# Chapter 499: Sinking into Illusion
Under normal circumstances, this shot would have been enough to blow off Jiang Feng's leg, but he clearly had other defensive items. The energy bullet only lodged itself in his leg bone like an ordinary bullet, not even penetrating through.
However, this still gave Jiang Feng a taste of suffering. His face darkened as he withdrew his trait, waving his hand to smash everything around him that could be used at Xu Huo, attempting to create distance between them.
After using the second injection, Xu Huo's physical fitness and speed had both greatly improved. Dodging these slow-moving objects was not difficult. He used the strings to secure the "Hurt Others Not Self" end to the shelter, then pulled the other end in a circle to bind Jiang Feng.
The rope, transformed into thin blades, smoothly sliced through the flying debris and clashed against the invisible barrier around Jiang Feng. Only then did Xu Huo get a clear look at the barrier—a rectangular thin shield about one square meter in size. Under the cutting of the metal blades, it lasted only ten seconds before disappearing.
Although Jiang Feng had moved two squares during the fight, he had only gone from "2" to "4" and hadn't left the grid range. So, unsurprisingly, he and the Red Bracelet were both caught together.
However, the protective suits they wore also had defensive capabilities, so the metal blades couldn't cut through their clothes.
After being caught, the Black Bracelet became furious, continuously manipulating objects to attack Xu Huo. But he seemed to lack long-range attack items. After Xu Huo dodged to the other side of the shelter, he appeared helpless.
As for the Red Bracelet player, he threw out something like a rubber ball. It bounced twice, and the protruding bumps on its surface sprayed out green-yellow corrosive liquid under pressure.
The "Absolute Safe Distance" effect hadn't worn off yet, so Xu Huo didn't bother dodging. He set up the note launcher and aimed at the two.
Their eyesight wasn't bad. Even from a distance, they could see the thing wriggling between his fingers. Jiang Feng immediately used "Dripping Water Wears Stone" to create a protective zone. The Red Bracelet was close to him and also under the protection zone, but he still carried a metal carved door to block in front of himself.
"Pop pop pop!" The items launched by the props were battered by the raindrops, but they weren't killed by the rain. Some were cut in half, but they could still twist and bounce after hitting the ground. Several of them attached themselves to Jiang Feng's exposed calf.
"Leeches can survive even when cut in half. This mutated leech should have even stronger vitality, right?" Xu Huo said.
But it was more than just strong. Two of them immediately burrowed into Jiang Feng's leg flesh!
Jiang Feng only glanced at them, raised his military knife, and cut twice in the air. The leeches were dug out along with skin and flesh. Then he manipulated objects to sweep away the leeches on the ground, spread his hands, and expanded the circular rain curtain to cover the entire area: "Rain Keeps Guests!"
Although Xu Huo opened his umbrella immediately, he still got wet. The rain wasn't particularly lethal, but once it touched his clothes, they became extremely heavy, as if wearing iron, slowing his movements.
Just then, Jiang Feng lifted one foot out of the grid!
The effect time of items on players depends on the player's strength. Seeing this, Xu Huo knew that "Counting Grids" was about to wear off on Jiang Feng. He nailed the kite string to the leg Jiang Feng had lifted, put on the protective suit, hung the "Umbrella of Justice" on his arm, used "Moving Metal," dropped the "Fair Wallet," and took out the Star Binding Sphere.
Earlier, when setting up this place, Xu Huo had scattered hallucinogens everywhere. To avoid alerting the players, he didn't use those small items that disrupt perception. On the other hand, those items were hard to take effect anyway. However, if Jiang Feng could be pulled into his spiritual world, these small items could serve as cover, guarding against players who might suddenly arrive.
Using the shelter for cover, he also threw out the spotlight and the dazzling dance ball. After preparing everything, Xu Huo focused his main attention on the spiritual world.
This time, he didn't reveal the spiral staircase right away. Instead, he created countless doors before the two.
Facing advanced players, opening one's spiritual world carried certain risks. If the opponent's spiritual power was strong enough to remain unaffected, they might turn the tables, forcibly break free, or counterattack the spiritual world, all of which would harm the creator.
Moreover, Xu Huo's spiritual world wasn't spread very wide. It relied on items to achieve its effect, so he had to keep the people within this range.
Because even if the trapped players didn't understand the ways of spiritual evolution, they might instinctively break free from the spiritual control range. So he had to make them quickly believe what was happening around them. That's why he placed so many doors. Each time they opened a door, the deeper their influence would become.
The two did fall for it. When they saw the doors, they didn't think much and went to open them.
The Red Bracelet acted on instinct, while Jiang Feng believed he was trapped in a container item.
Container items could hold living people. Once a player entered, they became part of the item, able to leave the game and live inside the item.
But this kind of living couldn't last long. Over time, the player would die inside the item.
Being trapped in a container item was hard to escape, but not absolutely impossible.
"Every container item has an entrance. If it can put people in, it can let them out. So as long as we find the entrance, we can escape." Jiang Feng said to the Red Bracelet.
The Red Bracelet looked at the doors of various sizes and distances before them and said, "With so many doors, which one is the exit? Also, my items are gone."
"When trapped in a container item, you revert to an ordinary person. Is it strange that items can't be used?" Jiang Feng looked around at the doors, trying to find a pattern.
The appearance of these doors could be freely created by Xu Huo. But to lure Jiang Feng deeper, he deliberately added some tricks to the doors, categorizing them by style, pattern, and size, and created two silver-gray doors after they had opened several times.
"Choose one of two?" The Red Bracelet looked at Jiang Feng. "Which one do you pick?"
Jiang Feng couldn't see the difference between the two doors. After frowning in thought for a moment, he said, "Each take one."
With that, he actively walked toward the right door.
Seeing this, the Red Bracelet rushed over and entered the right door first.
Watching his figure disappear into the darkness behind the door, Jiang Feng cursed "Idiot" and opened the other door.
The world behind the door was indeed different. It had become a pure white space, and before him stood a long spiral staircase leading to an unknown destination. Looking up, at the very end, a small dark doorway emitted faint light.
Jiang Feng's expression relaxed, and he immediately stepped onto the stairs.
(Chapter End)