Chapter 1236: The Difference in Trap Cards
The buzz-cut player, who had just been feeling lucky for getting another swap card while Xu Huo didn't know its effect, saw his brief joy "poof" and vanish. Under Xu Huo's gaze, he had no choice but to comply.
As a result, with the disappearance of Black Card 17, the position card White Card 6 in Xu Huo's hand was swapped for Black Card 2. The effect of Black Card 2 was "three times of staying in place for half a minute each"—it looked like a trap card, yet not quite.
Having obtained the card he wanted, Xu Huo turned back to ask the buzz-cut player, "What is Black Card 1?"
"A clue card..." the buzz-cut player immediately began, but before he could finish, Xu Huo waved his hand and knocked him back into his chair, then tilted his chin toward the female player.
The female player was surprised to be freed, but she quickly realized what Xu Huo wanted her to do. Looking at the buzz-cut player's pleading expression, she asked, "If I don't kill him, will you kill me?"
"What's the difference?"
"If you'll kill me if I don't kill him, then I have no choice but to kill him. But if you can let me go, I don't want to kill him."
"Why?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.
"Most people are forced to kill in the game. I don't want to take the initiative to kill anyone."
Xu Huo nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to the remaining two brothers. The two exchanged glances, and finally, under the pale-faced one's glare, his cousin lowered his head.
"I'll kill him for you." The pale-faced one looked up at Xu Huo.
This time, no surprises occurred. The pale-faced one obtained four cards: White 6, Black 4, Black 5, and Black 1, and immediately stated the effect of Black Card 1, "It's a cancel card."
Xu Huo nodded without surprise, closed the spiritual realm, and signaled they could leave.
All three were astonished, especially the pale-faced one. He thought Xu Huo would kill him next, after all, it was a cancel card—such a good card, who wouldn't want it?
Even if it meant Mu Yan doing the killing, that would be fine for him.
"No need." Xu Huo said simply, "I'm not a murder maniac."
Besides, the cards these three held were insignificant.
"Then why did you have to kill him?" the female player couldn't help asking, "After the card swap, killing him or not makes no difference, right?"
Xu Huo finally stood up. He said calmly, "I stated the rules at the beginning. He didn't follow them."
The female player had no rebuttal. After all, in this world, the strong call the shots.
"Can we really leave?" the pale-faced one tested.
"Go ahead." Xu Huo signaled Mu Yan to prepare to leave.
"Wait!" the female player called out to them, "Can I travel with you?"
"Sure." Xu Huo agreed readily and asked the remaining two if they wanted to join.
The pale-faced brothers seemed deeply wary of him, stepping back several paces before turning and disappearing into the thick fog.
"Let's go." Xu Huo looked back at the path ahead, "Next, let's verify whether Black Card 2 is really a trap card."
Both behind him had doubt in their eyes. Mu Yan hesitated for a moment before asking, "Since you say that, the effect of Black Card 2 really looks like a trap card. Why do you think it isn't?"
"5, 12, 19 are trap cards; 1, 8 are cancel cards; 4, 11 are clue cards; 6, 13 are position cards. Do you see any pattern?" Xu Huo said.
Mu Yan and the other paused, unable to figure it out for a moment. Xu Huo continued, "These numbered cards follow a certain cycle. If Card 2 is not a trap card but a seventh type, then the first cards of these seven types are 1 through 7, the second set is 8 through 14, and the third set is 15 through 21. This also doesn't conflict with Cards 10 and 17 being swap cards."
Mu Yan thought for a moment, "That means, the Card 15 we haven't seen yet is a cancel card, Card 3 is a swap card, 20 is a position card, and 7 and 21 should be draw cards?"
"Exactly." Xu Huo maintained a normal pace, walking as he spoke, "Most cards can be determined. Next, let's look at these three cards starting with 2."
"My Card 16 also falls into this category," the female player expressed doubt, "But the effect of Black Card 16 is indeed a trap."
"Increasing five dead ends doesn't mean there's no path to take," Xu Huo said. "Think about it the other way: there are many wrong paths in the maze, but not many dead ends. Adding dead ends might block the correct path, but it could also block wrong paths. Of course, this is just speculation."
Just like the previous White Card 9, "Friend of Mutant Plants." Indeed, many of the paths he took had mutant plants, but there were also relatively stable paths. From another perspective, paths with more mutant plants might be wrong paths, meant to drive him away.
"If that's the case, then can't all trap cards be interpreted in reverse?" Mu Yan paused and added, "In most cases."
"It's not hard to verify. Let the cards circulate and observe the effects when they change hands," Xu Huo said. "If Cards 2, 9, and 16 don't show obvious effects like teleporting in the wrong direction or randomly landing somewhere, they can probably be separated out."
"Even if we determine the effects of most other cards, confirming these few doesn't really matter, does it?" the female player said. "Even if they're cards that help with clearance, their effects are mediocre, not as useful as cancel or swap cards."
"That's true," Mu Yan said with difficulty, "But we still haven't found the location of the maze's endpoint. The clues on the maze walls are half true and half false. These cards are actually more reliable."
"Let's try our luck," Xu Huo said. "There's still plenty of instance time left."
Next, Xu Huo deliberately walked toward a dead-end path after identifying it in advance. Sure enough, two or three times out of that, Black Card 2's effect triggered. But when he walked toward open paths, nothing changed.
It was a good card, but the problem that followed was that it wasn't very sensitive. Moreover, the maze paths branched in all directions, with many possible correct routes, and even if he went the wrong way, it might not necessarily warn him.
"Should we keep looking for cards?" Mu Yan asked, then subtly glanced at the female player.
"We'll see." Xu Huo checked the several intersections connected to their current location and said, "Look at the plant growth around here. We should be in an active zone again."
Mu Yan nodded and stepped forward.
Xu Huo lagged behind and took the opportunity to ask the female player's name, "I only know you're surnamed Li."
"My name is Li Cheng." The female player watched Mu Yan's every move, seeming tense because of the question she had just asked.
Having nothing else to say, Xu Huo went forward to help Mu Yan.
"Indeed, many people have passed through here, but the directions before and after aren't necessarily consistent," Mu Yan said. "If the maze has undergone large-scale shifts, it's hard to say where the former active zone has been moved to. The front and back aren't necessarily one right and one wrong; it's very possible both ends are off."