Chapter 18 Beheading Demon

"What will happen?" The two of them were trembling with fear but couldn't help asking.

Surviving the initial selection train required either strength or luck, but all the surviving players didn't dare to take the absence from an instance lightly.

Under the watchful eyes of several people, Xu Huo flicked his cigarette and quirked his mouth, "I don't know."

The two players pretending to be station staff understood they had been played and attacked in a fit of rage, "We intended to leave you a way out, but you're asking for death!"

"Ding!"

The brass lighter remained lit as Xu Huo quickly stepped back a few paces and raised his hand while shouting "Burn" twice!

Almost simultaneously with his words, blue flames appeared on the edges of the two players' clothes. Ordinary fabric, like paper, was engulfed by the flames in the blink of an eye; the two, who had seemed fierce a second ago, immediately screamed while tearing off their burning clothes!

The other three players ready to take advantage of the situation were taken aback by this move and unanimously stepped back!

"He's using a game prop!" The tall and skinny one, having thrown off his clothes, stared at Xu Huo with both anger and fear. Seeing the lighter in his hand, his eyes showed a greedy glint as he said to the three others, "You idiots, come and help! He must have more than one ticket on him. You need to seize the tickets to access the next instance. Otherwise, wait to starve to death here!"

However, before the three players could react, the hall echoed with a series of "Burn," and clothes caught fire one after another—even including those worn by the two fake station attendants who had just removed their jackets.

A group of people writhed and wailed on the ground, while Xu Huo stood aside, emotionlessly watching this strip-to-save-oneself scenario, roughly figuring out the object scope, size, and burning speed of the flames that the "Arsonist's Tool" could ignite.

The only items that could be ignited were clothes worn on the body; those lying on the ground couldn't be set alight. The intensity of the fire was the same as a normal fire, with nothing unextinguishable or capable of melting metal.

There were two necessary conditions for something to catch fire: first, there must be no obstructions between the lighter and the target—it had to be a straight line, putting the lighter behind his back wouldn't work; second, the target person had to hear him say "Burn," merely mouthing the word was ineffective.

Of course, with an Evolver's enhanced hearing, the controllable distance was substantial.

Nodding in satisfaction, he checked the time on his phone and disappeared from the station hall.

*

The train sped through a forest shrouded in dense fog, and the light outside visibly dimmed as Xu Huo compared the time on his phone again. After the scenery outside the train changed thrice in succession, the timeline was completely scrambled. It appeared to be nighttime, but in reality, he had been on the train for no more than two hours.

The game did not have a fixed time difference from the outside world.

Just after putting down his phone, the game screen suddenly popped up:

[Player Passerby A has entered the Hot Spring Mountain Area and is automatically participating in the Level E Instance "Beheading Demon." Please note that this instance is low level, and players are not allowed to carry non-game props.]

[Background Introduction: Hot Spring Mountain Villa, famous for its natural hot springs, was once very popular among players and non-players alike. However, in the past three years, guests who came here to relax mysteriously lost their heads, and no traces of a criminal were ever found at the scene. After several private detectives and police officers disappeared under mysterious circumstances, the owner of the Hot Spring Mountain Villa had no choice but to offer a high reward to resolve this bizarre death case, but to no avail.]

[To this day, Hot Spring Mountain Villa has become a gathering place for detectives, reporters, and fans of horror stories. Another group of guests is due to arrive at the villa before midnight tonight...]

[Instance Task: Protect our heads. (Note: Keep an eye on your head, or it might run off on its own!)]

[Instance Duration: Five days.]

[Players, please check into Hot Spring Mountain Villa before midnight in-game time to complete the instance task. Failure to complete the instance will result in no return tickets.]

[Countdown begins: 10, 9, 8, 7...]

When the countdown ended, Xu Huo found himself standing on a fog-covered path.

The dense forest was soaked in thick fog, with visibility virtually non-existent beyond five meters. There was a sign under the dim streetlight that read "Hot Spring Mountain Station" and "Hot Spring Mountain Villa straight ahead 500 meters."

He walked a few steps to the side, but the visibility remained as poor as in a normal dense fog, with the thick mist obscuring the view, allowing him to see nothing but darkness.

It seemed that aside from the areas required for the instance, other places were locked to players. If one failed to complete the instance and didn't have extra tickets, they might well be trapped here.

"Miss... wait!" Just as he was about to move forward, someone suddenly called out to him from behind.

Xu Huo placed one hand on his hip and turned around, only to see a skinny man with glasses climbing out of the bushes. The man seemed to be startled by Xu Huo after getting up.

It couldn't be helped; who would expect that a long-haired silhouette from the back would turn around to be a man over six feet tall?

"Hello... you're a player, aren't you?" The glasses-wearing man asked awkwardly as he scratched his head, "It was too dark to see clearly just now."

Xu Huo touched the back of his head, where he had already cropped his hair once; this was new growth.

Since it would fall out on its own after a week anyway, he didn't care too much.

"Heading to Hot Spring Mountain Villa?" He offered a cigarette.

The man with glasses hurriedly accepted, "Yes, yes, Brother, what shall I call you? How about we go together?"

Xu Huo nodded, and the two of them maintained a certain distance as they set off towards the villa.

Along the way, the man with glasses gave a brief introduction of himself. His name was Yuan Yao, a programmer who had survived the initial selection by fluke and, forced by the deadline, boarded the train on the last day.

He had arrived here in the morning and had been hiding in the bushes by the road. Eight other players had already passed by, and as the time drew close, he figured that Xu Huo was probably the last one, so he quickly came out to join him.

After listening to his story, Xu Huo asked thoughtfully, "Does each player arrive at a different time?"

Yuan Yao patted his chest, "Don't worry, Brother Xu, I'm good at playing games. The notified time of twelve o'clock will surely be after the actual time the instance starts. Maybe those who went earlier couldn't even get through the door!"

What Xu Huo was considering was, of course, not that. However, he didn't elaborate.

Yuan Yao had been hiding just three meters away, and Xu Huo hadn't noticed him at all; neither did the eight players who passed before him.

His gaze shifted to Yuan Yao, and a smile slowly formed on his face.

"Hey, we're here!" Yuan Yao pointed ahead.