“Call the police!”
Meanwhile, the burly man had already taken on Person C. In just a couple of moves, he knocked him down, then leapt forward to kick Person A and B away.
Perhaps worried they might use some extraordinary player abilities, the man aimed straight for their heads, knocking all three unconscious.
Within less than a minute, sirens wailed as two police cars arrived one after the other. Person A, B, and C were unceremoniously thrown into the cars under the charge of carrying weapons and attempting to commit street violence. The burly man and the young man, who had been completely confused the whole time, were also taken away, leaving the onlookers buzzing with chatter.
Jiang Qi exhaled slightly, having successfully captured the three players.
A great start!
Soon, the bus arrived. Jiang Qi and Dong Shengfeng boarded, and she noticed that the two players who had arrived later also got on, sitting not far behind her, quietly discussing things.
The older one said, “See? Don’t act rashly in the early stages, or the NPCs will catch you, and all your time gathering resources will be wasted.”
The younger one replied, “Got it, mom.”
Dong Shengfeng casually glanced back and asked Jiang Qi, “These two don’t seem suitable, right?”
Jiang Qi shook her head: “Mm.” One of them was too young; capturing them would be pointless. It was fine to just let them be.
…
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