Chapter 1391: A Fair Vote
Li Kun spoke lightly, but his eyes remained fixed on Xu Huo. The players 201 and 202 beside him also had their gazes shifting between the two. Then, 201 walked over behind Li Kun and asked with a smile, "Old acquaintances, you two?"
The atmosphere in the room froze for a moment, but quickly relaxed as Xu Huo nodded.
Li Kun breathed an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. Supported by Player 201, he sat down on the bed. After resting for a while, he asked about clearing the instance.
If they could successfully take the Water Maker out, there would be no need to make a trip to the New District Government City later.
"We can't clear it tonight; we have to wait until tomorrow." Xu Huo pulled a stool over and sat down.
The night banquet was the home turf of the Cannibal Players. Anyone who hadn't eaten the "dishes" wouldn't clear the instance even if they voted.
"Ordering just one dish probably won't clear it either," said Female Player 202. "I just ran into the female player who proposed that method during the day outside. If she's still in the instance when dawn breaks, then it's confirmed."
"As for our own ideas, we'll have to wait until tomorrow to verify them."
"Public voting doesn't allow cheating, but players communicating with each other, recommending their favorite dishes, and then making a choice—that should be in line with the voting process," said Player 201. "The only thing that's hard to control is the number of people."
Forcing other players to vote the same way through coercion isn't feasible. Getting a heads-up with other players beforehand would just end up with the same result as only choosing one dish during the day.
"I didn't expect it to be this difficult, all because of this 'fair' vote." Player 202 sighed. "Players who came earlier and later have all ordered different dishes. If it really comes down to voting for the best-tasting one, then clearing the instance is just a matter of luck."
Moreover, the player turnover is high every day. The number of players who arrived earlier is small, making it hard to convince those who come later.
"Today is our third day," said Li Kun. "Once the three days of free room and board are over, I wonder what changes will happen in the restaurant."
"Actually, we can win over those ordinary people." Player 201 looked at Xu Huo. "They're a vulnerable group in this instance. If we give them a little care, they can definitely be gathered together."
When the time comes, without us having to say anything, these people will naturally follow our vote.
"Wouldn't that violate the voting principle?" Li Kun was doubtful.
"For now, this is the only way," said Player 201. "If it's a truly genuine vote, who knows how long we'll have to wait to clear the instance."
It's indeed difficult to monitor one or two hundred people. Besides, there are always those trying to exploit loopholes and vote multiple times. Whether those votes are even valid is another problem.
"We can give it a try." Xu Huo nodded. "Hopefully, the number of people won't double tomorrow."
After entering the room, no Cannibal Players came to harass them that night. However, when they returned to the dining hall at dawn, none of the players who had appeared in the restaurant the previous night were there, except for Xu Huo and his group. It was unclear whether they had been killed or had cleared the instance.
The total number of people who entered the restaurant yesterday was around one hundred and eighty. Today, less than fifty remained.
"Over a hundred people in one night—can this restaurant even hold them all?" Dai Song gritted his teeth.
"It can't be that all of them were killed by the restaurant staff. Plenty of them died at the hands of other players." To avoid trouble, Li Kun had deliberately changed his face. But he was overthinking it; the waiters active in the dining hall during the day didn't interfere with the night's affairs at all. They still came to take their orders with smiles on their faces as usual.
Maris came over to greet Xu Huo's group and sat down beside them.
"Pretty badly hurt?" Xu Huo glanced at him. The two players who were injured yesterday, along with the woman who was evolving, were all gone. Now only the female player in the peaked cap, Xiao Wan, and the one wearing a scarf remained. All three were injured, especially Xiao Wan. Even though she tried her best to hide it, it was clear that even breathing was painful for her.
"I ran into High Heels," Maris lamented his bad luck. "I thought he wouldn't come out to check the rooms until the second half of the night."
Xu Huo remained silent. Last night, High Heels should have followed the Gentleman player out of the back kitchen and then met up with the Raincoat Cleaner. This showed that the other party had been active in the restaurant all along.
"This person's strength should surpass the Cleaner and the Butcher. Did you see his real face?" he asked afterwards.
Maris's expression was a little unnatural. "It's a man."
Seeing that he didn't want to elaborate, Xu Huo didn't press further. He raised his hand and greeted Zhou Donghe, who was trying to sneak into the restaurant amidst the crowd. "Come sit over here."
Zhou Donghe walked over with a look of utter misfortune on his face. He wisely kept his distance from them. "Brother, I didn't offend you yesterday, and you got some benefits too. There's no need to keep hounding me."
Xu Huo raised an eyebrow and smiled. "When did I ever hound you?"
"Wasn't it you who kicked me later?" Zhou Donghe wasn't stupid. He figured it out quickly. If it had been the Raincoat Cleaner, they wouldn't have bothered with such an extra move.
Xu Huo waved his hand. "One time each. Let's call it even."
Zhou Donghe had first used the room to lure people to knock on the door. Now he had nothing to say, so he had to concede. "That's what you said. You're not allowed to retaliate against me tonight."
"You're still not planning to leave?" Xu Huo was slightly surprised.
"Leave for what? There's food and drink, and I can get props too. What place is better than this?" Zhou Donghe had discovered the garbage pile on the first night. He hadn't done anything as outrageous as Xu Huo. By picking and choosing carefully, he wouldn't attract the Raincoat Woman's attention. "Anyway, I can't clear the instance. I can go plunder it every night. It's much faster money than doing instances... at least, it was, before last night's incident."
"Well, I'm really sorry about that." Xu Huo chuckled. "Have you been to this instance before? Or have you been stuck in this instance for a long time?"
"I just said we're even. Don't try to pump me for information now." Zhou Donghe swept his gaze over the people in front of him. "You guys want to clear the instance? Go ahead. I'm not leaving."
After saying this, he assumed a fighting stance while backing away step by step. Only when he was sure he was safe did he turn around and leave decisively.
"Should we bring him back?" asked Dai Song. "He seems to know the way to clear the instance."
"That guy is full of hot air. There's hardly a word of truth in his mouth. Even if we ask, we probably won't get anything out of him." Xu Huo shook his head.
"Yesterday, he also said he had entered the restaurant at night, but that was completely false," Li Kun added. If he had really entered the restaurant, he wouldn't have gotten away so easily. "Maybe he just got the information from players who came earlier."
Maris wasn't clear about the night-time restaurant affairs, so he asked.
"Nighttime is the home turf of the Cannibal Players," Xu Huo said succinctly.
The Gentleman player had entered the restaurant with an invitation. He guessed that the restaurant couldn't be entered freely at night and had certain selection criteria. Whether it was random, as Zhou Donghe said, or required an invitation like the Gentleman player's, was uncertain. But it didn't matter much to them, because even if they entered the restaurant at night, they couldn't clear the instance, and it would only add unnecessary risk.
Upon hearing this, Maris didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he turned to the other side. "And what's their story?"
(End of Chapter)