Chapter 35: Instance Clear
"All of us were first-timers in the instance, so we naturally overlooked the background, just treating the Headchopper as a fixed boss, never imagining there was hidden information inside."
They thought they were among the earliest batch of players in the game, and the three years mentioned in the background was just a story—just as they directly treated the Woodcutter as an NPC. How could they have guessed that this place had been an instance for decades, and a non-closed one at that?
"Who could have guessed this place has been an instance site for decades, with inexplicable players stranded here?" Liu Yuanyuan's arrogant attitude had noticeably softened.
"Thank the Woodcutter for that," Yuan Yao said. "Otherwise, we wouldn't have known that only one person left couldn't clear the instance."
As he spoke, his eyes lit up, and he lunged toward Xu Huo. "Brother Xu! We're good friends and brothers, right? Let's swap numbers—or if not numbers, at least add each other on social media!"
Xu Huo pressed his face and pushed him away, turning to Wang Wei. "Based on your little moves earlier, it's certain the Headchopper is a player."
"Then why didn't you suspect her!" Wang Wei pointed angrily at Liu Yuanyuan.
"Of course I did," Xu Huo said flatly. "Didn't we just do the elimination process?"
Wang Wei had nothing to say. He trembled all over for a moment, then suddenly let out a sinister laugh. "Running into you is my bad luck, but don't think you'll end this instance so easily!"
He raised a finger, and a thin, nearly invisible thread appeared beside Xu Huo. The color of this thread was slightly different from before, as if it could hide using the environment, but the faint glint of the metal wire was still detectable.
"Again!" Xu Huo reached out to grab the thread, but it slipped through his fingers like it was greased and darted toward Yuan Yao!
It wasn't aimed at him!
Xu Huo kicked Yuan Yao aside, but the thin thread didn't attack Huang Junjie, who was approaching; instead, it passed by his ear and flew toward Abel behind him!
Abel stumbled back, pulling out the massive cross again. He swung it wildly in the air, but it had no real effect, only blinding him with the bubbles it produced. The next second, the thread lifted him off the ground!
Huang Junjie and Yuan Yao rushed to help, trying to lift him higher to free him from the thread, but the thing seemed to be attached to Abel's neck—when they raised him, it rose too!
"This is my item, 'The Ubiquitous String.' It can grow anywhere. Nothing you do will work; you can only watch him hang!" Wang Wei laughed maniacally. "But don't worry, I'll kill you all one by one!"
The other players' faces darkened. Wang Wei had far too many bizarre items!
"His items can't be used on the same person twice. Huang Junjie, you go!" Xu Huo shouted, then tapped his heel twice and vanished from his spot!
His speed was so fast it left an afterimage in the air. Wang Wei, who had been gloating a moment ago, changed expression instantly. Before his smile could even fade, he saw Xu Huo standing right in front of him!
"Ah!!!" Wang Wei screamed, looking down at his left hand. Four fingers and half his palm had been sliced off!
With the source of his control severed, Abel dropped to the ground. Huang Junjie tried to wrap the thread with his bamboo blade but failed, watching it fly back toward Wang Wei!
"Xu Huo, be careful—the thread's coming back!"
Hearing Huang Junjie's warning, Xu Huo didn't turn around. He blocked a swinging axe, kicked Wang Wei back against the wall, then turned and used the brass lighter to catch the airborne thread. He tied several knots at both ends and tossed it, along with the lighter, to Huang Junjie!
Seeing his own item stolen, Wang Wei roared in fury, swinging his axe wildly to fight Xu Huo to the death. But his speed couldn't keep up, he was injured, and without the black cloak's enhancement, his clumsy slashes couldn't hit anyone.
Xu Huo signaled Yuan Yao with a glance, and the latter understood, slipping to the side.
"Die, die, die!" The warehouse echoed with Wang Wei's roars. Xu Huo remained calm, refusing to engage directly, only dodging the strikes and stepping back. When Yuan Yao had silently moved behind Wang Wei, Xu Huo suddenly spoke: "Do you want to know how I figured out the weakness of your items?"
Wang Wei's movements instinctively paused. At that moment, Yuan Yao lunged, grabbing his arm and shouting excitedly, "Brother Xu, now!"
Wang Wei's face twisted as he realized he'd been tricked, but it was too late. A small knife plunged into his chest!
Xu Huo calmly watched the man staring at him with bulging eyes, reached out to take the axe, then stepped back, letting him collapse to his knees.
The moment Wang Wei breathed his last, a notification sounded in every player's ears:
[Congratulations to all players for successfully clearing the "Headchopper" instance. Due to the early termination of the instance and the cooperative capture of the Headchopper, in addition to receiving instance rewards based on task completion, all players will also share a 100,000 bounty and a special item provided by the manor owner.]
[Additionally, the Headchopper's items are fixed instance items and cannot be obtained by players. Later, players may choose to exchange for one trait development permission or one item. Note: The player receiving this exchange reward will be determined by player vote.]
[Below are the task completion ratings for this instance:]
[Player Passerby A: B-Rank
Player Drunkard's Sword in the Lantern: D-Rank
Player Programmer, You Don't Understand: D-Rank
Player Faith of the Gods: E-Rank
Player Fair-Skinned and Beautiful: E-Rank]
"D-Rank!" Yuan Yao was the first to jump up in joy. "I got D-Rank! On the initial train, I didn't even get a rating. I can't believe I got D on my first instance! Haha!"
"Congratulations," Huang Junjie said, visibly relieved. He was also D-Rank, so his personal rewards and ticket should be secure.
Since both he and Yuan Yao were D-Rank, the B-Rank Passerby A was undoubtedly Xu Huo.
"Why am I the lowest?" Liu Yuanyuan protested. "I helped catch the Headchopper too."
"So did I," Abel said, scratching his head. "Probably because we were stumbling around blind the whole time. Plus, you almost made us fight each other."
Liu Yuanyuan snorted, then turned her gaze to Huang Junjie's hand. The metal thread, which had been writhing like a worm earlier, now hung motionless on the lighter. She eyed it greedily. "Let me see that item."
Huang Junjie stepped back warily. "Four against one—you don't stand a chance."
Liu Yuanyuan scoffed, then looked at Xu Huo, who was lingering by the wall. "What are you doing? It's time to vote. You're not trying to hog the exchange item, are you?"
Xu Huo searched a bit longer before finally finding a reflective shard in the corner. He pocketed it casually before turning back.
After the game announcement ended, the black cloak and axe in Xu Huo's item slot turned gray. When he opened them, only a voting panel appeared.
"Before we vote, let's decide who gets this exchange reward," he said.