Chapter 517: Instance Recovery
The explosion injured all three of them. Because the whale had thrown Yu Guo out first, Yu Guo was the least injured. He leaned against the wall as he got up, his arm scraping against the surface, and the bacteria that had been gradually corroding his body began to spread wantonly along the wall.
Xu Huo, who had already changed his appearance, glanced at the time on his watch. Holding the item "Director's Authority," he called out through the slightly open door to the people ahead: "Cut!"
"Director's Authority" was a memory deletion item that could make someone forget what happened in the past ten minutes without any awareness. He had calculated the timing, stopping right before he made a move to snatch Yu Guo's severed hand—the subsequent battlefield shifted too quickly, and although the fighting was intense, the actual time consumed was not much.
This item was not high-level, and it would fail if the player carried a counteracting item. But the battle had already reached a fever pitch, and these high-level players had consumed too many items, especially Yu Guo and the whale. In the heat of combat, they might not have replenished the corresponding items. He was betting on this possibility, and it was also a safety measure.
After using the item, he opened the door again and appeared behind Yu Guo, swinging his sword at his neck.
However, a change occurred at that moment. Yu Guo seemed to have sensed it in advance, and the "Dirty Needle" appeared in his hand again as he turned and shot it toward Xu Huo!
That thing carried a deadly poison that could even contaminate metal. Xu Huo feinted and retreated, and Bai Kou, who had moved in from behind to cover him, cleanly snapped Yu Guo's neck.
"Yu Guo!" The whale not far away let out a furious roar and charged madly at them. At that moment, Xu Huo picked up a pen and used his trait "Power of Writing," drawing everyone's attention before saying, "You can come to me with any difficulty."
After saying this, he immediately judged that everyone present had passed the instance, and after banishing them back to the ship, he nodded to Bai Kou. "I'm leaving first."
Bai Kou smiled slightly, and she too disappeared from the hospital.
The other players still alive in the hospital had already been released by him one after another.
Of the three tasks required to clear the instance, only the second was misleading. As the instance holder, he needed an identity to participate in the game, so he was the only real doctor in the Seventeenth Hospital. Players could only judge through details.
The first and third tasks were flexible, especially the first, which only required him to determine that psychological treatment had been conducted. And the hospital door could appear or disappear according to his will. Naturally, the instance also had constraints on the holder. The three tasks were divided by difficulty, and he couldn't make it too obvious. At least the players had to meet one of the conditions—most of the surviving players had entered the treatment room, so it was easy to let them slide.
As for this group of high-level players, if he hadn't acted, the instance would probably have been torn apart. And since Yu Guo was dead, he had successfully obtained the item sewn under his skin. His goal was achieved, so there was no need to stay.
Once the instance was withdrawn, he grabbed the ticket for Clown City. Then, in an instant, his consciousness spun, and in a very short time, he found himself in a noisy environment. A blindfold was roughly put over his head, and at the same time, the game prompt sounded:
[Player Passerby A has entered the Clown City Arena, defaulting to participation in E-level instance "Evil Showdown." Note: This instance is low-level, and players cannot bring non-game items inside.]
[Background Introduction: Clown City is a city full of passion and laughter. Its developed tourism industry and abundant mineral resources make the land here flow with golden blood. The economic prosperity gives every resident extraordinary courage and fighting spirit, making the arena combat a city-wide tradition that earns admiration from everyone who leaves this place.]
[However, this event, originally full of beautiful meaning, turned into a test for selecting warriors after Clown City was invaded by xenomorphs. When more than half of the city's land fell and the surviving people built a protective wall along the eastern line, every adult living here had to take on the responsibility given by the government: go out beyond the protective wall, clean up the xenomorphs outside, until the city's land is reclaimed.]
[Instance Tasks: ① Kill ten targets.
② Contaminate the water source outside the protective wall.
③ Plant the battle flag at the designated target location.]
[Instance Time: Seven days.]
[Please cross the protective wall before noon tomorrow. Failure to clear the instance will result in not being able to obtain a return ticket.]
After reading the game prompt in one glance, Xu Huo gave up on stopping the blindfold. His field of vision switched to a small screen with data analysis, and then a mechanical hand pushed him out of the hatch.
Ahead was a huge enclosed venue, densely packed with people wearing blindfolds like him. Most of these people were wearing clearly marked protective suits. Others, who were looking around, were probably players like him who didn't know the situation, their clothing slightly different.
Turning back to look at where he had come out, Xu Huo noticed that the edge of the venue was lined with oval capsules, and from time to time, blindfolded people were pushed out. When the hatches opened, he could see that the interior was fully mechanized, with no staff.
A young woman was roughly pushed out. A man next to her grabbed her, and the two seemed to know each other. The woman leaned against the man and cried, saying repeatedly, "I don't want to go... I don't want to die..."
The man patted her shoulder to comfort her but said nothing. At that moment, a person in protective suit interjected, "It's because of cowards like you that Clown City lost half its land."
"Killing xenomorphs for Clown City, reclaiming land for Clown City—even dying in battle is an honor. Don't you have any sense of honor?"
"Don't forget, the reason you and your family can live safely in this city is because of the sacrifices of those warriors. Without them throwing themselves into killing xenomorphs one after another, even the remaining half of the city might not have been saved. You enjoy the benefits and advantages, so you must also bear the corresponding responsibilities!"
The man's words gained approval from those around him. Even though their eyes were hidden by blindfolds, the body language of the people gradually created a sense of pressure.
It was a very persuasive speech, but it didn't convince the woman. She suddenly turned to the man and said, "What does the past of Clown City have to do with me? I only settled here three years ago! If my brother hadn't died in an instance, I wouldn't have come to this damn place!"
"You all talk so nobly about wanting to go die—then go ahead. Why force someone who doesn't want to? I've never received military training!"
"You haven't received military training?" The man who spoke called over a mobile robot not far away. "Why would an ordinary person who hasn't been trained appear in the arena?"
The robot scanned the woman and said, "Upon verification, this warrior's registered information when settling in Clown City mentioned systematic firearms training."
(Chapter End)