Chapter 276: I Have a New Game
With a "gulp," the box slid down the bear's throat into its stomach, and it patted its belly in satisfaction.
At that moment, Xu Huo had already grabbed the Crimson Sword. He slashed a cross in the air, the sword energy severing both bear paws, and followed closely behind the energy, leaping onto the bear's body to stab its abdomen!
The enraged giant bear twisted its head down to bite him, but Xu Huo didn't dodge. He swung the Ox Shield and jammed it into the bear's mouth, then pulled the longsword across, slicing open the bear's belly and dragging it outward. Steaming, bloody entrails sprayed out!
The giant bear staggered two steps and fell forward. Xu Huo jumped out of the shadows first, giving it enough room to land, then tore open the stomach sac he had pulled out and retrieved a coin with his bare hands.
"Game's over." He tossed the coin onto the bear's corpse. The moment it touched the body, the massive bear turned into a plush toy with a "puff." The cut on its abdomen was just a tear in the fabric, and everything that had spilled out turned into cotton—with a pile of little hats mixed in.
"Hee hee!" A plush bear hopped out of the tent, scooped up the little hats, and presented them to Xu Huo. "These are all yours!"
"What a shame," a player muttered quietly.
Winning the game and getting two little hats would have been fine, but now with so many extra hats, who knew how long it would take to collect a full set of fifteen?
Xu Huo, however, remained calm, showing no anger at being tricked by the bear. He said, "I got the coin. Shouldn't the amusement park fulfill its promise?"
The plush bear waved its paw at him. "Bend down. I'll only tell you."
Xu Huo leaned in, and the plush bear opened and closed its mouth near his ear.
The other players in the tent pricked up their ears but heard nothing. After exchanging glances, two of them quietly crept toward the tent entrance.
Just then, a stone rod swung across in front of them. The two looked up and met Yan Jiayu's smiling face. "Can you wait a moment before leaving?"
One of them's expression shifted. He grabbed the stone rod to push her aside, but found he couldn't budge Yan Jiayu at all, and the rod remained firmly in place.
"Looking for death!" The man's face darkened as he prepared to attack. Yan Jiayu's smile vanished, and she swung the rod at him. "I said wait!"
The stone rod tore through the air with a terrifying whoosh. The two players' expressions changed, and they immediately leaped back to their companions, saying, "We lost the game, so why can't we leave? Are you trying to silence us?"
"You're being unreasonable!" Yan Jiayu's eyes widened slightly. "I just asked you to wait, and you tried to kill me!"
The player who had moved to attack looked grim. "Enough talk. Do you think the two of you can stop all of us? Don't end up losing more than you gain!"
"Don't be in such a hurry," Xu Huo interrupted them. "I never said I wouldn't share this information. There's no need for this."
The players stared at him in surprise, not quite believing him.
Xu Huo smiled and said, "Since we're all stuck in this instance and can't get out, we're friends now. Good things should be shared with friends."
He then turned back to the plush bear and said, "I have a fun game. Would you like to be the referee? I'm willing to hire you with half a jar of candy."
"Yes! Yes!" The plush bear jumped up. "I love being a referee!"
"But if we're playing a game, we have to follow the rules fairly. What if someone breaks them?" Xu Huo asked.
"In the amusement park, no one can break the rules," the plush bear said firmly. "Rule-breakers are bad guys, and bad guys get punished!"
"Great." Xu Huo patted its head and added, "Since it's a game, the more people, the merrier. Why don't you invite some friends to play? I'll give each of you three candies, okay?"
The plush bear agreed enthusiastically.
"What is he up to?" the player Yan Jiayu had blocked asked in confusion.
"Selling information," a short-haired female player with delicate features said grimly. "This guy has some tricks. It's too late to grab the info behind the other players' backs. We need to buy it before more players hear about it and show up."
Xu Huo walked out of the tent. Jin Chao and Peng Ru hurried over but stopped short when they saw the plush bear dragging a corpse out behind him.
"What happened?" Jin Chao asked.
Xu Huo raised a hand to signal them to wait. After the plush bear called over all the nearby plush toys from the camp, he whispered a few words to Yan Jiayu. She then raised her voice and shouted to the gathered players, "Anyone who wants to know the fifth random trigger location for the Q&A game, line up over here!"
"One thousand White Notes buys you the address plus one little hat!"
"The fifth random location?" Some skeptical players in the crowd asked, "Where did you get that info? The Q&A game locations are random. How can you know in advance?"
"Players can't predict it, but the plush toys know." Xu Huo took over, pointing to the plush bear clutching a jar of candy nearby. "I got the info from the plush toy. If you can't trust what a plush toy says, where else will you find the fifth location?"
"These folks can vouch for me," he said, gesturing to the players who had just come out of the tent.
The female player didn't respond to the others' gazes but instead asked Xu Huo, "How can you guarantee the info you're selling is real?"
"The plush toy is the referee for this trading game. Since I'm offering the info as a trade, of course I won't break the rules," Xu Huo said. "And you can see what happens to rule-breakers here."
He pointed to the corpse being dragged out.
"Even kids know you can't break the rules," the plush bear said while chewing candy.
The players' expressions varied, but seeing so many plush toys around, they didn't dare act rashly. Killing a plush toy for a pile of hats was one thing, but attacking one outside of game time could get them thrown out of the amusement park to start over.
"I don't want the little hat. What's the price?" a dark-skinned player stepped forward.
"Three thousand." Xu Huo looked around at the crowd. "Anyone interested can line up. I'll warn you in advance: the random Q&A locations aren't fixed. Miss this chance, and you won't know when the next one will come."
With that, he and the plush bear, along with a few other plush toys, returned to the tent.
The first buyer was the player who had asked about the price. Once the ice was broken, it got easier. Most people didn't mind spending a few thousand White Notes, so they paid three thousand directly for the info. As a result, Xu Huo didn't use up many little hats.
Of course, some were curious about how Xu Huo had gotten the info from the plush toy, but the players who had been in the tent had already bought the info and left. Even if they wanted to spread the word, buying ready-made info was more convenient than gambling on another game—after all, the info had a time limit. A few thousand White Notes for a one-time deal was nothing.
(Chapter End)