Chapter 278: Verifying Truth and Falsehood
(To be revised later) "We've been stuck in the game for several days, and we've tried to find a breakthrough with the puppet. Threats and bribes don't work, and getting the puppet to agree to a bet probably won't be easy either." The white-haired old man said to Brother Tu, "Keeping this person alive is useful."
Brother Tu also intended to use Xu Huo as a scout. He signaled to the twins, and the next second, the two appeared on either side of Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu, simultaneously pushing inward from a distance of five meters!
The air seemed to be cut into a cross-section, peeling away from the gas like a mirror, instantly squeezing toward the two in the middle!
Xu Huo immediately raised his longsword horizontally to block the two air cross-sections, but unexpectedly, the seemingly solid cross-sections still passed through the sword blade like air, sealing him in from both sides. He struck back with a counterattack, but his fist solidly hit the transparent cross-section, rebounding with several times the force!
Shaking his numb hand, he saw Yan Jiayu swinging her staff to strike and was about to stop her, but the stone rod heavily hit the cross-section, cracking it. With a series of snapping sounds, one cross-section shattered.
Seeing the cross-section broken, the surrounding players' eyes lit up, especially the twins, who directly said, "Good stuff, I want it!"
With that, the two started running, continuously pulling semi-transparent cross-sections out of the air as they moved, surrounding them from all directions. Moreover, these cross-sections could be stacked, and once stacked, they wouldn't be something Yan Jiayu could break with her bare hands.
"What kind of item is this?" Yan Jiayu almost lost her grip on the staff. Looking around, she found these cross-sections had surrounded them like a cage, and she immediately tried to climb out from the top.
But as soon as she stuck her head out, Brother Tu's marbles flew over, forcing her back into the area enclosed by the cross-sections.
"This isn't an item," the taller of the twins said. "It's a trait, an extremely rare trait that can affect space. Of course, it's not comparable to the traits of people like you. Except for items containing spatial elements, attacks from any other item will be ineffective!"
"You're full of it!" Yan Jiayu retorted. "If it's so powerful, why was it shattered by a stone rod?"
"Are you stupid?" the tall one said. "That's because your item contains spatial elements. Do you think just any random stone can be used as an item? Naturally formed items usually have strange powers. Falling into your hands is a complete waste!"
They seemed determined to get the stone rod. Although Yan Jiayu only used it as an ordinary club, she had no intention of handing it over. She turned to look at Xu Huo.
Compared to ordinary strength-based evolved traits, Xu Huo's "Friend's Rating" and "Accident Trigger Physique" were more advanced. After these traits evolved, they could more or less affect the player's surroundings. At this point, the trait's power had extended from acting on the user's body to the surrounding environment.
The previous person they encountered, whose body was quickly replaced by a shadow to avoid damage when hit, and the twins' space-affecting trait here, represented another level of evolution. Whether affecting themselves or their surroundings, they could make direct changes.
Compared to pure strength-based evolution, Xu Huo's flexible use of traits clearly had an advantage. But compared to traits that could actually change oneself or the environment, his methods seemed pale and powerless.
Although trait power had certain limitations, there was no time to observe now... Xu Huo swept his gaze over the six people's positions, remotely controlling the strings to drop the desert windmill!
In an instant, a sandstorm rose from the ground, quickly engulfing this patch of forest!
As the yellow sand rushed over, Xu Huo grabbed Yan Jiayu with one hand and pulled the strings with the other, directly charging out of the forest from above.
The range of the yellow sand wasn't too large, and its height didn't exceed twenty meters. So after getting out, Xu Huo led Yan Jiayu in the opposite direction of the sandstorm, moving as fast as possible to distance themselves from the six people in the forest.
The gale lasted only a few minutes before stopping. The white-haired old man walked back holding the windmill, "This thing is pretty good. It's also an item with spatial elements. The storm just now was released by it."
The woman who had been hiding behind the air cross-section windbreak wall walked out, spat out a mouthful of sand, and glared at the twins, "Blocking the front but not the back, blocking the feet but not the head—what use is your trait?"
The twins patted the sand out of their hair, and the tall one said, "Be grateful. Otherwise, you'd be buried in sand right now!"
"Although space-type and time-type items aren't particularly rare, it's not easy for low-level players to get them." Brother Tu spun the windmill and said, "Those two should also have flight items, otherwise they couldn't have escaped so quickly without a trace."
"Could it be a space teleportation item?" the twins asked.
"No," Brother Tu said. "If they had one, they would have used it when they first ran. I think even if they have a flight item, its quality isn't great. They didn't have absolute confidence in escaping from the six of us, so they abandoned this windmill item."
"Very decisive. A smart person." The white-haired old man asked, "Should we chase them?"
"They'll eventually go to Black Maple Valley. We just need to wait for them there." Brother Tu glanced at the windmill. "Only by killing players can you inherit items. Those two will die sooner or later."
On the other side, Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu, who had escaped into another forest, found a place to rest.
Yan Jiayu said with some regret, "We lost an item. The windmill is probably already in their hands by now."
"It doesn't matter. No matter how important, it's just an item." Xu Huo said. "They can't use it even if they have it. They'll come looking for us sooner or later, and we can take it back then."
"Black Maple Valley is the fifth random location. They'll definitely block us there in advance." Yan Jiayu paused and said, "But that twin's trait is too powerful. Two against two, we were at a disadvantage. Two against six, and we still need to get the item back—can we do it?"
"Looking at the number of small hats they're carrying, they've been in the instance for a while. Rather than killing people for items, they'll prioritize clearing the instance." Xu Huo said. "A multi-person ticket for the amusement park supports at most four people. Those six will have to split into at least two teams to answer questions. That's a possible opportunity."
Yan Jiayu nodded slightly, then asked, "But is Black Maple Valley really the fifth random location?"
"I'm not sure." Xu Huo said. "But whether it is or not doesn't matter. The reason I sold that information was just to let more players help me verify a truth."
"What truth?" Yan Jiayu thought for a moment. "About the play guide?"
Xu Huo nodded. If Black Maple Valley was the fifth random location and such a large number of players rushed over without even one person clearing it, that would mean the puppet was very likely lying.