Chapter 2854: Rules Can Be Interfered With
This was a risky attempt to test the instance rules by using someone else as bait, but the outcome was unfavorable for everyone.
In the period after midnight, the instance boss appeared to have left this space, but if someone violated the rules—such as making noise—it would immediately reappear, and it wouldn't just kill the person who made the noise; anyone near the small cubicles would become its target.
And that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that it seemed to have lingered in this space for a long time. Judging by the sounds, some players were still attacked even after entering the small cubicles. Those hiding inside heard the sounds of people fleeing outside, but it didn't last long, and soon the noises vanished.
At this moment, others also realized that if the instance boss intended to kill those inside the cubicles, having too many people in one cubicle was a trigger point!
Unfortunately, most cubicles were now crowded with multiple people. Even though there were enough cubicles and some were still empty, the players dared not come out to switch rooms.
Fortunately, the instance boss only killed the players in one cubicle before going silent again.
Seven players died in one go, and witnessing their deaths firsthand made it clear that this was an absolutely irresistible force. The only way to survive was to hide and carefully avoid breaking the rules!
"Didn't you leave a mini robot outside?" Xu Huo said to Yue Yan'er.
Yue Yan'er paused and made a shushing gesture, signaling him not to speak, because there were also four people in their room!
Wang Xin and the Sparrow Bird stood guard by the door on either side. Although escaping outside would also lead to death, it could buy them a chance—better than dying inside the cubicle. There was an empty room diagonally ahead in the corridor, and they hadn't seen any player enter it!
They remained on high alert for half an hour before gradually relaxing.
"It didn't come to the west side building," Yue Yan'er said, using a silencing item before continuing, "The robot is still active."
She took out the device and controlled the robot to move around the building.
At this point, most people in the instance venue were staying inside their cubicles, too afraid to come out—except for those who had just arrived from other spaces.
On the west side building, a player suddenly opened their cubicle door.
Sensing that there were too few people outside, this person cracked the door open, waited a moment to see if anything happened, and then tried to step out.
After coming out, he immediately went to open the doors of nearby cubicles. Finding several doors sealed shut, his expression changed, and he quickly turned back to his own cubicle.
It was already three in the morning. In another hour, the cubicles would be sealed again.
Yue Yan'er's robot roamed back and forth along the corridor without encountering anyone from the Hundred Forest Society or the Purple Life Research Institute. However, as it moved toward the central courtyard, it picked up an item—a glass bead that suddenly rolled down from the ceiling.
The robot's detection indicated a high probability that it was a prop, so Yue Yan'er had it pick it up and head back.
But before it could cross the connecting corridor, the transmitted feed suddenly cut out.
It was similar to what had happened when the instance boss patrolled the building earlier.
Had it not left yet?
At such a time, no one dared to go out and investigate; everyone could only wait.
Soon, the cubicles were resealed, and those in crowded cubicles couldn't help but tense up again.
They endured this torment until six in the morning. When the doors could be opened, Xu Huo said to the others, "We'll have to split up tonight."
"Pair up in groups of two?" Yue Yan'er suggested.
Two people per group was better than four or five, but if other cubicles only had one person, then a pair would seem like too many.
Compared to the previous two days, the players emerging from their cubicles today looked far less relaxed.
The invisible instance boss could kill them without any chance of resistance, and they still had no clue how to clear the instance.
"Last night, when we moved around, we didn't encounter the instance boss," the purple-haired man said, unable to help blaming the Hundred Forest Society players who had experimented on others yesterday. "You pulled that stunt—who dares to come out tonight?"
The bearded man shrugged indifferently. "At least we figured out how the instance boss kills people and learned that cubicles shouldn't be too crowded."
"Yeah, 'shouldn't be too crowded.' I bet everyone will be fighting over rooms tonight, right?" the Sparrow Bird said. "I sure don't dare share a cubicle with anyone else!"
The bearded man glanced at her. "What's the difference between one person and two? Given enough time, every cubicle becomes dangerous."
That was true, but since knowing that too many people triggered the instance boss's killing rule, everyone would naturally try to stay alone in a room. Let others die first, and they could live longer.
"Maybe if we don't attract it tonight, we can still move around like the night before last," He He said.
That was an optimistic thought, but most players considered it unlikely.
So the players began questioning the spatial evolvers.
"Didn't you sense anything when the instance boss was killing people last night?" the silver-armored woman asked, addressing Xu Huo and the Painter.
The Painter glanced at Xu Huo and spoke first. "My evolution level isn't high. Why don't you ask your own people?"
"Yesterday, you used the Purple Life Research Institute people to test the rules—are you still trying to hide clues?" He He said angrily, glaring at the silver-armored woman.
The silver-armored woman's voice remained gentle. "I've already asked, but unfortunately, their talents are limited."
The Hundred Forest Society team had two spatial evolvers, and they had also poached two from the Purple Life Research Institute—the latter were hired players, seemingly numerous but not specialized. The two from the Hundred Forest Society were definitely carefully selected.
He He sneered and didn't respond.
Who would believe that?
"How about I pay with a prop found in the venue in exchange for the clues you've discovered?" the short old man spoke up, holding up a decorative door knocker.
The silver-armored woman exchanged a glance with the bearded man. After he nodded, she said, "I can tell you one rule about the instance boss's activity pattern."
The people from the Purple Life Research Institute wore expressions that said, "I knew it."
The short old man tossed the door knocker over. "Say it in front of everyone. The more we know, the better our chances of survival."
The silver-armored woman seemed to smile but made no comment. She straightforwardly revealed the pattern: "From eight in the evening to midnight, and from four to six in the morning—those six hours, the instance boss generally moves around outside the cubicles. During the four hours in between, it hunts those inside the cubicles."
"Then last night..." Shen Ling'er frowned.
"We just wanted to test whether the instance boss strictly follows that pattern. But as you saw, if you violate the rules written into the instance description, it prioritizes dealing with that," the silver-armored woman said lightly. "Since it has a priority system, that means its activity pattern can be interfered with."