Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!-Chapter 2179: Someone Behind

It seemed that the player could no longer endure the mystical atmosphere. He violently shoved the hostage aside and, with a prop in hand, struck at the Goddess Statue in the main hall, "I want to see what the Goddess really looks like!"

The Goddess Statue was not knocked over because players within the Divine Temple intervened to block the attack. At the same time, several other players appeared around the external zone player, isolated him with props, and pushed him into the Transmission Channel before swiftly following in, seemingly to handle the situation.

The player in front of the Goddess Statue did not leave and warned the players from the Outer Zone, "To see the Divine Envoy, you must take the Inquiry Path. Either enter honestly or turn back and leave, and don’t think about causing trouble in the temple."

As he spoke, he lightly waved his hand, and the ground and walls of the Divine Temple began to reveal a layer of objects resembling transparent bubbles. These bubbles encapsulated everything inside the temple, airtight yet flexible, sticking closely to the ground when stepped on, and quickly rising back once released. As the bubbles expanded or contracted, the patterns carved into the floor and walls also distorted, becoming more jarring to the eyes.

After warning the Outer Zone players, the temple player left, and the Divine Temple returned to its regular order, though the atmosphere subtly shifted.

Before the hostage incident, even if players spoke disrespectfully, the believers wouldn’t take it too seriously. After what just happened, the locals collectively became wary of the players from the Outer Zone. This vigilance wasn’t born of fear—in normal circumstances, they should be afraid and run out when incidents occur, but none of the believers fled earlier, nor do they now. Their vigilance held an animosity that ignored the disparity in strength, as if they were prepared to meet any outer-player provocation with courage and sacrifice.

Momentum is a subtle thing, especially when the players are on shaky grounds. The united front of ordinary people only highlights the players’ inner filth and becomes an ethical condemnation beyond their power.

Some might shrink back, others might become ashamed and angry, but when faced with an unyielding will, pure strength often doesn’t achieve the desired result.

Like the current situation, while Clearing Players could theoretically force the temple’s people to capitulate by threatening the hostages, the real challenge is the Holy Land Goddess Temple, the player’s final destination—an unexplored hurdle. With more Advanced Players, one cannot ignore the whole picture.

Some players loitered at the entrance for a long time before turning away, while others gritted their teeth and went in. However, the situation inside remained unknown, as even the believers who had entered multiple times offered varied accounts without a consistent standard, resulting in a chaotic amalgam of claims, making it impossible to discern truth from falsehood.

"Don’t be afraid." A Hai said, "I’ll go take a look, and if it’s fine, I’ll come out and tell you."

Unlike the players’ anxiousness, A Hai, entering the temple for the first time, was both excited and full of anticipation.

"I’ll go in with you," Xu Huo stated.

Huang Mao looked at him in surprise, paused, then lowered his voice to ask, "Did you notice something?"

"What?" Xu Huo smiled slightly, "What could it be? Don’t overthink it. It might just be a common Mental Interference, otherwise, why would it be called the Inquiry Hall, Inquiry Path."

Their conversation didn’t escape the notice of the other players, who all shared the same expression as Huang Mao:

"What do you mean by just a common Mental Interference?"

Huang Mao glanced at the Inquiry Hall once more, "I feel the chill from the outside—I imagine it might be the instance boss... whatever it is."

"I’ll go first, wait for the news." Xu Huo motioned for A Hai to proceed.

Something in that sentence must have struck a chord with him, as Huang Mao ran a hand through his hair, "If you dare to go in, why should I hesitate? Let’s go together—if we encounter any danger, I can lend a hand!"

The three pressed close together, entering a corridor in the center.

But only a few meters in, Xu Huo felt the two behind him had completely disappeared. Turning back, he saw not a shadowy wall and passage but a vast gray-and-black void, devoid of voices or anything else.

Looking forward again, the main hall too transformed into an endless gray-and-black expanse. There seemed to be barely some light around his wheelchair, though the source wasn’t clear, he could still see a few meters in all directions. The faint sound of wheels rolling over the ground resembled the asphalt roads most common in Zone 014.

Xu Huo wheeled forward, and the further he went, the more realistic the road seemed to become. In this utterly silent environment, the sounds of wheels against the ground, fabric rustling, heartbeats, and breath escalated, gradually replacing everything else.

Focusing on the details of oneself in such an environment leads to every second feeling like an eternity. With the surrounding uncertainty, there’s no way to stop or find distractions to ease the mind. Over time, only one thought remains: to get out quickly!

The wheelchair picked up speed. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Time grew ambiguous, seemingly stretching endlessly as footsteps emerged behind Xu Huo. Instinctively, he stopped and looked back, seeing nothing, and the steps ceased.

As he continued to move the wheelchair, the footsteps echoed once more, drawing nearer to him.

The open space amplified the footsteps, suppressing the sound of the wheelchair scraping the floor, rustling clothes, and even his heartbeat and breath as Xu Huo strained to hear the sound behind him.

He sensed the footsteps closing in before someone took hold of the wheelchair handles.

The presence of someone behind was overwhelming; without turning, he could imagine the person’s height, build, and the intense sense of their hands and breath after approaching... This presence became even more human, evolving from mere footsteps into a being with breath and strength.

A thought urged him to look back.

Xu Huo also wanted to glance back, but upon clutching the wheelchair, he hesitated, instinctively curbing the urge to take such a risk. He continued forward.

The footsteps behind grew sluggish, dragging each step across the ground, producing an indescribably awkward sound. Simultaneously, the breathing became so close as if reaching his brainstem, the air blown was palpably discomforting, eliciting a gut-wrenching tremor.

Uncertain of what exactly lay behind him or if it truly existed, Xu Huo had no intention of turning to verify, pressing on regardless on his wheelchair, unaware of the time until, faintly ahead in the distance, a human silhouette appeared.

Upon spotting that silhouette, he abruptly came to a halt, as the area before the figure seemed to suggest the presence of a wheelchair.