Chapter 282: The Child Wearing a Hat
"Xu Huo should be fine, right?" Yan Jiayu was speaking. "Didn't you say he just killed that twin player?"
"But that was before I separated from them..." Peng Ru was very worried. Xu Huo accepted the item and entered from the balcony. "I'm fine."
He looked at the three of them. "How did you all end up together?"
"Didn't the twins come after me?" Yan Jiayu said. "Their traits were too strong. I couldn't beat them. While escaping, I happened to run into Tang Xiao. He helped me out, otherwise I might not have gotten away so quickly."
"We ran into Peng Ru while coming to find you."
During their conversation, Peng Ru quietly stepped back a little. "Mr. Xu, Jin Chao isn't with you?"
"I got separated from him when the game started," Xu Huo said. "We entered the secret passage one after the other. After I went in, he was gone. He might have been caught by the puppets and eliminated. After the game ends, we should be able to find him outside the ancient castle."
Tang Xiao nodded. "At the beginning of hide-and-seek, a lot of players were eliminated indeed. There's no helping it. We didn't dare attack the puppets recklessly either."
"Did you run into those players?" Yan Jiayu asked Xu Huo. "Did someone come after you again?"
"I'm not sure either," Xu Huo said. "After hiding in the secret passage for a while, I came out to see this scene. If you hadn't come, I would have left. The smell of blood might attract cannibal players."
"Then let's hurry up and go," Yan Jiayu said.
The others naturally had no objections. However, Peng Ru's gaze quickly swept across the room. She fell behind the others, but when she looked forward again, she suddenly caught Xu Huo staring at her. Her scalp went numb, and she immediately asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing," Xu Huo said. "I just feel like you don't quite trust me."
Yan Jiayu turned back and said, "Xu Huo won't lie to you. He's a good person. If you're worried, go out and look for people. There will be more random instances later."
She spoke sincerely. If Peng Ru kept pressing the issue, it would seem awkward.
"It's not that I don't trust Mr. Xu. I'm just worried about Jin Chao," Peng Ru said. "This place has become even stranger since entering game mode."
"It's like a haunted house. You never know where an ugly puppet might pop out," Yan Jiayu said. As soon as she finished speaking, the cabinet in the corridor suddenly opened from the inside. A bloodstained, rotting bear head stuck out, roaring at her ferociously.
Yan Jiayu sidestepped a little to avoid being bitten, then quickly closed the cabinet doors with one hand, switched to the other, grabbed the bear's snout, and shoved it back inside. She even used a handle she'd picked up somewhere to latch it from the outside.
Watching the cabinet thump and bang, she laughed. "This is pretty fun."
To avoid attracting more puppets with the noise, the group quickened their pace and prepared to go downstairs. However, they nearly ran head-on into a few players creeping upstairs. Xu Huo stopped the group and opened a nearby door.
After they hid inside, Yan Jiayu pressed her ear against the door to listen for outside sounds. Only when the footsteps faded did she turn back and gesture to the other three.
"The game ends at dawn. Let's rest for a while," Tang Xiao said. He moved a cabinet over to block the door and placed a black stone on the corner of the cabinet.
"What's that?" Yan Jiayu asked curiously.
"It's an item, a 'Thousand-Pound Drop,'" Tang Xiao said while shifting the cabinet toward the dark doorway. "It works like a doorstop, but it's more effective."
Xu Huo went over to help, kicking aside a doll that had fallen against the wall. He said to Yan Jiayu, "Find some rope to tie them up."
Yan Jiayu nodded and immediately pulled a bag of zip ties from her luggage compartment. She bound the puppet's hands and feet behind its back. "Even if they come back to life later, they won't be able to catch anyone."
"Good idea." Xu Huo also helped with the binding.
Soon, every puppet visible in the room was tied up. Not only that, but Yan Jiayu also tore down a few curtain ropes and tied all the puppets together.
Tang Xiao looked at the plush toys, whose style had suddenly changed, and couldn't help saying, "Is that necessary? They're just puppets."
"This is called preparing for a rainy day," Yan Jiayu said, patting a puppet that had been twisted out of shape. "Who knows if they might try to eliminate us while we're resting?"
Tang Xiao didn't say anything more and found a place to sit down.
Xu Huo sat by the door, looking through the window at the broken bridge behind the ancient castle.
"Has anyone been back there?" he suddenly asked.
"You mean the other ancient castle across the broken bridge?" Peng Ru responded. "Probably no one has gone there."
"I haven't either," Tang Xiao said. "The Black Maple Valley Ancient Castle isn't a game location either. Many players found it strange that this Q&A game appeared here."
"Is something wrong back there?" Peng Ru stood up and looked seriously toward the broken bridge for a while. "It's all broken down. There's nothing there."
The castle behind had many missing sections. Even from a distance, you could see through it. Even if a player came here, standing on the bridge or at the entrance would be enough to see inside. It wasn't worth exploring.
"How about we go take a look?" Yan Jiayu said. "It's still hide-and-seek anyway. As long as we don't get caught, it's fine."
"Is that a good idea?" Peng Ru said. "Hide-and-seek is part of the Q&A game. Who knows what questions the puppets might ask after dawn? What if it's related to this hide-and-seek? Would leaving the ancient castle ourselves get us eliminated?"
"Even if we complete this game, we can't clear it," Xu Huo said. "I still have over a dozen unused little hats."
"You can't just give up like that," Tang Xiao quickly said. "The more little hats you have, the harder it is to clear. It's not easy to finally get this random location. At least try to get one little hat."
"One or a few makes little difference," Xu Huo said, standing up decisively. "You stay. I'll go take a look."
Yan Jiayu also stood up. She was definitely going.
Tang Xiao's expression was hesitant, but just as the two were about to leave, he quickly followed. "I'll go too. I already have enough little hats anyway."
Peng Ru watched the three jump downstairs. After hesitating, she chose to follow.
Outside, the moonlight was bright. As soon as the four stepped onto the stone bridge, they felt gazes shooting at them from behind. Fortunately, no players followed them out.
"This bridge doesn't look sturdy at all. Can we jump across?" Peng Ru glanced at the cracked stones beneath her feet.
"I have no problem," Yan Jiayu said. She flexed her legs, took a few steps back, ran forward, leaped into the air, and landed lightly on the other side.
"I have an item. I can take you across." Xu Huo manipulated the strings to fly to Tang Xiao's side, signaling for the two of them to grab hold. After sending them over, he crossed himself.
Just as they were about to head toward the castle behind, Yan Jiayu suddenly stopped. "Do you guys smell something foul?"
As she spoke, she looked up and met the gaze of a small head wearing a hat, sticking out from the suspended lighthouse structure.
(Chapter End)