Chapter 1233: Old Xu, Have Some Soup
"These are friends I made after entering the maze, Old Xu." Da Hu walked over with several companions and enthusiastically introduced both sides, adding, "We got lost in the maze and have been wandering around here unable to find a way out. Old Xu, what about you guys?"
"Same here." Xu Huo accepted the cigarette Da Hu handed him. "Have you found any clues?"
Da Hu shook his head with a troubled expression. "Everything looks the same in the maze. Can't tell east from west or south from north. Where are we supposed to find direction? Earlier, we found clues on the maze walls, but after walking for ages, it turned out to be a dead end!"
"And the maze changes constantly. We've been circling around here for half a day."
One of his companions suggested taking a rest, so Da Hu enthusiastically invited Xu Huo and the others to join them. "There's safety in numbers. One person can't figure it out, but with more people, maybe we can. You haven't eaten yet, have you? We have specialties from Card City, bought specially before coming in."
Xu Huo didn't refuse and signaled for Mu Yan to join them.
"Don't worry too much," Da Hu said. "It's just one instance. At worst, we don't clear it and just stay here for ten days before leaving. There are plenty of instances in Zone 001, and plenty of tickets too. If this one doesn't work, we can jump into the next one right away."
The people with him were all similar, joking around and telling crude jokes.
"Old Xu, give it a try." Da Hu grabbed some food for himself, took a bite first, then handed a portion to Xu Huo.
Xu Huo thanked him and accepted it, splitting half with Mu Yan.
Da Hu grinned as he watched them. "You two know each other?"
"Old friends," Xu Huo said. "Haven't seen each other in a long time. Didn't expect to run into each other in an instance."
Da Hu looked a bit surprised. "I wouldn't have guessed. Old Xu, you're from Zone 001 too?"
"Not exactly." Xu Huo smiled. "We're both from other zones, but she came to Zone 001, and we hadn't seen each other for a long time."
Da Hu nodded in understanding. "That's how the game is. Once you step out, who knows when you'll meet again."
"Don't be too down about it," he said, patting Xu Huo on the shoulder. "We've only met once, but your personality suits me. From now on, we're good friends too. Come on, let's toast with water instead of wine. When the instance is over, I'll treat you to a real drink!"
"No problem!" Xu Huo laughed.
"...I wonder what the flower cards are really for. I see a lot of people collecting them," the group over there started talking about playing cards.
"If people are looking for them, they must be useful. Maybe the flower cards can point to the final direction," someone else said.
"That's not right," Da Hu said. "My brother Xu here has a flower card, and it doesn't have that effect!"
Everyone in the conversation turned to look curiously at Xu Huo. "You really have a flower card?"
"I do." Xu Huo smiled faintly. "But that flower card is basically a trap card. It doesn't help with directions either, or I wouldn't still be wandering around here."
Several players laughed in succession. "That's true. We found so many clues on the maze walls, and none of them were about flower cards. Maybe the flower cards are just smoke bombs the maze set off to give us something to do."
"Instances are all like that. They find ways to make players kill each other. Just look at those crazy cannibal players from before!"
The group laughed it off and moved on to other topics.
Xu Huo pretended not to notice the shift in atmosphere and chewed his food slowly: *Good. No need to go looking for them one by one.*
Over the next day, Xu Huo and the others traveled with Da Hu's group. Having more people was indeed convenient—they didn't have to spend several times the effort triggering the maze walls. Everyone split up, and when they found useful information, they regrouped.
Except for the two liars, everyone else generously shared the information they'd gathered.
"Old Xu, what kind of flower card is yours?" When they split up, Da Hu sidled up to Xu Huo and lowered his voice. "I'll be honest with you—I've seen other players with flower cards. There's no way they're trap cards. You were pulling our leg earlier."
Xu Huo gave him a half-smile. "Since you already know flower cards are useless, does knowing the face matter?"
"I'm just curious," Da Hu said, scratching his head. "It's fine if you don't want to say. I was just asking."
Xu Huo really didn't say.
Da Hu didn't dwell on it and kept the same attitude as before. Afraid of drawing a card from the maze wall, he voluntarily let Xu Huo take the chance.
Xu Huo now had six cards, but in this section of the maze, not a single card had appeared on the walls so far. That meant in the latter half of the maze, cards basically stopped appearing, so he felt safe triggering the maze walls—though he still ended up in a bit of a mess every time he encountered mutant plants.
Da Hu and Mu Yan helped from the side. When Xu Huo accidentally injured his arm, Mu Yan deliberately avoided Da Hu, who was dealing with mutant plants, and used a silencing item to say, "You were already badly hurt before. There's no need to push yourself this hard. The clues are useless anyway."
"Have to try," Xu Huo said in a low voice. "Can't let this trip be for nothing."
Just then, Da Hu cut down the last mutant plant and landed back on the ground. He turned around and said, "I don't think this is the right direction. Let's go back and see what the others found."
Xu Huo acted nonchalant. "Let's keep going a bit further. We've had no luck all day."
"Take it easy, take it easy," Da Hu said. "Not clearing the instance won't kill you. Don't stress too much... I'm hungry. Are you guys hungry?"
He turned and headed back first. Xu Huo and Mu Yan exchanged a glance, then followed.
When they returned to the agreed meeting point, the others had all suffered some minor injuries. Though the wounds were light, the repetitive, pointless work with no progress left the players feeling discouraged. With night approaching, no one wanted to continue another round.
Da Hu set up two tables and invited everyone to cook together.
Xu Huo had injured his arm, so Mu Yan told him to rest while she helped.
"You two aren't a couple, are you?" Da Hu teased.
"Not at all..." Mu Yan smiled. "Friends should look out for each other. Just talking without doing anything doesn't make you a real friend."
Da Hu gave a thumbs-up. "Sis, you're straightforward! I can't stand people who say one thing and do another behind your back. I kill those kinds of people on sight! But to be fair, people with our personalities tend to get taken advantage of. I've been screwed over in instances more than a few times."
"Not everyone is as generous as you," Mu Yan said.
"You bet!" Da Hu said proudly. "A person still needs some principles... Ah, the soup is ready. Let me ladle you a bowl, and you can take it to Brother Xu."
Mu Yan put down the knife she was holding, accepted it with a smile, and turned to walk toward Xu Huo, who was rewrapping his wound nearby. "Old Xu, have some soup."