Chapter 2600: Are You Serious?
If Xu Huo hadn't been present, the four members of the rescue team might have considered dragging the old man out first. But Xu Huo clearly intended to take the old man to another district. With conflicting interests, they couldn't act rashly, or else the previous situation would repeat itself. And as it turned out, dealing with Xu Huo and his companion wasn't easy.
Fortunately, no new people had entered this area, so they kept their distance behind Xu Huo and the other two, occasionally using props to block a few demon head masks.
The attack power of the demon head masks hadn't been weakened. Their equipment had a high attrition rate, and sometimes the props they deployed would be lost. Even with adequate preparation and government support, the rescue team couldn't afford to waste instruments and props endlessly. So, they still had to take action themselves from time to time.
Xu Huo's situation was similar. Using too many props was wasteful, so he primarily relied on the bone ring, using gravity to suppress the head masks that appeared around him.
He planned to first check the spatial gates marked by Old Mr. Xi. But when he approached the marked locations, six of them showed no spatial teleportation gates. Even Old Mr. Xi's detection instrument registered no faint fluctuations. Just as the old man was shouting "impossible," they reached the seventh location. The moment they crossed the street, the surrounding environment changed. Although it was still a stretch of ruins, other people now occupied the space.
It wasn't that these people had appeared out of nowhere—it was *they* who had appeared out of nowhere.
And when they turned back, the spatial teleportation gate behind them had vanished. Players also appeared in the direction they had come from.
This wouldn't have been a big deal normally, but Xu Huo noticed that two of the players already had demon head masks covering them.
Previously, players who got covered by head masks would do everything possible to remove them. But these two were remarkably calm, even walking with ease. Because they already had head masks on, other demon head masks didn't swarm to attack them. This made them stand out among the other players who were constantly fighting.
In such a situation, others would assume they had been controlled by the head masks, like the ordinary people outside the restricted zone, who would unconsciously amplify their emotions and then kill.
But these two behaved very calmly. They didn't actively attack others, only defended themselves when attacked. Of course, to avoid being killed by their teammates, they went out of their way to prove they were safe and even wanted to travel with the rescue team.
"Look," one of them said, lifting the head mask from in front of his neck. The roots of the demon head mask were indeed embedded in his head, but because he was wearing a metal defense suit, the roots hadn't penetrated through. So, they weren't injured, nor were they under any control.
The Big Smart one smugly patted the head mask on his forehead. "These things aren't very smart. They can't even tell if they've actually controlled someone."
The old man stared at the two in amazement. "How have you survived until now? These head masks can control people's minds, and you dared to put them on directly?"
"That's not true," the Big Smart one said, pulling out a detection instrument. "They don't have any spiritual power themselves. It's probably some change that occurs after the roots pierce the brain. As long as we don't let them penetrate, it's fine. Besides, I take it off after a while. No problem."
The rescue team couldn't say much about it. They couldn't risk their own teammates, but they wouldn't stop anyone who was willing to provide data and test the head masks' control.
So, two more people joined the group. To avoid being affected by the head masks, they volunteered to follow at the back.
The four rescue team members were all A-level players, so the other nearby players naturally gravitated toward them. Some were completely exhausted and just wanted to leave immediately. Others didn't want to enter a container prop and simply sought temporary shelter. But a few, after seeing that the two Big Smart ones' method at the back of the group was working, also voluntarily put on head masks and followed along. Before long, more than ten people had joined.
Watching these people line up and follow behind, the rescue team players' eyelids twitched. They went from initial indifference to checking every few minutes to confirm the followers were still sane.
However, tacitly allowing them to follow, combined with constant observation and recording, led some opportunistic players to believe this method was viable. So, more people silently appeared at the back of the line.
The old man took a moment to look back and said to Xu Huo with curiosity, "Doesn't this look like a night parade?"
The rescue team players had sharp eyes and ears. The Metal Plate player frowned, and the metal plates under his control transformed into sharp blades that flew out, slicing the head masks off some of the people. "Anyone wearing a head mask is not allowed to follow us anymore!"
An A-level player from the rescue team had acted, so those players had no choice but to comply. But they couldn't help retorting, "The rescue team's mission is to save people. You can't defend against those head masks, so are you not even allowing us to find our own way?"
The Metal Plate player couldn't be bothered to argue. "I'm in charge here. Anyone who doesn't listen can get lost!"
Some people really did leave, but others stayed, gradually increasing their distance and following from afar.
The rescue team also incorporated a few players into their own group. But more people meant more head masks. Before long, they had to split into smaller groups, with the four A-level players dispersing among them.
"There's no pattern to the spatial gates at all," the old man said, looking at his terminal. "Could it really be like that kid said—that the restricted zone space is made up of countless square spaces?"
After passing through the spatial gate, Xu Huo rechecked the several marked points. The spatial gates at all seven locations had completely disappeared. Instead, they had accidentally entered another spatial gate midway. Only the group led by the Metal Plate player, who was closest to them, managed to follow. The people behind them all vanished into thin air.
Turning back was useless. The spatial gate had already disappeared.
The Metal Plate player contacted his teammates through the Under Dimension, confirming that they were still standing on the same street, just in a different space, unable to reach each other.
With things as they were, they had to each find a breakthrough in the instance, hoping to gather more information before the night parade appeared.
"There's absolutely no pattern to the spatial gates," Xu Huo finally stopped. In just a few seconds, the people traveling with him were no longer in the same space.
"Maybe the restricted zone space only allows entry, not exit," the old man said. "Looks like you won't find a gate."
"How could that be?" Xu Huo said calmly. "Doesn't the night parade appear in places outside the restricted zone? It doesn't matter if we can't leave now. Maybe if we find the night parade, we can follow them out."
The Metal Plate player, who was drinking water nearby, turned back in shock. "Are you serious?"
How was that any different from those people wearing head masks, trying to bluff their way through? If a seven-day survival instance could be cleared like that, would it still be called an A-level instance?