Chapter 2460: Memories of the Forest
This was a very peculiar state—it felt as if Xu Huo and Bubble Bean were inside a transparent space. Though they appeared to still be in the woods, the forest they saw was different from what Yin-Yang Master and the others perceived. That was why Bubble Bean inside couldn’t see the people behind him, while Yin-Yang Master and his group could spot Bubble Bean but failed to detect Xu Huo.
Past fragments of reality intercepted by Time Power could be observed by others, but this observation was one-way and not real-time. However, now the forest’s spaces were layered together, forming a window for observation.
Yin-Yang Master and the others could see Bubble Bean releasing items ahead. His actions seemed somewhat similar to the middle-aged man from before, the only difference being that Bubble Bean didn’t use a teleportation item to escape this predicament.
There was no clear instruction, but when they were trapped in the same space, Xu Huo felt a pull from some force. He turned and walked toward that force, occasionally looking back to call out to Bubble Bean.
In Bubble Bean’s view, he was already lost. He had run around frantically without finding anyone, couldn’t even tell his direction anymore, and had no idea where the village was. At the same time, large patches of bubble beans appeared beneath his feet. With every step he took, countless bubbles burst into the air with a crackling sound, quickly filling the woods… This plant seemed to form a path leading into the distance.
“What the hell is he doing?” The eyebrow-pierced man frowned, staring at the figure ahead. Because Bubble Bean was randomly releasing items without purpose, they dared not get too close. Yin-Yang Master wanted to stop him, but every time he approached, Bubble Bean’s figure would be obscured by the mist. Calling out to him yielded no response—he didn’t even turn his head.
“Our items don’t seem to work on him,” Chi Cai noticed this problem. “Could it be that the real Hidden Friend has found him? Where is he going now?”
The two exchanged glances. If the Hidden Friend had indeed found Bubble Bean, he might now be led somewhere else. Although they could see Bubble Bean, the fact that their items were ineffective made them wary. If this continued, they wouldn’t be able to protect themselves, let alone explore the Hidden Friend’s murder and burial site.
From Bubble Bean’s state, it was clear that once locked on, a player could hardly escape the illusion—he couldn’t even detect the players behind him.
Danger ahead. They couldn’t follow any further.
Not just them—Yang Tian, brought over by the robot, also kept his distance. Only Yin-Yang Master persisted, “Don’t you want to know if the one ahead is the real Hidden Friend or a player in disguise?”
“Do you think there’s someone there?” The eyebrow-pierced man shot back.
At the very least, they hadn’t detected any other player’s presence. Whether it was no one at all or an instance enhancement, this was beyond their capabilities. Was it really that important to figure out if it was a real person?
“Cowards!” Yin-Yang Master had no time to waste arguing with them and quickly followed deeper into the mist.
In truth, distinguishing real from fake might not be that hard. At least before Bubble Bean entered the forest, Xu Huo’s traces hadn’t been concealed by the instance’s power. Without the aid of the Spiritual Realm, his position and voice would have been hard to hide. Forget calling out—appearing near the village alone would have drawn the attention of all players.
The earlier disappearance of Deng Guang was a case in point. So instead of tricking others into falling for it, appearing would just make him look like a fool.
Of course, whether he was a fool was debatable. His disguise as the Hidden Friend was clumsy, but his inexplicable departure later hinted that the instance might not be so simple.
If the instance didn’t assign acting roles, then anyone impersonating the Hidden Friend should, in theory, meet the first half of the clearance requirements. Thus, once someone was successfully lured into the woods, the two would quickly be separated by a special force. However, Bubble Bean’s state also showed that the lured player hadn’t lost their mind—they still had normal thinking. The reason Bubble Bean kept following was simply that Xu Huo had used items to restrict his spatial teleportation and influenced his judgment with mental interference.
So it seemed that the impersonator was merely hidden by the instance and couldn’t easily kill the player.
This situation was somewhat similar to Granny Yi’s granddaughter. Although she had followed, she wasn’t forcibly restrained—otherwise, she wouldn’t have crawled into a tree hole to sleep on her own. She hadn’t been taken away by the Hidden Friend.
The whole process, for ordinary people, wasn’t very coercive. It could be interrupted by outsiders, and one could turn back on their own. Even the figure calling out could be seen by a third person.
Based on the fact that the two spaces could interact, the reason the Hidden Friend had a certain chance of being seen by a third party might be that both witnesses shared a similar tendency—like hearing a familiar voice or believing it was someone they knew. This also suggested, to some extent, that the Hidden Friend could call multiple people at once, but it chose not to, or because those who discovered it exhibited interruption behaviors similar to Granny Yi or her granddaughter.
In fact, if you set aside the disappearances of those who killed randomly in the forest, based solely on Xu Huo’s experience as an impersonator, this instance was quite humane.
The forest was vast, and Xu Huo didn’t know exactly where to go, but that faint force seemed to be fading as the area expanded. Just as he was about to find a place to deal with Bubble Bean, a string of cheerful laughter suddenly came from ahead.
Two figures dashed out of the mist, passing right by him, their arms phasing through his. It was a young man and woman—the woman was Tuo Tuo, whom he had seen in a photo, and the man was a face he didn’t recognize. They chased and played, then vanished into the mist.
Soon after, Granny Yi’s figure appeared ahead. She looked much younger, bent over cutting wild vegetables on the ground, a basket at her feet.
Xu Huo walked over and tried to touch the basket, but the next second, it disappeared. Granny Yi aged, and the wild vegetables before her turned into a patch of vines. She swung her sickle wildly, cutting and slashing, then dug at the damp soil with her bare hands. Finally, she collapsed in a wailing scream, tears dripping down her cheeks into the earth…
The mist slowly shifted, conjuring many more faces—some he had seen, some he hadn’t, locals, players. Some simply passed by, others relieved themselves behind trees, and some fought to the death—everything that had happened in the past was recorded by this land.
Hmm, Xu Huo even saw Bubble Bean’s figure.
It looked no different from the real person.
Finding a hidden tree hole, he went back, knocked Bubble Bean unconscious, moved him into the hole, and even covered him with some strongly scented leaves.
Brushing the dirt off his hands, Xu Huo stood up and nodded in satisfaction. “Well hidden.”
Then his personal panel flashed with two messages.