Chapter 2364: Same Sign Across a Hundred Floors
Having spent so much money on Dr. Deng, there had to be some visible results—at least this bottle of insecticide was quite useful.
The Black-Toothed Player, seeing this, seemed to want to release more poisonous insects, but as soon as he moved, the two players beside him joined forces to interrupt him. One of them used an item to knock out all his teeth, dissatisfied, saying, "Do you want to ruin everyone's fun because of you?"
Having incurred public wrath, the Black-Toothed Player didn't dare stay on this floor any longer and turned to flee downstairs.
Xu Huo put away the insecticide and nodded slightly to the player who had spoken. Seeing that the other didn't respond, he didn't mind and called for the Painting Woman to leave.
It was almost time for the carnival, and the corridor was filled with players who had just come out. Encountering strangers, especially someone as eye-catching as the Painting Woman, they couldn't avoid being offended by the gazes.
However, these people still had some sense. Whether looking at the Painting Woman or Xu Huo, neither showed panic at being targeted by players. Instead, they strolled through the corridor as if taking a leisurely walk, and after assessing their own strength, quite a few backed off.
"You're dressed too beautifully." As they passed a room, a female player standing at the door took the initiative to speak to the Painting Woman. "There aren't just players in the Fish Feast, but other people too."
As she spoke, she pointed meaningfully at the ceiling.
The Painting Woman looked up and asked her, "What's up there?"
The other didn't answer her but closed the door and walked off in another direction.
At that moment, another player kindly explained, "The venue of the Fish Feast is special. From time to time, monitoring instruments appear, watching us without our knowledge."
"Outstanding people sometimes disappear inexplicably."
This player clearly didn't intend to have a deep conversation with them either. After speaking, he hurried away, as if avoiding something.
"What's up there?" The Painting Woman caught up with Xu Huo. "I didn't see any monitoring instruments."
"Could be items too," Xu Huo said. "Besides strong players, there are also people with backgrounds entering the Fish Feast. Add in the hosts of the Fish Feast, it's not strange to find a handful of power holders here."
Otherwise, how would that woman named Zhao Cai Jin Bao have scouted beautiful people from outside to send into the Fish Feast, not only without needing an invitation but even having someone specially pick them up?
"But that has nothing to do with us," Xu Huo said. "Just don't go upstairs."
They encountered quite a few players along the way. He scouted two more well-informed people and exchanged contact information with them. The information he needed wasn't anything special—mainly to avoid dangerous places. For Fish Feast players, this was a necessity. Many players gathered information to avoid being caught in the battles of the strong and becoming cannon fodder.
People like the Round-Faced Player survived here mainly by their ability to gather information. Of course, some indeed had connections, even able to determine which floor and which room were dangerous at what time, telling others never to open them.
As for what "dangerous" usually referred to, it wasn't external players but the inherent dangers within the Fish Feast Building itself.
Xu Huo chatted a bit more with a player who traded information. From him, he learned that the rooms in the Fish Feast Building actually contained beings similar to Instance Bosses—not real people, but naturally born within the building. The reason the Fish Feast Building had so many changes and far exceeded the strength of other Location Items was ultimately because it was remodeled from an Instance. The Instance Boss hadn't disappeared or died but was raised inside the building.
"Keeping an Instance Boss here, isn't that too dangerous?" Xu Huo said. "Aren't the people running the Fish Feast afraid of opening the wrong door?"
The other wore a black mask on his face, but his eyes clearly expressed contempt for the Fish Feast. "What kind of good person would host such a banquet?"
"Look at those waitstaff—chips implanted in their brains, completely unable to leak any information about the Fish Feast. Caught and they die, without a shred of regret."
"From this alone, you can tell they don't treat players or ordinary people as human beings. We're all consumables."
The Black Mask paused here, then looked at Xu Huo again. "I'm only telling you more because you pay generously. Don't think you can interrogate the waitstaff just because the Fish Feast doesn't care about their lives. If too many waitstaff die because of you, the Fish Feast will definitely find a way to deal with you."
"This isn't stated openly, but anyone who's been in the building long enough knows."
"Disappear without a trace?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.
"Naturally," the Black Mask laughed heartily. "Maybe they'll even set up a lottery spectacle and have the whole building come to kill you!"
Xu Huo's mind stirred. "Has that happened before?"
"Yes, once a month ago. I experienced it myself—quite thrilling." The Black Mask was eager to talk. "At first, I heard some high-level players were fighting, killing two floors of people in a row. Then things quieted down. But by evening, there was a special lottery. From the first to the hundredth floor, ten lottery barrels, all drawing the same pattern. The Whales also announced a bonus: kill a lottery mask holder in exchange for a high-level item. The stronger the killed, the better the item." The Black Mask recalled with excitement in his eyes.
"That was quite an alternative carnival," Xu Huo commented.
"Exactly," the Black Mask said. "Too bad I wasn't strong enough. I spent that whole night just hiding."
"What happened afterward?" Xu Huo pressed.
"What else could happen? After the carnival, everyone went back to their own business," the Black Mask said dismissively. "Isn't the Fish Feast Building still the same as before?"
Xu Huo fell silent.
He couldn't yet determine if the carnival the Black Mask mentioned was the same incident as the "Food Guest" video. But if someone had caused such a big mess, even if the Food Guest returned, he would definitely change his appearance and even alter his commonly used items, making it much harder to confirm his identity.
However, if the Food Guest had truly returned to the Fish Feast Building, he certainly wouldn't just be there for tea. So going to places with more commotion to try his luck was currently the only option.
Later, he and the Painting Woman went up two more floors and obtained some different information from another player.
"That time? That time was because the Cannibal Players in the building went too far," a short female player said while counting White Notes. "Although free hunting is allowed here, it can't turn into a playground for Cannibal Players, can it? Too many of them show up, and they have to be dealt with."
"What happened to those Cannibal Players afterward?"
The female player glanced up at him. "What else? Most of them died... Why are you asking about this? You're not a Cannibal Player, are you?"
"Who are you calling a Cannibal Player!" The Painting Woman raised her communicator.
The female player chuckled. "Don't be so nervous. I don't discriminate against Cannibal Players. But if you really want to know about that day, you can go ask the waitstaff."