Chapter 262: Yan Jiayu, Not One for Formalities
"Surely no one would be that stupid," Yan Jiayu said. "There are no marks on the hats, so how would they know the hats they leave behind will match? What if they get duplicate hats at different game points? The plushies never said you'd get a new hat at every location."
"Normal people would think that way, of course, but precisely because there are no marks on the hats, everyone assumes collecting hats from all fifteen game points is the key to clearing the instance."
"Has anyone successfully cleared it?" Xu Huo asked.
"I haven't heard of anyone since I came in," Tang Xiao shook his head. "Mainly because the five question-triggering spots aren't fixed, and the game zone is too large. Sometimes you're just unlucky and never run into them."
Xu Huo was silent for a moment, then turned to look at the two plush pigs that had been standing by his side since earlier.
"Would you like to buy a hat, guest?" one pig said. "My shop has hats of every size."
"Would you like to buy some candy, guest?" the other pig said. "My shop has lots of delicious candy, cheap and tasty!"
Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu each bought a pink hat, then walked over to the candy shop and directly picked the most expensive candies in the store.
The plush pigs practically radiated joy, packing up their purchases and even giving them a free new version of a bubble blower as a bonus.
Seeing Xu Huo spend twenty thousand White Notes on candy without batting an eye, Tang Xiao's face showed a hint of regret, but when he noticed nearby players casting glances their way, he quickly lowered his voice and said, "Let's go queue up outside the mirror tent first."
The three of them walked toward the tent. Just as they reached the end of the line, another pair of young players approached—a woman who was youthful and attractive, and a man who was tall and handsome.
The man spoke first, flashing a gentle, refined smile at Yan Jiayu. "Hey, we just entered the instance not long ago too. How about we team up and look out for each other?"
Yan Jiayu chewed on her candy, staring at him without a word.
Seeing no response from her, the man continued, "I've heard this Q&A game is pretty tough—you don't always get a hat. More people means better odds. Compared to those players who've been stuck here for ages with no progress, us newcomers sticking together makes it easier to clear."
Tang Xiao, who had been indirectly called out, wasn't bothered. He crossed his arms and said, "Even if four of you go in, you won't get four small hats. Who gets credit if you answer correctly?"
The woman beside the man chuckled lightly. "Aren't you trying to recruit them too? But with all the hats you've already collected, you'll be waiting forever to clear."
With that, she winked at Xu Huo and reached out a finger to poke Yan Jiayu aside. But Yan Jiayu didn't budge, just kept staring without speaking. The female player had to address Xu Huo from a distance. "Big brother, what's your name?"
Xu Huo ignored the female player and instead looked at Tang Xiao.
Tang Xiao said, "I do want to find someone to cooperate with, but I'm not asking you to carry me through the clear. How about this—after you two come out, we can talk."
He stepped out of the line, walked a few meters away, and leaned against the candy shop, watching them.
"No need," Xu Huo said, withdrawing his gaze and rejecting the pair's proposal. This game was clearly better played solo. As for exchanging information, that could be done through the increase or decrease of small hats.
But he was more curious about what the instance used as the standard for "voluntary."
Catching a plush pig glancing his way for the third time, Xu Huo waved it over.
The plush pig that had just sold him a lot of candy immediately ran over.
Xu Huo handed it a handful of candy. "Uncle asks you, if I have extra small hats, can I give them to others?"
The plush pig eagerly took the candy. "Of course you can, but you can't force small hats on others. Even kids know you can't give away something someone doesn't want."
In other words, even if you stuffed a small hat into someone else's hands, the total hat count would still be on your head.
"Then do you know how many small hats that person has?" Xu Huo asked again.
"Piggy knows how many small hats everyone has, but Piggy won't tell you." The plush pig spun in a circle and ran off.
Some players only then realized the plushies could be communicated with, so they bought candy with money and used it to bribe the plushies.
At first, quite a few people bought candy, but when they discovered that the information from the plushies was all trivial clues—things they already knew—no one bothered wasting White Notes on them. After all, money couldn't be thrown away like that.
But this distraction reduced the attention on Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu, and the two players who wanted to team up with them were pulled away by others.
Those who entered the tent ahead quickly left the campsite afterward. No one knew if they'd gotten small hats, but it was said the Q&A content changed every time, so no one bothered asking the previous group.
Soon it was Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu's turn. They paid two hundred White Notes and went in.
Inside the tent, which was clearly larger than its exterior suggested, the light was dim. Once the curtain dropped, it felt like entering a planetarium. Under the faint light, flickering stars floated all around them.
"They're moving," Yan Jiayu said, reaching out to touch one. The nearby "starlight" quickly retreated.
"They're mirrors," Xu Huo said, recognizing the moving objects. Suspended in the air were irregular mirror shards of various sizes. When they approached, the mirrors automatically moved back.
Reaching the center of the tent, a large mirror slid forward from the darkness until it stopped in front of them. But the mirror didn't reflect Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu's images. Instead, a clown stepped out from the blank side of the mirror, making faces at them and letting out a strange laugh. "Hey, can you see me?"
Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu stared at the mirror without speaking. The clown inside stretched its head against the glass, frantically prying open its eyelids as if trying to pop its eyeballs out. But separated by the glass, it could only rub its eyeballs against the surface, making an unpleasant sound.
"Stop squeezing—your eyeballs are flattening," Xu Huo interrupted the clown's grotesque display. "We're here to answer questions. Are you the staff?"
The clown pulled back, rubbing its eyes, and said, "Of course I am. Who else would come to entertain you?"
"Aren't clowns supposed to entertain?" Yan Jiayu touched the mirror, then casually wiped the candy residue from her fingers onto it.
The clown in the mirror let out a terrified scream. "You're so dirty!"
"Huh? Can't you clean yourself?" Yan Jiayu asked, genuinely surprised.
"I'm not a washing machine!" the clown roared.
A bit embarrassed, Yan Jiayu took out a handkerchief and wiped it for him. "Sorry about that. We monks are used to not being too formal."
"You call that not being formal? You call that having no personal hygiene!" the clown spat, saliva flying. "You're giving monks a bad name!"
Yan Jiayu's face turned red at his words. After wiping off the candy stain, she tried to clean a water spot. "This one won't come off."
The clown fell silent, then rubbed the spot with its sleeve where the handkerchief had been. The water spot disappeared.
Their eyes met, and silence stretched through the tent.