# Chapter 212: Bound to Get a Beating Sooner or Later
"It has nothing to do with color blindness." Xu Huo looked at him and said, "Those two doors aren't traps."
When he had chosen a separate door from Dai Wenqian, he had already guessed that the man was overthinking things. He assumed the building was full of traps everywhere, so the red and green doors naturally could also be traps, but in reality, this was completely unreasonable.
Professor Hao had named the cabin "Holiday Cottage"—it was where he relaxed and observed the man-eating flowers, a place more free and relaxed than an ordinary workspace. There was absolutely no need to tamper with the doors leading back to the building. The two doors simply led to different places.
So whether Professor Hao was color blind or not was irrelevant.
"The green door leads to the bedroom on the second floor, and the red door goes to the hall?" Dai Wenqian guessed immediately.
Xu Huo nodded.
Dai Wenqian didn't say anything more. He had been too clever for his own good, unluckily choosing the green door. In the bedroom, he encountered a mutant animal, and while fighting it off, the man-eating flowers caught up. Wei Bin was severely injured, and he himself lost a prop in the process.
Gu Yu had already bandaged Wei Bin's wounds. She then briefed the two of them on the current situation.
"So it was because of them." Dai Wenqian adjusted his glasses, stood up with a displeased tone, and went to knock on the elevator doors. When he reached the fifth elevator, a knock of the same frequency came from inside.
Dai Wenqian opened the elevator door. Tie Ge, who had already climbed up, forced a smile when he saw him. "It's so good that you're okay..."
Before he could finish, Dai Wenqian grabbed him, threw a punch that knocked him to the ground, then pressed his head down and slammed it hard against the floor. "A person can be unintelligent, and they can choose not to be a good person, but they must understand human speech."
"I told you long ago not to set your sights on the outer walls. Even if your head is full of water, you should know whether that statement is right or wrong."
Tie Ge's face was covered in blood from having his head slammed repeatedly. After several blows, he reacted, swinging his blade back at Dai Wenqian to force him back, then shouted, "Dai Wenqian, do you think I'm giving you face?!"
Dai Wenqian let out a cold laugh, tossing a glass bottle in his hand. As Tie Ge dodged, he intercepted him, driving a knee into his chest and abdomen, disarming him and pressing the blade against his neck. "No brains, and not my match. What use is trash like you alive?"
Tie Ge was furious and humiliated. "Dai Wenqian, don't forget, we're from the same player organization. Brother Qiao said no infighting!"
He then looked toward the elevator. "Gu Yu, say something!"
Gu Yu and Zheng Liang didn't react. Zhang Biao, who had come up later, quickly said, "Dai Wenqian, even if you kill Tie Ge, it won't do any good..."
"Crack!" Dai Wenqian snapped Tie Ge's neck.
No one expected him to kill without warning. Gu Yu and the others immediately hardened their expressions.
Dai Wenqian tossed the body aside, dusted off his hands, and said coldly, "Anyone who wants to avenge him is welcome to try."
The others remained silent. After a few seconds, Gu Yu and Zheng Liang went to check the other elevators, while Zhang Biao and the bald player silently retreated to a corner.
They found some people in the other elevators one by one. Counting Xiao Ba and Kang Hong, fewer than fifty people had survived.
After finding Xiao Ba, Gu Yu finally asked Jiang Yihua what had happened after they disappeared from the elevator.
Jiang Yihua briefly explained the situation. After listening, Gu Yu said, "So these man-eating flowers grew from that giant one?"
"It's very likely that the entire outside of the building is covered in the roots and vines of the man-eating flowers." Jiang Yihua nodded. "Fortunately, the windows on the thirteenth floor were all sealed, or we wouldn't have had anywhere to hide."
Indeed, the giant man-eating flower hadn't just attacked one floor—it had directly wrapped itself around the entire building.
"But the thirteenth floor isn't safe either." Gu Yu frowned. "The mutant plants in the glass room are poisonous."
"It's temporarily safe." Xu Huo had already retrieved his phone and quickly watched the recorded video. "Aside from the broken period between ten at night and four in the morning, the thirteenth floor should be safe at other times."
Gu Yu instinctively looked up. "What did the phone record?"
"The source of the poison powder." Xu Huo handed her the phone. It was mostly as he had guessed—the ventilation ducts were likely blocked by the man-eating flower's roots. Now that Little Flower Red Red Building was occupied by the man-eating flowers and the mutant animals on other floors had been swept through, the building was safer than before.
But that didn't rule out the possibility of remaining mutant animals. After all, so many people had escaped into the elevator shaft, so other enclosed spaces weren't surprising.
So staying on the thirteenth floor was the best option.
Dai Wenqian had watched the video of Tie Ge and the others being driven out of the thirteenth floor by the poison powder sprayed from the ventilation ducts. He asked, "What are you planning to do about the ventilation ducts?"
"The best solution is to shut them down." Xu Huo said. "The gaps in the windows are enough for ventilation, and for now, we don't have to worry about mutant animals coming up from other floors."
"After ten o'clock, we'll go down to the sixth floor first, then return to the thirteenth floor later."
He glanced at Zhang Biao and the other player. The four-man faction had lost the square-faced man, and Tie Ge was dead, leaving only the two of them.
"As for whether the sixth floor is safe, we can send someone down to check first."
Zhang Biao and the bald player glared angrily, but faced with the cold stares of the other players and non-players, they could only lower their heads in submission.
"If there are no other surprises, we should be able to hold out until the instance ends." Xu Huo added.
Everyone present couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Gu Yu walked over to him and quietly said, "Thank you."
Xu Huo glanced at her. "Whether I'm here or not, you all still have to clear the instance. No need to thank me."
Gu Yu shook her head. "If you wanted to clear it alone, it wouldn't be that hard, would it?"
If the floors had electronic sensors, with the props he had, clearing the instance alone wouldn't require taking such big risks.
In comparison, the players on their side were too disappointing.
Gu Yu couldn't help but feel her convictions waver. When they first established the player organization, every player wanted to huddle together for warmth and survival while also doing something for their fellow people. Compared to ordinary people, players had a better ability to protect themselves.
But a single random instance made her realize that reality couldn't be changed by faith alone.
"You're right. For players like us, being able to protect ourselves is already good enough." She said self-deprecatingly. "How could we have the ability to protect others? When the outer zone players invaded, we only survived by hiding where no one could find us."
Xu Huo handed her a cigarette and lit one for himself.
"How many people do you think one person can protect in a dangerous situation?" he asked.
Gu Yu took a drag on the cigarette, thought for a moment, and said, "At most, one."
"And ten people?"
Gu Yu paused, curled her lips, and let out a long breath. Suddenly changing the subject, she said, "Do you smoke cigars? I have a box of premium cigars a friend gave me. I'll give them to you later."
Xu Huo waved his hand to indicate he didn't need them.
Gu Yu was a bit surprised. Zheng Liang, standing nearby, said, "He doesn't even like smoking. If you want to win him over, you'd be better off gambling with him."
Xu Huo narrowed his eyes and looked at him. "Zheng Liang, you're bound to get a beating sooner or later."