Chapter 1220: Two Flower Cards
The two who had been obstructed both turned their gazes to Xu Huo standing nearby.
Xu Huo smiled and played peacemaker, saying, "Since it's a game, you draw once and I draw once—that's fair. The countdown is about to end, so let's not waste time."
"Who the hell do you think you are? What business is it of yours!" the braided player said coldly. "If you want to die, go somewhere else. I don't have time for you right now!"
As he finished speaking, he used a prop again, but this time Xu Huo still blocked him.
Ignoring the other's anger, Xu Huo said calmly, "Losing two players isn't a big problem, but losing one player means we have to rematch and redraw. I think this boring game doesn't need a second round. What do you think?"
Before the two could respond, he continued, "Losing one person is a bit troublesome, but losing two people is also possible."
The implication was clear: no matter which of the two survived in the end, Xu Huo would help send the winner off, ensuring the card-drawing game ended in one round.
The two didn't know Xu Huo's strength, but neither wanted to fight to the end only to have someone else reap the benefits.
"I don't want a second round either," Mu Yan spoke up at this point. "If everyone breaks the rules, this card-drawing game will never end. How many people will be left alive in the end? Instead of fighting over one or two cards here, why not save time and go out to find cards?"
The last remaining female player didn't express her opinion, but silence was sometimes an attitude in itself.
Weighing the pros and cons, the two had no choice but to back down, letting the braided player draw his second card.
After smoothly completing the second group, it was Mu Yan's turn along with the remaining female player.
Mu Yan only had two cards, and the extra one was a trap card, so no matter what she drew, it was a good deal. She didn't waste time reading expressions and casually pointed at a card.
Then the female player unsurprisingly drew a blank card. She was more composed than the previous male player and generously let Mu Yan draw a second card.
"The card-swapping game is over."
With the maze's announcement, Xu Huo and the others returned the way they came. Standing back in the passage, Mu Yan spoke first: "I only drew one trap card, Black 19. The second was a blank card."
Xu Huo gestured for her not to be so tense and said, "The number cards you got, 5 and 19, are both trap cards. Number cards 12 and 9 are also trap cards."
He had obtained some other types of cards as well, but trap cards were the majority.
In fact, by now, he had seen or known of quite a few cards, but he had encountered very few players. To be honest, fifty-four cards were far from enough to go around, even if everyone entered random mode after collecting six.
Could it be that the instance really had multiple sets of cards?
"How many cards do you have now?" Mu Yan asked. "I have three cards, but two are trap cards, and I can't discard them."
"What's the content of Black 19?"
"My first card passage will disappear during the instance." Mu Yan shrugged, unconcerned. "Anyway, I've already used it once, and I can't turn back now, so this card is basically useless."
Xu Huo nodded. "I have five cards in hand."
From the previous six cards, Black 11 had been randomized away, White 12 had been drawn, and he had gained one white flower card. So his current cards were as follows:
First card: Black Number Card 1, Black Flower Card Scepter of Flowers, Offset Card White Number Card 8, White Number Card 6 (which hints at the location of a flower card), and White Flower Card Gemstone Cloak.
Among them, the offset card could cancel out one card, and the slot it occupied would also disappear, so he could still take three more cards.
"It's getting dark. Let's find a place to settle down," Mu Yan said. "Preferably a dead end or wrong path near the correct passage. Not too far away, and ordinary players usually won't come over."
It wasn't fully dark yet, but fog was starting to form in the maze, looking like it would be even thicker than the first night's fog.
"Does this kind of heavy fog affect the mutant plants?" Xu Huo asked while they were looking for a spot.
"Mutant plants are sensitive to the environment. Some don't like air with too much humidity, so they become less active. But there are also those that love this kind of weather, especially hallucinogenic plants." Mu Yan paused here. "You reminded me—it's best to wear a protective barrier when resting. Sometimes you get hit without even realizing it."
The two finally chose a wrong path that was slightly off the correct direction. But unexpectedly, other players were already there.
Across from them, three people were sitting around a stove, cooking with their own ingredients. When they saw Xu Huo and Mu Yan, one of them, a man wearing glasses, waved and said, "Fate brings us together. Come join us for a bite."
"Should we find another place?" Mu Yan asked Xu Huo. Xu Huo shook his head slightly and joined the group opposite.
The three who had gathered together seemed quite talkative, cheerfully making room for them. Another man with a thick beard took a swig of alcohol, wiped his mouth, and said, "If it weren't for the mutant plants being sensitive to strong smells, I'd really want to roast a whole sheep."
"What's so hard about that? Just buy a deodorizing prop and pair it with a dedicated barbecue house," said the third player, who looked about forty, with a protruding belly and thick black hair that he deliberately flicked as he spoke.
The glasses-wearing man said politely, "Better safe than sorry. In an instance, caution is never wrong. You can eat whatever you want outside."
"It's just because we're too weak," the bearded man grumbled. "I heard this was deliberately done by the artifact maker who created the maze instance. They're afraid the players coming in will dirty their maze..."
"I don't get it. Just having a meal—how is that worse than those gut-spilling, disgusting things? They don't think that's dirty, but they look down on us normal eaters."
"Maybe they find everything dirty, but cannibal players can't be avoided," Mu Yan said.
The bearded man paused mid-drink, then slapped his forehead and laughed. "You're right, but that's still disgusting enough!"
"Little lady, are you from District 001?" the potbellied man asked with a smile, glancing at Mu Yan. "People from District 001 are easy to recognize, especially those from Fresh Flower City. I heard that city is full of flowers everywhere, and the scent is very strong. If you live there for half a year, you come out smelling fragrant all over, and it lasts a long time."
"I heard it was created to cater to the preferences of an important member of a major family. It's not much different from a local emperor."
Mu Yan smiled but said nothing.
"I've been to Fresh Flower City once," the glasses-wearing man said. "The environment there is excellent. Even the Game Government Base set up a branch there. Because of that, the entire city's resource treatment level is different. Apart from Central City, no other city can compare. Many people want to settle there."
He looked at Mu Yan with a hint of envy. "Living there must be pretty good, right? I heard many players work at the Game Government Base?"