"Let me think about it." Xu Huo had already made a decision but didn’t agree directly with Zhu Bo; instead, he said, "I want to act together with the players from Yu Country."
"No problem," Zhu Bo didn’t mind at all, "As long as we attack Suitcase Man’s lair, we’re friends!"
"Brother Zhu!" The female player reminded again.
Zhu Bo laughingly glossed over it and then introduced, "This is my adopted sister Hongxi, the one you just saved is called Big Head, and that guy over there who doesn’t talk much is called Si Qi."
"There’s someone named Dai He among the people with you," he added, "Not to speak ill of people behind their backs, but that guy is really sinister; be careful not to get tricked by him."
Xu Huo just smiled without responding, and after agreeing on a way to contact each other, he left to find the Girl in the painting and the others.
Forget Dai He; Zhu Bo and the others weren’t much better either. Standing in Zone 039, ignoring the existence of the Super Dungeon, and silently waiting for Suitcase Man to leave was the best strategy. Angering Suitcase Man could easily lead to Zone 039’s destruction.
As the leader of Yongta, Zhu Bo couldn’t possibly recklessly provoke Suitcase Man. Evidently, everyone here would only end up sacrificing themselves if they faced Suitcase Man.
Yet, he repeatedly invited me to go with him—not for the escape; from the start, he has clearly wanted to head to Suitcase Man’s castle, likely with another motive.
As for Dai He, his behavior is exactly the normal reaction of a Zone 039 player.
Given the current situation, Xu Huo and Dai He shared the same stance.
The number of puppets in Circus City had already exceeded Xu Huo’s psychological expectations. Checking them one by one took too much time; taking a risk and heading to the castle to try was a possible way out. He didn’t agree immediately, primarily considering Yan Jiayu.
The chance to escape might vanish in an instant; he couldn’t fully prepare and then go find someone, or find them before seeking a way out. He could only try to proceed simultaneously.
But going to the castle was inevitable; they had to be prepared to face Suitcase Man directly.
"You finally came back!" Qi Cong almost cried tears of joy when he saw Xu Huo again; it hadn’t even been that long, and he and the others, including Dai He, had already acquired new injuries. The reason was they were caught by the shopkeeper while releasing balloons; as soon as the words "catch the thief" came out, combat dolls came right over to catch them. They had run away only to circle back.
Moreover, Dai He discovered a small room hiding bones, "These puppets might really eat people."
"Those players have already been assimilated into props; do they even have appetite?"
"Maybe they haven’t been fully turned into props yet." Xu Huo didn’t mind too much; he had already tried before. Whether he killed combat dolls or real puppets in an area, none of the puppets would leave their activity range, making it very difficult to cause chaos with them.
Also, these trapped players might not necessarily cooperate.
"Is there no way to break free from puppet props?" Qi Cong asked, "Wouldn’t Little Yu’er be forever trapped in the prop?"
"Let’s find the person first." Dai He wasn’t concerned with this issue; his worry was not being able to send messages back. If Yu Country sent more people due to their disappearance, it might not save them and could even cause big trouble.
"Sizzle!" A faint electric current noise sounded from all around; the street lights and shop signs lit up everywhere, the rainbow colors gradually spreading turned the entire city into a hazy yet cozy atmosphere, and the sky that was bright just moments ago seemed to dim because of the lights coming on.
"Clap clap clap!" Applause swelled from afar, accompanied by cheers, and some puppets unseen during the day suddenly appeared in small squares, near Sweet Tower, and at street corners, performing magic, singing and dancing; others led out mutated animals like bears and tigers, their ferocious roars becoming part of Circus City at night.
Seeing this scene, Xu Huo and the others felt even heavier.
An instance venue not activated, with so many able-moving puppets was already frightening enough, and now it had a "night mode;" suddenly appearing were numerous bizarre puppets and accessorized mutated animals. Even with a toe, one could tell the night instance venue was definitely more dangerous than during the day...
"Won’t you go watch the performance?" Two shop workers passed by them, pushing them toward the animal performance area, smiling, "Go have a look; that bear knows how to perform!"
Qi Cong and the others originally didn’t want to follow, but in the span of several breaths, many puppets had already gathered around them. These puppets were enthusiastically warm, not only wanting to drag them to watch but also actively giving them the front spots.
"I won’t go..." Qi Cong was missing several chunks of flesh, uncertain if that mutated bear had people inside or was really a bear, dared not move closer, his whole demeanor screaming rejection as he shifted backward. However, the puppet pulling him suddenly changed face, asking without any humor, "You really won’t watch?"
When the question was asked, surrounding puppets all turned their heads.
Qi Cong dared not refuse anymore, reluctantly smiling, "I’ll watch... I’m tall and can see from the back..."
But the puppet pushing him paid no heed, holding him up and tossing him forward. Qi Cong abruptly found himself outside the crowd, just as the mutated bear, which could swallow a whole person, stood before him, drooling all over his face.
"Damn..." Qi Cong immediately raised his device to block above his head, and the mutated bear, having its teeth caught, suddenly went berserk, swiping with its paw to fling him away!
A puppet caught him, but the next moment was about to toss him back; luckily at the crucial moment, Xu Huo pulled him aside, kicking two puppets out to replace him.
The mutated bear didn’t care who it devoured, snapping each puppet up, stuffing it into its mouth. Crisp crunching sounds resonated as the two puppets vanished, and the next second, confetti sprayed from the bear’s mouth, covering half the street.
The puppets watching the performance clapped fervently, shouting loudly, but their expressions were twisted, every one of them forced to laugh in fear.
A new round of performances quickly began again, and Xu Huo’s group squeezed out from the crowd but turned around only to face a half-man-tall rabbit, with red eyes stretching its head to sniff them. Then it jumped excitedly, yelling, "Live ones! Live ones!"
The performance continued, but some puppets watching turned around, laughing as they started to run!
Quietly leaving was impossible; Xu Huo used the Defensive Barrier to sweep the puppets on the street to the other side, telling the others, "Run separately!"
"Take me with you!" Qi Cong shouted.
"Shut up!" Xu Huo ordered, diving into a game tent headfirst. The moment he entered, he sensed something was off; sure enough, several human-sized upright figures closed in on him, and as he leaped to dodge, two dolls lunged from above, their quickly growing hair and skirts instantly covering them!
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