Several people sat in a circle in the clearing, the atmosphere tense.
In the past half hour alone, the doll had ambushed them at least a dozen times. It struck whenever they thought they were safe from attack, leaving them in a sorry state.
Jiang Yue and Zhang Zhiqiang were both injured, with several wounds on their bodies.
The other two were unhurt, but they weren't much better off. They had spent a great deal of energy guarding against the doll's attacks.
"Damn it, that's completely unfair!" Zhang Zhiqiang couldn't help cursing.
The doll was acting nothing like the guide said it would, ambushing them again and again without giving them a chance to catch their breath.
"This can't go on. We won't last until dawn. Looks like we need a different approach," Cheng Xu said.
"Clearly, some things in the instance have changed. We have to destroy this doll completely," Zhao Yuqing said. "We can't follow the guide to the letter."
"I also feel like the instance has suddenly gotten harder. We can't clear it by following the original guide anymore, so we should try something else," Jiang Yue said.
"I agree," Zhang Zhiqiang said.
Seeing that everyone agreed, Cheng Xu said, "We'll do as Zhao Yuqing suggested and find a way to destroy the doll.
"The game guide may no longer work, but it's still worth referring to. We can't rely on it too much, though. The most important thing is being able to adapt on the spot."
They had, of course, also read the guide on destroying the doll. It wasn't very difficult, and the lowest-level member of their group was already level 7, so they were perfectly capable of doing it.
They did, however, need to make some preparations.
"We need to find some materials. I suggest that all four of us stay together while we search instead of splitting up. That way, the doll won't have a chance to attack us."
If the four of them split up, their strength would inevitably decline, so the others had no objections to Cheng Xu's proposal and agreed completely.
The fire years ago had reduced almost the entire town to ashes, but there were still a few out-of-the-way corners the flames had spared.
They could still find some useful things here.
The doll could turn invisible and come and go without a trace, but it wasn't without weaknesses. They could catch it with things like fishing nets and ropes, then burn it to death.
Although the process might be risky, the risks were manageable, and they had a good chance of winning.
The four began searching everywhere for the supplies they needed. Thanks to the guide, they knew where everything was, and the search went relatively smoothly.
Although the doll ambushed them a few more times in the process, only Zhao Yuqing suffered a minor injury. The others were all right.
Cheng Xu began checking the supplies they had found: a fishing net, several lengths of hemp rope, a worn-out mosquito net, some iron wire, a bottle of kerosene, and a kerosene lighter.
It was all junk nobody wanted, but it would be very useful for catching the doll.
A sinister smile appeared on Zhang Zhiqiang's face. "Heh heh, let's see how that doll ambushes us now. Once we catch it, I'll tear it to pieces!"
"Let's not get careless," Cheng Xu said, a bad feeling in his heart.
They began making preparations. They chose a wooded area and tied the nets and ropes to the trees to make simple traps.
These traps certainly wouldn't work against a human, but their enemy was a doll. These things alone were enough to trap it.
After finishing, they looked at their traps, and their expressions relaxed somewhat.
Now all they had to do was wait for the doll to come.
A few minutes later, the doll appeared in their field of vision again, and they immediately spread out. They had agreed that if anyone was attacked, the other three would rush over and surround the doll.
Although the doll could turn invisible, they all had high spirit attributes, so even if they couldn't see it, they could still sense its approximate location.
Once they forced the doll into their traps, it wouldn't be able to escape.
The doll vanished, and they all tensed up. None of them knew whether they would be its target.
One careless move could still get them killed.
Cheng Xu suddenly frowned. He could already sense that the doll had appeared behind him.
He immediately opened his inventory, and a short blade glowing blood-red appeared in his hand.
[Demon Blade]
"Quality: C-grade Traits: A demon's exclusive blade, incomparably sharp. Wounds inflicted by it can never heal. But its functions are not limited to killing; it can also slay and devour spirit entities, and grow by devouring them. Side effects: This is a demon's exclusive blade, as sinister and cunning as a demon. The negative emotions of spirit entities devoured by this blade will affect its owner, and the owner's spirit attribute will be permanently reduced. If the Demon Blade's power grows too strong, it may kill its owner."
This dagger was a supernatural item from Paradise. It had unlimited growth potential, but also side effects. He had obtained it by completing a hidden quest in an instance after a narrow escape from death.
It was his only supernatural item and the thing he relied on most. He never used the short blade lightly, but for safety's sake, he decided to use it now.
After all, he would reach level 10 and become an ability user as soon as he cleared this instance. He didn't want anything to go wrong in the meantime.
Cheng Xu spun around and slashed. Seeing the short blade in his hand, the doll seemed a little afraid. It broke off its attack and hurriedly retreated.
His blade had only just missed the doll. If it had struck, no matter where the wound was, the doll would have lost its life force and become an ordinary doll.
Unfortunately, he had missed by a little.
The doll turned invisible again, disappearing from everyone's sight. But before it did, the other three had already closed in and begun to surround it.
Determination flashed in their eyes. They would not let the doll escape.
As long as they dealt with the doll, there would be no further danger in this instance.
The doll began to flee. Although it had concealed itself, it faced players whose mental strength was far greater than that of ordinary people. They could sense its approximate location, and by working together, they soon forced it into their trap.
The doll now had no escape route. It ran into the fishing net, which shook for a moment, and the doll emerged from invisibility.
"We did it!"
Delighted, they hurried over and wrapped the fishing net around the doll.
Everything went smoothly, exactly as described in the guide.
Cheng Xu gripped the Demon Blade, preparing to strike. His blade could devour spirit entities and obliterate any mental power. As long as he landed this strike, the doll would be completely immobilized.
Just as he was about to strike, he heard something whistling through the air. It seemed something sharp was flying toward him.
Cheng Xu hurriedly turned around and saw two sharp blades fly past him. One cut his finger, and the short blade slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.
The other sliced straight through the fishing net behind him.
The doll was about to break free of the net when Zhang Zhiqiang rushed over and pinned it down. Seeing this, Jiang Yue immediately poured a bottle of kerosene over the doll, while Zhao Yuqing lit the kerosene lighter in her hand, preparing to set the doll on fire.
A splash of water suddenly fell from the air, putting out the lighter in her hand. Zhao Yuqing froze for a moment; he couldn't imagine how water could have fallen from above.
Was it raining?
No. No more water fell from the sky, so clearly it wasn't raining.
"Damn it, what's going on? Light it already!" Zhang Zhijian cursed loudly.
"It won't light!" Zhao Yuqing tried many times, but a kerosene lighter like this wouldn't work at all once water got inside.
The doll in the net moved too. Several sharp steel nails grew from its fingers and pierced Zhang Zhiqiang's flesh. He cried out in pain and loosened his grip, and the doll seized the chance to escape, disappearing from their sight once again.
"Damn it, we still let it get away!" Zhang Zhiqiang cursed resentfully, clutching the arm the doll had just stabbed.
Finally, he looked at Zhao Yuqing. "It's all your fault! If you hadn't messed up, we would have burned it already!"
"Some water suddenly fell from the sky and got the lighter wet," Jiang Yue explained for her.
Cheng Xu said gravely, "We can't put all the blame on her. The doll's owner was probably the one who attacked us just now."
"Damn it, that's completely unfair!"
"The doll's owner?" Jiang Yue said. "According to the guide, wasn't he supposed to stay out of the fight? As long as we didn't scream, he wouldn't do anything. It looks like that's changed too."
"Yes, the instance rules have changed, and the difficulty has increased," Cheng Xu said, now absolutely certain of it.
"Damn this lousy instance, it keeps changing," Zhang Zhiqiang said, already somewhat exasperated.
It was supposed to be a freebie instance, yet it was so troublesome, with one unexpected development after another.
"What do we do now?" Zhao Yuqing asked.
Cheng Xu looked at everyone's wounds and said, "The game has only just started, and we're all injured. At this rate, we obviously can't win.
"The ways to clear the game are all much the same. As we are now, we can't defend against constant ambushes from the doll and its owner, and we can't kill them either. That means we can only go to that place."
"That place?" Shock appeared in the eyes of the other three.
"Yes, that's right. It's the only option we have left."