Chapter 2424: Hidden Friend
"Do you want to see something else?" the player who had received the money asked again, eagerly.
"Are there any that can talk, like a person?" Xu Huo asked.
"What a thing to say. Plants don't have vocal cords, how could they talk?" the other man said with a smile. "But since the customer has a request, I'll certainly do my best to satisfy it."
With that, he took out a bag of white seeds. "This kind of grass is called Echo Grass. It grows in dense, tight patches. Although it can't talk, if the wind blows or someone speaks to them, causing them to feel the vibrations, they'll rub against each other. The sound of that friction forms very strange tones. At certain times, it really does sound a bit like a human voice. But you need a large area for it; a small patch won't have any effect. Do you still want it?"
"This is cheap, one thousand White Notes for a big bag."
"Buy, buy, buy," the Painting Woman's communicator was thrust in front of Xu Huo. "I want to hear if they really can talk."
Besides the Echo Grass, Xu Huo picked out a few other types of seeds and bought them all.
"It's rare to meet a customer who likes plants so much," the man said, taking out a small plant fruit. "This Stamp Fruit is a freebie. It can stamp marks on animals, and on people too. Before you use it, carve a pattern on it. When you press it down, the patterned areas will secrete a corrosive liquid, imprinting the same pattern. The effect is excellent; the wound won't heal for a whole day or half a day!"
This was interesting. Xu Huo accepted it.
Two days later, the train arrived safely at C31-020.
The moment they got off, the instance activated automatically:
[Player Passerby A has successfully arrived at the Beautiful Tomorrow Station, triggering B-rank instance "Hidden Friend."]
[Instance Background: For hundreds of years, a legend has circulated in this land shrouded in thick fog. When a lonely person gazes into the distance, a human figure often appears deep in the mountains and within the mist. When the person waves, the figure waves back. When the person calls out, the figure calls out too. When a person responds to its call, this figure will emerge from the mountains and take away its friend.]
[As time passed, people gradually discovered that those who were taken away never appeared again. Thus, the figure hidden in the mountains became known as the "Hidden Friend."]
[There are three things to remember when living here:]
[1. Do not casually respond to others, because you never know if the one calling you is the "Hidden Friend."]
[2. Being alone makes it easier for the "Hidden Friend" to consider you a friend.]
[3. The "Hidden Friend" only needs one friend per day.]
[Instance Task: Play the role of the "Hidden Friend," and as the "Hidden Friend," find your own friend hidden within the mountains.]
[Please note: Failing to find a friend, or considering someone who is not an instance player as a friend, will result in losing the opportunity to play the "Hidden Friend."]
[Instance Time Limit: Thirty days.]
[Clearance Players: 1.]
[Current Instance Players: 39.]
After reading the instance-related content, Xu Huo frowned. Just from the instance task, it seemed that clearing it wouldn't be too difficult. One only needed to play the "Hidden Friend" and successfully find another instance player.
But this instance gave a specific number of clearance players: 1? Didn't that mean only one player could clear it?
If only one person could clear it, that meant the other 38 had to fail.
The instance task only mentioned playing the role and what had to be done afterward, but it didn't give specific criteria for measurement. If completing the task content didn't automatically put one into the clearance candidate pool, then it meant only one person could complete the task.
If it was the latter, it corresponded exactly with the instance time limit. If the identity of the "Hidden Friend" was rotated, then as long as the number of players was reduced enough, only one player would be left to play the role in the end.
However, the instance didn't mention how to obtain the identity of the "Hidden Friend." Was it granted by the instance, or did one have to disguise themselves? Was there only one per day, or multiple?
Probably, one would have to wait until the first "Hidden Friend" appeared to find out.
After reading the instance introduction, Xu Huo waited a while longer. When he didn't receive any more prompts or notice any changes in his body, he closed his personal panel.
He had already observed the surrounding environment when he got off the train. Vast stretches of primeval forest-like vegetation undulated endlessly without a horizon. The thick fog was like milky white water, soaking every corner of the woods. The visibility range was very small; with the naked eye, he could see at most twenty meters. It also restricted his senses to a certain extent, shrinking the range of his Spiritual Realm and spatial perception, but it wasn't a major problem.
However, the field of vision was almost entirely deep green, and with the giant trees and thick fog blocking out the sun, it felt cramped and oppressive, making one feel suffocated and uncomfortable. Especially when looking into the distance, the visual illusion of the passage space gradually narrowing seemed to squeeze one's body from afar.
Fortunately, there were no large animals nearby.
The area didn't seem to be inhabited. Xu Huo would have to move forward to search. From the instance description, the possibility of a large city here was very small, but he still needed to find a place where people lived in groups.
Because his spatial power was restricted, he and the Painting Woman could only use short-distance teleportation items to move through the woods. But after traveling far in one direction without finding any trace of people, they had to stop temporarily to re-plan their route.
While he was organizing his markers, the Painting Woman suddenly sat down beside him and silently pointed not far away.
"Someone's there." The two characters on the communicator screen reminded Xu Huo. He immediately looked in the direction she was pointing, only to find it was a clump of vines. Due to the distance and the thick fog, it looked like a human shadow from afar.
Nevertheless, to be cautious, he prepared his defenses and approached to check.
There was indeed no one. In his Spiritual Realm, in the space, there were no traces of people. There were no footprints near the vines, and no special smell lingered in the air.
"Did you really think someone was standing here just now?" he asked the Painting Woman again.
The Painting Woman nodded, thought for a moment, and then added on the communicator, "It looked quite human."
After a brief consideration, Xu Huo decided to continue forward. The instance asking players to pretend to be the "Hidden Friend" didn't mean there wasn't a real "Hidden Friend" here. If it was an unknown power existing within the instance, it was very likely something naturally born. Whatever it was, it was best not to encounter it head-on.
Another half hour passed. No living person was seen, but the Painting Woman spotted another shadow. This time, even Xu Huo's eyes played tricks on him. When he looked over, it seemed as if the figure was waving at him!
But it was only for an instant. When he looked more carefully, he could easily discern that it was just a protruding tree trunk with leaves on it.
Xu Huo took out an instrument, intending to check if there was any special power in this area.