Free Web NovelChapter 2498: Chapter 2498
Nothing happened the whole day. The Long-haired Player and the others who had left didn’t come back, and there didn’t seem to be any sirens from the Law Enforcement Team near the city either, which meant they’d already left smoothly.
On Wen Xin’s side, because Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting had "suddenly disappeared", the Players who had been following them wandered around nearby for a while, then headed out of the city.
Watching the chain of Characteristics stretch farther and farther away, Xu Huo ignored it. Once they couldn’t find anyone, they would naturally think of "Black Under the Light" and turn back.
Ling Ling and the others had set out in the morning. Wen Xin sent a message saying that they had been ambushed several times in a row on the road, and the attacks this time were heavier than before. Two Players in the accompanying team were seriously injured, so they had only traveled two stops and were now staying in Rice Town.
When Wen Xin and the others were lying low, they discovered another group of Players tracking them. He then spent a hefty price through the Collection of Information Terminal to hire a small Player squad to test the enemy’s skills, and found they were different from the ones who had attacked them earlier.
Judging from the man’s Props, Characteristics descriptions, and fighting style, he also wasn’t from the group that had previously tried to block Xu Huo and the others.
Xu Huo wasn’t sure whether the Players tracking Old Lady Gui knew he had met with Wen Xin and the others, but since that first group had already rushed out of the city to chase him, these ones probably weren’t part of the bet.
That was fine too; at least it proved the trackers had indeed entered the city, instead of just waiting outside.
By nightfall, Bubble Bean, who had stuffed himself silly during the day, felt unusually exhausted again. Even though he relaxed his body, that sense of fatigue still clung to him.
"This feels a bit like when the Evolution Potion is fully digested," Bubble Bean muttered to himself. "Maybe it’s time for a new dose of Potion."
He grumbled under his breath, then took out a few Evolution Potions and injected them one by one.
Xu Huo knew there was a certain digestion period for Evolution Potions. The higher the Potion absorption rate, the better the Evolution, but as Advanced Players’ Evolution Rate increased, it became harder and harder for them to digest Potions, and the effect was greatly reduced. Generally speaking, though, once an Evolution Potion was fully digested, the body should feel lighter, not twice as tired.
However, after the injections, Bubble Bean did seem much better. He proposed resting first and taking the watch in the second half of the night.
Xu Huo had no objections. He watched him lie down and fall asleep in under three minutes, and couldn’t help but frown.
He called the Girl in the painting over, whispered a few words to her, then also closed his eyes to rest.
At three in the morning, the entire city seemed to have fallen asleep. The only sound still clearly audible was the occasional spray of medicinal mist from the streetlights outside.
After another burst of mist, the white fog lingered for a long time without dispersing, shrouding the area around the hotel.
Several figures emerged from two directions and met at the hotel entrance before heading upstairs.
Xu Huo and the others’ room was opened without a sound, and they slipped in one after another. One Player wearing a mask first injected each of the three—Xu Huo and the other two—with a dose of Potion, then nodded toward the young woman behind him.
"These three are done," the young woman said. It turned out to be the same female Player who had previously invited Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting on the train to visit Pharmaceutical City. She spoke to the two Players at the door.
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"My guess is there’s a time limit," Xu Huo said. "Otherwise, Players who want to clear the instance could drag out the time they spend on the dedicated line. No bet could possibly last thirty days."
"Players who need to clear the instance will try to ride the dedicated line to the end as quickly as possible, to avoid failing the clear and not getting a second chance. That’s why someone blocks the way ahead."
"So you mean, we should stay here for two days?" Wen Xin thought for a moment. "That’s not very safe. If it doesn’t match what you said and the lagging teams are directly treated as eliminated, then we won’t be able to wait anyone out."
"Not necessarily," Xu Huo said, glancing at the thin line rising from his body toward the sky. It was his Characteristic, Lock-on Target, which could lock onto an opponent within the same sub-zone. When he’d fought those Players in the forest earlier, he’d used it on one of them, originally intending to follow the trail and find the people behind them... Now it just so happened to be useful here as well.
"We can try waiting a day first," he went on. "If it doesn’t work, we’ll catch up."
After pondering for a moment, Wen Xin asked the others for their opinions, and in the end agreed to wait.
This delaying tactic would work best if they pulled in other teams who’d been attacked. If the bet really was on a timer and all the Players stayed put at the station, the bettors would be the ones getting anxious.
From another angle, if those people really didn’t care about lagging teams, Ling Ling and the others at the front would also be attacked—the only question was whether they could successfully block them.
After settling the plan with Wen Xin and the rest, Xu Huo swapped places with the Wan Family and returned to Old Lady Gui’s side.
Nothing had happened at the hotel. Xu Huo checked the direction of the chain of Characteristics. The Players who had previously blocked him had been following the two people from the Wan Family, and had now also entered Pharmaceutical City, probably to keep track of Wen Xin and Ling Ling’s movements. They weren’t far from where Wen Xin and Ling Ling were staying.
There was some risk to making a move inside the city. Ideally, he’d lure them outside the city while also pulling in the group tracking the old lady.
Continuous chewing noises came from inside the room. He turned his head and looked at the overly unrestrained Bubble Bean. "Didn’t you eat yesterday?"
"Didn’t we eat together?" Bubble Bean was stuffing food into his mouth. "Don’t know what’s up, but I woke up just now feeling super hungry and haven’t stopped eating since."
He burped after speaking and patted his swollen belly. "Now I feel better."
Xu Huo felt something was off about his state. "Did you drink this morning?"
The somewhat high-spirited Bubble Bean laughed. "Who drinks in the early morning, and in an instance on top of that? I’m not suicidal. I’m just really hungry, that’s all."
The streetlights sprayed another round of medicinal mist. The weather was bad today; the sky was a dull gray, looking like it was going to rain.
The Long-haired Player had been in contact with the Wan Family the whole time and would occasionally provide Xu Huo with bits of information about District 001.
By afternoon, he and another member of the Wan Family brought up the idea of leaving first.
Xu Huo didn’t know what had happened, but seeing their somewhat anxious expressions, he agreed to take good care of the old lady and added, "Take those two disguised people with you as well."
The Long-haired Player paused. "You don’t need them anymore?"
Xu Huo gave a slight nod.
"All right then," said the Long-haired Player. "This time the Wan Family owes you a favor. If you need anything, you can come find us anytime."
With that, he led his people out of the hotel.
"Can they get out?" Bubble Bean asked.
Someone was watching them nearby. As soon as they left Pharmaceutical City, there would probably be Players intercepting them. Even though the Long-haired Player and the others hadn’t taken the old lady, there was no guarantee he hadn’t taken the Cat Whisker Fruit.
"That’s no longer our concern," Xu Huo said casually, then walked over to the old lady. "Madam, let’s have a chat."
