Chapter 2465: Cat Whisker Fruit Journey
Perhaps because the track this train passed through was unstable, the players on board were surprisingly well-behaved. By the time Xu Huo got off, not a single car had any player causing trouble.
Zone C20-001 was a relatively technologically advanced district. Although it didn't have a space teleportation traffic network everywhere, some key points in the city were equipped with space teleportation devices. To avoid interference, the spans between devices were quite large, and jamming and shielding instruments were installed nearby, mainly to prevent some players from accidentally using space items or instruments to disrupt city traffic.
The city where Xu Huo got off was a famous tourist city, so flying was not prohibited here. Stepping out of the station, one could see various shapes of aircraft in the sky. Among them, some aircraft specifically for advertising occasionally swept by, causing large swaths of digital flowers or fireworks to fall from the air. These interacted with the ground-based instruments and equipment, instantly transforming the entire city into a massive digital lake or fireworks square. Colorful patches of light floated throughout the city, dazzling the eyes.
Although the flowers scattered in the air were fake, the floral fragrance permeating the city was not. This wasn't because the city was planted with many flowers; the scents were released from hollow ground lamps scattered around.
"Those are medicinal aroma lamps," the female player who had given them her business card on the train explained as she walked up behind them. "Zone 001 has many pharmaceutical companies. Many plant-extracted drugs release fragrances during processing, and since they're harmless to humans, they're used to perfume the city."
"Well? Not a bad smell, is it?"
The female player took a deep breath and smiled brightly. "In other zones, I can't smell this, and I really miss it."
Xu Huo covered his nose. "I have rhinitis."
The female player paused for a moment, then let out a chuckle. "You're really funny."
"My family's factory isn't far from here. Come visit sometime." With that, she hailed an aircraft, got in, and left.
"Let's find a place to stay first," Xu Huo said to the Painting Woman.
The two got into an aircraft and headed straight for the Yongxing Hotel in the city.
After a brief rest at the hotel, Xu Huo began to examine the instance introduction.
[Player Passerby A has entered the range of the instance "Cat Whisker Fruit Journey" and is automatically registered for this B-level instance.]
[Background Introduction: On Cat Whisker Mountain, far from the big cities, Cat Whisker Fruits grow in abundance. They are named for their cat-head-like appearance and the hard whisker-like bristles covering their shells. Although this fruit is inedible, many cat lovers are willing to buy a few as decorations.]
[Therefore, Cat Fruit Town at the foot of Cat Whisker Mountain has a stable source of income. Every winter, when the Cat Whisker Fruits ripen, the town's residents pick them, wash them, paint them, or carve them before shipping them to customers who have placed orders.]
[Cat Eye City, famous for its love of cats, is often the final destination for these goods. To support the town's industry, the government has specially opened a dedicated line between the two places. Whether it's town residents delivering goods or cat lovers wanting to pick their own, they can travel through this line. Because of the unique names of the two places, this line is jokingly called the "Whisker to Eye Tourist Line," and this line has gradually become the necessary journey for every Cat Whisker Fruit.]
[Clearance Task: Complete one "Cat Whisker Fruit Journey."]
[Clearance Time: Unlimited.]
Looking at all the information related to the instance, Xu Huo frowned slightly. This instance, like "Hidden Friend," basically concealed the real information of the instance. The only thing that could be confirmed was that the clearance task was related to the Cat Whisker Fruit, but the specific method was hard to say. It couldn't be that simply carrying a bag of Cat Whisker Fruits on the dedicated line would clear the instance.
Therefore, in "Cat Whisker Fruit Journey," the Cat Whisker Fruit was probably just a side element. The truly useful information was hidden in Cat Fruit Town.
Although "Hidden Friend" had a large scope, the number of people involved was small. The scope of this instance was much larger.
Xu Huo found a map on the Message Collection Terminal. On a map that could almost provide real-time views of the tourist line's surroundings, it was easy to see the basic layout of Cat Fruit Town and other cities along the route.
From Cat Fruit Town to Cat Eye City, there were at least twelve large cities and over thirty small towns. Only a few small towns wouldn't stop; the dedicated line would stop at all other cities and towns, with stops ranging from one hour to a full day. Moreover, the cities and towns along the route were also engaged in the tourism industry. In other words, this line wasn't just for selling Cat Fruit Town's specialty products, but also to promote tourism along the way. The fare was very cheap. Even if people didn't get off to spend money, many would be willing to take the ride just to see the scenery.
Of course, this zone wasn't a poor zone. The difference was only between small money and big money. Although Cat Fruit Town generated income by selling its specialty, the people there weren't really starving. So many were willing to make the trip when the Cat Whisker Fruits ripened, delivering the goods themselves to Cat Eye City.
"Cat Whisker Fruit Journey... does it actually refer to people?" Xu Huo rubbed his chin and then checked the history of the two cities, the starting point and the destination, as well as the latest big news. Naturally, he also searched for related guides on Under Dimension.
The city-related information could be set aside for now, but the instance guides were interesting. Many people had posted guides, with ratings ranging from C to A. However, many who purchased the guides reported they were fake, and quite a few players had even challenged each other over it.
With such a broad instance scope, it wasn't surprising that there were various ways to clear it. Based on the few guides Xu Huo had bought, the clearance tasks for this instance might involve different content. One player cleared the instance simply because they escorted a child who wanted to sell all their Cat Whisker Fruits to save up some pocket money to Cat Eye City.
Whether the person who posted that guide was telling the truth was unclear, but several people who later bought the guide left comments asking for a refund. That meant trying to clear the instance the same way later on would basically not work.
In the instances Xu Huo had encountered before, there was often a relatively clear goal. Players' performances during the clearance process varied, but the general direction didn't change. He had never encountered an instance with so many guides. Naturally, this might be one of the difficulties of this instance. The clearance methods used by previous players might not work for later players.
However, the possibility that these guides were fake couldn't be ruled out.
After roughly browsing the information on the two cities, he also searched for the nearest Dimensional Crack Library. (Chapter End)