Chapter 2053: Instance "Puppet"
"We're about to enter the instance," Xu Huo said to the Painting Woman.
The Painting Woman understood and immediately followed him into a relatively concealed corner. She transformed into a painting and slipped inside his coat. Moments later, Xu Huo's figure vanished from the spot.
A faint glimmer of light flashed before his eyes, and the surrounding scenery shifted from the street to a restaurant decorated in a very classical style. At first glance, it felt as if he had stepped into a castle from some fairy tale. Looking out through the windows on both sides of the restaurant, besides the snowy mountains, there were also some towers partially covered in snow. Although it was hard to see the original appearance of the towers clearly, the flower trees in the garden below the towers, trimmed into the shapes of various small animals and blooming amidst the heavy snow, indicated that the owner here possessed a unique childlike whimsy.
Even the twenty-four candlesticks on the dining table were soldier puppets dressed in blue clothes.
In fact, many other places in the restaurant hinted at the hobbies of the ancient castle's owner. For example, the twenty-five sets of tableware all had simple drawings or carvings of adorable animals, with cats, dogs, bears, and birds appearing frequently. The tablecloth was fully spread out, depicting a giant brown bear. The bear's body was largely obscured by the candlesticks on the table, leaving only its head exposed. Its deliberately softened eyes and expression appeared non-threatening.
The chairs around the table were similar, with armrests shaped like animals with various expressions, and the chair legs crafted into animal paws. The carpet had no pattern but was clearly made from some kind of animal fur. On the low cabinet against the wall were some metal ornaments, some of which were also in animal shapes.
However, what particularly caught the eye were the puppets displayed in the low cabinet, three on each side. They were only a bit longer than a palm, with exceptionally realistic facial features and clothing details. Their styles were not uniform, nor did they show the maker's preference like the animal paintings and ornaments in the restaurant; they seemed to be crafted based on specific people.
Everything here seemed somewhat detached from reality, but the lighting fixtures on the restaurant ceiling, the automatic cleaning trash cans in the corners, and the floating irradiation lamps on the potted plants on the display cabinet—which replaced sunlight—instantly connected this place to the outside world.
The lights in the restaurant were not turned on. When Xu Huo arrived, there were already eight players. Not everyone had been directly teleported to the restaurant; some came out from the corridors at both ends of the dining table. Within a very short time, twenty people had gathered.
"Four more are missing." The instance introduction had yet to appear. A well-dressed middle-aged man raised his voice slightly. "Folks, hiding won't solve anything. The sooner the instance starts, the sooner we can all clear it and leave."
Unfortunately, no one responded. Judging by the space in the corridors on both sides, this building was probably not small. Going out to search for them was unrealistic. Besides, having just entered the instance area, it was best not to leave the group without a special reason.
"Twenty-four candlesticks—they must be prepared for us," said a female player with a high ponytail, glancing at a single chair placed separately at the head of the table. "That one is most likely for the castle owner."
Everyone had more or less observed the situation in the restaurant. It was unclear whether the instance would start only when everyone was gathered, so for now, no one touched anything in the room, including pulling out chairs to sit down.
Since they were already in the instance, even the most irritable person had to patiently wait. So, after the middle-aged man failed to negotiate with the four missing players, the others stopped talking and silently found spots to stand.
About half an hour passed, and the sky outside gradually darkened. As several sets of orderly footsteps approached the corridor, the players all tensed up: They're here!
[Detected that the player has entered the Puppet Castle. Default participation in B-grade instance "Puppet".]
[Instance Introduction: The owner of the Puppet Castle is a puppet maker who loves making puppets but lacks patience. Due to his superb skills, his works are very popular in the industry, with orders once reaching over a thousand a day. However, making puppets is a task that requires patience and time. The puppet maker, who lacks patience yet respects art, simply rejected all orders, hid in the castle he built, and focused on making the puppets he liked. Every Sunday, he selects the three most satisfactory ones to place in the display cabinet.]
[To keep abreast of the popular trends in puppets from the outside world, the puppet maker periodically invites players from different zones to be his guests. As the master of the castle, he has absolute control. Please remember three things, visiting guests:]
[First: The puppet maker dislikes people who harbor malice towards puppets.]
[Second: The puppet maker dislikes disobedient people and will randomly punish those who disobey.]
[Third: The puppet maker can only make three puppets per day.]
[Clearance Task: Obtain a puppet that satisfies the puppet maker.]
[Clearance Time: Unlimited.]
[Note: This instance does not limit clearance time. Players are advised to pay attention to the time difference between the instance zone and their origin zone.]
After quickly scanning the instance introduction, everyone saw the people coming out of the corridor. Three men and one woman were all dressed as servants. They had no human aura, but their appearance and movements were completely indistinguishable from real people. The numbers 1 to 4 were woven onto the backs of their clothes. They each went to the four corners of the dining table. Numbers 1 and 2 were at the head of the table—one checking the time, the other inviting everyone to sit.
"It is now 5:45 PM on Sunday. Dinner will begin in fifteen minutes. Please take your seats."
"Four people haven't arrived yet," the middle-aged man reminded.
"For guests who are late, we will remove their tableware," the No. 1 maid replied politely.
The seated players couldn't help but harbor their own thoughts. At this moment, Xu Huo spoke up: "Excuse me, where is the restroom?"
"Please follow me," No. 3 gestured and walked ahead towards a passageway at the end of the table.
Xu Huo followed. He returned to the restaurant before dinner time. After he left, the players had switched seats again. No one wanted to be too close to the castle owner, so the seats near the head of the table—three on the left and two on the right—were left empty.
Xu Huo took the third seat on the left.
Soon after, the Painting Woman came out of the corridor and calmly took the second seat on the left.
Probably because the description of the castle owner in the instance introduction made the players wary, the four players who had been hiding finally showed up one after another before six o'clock. But to everyone's dismay, there were only three seats left.
"Please have the guests take their seats before the master arrives at the dining room," No. 1 reminded.
With only three seats left, there was no need for words. The four of them immediately rushed for those three chairs.
These four, who had been reluctant to show themselves, must have had their own reasons. During the scramble for the chairs, one injured player fell behind—knocked into the display cabinet by another player's prop power.