Spend three days inside the camp, a conventional survival-type instance?
The players' expressions varied.
"Alright, now that you understand, all of you stand on the outer deck. We're about to disembark onto the island," the slovenly man clapped his hands, signaling for the players to go outside.
Xu Xi followed unhurriedly behind the other players. As he passed by this group, he glanced sideways and saw them fiddling with survival gear, cooking utensils, medical supplies, and other materials.
It looked like they were genuinely preparing to stay on that island for three days.
Although the rules explained by that slovenly man sounded simple, Xu Xi had experienced five instances. He wouldn't claim to have accumulated vast experience, but he had at least become much more perceptive.
Could an instance selected by God Hunt for a mixed-team competition really be an ordinary, run-of-the-mill survival instance?
Take those so-called various challenges, for example.
He had a gut feeling that the way to clear this instance might not be as simple as just surviving for three days.
The eleven players made their way to the deck one after another. Their eyes were met with the shimmering surface of a lake, dense forests on both shores, and a small island in the distance that grew ever closer as the vessel sailed.
Xu Xi gazed at that lonely island, seemingly forgotten in a corner of the world, and felt even more certain about his earlier speculation.
As the players either sat or stood, keeping to themselves, the vessel soon approached the shore.
The production team's staff began shuttling back and forth, carrying supplies onto the island, while the slovenly man stood on the shore, waving the players over.
Only after all the players had disembarked and gathered before him did he speak:
"The production team has installed cameras and loudspeakers all over the camp. Your every move will be live-streamed to the monitoring room. In a moment, a shaman will perform a blessing ceremony. Once he's finished, you will change into the prison uniforms worn by the former hostages and enter the camp. I will inform you of the subsequent challenges via the loudspeakers. Is that all clear?"
At that moment, a young man with light brown hair and blue eyes suddenly stepped forward and asked, "Director, what do you mean by 'elimination'? Death?"
The slovenly man was taken aback, looking at this player with disbelief. "What? Are you joking? This is a legitimate production team. I won't deny I chose this haunted camp as our location for the views, but I never intended to have blood on my hands!"
Seeing the expressions on these contestants' faces, the slovenly man finally realized they seemed to have misunderstood something and hurriedly explained in detail, "Hey listen, contestants, all you need to do is persevere and complete all our challenges. Those who can last until the end are the winners. Those who can't hold on are considered eliminated, and the staff will bring you out."
The blue-eyed young man smiled. "Sorry, my misunderstanding. So, what if I experience severe discomfort during a challenge?"
The slovenly man replied, "You can shout that you want to withdraw. The staff will bring you out as well."
The blue-eyed young man nodded. "Okay, thank you, Director."
After the blue-eyed young man's probing, the players all realized they had overthought things.
They had thought the production team wanted them to turn on each other, with the last one standing being the final victor.
Turns out, they were genuinely just putting on a show.
Even so, not a single player was happy about it.
Xu Xi inwardly let out a soft hiss of breath.
Just as he thought.
This actually made him even more certain that the way to clear this instance was not according to the production team's judgment.
Whether it was the three-day time limit or the elimination in between, the fact that it wasn't lethal meant there was likely an even deadlier danger.
Similarly, a non-dangerous way to clear it meant this wasn't the real way to complete the instance.
Clearly, the players capable of participating in the mixed-team competition weren't fools; they had all figured this out.
Everyone had a vague understanding in their hearts.
The competition among players was one thing; the threat posed by the instance itself was another.
Undeniably, they all wanted to eliminate the others and claim the instance rewards for themselves. But before understanding the true danger level of the instance, they wouldn't blindly attack each other.
After all, one more player meant one more person to share the risk.
"Good that you understand," the slovenly man relaxed.
Just then, a staff member jogged over. "Director, the ritual is ready. Shall we begin?"
"Begin," the slovenly man said, then turned and waved at the players. "Come on, let's go attend the blessing ceremony."
——
In a clearing within the forest, the production team's staff formed a loose circle. In the center was a man wearing a headscarf, his face smeared with strange greasepaint, who looked utterly mystical and eccentric.
However, the players' attention wasn't on this man. Their gazes were fixed on the transparent crate opposite him.
Inside the crate, which was taller than the man himself, densely packed skeletons were piled together. Some skeletons were pressed tightly against the glass, their pitch-black, empty eye sockets staring straight at the players, while their pale hand bones left clear, visible fingerprints on the inside of the glass.
The man referred to as the shaman muttered something incomprehensible at the crate. After a while, he took out a dagger, cut his palm, and pressed it against the glass. Then, with a twist of his wrist, a sigil drawn in blood gradually took shape.
The dozens of people surrounding them watched intently.
However, just as the sigil was about to be completed, the man suddenly began to convulse. The nearly finished sigil on the glass was instantly smeared into a messy blob by the gushing blood.
"This place cannot be entered!" the man hastily retreated several steps, shouting in terror, "There is something inside—"
The next second, the man seemed to lose his sanity. His gaze turned vacant, and he lunged frantically at the people around him.
"Cannot enter! Cannot enter!"
"Leave quickly! Leave quickly!"
He kept chanting these two phrases.
Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events.
The screams of the staff member who was tackled by the man snapped the others back to reality.
The slovenly man immediately shouted, "Quick! Pull him away!"
Witnessing this chaotic scene, some players' faces began to turn grim.