Chapter 2659: The Killer Must Die
This seemed to have become a hint, and some people even went to the resort to search before Xu Huo got there.
How could the resort not have been searched, it was just a bit better than Gao Hui’s old home, at least there was still an underground amusement park left.
Due to equipment damage and being buried deep underground, it was difficult for ordinary people to survive there, but this wasn’t a problem for players.
By the time Xu Huo arrived, seven players were already scattered on different floors; he headed straight to the tenth underground level, searching each room along the corridor.
A player used an invisibility prop to hide upstairs, watching his movements with a micro device.
Xu Huo knocked around each room and eventually extracted an encrypted metal box from the wall in one of them.
The moment the box appeared, the ceiling of the room exploded, and in the thick cloud of smoke, two figures quickly engaged in battle. A few seconds later, the encrypted metal box flew out of the ceiling and was taken by a player hiding on the upper floor.
The long-distance spatial teleportation device didn’t work, so the player raised a cylindrical prop, directly opening a passage to the surface, but the moment he got out, he was targeted by players waiting outside.
"The box is in his hand!" a player chasing behind shouted.
Even though they didn’t know what the box was, the fact that so many players were competing for it likely had to do with a key to clearing the instance. Whether it was players trying to clear it or those staying longer, they all targeted the player who came out first.
A plume of smoke suddenly surged from a distant forest, quickly covering the entire resort. The player with the box tried to run, but after a few hundred meters, he was hit back by two barriers in succession. A long sword light directly tore open his abdomen, revealing his internal organs!
Seeing everyone rushing towards him, he quickly threw the box out.
The other players hadn’t seen this box before, but someone shouted, "That’s the box!"
Upon hearing the shout, some immediately turned to chase after it, though some others were skeptical. However, just as they were about to continue pursuing the player, they unexpectedly passed through a teleportation portal — in the moment they realized they had been teleported, they were already facing the player who had taken the box before!
Initially, in the chaotic battle involving multiple players, no one could differentiate who had which characteristics or props. But one thing was clear: everyone in front was an enemy!
In just a few minutes, the number of players involved in the fight had increased from more than ten to more than twenty. Apart from those blindly participating, the player who had been tracking Xu Huo also sent some in, and as the range of the battle expanded, these people were bound to get involved sooner or later.
The box kept changing hands, but each change inevitably resulted in a player being seriously injured or dying, and whoever obtained the box became the target of all attacks.
What if the box disappeared? No worries, if one is lost, there will be a second one.
"Fools are everywhere." A man with a buzz cut squatted on a tree branch, munching on fruit while watching the fight from afar, "Obviously fake news, yet they’re still fighting."
"Is that so? You’ve figured it out clearly?" A voice suddenly sounded behind him while simultaneously kicking him in the back. He stumbled forward into the resort, and under the thick fog, before he could steady himself, two sharp props came piercing through the air!
Only two players who had been following him in the Capital City arrived here, clearly seeing through this scheme.
"Seems like it has little to do with the instance." Xu Huo stood for a while, then re-entered the resort, using mental interference and the time ring to increase the kill count of other players, and seeing the fog start to clear, he exited the battlefield, planning to return to the Capital City from another location.
He wasn’t the only one who ran out; two players were heading in the same direction as him, both sides meeting each other by surprise.
These two knew Xu Huo’s appearance, they came for him, and seeing him unharmed now, they somewhat understood it was a trap. Regardless of whether it was set by Xu Huo himself or someone else, the fact that he could leave unscathed proves his capability.
Xu Huo was also surprised, "Two loose ends."
The two were startled at his words and immediately split up to escape.
Xu Huo took out the "Sealing Door" and struck at each of their backs. Two small forces penetrated their prop barriers, precisely passing through their hearts, killing them instantly.
The subsequent development of this incident was not of much significance to him. After several hours back and forth, he returned to the hotel just in time for breakfast.
Xiao Mei also came, surprised and admiringly saying, "You’re really impressive to be able to retreat unscathed from so many players."
"Not entirely unscathed," Xu Huo replied, "Some people’s characteristics were quite formidable."
Xiao Mei waved her hand, sat down, and said, "Don’t be so modest. But this move didn’t seem very useful; it feels like the people monitoring us around here have increased."
"Yesterday, there were more players from the Outer Zone; today, there are more from this district," Xu Huo said lightly, "That’s good."
Xiao Mei didn’t understand what he meant but wisely refrained from asking more.
"When are we going to see Lian Qingkong?" Beibao said the first sentence after leaving the Moon Corner Duchy.
"We’ll talk when the reply arrives," Xu Huo said.
Beibao gave him a cold glance, then turned and went upstairs.
"They’re not ticket players, right?" Xiao Mei said, "Pretty and bad-tempered, doesn’t even look like she’s your lover. Could she be related to the national treasure?"
"Many people are related to the national treasure," Xu Huo glanced at her, "Don’t ask too much, do you think those district players are here to protect us?"
Xiao Mei fell silent, understanding that those player organizations, like the players clearing the instance, aim to acquire the national treasure.
"I hope your adventure is worth it."
Xu Huo leaned on the chair, calmly watching the street scene outside, from bright daylight to dimly lit evening.
"Ding ding," the call request tone sounded, and he casually answered it. It was Wan Ping speaking, "You need to provide a plan that we can accept before we consider cooperating with you."
"Haven’t you left Zone 039?" Xu Huo’s voice was calm, with a hint of amusement, "What is your bottom line?"
"We can’t sacrifice our people." Due to the communication format, Wan Ping spoke vaguely, essentially asking Xu Huo to ensure the destruction of the instance without harming the descendants of the two surnames.
"What can you offer?" Xu Huo asked.
"Some manpower," Wan Ping said, "We can help you solve what you can’t do or find difficult to do."
"Is the roster in Lian Qingkong’s hands?" Xu Huo slightly raised his head.
"Anyone who gets the roster cannot threaten us," Wan Ping said solemnly, "The killer must die."
The descendants of the two surnames have the courage and resolve for mutual destruction, making it effective to threaten Lian Qingkong or any player force in Zone 039, but it doesn’t work as well for Outer Zone players. How big that difference is depends on how many powerful advanced players the descendants of the two surnames actually have.
"Has Lian Qingkong threatened you?" Xu Huo did not believe the descendants of the two surnames could kill so many Outer Zone players, but killing some of them wouldn’t solve the actual problem unless someone followed the roster to kill. The scattered Outer Zone players are where the difficulty in clearing the instance lies. So overall, even if the roster is indeed disclosed by Outer Zone players, the instance’s disappearance remains unlikely; there’s plenty of time for revenge, and the descendants are quite confident.