Chapter 1206: A Safe Passage Isn't Necessarily the Right Passage
The flames weren't large compared to the massive maze walls, but they were more than enough to deal with the mutant plants, which all feared fire. A few bottles of specially refined high-proof alcohol from other districts burned exceptionally well once ignited. The plants, displaying an almost human-like instinct to flee, spread the flames further, igniting even more of the mutant vegetation.
In an instant, the mutant plants abandoned their attacks on the passing humans, retracting en masse. Some even resorted to severing their already burning parts to survive.
After successfully reaching the end of the passage, the three didn't rush forward. Da Hu said, "If we go in now, won't we just get surrounded again?"
Lin Qian, observing more closely, pointed at the maze wall. "Look at the branches and leaves on the wall. They're rippling away like waves."
Indeed, starting from the burning area, the leaves on the maze wall had all shifted direction, pointing away from the flames. Layer upon layer, they created a wave-like pattern.
Following the direction the leaves pointed, the passage they were about to enter emitted a rustling sound, and in an instant, even its color grew paler.
"Is that a bad sign?" Da Hu hesitated, glancing at Xu Huo.
Xu Huo looked ahead and took a tentative step forward. "Aren't you very familiar with mazes? Don't you know what mutant plants are inside and their characteristics?"
Da Hu wiped his face. "I'd have to see them to recognize them! Besides, the instance has been upgraded. Who knows what kind of freaky stuff they've thrown in here!"
The passage ahead wasn't very long, but as soon as they stepped into it, the maze walls on both sides automatically shifted backward, widening the passage to twice its original width.
"Can we just throw away the cards?" Lin Qian asked. "Are we really going to have to deal with mutant plants chasing and blocking us for the next twelve hours?"
"Can't abandon them, can't give them away," Xu Huo said, his expression darkening. It wasn't just that the next twelve hours would be extremely difficult for him. If the playing cards could only be obtained by touching the maze walls or killing other players, this game was simply unplayable. Did they set up such a grand stage just to play an upgraded version of board games in a maze?
"And you can't use them a second time," Lin Qian added.
In other words, the card she had obtained only allowed her to move forward two hundred meters. After that, its only remaining function was as a key to open the maze wall passage corresponding to its suit.
"How the hell are we supposed to play this?" Da Hu yelled, then his eyes widened as he stared at the maze wall. "Look!"
The retreat of the maze walls didn't mean the mutant plants were afraid of Xu Huo's flames. As the leaves rustled, clusters of small yellow flowers pushed out from behind them, spraying streams of green mist into the air.
All three were wearing protective suits, so they didn't smell the odor immediately. But the next second, Lin Qian recognized the plant. "Flame Spark Flower! The dust it sprays is explosive!"
Xu Huo didn't use any items. Instead, he directly crossed through space to traverse the passage, then swiftly cut into one of the branching paths after the turn.
Lin Qian and Da Hu also emerged, but they didn't choose the same branch as him. Instead, they went down another path.
Neither side looked back or slowed down—a temporary game partner alliance, dissolved in an instant.
Xu Huo didn't mind. Over the next dozen or so passages he passed through, he was attacked without exception. Whether he moved at high speed, used invisibility or silencing items, or tried to minimize his presence, he couldn't avoid it. It wasn't until half an hour later, when he took a wrong turn and doubled back to a passage he had just traversed, that all the plants stopped their abnormal movements.
Then he touched the maze wall. This time, it opened a playing card door, corresponding to Black Card 20.
The safe passage opened on the maze wall could only be used by the cardholder... Xu Huo glanced at the card face that hadn't disappeared from the maze wall, then turned and entered the next passage.
For the next half day, he was intermittently attacked by mutant plants. He also encountered them multiple times while triggering the maze wall, but he never opened a second card or found any convenient hidden passages within the walls—which had been Xu Huo's earlier speculation.
In such a massive maze, the probability of players encountering each other was extremely low. Even just walking, accounting for wrong turns and potential dangers along the way, it was questionable whether ten days would be enough to reach the end.
Since the maze walls had playing cards and corresponding passages, it was likely that not all of them were traps or mechanisms. Just as the playing cards had differences like "Advance 200 Meters" and "Mutant Plant Friend," the blind boxes opened on the maze walls should also have variations.
But he hadn't made any better progress along his path, and the effect of "Mutant Plant Friend" still had ten hours to go.
During this time, Xu Huo also checked his three cards multiple times. Although the first card had an "X" pattern below it, it wasn't lit up. The same went for the flower card—no prompts appeared on the card faces.
Additionally, the linked item he shared with Liang Shuang and the others hadn't activated. It was likely that the upgraded instance was too large, making it difficult for different people to run into each other unless someone took a wrong turn.
As for the direction of this giant maze, so far he could only infer from the background introduction that it was a general state of moving from the edge toward the center. Regardless of the maze's overall shape, the route from the end to the maze should be a radial line centered on a point. However, the direction of the passages within the maze walls didn't necessarily correspond to any one of those lines.
In other words, although he was currently moving in a general direction, he wasn't sure if it led to the maze's end. He might just be circling the edge of the maze—which was one of the reasons he believed there were clues to clearing the instance hidden within the maze walls.
Without further hints and without encountering other players, this game couldn't continue.
But just as this thought crossed his mind, an oversized White Card 12 suddenly appeared on the maze wall ahead. Then the door opened from the inside, and a short, young woman stepped out. Seeing Xu Huo, she tugged at her suspenders and smiled at him. "Oh, there's someone here."
"Hi there, I'm He Xiaoxiao. Do you know the way? Is this the correct passage?"
"No idea." Xu Huo didn't stop walking. As he moved forward, he said, "Don't your cards have any hints?"
He Xiaoxiao had already stepped out. "I was lucky enough to find my safe passage, so this direction should be right, shouldn't it?"
Not necessarily.
The game rules only stated that the maze wall door corresponding to the card's suit was a safe passage, but it didn't mean it was the correct passage.
"But after walking for so long, I finally ran into a living person." He Xiaoxiao maintained a safe distance as she continued, "Walking alone is boring. When you run into a problem, there's no one to discuss it with. How about we travel together for now? We can decide whether to kill for cards when we meet the next player."
One chapter tonight. (3[▓▓] Goodnight..