Chapter 2852: It's Me
The simple camera Yue Yanei mentioned was a instant camera that developed each photo immediately after it was taken. Although it wasn't as effective as other monitoring instruments, the advantage of this method was that it could clearly preserve whatever had been recorded, as long as the generated photos weren't damaged.
Yue Yanei took out a very small square box from the camera. "The photos are all inside."
"So small?" Wang Xin was somewhat surprised. "Is it a storage chip?"
"Can a chip still be used if it's cut into pieces?" Yue Yanei said with a hint of pride. "Photos can still be used even if cut."
The camera had been sliced into several pieces, and this small box was no exception. The moment she picked it up, it broke into three pieces, and the micro-photos inside were also damaged. But that wasn't a problem. Yue Yanei took out a projection device, placed the reassembled photos on it, and the image was quickly enlarged.
The photos had time intervals. Aside from initially capturing two blurry figures, there was nothing else. The only gain was that a photo showed a room on the second floor that hadn't been closed.
But the photos only recorded up to 8:30 PM.
"No wonder there are so few photos." Yue Yanei muttered, then immediately went to check the footage transmitted by other instruments.
After reviewing everything, everyone fell silent, because the other instruments had also only recorded up to 8:30 PM, and without exception, all were damaged afterward.
"Damn it! All my instruments are destroyed!" Someone outside was cursing in a low voice.
"It seems the others' instruments are about the same." Que Niao said.
Now, forget about figuring out more patterns—some of the vague information from yesterday had become completely worthless today!
"Using instruments to replace people won't work." Xu Huo said. "We still have to go out."
Not many instruments had been placed yesterday, and they were only damaged when footsteps approached. But today at 8:30 PM, all instruments placed within the instance venue were destroyed, which seemed more like angering the instance boss.
Additionally, yesterday the footsteps started from the fifth basement level, but today at around 8:20 PM, they were already on the first floor of the instance. This showed that the patrol time was also irregular, not to mention that momentary pause.
Xu Huo walked out of the small compartment. Judging by the sound's location, the players hiding in the two nearby compartments were unharmed.
When he stood at the door, the opposite door also opened, but it wasn't the short old man or the people from Purple Life Research Institute who came out, but another player he hadn't seen before.
This person's eyes were bloodshot, and his gaze toward Xu Huo was full of vigilance and warning. He had no intention of exchanging information and immediately headed upstairs without a word.
Xu Huo surveyed the entire instance venue. This time, he only found two piles of ash. Meanwhile, on the third floor of the atrium building and the twelfth floor on the east side, players suddenly appeared and then disappeared—all unfamiliar faces.
He walked toward the elevator shaft.
Yue Yanei and Wang Xin stayed in the small compartment. Que Niao took the initiative to follow Xu Huo. Two of the three Hundred Forest Society members also followed, while the other headed toward the corridor.
Xu Huo searched for concentrations of spatial power while continuing to observe the players entering and leaving the instance venue.
More players came out today than yesterday. When he descended to the third basement level, he encountered two completely new faces. These two eagerly approached him to chat, voluntarily stating that they had already been in the instance for seven days.
"Seven days. How many players came in around the same time as you?" Que Niao asked.
"At least fifteen," one of them replied. "But after we switched spaces on the first night, we almost never ran into them again."
Within the instance venue, spatial interactions were frequent in the latter half of the night, giving players a certain chance of entering other spaces. Based on what Xu Huo knew so far about those who had left their small compartments, the frequency of spatial interactions within the compartments was not as high as elsewhere.
However, switching spaces made it difficult to see other players who entered at the same time, indicating that the instance actually restricted players from moving back and forth between different spaces.
He wondered if this had anything to do with the instance boss's primary and secondary hunting grounds.
The two players wanted to team up with Xu Huo and his group, and they told him that some players were using the instance rules to kill other players.
For example, by creating noise.
"Creating noise?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. "In my view, during the first half of the night and before dawn, the instance boss only moves outside the small compartments. As long as there isn't too much noise inside the compartments, it shouldn't attract attention."
If it were in the corridor, how many players could stay there? Would this method really provoke the instance boss?
"Not necessarily," the older player said. "We've encountered other players before. When we first came in, it seemed no different from what you said, but don't forget, as time goes on, the small compartments become more dangerous. By then, the instance boss might not strictly follow the schedule of opening and closing the compartment doors."
"So creating noise outside the small compartments is definitely effective," the younger player asserted.
"Have you seen it happen?" Que Niao's gaze lingered on the two.
The two exchanged glances, and the older player said, "We heard about it from other players."
The two Hundred Forest Society members who had followed spoke up: "Did you hear about it, or have you used this method to kill people?"
The two players' expressions darkened. Just as they were about to say something, they suddenly saw a light flickering somewhere in the corridor on the fourth basement level.
Almost instantly, these two, along with two Purple Life Research Institute players who were already on the fourth level, shot toward it. The older player grabbed the seemingly ordinary piece of glass shard first, but before the smile could fully spread across his face, he suddenly vanished from midair!
"Another spatial portal!" The younger player quickly retreated, afraid of accidentally stepping into it.
"So scared? Could it be that other spaces are more dangerous than ours?" Que Niao probed. "It can't be that the instance boss has to kill everyone in other spaces before coming for the latecomers, right?"
Several pairs of eyes were fixed on him. The younger player paused for two seconds before saying, "The space where the instance boss frequently moves is definitely more dangerous than other spaces."
What if they were unlucky enough to end up there? The instance didn't say the holder only killed according to a set pattern.
According to the instance rules, even though players could move freely during the few hours of the latter half of the night, it didn't mean there was no danger at all.
As they were speaking, Xu Huo suddenly sensed spatial power fluctuations nearby. He frowned, and the next second, he disappeared from the fourth basement level.
Seeing him suddenly vanish, the people present changed expressions and instinctively rushed toward the nearest small compartment. However, the two Hundred Forest Society members, the two Purple Life Research Institute members, Que Niao, and the young player all entered the compartments one after another. But in the end, only the two Hundred Forest Society members and Que Niao faced each other—the other three had gone elsewhere.
They stared at each other for a moment, when suddenly the door was lightly knocked twice. The three immediately became tense, but then they heard Xu Huo's low voice:
"It's me."