Chapter 172: Players with Ulterior Motives
Sun Jirou screamed and covered her eyes as she stumbled backward. "I can't see! I can't see!"
"Behave yourself. You're about to tear this house apart." Xu Huo tossed aside the spray can and looked outside. The twisted trees and shifting ground gradually calmed down again.
At this moment, Tao Chengxin and Tang Yuan sensed the change outside and came forward to ask, "What just happened?"
"We might be under the protection of Granny White's item." Xu Huo pulled another rope from his backpack. "Tie them up."
Tao Chengxin flicked out her fishing line to bind Sun Jirou first, then grabbed the rope to secure her hands and feet, adding, "Going out there like this would just make us cannon fodder. It's rare for an instance boss to be willing to protect us, so don't stir up trouble and drag everyone down."
Hearing this, Sun Jirou stopped using her items and turned toward Xu Huo to demand, "You blinded my eyes!"
Xu Huo ignored her. Tang Yuan picked up the spray can and checked the instructions. "Don't worry. This spray only lasts half an hour. You'll be able to see again soon."
Sun Jirou's face still burned with anger, but she swallowed her resentment for now.
Seeing that things had calmed down outside, Xu Huo found a spot to sit again.
"Are we within the protection range of Granny White's item?" Tang Yuan asked. "Do you think that item could be 'Angel's Fangs'?"
"The one that bit you earlier seemed more like it," Tao Chengxin said.
Tang Yuan's expression stiffened, then he changed the subject. "Is this still Fairy Tale City? I wonder if it's an item or a trait that can instantly move people and houses to different places. That's incredible."
Xu Huo glanced at him but said nothing.
Tang Yuan didn't seem embarrassed and continued on his own, "I wonder if Granny White will get hurt fighting the people from Government Hall, or if she can hold onto her items..."
The other three in the room stayed silent, but Tao Chengxin's eyes flickered. She stood up and said, "I'll step out for a bit."
With that, she walked out of the small hut and didn't return for a long time.
"Hey, is she going to be okay?" Sun Jirou frowned. "You should go check. What if there's danger near the hut..."
Before she finished, Tao Chengxin pushed the door open and came back in, awkwardly scraping mud off her shoes. "I wandered a bit far."
Xu Huo lit a cigarette and looked up at the ceiling.
Not long after, Tang Yuan also went out.
He took a similar amount of time to return.
Sun Jirou had no such intention, but she found it strange. However, since she couldn't see and was at a disadvantage, she didn't say much.
Silence lingered for two minutes before Tao Chengxin suddenly spoke. "Don't you want Granny White's items?"
The breaths of the other two in the room hitched.
"This is Granny White's territory. There might be other items here," Tao Chengxin continued. "Didn't she admit she lost her fangs?"
"Those fangs must be the ones from that giant mouth earlier."
"You're saying a high-level player got senile and lost an item in her own home, unable to find it?" Sun Jirou said sarcastically. "You've got quite the imagination."
"It's not impossible. Maybe she has so many items she just tossed one aside casually?" Tao Chengxin seemed serious. "Anyway, we've got nothing to do. Why not look around?"
Tang Yuan looked at Xu Huo. "These are high-level player items. Aren't you tempted?"
Xu Huo withdrew his gaze, his eyes lingering on their faces. "I'm not interested. If you want to search, go ahead on your own."
Tao Chengxin and Tang Yuan exchanged a glance, then silently stood up and began rummaging enthusiastically inside and outside the hut.
This room was small enough to take in at a glance—a simple wooden cabin with just a table, chairs, and basic kitchenware, not even a bed. The floor and ceiling had been torn up by Sun Jirou, leaving them too damaged to hide anything.
The only other area was the woods outside.
Xu Huo didn't think they'd find any items there.
But since they were searching, they must have some direction.
"Greedy fools," Sun Jirou suddenly muttered coldly.
Xu Huo was sitting across from her. He glanced at her reddened eyes, grabbed a bottle of Self-Healing Agent, and fed it to her.
"I don't need your fake kindness!" Sun Jirou could recognize the smell of the Self-Healing Agent.
Xu Huo didn't stand on ceremony. He grabbed the back of her head and poured the potion down her throat, saying, "Spit it out and I'll catch it with a bottle, or you can just drink it."
Tears streamed from Sun Jirou's eyes as she humiliatingly finished the potion.
After two minutes, Xu Huo asked her, "Can you see now?"
Sun Jirou clamped her mouth shut, but when he reached out to pry open her eyelids, she quickly leaned back and said, "Yes! Yes!"
"Game-produced potions are still better than the ones traded in the instance world," Xu Huo commented, then untied her ropes.
Sun Jirou glared at him angrily, but saw him raise his index finger to signal silence.
He gestured for her to follow, then quietly stepped out of the wooden hut.
Sun Jirou followed suspiciously. They circled behind the house and walked a short distance into the woods, where they suddenly saw two figures standing with their backs to them in front of an inconspicuous little flower. Tao Chengxin was saying, "This place is full of trees, but there's only one flower here. Something's definitely off!"
Tang Yuan nodded in agreement. "There must be something to it."
"Maybe we should tell them. That Xu guy is smart—let him try it," Tao Chengxin suggested.
"We don't even know what this is yet. It could just be an ordinary flower... or a trap," Tang Yuan said. "Think about it. Granny White dared to let people in, so there's bound to be danger here."
Tao Chengxin cautiously stepped back. "Better not be poisonous. Poisonous stuff is the worst."
"Wait a second." Tang Yuan pulled out a pair of gloves and put them on. "These gloves are poison-proof."
Tao Chengxin naturally didn't want him to test it alone, so they each wore one glove and reached out to pull the flower.
But before they could touch it, each received a kick to the shoulder. Tao Chengxin, caught off guard, was knocked to the ground, while Tang Yuan used a defense item and wasn't hurt, only retreating tactically. When he saw who it was, his expression relaxed. "It's you guys."
The attacker was Xu Huo. Sun Jirou, walking up behind him, looked coldly at the two. "Found something good and wanted to keep it for yourselves?"
Their expressions turned subtle. Xu Huo stepped forward, his gaze shifting from Tao Chengxin to Tang Yuan. "I'm curious how you survived the Delicious Meat Sausage Shop."
Tang Yuan took a small step back. "I don't know what you mean."
"Are you suspecting he's from Government Hall?" Sun Jirou caught on immediately and looked over in surprise. "But it's not just him—three others survived too. Are they all working together?"
"Just because you ran into danger doesn't mean every player from Government Hall is a Cannibal Player," Tang Yuan said with a dark expression.