Chapter 2870: Xu Huo's Sincerity
In just a few days, half of the players in the instance had died.
The later-arriving player organizations had also lost the calm confidence they had when they first entered. No matter how many instruments they brought, they couldn't guard against the elusive instance boss. They had managed to find some naturally spawned items, but the lives they had lost in the process were not few.
At some point, they had probably gone to explore the space where the instance boss was lingering, and a single squad had been wiped out in one go.
After suffering two losses, even Xiong Xiaoxin wasn't as cheerful as before.
With only about twenty people left, the instance hadn't stopped, nor had anyone cleared it.
At this point, everyone realized that if they delayed any longer, they would probably have to wait until most of the people were dead before there was any hope of clearing it.
So the Bearded Man stepped forward to negotiate with Xu Huo and Xiong Xiaoxin. The three of them would put the remaining players into container items, minimizing the number of people as much as possible to see if they could clear the instance through the first task.
Both the Bearded Man and Xiong Xiaoxin had their own teammates. While they couldn't all be said to be sworn friends, in this situation, they could only trust their teammates. As for whether entering the container items would have any side effects, no one knew now—they would worry about surviving first.
But Xu Huo's group was more mixed. They were all strangers thrown together by chance. Who would dare enter someone else's container item?
The Bearded Man and Xiong Xiaoxin's meaning was clear: if Wang Xin and the others didn't agree, they would have to concentrate their forces to solve the problem. They had the numerical advantage.
"If we fight, it won't necessarily be us who die," the Purple-Haired Man said stubbornly. "Either way, we'll be wearing each other down. Maybe by the time we're done fighting, the container items won't even be useful anymore."
"What do you say?" the Bearded Man looked at Xu Huo.
Xu Huo swept a glance at him. "You should be burning incense to thank your ancestors that I'm not killing the rest of your Hundred Forest Society."
Watch your attitude.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The Bearded Man swallowed his anger and didn't argue with him. Instead, he said to Wang Xin and Yue Yan'er, "You're all from District 033. There are two player organizations here to vouch for each other. I can guarantee that whether we clear the instance or not, I will release you alive from the container items."
Even Wang Xin, who had a favorable impression of the district government, absolutely refused to nod. Neither player organization had a good reputation. Besides, even if the other party was willing to vouch for them, what good would it do if they were dead?
"Then let's just drag it out," the Sparrow Bird also said. "Anyway, people are definitely going to die tonight. By tomorrow morning, we'll be one step closer to clearing it."
Everyone fell silent for a moment. Xiong Xiaoxin's expression wasn't good. "In terms of time, you're in more danger."
It was true that Xu Huo and his group had entered earlier, but nothing was absolute. At least the earliest among them, Cong Lei, was still alive, while half of the player organization's personnel were already dead.
"Why don't you try first," Cong Lei, who was in the most danger at this moment, suggested. "You put your respective people into the container items. That way, there will only be ten of us left. Maybe we can clear it!"
Entering the container items was already a last resort. Why should the player organizations give up the chance to clear the instance to Wang Xin and the others?
Everyone coveted the rewards for clearing an A-rank instance. Who knew if they could get some rare items?
"I disagree," the Bearded Man said.
"Let's try," Xu Huo said at this point. "The instance is changing. Being able to clear it without further losses is a good thing."
The places where space portals could be opened were becoming fewer and fewer, but the patterns of spatial interaction were becoming more regular. This meant that the players' chances of escape were decreasing. Staying in the small compartments was dangerous, and going out was also dangerous. The instance venue was only this big; there was nowhere to run.
Xiong Xiaoxin wanted to build a connection with Xu Huo, so she didn't say much and agreed. Besides, she had the Holy Sword Society backing her, so the other members of her organization had to listen whether they liked it or not.
The Bearded Man was very reluctant, but seeing Xiong Xiaoxin unhesitatingly stand with Xu Huo, he had no choice but to nod. He turned back to discuss with his companions and decided to give it a try.
The two of them put their companions into their respective container items. The number of players present sharply decreased, but after waiting for a while with no reaction, they immediately released them again.
"Is the number not small enough?" Xiong Xiaoxin's gaze subtly lingered on the Sparrow Bird and the others, as if considering whether to reduce a few more people.
"You should try too," Xu Huo said to Wang Xin and the others. He took out his container item. "Enter my container item. I can guarantee I'll release you."
Even with his words, no one was willing.
"They and I have both shown the utmost sincerity," he added.
"What kind of sincerity is this?" the Sparrow Bird said. "Why can't it be the others entering my item?"
"If you have the ability to kill them all, go ahead." Xu Huo made a "please" gesture. Not killing them directly but negotiating with them to enter the container item was his sincerity.
If the space portals couldn't be opened at all, he would also be in danger in the instance. "Darkened Heart" could only buy time. The real way to get rid of the instance boss was to cross the space, and when the spatial interaction happened at night, they might not be lucky enough to step into the interaction point at the right moment.
"You have to guarantee that you'll really let us out," Cong Lei had no choice. He was the most endangered among them all.
Handing his life over to someone else made signing any contract impossible, and besides, Xu Huo wouldn't give them that chance.
The Bearded Man, who had always acted alone, silently retreated toward the building.
"Come back." Xu Huo had sensed his movement the moment he started. He turned his head and issued a command. Under the powerful pressure of "Mirror Space," the Bearded Man, who wasn't on high alert, paused in his steps and started walking back toward them.
But he was an A-rank player after all. A metal helmet quickly and automatically covered his head. This item somewhat weakened the mental control. The Bearded Man wiped the blood flowing from his nose and, turning the tables, attacked Xu Huo!
"Eternal Darkness!" the Bearded Man shouted loudly. The light in the entire instance venue dimmed, and at the same time, countless fine needles appeared in the air. These needles indiscriminately covered the courtyard, and because he was holding a high-level spatial item, they caused many people's spatial defense items to fail!
Although defense items came in many varieties, for safety's sake, the people who had been gathered in the courtyard scattered in all directions.
The Bearded Man was very skilled in combat. This series of attacks wasn't all. After a feint, he continuously released multiple large-scale explosive items, but he himself retreated toward the building.
How could Xu Huo let him get away? He turned the "Time Ring" on his hand and then activated the power of time. His intention was to freeze the man in place and then kill him, but unexpectedly, the time power missed—the fleeing figure wasn't the real Bearded Man at all!
Whether it was a trait or an item that had interfered with his judgment, the real Bearded Man seemed to have disappeared from his perception range.
This was quite surprising. After all, with mental evolution and spatial evolution, it was generally difficult for ordinary items to completely block his perception.
Raising an eyebrow, he turned to face the person who had already closed in, and smiled slightly. "Is it an item or a trait?"