Clickety-clack… Woo-woo~
The steam train's whistle drowned out the noisy chatter of passengers.
Echoing through the darkness of deep space, the whistle rippled, piercing through the mist shrouding the temporary station, as if asserting some precarious authority…
The Steam Special, laden with death and excitement, accompanied by the howling northern wind, slowly came to a halt at the platform.
Beneath the train, there was a hissing sound as excess steam energy vented out, causing the station sign hanging on the wall to sway uncontrollably.
Creak… Creak…
[Big Eyed Owl Elegant Station]
The sign read.
[Services provided at this station:
1. Beginner's enlightenment service, this week's discounted instance only costs 9800 energy crystals! Beginner's special instance limited to: Shadows of the Fallen City;
2. Various official instance services: Stable difficulty this week, with a high probability of no rule storms! Price reference in the instance list…]
At this moment, the exit door of the steam train finally opened slowly amid the grinding of gears…
Leading the way off the train were a continuous stream of Rabbit Troopers…
These fellows looked fierce and ferocious, wielding chainsaw plasma guns, and began to enforce strict martial law in an atmosphere of solemnity.
Well, from the current situation, it seemed that something had gone awry before the steam train stopped at the platform.
In fact, according to the original plan, the Thrilling Steam Train Special was not supposed to arrive at the beginner's station so soon.
With so many novice players joining for the upcoming beginner instance, it was obviously too crowded.
A few minutes ago, when all the carriages lowered their alloy isolation doors and released paralyzing gas, and when hordes of Rabbit Police began checking passenger tickets and identities one by one…
Gu Cheng raised his hands decisively.
"I surrender! You can't treat a Pope like this!"
Since the deceased guy was a Pope, and he looked exactly like Gu Cheng, it was only natural for Gu Cheng to make good use of this identity.
Gu Cheng's sudden declaration caused all the Rabbit Police to pause for a few seconds, before one of them ruthlessly swung a baton towards him!
Suddenly, a few heavily armed odd characters squeezed out of the crowd, obviously the Pope's men.
These people were dressed in medieval armor robes, firmly protecting Gu Cheng.
Gu Cheng looked at the scene before him, deep in thought.
In the end, the Rabbit Police compromised.
A group of novice passengers were escorted off the steam train by the Rabbit Police, with Gu Cheng, now sporting a bruised eye, among them.
Accompanying him were Onepunch and Finny, along with three henchmen.
They were: a middle-aged man in a dark red magic robe with a poker face, and two young brothers with strikingly similar appearances, clad in exquisite shining armor.
The group escorted Gu Cheng firmly in the middle, walking slowly at the rear of the queue.
"Your Majesty… I must beg for your forgiveness for my negligence, but rest assured, even if I have to sacrifice two magical kidneys, I will avenge you!" The red-robed bishop Maysel's eyes were still filled with anger as he transmitted his voice to Gu Cheng.
"Hiss…" Gu Cheng made a contemptuous expression, but inadvertently twitched the corner of his eye, answering irritably, "Fine, let's go now… Let's go kill that rabbit, the seventh one in the third row on the left, I won't be wrong!"
"Erm…" Maysel was somewhat embarrassed, smoothly changing the subject, "To spread the glory of God to every plane, your forbearance is admirable! You know… before we boarded, most of our strength was sealed…"
"Alright, alright…" Gu Cheng waved his hand, cutting off Maysel's lengthy discourse, "Before my amnesia is cured, you should refrain from your nagging habit!"
Gu Cheng knew that Maysel was probably not lying. In fact, as long as this uncle was willing to lift his own seal, with his strength as a red-robed bishop, clearing a medium-difficulty instance would be a piece of cake.
Not to mention the two Holy Light Knights leading the way upfront, who were monsters capable of withstanding chainsaw plasma guns…
"So, my task now is to preach in various planes?"
This was Gu Cheng's 63rd time asking the same question, and in the past, after asking, he would have made a move to escape, but this time, he seemed weary.
The elder of the two Holy Light Knights, named Ironhead, heard Gu Cheng ask the same question for the nth time, still passionately swearing, "Holy Light Knight Ironhead swears to protect you thoroughly, even if it means burning our lives! Your Majesty! Please rest assured and save those helpless maidens!"
"Smack!" Gu Cheng's palm slapped his forehead loudly.
Gu Cheng was at a loss for words. What he feared most was this!
He thought he could indulge in the excitement of battling through instances, but instead, he was being protected like a delicate flower!
"This damned comfort!" Gu Cheng cursed under his breath, following the team to the entrance of the Big Eyed Owl Elegant Station.
Watching the novice passengers ahead slowly enter the peculiarly shaped building, Gu Cheng squinted his eyes and could vaguely see many vendors inside. He guessed it must be convenient for passengers to buy supplies before entering the instance…
"Beep—!"
As Gu Cheng passed through an alloy gate, a faint buzzing sound of machinery came.
Gu Cheng suddenly felt his head filled with more information…
"This method of information transmission is quite miraculous, is it electromagnetic? Or… Ha, could it be magic!"
The novelty of the new thing diluted some of the melancholy in his heart, and Gu Cheng eagerly flipped through the newly acquired knowledge, immediately realizing that these were general rules and guidelines for beginners about the instances…
[1. Passengers must follow instructions to enter designated instances at specified times and must not act on their own;
2. The maximum number of players for beginner instances and normal instances is 6. Once a single instance is full, no new escapees will be accepted;
3. The sole objective of instances is: to survive and escape within the specified time, by any means necessary. The longer an escapee survives in the instance, the greater pressure they will bear and the more energy crystals they will obtain per unit time survived;
4. Current beginner instance: Shadows of High Tan. Humble passengers, scream to your heart's content with your heads held high in the instance…]
After reading the fourth item, Gu Cheng's face turned strange!
"No way? Are you kidding me!!! The next instance we're entering is actually High Tan City, the one I'm most familiar with? This is ridiculous… But… maybe it's just a city with the same name?…"
"Your Majesty! We're in trouble now!" Maysel, the red-robed bishop, approached Gu Cheng, lowering his voice to remind him, "Although it's a beginner instance, our intelligence from the Holy See shows that this city is suffocatingly dirty and crazy!"
"Exactly! This is absolutely the most dangerous type of beginner instance, and even I feel infinite pressure! Your Majesty, I will definitely protect you!" The older of the two Holy Light Knights, Brick, echoed.
Brick specialized in healing magic and was a ruffian among the Holy Knights.
"Danger… danger… damn it!" Gu Cheng was speechless.
These guys would be shocked to find out that the destination they were heading to was Gu Cheng's stronghold.
But playing the role of the Pope should be quite interesting.
Let the holy light from the assault rifles cleanse the sins of this city, haha!
Finny clearly misunderstood the current situation. She looked at Gu Cheng as if suddenly understanding everything!
She approached Gu Cheng unnoticed, "I've thought about it for a long time and finally understood! You despicable Pope, you're using a decoy, aren't you! I admit we all messed up! You're really good… truly worthy of being a bastard of the Holy See!"
Gu Cheng: ... You seem to have misunderstood!
But Finny remained unfazed, "However, you won't be so lucky in a while! This dark and dirty city is really suitable for burying you! Hehe… this is heaven for us assassins! And… it's… hell for your Holy See!"
Finny smiled slightly, striding past Gu Cheng in what she thought was a graceful manner, leaving behind a fragrant breeze.
"Huff…"
Gu Cheng trembled and breathed out a big sigh, barely holding back the urge to swear.
"These idiots are hopeless… What kind of weird team have I assembled?!"
…