Chapter 2599: I’m Going the Same Way as You
“What do you mean?” The player who had first clashed with Xu Huo, the one using metal cards, asked hesitantly. “Does that mean we people trapped here only have one exit?”
The little old man squinted at him sideways. “Didn’t you hear what I just said? Seven. There are seven entrances and exits.”
That player nodded. “I know, but only one door can be opened at a time. That doesn’t mean there’s only one exit.”
“You can’t have simultaneous same-direction openings, but simultaneous opposite-direction openings are possible,” Xu Huo said. “When any one teleportation gate has someone walking out of it, other gates might have people walking in. These gates might all open at the same time, or none of them might open at all.”
The four members of the rescue team didn’t speak, but their expressions all conveyed the same meaning: “Isn’t this just stating the obvious?”
“If multiple people try to go through one gate, it might not open at all. But if they split up, all seven gates might open,” Xu Huo continued. “I suspect the reason there are so many gates in this space is to alleviate the lack of space. After all, this instance covers at least eight cities and four themes. The horror-themed night parade teams we’ve seen might also be in this city, just in different divided areas and spaces. If that’s the case, the opening and closing of the space gates serves to regulate the number of people.”
“In the area we’re active in, ordinary people were long ago sent away by container items. But no new people have come in here. Your speculation might be wrong,” the metal card player said.
“It could also be because the pressure inside the restricted zone isn’t that great,” Xu Huo said. “When I came in, I encountered a swallowing tide outside the partition wall. At that time, people were appearing all over the city, and a batch was killed by the hoods.”
“The instance’s main focus should be on the players. This night parade instance is also a mind-control instance. The more high-level players come in, the more dispersed the instance’s power should become.”
“Unless the holder of this instance can infinitely generate hoods and night parade teams. Otherwise, relying on just four night parade teams would absolutely be unable to deal with that many players.”
But the hoods’ main purpose wasn’t to kill people, but to control them. That meant the instance holder needed it, or the instance rules required it, to be done this way.
There must be controlled players or ordinary people within the night parade teams. If the space gates could be opened and closed at will, then the rescue players who came in could be teleported anywhere, and scattering them was a more advantageous tactic.
“Have your people found the instance holder yet?” the little old man asked.
The metal card player shook his head slightly. “So far, very few players have encountered the night parade teams.”
This was a way of downplaying the issue. In reality, all players who had encountered the night parade teams were dead. Whether rescue team members, ticket players, or local zone players accidentally caught up in it, there were no exceptions. And no detailed information about the night parade teams had been sent back.
“It seems the closer you get to the city’s core, the more dangerous it is,” Xu Huo said. “Outside the partition wall, it was just ordinary ghost hoods. After coming in here, it’s become more difficult demon hoods.”
He extended the little old man’s map and pointed to the location of the partition wall. “The area outside this line is relatively safe for now.”
What Xu Huo and the others had just experienced were scenes of other people suddenly appearing from somewhere while being chased by hoods. This meant that before this, these people were also in some space within this city. They might have been directly sucked into another space, or they might have started in this space, fled into another, and then returned to this one. But overall, the number of space teleportation gates was definitely greater than their current location.
In other words, the places where the ghost hoods were active were the most likely spots to quickly enter and exit other spaces. But it seemed that the danger levels of the different spaces corresponded to the same gates, and the chances of encountering night parade teams there were also lower.
Of course, this was all based on the assumption that the restricted zone space remained in its current state.
“So how do we get out?” the metal card player asked. In his view, Xu Huo’s exploration wasn’t very meaningful. The space teleportation gates appeared and disappeared at will, their positions impossible to pin down. And the location you were teleported to might not be the same place you started from; you could instantly appear at the other end of the city.
This city’s space wasn’t a layer within a layer. It should be composed of countless blocks of varying sizes pieced together. The position of each block was constantly changing. Once you left one block, you might never return to the same one again.
After hearing his explanation, the little old man waved his hand. “This instance isn’t that complicated. If it had so many randomly combined small spaces operating without any pattern, how could it be an A-rank instance? It would have to be at least a super instance.”
“With the abilities of A-rank players, how could they possibly clear an instance with such complex space? Put yourself in their shoes.”
The four rescue team members fell silent. After a moment, another one spoke up. “So that’s why this is a survival instance, not one that requires us to find a way out of the restricted zone.”
The little old man also fell silent.
“Mr. Xi, it’s better to leave through a container item first,” the metal card player said. “It’s dangerous to stay here.”
But the little old man was very resistant. He glared and said, “I’m not going. Don’t think I don’t know your ways. If I go out, I’ll be locked up for at least half a year to a year. If I really become a medium for this instance, I might not even be able to leave the city.”
He muttered a complaint, then pondered, “I think after I get out, I’ll just move to another district to live. What’s the difference between being locked up and being livestock?”
“Then come with me,” Xu Huo said at that moment. “I’ll use a container item to take you out. You can live somewhere else.”
The little old man turned his head, let out a smug laugh, and said, “Plenty of people want to support me in my old age. You? You’re not even in line.”
Xu Huo wasn’t bothered by his attitude. “You still owe me an item.”
The little old man’s face immediately fell. “I’ll make it for you when we get out. What’s the rush? Don’t put on a debt-collector’s face at such a young age.”
“You’re pretty lucky to have lived this long,” Xu Huo said, finishing the last of the water in his bottle. He stood up and said, “Since you don’t want to come with me, then go with them. Worry about freedom after you get out alive. The instance won’t care if you’re an artificer when it kills you.”
He turned and really started to leave. The little old man was a bit confused. “Didn’t you come specifically to save me?”
“You’re still alive, aren’t you? You have a safe way out but won’t use it. I can’t exactly tie you up and drag you out,” Xu Huo said with a smile. “Don’t worry. If you die, I’ll just go straight to your shop and take items as collateral.”
The four rescue team members certainly didn’t want an experienced artificer like Mr. Xi to leave or die. They had no objection to Xu Huo acting alone. However, just as they turned their eager gazes toward the little old man, he suddenly seemed to make up his mind. He turned and followed Xu Huo. “Little Xu, I’m going the same way as you!”