As the girl continued in her attempt to convince more people to stay with her, the situation turned more tense. People became divided, joining the side whose opinion suited their own thoughts.

As for Alan, he was maintaining his silence and only observing what was happening, for he had another plan prepared. But first, he needed to deal with the few dozen people approaching him.

"You all should stay here. Try to stay warm, and this way, you will have a better chance to survive,".

These NPC had real expressions and gestures, but still, they were not real humans. Hence, Alan had no need to worry about whether they survived or not. He might be able to get more points if he managed to keep them safe until the end, but with his current plan, he has no control over their safety.

Alan was about to sneak out of the crowd; through the corner of his eyes, he saw an ongoing debate between the red tracksuit girl and the policeman. When he saw they were getting heated, he decided to take a closer look at them.

"Sir, please, you have to tell them not to leave. Otherwise, you will be killing them," The girl said.

On closer look, Alan didn't recognize any of them, nor was he ever inside this library the last time, so he actually had no idea what would unfold here.

It was clear that the dozens of players here were divided between walking out or staying inside the library. Alan watched in interest while the girl kept reiterating everything the players were taught in the training center.

As everyone was still arguing, the policeman who was escorting people out started speaking in a lower voice. His face contorted in a mixture of mocking glee as he said.

"Girl…Do you have to believe everything the government told you? How naive…"

The words quickly surprised all the other players.

"You… you are a player!"

He smirked in delight, his smile wide and creepy, "Of course, this uniform really managed to fool you all, didn't it?"

Right then and there, everyone realized the player in the policemen's uniform was not simple at all. During the 15 minutes before the first disaster struck, the man managed to take out a policeman NPC, steal their uniform, and pretend to be one immediately.

Hearing his remark, the girl turned to look at him with a questioning glance and said, "Then, you should know that it will only get colder outside. What are you trying to do?"

Even though the girl tried to put him on the spot, the player in the police uniform's smirk only got wider. He spoke without hesitation," Of course, to get the bonus points and find a way out. These many people here believe in me, and my safety is guaranteed. It's a foolproof plan, don't you think?"

She narrowed her eyes, obviously annoyed by the man's attitude, "You think I won't expose your lies to these people?"

"No, of course you won't… In fact, I want you to stop shouting now and let these good people leave."

A distinct clack could be heard as the man flashed the strapped gun on his waist.

"Well, I was lucky enough to get the stupid policeman to drop a marked gun, so… I hope you don't do anything stupid, alright? The sound will only scare the people, but I will fire this if you try to stop my plan."

That was enough to stun the girl into compliant silence, and the debate was quickly over. The policeman was shrewd, as he even managed to convince 5 other players to come with him, hoping to get the bonus points from a successful escape.

As much as that sounded tempting, actually, most players would have known from the previous year's experience that escaping the city was not an easy matter. The bonus points were there mostly to entice people to try, and every time, there would always be something that stopped them in their endeavor. It could be a blockade, mobs, or even the authority itself would prevent the player from leaving.

All that aside, however, the police impersonator had a seemingly solid plan, and Alan had no right to judge whether he would succeed or fail. Besides, he had already wasted too much time observing this farce.

As the impostor started to leave along with the hundreds of civilians; Alan was also ready to leave.

However, before he managed to leave, the girl looked at him and said,

"Excuse me, you… can you tell us what you think? Should we stay, or should we leave?

He was a little surprised that he suddenly got singled out of nowhere, but Alan calmly turned to look at her and asked, "Why are you asking me?"

The girl said, "I saw how you drove that bus and saved that many people before. So, please tell us what you think we should do?"

Alan looked around and saw a hundred players other than the 5 who decided to stay, then he heaved a heavy sigh and said.

"I think you will have a better chance to survive by staying warm inside, but the game will not be that simple. To survive, you need to keep the place constantly warm or have equipment that buffs your resistance against cold."

The girl then said, "Is that why you are leaving? Are you going to look for equipment?"

She was sharp, indeed, and Alan could only muster a silence as a reply to her. After a few seconds, she continued,

"Can you please tell us your plan? Maybe we can help each other."