Chapter 221: More Than Just People Are Alive in the Instance
In Ting City, just like in Jing City, the number of people going out had drastically decreased. However, under the government's call, some shops still opened their doors, after all, it was broad daylight, and patrol cars could be seen on the streets.
When they reached outside the residential area, Xu Huo took the flowerpot from the Painting Woman's arms and handed her a card. "Buy whatever you want, but don't spend more than five thousand. Consider it overtime pay."
The Painting Woman wiped her tears away, turned around, and headed into the mall.
Carrying the flowers back to his rented apartment, Xu Huo had just taken out his keys when the door opposite opened. Yuan Yao rushed out, arms outstretched to hug him. "Brother Xu, you're finally back!"
Xu Huo raised his foot to block him, scanning his dark circles and sunken face. "Are you okay?"
"I'm so miserable!" Yuan Yao burst into tears on the spot. "I haven't eaten in days, and no one delivers food anymore. If you hadn't come back, I would have starved to death!"
Xu Huo opened the door and let him in. As soon as he entered, Yuan Yao lunged for the refrigerator, pulling out snacks and dried fruits. These were things Xu Huo had bought for the Painting Woman.
Xu Huo poured him a glass of water and sat down, watching him eat. Yuan Yao stuffed food into his mouth while speaking indistinctly, "I took my parents to the countryside to avoid the trouble. During those days when the outer zone players invaded, I didn't even dare to sleep. Finally, after they left, it was time for me to enter the instance."
"I went in without any preparation. The boss of that instance was a freak who loved eating the flesh of young men. I sold twenty-five pounds of my own meat just to survive until the end of the game..."
"Look how skinny I am now because of that. After I got out, I wanted to find something to eat, but before I could take two steps, I ran into a thief. My phone and wallet were all stolen. Then I got targeted by someone. In my condition, I didn't dare linger outside, so I had to come back first."
"Luckily, I had a spare key, or I wouldn't even have been able to get in!"
So the people lurking near the residential area were after Yuan Yao.
Xu Huo poured him another glass of water. "Didn't you contact any acquaintances to bring you food?"
After drinking, Yuan Yao let out a long sigh before continuing, "What acquaintances are there now? On the streets, I feel like everyone I see wants to eat people. Forget asking someone to come alone to a strange neighborhood—I wouldn't even dare meet them in a public place." He paused, then added, "Besides, I'm already being targeted. Calling someone over might get them into trouble too."
"Didn't you call the tip-off hotline?" Xu Huo said. "You have a computer in your room. It wouldn't be hard to contact the Ting City Research Institute."
Yuan Yao scratched his hair. "Well... I didn't dare."
"About that earlier incident, some people said that players with ill intentions had infiltrated the research institute. The list of players from the institute was leaked. I heard several players have already died, and no one knows if it was someone from the institute who did it."
"Brother Xu, do you think there are still outer zone players left in Zone 014?" Yuan Yao asked cautiously. "Are those players targeting me outer zone players?"
"No," Xu Huo said. "If they were outer zone players, they wouldn't have been watching you for days." Besides, the outer zone players had vanished in a very short time. Either they had left Zone 014 or they had gone into hiding. They wouldn't expose themselves for a low-level player.
"At most, outer zone players will only stay in Zone 014 for less than two months," he added. "Unless they want to keep doing low-level instances."
Yuan Yao breathed a sigh of relief. Xu Huo picked up the phone and dialed the number he had seen on the patrol car earlier. "...Yes, I've spotted three cannibal evolvers. Their location is at..." After hanging up, he looked at Yuan Yao again. "Tell me the details of the instance."
"Alright." Yuan Yao wiped his mouth with his sleeve and sat down to explain.
This time, he had entered an instance filled with ghosts and gods. The small village in the instance worshipped a god he had never heard of or seen before. This god held a scale and demanded meat every day. If it was livestock meat, it needed a hundred pounds, but human meat only required five pounds. The players were tricked into going there by the villagers. At night, the god would come to life and demand meat, though it claimed to be "buying meat." If the villagers traded livestock, the god would give them a little gold. If they traded humans, selling the meat would buy them a night of peace.
Xu Huo looked at him. "The game lasted ten days. Why did you sell twenty-five pounds of meat?"
Yuan Yao looked ashamed. "It's not my fault. On the first day, I was tricked into going. Later, the other players forced me into a corner, and I had no choice but to trade with the god."
"Were there any other players who came out of the temple safe and sound without any changes?" Xu Huo asked.
Yuan Yao thought back. "There was one female player. When I saw her come out, she still had her chest and butt, not skinny at all."
"Did any players die inside?"
"No."
"While you were in the temple, did anyone die outside?"
"Yes," Yuan Yao answered honestly. "They died pretty horribly. All their flesh was eaten, and their skulls were thrown in the pigsty."
"Whether inside or outside the temple, it was dangerous. The game gave two tasks: one was to survive for ten days, and the other was to explore the village."
"How would I dare? Just surviving was good enough."
"Some others didn't believe it, but they all died. Even that female player who came out of the temple completely intact died."
"The game lasted ten days. Completing one task would clear it," Xu Huo said. "The thing you traded with probably wasn't the instance boss. The real cannibals were the players or the villagers. The main body of this instance is the village."
"Even so, I didn't dare not trade with that thing in the temple," Yuan Yao said. "Who knows if it would go crazy and kill people if it didn't get meat?"
"Did you clearly see that it wasn't human?" Xu Huo asked.
"It really wasn't human," Yuan Yao said solemnly. "It was just a statue that came to life."
"Its scale was like a straw. It could just poke someone and suck the meat right out, efficient and leaving no scars..."
Xu Huo stared at him steadily. Yuan Yao shut his mouth.
Just from hearing about the instance process, Xu Huo couldn't confirm his own inference. If the meat-buyer was merely a statue, it was very likely a prop like the Painting Woman, or at least a special prop. However, players could become instance bosses, and props could have special uses too. This also served as a reminder to him: more than just people are alive in the instance, and more than just players and xenomorphs kill.
The Painting Woman soon returned, bringing food with her.
"Sister Li Chun, you're the best! You knew I hadn't eaten and bought me food!" Yuan Yao lunged to hug her but got kicked in the chest again.
The shut-in flew back onto the sofa, rubbing his chest and laughing. "It doesn't hurt! Not at all!"
The Painting Woman pouted, divided some of the food for him, then served Xu Huo his rice and set out the chopsticks. She sat down, waiting for him to take his seat, looking every bit the devoted wife.
Under Yuan Yao's envious gaze, Xu Huo sat down at the table, picked up his chopsticks unhurriedly, and said, "Anything you overspend will be deducted from your allowance."