Chapter 626: Instance Reference Points
A Yi showed a hint of envy. "I don't have such a good item. I learned some experience from an outer zone player I met in a random instance."
"I'd be glad to hear it," Xu Huo said.
The three walked and talked. "Actually, the method isn't difficult. Look at this instance—as time passes, it becomes more and more realistic, very different from what we saw outside at the beginning."
Xu Huo nodded. Today, because the instance had upgraded, it delayed things a bit, giving players a chance to linger outside and observe the hospital from the outside. This was good for the players, but not necessarily for the instance.
However, even if players entered the instance from the very beginning, many things in the instance gradually formed under the players' imagination. Different time nodes meant different changes inside the hospital.
"So the hospital we saw at the very beginning is closest to reality," A Yi explained in detail. "Even if not everything is real, at that point, seven or eight out of ten things inside the hospital might be genuine. Even if the hospital changes later, what we saw at the start can serve as a reference point."
"For example, the first task—the target was a doctor. When we were outside, we didn't see any doctors in the hospital, and the head nurse was clearly not a real person. So the first task should be the hardest."
Hearing this, Xu Huo glanced at him. Compared to the "fixed nature" of the latter two tasks, the first task was controlled by him as the instance holder, so it could indeed be considered the most difficult for players.
"The second task, stealing the sample, was more realistic," A Yi continued. "I compared the hospital's size during the day with what it was when we came in last night. The positions marked on the floor plan should be correct. As long as the location is right, finding the sample isn't hard—at least it eliminates the interference from the instance."
In mental-type instances, there was a problem: what you saw might not be real. So players might think they were completing the clearance tasks when they actually hadn't even found the right place. If the location was wrong, no amount of effort would help. Therefore, completing tasks by eliminating false interference was the most basic step.
"This method is indeed good," Xu Huo said thoughtfully. "Even if the hospital changes at night, remembering the general layout of the original hospital can help avoid falling into illusions."
Before he showed himself, what A Yi had said to A Ying actually had some basis: believe in something, and it becomes real. This could also be used in reverse. Whether it worked and how effective it was depended on the player's mental strength and the instance's intensity—there was no fixed standard.
For example, the collision of those two laboratory xenomorphs earlier. If someone had memorized the hospital's floor plan, they would know that was a plant laboratory and couldn't possibly hold xenomorphs. This was a form of self-suggestion. If one's mental strength was strong enough, it was easy to judge whether something that appeared was reasonable based on confirmed facts, thereby affirming one's judgment and eliminating mental interference.
A Yi had achieved this, but he was too weak. Even when forcing himself to believe in his own judgment, he was still affected by the instance.
Of course, looking at the players currently trapped in the instance, all of them were inevitably influenced by the instance, and the degree was deepening.
But if it were a player with enhanced mental power, the situation would be different.
"Choosing a reference point—that's a really good idea." Xu Huo's expression turned serious. After a pause, he added, "If most of the things that first appear in a player's field of view in a mental-type instance are real, that means these things are the instance's infrastructure. In critical situations, destroying these things could interfere with the instance's progress. The prerequisite is that the player is strong enough."
Of course, he thought even further. The instance authorization had to be placed inside the instance and couldn't be stored in the personal panel. If the mental-type instance's venue wasn't large enough, destroying the venue might also damage the authorization.
Of course, the instance venue wouldn't be that easy to destroy, but it was still a direction to consider.
A Yi opened his mouth, surprised and admiring. "You're really impressive. I didn't think that far."
Xu Huo saw that the siblings didn't show any joy at learning the clearance method, so he knew they were already aware of this and had just appropriately concealed it.
So he added, "Of course, destroying the instance's infrastructure isn't easy. But instances have instance bosses. Doing so might anger them."
"If you can't even destroy the instance, what's the use of angering the instance boss? Isn't that just letting him come out and kill people?" A Ying said.
"That depends on the situation," Xu Huo returned the favor. "The instance boss certainly won't let players clear easily. There might be times when the boss blocks all clearance methods. In that case, angering and luring the boss away can also be a survival opportunity."
The siblings looked at each other but didn't refute. The method was dangerous, but honestly, which instance wasn't dangerous?
As the three talked, they had already reached the floor above. Their luck was bad—they ran into medical staff as soon as they went up. After dodging them, they accidentally triggered an alarm. As the bell rang, they had to rush toward the sample room. At least this time they didn't come up empty, but there were many samples inside. A Yi and his sister searched frantically but didn't trigger the clearance prompt.
"Someone's coming," Xu Huo said at the door. "I'll hold them off. You two think of a way quickly!"
The siblings hadn't expected him to be so loyal. Moved, they said, "Give us at most one minute. If we still can't clear, we'll leave!"
Xu Huo nodded and walked out of the room. Once in the corridor, he casually waved his hand, and black spots of contamination began to appear on the floor and walls. The security personnel who arrived saw this and immediately notified the doctors to come handle it. Instead of forcing their way toward the sample room, they turned back to get protective suits.
"Found it! Found it!" A Ying's voice came from the sample room. Then A Yi ran out, tossed a wrapped glass bottle to Xu Huo from a distance, and vanished from the spot.
As the instance holder, Xu Huo naturally knew they had cleared. He rotated the bottle in his hand and handed it to the approaching medical staff.
"Dean, why are you here? Did you get hurt?" the medical staff asked with concern.
"I'm fine," Xu Huo said. "When I came over, quite a few samples had fallen on the ground. Go check if anything is missing. Also, increase the number of patrol personnel tonight."
The security team hurried off to make arrangements. At that moment, the doctor said to him, "A critical patient from the seventh floor was just transferred to the isolation room in Building Three."
Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. "Where did he come into contact with the infectious material?"
"It seems a patient sneaked into the Building Two laboratory and then went out, spreading the infection," the doctor said. "All the patients on the seventh floor have been isolated. We'll inspect and clean Building One shortly."
Xu Huo nodded. "Investigate thoroughly. If you find any infected individuals, deal with them immediately."
(Chapter End)