Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!-Chapter 2189: Proposal for Cooperation

"I’ve heard of a trick to clear a spiritual dungeon," Fei Xun suddenly said. "I don’t know if it’s useful; someone was bragging about it during a ride."

"If you can’t distinguish whether the scene is real or an illusion, you can imagine something completely irrational, like a deceased relative or a destroyed prop. By giving yourself a psychological cue, these things might suddenly appear when you’re being interfered with. Of course, they’re not real, but a reminder from deep within your consciousness."

"But if it’s an instance where fantasy interferes with reality, this won’t work. An overactive imagination can become a problem."

"What kind of instance do you think this Goddess Replica is?"

Just from their experience in the Inquiry Hall, the illusions they encountered already blended fantasy with reality. What they saw partially came from past memories and partly from the temple’s influence. From the process of interaction, it was hard to distinguish whether the things they touched or the people they saw were fake, as they were incredibly lifelike.

"It’s at least a Rank-B instance, probably not that simple," Ding Jiang stood up and said, "Let’s rest first. I’ll try again tomorrow morning, and if it doesn’t work, we’ll move to another place."

"Blessing or a curse, you can’t escape it," Huang Mao mumbled, linking arms with Fei Xun as they walked away.

A Hai lingered at the end, hesitating, "I think Mr. Ding seems in a bad mood; maybe we should go separately tomorrow."

"No worries, sleep early," Xu Huo smiled at him.

A Hai helplessly returned to his room.

After the door closed, Xu Huo didn’t rush to lie down. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, resting with his eyes closed. After about half an hour, the door of the adjacent room quietly opened. As someone passed by his door, he spoke up, "Not planning to sleep at this hour?"

Huang Mao awkwardly walked back, muttering as he walked, "Well, I just got up for a walk. Old Xu, you’re injured; don’t exert yourself."

The night was relatively peaceful.

Xu Huo got up early the next day. According to A Hai’s travel plan, they were going to see the sea of clouds before sunrise.

"Not calling them?" A Hai came out carrying a backpack.

As he spoke, the three rooms next door opened, and Huang Mao, with messy hair, asked, "Where are you going?"

"To see the sea of clouds." Ever since learning Xu Huo wasn’t a dungeon player, A Hai wasn’t as enthusiastic towards them and didn’t invite them to join.

"Wait for me, I’m coming too." Huang Mao didn’t mind, turned back to his room, grabbed a jacket, "Let’s go, let’s go together. How about I buy some breakfast to bring along?"

Ding Jiang leaned against the door, glancing mockingly at Huang Mao, then turned around and closed the door again.

"We won’t go," Fei Xun explained for him, "In case Ding Jiang still doesn’t succeed later, we have to hurry to the next city. We can’t travel with you."

"Alright, good luck to you," Huang Mao waved indifferently.

With props to skip the hiking process, Xu Huo and others directly reached the mountain top and found a good spot to sit; their breakfast was still hot.

"I think Ding Jiang is a tough guy. It’s good to part ways with them," Huang Mao said. "I wonder if he really can’t enter the Illusion Realm or if it’s intentional."

"You suspect he’s faking it?" Xu Huo chimed in.

"It’s hard to cover up the pattern on his arm; I tried. He didn’t forge the pattern himself, so he probably hasn’t been stamped," Huang Mao said indistinctly, stuffing noodles into his mouth while leaning against a tree. "But who knows if he’s a lingering player; those two players you brought back yesterday didn’t have the pattern on their arms either."

"Doesn’t seem like it."

"Whether it does or not is another matter," Huang Mao asserted, "If he’s not a lingering player, he’s definitely nearing the instance’s time limit. I’m worried he might pull us down with him."

Xu Huo took a sip of water, and his vision became much clearer as he looked at the cloudy sea on the horizon.

After finishing breakfast, Huang Mao brought up yesterday’s topic again, "Does Fei Xun’s method really work?"

He was referring to the method for clearing spiritual dungeons.

"I haven’t cleared many spiritual dungeons," Xu Huo replied. "But according to the information on Beneath the Dimension, if you’re not a spiritual Evolver, it’s best not to rashly impose suggestions on yourself. In environments with strong mental interference, it’s generally hard for people to tell whether their subconscious is trying to save them or if they’re seeing a new illusion."

"Isn’t there really no way to clear it?" Huang Mao, who had read many guides on this topic, clearly couldn’t wrap his head around it. "Many players who cleared it don’t explain well. Either they stumbled upon the key by luck, or it was a sudden flash of insight. Who can understand that?"

"Spiritual dungeons are quite flexible." Xu Huo, holding employment at The Seventeenth Hospital, was well aware of the conditions in such instances. Imagined danger, inner fears, and even others’ fears could become reality and affect clearance. In such cases, success lacks reference value.

Of course, there are also strong-willed individuals who can remain clear-headed in the instance and quickly discern clues. But such individuals usually go on to better opportunities and seldom sell their strategies for money.

"Are you... not a dungeon player?" Huang Mao suddenly asked out of nowhere.

Xu Huo didn’t react, but A Hai, who was watching the scenery nearby, instinctively turned his head.

Huang Mao chuckled, "Actually, I wanted to ask A Hai about it last night, but you caught me, so I guessed that you might not be here to clear the instance."

Moreover, his injuries were too severe. Unless the time was up, no player would enter an instance with broken limbs, not to mention he seemed in no hurry despite gaining nothing from entering the Satellite City.

"You guessed correctly," Xu Huo smiled, "So traveling with me won’t do much good and might even waste your time."

"Not necessarily," Huang Mao, however, was very confident. "Having someone knowledgeable lead the way is definitely better than blindly charging ahead on your own. Besides, for someone completely unfamiliar with Spirit Evolution, they wouldn’t have a clue about anything."

"Isn’t the instance’s task and content supposed to be revealed only upon entering the Holy Land Goddess Temple?" Xu Huo said. Through their conversation, he gathered that this instance only provided a hint that they needed to head to the Holy Land Goddess Temple, which is where the real dungeon venue lies.

Without useful information, naturally, there’s nothing targeted.

"Are you entering the temple out of curiosity about the Goddess?" Huang Mao chuckled, "Why don’t we collaborate? I’ll gather information, you analyze it. If you can enter the Holy Land Goddess Temple, just give me a hand. If not, I can relay information from inside, and you might find the clues you want."

"Sounds reasonable," Xu Huo pointed to his own eyes, "but you overlooked one thing: I’m injured."