“But since some people have woken up, it means the statue isn't impossible to defend against,” Fu Danhong said with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. “Whether we live or die depends on our own abilities.”
Earlier, the players had been too restrained to face the statue head-on. But after seeing it just now, the statue's influence was actually very limited. As long as you weren't fooled into looking at it and blocked your line of sight, it was hard to fall under its spell. Hadn't that so-called god needed to control the county residents to break down the doors?
Clearly, the key to clearing this dungeon lay in stabilizing one's mind and resisting temptation.
As for the player who had set the fire earlier, he could only blame his own weak will.
“We've all been somewhat affected. It's hard to say whether we can last until the final few days, especially since the end of the month is almost here,” Fang Penghui said grimly.
Fang Penghui and Liu Shiyan's group had already been here four or five days. By the end of the month, they'd have nearly met the dungeon's time requirement. Compared to others, they had less pressure. Some players, like Liu Shiyan, felt that even if things got tough at that point, they could tough it out until the dungeon ended—especially with so many other players around.
After tonight's upheaval, the players actually calmed down. Even the disappearance of the arsonist didn't bother them much, and they scattered to their own places.
“I don't think it'll be that simple,” Yi Pei said in a low voice to Xu Huo as they walked back. “This isn't just a matter of seeing or not seeing. Before they even laid eyes on the statue, the players were already being seduced. The hallucinations and phantom sounds are obvious enough.”
“You felt it too?” Xu Huo asked.
Yi Pei nodded. “I almost opened the door. I was snapped out of it by the noise outside.”
There had to be a channel for seducing players. Now it was clear that the problem wasn't just the enshrined statue. The wall carvings and carpets in the hotel were a test in themselves—every player who stayed there would fall under the spell.
Of course, there were also those who hadn't gone to the hotel from the start.
Xu Huo glanced at the Black-Shirted Player who had already walked into the small courtyard.
Fu Danhong made a good point. This was a survival dungeon. There were no clever tricks to clear it. It all came down to each person's own skills.
But clearly, not everyone thought defense was the way to go. Less than half an hour after the players split up, a massive fire erupted from the hotel, rapidly engulfing half the street!
When the fire first started, not a single person ran out of those courtyards. Some players with a conscience rushed in to rescue people, only to find everyone lying peacefully in bed with their hands crossed over their chests. Neither the thick smoke nor the raging flames could wake them.
Some players began hauling people out, but the six players led by Brother Shi prepared to set a second fire.
“Stop!” Fang Penghui led his people to block them, but the other side had no intention of reasoning. Brother Shi scattered a handful of nails on the ground. Those small items instantly burrowed into the earth, then shot back up moments later, ambushing three players in a row!
The three hit by the nails were instantly paralyzed. A net of items Brother Shi had pre-deployed underground snatched them up, dragging them over like dead dogs!
“Bodies severed from heads!” Fang Penghui threw an unremarkable bookmark. The thin piece of paper spun out like a razor, cutting through the item net and then sweeping horizontally toward Brother Shi's group!
“Clang! Clang!” After hitting three defensive items in a row, the bookmark flew back into Fang Penghui's hand. He then pulled out a book and flipped it open. The text on the pages began reciting itself. What started as a normal volume swelled within seconds into a deafening alarm, making players on both Brother Shi's side and Fang Penghui's own side uncomfortable.
Fang Penghui's expression didn't change. He tossed the book forward, and several pages inflated like air-filled membranes, flying out to stick onto Brother Shi and his companions!
The group retreated tactically. Fang Penghui shouted, “Plot Adhesion!” and the pages, now expanded to human height, autonomously chased the players!
The female player beside Brother Shi produced an ice gun and sprayed it into the air. Several pages were frozen solid, then shattered by stones flicked from the fingertips of another female player.
The ice gun's range exceeded five meters. Two players on Fang Penghui's side couldn't dodge in time and had their limbs frozen solid. Though not fatal, the stones broke their limbs on impact.
“Radiance of the Sun!” A player on Fang Penghui's side raised a high-wattage bulb. A blinding light instantly illuminated the entire street. The players on Brother Shi's side hurriedly retreated, only to be blocked by an invisible wall. Anyone who touched it was sent flying back!
“One won't turn back until hitting the wall of no return!” A bespectacled player jumped out from Fang Penghui's camp, flanking Brother Shi's group from the side. As soon as the intense light faded, other players moved in to fill the gaps.
Brother Shi and his team, unable to escape the encirclement immediately, were trapped in the middle. Brother Shi smiled. “Just a little misunderstanding. No need to fight to the death, right?”
“Misunderstanding?” the Square-Faced Man barked. “You didn't say that when you were killing people!”
As he spoke, he raised his hand and waved it through the air. “Come and get slapped!”
In an instant, Brother Shi was yanked out of his own team, as if dragged by something, and flew uncontrollably toward the Square-Faced Man—truly looking like he was coming to get slapped!
Fang Penghui and several other players attacked simultaneously.
Trapped on all sides, Brother Shi seemed to have no way out. But then, he suddenly clapped his hands together, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from his spot, replaced by a female player who had been standing several meters away. Brother Shi himself appeared where she had been!
The crowd was stunned. Before they could react, they saw him laugh coldly. Instinctively, they scattered in all directions. The female player who had replaced Brother Shi erupted in a blaze, her body charred black instantly, while several nearby players suffered severe burns on their backs—this fire was far more lethal than Xu Huo's lighter!
“Interesting,” Xu Huo said, arriving in a flash. Sword energy swept across the air.
Brother Shi raised a defensive item. “Your sword can only hit the first object. Once it's seen through in combat, it's useless!”
But as he spoke, his defensive item was suddenly forced open by an unseen power. Then, he himself was pinned in place, unable to move!
He sensed someone behind him, but Brother Shi had no time to save himself. In a split second, he shouted at Xu Huo, “Explode!”
“Boom!” The player standing behind Xu Huo burst into flames. But Xu Huo, having used his ability to dodge the moment Brother Shi spoke, teleported twice and appeared on Brother Shi's right, shooting him in the head.
Brother Shi's body hung in the air for a moment before crashing to the ground. Xu Huo stood beside him, his expression cold as he looked at the remaining players behind him.
Those few were smart enough not to rush into avenging their comrade. Including the female player, they all stood silently in place.
They weren't stupid. Brother Shi had clearly been restricted by some invisible item. An item they couldn't see or escape from—even if it only worked for a second—could cost them their lives. And since they weren't sworn brothers ready to die for each other, they had no objection to Brother Shi pushing the female player to die in his place, and no psychological burden watching him die either.
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