Chapter 1208: The End of the Maze Lies Directly East of the Passage Ahead
The mutated plants in the maze had no clear directional growth pattern. Under the maze's control, they could even change their growth direction at will, or simply point in different directions from each other, making them completely unreliable as a reference standard.
"So what's the use of this clue?" He Xiaoxiao said rather speechlessly. "This really is a surprise."
"At least there's a relatively accurate standard." Xu Huo used his instrument to record the direction of the passage and prepared to continue forward.
After just a few more passages, they encountered another wave of pursuit and interception. Unexpectedly, not only did He Xiaoxiao not leave, but she was exceptionally excited. "Hahaha! I've never seen so many types of plants! Who knew there were so many hidden varieties in the maze walls! If I could take them out for an exhibition, I'd definitely make a lot of money!"
"In this situation, it's probably impossible to keep them alive. Do you know where their seeds grow?" Xu Huo split open a giant man-eating flower that lunged at them from ahead and kicked the falling flower head forward. "Do you see any in there?"
He Xiaoxiao dodged the plants attacking from her side. "Why don't you set another fire? Maybe what's left will be the seeds. I've heard that the seeds of mutated plants often have extremely hard shells that can resist fire and water. No matter when you scatter a seed, a whole patch will sprout the next year!"
"Click! Click! Click!"
The sound of a lighter opening and closing rang out several times, but before the fire could start, the two had already moved far away from that passage.
However, after a while, anyone would find it hard to endure.
Seizing a brief gap, He Xiaoxiao asked Xu Huo, "How long does your card last?"
"Twelve hours."
He Xiaoxiao choked for a moment. Clearly, she also knew that playing cards couldn't be discarded or transferred. The only way to make the card invalid immediately was for the holder to die within the maze walls or be killed by another player.
But neither of those paths was feasible at the moment.
Sighing, she said, "Looks like both of us are out of luck..."
Before she could finish, the rubber cat she had sent out as a decoy returned, running to her feet and rubbing against them three times.
"Our luck has turned. At least three players are very close to us!"
"Quick, chase them!"
Xu Huo had no objections. Finding clues on the maze walls and encountering other players proved that changing direction probably wasn't a big mistake. They just needed to keep going.
Unexpectedly, when they turned the corner, there were three people, but two were already dead. The only one standing had his clothes torn, revealing a red number on his exposed back. Sensing someone approaching, he turned his head and grinned. "Two more."
A pink rubber mallet immediately appeared in He Xiaoxiao's hand. She pointed at him and said, "Your grandmother here hates cannibal players the most!"
As the words left her mouth, she launched the attack first. Her small, thin body shot through the air like an arrow, reaching the cannibal player in an instant. The rubber mallet in her hand let out a sharp whoosh as it swung straight at his face!
"SMACK!!!" The collision of the two objects produced a loud sound, but the cannibal player had actually caught He Xiaoxiao's item with his bare hands!
"Young girls smell so good!" The cannibal player laughed, his bulging arm muscles twisting slightly as he wrenched the pink mallet out of He Xiaoxiao's hand. At the same time, he used another item to create a restriction between them, then followed He Xiaoxiao's retreating trajectory and charged forward. With a single punch, he shattered the defensive item He Xiaoxiao had just raised!
He Xiaoxiao was somewhat shocked, but she still had passive defense items on her. Even if the first line of defense was breached, it didn't matter.
"BANG!" With another whoosh, the cannibal player's steel-like body slammed directly into He Xiaoxiao's defense barrier. Although it didn't completely break through, it sent her flying more than ten meters!
The maze wall was diagonally behind her. He Xiaoxiao crashed into it, startling the mutated plants on the surface, and vines quickly wrapped around her body.
Escaping from the maze wall wasn't difficult. He Xiaoxiao used a substitute item and a short-range teleportation item, running forward without looking back. But the cannibal player seemed to have locked onto her, accurately replicating her path and catching up with only a split-second delay!
He Xiaoxiao only paused at a corner before he caught up.
"Rip belly open!" The cannibal player raised a long watermelon knife and swung it down at her.
This strike shattered He Xiaoxiao's passive defense barrier, and a crystal on her wrist also broke!
Only then did He Xiaoxiao's expression change slightly. Facing the second strike about to fall, she quickly set up three defensive items. But this time, the blade never actually came down—Xu Huo had blocked it for her.
More precisely, Xu Huo stood in front of him. In front of him were several crisscrossing item threads. The watermelon knife, which had just shattered a defensive item with unstoppable force, automatically split into two halves as it passed through the threads!
"What—!" The cannibal player's expression was shocked. He raised his hand and quickly switched to another item, as if refusing to believe it, and swung it down at Xu Huo again, shouting, "Rip belly open!"
Unfortunately, the new item was also cut apart by the threads.
"Rip belly open, interesting. That shouldn't be your trait, should it?" Xu Huo chuckled, then pointed behind the player before he could act again. "Be careful. There are threads everywhere here."
In battle, an enemy's words might be a distraction or a bluff, but the player didn't even need to turn around. From the corner of his eye, he could see that the passages on both sides were filled with razor-sharp cutting threads!
"Do you have a long-range teleportation item?" Xu Huo continued. "I wonder if you'd be cut to pieces along with your item when you teleport out."
The cannibal player didn't show any fear at his words. Instead, his face twisted with ferocity as he released nearly twenty mechanical hummingbirds. They skillfully used the gaps between the threads to close the distance between them. Even if two or three accidentally hit the threads, the rest were enough to surround Xu Huo from head to toe!
Then the hummingbirds began to explode—these machines had been specially modified. After disintegrating, every part of their bodies could become a weapon with considerable lethality. Not only did they have a wide range, but their detonation time could also be controlled, perfectly consuming the duration of defensive items. If the item switch wasn't timely or the defense coverage wasn't tight enough, one might actually fall for it.
Of course, that was only a possibility.
The mechanical hummingbirds caused no damage to Xu Huo's defense barrier, but with a flick of his finger, he severed the player's feet.
Happy holidays, everyone~ ^_^
(Chapter End)