Chapter 3137: This Isn't Right
Xu Huo ignored his question, took the statue in his hands to examine it for a moment, then directly handed it to him. "Hold it."
Upstairs immediately stepped back, shouting sternly, "What are you doing!"
Xu Huo stood still, just looking at him.
Upstairs then calmed down and changed his tone, asking, "Did you notice something?"
Xu Huo shook his head slightly. "I just wanted to test if carrying the statue would cause new statues to suddenly appear."
Upstairs refused, and though he didn't say anything harsh, his attitude was clear.
Xu Huo didn't insist. He casually pried off a wooden plank, placed the statue on it, and planned to drag it along.
Seeing that Xu Huo really intended to take the statue with him, Upstairs's expression shifted several times, but in the end, he said nothing. He silently followed on the other side, even stepping slightly ahead to avoid falling behind and bumping into the sculpture.
Although Xu Huo had entered hoping to get lucky and find the remains of the Battle Angel, this place had once been Carmen Field's instance and was itself a Super Instance. Since it retained some instance elements and, given the current structural integrity of the building, it was highly likely that some instance rules could be glimpsed.
Additionally, this place had once been a battlefield for Super Players, so there might be traces left behind by them.
Upstairs moved with him, gradually losing his earlier tension. While Xu Huo searched around, he also rummaged nearby, but he was extremely cautious, trying not to look at the half-human-tall statues, and avoiding them in rooms or hallways as much as possible, never casually lifting his head.
Not long after, they encountered another sudden appearance of a statue. This time, Xu Huo didn't hold back. The moment he sensed a faint energy fluctuation, the Space Threads in his hand flew out. The multicolored strands of space entity converged into a rainbow stream, piercing through the statue and covering the room's decorations and items, instantly disintegrating everything in the room.
However, this instance site was unstable. When the Kaleidoscope Threads surged through, the already cracked parts of the room widened further. The howling wind seemed to blow from an abyss, making even their souls tremble!
Upstairs immediately retreated from the room. Xu Huo followed behind, not forgetting to drag the statue along. Once they were out, they looked back to see the doorway pitch black, completely obscuring the inside, and the cracks hadn't extended out of the room.
After temporarily escaping danger, Upstairs looked at Xu Huo with a wary expression. He hadn't expected that the other could interfere with the instance site without using any instruments, and that he had no reverence for it—traveling with him was even more dangerous than going alone!
"Friend, let's make a deal," Upstairs said. "The instance site is already in shambles. If you mess around and cause it to collapse... we're just here to try our luck. No need to go all out."
Xu Huo glanced at him. "We can split up."
Upstairs choked. There was no choice—whoever had the bigger fist called the shots, and besides, they couldn't really start a fight here.
"I know you're strong, but at least consider others... or consider the Battle Angel's remains. If you destroy the instance site, where will you find the items?"
Xu Huo didn't respond, dragging the statue forward.
The instance site was similar everywhere yet different everywhere. They turned down corridors, descended stairs, and entered or exited rooms. Each place they arrived at looked alike, but they could clearly feel it wasn't the same as before, as if the instance site had no end.
As time passed, the frequency of those ferocious statues increased. Although they mentally prepared themselves each time they entered a room, the timing and angle of their appearance were always unexpected. And it wasn't just about being scary—the item's additional effect, whether they were genuinely startled or not, could drain their energy, and there was no way to guard against it.
Having tried using the Kaleidoscope power once, Xu Huo later restrained himself. The instance site was clearly a separate space. If it really changed, it might completely cut off contact with the outside world, and then he wouldn't be able to get out either.
But this sculpture was indeed annoying.
With its increasing appearances, he roughly figured out some patterns. Although the statues always dropped inexplicably, when attacked, the energy on them would transfer to each other. In other words, the energy that could drain one's vitality was singular, only appearing on one statue at a time.
Xu Huo also considered destroying the nearby statues, but thought better of it. New statues could suddenly emerge from anywhere, and the space was unstable, with who knew how many hidden in the gaps.
Moreover, this energy attack wasn't impossible to defend against. When the Space Barrier was thick enough, its effect naturally weakened. So its attack wasn't one hundred percent effective—using Space Power or other sufficiently strong barriers could achieve immunity.
Upstairs should have been aware of this too, which was why he could last several days. But when using his instruments to defend, he never thought to warn his companion.
This made his initial panic seem rather exaggerated.
Xu Huo didn't mind, wandering aimlessly through the corridors and rooms. After half a day, he hadn't encountered anyone else.
"Isn't this abnormal?" he muttered, standing by the statue and casually touching its head.
"What's abnormal?" Upstairs immediately warily scanned the surroundings.
"Haven't met anyone else." According to Carol's reminder, he should have run into people from other player families upon entering.
"The instance site is huge. It's not strange not to meet anyone," Upstairs thought it was normal. "The players I came in with got separated and never regrouped."
To be honest, within the instance site, even if they were in the same space, it was possible not to see each other.
Xu Huo felt they had been circling the same area, which was why they hadn't met anyone else. Moreover, after walking for so long, he hadn't seen the Field family crest Carol mentioned, meaning there was no exit either.
Did they have to enter those special space passages?
There were some places in the site where Space Power was more concentrated. Unlike the rooms that turned pitch black when opened, these spots were often hidden in inconspicuous corners. And probably because he had just undergone another evolution, he could sense them a bit.
But unlike those open or closed rooms, these places were truly impossible to peer into, and might not even be passages but complete traps.
"Since we're here, let's try our luck." Xu Huo turned to Upstairs.
Upstairs was shocked. "What are you going to do!"