Chapter 373: No Random Instances in Zone 011
"They're all bought for you—even if I didn't say something nice, they'd still be yours." Xu Huo smiled and patted her head. "By the way, I still don't know your name."
The little girl was in a good mood now. "I don't have a name! But if I really need one, I'll just be called Little Pink Hat."
"So you're a hat after all," Xu Huo said.
Little Pink Hat ignored him, too busy using both hands and feet.
Xu Huo tactfully sat to the side and fiddled with the two new items he'd bought.
"Stuttering Malice" was a button pin that could be worn anywhere on clothing to activate its effect. As he'd seen before, it created a 0.5-second delay—essentially a full 0.5 seconds of defense. Of course, it was only a C-grade item. If it encountered an attack far beyond what the item could withstand, the item itself might be destroyed, and naturally no defense would form.
"Seeing Is Believing" was a small diamond-shaped object that could be attached directly to a glasses frame. It defended against certain individual-targeted trait powers—for example, if a player used a trait power on him, and he discovered it in advance and could locate that person, then that person's attack would be nullified. Traits like Liu Jia's "One Call From You" and Chen Tu's "Draw a Prison on the Ground" both fell within this scope.
He had a trait called "Friends Rate You" that could detect people in a crowd who paid high attention to him, which complemented this item perfectly.
However, if the trait's attack range was broader—not targeting just one person but multiple people or a group, like his own "A Sad Thing" and "The Power of Writing"—then this item couldn't defend against it. But his traits weren't particularly lethal anyway.
Xu Huo had seen highly lethal traits before. Dou Shengnan, the hypnotist player from the Eerie Sound Knights, could command people to die on the spot. That also targeted groups—if he ran into that, this item would be essentially useless.
Of course, there would surely be corresponding items, but at that level, items would also prove inadequate. That was why traits, evolution, and items complemented each other—none could be missing.
"Plenty of good items, but unfortunately..." He looked at Little Pink Hat, who was trying on hats. "Do you have time to help me with something?"
The little girl glanced back at him. "Do adults always have to make everything a fair exchange?"
Xu Huo didn't mind being looked down on. He asked, "Are the candies good? Want more? Do you want to have candy whenever you want from now on?"
The little girl was practically drooling. She wiped her mouth and said, "Go ahead, but kids can't do much, you know."
"Just a small favor." Xu Huo took out "World Within the Painting." "Go inside and empty that guy's wallet."
The abstract face in the painting frame was greedily breathing fresh air—even though air was useless to him now. But Brother Tu had been trapped in the painting all this time. Xu Huo neither killed him nor frequently interrogated him, so even coming out for some air was a luxury.
"How have these days been?" Xu Huo placed him on the desk.
The abstract figure's expression was unreadable, but his tone was calm. "Not bad. Won't starve, won't die. Maybe I'll live until your time comes. What do you want today?"
"Something small." Xu Huo called Little Pink Hat over. "Can you get in?"
The little girl made an "OK" gesture and then dove into the painting frame. The abstract figure in the painting gained a hat, his features drifting freely across the canvas. A moment later, Little Pink Hat poked her head out from inside. "He won't give it. Why don't you just kill him? Then the money and items are all yours."
Xu Huo stroked his chin, pretending to consider it. That was when Brother Tu cried out, "Don't kill me! I still know a lot of things that will definitely help you!"
"You didn't even know about Super Evolution."
Brother Tu choked, then quickly said, "That's not my fault! If everyone could achieve Super Evolution, then it wouldn't mean anything. Precisely because it's rare and hard to come by is why it separates Super Evolvers from ordinary players."
"I suppose that makes sense." Xu Huo nodded slightly. "Now hand over the money."
Brother Tu had no choice but to hand over all his money. "This is all my property."
"You're pretty honest." Xu Huo collected the money. Brother Tu was richer than him—a full seven hundred thousand white notes.
"That money was for buying items." Brother Tu said with a hint of bitterness.
"Seven hundred thousand—that can buy a decent C-grade item." Xu Huo paused, then added, "Have you ever been to Zone 011?"
"No, but I know Zone 011 is the largest district under the E27 wormhole point's fifth zone. Many players want to settle here because there are no random instances."
Xu Huo had known about Zone 011 having no random instances since his first day here, but he hadn't found the reason online.
"Ordinary people naturally wouldn't know," Brother Tu said. "It's because Zone 011 has a Super Instance. Game districts that host a Super Instance won't have random instances appear—that's the privilege the game grants to Super Players."
Xu Huo's eyes flickered, then he looked at Little Pink Hat. The little girl shook her head. "I'm just a little kid—how would I know that much?"
There was plenty of information about instances on Zone 011's network, but what could be directly searched was mostly vague stuff meant for outsiders. There was a dedicated market for instance strategy guides here, so specific information related to instances wasn't widely publicized.
"Can't you open an instance here?" he asked.
The little girl tried. "Nope."
Xu Huo's thoughts churned, his mind cycling between Super Players and Super Instances. It took a moment before he calmed down.
Little Pink Hat looked between the man and the painting. "Your business is done, so I'm leaving. Remember to bring me good food next time!"
The awakened puppet's eyes lit up, and the little girl vanished along with the snacks and clothes on the bed.
Brother Tu's eyes shifted to Xu Huo, and he said in shock, "You actually tamed an instance boss! She's the boss of Pink Hat Amusement Park, isn't she! That tacky pink hat!"
"Tamed?" Xu Huo looked at him with amusement. "Do you think a D-grade instance boss is that easy to tame?"
"Then how could she possibly help you?" Brother Tu didn't believe it.
"Isn't it normal for friends to help friends?" Xu Huo said. "I'm pretty well-liked. Someone like you with no friends probably can't appreciate the benefits of having many friends."
Brother Tu choked, then said enviously, "You made it to Zone 011, huh. Lucky you."
Lucky indeed—at least staying here meant no worry about being dragged into random instances.
"About time." Xu Huo checked his watch, put the painting into his item slot, changed into a suit he'd picked out earlier, grabbed his umbrella, and left the room downstairs.
Ran Ying was already waiting in the lobby. She'd changed into a wild-style black dress, wearing high heels, displaying a wild beauty different from most women.