Chapter 2398: This Time We Hit the Jackpot
Of course, this painting woman remembered. Her earliest memory was inside a box. She was originally a painting, so appearing in a box was perfectly normal.
Xu Huo didn't press for more details. The fact that a painting woman could transform from a piece of paper into a person was already unusual, much like that tentacle prop. It was merely a collection of certain special materials, yet they possessed intelligence—the same as the plants in the Goddess instance that had gained consciousness. These were all non-replicable processes. Otherwise, Stellar Pharmaceuticals wouldn't be dedicated to researching intelligent xenomorphs across numerous districts. Their research direction was likely aimed at allowing xenomorphized individuals to regain thought, or enabling mutated animals to acquire higher-level cognitive abilities. Whether the original xenomorphs were human or animal, they were all living beings. But the painting woman and Little Pink Hat were different—their original forms might not be related to living beings at all.
Super props like "Three Seconds of Life" had a traceable mechanism. Even if it couldn't be established under the previous understanding of time power, after understanding curved time, it became feasible.
But how was the painting woman formed?
A painting, even if made with extremely special materials, shouldn't be able to be born and then act like a real person—able to learn, able to think... Was this also permitted by the dimensional rift?
Was it allowed by the game, or could the game not interfere? Or had someone interfered with the game's process of editing naturally born props?
"Why are you looking at me like that?" The painting woman feigned shyness and touched her hair.
Xu Huo ignored her and asked another question. "Can you become a prop that can be stored in the prop bar?"
The painting woman had followed many players. Among them, there must have been those who wanted to forcibly store her in their prop bar. Why had none succeeded? Was it because of her strength and uniqueness that led to their failure, or because she could freely transform into human form, causing the game to judge her as a living creature?
"Why would I want to be stored in the prop bar?" The painting woman found the question strange. "Being hung on a wall is already boring enough. Why would I want to crawl into a cage?"
Xu Huo was momentarily speechless. He understood that this wasn't a question he could figure out right now. Perhaps, like the genetic editing in many districts, when people tried to screen humans using known methods and technologies, human genes would strike back ten or twenty years later. Genetic mutations don't follow human imagination. Similarly, perhaps the dimensional rift game, after hundreds of years of advancement, had also produced things beyond human control.
After retrieving the prop and returning to the room, he lay down on the sofa. The painting woman played games nearby while keeping watch.
Messages on the communicator kept updating. At first, many players were eager to watch the excitement, but as more people were affected, most chose to hide in their rooms. Watching the fun required staying alive.
Key information on the communicator gradually decreased, as if the shark-masked figures searching outside had vanished. The Fish Feast Building returned to its previous calm.
The next morning, Xu Huo didn't rush to go out. Instead, he purchased several expensive removal props to check if he was being tracked. Sure enough, there were traces of other props on him. But prop effects were easy to remove; traits were not necessarily so. The props and instruments he bought couldn't reliably identify all the powers that might be locked onto him.
The painting woman also checked herself. She had prop effects from others on her as well. Props that targeted people normally couldn't affect her, but surprisingly, tracking props worked on her as usual.
After modifying his appearance again, Xu Huo left the room at noon.
This time, he didn't search floor by floor with the painting woman. Instead, he found a crowded place and joined them, planning to move together.
Besides the hunting game, some small spaces were worth exploring. Bored during the day, some players wanted to try their luck in small spaces. If lucky, the rewards would be greater than opening doors one by one to find empty rooms.
"The pocket door is easy to enter but hard to exit. If we go in and can't get out..." Xu Huo expressed his concern.
The ones who proposed the idea were a few young people he had met briefly before. They were accompanied by that thin, elderly man surnamed Ma. Apparently, they hadn't suffered much harm in the past few days. Not only were they all intact, but their spirits were also good.
"If we encounter a closed space, Uncle Ma will bring us out," said one young man with a gem earring. "There's nothing fun in the Fish Feast Building anyway. It's just opening doors after doors. Might as well go to a closed space to broaden our horizons."
"If that's the case, why don't you go by yourselves?" asked a female player also invited. "After all, the more people you bring, the harder it is to tell who has ulterior motives."
Including Xu Huo, the painting woman, and the female player, the group of young scions had invited a total of thirteen players to enter the closed space. Counting themselves, the number had reached nineteen.
"Of course, we're not inviting you for free," the earring man said. "You need to protect us after entering the closed space. Uncle Ma is only one person; he might not be able to watch over all of us. You just need to fend off some minor dangers along the way. Any items you obtain inside are yours to keep—we won't take a share. Additionally, we'll pay you a fee and guarantee that when it's time to leave the closed space, we'll definitely bring you along."
In the end, ten of the thirteen decided to go together. The main concern of those who refused was the risk of not getting out. After all, some closed spaces were as dangerous as closed instances. And the young scions spoke lightly, but in a real crisis, they would prioritize themselves.
"Come on, let's go together. More people mean more strength. It'll definitely be fine," a slightly chubby man in the group was also trying hard to persuade others. "Besides, the young masters and ladies want to have some fun. We can lend a hand and earn some extra cash on the side. What's wrong with that?"
His words attracted a few more people. Eventually, the participants increased to fifteen, plus the young scions' group of six, making twenty-one in total.
Xu Huo and the painting woman were among them.
After agreeing on the advance payment, the group came to a rest area on another floor. Moving aside a shelf in the corner revealed a faint glimmer of light—the pocket door, the entrance to the closed space they were heading to.
The elderly Ma went first, followed by the five young scions, then the other players.
Xu Huo brought up the rear. He watched the slightly chubby player enter with a delighted expression before stepping through the pocket door himself.
Behind the door, there was no easter egg. Instead, there was a castle with a vintage artistic atmosphere. The castle's decoration was extremely luxurious. Colorful precious gems and noble metals were everywhere. The floor of the hall was actually paved entirely with subclass stones. Even if they didn't have special attributes, these ores were important raw materials for crafting props. Yet in this castle, they were merely flooring materials. One could imagine how precious the other items on display must be!
"This time we hit the jackpot!"
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone! O(∩_∩)O