Chapter 2659: The Murderer Must Die
This seemed to become a hint, and some people even went to the resort to search before Xu Huo arrived.
How could the resort not have been searched already? The old site was only slightly better than Gao Hui's hometown—at least the underground entertainment park remained.
Due to equipment damage and being buried deep underground, it was hard for ordinary people to survive there, but that wasn't a problem for players.
By the time Xu Huo arrived, seven players were already scattered across different floors. He went straight to the tenth basement level and searched every room along the corridor.
Some players used invisibility items to hide upstairs, monitoring his movements with micro-instruments.
Xu Huo knocked and tapped on each room, eventually pulling an encrypted metal box out of a wall in one of the rooms.
The moment the box appeared, the ceiling of the room exploded with a roar. Amid the thick dust, two figures clashed rapidly. Seconds later, the encrypted metal box flew out through the ceiling, snatched by a player hiding on the floor above.
The long-range space teleportation item didn't activate. This player raised a cylindrical item and opened a passage straight to the surface, but the moment he emerged, he was already targeted by players waiting outside.
"The box is in his hands!" a player who chased out later shouted.
Though no one knew what the box was, the fact that it could attract so many players to fight over it likely meant it was related to the clearance clues. Both clearance players and stranded players alike turned their spearhead toward the first player who had emerged.
A cloud of smoke suddenly surged from the distant woods, covering the entire resort in an instant. The player who had grabbed the box tried to run, but before he could get a few hundred meters, he was knocked back by two barriers in succession. A slender sword light directly tore open his abdomen, dragging out his internal organs!
Seeing that everyone was coming for him, he quickly threw the box away.
The other players hadn't seen this box before, but someone shouted, "That's the box!"
Hearing this, some immediately turned to chase it, while others didn't believe it. However, just as they were about to continue hunting the previous player, they unexpectedly passed through a teleportation portal—realizing they had been teleported, they found themselves face-to-face with the player who had grabbed the box earlier!
Originally a chaotic melee, no one could tell whose trait or item was whose, but one thing was clear: anyone standing in front of them was an enemy!
In just a few minutes, the player conflict grew from over a dozen to more than twenty. Aside from those who were just taking potshots, Xu Huo had also sent some of the players who had been tracking him into the fray. As the battle expanded, these people would inevitably be drawn in sooner or later.
The box kept changing hands, but each exchange was accompanied by a player being severely injured or killed. Whoever held the box became the target of everyone.
What if the box disappeared? No problem—if one was lost, a second would appear.
"Fools come every year," a man with a buzz cut said, squatting on a tree branch, munching on a fruit as he watched the distant fight. "Obviously fake news, and they still manage to start a fight."
"Is that so? You see it clearly?" A voice suddenly sounded behind him. At the same time, a kick landed on his back, sending him tumbling into the resort. Amid the thick fog, before he could even steady himself, two sharp weapon items flew at him!
Only two of the players who had been tracking him in the capital had come, clearly seeing through this routine.
"It seems it's not very related to the instance," Xu Huo muttered, standing still for a moment. He then re-entered the resort, using spiritual interference and the Time Ring to increase the number of player casualties. When he saw the fog beginning to dissipate, he withdrew from the battlefield, planning to find another way back to the capital.
He wasn't the only one who escaped. Two other players happened to be heading in the same direction. When they met face-to-face, all three were surprised.
These two knew Xu Huo's appearance—they had come specifically for him. Seeing him completely unharmed, they realized this was likely a trap. Whether Xu Huo had set it himself or someone else had framed him, the fact that he could leave unscathed proved his skill.
Xu Huo was also surprised. "Two more fish that slipped through the net."
The two were horrified and immediately fled in separate directions.
Xu Huo took out "Seal the Door" and knocked it toward their retreating figures. Two thin streams of power pierced through their item barriers, accurately passing through their hearts. Both died on the spot.
How things developed from there didn't matter much to him. A few hours there and back, he returned to the hotel just in time for breakfast.
Xiao Mei had also come. Seeing that Xu Huo hadn't even been injured, she exclaimed in admiration, "You're really something! To get out unscathed from so many players."
"Not entirely unscathed," Xu Huo said. "Some people's traits are quite formidable."
Xiao Mei waved her hand, sat down, and said, "Don't be modest. But this trick doesn't seem very useful. I feel like there are even more people watching us now."
"Yesterday there were more outer zone players, today there are more local zone players," Xu Huo said calmly. "That's fine."
Xiao Mei didn't understand what he meant but wisely didn't ask further.
"When are we going to see Lian Qingkong?" Bao Bao spoke for the first time since leaving Yuejiao Duchy.
"Wait until the reply arrives," Xu Huo said.
Bao Bao gave him a cold look, then turned and went upstairs.
"This person isn't a ticket player, is she?" Xiao Mei said. "Pretty face, bad temper, and she doesn't seem like your lover. Is she related to the national heirloom treasure?"
"Many people are related to the national heirloom treasure," Xu Huo glanced at her. "Don't ask too many questions. Do you think those local zone players are here to protect us?"
Xiao Mei fell silent. The purpose of those player organizations was the same as the clearance players—to get the national heirloom treasure.
"I hope your gamble is worth it."
Xu Huo leaned back in his seat, calmly watching the street outside. He sat there from the bright daylight until the sky gradually darkened.
"Beep beep." The notification for a call request sounded. He casually answered it. The speaker was Wan Ping. "You need to give us an acceptable plan before we can consider cooperating with you."
"You haven't left Zone 039 yet?" Xu Huo's voice was flat, with a hint of amusement. "What are your bottom lines?"
"We can't sacrifice our people." Due to the communication, Wan Ping was vague, but it essentially meant that Xu Huo must destroy the instance without harming the descendants of the two surnames.
"What can you offer?" Xu Huo asked.
"Some manpower," Wan Ping said. "Things you can't do or find difficult to handle, we can help you solve."
"Is the roster in Lian Qingkong's hands?" Xu Huo tilted his head slightly upward.
"No one can threaten us by holding the roster," Wan Ping said solemnly. "The murderer must die."
The descendants of the two surnames had the courage and determination to go down together. This was a good threat against Lian Qingkong or any player faction in Zone 039, but it was less effective against outer zone players. How much of a discount that was depended on how many powerful high-level players the descendants of the two surnames actually had.
"Has Lian Qingkong threatened you?" Xu Huo didn't think the descendants of the two surnames could kill all these outer zone players, but killing some of them wouldn't solve the real problem—unless someone killed them according to the roster. And since the outer zone players were scattered and this was the difficulty of clearing the instance this way, even if the roster was really made public by outer zone players, the instance's disappearance was unlikely. Revenge could wait for another day, and the descendants of the two surnames had plenty of confidence.