Chapter 1322: Dual-Point Instance Venue
The creature that grabbed the "Whim Ball" was a massive mutated bird-beast. Its nest was in the tall forest area, so after slowing its speed, Xu Huo put away the prop and activated his invisibility cloak.
However, the invisibility cloak did not fool the mutated bird-beast's eyes. After breaking free from gravity's influence, it circled high in the air, then dove straight toward his position!
The mutated bird-beast had come from the tall forest. The area where Xu Huo landed was relatively open—aside from this small patch of woods, most of the terrain was flatland. Even where there were hills, the undulations were minor, and most places looked perfectly normal.
Stepping on "Gentleman's Poise," he leaped into the air, landed on the mutated bird-beast's back, and slammed it hard toward the ground—thanks to the gravity prop's downward pressure, both he and the bird-beast were already at a low altitude, at least relative to the tall forest. So this strike pinned the beast to about fifty meters above the ground. Just as the bird-beast struggled to fly higher, a thick, long vine suddenly shot out from the previously flat ground, wrapped around the beast's claws, and yanked it downward!
Amid the bird-beast's terrified cries, two more vines flew out from different directions, entangling its wings and head. They pulled in opposite directions midair, tearing the beast apart. Blood mixed with chunks of flesh splattered everywhere. Wherever the blood landed, the ground began to writhe—at first glance, it looked like countless giant worms twisting together, but upon closer inspection, it was a tangled mass of vines.
These vines churned rapidly, devouring the bird-beast's blood and flesh in an extremely short time. Then they sank back into the ground, writhing for a few seconds in the gray-brown soil before calming down, flattening against the earth, and merging completely with it.
Everything seemed calm again.
Xu Huo stood in midair, gazing at the endless plains ahead, his eyes narrowing slightly.
[Detected that player Passerby A has arrived at the district where the instance is located. If you arrive at Twin Cities Point A or Twin Cities Point B before noon on the third day, you will be deemed to have agreed to participate in the instance.]
[Instance information will be distributed after you enter either of the above two points.]
[You may hold one simple map.]
It was indeed a simple map—no terrain markings, only two fixed points labeled A and B, and his current location.
Fortunately, his current position was not far from Point A on the map. However, he could only go to Point A, because Point B lay on the extension line between him and Point A. To get there, he would have to pass through Point A anyway.
It seemed this instance venue included at least these two cities—Twin Cities. So it wasn't the name of a single city after all.
The ground was difficult to traverse, so Xu Huo planned to make a simple distance estimate from the air first. But at that moment, a large number of panicked bird-beasts suddenly burst out of the tall forest, fleeing in all directions. Behind them, long tongues covered in slime shot out. The forked tips stirred through the flock, coiled around one beast, and dragged it back into the lush foliage, followed by the crunching sound of chewing.
The dense forest blocked his view, and Xu Huo dared not get too close. He could only vaguely judge that the creatures coiled in the trees were likely giant snakes. However, judging by their tongues and chewing sounds, these snakes had evolved teeth similar to those of mammals.
There were quite a few giant snakes. The fleeing bird-beasts showed no intention of turning back, so Xu Huo picked one and hitched a ride. But less than half an hour later, he encountered a patch of miasma. The bird-beasts veered away in escape, forcing him to disembark.
This was a swamp area. Stagnant water covered the ground, with bubbles rising in many places. Apart from a few flies adapted to the environment, almost no other plants or animals were visible. The occasional tree or two had been corroded to death, leaving only blackened trunks.
This was the only route—there was no way around it.
Even props that could hover in the air were inconvenient for crossing such a large area. Ordinary flying vehicles bought in other districts had limited altitude. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Xu Huo purchased a hot air balloon prop for travel, which was not slow.
The swamp area was larger than he had imagined. Based on the simple map, he flew for an hour without seeing an exit. Instead, he encountered two people calling for help along the way.
Xu Huo opened the window and looked down. Their eyes met, and the burly, dark-skinned man holding a telescope looked somewhat embarrassed.
Still, Xu Huo let them aboard.
After setting down the seriously injured woman, the burly man said, "Thanks, brother. If we hadn't run into you, we really wouldn't have known how to get out of this swamp. I was rude to you on the train—don't take it to heart."
"This small space is completely sealed. You can take off your gas masks." Xu Huo noticed signs of poisoning on the woman's arm and asked how she was injured.
"There's a kind of venomous bee lurking under the swamp," the burly man said, still shaken. "Kill just one, and a whole swarm comes out. Impossible to guard against. And the swamp mud can corrode clothing. Ordinary protective suits only work temporarily—they'll break down after a while."
"We were too confident, thinking a D-grade protective suit would be enough." The woman took a difficult breath before introducing herself.
Her name was Cao Qinglin. She had been a C-grade player for two years, working as a jewelry appraiser. She and the burly man came from the same district. She had been stuck in her last instance for too long and was seriously injured when leaving, so she had no choice but to ask a friend for help.
The burly man was called Qiu Ming, a referee by profession. He looked several years younger than the woman and was very attentive.
"Neither of us has a standout profession. It puts us at a disadvantage in the game." Cao Qinglin looked at Qiu Ming with some guilt. Qiu Ming pressed her arm reassuringly, then turned to Xu Huo to discuss the instance. As a sign of sincerity, he first shared his own instance venue.
"I'm heading to Twin Cities too." Xu Huo smiled. "But the game hasn't released instance information yet. Do you have any other clues about Twin Cities?"
Qiu Ming shook his head. "Before coming, I thought Twin Cities was a single place name. I didn't expect it to be two locations. I wonder what kind of instance this will be."
"Maybe it's a fixed-route instance." Cao Qinglin had some experience. "Both locations can trigger the instance. The endpoints are probably these two places, but the starting points differ, so the game tasks might be different. It could also be a competitive type—players starting from the same point are teammates, while those from the other point are enemies."
"The specifics will only be clear once we reach the instance venue."
"But we're lucky. If we all go to Point A together, we'll be teammates with Mr. Xu."
Last night, the robed man had not entered the carriage solely because he was wary of Xu Huo. Having someone like that as a teammate was certainly for the best.
(Chapter End)