Chapter 286: The Tenth Game Point
The flying marbles continuously struck Xu Huo, and even though blood streamed from the hand gripping the dagger, he showed no sign of letting go. After a brief pause, a faint smile even appeared on his face.
Brother Tu had seen plenty of cases where people capsized in a ditch. He immediately tried to retreat, but then felt a gust of wind behind his head. Relying on instinct, he turned his head, only to see a short arrow graze past his head, circle around, and fly back toward him!
"So that's your game!" Brother Tu's face twisted in fury. He loosened his grip on the dagger, switched his right hand into a fist, and slammed it into Xu Huo's abdomen. "Die already... how is that possible!"
This punch didn't shatter his internal organs as hoped. Instead, it felt like sinking into a quagmire, pulling his palm along with the tattered short-sleeved shirt outside into it, while a piece of paper-like object appeared on Xu Huo's chest!
A Spatial System Item!
Brother Tu's expression changed drastically. He wanted to kill Xu Huo before being completely sucked in, but as soon as he raised his hand, a zither string locked around his throat. Instinctively reaching for his neck, he caught a glimpse in his peripheral vision of Xu Huo picking up the white paper from his chest, which had swallowed his arm, and then putting it over his head.
Brother Tu vanished. An abstract-style face appeared on the white paper. Xu Huo dodged Old Yu's grab and chuckled, "When I crossed the broken bridge earlier, there was nothing on the ground. The trap only appeared after you came over. It seems this landmine-planting trait can't be interrupted midway."
As he spoke, he leaped toward the other side of the crack. Old Yu followed closely, even faster than him. "So what if you know? How many more times can you use that hover item?"
"You don't need to worry about that." Xu Huo, who had already put on a new pair of disposable gloves, grabbed the zither string mid-air and steadily returned to this side of the crack. After landing, he smiled at him. "Goodbye."
Old Yu's eyes bulged, and the regret on his face had just formed when he vanished from the spot.
"Go play in the ticket area." Xu Huo shook his numb hand, took out two bottles of Self-Healing Agent, and drank them.
Watching the person in the white paper struggle to reach out, he sealed it with a picture frame. The abstract figure inside immediately behaved obediently, though its mouth didn't stop moving.
Xu Huo couldn't hear the sound. He stored the painting in his item slot, then turned and walked up the broken stone steps, crossing the arch bridge into the lighthouse building.
The moment he stepped inside, a puppet suddenly appeared in mid-air, opening its mouth toward him.
"I can't hear sounds. Reading a puppet's lip movements is a bit difficult, don't you think?" Xu Huo said.
The puppet paused, then waved a hand at him, and the sound returned.
Rubbing his ears, Xu Huo said, "Thanks. But I'm here to play the game."
The puppet floated in front of him, its voice far from calm. "How did you find out?"
"Because of you." Xu Huo said, "Although I was teleported back to the ticket area earlier, unlike my companions, I didn't step on a puppet."
"There are two rules in the instance for returning to the ticket area: attacking staff during non-game hours, and visiting two park zones on the same day. Since I didn't step on a puppet, it can only mean I violated the other rule."
"The crack in the middle of the building is the park zone boundary. Crossing it means leaving the Rabbit Bear Park. The easily breakable puppets are just obstacles used to cover up this information."
"Of the two buildings in Black Maple Valley, this back one isn't within the game range. The reason you brought us here was to use the instance rules to make us drop out."
"Deliberately choosing such a peculiar ancient castle, using puppets as a smokescreen, and hiding the park zone boundary—this can only mean there's something very important here."
"The instance requires visiting the park according to the tour guide, but the guide only gives ten locations. The strange thing is that although these locations are fixed, not many players have cleared them." He looked up at the puppet. "So the game points the puppet pointed out aren't entirely correct."
"Using a Q&A game to cover up the real game points is a good method."
"But the game points can't be completely hidden, so they're set at the edge of the park. If someone tries to climb up here, you appear and lead them toward the back castle. Using puppets is an extra layer of insurance. With so many puppets and poor visibility, players can easily kill them by mistake. Of course, even if they don't, returning to the ticket area will make them doubt themselves. Although players have evolved, they still can't see in the dark."
"Because mistakenly killing a puppet sends them back to the ticket area, players will naturally assume this isn't a game location, thus covering up the real one."
"You're quite clever." The puppet let out a crisp voice. "But even if you've found it, I can still prevent you from clearing it."
"I know." Xu Huo nodded. "So the reason I explained all this to you isn't to show off, but to tell you that I've already figured out the method to clear it, and my companion knows it too. If I can't successfully pass this game point, my companion will spread the word that this is the tenth game point."
"Then every player who enters the amusement park will know how to clear it. People will come and go, and they won't linger in the instance for long."
He suddenly stopped speaking and gave the puppet a friendly smile. "You'll never get to eat candy."
The puppet's belly deflated, and it burst open, revealing a little girl who jumped out. She glared angrily at Xu Huo. "You're so mean! All you adults are this mean!"
"How am I mean?" Xu Huo pressed the tip of his sword against the ground. "Would other players give you that much candy? And limited-edition candy at that."
The little girl pursed her lips, feeling he had a point, but still stubbornly said, "You're still mean, just a little better than the other bad guys."
"Guess I'll take that." Xu Huo didn't argue with her and returned to the main topic. "Now, can you let me clear it?"
The little girl pouted unhappily. "I don't want to give you the little hat."
Xu Huo piled all the remaining candy on the ground and tapped his sword. "You have to follow the game rules too. I entered this game point, so whether I win or lose, there has to be a result. You can't just run off midway."
"Now choose: do you want to trade the little hat for candy, or for a beating?"
The little girl ran back two steps, but turned around and looked at the candy with intense longing, her expression conflicted.
Seeing this, Xu Huo added, "How about this: if you let me clear it, I can buy you delicious candy from other instance worlds in the future, okay?"
"Really?" The little girl's eyes lit up, but then she said, "But where will you find me?"
"Can't you bring people into the instance through puppets? Getting something shouldn't be a problem, right?" Xu Huo's voice softened. "Random instances can go to many places, but they're relatively unfree. I'm much more convenient. I have to enter instances anyway, so buying something on the side is no big deal. No matter where I am, I can send you delicious food and fun things right away."
(Chapter End)