Chapter 2596
The bloodline lingered in the air for a moment before returning to Xu Huo’s hand. Meanwhile, the player behind them, who attempted to break in, stood frozen with lifeless eyes. The ghost face mask easily shrouded his head, but only for a moment, then it flew away, taking with it a neatly severed head.
The extra staff was startled, then glanced towards Xu Huo who hadn’t turned back, silently swallowing his words.
The three quickly arrived at the place where they discovered the invisible barrier wall during the day. Xu Huo raised his hand to touch it, finding that it was the same as during the day; the barrier hadn’t changed with the arrival of night.
Stepping back, he raised the blade and inserted it. Surprisingly, the black blade easily penetrated through. Pressing the blade down, a slender cut appeared on the barrier wall; although it was healing rapidly, the spaces on both sides were no longer absolutely separated.
Xu Huo tilted his head to look at the Girl in the painting.
The Girl in the painting understood, and without hesitation, reached out and pushed through, twisting her palm on the other side, followed by her arm.
After confirming there was no danger, Xu Huo said, "Go through and take a look."
He added two more slashes, and after the Girl in the painting passed through the barrier, he followed as well.
The spaces on both sides of the barrier seemed to have no difference, but the few headwears that had been following them did not come over. Upon touching the wall, they disappeared one after another.
Seeing the ghost face mask disappear, the extra staff suddenly became nervous. However, before he could speak, a demon head mask appeared above his head without a trace—it was really on top of his head, almost sticking to his hair. He had no time to react before the mask covered his eyes!
(Modify later)
*
In the game, containers are considered quite unique props. Containers can hold living people, and even help players avoid an instance for a certain time, but there are aftereffects for living people entering containers. Although there is no specific statement about these aftereffects beneath the dimension, the fact that people merge with the prop is horrifying enough, so few players attempt to escape using containers.
Of course, this also relates to the need for another person to hold the container prop.
Finding container props is not easy either. Currently, Xu Huo has the painting frame and the "staff dormitory." The former allows living people to survive inside for thirty days but can only hold two people, while the "staff dormitory" has no limit on people but only allows a stay of two hours. Last time in Zone 017, he had to borrow container props from someone else.
Searching on the reward platform, he couldn’t find a suitable container prop, so he sent messages to Nie Xuan, Bai Kou, and Xin Rong to see if he could borrow a couple of them for use.
Since those three didn’t reply immediately, Xu Huo proceeded forward with the Girl in the painting and extra staff, intending to check the previous barrier spot to see if the city was still divided.
The sky gradually darkened, and the night was prime time for the ghost face masks, making it a catastrophe for those forced into the restricted area. On one hand, visibility is limited, and on the other, people become more fatigued and unable to concentrate due to the biological clock.
Even for the extra staff from the Law Enforcement Team accompanying Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting, it was becoming a struggle. Continuous high concentration coupled with occasional dangers had already tired him out after two to three hours.
"The number of people increased." Xu Huo surveyed the city under the night, witnessing not only individuals suddenly emerging from alleys or doors but also some randomly appearing in trash cans, wardrobes, or even sewers.
This absurd feeling was like people from two worlds unknowingly fusing into one city, with individuals inside completely unaware.
While it was unclear what exactly was going on with this restricted area, Xu Huo sensed that the longer they stayed, the worse their circumstances might become.
From time to time, a scream resonated from various distances, and occasionally, groups of two or three players would operate together. While spatial defense artefacts were hard to use, attack props could be alternated. It was practically exhausting to rely on hand-to-hand combat, so using props capable of remote or autonomous attacks was more convenient, though such props often had usage limits. Generally, players didn’t possess many similar props, so they had to compensate with numbers.
Having recently struck it rich, Xu Huo was different. Just the instruments from the last District 001 settlement were enough to support him for several hours, let alone his few combat robots.
The instruments, shimmering with a gentle white glow, moved meteor-like through the air, repeatedly knocking away surrounding headgear. This was a Rank-A instrument capable of adjusting attack intensity. To avoid completely destroying these headsets, Xu Huo deliberately lowered the attack power, appropriately bumping the headsets ten meters away.
Seven to eight headgear persistently followed their movement, occasionally flashing left, right, front, and back, hovering over Xu Huo and the two others like balloons. Wherever they went, the headgear followed, creating an eerie yet oddly amusing spectacle from afar.
Perhaps due to the multitude of people appearing at night, the ghost face masks seemed fewer in number, and they primarily attacked players. A few ordinary people even managed to hide in narrow spaces.
"Wait a minute..." A player suddenly teleported in front of Xu Huo, only to be repelled by an invisible force before finishing the sentence—it wasn’t the white light instrument, but a supplementary shockwave instrument, categorized as an automatic attack instrument.
Observing the player trying to approach a second time after being pushed back, Xu Huo subtly turned his wrist; the black blade in his hand reflected a flowing cold gleam under the instrument’s illumination. "I’m quite satisfied with this state now, so don’t come any closer."
The player struck away a headwear appearing on top of him and hastily said, "More people make things easier. How about we team up? I promise I won’t hold you back!"
"More people also mean more ghost face masks. You go wherever you want, but don’t get too close," Xu Huo said.
The person wanted to say more, but Xu Huo and the other two began moving again.
The man, watching the trio protected by at least five or six instruments, had a gloomy expression. He wouldn’t be mistaken—these three must be using Rank-A instruments. Many attack props have usage limits and cannot be continuously operated, but instruments can. Instruments without set usage conditions can be used until they break. With only seven to eight headgear around them, these instruments were more than enough to protect them. Even if there was truly a spot they couldn’t cover, the three could easily manage with a wave...
Compared to other players who could only mechanically swing props repeatedly, their situation resembled more of a leisurely stroll.
With one more person, even another one, their instruments were entirely sufficient...
Harboring this mindset, the man continued to trail behind Xu Huo and the other two. As he tried to force his way into the instrument’s protection circle while fending off a ghost face mask once more, a thin line sliced across his throat as he took just a couple of steps.