Chapter 288: The Method to Distinguish Geniuses from Ordinary People
The lights in the park had been broken at some unknown time, and the trees were planted densely, so once night fell, it inevitably looked eerie and ghostly. Suddenly, a gust of wind passed through the woods toward the carousel, causing the hanging decorations to sway and make noise. A puppet placed to the side inexplicably began to glow, and then two figures appeared out of thin air.
"Ahhh!!! Ghost!" Several young people screamed and stumbled wildly out of the park.
Glancing at the few fleeing figures, Xu Huo withdrew his gaze and raised his hand to catch the shrunken puppet.
"Brave enough to come out and test their nerves during a special period—admirable courage," Yan Jiayu muttered while moving her arm, then looked at the puppet in his hand. "Did the instance boss give this to you?"
Xu Huo nodded. "It was agreed upon beforehand."
Yan Jiayu probably guessed what he wanted this thing for, and added, "I thought instance rules were always clear and straightforward, never expecting they could trick players. She gave this to you so easily—maybe she has other plans."
Xu Huo naturally understood. The amusement park instance wasn't very difficult, but the corresponding instance boss had tampered with the game tasks. Although she wore the appearance of a child, she wasn't a real child. She would only agree to give him the puppet if the transaction was mutually beneficial. After all, an entrance passage to a random instance was equivalent to a backup escape method.
"Let's find a place to settle down first," he said, putting away the puppet.
The two walked out of the park and entered the old city district. Although no one was walking outside, every household in this area had their lights blazing. The streets and alleys were all equipped with large lamps, making the visibility clear.
"Recently, there have been many vicious murders in Flower City, so the Special Defense Department came up with this solution. After nine o'clock at night, everyone must turn on their lights. With everything brightly lit, even Evolvers can't kill in the dark. If you really encounter an attack, pulling the alarm will bring someone quickly."
Yan Jiayu had been here for several days and already knew the situation. "There are no shops open in the old city at night, but there's a small inn ahead where people can stay."
Xu Huo followed her into a very small shop. There was no one inside, and a sign on the counter instructed guests to take their own keys and toiletries.
"I come here every day," Yan Jiayu said, dropping a few red banknotes into an iron box before taking two keys. She handed one to him and said with a smile, "But tonight, I can finally get a good night's sleep."
The rooms were on the first floor. Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu reached the door and each entered their own room.
Closing the door, Xu Huo first took a shower and checked his wounds.
His arms, legs, and back were all injured. A D-grade Self-Healing Agent could speed up the healing process beyond normal recovery, but it wasn't enough to heal completely. The wounds still throbbed with pain.
After applying medicine and bandaging the larger gashes, he changed into clean clothes, sat on the bed, and checked his game panel.
The rewards from this random instance weren't many. Aside from the "Silent Coin" won in the game and the "Awakening Puppet" given by the instance boss, there was only a "Clown Suit" and thirty thousand White Notes, along with a few potions.
[Clown Suit: A versatile tool for anyone not a professional clown. As long as you wear it, you'll look like a real clown, bringing joy to others while also padding your own empty wallet.]
The potions weren't worth mentioning—the usual three: Evolution Agent, Self-Healing Agent, and Cleaning Agent. The Self-Healing Agent and Cleaning Agent were both D-grade quality.
As of now, Xu Huo possessed over thirty E-grade items.
Aside from rewards obtained from instances like "Super Running Shoes," "Two-Color Rubik's Cube," and "Adult Fairy Tale Book," the other twenty or so items, such as "Omnipresent Strings" and "Ox Shield," were acquired from other players.
The "Seven-Color Gloves" came from Wang Chaoqing, "Hungry Napkin" and "Identification Fork" were obtained in the Hundred-Person Art Museum, and "Spoiled Gloves" were a gift from Zhou Ning.
"Muscle Swapper," "Inflatable Dumbbell," and "Beauty Needle" came from the players he killed in the Jing City underground market. At the time, there was also a bowling ball item he didn't retrieve before leaving.
The rest were mostly contributed by the players he killed in this amusement park instance, such as "Non-Tying Thread" and "Note Launcher."
As for D-grade items, in addition to his original "V. Van Shaw's Tools" and "World Within the Painting," three new ones were added this time: the female player's "Targeted Chainsaw," the twin players' "Icy Butcher Knife," and the game reward "Clown Suit."
Currently, he only had one C-grade item: "Peeping Eye."
The rest were special items like "Twisted Mask," "Crimson Sword," and "Angel's Fangs." The "Awakening Puppet" given by this instance boss was also a special item.
High-quality items weren't many, but they weren't few either. E-grade items were the most numerous, and most had limited uses. A D-grade player could only upgrade one item per month, which was slow. These large quantities of items would have to wait until the next instance world to find a place to trade.
Of course, the several players he killed this time had decent resources. Together, they added nearly two hundred thousand White Notes to his assets, along with many potions. However, compared to that, their item grades weren't high, and the quantity was a bit lacking. The main prize was naturally Brother Tu, who had been transferred into the painting.
Xu Huo took out "World Within the Painting."
The abstract figure, upon seeing his face, couldn't help but twist uncontrollably.
"Stop twisting—your face looks ugly," Xu Huo reminded him, placing the painting on the bed. He took water and food from the luggage compartment and, while eating and drinking, said, "You're already in my hands. No matter how unwilling you are, you have to accept it. My items are with you, right? Let's have a good talk."
The abstract figure's mouth twisted. "Too bad you don't dare to let me out or come into the painting. If you want information from me, you'll have to offer the right price."
Xu Huo laughed at this. "Don't worry, I won't keep you around until the New Year."
The abstract figure's eyeballs trembled slightly. After a moment, he said, "What do you want to ask?"
"The method of Super Evolution," Xu Huo said. "How did you evolve?"
"I thought you were a newbie, but I didn't expect you to know about Super Evolution," the abstract figure said, somewhat surprised. But he quickly added, "I can't help you with this. I don't know the method to trigger Super Evolution. As for myself, it was purely a stroke of luck."
"So Super Evolution can't be artificially interfered with—it can only happen naturally?" Xu Huo understood the implication of his words.
"If all Evolvers can continuously evolve through potions, then when everyone becomes an Evolver, what difference does evolution make?" the abstract figure said. "The Super Evolution above evolution is the only method to distinguish geniuses from ordinary people. Whether you can reach the height of Super Evolution depends entirely on personal talent."
Players, Please Board the Train.