The explosion injured all three of them, but because the Whale had thrown Yuguo out first, Yuguo sustained the lightest injuries. He leaned against the wall as he climbed to his feet, his arm scraping against it. The bacteria that were slowly corroding his body began to spread unbridled along the wall.
Xu Huo, having already changed his appearance, glanced at his watch and, holding the prop "Director’s Privilege," called out through the slightly open door, "Cut!"
"Director’s Privilege" was a memory deletion device that allowed one to forget the events of the past ten minutes without noticing. He timed it perfectly, just before he made his move to snatch Yuguo’s Severed Hand—the battlespace transitioned too quickly after that. Despite the intense fighting, the actual time spent wasn’t much.
The item’s level wasn’t high, and it would fail if a player was carrying a counteracting item. However, the battle had heated up, and these high-level players had spent too many of their props, especially Yuguo and the Whale. It was uncertain whether they would replenish their gear in the heat of battle. Xu Huo was betting on this possibility, as a safety measure.
After using the item, he opened the door and reappeared behind Yuguo, his Sword aimed at his neck.
But that’s when things went awry. Yuguo seemed to sense the attack in advance and the "Filthy Needle" reappeared in his hand, turning to shoot in Xu Huo’s direction!
That thing was laced with a deadly poison that could contaminate even metal. Xu Huo feinted and retreated as Bai Kou, who had come in as backup, neatly snapped Yuguo’s neck.
"Yuguo!" The Whale roared from not far away, charging at them crazily. At that moment, Xu Huo picked up a pen and used the feature "Power of Writing" to capture everyone’s attention. He declared, "You can come to me with any trouble."
After he spoke, he instantly determined that everyone present had passed the Instance, promptly banishing them back onboard the ship. Then he nodded at Bai Kou, "I am leaving first."
Bai Kou smiled faintly, vanishing from the hospital as well.
He had already released the other surviving players from the hospital one by one.
The three mission tasks for clearing the Instance were varied. Only the second was deceptive. As the holder of the Instance, he needed a role within the game, so he posed as the only real doctor in The Seventeenth Hospital. Players had to deduce his identity through subtle details.
The first and third tasks were more flexible, particularly the first, which merely required his judgment to have been subjected to psychological therapy. Furthermore, he had the power to make the hospital’s main doors appear or disappear at will. Naturally, the Instance also imposed restrictions on its holder. The tasks varied in difficulty, and he couldn’t make it too obvious; at least the players had to meet one condition—most of the survivors had passed through the therapy room, which made it easy to let things slide.
As for these high-level players, if he didn’t act, the Instance itself might have been dismantled, and with Yuguo dead and the prop sewn under his skin secured, Xu Huo’s objectives were achieved, leaving no reason to linger.
As he folded up the Instance, he pulled out a Return Ticket for Clown City. Then, almost instantly, his surroundings whirled, and he found himself in a noisy environment. Rough hands shoved a blindfold onto his head, and simultaneously, the game notification rang out:
[Player Passerby A has entered the Clown City Arena, automatically participating in the Level E Instance "Contest of Evil." Please note that the Instance is low-level, and players cannot bring non-game items into the arena.]
[Background Introductions: Clown City is a city filled with passion and laughter. The prosperous tourism industry and rich mineral resources let the land bleed gold, and the booming economy instills extraordinary courage and fighting spirit in every resident. Hence, arena fighting has become an inherent event in the city, leaving every visitor in awe.]
[However, this originally positive event turned into a selection exam for warriors after the Alien invasion of Clown City. Once more than half of the city’s land was lost and the surviving populace built a defensive wall along the eastern perimeter, every adult residing there had a duty imposed by the government: to go beyond the protective wall, exterminate the Aliens outside, and reclaim the city land.]
[Instance Tasks: ① Kill ten targets.
② Contaminate the water source outside the protective wall.
③ Place the War flag at a specified location.]
[Instance Duration: Seven days.]
[Players must pass through the protective wall by noon tomorrow. Failure to clear the Instance will result in no Return Ticket.]
Xu Huo read through the game prompts without interfering with the blindfold. Once his field of vision switched to a small screen with data analysis, he was shoved out of the hatch by a mechanical arm.
Ahead was a massive enclosed coliseum, teeming with people like him wearing blindfolds. Most of them wore distinctively marked protective gear, while a few others who looked around aimlessly were probably confused players like himself, dressed slightly differently.
Looking back at where he had come from, Xu Huo saw the edge of the coliseum lined with oval-shaped capsules, from which blindfolded individuals were periodically ejected. When the hatch doors opened, it was clear that operations inside were entirely mechanical, with no staff.
A young woman was pushed out roughly. A man beside her grabbed her, and they seemed to know each other. The woman clung to the man and started to cry, saying, "I don’t want to go... I don’t want to die..."
The man patted her shoulder to comfort her and said nothing. Then someone in protective gear interjected, "It’s because of cowards like you that Clown City lost half its land."
"Killing Aliens for Clown City, reclaiming the land for Clown City, even dying in battle would be an honor. Don’t you have even a shred of that honor?"
"Don’t forget, the reason you and your family can live well in this city is all thanks to those warriors who sacrificed themselves. Without them fighting the Aliens to the death, even the remaining half of the city wouldn’t be safe. You enjoy the benefits and welfare, you must bear the corresponding responsibilities!"
The man’s words earned the approval of those around him. Even if their eyes were not visible through the blindfolds, their body language gradually created an atmosphere of pressure.
The man’s words were moving but failed to persuade the woman. She turned sharply to him and said, "What does Clown City’s past have to do with me? I only settled here three years ago! If it weren’t for my brother dying in an Instance, I wouldn’t have come to this godforsaken place!"
"If you’re all so noble and willing to die, then go. Why force people who don’t want to go? I’ve never had military training!"
"You’ve never had military training?" The man called over a moving robot nearby, "Why would someone untrained show up in the arena?"
The robot scanned the woman and responded, "Upon verification, the warrior’s records indicated she had undergone systematic firearm training when she settled in Clown City."