Chapter 2258: A Special Way of Remembering
The toilet blocked the view, followed closely by a prop short knife the opponent carried. Although it couldn't unleash any special effects, the prop itself was made from special materials, much more durable and easier to use than ordinary tools. With everyone losing their personal panels, having one or two weapons was a significant advantage.
Xu Huo dodged this continuous attack, moved behind the man, and kicked him out of the room.
That player rolled on the ground, then took advantage of his lowered stance to counterattack Xu Huo's lower body. But before his knife could even touch Xu Huo, his palm was pierced by a Materialized Object. The man recoiled in pain, but before he could catch his breath, another Materialized Object penetrated from the back of his head through to his forehead.
First death.
Next, Xu Huo turned a corner and opened the second door.
After killing three people in a row, the fourth player, probably realizing he wasn't good at close combat, feigned a few moves and then fled down the corridor.
Xu Huo didn't use the Spatial Gate. He wanted to see if there would be any punishment for a prisoner staying too far from their room during the day. But before the man could escape far, he ran into another "prison guard" who had just opened a door.
This "prison guard" had undergone a Secondary Evolution, with particularly strong physical abilities. A single punch directly broke the player's arm bones. The scream abruptly stopped as the "prison guard" twisted his neck.
Holding the corpse, the "prison guard" looked puzzled. "That's it? Died way too easily!"
As he spoke, he tossed the body aside, nodded slightly to acknowledge Xu Huo, and then headed in another direction.
"Prison guards" could cooperate or not. Xu Huo killed a few more people before running into the female player he had met earlier. Her luck wasn't great. She had deliberately chosen someone who looked small, but the opponent turned out to be a hidden Cannibal Player with strength surpassing ordinary players. After the exchange, he nearly bit through her neck.
Without any potions, injuries healed very slowly. After the female player barely managed to kill her opponent, she had to sit down and rest.
It was then that she saw Xu Huo. After an initial moment of wariness, she greeted him warmly and invited him to hunt prisoners together.
"This is the consequence of not training in combat skills regularly," the female player said, tearing off a piece of her clothes to wrap around her neck. She then said to Xu Huo, "Partnering with you would probably just hold you back."
Xu Huo didn't leave. Instead, he asked about her experiences before entering the One-Third Game.
The female player had been in the instance for ten days. "When I enter an instance, I usually observe the situation first and don't act hastily. After learning about the One-Third Game, I tried my best to avoid ways that might trigger the game."
"Did you kill any wanted criminals?" Xu Huo asked.
"Of course I did," the female player paused before continuing. "I bought a wanted list from someone on the Message Collection Terminal and killed according to that list."
"Although there's a lot of false information on the Message Collection Terminal, I've always had a bit of strange luck in these matters. I bought three lists, found someone according to one of them, and it turned out to be a real wanted criminal."
"The people you killed were all ordinary?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. According to his speculation, after the city government's lax management, Buliucheng shouldn't have added too many new wanted criminals. If the list was real, it should be from the past, and there wouldn't be too many players.
The female player nodded. "That's right. At first, I thought this person was from the city government, but it turned out to be an ordinary person, and the price wasn't high either."
She stopped there, looked at Xu Huo, and said, "After we get out, we might all lose our memories. What's the use of telling you now?"
"Maybe with good luck, we'll just forget what happened in the game," Xu Huo said, looking at her. "People always have their own unique way of remembering."
The game didn't allow them to place any markers in their luggage compartment. The recorders they carried stopped working as soon as they entered. Presumably, carving anything related to the game onto their bodies would also incur punishment. But that didn't mean they couldn't exchange information at all.
The female player thought for a moment, then took a button from her inner pocket and tossed it to Xu Huo. "It's just an ordinary button. Most people wouldn't think much of it. But my husband carved it for me. The numbers on it are the area I'm in. I was afraid I'd forget my unlocked area when leaving the game, so I marked it."
Xu Huo's method was much simpler and more direct. He pulled a handwritten business card from his pocket and handed it over.
"You're actually carrying paper with writing... Will that work?" The female player hesitated. "You wouldn't happen to be carrying a pen too, would you?"
"Even if I did, I wouldn't dare use it," Xu Huo said with a smile. "Would you dare write down any words related to the game?"
The female player shook her head honestly.
"Players can't form groups in instances because they can't trust each other. Since the game can't be cracked, we can still cooperate in other instances outside," Xu Huo said. "We can't just pin all our hopes on the game. This place... probably no one wants to come in a second time."
Exchanging tokens was equivalent to exposing one's identity. Players were wary of each other in instances and wouldn't easily do this. But for him, this wasn't a problem.
"So you're that Joint Administrator," the female player said, holding up the business card. "I knew you were different the moment I saw you. When we get out, you'll have to look out for me."
Xu Huo put the button in his pocket. "If you dare to come, there's definitely no problem."
There was no need to say more. To ensure the female player got out alive, it was best to let her win the game. Simply forgetting the game content was much better than forgetting the past entirely.
"Regarding the three choices for entering the game, how did you rank them?" he asked after thinking.
"What's the use of asking that? I won't remember anything when I get out," the female player said doubtfully.
"Just satisfying my curiosity," Xu Huo said.
"Now," the female player touched her neck. "The past can't be changed, the future can't be predicted. Only the present can be truly felt. What about you? What do you think is most important?"
"The past," Xu Huo said. "A person's past is part of their flesh and blood."
The female player was a bit surprised but didn't judge his choice. She just said, "You really think differently from most people."
Xu Huo stood up. "Let's go."
Working together was much more convenient than going solo. When a "prisoner" opened the door and saw two "prison guards," their first thought was usually to escape. By mid-morning, Xu Huo had completed his goal, and the female player had also killed five people.
"I wonder if these people's props will belong to us," the female player said excitedly. "If they do, we'll be rich!"
"We're currently disconnected from the Dimensional Rift. The game can't determine who killed the player, so how would we inherit the spoils?" Xu Huo grabbed a handful of props from the small bag he was carrying and handed them to her. "The ones we carry on us should be usable when we get out." (End of Chapter)