Chapter 668: Survival Instance
The young player's attention was fixed on the tall, burly man. Seeing him stop, the man in the seat also lifted his hat and said weakly, "I'm injured. Go find another seat."
Under normal circumstances, the burly man would never let it go, even if only to salvage his own dignity after being caught bare-assed. But after hearing the man speak, he gave an awkward laugh. "A sick person, that's understandable."
Then he picked an empty seat and sat down.
The bus returned to calm. The passengers all turned their gazes away in unison—some sleeping, some watching TV, and two elderly aunties cheerfully coaxing a child.
The noise of music, snoring, and a crying child made Xu Huo's head feel like it was about to explode. He pressed his hat against his face, veins bulging and throbbing repeatedly at his temples.
He had still fallen into a trap during his trip to Country Y. Upon boarding the train, he discovered an injury on his arm. The wound had started festering beneath the skin of his right forearm, eventually breaking through the surface. When he cut it open, the rot had already reached the bone.
Self-healing agents and antidotes had no effect. The King Fungus mycelium kept repairing the wound, but the burning pain and swelling cycled endlessly, leaving him exhausted and irritable.
Unfortunately, he had already used this month's bounty function and couldn't check the cause through the game platform for now. He had hoped to find clues in the new district after getting off, but when he stepped out, he found that the Dimension Train had arrived at a very remote mountain forest. Only one bus passed through here each day heading to the county town.
The bus could seat 29 people including the driver. Judging by the vehicle and the attire of most passengers, the economic level here was roughly equivalent to a small county town under a mid-tier city in Zone 014—likely without any information exchange platform.
The female player with a head full of braids struck up a conversation with the passenger next to her, asking where they were from, where they were returning from, which places the bus would pass through, and when they would reach the county town.
She gave the auntie's little grandson a few pieces of candy. The auntie was happy to chat with her and even volunteered, "Miss, are you here visiting? Want to stay at my place? My guesthouse is kept very clean, better than any hotel."
"Sure," the female player said with a smile. "I'll come take a look at your place first when we arrive. I'm pretty picky about accommodations, but if your place is really good, I can pay extra."
The auntie waved her hand modestly. "Guests from afar are always welcome. We just want some lively company. How could I raise the price?"
"You're so kind, auntie."
Both sides were satisfied with the conversation. After the auntie's grandson started crying again, no one else spoke on the bus.
There were about seven players on the bus now, including the female player. Only three had chosen to gather information from the strangers, while the rest mostly kept their eyes closed. There was no communication among the players either.
By evening, the bus finally arrived at the county town after a bumpy ride.
As soon as they got off, the young player who had tried to stop the burly man earlier said, "This counts as a county town?"
Only a few vehicles were coming and going in the station. The facilities were mottled and old, without even a proper gate.
Looking out from the entrance, the several forks in the road seemed to stretch only a short distance. The buildings here looked more like rural self-built houses, mostly two or three stories high, some resembling small villas. There weren't many people or cars.
"This isn't a county town at all. At best, it's a small town," the female player said.
As they walked out of the station, the players immediately received a game notification:
[You have entered the territory of Sifang Palace. You are automatically enrolled in the D-rank instance "Shared Eyes."]
[Background Introduction: Sifang Palace City was once a tourist city famous for its religion. As the young and middle-aged population dwindled, the local birth rate gradually declined, and the city's scale shrank repeatedly. It has now become a small town with a population of less than a thousand, its residents relying only on a small number of tourists and handicrafts for survival.]
[The customs passed down by ancestors are preserved here. Throughout the city, you can see complete or incomplete religious sculptures. Every household worships religious deities and follows religious customs. Everyone here counts as a devout follower. At the same time, they are generous and warm-hearted. Offering guests the best rooms in their homes and the finest food is their way of hospitality. Tourists don't even need to pay.]
[Please find accommodation before midnight. This instance is a survival instance lasting seven days.]
Compared to previous instances, this introduction was quite simple—only a general background with no specific danger warnings. Apart from the instance title "Shared Eyes," which might hint at danger, the background provided very little useful information.
A very straightforward increase in difficulty.
The others were clearly not new to this kind of survival instance. A neatly dressed middle-aged man said, "Since it's a survival instance, we're not in competition with each other. How about cooperating?"
"I have no objections," the young player was the first to respond.
Some of the others nodded, some remained silent. Only a man in a black shirt carrying a backpack pressed down his hat and walked off without a word.
The remaining six ignored him and introduced themselves in turn.
First was the middle-aged man who made the suggestion, named Tian Kunwen, a photographer by profession.
The braided female player, Fu Danhong, a shopping guide.
The young male player, Wei Xian, a fishing expert.
The tall, burly man, You Jun, a welder.
Another long-haired female player, Yi Pei, a security personnel.
Xu Huo's gaze lingered on Yi Pei's face for a moment before he introduced himself, "Xu Zhi, a martial arts actor."
"Your professions don't seem to match your looks," Wei Xian said, seemingly trying to lighten the mood with a half-joke.
Xu Huo gave him a cold look and said nothing, leaving Wei Xian a bit embarrassed. But Yi Pei beside him kindly explained, "When I chose my profession, I thought I'd become whatever I picked. I chose security personnel for the combat power, but I never expected..."
She didn't finish her sentence and gave an embarrassed smile.
"Stop pretending," Fu Danhong said coldly. "You've already made it to D-rank instances, and you're still playing the weakling act? Don't mislead others and drag everyone down."
Tian Kunwen and the others didn't speak up for Yi Pei. In the game, truth and falsehood were mixed—only a fool would take anything at face value.
"Since we're cooperating, wouldn't it be better to discuss things openly? What good does this attitude do you?" Yi Pei retorted.
"This is my attitude. If you don't like it, you can leave," Fu Danhong said with a malicious smile.
Yi Pei frowned and was about to turn away when Xu Huo happened to be standing right next to her. They nearly bumped into each other. Yi Pei quickly apologized, and Xu Huo waved his hand to show he didn't mind. Then he said, "Let's find a place to stay first. With so many people, we might have to split up."
"It's getting dark. Although the game says before midnight, danger in survival instances multiplies at night," Tian Kunwen said. "We don't know what we're up against yet. Let's settle on accommodation first, then discuss the next steps."
(Chapter End)