After the Tentacle Tool was upgraded, the fact that the Formal Dress Player could go one-on-one with it proved how strong he was. Even though he was injured, he wasn’t at a disadvantage, constantly looking for a chance to contact his teammates and trying to open a Space Portal.

"Why isn’t he leaving?" A watching Player couldn’t help asking. "It shouldn’t be hard for him to hide."

"You don’t know?" someone next to him replied. "This zoo is specially used to deal with Players who cause trouble in the Fish Banquet Building. Anyone the Fish Banquet Building finds troublesome, they can just open a Spatial Gate and toss them in here, no need to waste time in the building. Didn’t you notice that Props stopped working after you came in?"

Props being unusable meant your personal panel couldn’t be opened, your connection to the game was cut off, and people who came in couldn’t leave using Tickets. They could only return to the Fish Banquet again.

Everyone else was already clear that Props couldn’t be used. Those who arrived early knew there were a lot of small spaces like this in the building. They had wandered in by mistake, and when they heard what the zoo was for, they were all a bit shocked, and of course more worried that they couldn’t get out.

"He’s probably already contacted the Fish Banquet Building, wants the Fish Banquet side to open a passage to pick him up. With that Tentacle Monster locked onto him, wherever he runs he’ll just get beaten. Might as well wait here." That Player said, "I’m guessing he’s afraid his own people won’t be able to find his location if he runs."

"But you guys don’t have to worry too much. This place isn’t completely cut off from the game. Every day during system maintenance there’ll be a fifteen-minute window." The Player who knew the inside story checked the time. "Just wait until tonight. If not..."

He jerked his chin toward the distant Formal Dress Player. "You can wait for him to die and then take his instruments."

The others could wait until night, but things might not be that simple for the Formal Dress Player. His instruments were burning through energy fast; no matter how high his Level was, he couldn’t keep tanking like this. The damage he could inflict on the Tentacle Tool was minimal, and on top of that the Prop Fish kept causing trouble from time to time. Seeing that there was still no contact from the Fish Banquet side, he turned around and bolted straight toward Xu Huo’s group!

"That bastard’s dragging us into this!" A bunch of Players who had been hiding nicely started cursing the moment they saw him pulling them into the water, then scattered in all directions.

Xu Huo ran as well, but while running he released his Spiritual World. He pushed his materialized power to the limit; when the Formal Dress Player stepped into the range, Xu Huo gathered all the materialized power together like performing surgery, turning it into a Strangling Cage!

Even though the Formal Dress Player couldn’t use Props, he had plenty of instruments on him, and their quality was high enough. Even though he had already sensed the trap on the ground in advance, he didn’t dodge or avoid it. He let the Materialized Items close in, even pausing in place when an instrument expanded a Defensive Barrier, locking eyes with Xu Huo.

But that calm didn’t last long, because the Tentacle Tool behind had caught up again, and that ghost-like Prop Fish slammed straight into his instrument barrier and shattered it!

Seizing the chance, Xu Huo once again tightened the Materialized Items. Black arrows erupted from the ground, shooting densely into the sky!

This time the Formal Dress Player didn’t overestimate himself. He escaped the range of the Materialized Items at the first possible moment, but Xu Huo had already predicted his escape route. A screen-like black Shadow came down over him directly. Even though he quickly broke free, he was still left with several wounds from the freely shifting Materialized Items.

Unfortunately, the wounds weren’t very deep.

But this still enraged the Formal Dress Player. He flipped his hand and activated a button-shaped Spatial Instrument. Three Spatial Rays bounced out in succession, shooting straight at Xu Huo’s back!

Large swaths of trees snapped under the three Spatial Rays, the jungle looking as if it had been through cutting. In the blink of an eye the view opened up, forming a wide clearing.

The power of these three Spatial Rays exceeded even Xue Lang’s. Xu Huo suppressed his impulse to block with the Water Cube Barrier and instead activated the Wormhole Flower Interference Device he wore. He had paid a high price for this instrument specifically to deal with situations similar to Xue Lang’s. Once interfered with, the Spatial Rays lost their previous sharpness, as if dulled a lot, and were soon dragged to a halt by the layers of trees.

Of course, during all this, the other Players weren’t just standing on the side sightseeing. The Formal Dress Player’s identity was obvious—he was from Fish Banquet. As for Players thrown into the zoo, no matter why he’d come here, the fact that he was being chased all over by Aliens like a dog left them with more or less some resentment. And right now the advantage was theirs. A Fish Banquet Player might drop some good stuff.

Aside from certain special instruments developed for the District Government’s daily use, and instruments traded by ordinary people, most instruments weren’t picky about who used them. As long as there was no space-time interference, most instruments could function normally. Although the zoo blocked game channels, it should be similar to B37-008’s non-game field simulation—restricting Props and Characteristics, but allowing instruments to function normally. Of course, some Energy Weapons could be used as well.

But miniature Energy Weapons were less effective than instruments. Most Players carried instruments on them. The Formal Dress Player had plenty of instruments, but he couldn’t stand up to sheer numbers.

After he opened a Defensive Barrier again and had it pierced by one Player’s instrument, he was caught dead-on by the charging Tentacle Tool. With no time, or rather no opportunity, to activate another instrument, the Formal Dress Player flung one arm to his side to block. As his whole body was sent flying horizontally, the arm that took the hit was smashed and broken outright. Bits of flesh and shattered limb flew off and were quickly blown away by the gust whipped up by the Tentacle Tool.

And that still wasn’t the end. There were plenty of Players nearby who wanted him dead. A female Player blinked in behind him, tracing a triangle in the air with one hand. Several Space Triangle cutting bodies of the same size then formed around the Formal Dress Player, attacking his four limbs and his back.

The Spatial Barrier blocked those attacks, but unexpectedly, one of the Space Triangles actually neutralized with the barrier. In that instant, three more Players attacked at the same time. One of them, after his attack missed, directly tackled in a flying charge with a double-foot kick, sending the Formal Dress Player staggering several steps and almost crashing to the ground. He didn’t fall, just froze in place for a moment. In battles between Advanced Players, a blink could overturn the situation. That half-beat delay cost him—his throat was sliced open by two interlacing, flying Space Triangles!

The Formal Dress Player used his remaining hand to clamp down on the wound, but he could stop the left side and not the right. Blood streamed down his neck, soaking his whole body. He straightened up, swept his gaze across the surrounding Players, and finally fixed his eyes on Xu Huo. Eyes wide open, he fell forward. The instant he hit the ground, his body actually exploded, and mixed in with the fragments were a few miniature instruments. They weren’t very powerful and could be blocked by an ordinary Spatial Barrier, but when they dropped they released a cloud of mist.

"It’s poisonous!"