Only when the pea-green object flew right in front of him did Xu Huo make out what it was—it was a small mechanical fly! It sprayed a plume of red mist as it flew. Frowning, he retreated into the darkness. When he landed on his original Cube Pillar, he saw that the third Player had accidentally inhaled a little of the mist and turned deathly pale, then immediately withdrew from the contest as well.
"Like you could ever compete with me!" The Player who had successfully claimed the newly appeared Cube Pillar looked around smugly, letting the Mechanical Fly circle him.
Xu Huo took another look at the intricate device but did nothing else. He stood on the cube and observed his surroundings.
Although he still couldn't see or hear anything elsewhere in the darkness, it was just as he'd expected: anything the beams of light touched remained clearly visible, even in the dark, and he could hear the Players talking.
The darkness cut off the senses and rendered items ineffective, but everything worked normally in the light.
"Xu Huo?" Yan Jiayu called in his direction. When she received no response, she looked a little nervous.
Xu Huo tried to answer her, but his voice clearly couldn't reach her.
"There's no point shouting," the bearded player said. "We can't hear anything in the darkness. But the Cube Pillars last three minutes, so your friend should be fine."
Yan Jiayu nodded, then couldn't help asking, "How long have you been in here? Is it almost time for the questions?"
The bearded player didn't answer, and neither did the other Players. Everyone wanted to answer the questions and leave as soon as possible. Telling the others when the next question would come would only make things harder for themselves.
The second thirty