Chapter 258: Buy Candy to Get the Play Guide
The setting of this instance was a bit capricious.
That was Xu Huo's first impression after reading through the instance-related information.
The amusement park instance was clearly quite different from the story instances he had encountered before. There was no background introduction, and although the rules for playing seemed numerous, the important content was actually not much.
First was buying tickets. If you bought a multi-person ticket, you could only go together. Adding the second rule, which stated you couldn't visit two parks in one day, meant that players who bought multi-person tickets could only choose one park at a time. Second, harming staff was not allowed, and there were question segments during the play process. Finally, the Pink Hat could not be destroyed.
What exactly the Pink Hat referred to was yet to be determined, but the play methods related to the game tasks were not mentioned at all.
"Maybe we'll have to go in to find out." Yan Jiayu pointed at the playing cards floating in mid-air. "Which one do we choose?"
"Which one do you want to choose?" Xu Huo asked her.
"I like the Rabbit Bear Happy Park. It sounds really fun just from the name." As soon as Yan Jiayu finished speaking, the clown dropped the cards. The light cards landed on the ground and transformed into a large gate. The puppet pirate jumped up and slapped the door knocker, and the two doors slowly opened.
"Welcome to Rabbit Bear Happy Park!"
Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu walked in side by side. After passing through a circular portal, they realized the place they had entered was actually a tree with a thick trunk. The exit was the tree hollow. As soon as they stepped out, the tree hollow automatically closed behind them, as if it had never existed.
Xu Huo then surveyed the surrounding environment. It seemed that what was connected behind the door was not an ordinary amusement park, but a fairytale-like ancient forest. The air was filled with a mixed smell of damp soil and the decaying remains of animals and plants.
"The air is really good here, even better than on the mountain. I didn't expect there to be such a nice place in the game." Yan Jiayu took a deep breath, turned her head, and saw a sign next to the tree. "The Bear Snack Stall is this way."
"Wait a moment." Xu Huo stopped her, then bent down to pick up a stone and threw it at a tree about twenty meters away.
"Bang!" The stone left a shallow mark on the bark. Someone came out from behind the tree, glanced at the tree, and then said with a smile, "Calm down, calm down. I mean no harm."
The man looked to be in his forties, but he was wearing a pink round-top hat that didn't match his outfit.
The Pink Hat could not be destroyed—that was the instance rule.
"Who are you?" Yan Jiayu pulled out her stone staff.
"Don't be nervous." The man quickly waved his hands and slowly walked towards them. "You're new players who just came in, right? Actually, I'm also playing this instance, and I've been here for two days. I found that clearing this instance alone is a bit difficult, so I wanted to find someone to team up with... There are only two of you, how about we go together?"
Seeing that Xu Huo and the other weren't speaking, the man took out several thumb-sized hat models. "As a sign of sincerity, I can give each of you two small Pink Hats."
"This isn't a trap, is it?" Yan Jiayu looked at the things in his hand suspiciously. "Are the small hats game items?"
"They're not items," the man said with a helpless smile. "I really have no ill intentions. Actually, you get one of these small hats after each quiz game, like collecting stamps. You get small hats in different places, and only by collecting enough small hats can you complete this park."
"You just came in, so you don't have any hats yet. I have extra small hats and just wanted to make friends with you."
"Teaming up is fine, but the small hats are unnecessary. The game is more fun when you play it yourself." Xu Huo looked at the sign. "Ahead is the Bear Snack Stall. Want to go together?"
The man's face darkened. "If you go in, you'll have to collect them one by one anyway. Getting four at once saves you from having to visit four places. Isn't that good?"
"No." Xu Huo looked him up and down. "You're not going to force them on us, are you?"
The man stuffed the small hats back into his pocket and put his hands behind his back. But unexpectedly, he didn't make a move. Instead, he flashed and disappeared into the woods.
"What's going on?" Yan Jiayu asked suspiciously.
"Let's go ahead and check it out." Xu Huo said.
The two followed the signs along the path and soon arrived at the Bear Snack Stall.
Behind a pink snack stall, a two-meter-tall plush bear was waving at them. When they got closer, it enthusiastically recommended, "Today we have new products from E010: Eyeball Pop Rocks and Cloud Puffs, and specialties from E007: Sweet and Sour Plums and Toe Cheese. Would you like to try some of each, guests?"
"So expensive." Yan Jiayu looked at the price tags. Even the cheapest lollipop cost a hundred White Notes.
"This Eyeball Pop Rocks... is it made from human eyeballs?" Xu Huo asked.
"Of course not!" The plush bear tore open a pack, threw one into its mouth, and bit down. Juice burst out, and a sweet and sour smell spread through the air. "Please rest assured, all the ingredients for the food here at Bear's are green and harmless. Eating more won't harm your teeth; in fact, it strengthens your body. Do you want this, this, or all of it?"
The bear's paw slapped each snack on the stall in turn, then it rested its chin on its paws, staring at the two. Its shiny button eyes seemed alive. "Only by buying snacks will you get the play guide."
Yan Jiayu liked snacks. Although she found them expensive, she still picked out several items. She immediately tore open a cheese stick shaped like a toe and took a bite. Her eyes lit up.
Xu Huo pointed at the jar of candy placed on the shelf behind. "How much is that?"
"Five thousand White Notes!" The plush bear immediately said, "Every single candy in the jar is a signature candy from a famous candy shop. One hundred shops, one hundred candies, each with a different flavor. And after you finish them, you can get a 20% discount coupon for one of those candy shops!"
A suspicious slurping sound came from the bear's mouth. When Xu Huo looked over, it quickly stuffed another pop rock into its mouth.
"Any discount?" Xu Huo said. "I want to buy a bit more."
The plush bear spun around excitedly on the spot. "The jar candy isn't discounted, but if you buy two jars, all other candies get a 10% discount!"
Xu Huo readily agreed. The plush bear poked the glass jar, and a holographic product window popped up, showing two jars of candy with different colored packaging.
"Limited edition jar candy. Only two jars per ID."
Xu Huo paid and bought two jars. The candy immediately appeared in his luggage compartment. He casually took out a pink-packaged jar, opened it, glanced at the plush bear who was constantly rubbing its paws together, and popped one into his mouth. "Not bad."
The plush bear angrily slapped its belly.
Unmoved, Xu Huo bought several thousand White Notes worth of snacks from the stall. He said to the plush bear, who could only watch but not eat, "Still giving the discount?"
"Yes!" The plush bear bared its teeth in a fierce expression, but it still nimbly took the money and bagged the items.
"How pathetic." Xu Huo gave it a pitying look, picked up the paper bag, and walked away.
"You really like sweets, huh." Yan Jiayu was quite surprised.
"I don't." Xu Huo took the play guide out of his pocket.