Chapter 1237: The Stalker
"There's still plenty of time, room for trial and error," Xu Huo said without urgency. "We can also ask people if we run into anyone on the road."
Mu Yan nodded in understanding and called out to Li Cheng behind her before setting off.
However, to their surprise, they didn't encounter anyone for a long stretch afterward. Being trapped in the thick fog made one feel abandoned in a place isolated from the world with no way out.
"Maybe we should rest until dawn before moving on," Mu Yan suggested. "You two must be tired after not resting all night."
The three stopped to rest, and nothing else happened until dawn. But when the time for daylight came, the maze remained stubbornly dark. The gray, gloomy sky was hardly better than the night.
Was this... the instance changing its tactics again?
The three exchanged glances. Without any unnecessary words, they continued forward along the path they had taken the previous night.
The dense fog dulled the players' senses to some extent. What they saw and heard was compromised, especially since the maze corridors were too long. Sometimes, a single glance couldn't even reveal the situation at the end of the passage.
The three had no choice but to slow down.
After walking for a while, Xu Huo stopped, then turned to look back.
"What's wrong?" Mu Yan and Li Cheng also halted. They didn't sense anything behind them.
"Nothing for now." Xu Huo didn't doubt his own judgment, but the presence had appeared for only a moment before vanishing. Behind them was nothing but the long corridor—where could it have hidden?
Or was it not a player at all?
Seeing his serious expression, Mu Yan and Li Cheng became alert and slightly widened their distance from each other.
They only made minor adjustments to their positions without speeding up. But two minutes later, Xu Huo slowed down again. This time, he still looked back, but after a glance, he acted as if nothing had happened.
Another three minutes later, the person who seemed to be following them, yet would occasionally disappear without a trace, appeared once more. This time, the stalker was bolder, moving closer, so close that even Mu Yan and Li Cheng noticed.
Their first reaction was to throw a prop, but the prop didn't take effect, and they simultaneously lost track of the presence.
After this happened a few times, Li Cheng grew impatient. Using a silencing prop, she asked Xu Huo, "Is there really someone behind us?"
"Keep moving forward." Xu Huo gestured with his chin. "Since they haven't shown themselves, we'll pretend we don't know."
However, the stalker didn't know when to stop. Soon, there was another approach, and this time, they drew even closer—as if they were certain we couldn't catch them.
In fact, the second time the stalker approached, Xu Huo had already covered the area with his spiritual power, including the maze walls he couldn't enter.
The one repeatedly toying with them was the same person. They were acting alone, without companions, using an invisibility prop to stay behind them.
But strangely, every time they turned around, or when Mu Yan and Li Cheng used props, this person would lean against the maze wall without triggering the mutated plants on it.
Moreover, one of the props Mu Yan used was one he had seen before. Its effective range was enough to cover this stalking player. But without using any prop of his own, the stalker simply stood still and dodged the prop's effect. Even after the prop failed, they proudly walked forward a bit—and during that short distance, even Xu Huo couldn't detect them.
Logically, they were in space. No matter how advanced the invisibility prop, it shouldn't make them completely disappear. But while he could clearly sense that the person hadn't gone far, Xu Huo's perception still had gaps.
This was very interesting. Either the stalker possessed an extremely powerful concealment prop, or they had a peculiar trait.
Unfortunately, their character was lacking—they had picked up an empty water bottle Li Cheng had discarded midway, twisted off the cap, and licked it several times with relish. They also sniffed vigorously at the spots where Mu Yan had walked.
Xu Huo opened a door in front of them and took the opportunity to kick them.
This person was just about to pocket the empty bottle when they were caught off guard by the kick. They happened to step over the threshold Xu Huo had specially prepared for them, lost their balance, and ended up kneeling on both knees right behind Li Cheng.
This guy was something else. His reflex wasn't to escape but to use the momentum of his fall to shove his face against Li Cheng's back—unfortunately, he was facing a player. Li Cheng, who had already turned around, raised her hand and slapped him!
After being hit, the person finally thought to retreat. But Xu Huo had already grabbed the back of their neck, smiling as he said, "Don't leave. Let's have a chat."
As he spoke, he forced them to remove their invisibility prop. The moment the prop fell, the person instinctively raised a hand to cover their face, but then gave up midway and instead reached backward!
Xu Huo didn't even blink as he broke their arm. Seeing that a direct approach wouldn't work, the person's body quickly faded again.
"Where did they go!" Mu Yan and Li Cheng, who had rushed over, watched the person disappear before their eyes and began looking around.
"Still here." Xu Huo suddenly stomped forward, and a pained grunt immediately sounded in the air.
"They can't get away!" Mu Yan took out a seed and threw it on the ground. Vines, growing as if blown by the wind, shot up two or three meters in an instant, quickly occupying this section of the corridor. In this densely grown tangle of vines, there was one spot where a gap appeared.
"There!" Li Cheng struck to kill, but before her flying prop knife could pierce through, the player had already run off.
Xu Huo created a ray barrier at both the front and back. He found that when the stalker touched the barrier, he could clearly sense it.
After a moment of thought, he slightly thinned the barrier and split it into three parts. Strangely, under these conditions, the traces the stalker left behind became very faint.
Using space rays to pull the person back, Xu Huo asked, "Is that a prop or a trait?"
The captured person remained silent, so he changed his approach. "Your arm is broken, but you can still walk. If your legs are broken, how will you get out of the maze?"
The other party sneered in response. "You can't take the trait. Killing me won't do any good either!"
"Is that so?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. "Generally, the more powerful a trait, the stronger its limitations. I saw you use it at least six times just now. Being able to conceal your tracks without being detected, even affecting spatial power—such a trait has no restrictions? I don't believe it."
"...Believe what you want!" As the player finished speaking, they suddenly broke free from the hold and fled the corridor in one breath.
After running through several corridors, they finally slowed down a bit, letting out a smug snicker. "Idiot..."
"Is that so?" A voice came ghost-like from behind them.
The person spun around and retreated, shooting three or four zhang away in an instant. But there was no one where they had just been standing!
Suspiciously scanning the surroundings, a hand suddenly pressed down on their shoulder!
They swung a knife back in a counterattack, but it only cut through air. Similarly, there was still no one behind them!
Realizing that the other party might have a prop similar to theirs, this player no longer underestimated the opponent. After feinting, they fled with all their strength.