Chapter 1598: Instance Dungeon Site
It's not strange that people add their own subjective perceptions when describing something, just like the resident of Brown Skin City who said he saw colorful lights when entering the "Midsummer Night" space—this differed from the descriptions of several others he mentioned who had seen "Midsummer Night Star River."
Therefore, this colorful light could have been his own fantasy, or perhaps it was a scene he happened to see when entering the white mist, lacking universal significance.
However, from his description, the "Midsummer Night" space is a place with a very high mortality rate.
According to the account of the person who successfully saw "Midsummer Night Star River" and returned from the dead, whether in Brown Skin City or other nearby island cities, the number of people entering the "Midsummer Night" space was actually not small, at least comparable to what Xu Huo was seeing now—around twenty or so players and ordinary people in this area.
But very few survived. Apart from those who successfully found "Midsummer Night Star River," none of the others suspected of entering the "Midsummer Night" space made it out alive.
Additionally, the people of Brown Skin City didn't know that the residents of Stone Medicine Island also fell into daily slumber.
Of course, this wasn't surprising. The landmasses in Zone 013 were scattered, separated by the sea, and without suitable sea-crossing tools, it was normal for information to be hard to exchange. People at the Suffocating Rainforest Station hadn't even heard of "Midsummer Night Star River."
But from this, it could also be seen that the "Midsummer Night Star River" instance either moved only within a small range or had an extremely high mortality rate, with none of the "chosen" people on some islands surviving.
Regardless of the situation, since some players had made it out alive, yet no player had publicly disclosed the details of "Midsummer Night Star River," that was the strange part.
"How are you doing?" Xu Huo asked Chi Xian.
Chi Xian spread his hands. "There are too many types of fungi—visible and invisible—at least several thousand or tens of thousands. It's impossible to screen them all. The fungi in this space should have been brought in from outside. At a rough glance, they're quite different from those on Stone Medicine Island."
Both knew that investigating the fungi was just a shot in the dark. If they got lucky, good; if not, so be it.
"Let's take a walk around the instance while it's still light," Xu Huo said. At the very least, he needed to understand what the city in the white mist world was like.
The fog was thick, and the air humidity was high. After walking for a while, a layer of water mist formed on their protective suits. With limited visibility, they couldn't see far. Although players occasionally passed by, they kept their distance, and there were no conflicts for now.
Besides figuring out the size and composition of the instance site, the traces of daily life left in the buildings were also worth examining.
Xu Huo found a city map in a high-floor room.
"Aside from the person who approached us earlier, the other players are all avoiding encounters," Chi Xian said, his expression slightly grim. "It seems the involuntary sleeping is real."
Xu Huo studied the map as he spoke. "This situation is consistent with Stone Medicine Island. It might be an instance formed under the influence of factors from Stone Medicine Island."
Chi Xian also picked up some paper documents to look at. "This instance space has very little overlap with Zone 013."
It was even mobile, making it more suitable to call it a random instance. If it were influenced by Stone Medicine Island, it should have stabilized there. Unless the instance later upgraded and absorbed the fungi from Stone Medicine Island, giving them some connection, but even then, the link was weak.
"Sleeping is a minor issue. The mysterious disappearances are what we need to watch out for," Xu Huo said.
"Don't you believe what Bian Lu and the others said? How can you be sure the mysterious disappearances aren't fabricated?" Chi Xian asked curiously.
"They probably didn't lie about this. Regardless of the truth, at least in their view, it was undoubtedly a mysterious disappearance," Xu Huo said without finishing. When he proposed another possibility, those players didn't waver in their judgment at all, indicating they must have solid evidence that those people had "disappeared" rather than "quietly left."
Given that this instance itself was quite unstable, it might be an incomplete chaotic space.
Chaotic space... Xu Huo didn't know much about it.
The city where the instance was located had a long, narrow layout. Due to its exceptionally good air quality and suitability for stargazing in summer, it was called "Star City." The city's construction direction followed the summer star river's path—this seemed to be the only thing that could be linked to "Midsummer Night Star River."
Although the city was named "Star City," it was only a matter of preference. There was no special treatment of stars in other buildings or culture. Simply put, it was seasonal, like celebrating a festival when the time came and then forgetting about it. It was very ordinary, lacking any other major significance or symbolism.
"I thought Midsummer Night Star River was some kind of glowing fungus," Chi Xian said, slightly disappointed.
Those who saw "Midsummer Night Star River" seemed to be near death. At that point, what they subjectively thought they saw might not be reality. But every survivor mentioned "large patches of starlight." Combined with the possibility that falling asleep was caused by some kind of fungus, mistaking a patch of glowing fungi for a "star river" at the moment of death was reasonable.
"That possibility can't be ruled out," Xu Huo said. "Right now, this space is shrouded in thick fog, so we can't see the stars."
The two followed the map as they walked. Even with the help of items, it took them half a day to go from one end of the city to the other. When they reached the city's edge, they couldn't go any further.
During this time, they also specifically looked for the planetarium, but even through the astronomical telescope, all they saw was white fog. The instance site was this city.
Night fell.
"It was fine during the day, but as soon as it got dark, I started feeling sleepy," Chi Xian said with a smile, but his eyes were serious. With a player's stamina, going several days without sleep was no problem. They had rested so well at the Suffocating Rainforest Station—how could they be drowsy after just one day?
That wasn't even the most critical part. The most critical part was that they were both wearing protective suits, which meant the built-in filters specifically designed to filter toxic fungi hadn't provided full protection.
Not sure if it was too late, the two entered a location item and swapped their protective suits for self-contained oxygen supply protective gear.
"I knew we'd have to spend this money sooner or later. I should have just bought it from the start," Chi Xian said, wincing at the cost. In the game, self-contained oxygen supply protective suits were high-precision instruments and extremely expensive.
"It would be a waste if it doesn't work."
"Maybe the key to clearing this instance is sleeping," Xu Huo said. "It's not just players who see 'Midsummer Night Star River.' Sleeping might let you find what you want most, and you could even come back with a full load."
(Chapter End)