Chapter 1219: Card Swap Game
With Xu Huo's judgment on the general direction, Mu Yan chose to walk through passages with a higher number of people, making the journey relatively smooth. Over the next half day, they successively uncovered three clues and one number card, not counting effects like "move forward one hundred meters" or "move back one hundred meters" that were essentially meaningless.
The three clues were:
"The information stated on the card face is completely accurate."
"One player has already collected six flower cards."
"The maze's endpoint will not change its location."
The authenticity of the first two pieces of information wasn't that important, but the third, whether true or false, seemed to imply one thing—that the structure of the maze might not be fixed.
"Could it be that the maze's endpoint can change?" Mu Yan asked in surprise, frowning deeply. "Neither before nor after the upgrade has there been any similar information circulating. Could the maze be setting up a false lead?"
"It might not have been possible before the upgrade, but after the upgrade, it's not certain," Xu Huo said. "I've looked at previous instance guides. The basic setup of the maze hasn't changed much. If the instance area has expanded, setting up obstacles at the starting point and endpoint is very reasonable."
"Aren't the maze passages along the way already obstacles?" Mu Yan said. "Without the right clues, forget ten days—you might not find your way out even in a month. Plus, there's a certain chance of encountering random teleportation portals. Even if you reach the endpoint, you could be teleported away. Clearing the instance might rely on luck."
"A C-grade instance," Xu Huo said. "This level of difficulty should be expected. Besides, just walking through a maze isn't that high a difficulty."
Walking through a maze could only be considered a boring way to clear it. Even with the traps Mu Yan mentioned, it would at most add a bit of interest to the tedious process. In reality, looking solely at the maze's clearance requirements, the biggest challenge was figuring out the direction; nothing else mattered much.
Adding a bit of difficulty meant collecting cards—obtaining fixed cards from the maze.
Number cards would indicate the locations of flower cards—this was to lure players into competing for the flower cards.
By the evening of the second day, after Xu Huo and Mu Yan finished walking through a passage, they received a maze notification:
"Congratulations on completing one-third of the journey. The card swap game is automatically triggered."
As the sound reached them, the environment around the two rapidly receded. To the naked eye, it looked like someone had pushed them, but in reality, the step they took felt more like crossing through space, instantly moving them from the passage into a circular maze wall. Inside the wall with them were four other players.
When they entered, six floating cards appeared in front of each person, facing them, but the card faces were not visible to outsiders, so no one could see the others' cards from the side.
Once inside, Xu Huo and Mu Yan acted as if they had never met, each going their own way.
The six people sized each other up. All were unfamiliar faces.
A projected hexagonal table appeared in the center of the room, and the mechanized maze voice continued:
"Players participating in the card swap game have one chance to draw a card from another player's held cards."
"At the same time, they also have one chance to have a card drawn from their own held cards by another player."
"Please note: not all players hold six cards. There is a certain number of blank cards during the drawing process."
"If a blank card is drawn, your opponent gains an additional drawing opportunity."
"The first card cannot be drawn. Players in this room must hold at least two cards."
"If, within the specified time, any group fails to complete their draw, the drawing combinations will be randomly reassigned."
"Next, please pay attention to the number distribution on the table. Same numbers form a group. Once matched, drawing can proceed."
After the drawing rules were announced, the projected table displayed six fan-shaped sections, each with numbers jumping on them. After a few seconds, the numbers stopped. Xu Huo was matched with the player directly opposite him.
Upon seeing the number, the other player looked up with a malicious grin, but when his gaze met Xu Huo's, he froze. The smile on his face, along with the arrogance in his eyes, gradually receded inch by inch.
Xu Huo shifted his gaze, scanning the others. The six were simply paired up as those facing each other.
Next, the countdown for the first group began.
The six cards of the opposing player moved in front of Xu Huo. He raised his hand, pausing over each of the six cards before drawing the second one. Flipping it over, it was a flower card from the white cards—Gem Cape.
However, since he originally had six cards, he now had one extra. All cards except the first one would enter the random selection pool. When he clicked on the card frame, he found that the randomly removed card was the clue card, Black Card 11.
In other words, the card swap game also adhered to the maze's overarching rules. Even though he knew the opponent would quickly draw a card, the card frame had already randomized first.
Seeing him take the flower card, the opposing player was both shocked and furious. When Xu Huo's cards moved in front of him, he glared maliciously at Xu Huo, mimicking his actions by placing his hand over each card one by one.
Xu Huo subtly revealed a flaw on White Card 12. The seemingly not-so-bright opponent immediately drew this trap card.
The moment he got the trap card, the player realized he had been tricked. Enraged, he shouted, "You dare set me up!"
Xu Huo raised his right hand, blocking him with a space barrier. "Take it outside if you have a problem. Don't hold up the others' draws."
The player slammed his fist against the barrier, but the next second, he backed down because he noticed that with just that one hit, the barrier in the air had automatically disappeared.
Meeting Xu Huo's expressionless face, he hesitated and withdrew his prop, seemingly worried this was another trap.
The first group ended, and the second group began. The first to draw was a player with a small braid. He glanced disdainfully at Xu Huo and the others, didn't bother with any probing, and casually drew a card from his opponent's set.
"Haha! Looks like I'm in luck!"
Amidst his laughter and the gloomy stare of the other player, the remaining six cards began to move. The player with the gloomy expression carefully tested the cards before drawing, only to end up pulling a blank card.
"Impossible!" the gloomy player blurted out.
The braided player grinned and said, "What's impossible? I don't have much, but I've got plenty of blank cards!"
The gloomy player was provoked. He immediately whipped out an umbrella-shaped prop. The metal ribs of the umbrella spread open and began spinning rapidly, shooting straight at the braided player!
"I've been waiting for you!" The braided player stepped back two paces, raised his hand to erect a metal pillar in front of him, and pressed a hidden clasp. The mechanism forming the pillar's body quickly expanded to both sides, simultaneously launching over twenty assorted hidden weapons of various sizes and shapes, densely covering an area of four to five square meters ahead.
Just as the props from both sides were about to collide, a force suddenly intervened, not only blocking the prop umbrella but also deflecting the spinning hidden weapons one by one!