Chapter 2588: Little Xu Is a Good Person
Looking at the entire city, the number of ghost face masks wasn't that large, and often they might not encounter players. Coupled with interference from items and devices, players might not be able to accurately determine whether the ghost face masks were immune to space barriers, or if it was just a matter of items or devices failing that allowed them to slip through.
But this wasn't the most critical issue. If only one type of ghost face mask had this trait, it would be manageable. But if, over time, the strengthening of the instance's power caused all ghost face masks to develop this trait, that would truly be adding insult to injury.
Clearly, the others present had also thought of this. They immediately reported the information, and within moments, a notification automatically popped up on their communicators about the ghost face masks being able to ignore blockade barriers—they weren't the only ones who had discovered this phenomenon!
"It seems this is a new trait emerging from the deepening influence of the instance," Xu Huo said.
With defensive barriers rendered useless, all buildings were essentially as good as air. Now, the only hope was that location items or physical defense items might be of some use. But for the current situation, location items were a drop in the bucket.
"I wonder if compressed space would have any effect," Xiao Wu said. "The ghost face masks attack the head. What if we cover our heads with something? Especially small hoods or boxes—limited in size, even if the mask can traverse space, it wouldn't have room to maneuver once it squeezed in."
That was one possible approach.
The short-haired female player was scrolling through messages on the message collection terminal. Upon hearing this, she immediately said, "Someone's already trying it. It seems to work."
She projected a video above the living room. The content was short: a young man wearing a small aircraft protective helmet accidentally killed his pursuer in self-defense. The ghost face mask quickly transferred to his head, wrapping around even the helmet. But after a few seconds, the mask automatically detached and flew away. The young man had survived, though his helmet now had some small circular dents.
This inspired many people. More and more people on the streets tried to cover their heads by any means necessary—some had actually done this before, but the ghost face masks' level was unknown. Ordinary helmets and hoods were useless, as the masks could even instantly penetrate bone.
"Don't forget, the performers in the night parade are all wearing clothes," Xu Huo reminded them. He was equipped with a mechanical suit that had an auto-activation function. The protective suit made of liquid metal should be able to block the "straws" inside the masks.
In fact, defense wasn't the only concern. Survivors had also come up with various ways to destroy the masks—using fire, water, and so on. However, the masks moved at a decent speed and could fly high or low, giving them a significant advantage. The bullets from armed aircraft couldn't keep up, and even if they hit, ordinary weapons couldn't damage them.
Some players had managed to burn them to ashes, but that was far from enough.
Regarding the types of ghost face masks, a summary of information had already been compiled on the message collection terminal.
Similar to the costumes from the previous night's cultural street parade, there were five types of ferocious little ghost face masks, six types of green-faced, fang-toothed demon masks, and the giant demon masks. The masks resembling human-like faces from the end of the parade hadn't appeared yet.
These were the main ghost face masks appearing in his city.
As for other cities, two had seen divine parade masks—performance costumes based on local mythological figures. Three had doll masks. The remaining two featured masks of certain beings from religious stories.
Compared to ghost face masks, divine parade masks, and doll masks, the religious masks had come from behind to take the lead. A single simulated religious event had directly killed nearly three hundred people!
Xu Huo looked closely and realized the tragedy had occurred at a venue holding a religious event. This was originally a cultural program organized by the local government. Regardless of belief, anyone could participate. The main purpose was to promote the concept of peace, with some small gifts given away. However, as soon as the host wearing a three-headed goat mask took the stage, everyone in the event venue became a target. According to leaked video clips, about three hundred people stood there as if they had lost their minds, while several masks killed them from the back rows to the front. Only a handful survived.
This wasn't good news. The killing pattern of the ghost face masks was basically understood, but it now seemed that different night parade teams had different traits. Even if they all used masks to kill, the method of influence and the attack method varied.
Currently, each city had a different night parade team. It was hard to say whether these teams would start mixing together over time.
What concerned Xu Huo the most was the night parade team that had appeared on the outskirts of the city. This meant that mask killings were only temporary. Over time, the entire night parade team would definitely appear, and then their power wouldn't be comparable to that of a single moving mask.
Four themed night parade activities had appeared in the instance. The best-case scenario was that they would all exist simultaneously and operate within their own territories. The worst-case scenario was that all four night parade teams would roam back and forth across the eight cities.
The night parade teams had existed since the night parade began, but so far, only the ghost-themed team had appeared once. None of the others had formed complete teams. They existed but hadn't appeared, most likely because there were certain restrictions on their appearance...
Xu Huo's gaze turned toward the direction of Yangming Building. Were they temporarily restricted within the instance's forbidden zones?
If the night parade teams were inside the instance's forbidden zones, then anyone who entered those zones was likely in grave danger. No wonder there had been no news from the forbidden zones so far...
"You have a message from an Artificer. Please check it."
A message notification popped up on his personal panel. Xu Huo opened it and saw it was from Old Master Xi. The old man was trapped in Blue Water Wu and was asking him for help.
Hmm, the message was probably sent to a group.
Blue Water Wu was quite far from Xu Huo's current location. It was also one of the cities with a religious night parade.
Xu Huo took out the contact information the old man had given him earlier and made a holographic call.
It connected quickly. The old man's running figure appeared in the living room. As soon as he saw Xu Huo, he couldn't help but say, "Little Xu, you're really a good person."
"No need for a 'good person card,'" Xu Huo said. "Turn on the environment simulation function."
Modern holographic communication could simulate the surrounding environment, with multiple functions like high-altitude overlooking and immersive experience.
He had already looked up the information on Blue Water Wu. After confirming the old man's location, he immediately said, "Blue Water Wu only has three instance forbidden zones, but each zone is very large. Your current position is close to the northernmost one. Turn around immediately and head southeast."
"Why not go south? Wouldn't walking through the middle of the three forbidden zones be the safest?" the old man asked.
Xu Huo quickly replied, "The night parade team in Blue Water Wu involves multiple religions. Three of them have sacrificial traditions. The three forbidden zones are arranged in a triangular formation, possibly related to sacrificial altars. The central position is most likely unsafe. A location far from the center and also far from two of the forbidden zones would be a relatively safe spot."