Chapter 2362: Chapter 2362: Entertainment at the Fish Banquet

Activating prop effects from within the body isn’t all that uncommon. As the number of props increases, coupled with the inconvenience of wearing them, many players choose to embed important, small props into their bodies, like in their hands or arms. This way, they can avoid having them easily taken or stolen by others, and it’s more convenient to use them.

"Are you sure they’re from the Advanced Wormhole Site?" Xu Huo was skeptical. "Could be a prop embedded in the body."

"You think I’m stupid?" The round-faced player cautiously leaned in. "I saw it clearly, the other person definitely didn’t activate any props."

Even for props embedded in the body, most require the player to activate them personally, except for passive props. For instance, Xu Huo’s "Kitty Grants You Three Lives" which judges if the player is in danger and automatically activates when needed.

"Most passive defense props have limited activations. I saw that person had no limits at all." The round-faced player said, "It’s the kind of spectacle that wealthy folks at the Advanced Wormhole Site love, implanting defense devices in the body. On the surface, they look no different from ordinary people, but they’re always protected unless they disable it themselves. Of course, there are more extreme cases, where they create props with very few limits and sew them into their bodies. It’s like an intelligent sensing system, strutting around everywhere."

Xu Huo ignored his complaint but wasn’t eager to pay for it, "This information isn’t much use to me."

"How could it be useless? Places where such characters show up are definitely the safest. If you get close, most players won’t dare make trouble." The round-faced player had a "consider yourself lucky" expression. "If I wasn’t in need of money, I wouldn’t be selling you this info!"

"So, interested in buying?"

Xu Huo stingily handed over a few White Notes. The other person didn’t mind and straightforwardly gave a floor and room number, "Seems like they stay in that room regularly."

Xu Huo raised his eyebrows slightly, "Someone can actually stay long-term in a Fish Banquet room?"

"That I don’t know, but I’ve heard people say he always comes out from the same room. They’re speculating if he has some connection with the Fish Banquet owner."

After speaking, the round-faced player waved goodbye and left.

Today was a Carnival Day. Though it wasn’t time yet, many players were already preparing for the upcoming three-hour celebration. More and more players were leaving their rooms, whether to find a hiding spot or to hunt for prey. Even the players lingering in corridors had increased.

The Fish Banquet venue seemed to have undergone subtle changes; some previously unremarkable spots now had slight energy fluctuations.

Many noticed this, but few tried to interact with those fluctuating areas. The players tacitly maintained their silence, not sharing this information with newcomers.

The so-called Easter eggs might really exist, but not every spot had them. More often than not, they were likely traps.

"Is there still a draw tonight?" Xu Huo stopped a server.

"There’s no draw on Carnival Day. We default to using the mask patterns drawn the previous day as the main hunting targets." The server politely answered and then left.

Of course, this was a huge hassle for those who were drawn the day before Carnival Day. But after yesterday, how many of those drawn survived? Mermaid masks were already scarce.

By today, those who couldn’t survive were probably dead, and those left alive likely changed their masks.

At this moment, the tension was already beginning to build. The eyes behind each mask blatantly revealed "excitement," and passing before these people, the oppressive force felt like tangible knives and swords.

Especially since accompanying Xu Huo was the Girl in the painting, many unfriendly stares included something extra.

"They’re so annoying." The Girl in the painting directly turned up the Communicator’s volume and said to Xu Huo, "I’m sick of them staring at me. I want to gouge out all their eyes."

They had just entered an open lounge. Players gathered here were either playing cards or ball games. Upon hearing this, at least half the people looked up. Not that they needed to see to confirm their identity and appearance, but to express their attitude.

The Girl in the painting, being "watched," was completely unfazed and asked Xu Huo, "Now or tonight?"

Xu Huo quickly stepped forward to cover her mouth, saying coldly, "Say less, don’t cause trouble."

Afterward, he cautiously looked around before quickly pulling her away.

This was just a minor incident. Some viewed it as the arrogance of a newcomer, while others saw it as a profitable opportunity. At least Xu Huo didn’t seem all that steady. Wearing the Giant Eye Fish mask didn’t necessarily mean he’d killed that many people. Perhaps there was a chance to pick up what others left behind.

Some continued enjoying themselves, while others discreetly followed in their footsteps.

Xu Huo led the Girl in the painting away without using the elevator. Instead, they quickly headed to the stairs.

The three players who followed later found them missing at the stairs—not because they’d fled to another floor, but they disappeared both up and down.

"Could there be something wrong with the stairs?" One person stared at the steps, and before he could investigate further, a black, liquid-like substance quickly covered his feet. The next moment, he stumbled down a few steps to the lower stairway corner.

They initially thought it might be a trap set by the Fish Banquet, but faced with sudden mental interference, the player quickly reacted. However, before he could respond, a materialized item effortlessly pierced through his foot and leg, stabbing into his abdomen.

The player staggered a few steps, clutching his stomach in pain, then coughed up blood profusely.

Seeing this, the other two players unhesitatingly retraced their steps, uninterested in who or how the person was killed. Ultimately, only a corpse remained on the stairs between the fourteenth and fifteenth floors.

Xu Huo collected the remains, asked the Girl in the painting to help take all the prop devices from the other person’s body, then tossed the corpse down to the fourteenth-floor level.

They didn’t even think about lingering on the fifteenth floor. Instead, the two bypassed it and headed to the sixteenth floor.

Unexpectedly, they stumbled upon a gambling session where the bet was on a bowl of food that no longer resembled its original ingredients. The game wasn’t about winning; whoever loses has to eat, so they had to try their best to lose.

The rather interesting gamble drew a considerable crowd of players.

"Where do all these dark cuisines in the Fish Banquet come from?" Xu Huo joined in to watch the fun and, like everyone else watching, inquired next to him.

"Players make them themselves. I heard eating it makes you regret being alive." A player next to him answered while egging on a few others to gamble.

The gambling itself was quite simple. They had to cut a piece of skin from a player who was restrained but had some movement freedom. The bigger the cut, the more likely they would win.