Chapter 1699: You Really Are Such a Good Person
Almost instantly, Xu Huo realized that both the Hat Player and the Golden-Eyed Player had developed their traits to a certain degree. "Unable to attack the referee on the arena" felt more like a rule-based power, similar to "Truth Transcends All."
At the same time, both chose to retreat. Xu Huo and the Golden-Eyed Player each withdrew to their own train car, simultaneously opening the connecting doors behind them and extending into other cars. Unfortunately, this "arena" seemed to have already covered the entire train. The ground behind the Golden-Eyed Player was completely covered in red smoke, while behind Xu Huo, it was black smoke.
With a light laugh, Xu Huo removed his earphones and looked at the Hat Player. "Are you that bored?"
"Ah," the Hat Player sighed theatrically, "who asked me to choose this profession? Seeing someone fight just makes me want to help."
"But don't worry. Before you two decide the winner, I absolutely won't interfere in your fight. Another benefit is that while you're fighting, no other player on the train can interfere with the match either."
"In other words, on this arena, you can be free from attacks by any other player."
"What do you mean by 'cannot interfere with the match'?" The Fire-Borrowing Female Player reacted quickly. "We're already on the arena. Does that mean we can't even defend ourselves?"
"Self-defense is allowed," the Hat Player explained kindly, "but these two are the actual participants of the arena match. Although you're standing on the arena, if you want to fight, you'll have to wait until they're done. In simpler terms, your attacks cannot harm anyone."
These words caused the players in the front and rear cars to change expressions drastically. Immediately, some players tried to attack the Hat Player or others, but without exception, they were all blocked by a barrier. Unlike Xu Huo and the other's situation, they were enclosed within the barrier—trapped in a small circle. They could move, but when it came to attacking others, whether with items or traits, everything was blocked.
"What kind of nonsense is this!" someone couldn't help but say. "We're about to pass through the Xenomorph Active Zone. Are you telling me to just sit and wait to die?"
Whether it was players intending to kill in the chaos or train hijackers planning to make other moves in the night, the Hat Player's "arena match" had undoubtedly caught them off guard.
Most of the players on the train were C-rank, and they had seen plenty of bizarre traits, but never anything so unreasonable!
"Everyone, calm down a bit," the Hat Player maintained his demeanor, patiently explaining to the crowd. "Although the arena prevents you from attacking others, this is also a form of protection for you. Isn't it good for everyone to keep to themselves and watch a fair and just match?"
No one thought it was good, but since attacking the referee was ineffective, the players had no way to deal with him for the moment.
"Trait durations are usually not that long. This arena might disappear soon," the Shirt Woman said.
"That's right," the Upward Ponytail added, "and since we can't attack the referee, the referee definitely can't attack us either. We're all the same!"
Everyone more or less understood this point. Moreover, even if the referee could attack people on the arena, the rule that "spectators cannot attack others" was still a layer of protection for them. The rules of this arena couldn't possibly favor only one side.
The Hat Player clearly had no intention of hiding anything. Faced with everyone's speculation, he nodded in agreement and said sincerely, "I just want to host an exciting match."
After saying this, he whistled and made a "start" signal with his hand, then stepped aside.
Xu Huo could feel the barrier in the middle of the car disappear, but after exchanging glances with the Golden-Eyed Player, they each withdrew their items.
"I have no interest in putting on a monkey show," the Golden-Eyed Player said, his cold gaze landing on the Hat Player's face. "You'd better make sure this arena doesn't disappear for two days, or else..."
He didn't finish the threat, but anyone could guess it wasn't anything pleasant. The Hat Player, unfazed by the threat, instead looked expectantly at Xu Huo. "With such a good opportunity, aren't you two going to have a thrilling fight?"
Xu Huo was much gentler. He smiled and said, "Actually, I was already injured before boarding the train. I never wanted to fight anyone. Everything was just out of necessity. I hope this arena can last a while longer, so I can get a good night's sleep."
"You're a good person."
The smile vanished from the Hat Player's face, and the Golden-Eyed Player's expression turned even uglier. Of course, equally displeased were the train hijackers, who had put on a facade of "relief."
Didn't want to fight anyone? Out of necessity?
That wasn't the attitude he had when he was stabbing people.
But clearly, this arena could forcibly prevent them from fighting, but it couldn't directly force them to fight.
"Oh, right," Xu Huo pointed at the Golden-Eyed Player, then turned to look at the Fire-Borrowing Female Player. "You two should stop secretly tearing down the wall fabric I put up. Letting the xenomorphs in won't do anyone any good."
The Fire-Borrowing Female Player's face darkened. "What do you—"
Before she could finish, a bloodstain suddenly trickled down her neck, as if cut by a sharp blade.
Not only the Fire-Borrowing Female Player herself, but even the surrounding players were shocked, instinctively moving away from Xu Huo:
Weren't players not supposed to attack each other?!
Seeing that his intimidation had worked, Xu Huo felt more confident. The Hat Player's trait could block items and traits, but it couldn't completely block spatial power. In other words, the trait's rules couldn't directly constrain spatial power—at least the "attack first, defend later" link couldn't take effect.
This was because the arena didn't constantly use a barrier to seal off the players inside. Since the barrier was generated afterward, mobilizing spatial power could still work, as long as the opponent hadn't used a defensive item or corresponding trait.
Additionally, he believed that this post-activated sealing barrier probably couldn't completely seal off a player's trait power. It was just that most players' trait powers were more limited in scope.
At E and D ranks, simply maintaining distance or adding obstacles could prevent many traits from taking effect. This arena trait was likely similar.
However, compared to items, trait power was harder to define and more difficult to accurately determine high or low levels or whether it would take effect. Therefore, using it was more unpredictable—stronger-sounding traits didn't always yield better results, though some traits could achieve surprising effects from tricky angles.
Feeling it wasn't enough, Xu Huo turned back to the Hat Player and lifted his chin. "Thanks."
The Hat Player had already regained his composure and smiled. "If you two want to fight, feel free to let me know anytime."
Thanks to him, from now on, the train would enter an unprecedented period of peace.
The arena trait actually didn't disappear for the entire night.
(Chapter End) Source: /txt/35960/32779306