Chapter 2851: Where the Footsteps Stop
No matter what thoughts the players harbored, with limited information, they could only hold them in.
The four players who had come from other spaces clearly knew something, but because of the Hundred Forest Society's presence, they couldn't be forced out.
However, judging by the casualty rate, players were still slaughtering each other even in this situation.
Before long, the short, wizened old man had pulled some players from the Purple Life Research Institute to his side. The hired players were now split into two factions: Xu Huo's group of four, Shen Ling'er and He He as one faction, the purple-haired man as another, while the remaining red gem necklace, tall white-haired man, and others, along with another Spatial Evolver painter, formed a third faction. The latter group was closer to the short old man.
"What are they whispering about?" He He said. "I bet that old man knows something."
"Probably scheming about how to kill people," the purple-haired man said nonchalantly. "Since none of us can stay outside the cubicles all night, there's another way to complete the first clearance task."
He didn't drag it out and continued, "Just reduce the numbers."
"Fewer people, and the research institute will naturally have to stop operations."
In fact, some players had already thought of this, but since they hadn't been in the instance long, there was no urgency, so they wanted to look for items first.
It wasn't unusual for instances to "encourage" players to kill each other. This was even simpler than "kill all players who entered the cubicles."
"That's not simple either," He He said. "New players are coming in nonstop outside. Who knows what the standard for stopping operations is? What if it's just one or two people?"
That was the real problem—the more people, the lower the chance of clearing the instance.
"I just hope those outside are smart enough," Wang Xin said. "With so many players coming in and no response, they should stop sending more."
There was still time, so they arranged to take turns resting.
Xu Huo found a corner on the first floor hall to sleep. For safety, he used a defense device, but no sooner had he closed his eyes than the old man on the other side started making moves.
He tried to perform a mental suggestion on Xu Huo.
He was very careful, and since people's reactions were somewhat dulled when drowsy, choosing this moment to strike, while not immediately effective, could influence judgment with repeated suggestions.
Xu Huo ignored it, pretending not to notice his small actions.
The old man was cautious enough to withdraw his spiritual power after a rough attempt to avoid being detected by others.
Xu Huo slept for three hours before getting up, letting Wang Xin and Yue Yan'er rest.
Although it was unlikely they could sleep peacefully, most players wouldn't choose to be lone wolves in this situation, so teammates were temporarily safe.
Time quickly passed to eight in the evening. It was the same as yesterday—when the broken lights flickered on, the spatial power in the area began to fluctuate rapidly, and then the cubicles formed.
The players had roughly known the positions of the cubicles from yesterday, so today they spread out in advance to avoid multiple people fighting over one room and wasting time.
Xu Huo still moved with Wang Xin and the others. They acted quickly today, grabbing a room on the first floor. But the three players from the Hundred Forest Society who had been following Xu Huo suddenly squeezed in, entering the same room as them without asking.
With more people, the risk increased, so Shen Ling'er and the others immediately moved to a room upstairs. As for the short old man and the red gem necklace group, they entered the room opposite Xu Huo's.
"Should we leave the door cracked?" Yue Yan'er asked. "Yesterday, the Hundred Forest Society people left a crack, and nothing happened."
"Don't," Xu Huo said first. "There's no need."
Even with a crack, they could only see the area right in front of the door. This efficiency was worse than placing a few more devices outside. It only added unknown risks without any benefit.
Seeing that no one else objected, Yue Yan'er closed the door.
Many players set up devices today, especially those with backgrounds like the Hundred Forest Society. Some small devices were as plentiful as wholesale goods, used as consumables without any loss, so they placed at least three devices on every floor.
Other players, like Yue Yan'er, could only choose specific floors to place theirs.
The advantage of everyone setting up devices was that no one would actively tamper with others'.
The cubicle they chose this time didn't have a special point where spatial power was concentrated, so Xu Huo didn't use "Please Knock If Something Happens."
Previously, on the fifth underground floor, Xu Huo and the others heard footsteps shortly after entering. This time, they were on the first floor, but less than twenty minutes after closing the door, the footsteps sounded again.
Exchanging glances, everyone held their breath and waited. The footsteps came from one end of the corridor, passed by Xu Huo's door, and then, as they moved toward the other side, suddenly stopped briefly.
Footsteps coming and going could cause psychological pressure but were barely tolerable. But when the sound of movement abruptly ceased, it left infinite room for imagination.
Those few seconds felt incredibly long. Players feared they would be the unlucky ones chosen. But fortunately, after a short while, the footsteps resumed, following the usual pattern, pacing back and forth a few times before disappearing.
Wang Xin and the others broke out in a cold sweat. After the crisis passed, they began to wonder why the footsteps had suddenly stopped.
There definitely wouldn't be any players lingering on the first floor. Could it be that a door wasn't closed?
Based on the time they closed their door, Xu Huo knew that three cubicles on the west side hadn't been shut tightly. Unfortunately, the Hundred Forest Society people were too tight-lipped. He didn't know if the footsteps had paused outside that player's door yesterday. The footage captured by the devices earlier was incomplete, but all the visible cubicles had their doors closed. Once the footsteps came, the devices were destroyed, so naturally, they couldn't tell if the footsteps had truly stopped.
"Is this pause important?" someone from the Hundred Forest Society asked.
Wang Xin and the others were already annoyed that the three had forced their way in, so they ignored the question.
It was obvious—if the person in the room where the footsteps paused died or disappeared, it definitely indicated the instance boss's behavior pattern.
"Too bad no one mentioned this during the day," Yue Yan'er said. "We didn't know the footsteps would stop."
"We'll see tomorrow," Wang Xin said.
After a few agonizing hours, at midnight, the cubicle doors could be opened again. Players who had been hiding inside rushed out to grab the devices outside.
Even though the devices were already damaged, Yue Yan'er only retrieved the three closest to her.
She said angrily, "I improved this old-fashioned pinhole camera through many versions, and now it's completely ruined!"