Chapter 1384: Nighttime Game
Xu Huo turned on the ringtones of two communicators, turned the volume up, and stuck one on each door to his left and right.
"There's no need to go to so much trouble," Li Kun said, pulling out a door-knocking prop. "Just stick this on any door, and it'll automatically knock every ten minutes. Even if the raincoat cleaner can recycle the props players put out, it doesn't matter. I've got plenty."
He then poured out a whole pocketful. "A craftsman who owed me a favor gave me these to pay off his debt. They're all low-grade, useless stuff. I've been keeping them in the luggage compartment."
"That many? Even if the cleaner collects them one by one, it'll take a while." Xu Huo casually took one and stuck it behind the door.
"Maybe. Who knows, if we push them too far, they might break their own rules." Li Kun shrugged. "After all, the instance is their home turf."
The sound of the cleaner's rubber bucket had already faded into the distance, and the props hanging from the ceiling hadn't passed through the corridor for a while. Xu Huo put away "World Within the Painting," pulled the entire ten-meter radius around him into the spiritual realm, cut off the sound, and then opened the door to step out.
Coincidentally, the door next to him also opened. That gentlemanly player, holding a parasol, walked out and smiled at them.
Although players entering an instance should theoretically be on the same side, that didn't mean they wouldn't harm each other. So the moment they met, Xu Huo's side was ready to act.
But the other player instead raised an invitation. "You received the restaurant's invitation too? How about we go together?"
Li Kun shot Xu Huo a look. This was a stroke of luck. They wouldn't have to search everywhere for a passage now. This was the correct way to enter the nighttime restaurant. Judging by the situation yesterday and today, not every player received an evening invitation. There had to be selection criteria, but he hadn't gotten one.
There's no such thing as such an easy deal.
Xu Huo stared at the other player. "Are you a regular here?"
"Not really, I just occasionally dine here," the gentleman player said with a smile. "The truly skilled chef at the Bauhinia Restaurant works the night shift. The taste is unforgettable once you've tried it. It's a pity the restaurant doesn't have more branches."
As he spoke, he didn't care whether Xu Huo and the others would follow. He walked towards the stairs to the second floor on his own and added, "There used to be a limited-edition roast suckling pig. It was absolutely delicious. But then the supplier went bankrupt, and the dish was never served again. I heard the restaurant recently found that supplier again, and the dish is back on the menu... You should try it later."
Dai Song and Li Kun, who had never been to the Bauhinia Restaurant before, both realized that the other player was probably a cannibal player. Following him to the second floor was clearly unwise. They both instinctively wanted to retreat.
Xu Huo didn't move, because in the time they had been talking, the restaurant's layout had changed again. The stairs, which had been far away, were now right in front of them. Standing at the bottom, they could even see the light from upstairs and smell the aroma of food.
Clearly, they had no room to refuse, because this banquet was prepared for them.
The three followed the gentleman player up to the second floor. Unlike the daytime restaurant's gold and white color scheme, the nighttime restaurant was filled with a deep red. Large red carpets covered the entire floor. Red and white square tiles rose from the corners of the walls, reaching all the way to the ceiling. The slightly lower decorations, like wall lamps and paintings, were mostly in dark red tones. Although the large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling were all lit, the light wasn't very bright.
"Look at the blackboard," Li Kun whispered.
On the wall at the end of the long dining table in the middle of the room, there was also a voting box and a blackboard. On the blackboard, the number 81 was clearly written.
"Could this be..." Dai Song's expression shifted.
The gentleman player took his seat. The players who were either sitting at the dining table or scattered around the restaurant all turned their heads. On familiar and unfamiliar faces alike, their eyes held a scrutinizing interest. Some were even more direct, deliberately taking deep breaths of the air, as if they could smell the scent of prey from over ten meters away.
Such oppressive stares were incredibly stressful.
Ignoring the gazes deliberately meant to create mental pressure, Xu Huo lowered his eyes to the dining table.
There was no food on the table yet, but the bowls and plates were already set. Placed on either side of the plates were not utensils, but paper and pens.
Xu Huo walked over, casually picked a seat, and sat down. Then he picked up the paper and pen, making as if to write on the paper.
The atmosphere in the restaurant changed instantly. Several attacks flew towards him, but they were blocked by a space barrier, making sounds about one or two meters away from Xu Huo. Xu Huo himself remained completely still. Only after the attacks ended did he look up and sweep his gaze across the players who had launched them. A faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared on his expressionless face.
The contrived, mysterious atmosphere that had filled the restaurant ten seconds ago vanished without a trace. Dai Song and Li Kun, snapping out of their passive role of being stared at, quickly walked behind Xu Huo and stood firmly on either side of him.
Even if they didn't know the rules, they couldn't let themselves be led by the nose.
"Clap! Clap!" The gentleman player applauded and laughed. "I was right. You're an interesting person."
Xu Huo smiled but said nothing.
He wasn't the only one here who knew the rules. Someone had stopped him from writing in advance, which meant that voting early could also interfere with the final result...
Thinking this, he looked at the gentleman player. "Who are you planning to vote for?"
"I was originally going to vote for you," the gentleman player said, resting his chin on one hand and tilting his head to look at the person opposite him. With his other hand, he pointed at someone else. "But now... I don't like cowards."
His finger landed on a player. He stared coldly at the other's slightly stiff expression and added, "Cowards are often despicable. They're not worthy of my attention."
As he spoke, he withdrew his hand, picked up the paper and pen, paused, and asked the other player, "What's your number again?"
No one tried to stop him this time. The targeted player immediately tried to flee the restaurant, but the players beside him blocked him. They forcibly dragged him to the dining table, pushed him down into a seat, and a number floated up behind his chair.
"115," a player reported the number.
The gentleman player directly wrote 115 on the paper, placed it on the plate, and then said to Xu Huo, "He attacked you just now. As a token of friendship, I'm casting my vote for him in advance."
Someone in the restaurant let out a low laugh. The player who had been forced to sit down had a pale face. He didn't even dare to look up at the others. After deactivating his prop, he fled the restaurant.
The man had run away, but no one chased after him. With a pleasant bell sound, a woman in work clothes walked to the head of the dining table, put her hands down, and said, "Please, everyone, take your seats."