Chapter 2682: Gambling with Life
The player trapped by the Spider Lock had no choice and was directly swept into the Spiritual Gate. The other three didn't quite believe it and simply bypassed the Spiritual Gate, jumping over the boundary line of this area.
After crossing the boundary line, the puppets behind them stopped chasing and quickly switched to happy mode, including the two rabbit puppets. However, the battle puppets did not give up on them and surrounded them again in no time, once again using sonic devices.
But this time, the middle-aged man and his group were prepared. They immediately knocked the devices out of the hands of several battle puppets. As two waves of air blasted outward, the nearby puppets were also thrown back. The three of them leaped in different directions, creating distance while turning back to toss a few space bombs, finally shaking off the battle puppets for good.
On the other side, Xu Huo brought the Eternal Tower player to a small children's playground. He removed the Spider Lock from the player, and his spatial blockade contained the shockwave from the self-destruction. The muffled sound did not attract the attention of the surrounding puppets.
"Stingy enough," Xu Huo muttered quietly.
Forget the battle puppets—even the released Spider Locks had self-destruct devices installed, all to ensure no one could gain any advantage.
"I know who you are now," the middle-aged man said as he found his way over. He sized up Xu Huo. "I heard earlier that a very powerful outer zone player showed up at Lian Qingkong's funeral, suppressing players from the other two countries so much they didn't dare lift their heads... Though the ones causing trouble at the funeral were all useless, the fact that you dared to meddle in Isle Country's affairs means you've got some strength."
"You saved my companion, so from now on, we're friends." The middle-aged man said, "My name is Zhu Bu."
This name surprised Xu Huo a little. Zhu Bu should be the name of the ruler of Eternal Tower Nation, yet here he was leading a few players to track down battle puppets.
"I've long admired your reputation. Xu Zhi," Xu Huo said.
The unremarkable Zhu Bu laughed heartily. "Since we're friends, I won't waste words on thanks. Are you hungry?"
As he spoke, he flipped open three layers of protective suit, pulling the edge aside to reveal the inside lined with compressed rations, and said generously, "My treat!"
"Not for now," Xu Huo acknowledged the gesture. "We might be trapped here for quite a while. Better to save what we can."
Zhu Bu, however, didn't care. He tore off a bag, ripped it open, and stuffed it into his mouth. "If there's really nothing to eat, we can just eat people. Can't starve to death."
Zhu Bu's three companions had no objection to his words either, silently eating their own food.
Realizing belatedly that his words were a bit off, Zhu Bu added with a chuckle, "Oh, I forgot you're an outer zone player. Your hometown probably doesn't lack food. If you're not a cannibal player, this option doesn't even exist for you."
"We in Zone 039 are different. When water and food are cut off, we even eat mud. Some places only started eating properly in recent years. Cannibalism? Nothing strange about it."
"Don't feel pressured. I definitely won't casually use a friend as rations. Earlier, when we passed a transfer station, we found some leftover bones—someone must have hidden them. But if we really run out of food, we can barely count that as a meal."
Xu Huo didn't pick up on this topic and instead asked, "You were chasing the battle puppets. The battle puppets should have instruments for entering and leaving this instance venue. Any clues?"
"The puppets we killed didn't have teleportation devices on them," Zhu Bu said. "But judging from how we entered, the entrance space of this instance venue is quite large. If it's controlled by an instrument, the instrument must be sizable, so it's unlikely to be carried by the battle puppets."
"After the battle puppets capture players, they all return near the forest, so the entrance must be fixed."
Xu Huo nodded slightly. Even so, it couldn't rule out the possibility that the puppets controlled entry and exit themselves. Of course, another possibility was that the entrance and exit of this instance venue operated on a fixed pattern.
Finding a large instrument wasn't hard—it just took time. But if an instrument covering the entire super instance venue really existed, it definitely wouldn't be placed in plain sight. If it were that easy to find, the location of the instrument would be the most heavily defended spot in this instance venue.
His gaze drifted toward the castle.
"What do you think?" Zhu Bu, noticing his movement, extended an invitation. "Interested in joining us to smash the Box Carrier's lair?"
"Too risky," Xu Huo said calmly. "Once the Box Carrier returns to the instance venue and the super instance activates, we might be trapped here forever."
Zhu Bu waved his hand. "Death is death wherever it happens. Am I supposed to be afraid of that Box Carrier?"
"Brother Zhu," the female player beside him called out in a warning tone.
Zhu Bu nodded and smiled at Xu Huo again. "Better not mention the Box Carrier too much here. It might trigger crazy puppets to jump out and kill people."
"Most of those puppets should be conscious players," Xu Huo said. "Their movements are restricted. Leaving their fixed activity areas or causing trouble will change their mode. In each fixed area, there's at least one real puppet—they're the core controlling that region. When they send out an alert, all puppets in the area enter crazy mode. But smaller-scale fights only attract nearby battle puppets. These battle puppets aren't high-level and are easy to destroy."
He paused and added, "Not on the same level as the battle puppets you encountered."
The situation was clear now. Heading toward the castle would greatly increase the difficulty. The number and combat power of battle puppets and real puppets would rise. Near the castle, the battle puppets and real puppets would also enter "diligent" mode, no longer passively ignoring player actions like before.
"Finding some exit probably won't be easy," Zhu Bu said. "But the castle is right in front of us. I don't believe that if we fight our way there, the instance venue can stay sealed. Whether the Box Carrier returns or the puppets go out to report, they'll need to connect to the game. It's all the same in the end!"
Aiming to escape at the moment the Box Carrier entered or exited was truly as hard as reaching the sky. But trying to follow a puppet's entry or exit was worth a shot. No matter how this instance venue operated, if a puppet inside wanted to leave, or one outside wanted to come in, it could be an opportunity.
But the risk of this method was also significant. The Box Carrier couldn't just abandon his instance entirely. Every puppet and doll here could be a signal. If the Box Carrier received the information, he might come directly.
"Try to avoid those battle puppets as much as possible," Xu Huo said. "Let's go check out the castle first."
The Painting Woman had mentioned escaping from the castle. As the core of Clown City, the Box Carrier's castle might be an entrance or exit.
But this was just a guess with little basis. Making such a choice was no different from gambling with life.