Chapter 2439: Chapter 2439: Gathering Players
Clearly, he’s not the only one thinking this way, so Bubble Bean and his group came up with a strategy to gather more players: placing a high-intensity lighting prop near the village.
The forest is shrouded in heavy fog with little wind, making marks or using other tools to find people cause seemingly suspicious movements that might make other players fear a trap. Using a light may have diminished penetration, but in the forest where lighting is poor, it will stand out somewhat after dark, naturally gathering players wandering around.
Anyhow, the "Hidden Friend" must be found first; otherwise, the instance won’t see any progress.
Yang Tian, the injured player living with Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting, is worried about this approach because they may become a target. Not considering those who haven’t obtained playing permissions, what if a player already has the "Hidden Friend" role? If the game offers special effects or bonuses for this identity, those already in the village become easy targets.
"Why do you talk so much," the Girl in the painting retorted, raising her communicator irritably, "It’s dark already, you keep watch."
Yang Tian naturally agrees, as he doesn’t believe anyone can sleep soundly in this environment; whether standing guard matters or not.
Next door is slightly better; at least Bubble Bean and the Yin Yang Master have a decent relationship and can take turns sleeping.
Soon, the village quieted down completely.
Xu Huo was not at ease with Yang Tian, asking the Girl in the painting to keep an eye on him, "Call me if there’s anything, don’t leave lightly."
The Girl in the painting had no issue with this as she could skip sleeping, so she took a chair into the bedroom to play games.
No mishaps happened that night; no strange cries were heard, and no new players arrived.
"The forest might be too big, they haven’t discovered this place yet," said Yin Yang Master.
Bubble Bean shared disbelief in players preferring to stay in the grove instead of visiting the village to find others; hence the lighting prop remained hanging on the tree.
During daylight, its brightness certainly attracted village locals’ attention, but they merely glanced out of curiosity before going back to their activities.
Zhongmu Village is different from Upper Wood Village; the residents mostly come out during the day, even elderly folks wander around the village.
With more people outside, encounters with players become inevitable. Some elderlies are willing to chat about forest stories with outsiders, sometimes embellishing details until inconsistencies arise upon repeated telling. Even when pointed out, they dismiss it with, "Old age makes memories unclear."
Clearly, they seem unafraid of death whatsoever.
The stories were too plentiful, and with these old folks’ slip of the tongue, Bubble Bean and others didn’t dare to trust easily; for safety, they stayed close within the village during daylight.
As "non-dungeon players," Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting followed the young lad from yesterday to chop wood.
There exist energy storage lighting tools in the village, yet they are scarce and usually not used readily. And since villagers seldom go out after dark, they use mutant plants’ tree sap as candles and lamps, which burns long and brightly.
However, cooking requires firewood.
"Common trees won’t light once chopped, but the grove has a kind of mutant tree that grows quickly and abundantly. Once stripped of its bark, it burns easily," said the young lad, quickly finding his target.
It was a curved wood tree that appeared not much different from others in the forest, not very large, wrapped in many vines with a damp bark. If not told, generally one wouldn’t think it could be burned.
Xu Huo helped fell the tree, and the young lad took over, chopping it into smaller pieces to load into his basket.
Occasionally, Xu Huo lent a hand to clear some vines, while the Girl in the painting noticed silhouettes in the forest.
There was no player sensed around them, yet the silhouette seemed to be gesturing toward them.
Thanks to the Girl in the painting’s request, Xu Huo had acquired an instrument capable of creating strong airflow. Using it to blow at the silhouette’s location scattered the fog, leaving nothing behind.
"Is something wrong?" asked the young lad upon noticing Xu Huo’s action.
"Nothing, I thought a player had arrived," Xu Huo replied, pocketing the device.
On their way back, a shout greeted them from afar, heard by Xu Huo and the young lad alike. Initially tense, the lad paused to listen carefully, "Not someone I recognize."
Clearly not someone Xu Huo knew either—there was indeed a player approaching, having discovered them already, greeting from afar to establish they’re not the "Hidden Friend," then proceeded to introduce themselves.
Once up close, the player recited their name, age, and made sure to underscore their status as a white player.
Facing each other, the player named Chi Cai sighed heavily and then smiled, "Before I came over, I worried you might not be real people, lucky for me, finding two friendly fellow players and local residents."
"You might be celebrating too early," Xu Huo responded, "Are you the Hidden Friend?"
The counterpart shook his head repeatedly, "How could I be? If I was, why would I come out?"
"Not being is best," Xu Huo continued walking, "Neither my sister nor I are dungeon players, calling out is wasteful."
Chi Cai showed surprise at his words, eagerly inquiring about the instance’s details and, seeming eager to gain their trust, candidly shared his circumstances.
He had been there for almost five days, unsure whether due to bad luck or poor sense of direction, having failed to reach any villages nearby, though meeting two players previously, both turned aggressive. Lacking combat skills, he had to rely on his escape prowess to preserve his life temporarily.
"When I arrived, there were 42 people in the instance; now only 35 are left," reflected Chi Cai with a hint of lament, "The vast forest and no one crossed my path, yet others are busy fighting."
Xu Huo was on his fourth day there, seeing from timing that Chi Cai arrived on the same day, albeit earlier, meaning before his arrival, three had died, dropping day two’s count to 37, with two more dying while he and Bubble Bean wandered the forest on day three, leaving today’s tally at 35, unchanged thus far.
"By the way, bro, mind if I stay with you later?"
